Our city’s Varsha S. Puranik, a talented Roller-Skater, who is the National Champion in the women’s category for the last six successive years, has earned selection to represent the country. She will be representing India in the Asian Roller Skating Championship to be held at Lishui, China, from October 18 to November 2, 2016. She is our ‘Star This Week.’
Two other skaters from Mysuru, Aditya S. Rao, Elizabeth Achaiah will also be representing India in the Championship. The Indian team will be coached by Mysuru’s K. Srikanth S. Rao.
Varsha has performed well in the 12th Short Track National Speed Ice Skating Championships at Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir and won gold in the women’s section for Karnataka. She was part of the Karnataka team which won the Team Championship title with 12 golds, 12 silvers and 11 bronze medals.
Earlier, she had taken part in the 2015 National 52nd National Roller Skating Championships held at Navi Mumbai and won gold in the women’s 500mtrs event and won her 36th gold in the National Championships.
Varsha was awarded the prestigious Ekalavya Award by the Government of Karnataka last year. She represented India in the World Games 2013 at Cali, Colombia and fared well.
Varsha, a Doctor by profession, is the daughter of R. Srirama Krishna (retd. IOB) and Thara Srirama, who have been her great support. She has a elder brother in Sri Harsha, whose roller-skating exploits inspired her also to take up this sport. Starting skating at a young age of three, Varsha began her basics at Bal Bhavan Roller Skating rink under the guidance of Ravi in 1990. She jointed Vishwamithra Roller Skating Club in 1993 and started to train under the guidance of late K. Sridhar Rao at J.K. Grounds. Presently she trains with R. Srikanta Rao, a Ekalavya Award winner, at the Rao’s Roller Skating Club.
Varsha first represented the country in the International level in 2001 in the World Inline Speed Skating Championships held at France in 2001 and took part in the 10km race and finished 16th. She got her first International medal when she was part of the Indian relay team which won the bronze medal in the 5km relay event in the Asian Roller Skating Championships.
In 2003, she represented India in the World Junior Championships at Venezuela (5km race-finished 15th). In 2004, she finished 4th in the Individual event at the 10th Asian Championships held in Japan.In 2010, she represented India in the 16th Asian Games at Guangzhou, China and finished 7th in the 3000m Time Trials. In 2012, Varsha took part in the Wold Championships and finished in the top 20 skaters in the World and qualified for the World Games. Varsha took part in the World Games in Cali, Columbia and finished 16th in the 500m Road race.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / October 16th, 2016
The last time Thondebhavi came under the spotlight was almost a year ago when a cloud of ash from a nearby cement plant enveloped it. Now, this nondescript village is grabbing headlines for becoming the first in the country to have a self-repairing road.
Thondebhavi, 65km from Bengaluru and with a population of about 1,200 people, has a 700-metre road with a crack healing capability. This road is the brainchild of Prof Nemkumar Banthia of the civil engineering department at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
This will be a game-changer in road-building, especially in a country where roads are dotted with cracks and potholes. M Suresh of the National Institute of Engineering-Mysuru, who coordinated with Thondebhavi village authorities and University of British Columbia, said: “This road has been built with high strength concrete supplemented with fibres which have a hydrophilic nano-coating. This coating absorbs water. Since most road cracks develop because of unhydrated cement, the hydrophilic coating produces silicates that closes the cracks.”
The lifespan of these roads is 15-20 years. The road, about 100 mm thick and comparatively less than the usual cement road, would go a long way in reducing road-laying cost. Since fly ash is used for these roads, the carbon output is low.
The 700-metre stretch, which connects the village with the road to nearby Gauribidanur town, has enthused residents. Kantharaj, a resident and also president of Kolar Chikkaballapur Districts Co-operative Milk Union Ltd (KOMUL), said: “Earlier, people used to have a tough time on the slushy road. This stretch has come as a boon to villagers and they can transport their agricultural commodities to various places without any hassles.”
Jyothi Reddy, president, Thondebhavi gram panchayat, said the road has been of great help to people of the village. She said she’ll convince nearby cement factory authorities to take up many more roads in the village panchayat. Aswathachar, manager, Pragathi Krishna Gramina Bank, Thondebavi branch said the quality and finish of the road is fine and it’s expected to last longer compared to the normal cement one.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Bangalore / TNN / October 18th, 2016
Life in the fast lane brings Anitha Kholay many accolades
Bengaluru-based actor, stylist and fashion designer Anitha Kholay is all set to be the first Indian woman rallyist to represent the country at the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in Johor, Malaysia, which is to be held from October 28-30.
Declared the fastest woman rally driver of the country at earlier events in Bengaluru, Ms. Kholay, an alumna of Bishop Cottons Girls School and Christ University, began her career in rallying as a navigator at the age of 16, and was instantly intrigued by the sport. The ‘Miss Bangalore 1998’, who has been an Indian national race and rally driver since 2003, said she was elated, and added: “This is a stepping stone to aspire for greater heights, a milestone in my career.” An MRU Motorsports team from Malaysia is preparing her car, a Proton NEO 1600 CC, which will touch speeds of up to 120 miles per hour in the 3-day championship.
Long road to success
Recalling her hard work for over two decades, Ms. Kholay said she is brimming with pride to be representing Karnataka and India at the international level. “My husband, Rupesh Kholay, discovered the potential of my proficiency behind the wheel in 1994. I haven’t looked back, and crave to steer and zoom. My favourite rallies have been the K-1000, which is the Bangalore Rally, because I enjoy the terrain the most,” she said.
Nearly 50 medals gleam in her residence in Koramangala. “I started with two wheelers, then enjoyed being a navigator, and then hopped on to full-time rallying and racing. I even love my drag racing, and the defined path in the autocross race!” says Ms. Kholay, who couldn’t have asked for a better start. She was also the first woman to lead a national rally championship with a woman’s team in 2003, and she gradually gathered experience in the inner workings of motor sports to become among the most awarded women rally drivers in the country.
Passion for speed
“I won most of my racing and rallying awards from 1994-2011 in the ladies category. I took a break when I had my two children, and have been constantly taking part in national rallies from 2003, travelling mostly to Nashik, Chikmagalur, Hyderabad and Cochin, amongst other cities,” she said. She added that she relies on a “perfect support system” of a workshop and tuners to mind her car’s health.
What does the fastest woman driver behind the wheel think of her pace on traffic-jammed Bengaluru roads? “My city driving is customised with music for relaxing, which I enjoy. Race and rally fulfil my passion for speed,” she said. “As a woman, I try my best to disentangle myself from negative criticisms and drive forward.”
The Kalaburagi based software developer and innovator Rupam Das has done it again and won the first prize in the General Health Category of “Code Healthy Challenge” organised by Red Hat Linux’s Open Shift based Cloud platform by New York based website Devpost. He bagged the award for his cloud based online system “Hrydyalysis” to study the ECG signals of a patient and detect the heart condition of the patient.
Along with the award, Mr. Das has won a purse of $10,000. Mr. Das, who has developed several techniques to detect heart diseases including Myocardial Ischaemia, Bradycardia, Tachycardia, Coronary Artery, partial epilepsy, Venticular arrhythmia, T wave alternans and others, claimed that his recent invention was a major breakthrough in the heart-care system.
He said that the system can be adopted widely in rural areas where the health care facilities is still minimal. The Hrydyalysis is now being developed as a full fledged end to end system to convert it into a commercial low cost cardio solution.
As per the new online cloud based system Hrydyalsyis, the patients’ ECG signal as input can be taken and analysed for detecting if the heart condition was normal or not. In case of any abnormality, the system detects the type of diseases and notifies what kind of heart disease the patient was suffering and the severity of the condition. Any low cost ECG machine can be connected to Hrydyalsis and patient’s heart condition monitored accurately, he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Kalaburagi – October 15th, 2016
Picture shows tennis player Dhruthi T. Venugopal of Mysuru receiving the Ekalavya award from Chief Minister Siddharamaiah at a ceremony held at the Platinum Jubilee Auditorium here yesterday. Also seen are (from left ) MLA Vasu, District in-charge Minister Dr. H.C. Madevappa and Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister Pramod Madhwaraj. Picture right shows Ekalavya awardees and Kreeda Ratna Awardees posing to the shutterbugs.
Mysuru :
The Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports (DYES) presented the Ekalavya Awards to 16 sportspersons of various disciplines, Karnataka Kreeda Ratna awards to and two Lifetime Achievement Awards for the year 2015, at a function held at Mysore Medical College and Research Institute Alumni Association Platinum Jubilee Auditorium here yesterday.
Swimmer Damini Gowda, athlete M. Arpitha, tennis player Dhruthi T. Venugopal, hockey player Nitin Thimmaiah were among the prominent names who received the Ekalavya Awards.
Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports Pramod Madhwaraj, District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Mayor B.L. Byrappa, MLAs Vasu and M.K. Somashekar were also present.
John Christopher Nirmal Kumar (swimming) and R. Shivanand (wrestling) were presented the Life Time Achievement awards for their contributions as coaches. Three visually impaired cricketers from Karnataka who had represented India in the World Cup were honoured with cash prize and a citation.
The Ekalavya awardees received a memento, a citation and Rs. 2 lakh in cash. The coaches who received the lifetime achievement awards were received Rs.1.50 lakh cash prize, a citation along with a memento while the Kreeda Rathna awardees took home a cash prize of Rs. One lakh, a citation and a memento.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Siddharamiah, congratulated the sports persons for their achievements and informed that the State Government was committed to promote sporting activities and sportspersons.
Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports Promod Madwaraj said that the sportspersons who have achieved laurels have worked hard to reach great heights at the International and National level. The Department has identified and rewarded them through fair selection policy on the basis of their performance for the Ekalavya, Kreeda Ratna Awards and Life Time Achievement awards.
MLA Vasu speaking on the occasion emphasised the need for a Sports University and requested the CM to sanction the same in Mysuru which is also his home town.
Ekalavya Award: Damini K. Gowda (Swimming), Vidya B. Pillai (Billiards), Pavan Shetty (Body Building), Nithin Thimmaiah (Hockey), S. Rajguru (Kabaddi), Krishna A. Naikodi (Cycling), A. Arvind (Basketball), M. Arpita (Athletics), Mohammed Rafiq Holi (Wrestling), Meghana M. Sajjanar (Rifle Shooting), Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (Lawn Tennis), Anup D’Costa (Volleyball), G.M. Nischita (Shuttle Badminton), J.M. Shawad (Para Athletics), Umesh R. Kade (Para Swimming) and Kanchan P. Munnolkar (Weight Lifting).
Lifetime Achievement Award: John Christopher Nirmal Kumar (Swimming) and R. Shivananda (Wrestling).
Karnataka Kreeda Ratna Award: Rudraswami (Yoga), P. Poornima (Throwball), Amogha U. Chachadi (Atya-Patya), M.P. Ranjitha (Ball Badminton), K.C. Pradeep (Kho Kho), U.M. Sumitha (Kabaddi), Jeevandhar K. Ballal and Ananda Irvathur (Kambala), L. Ananda (Wrestling) and Moshappa Vittappa Gulabala (Gundu Ethuvudu).
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / October 08th, 2016
Contributions of Maharanis Doddammanni, Lingarajammanni, Devajammanni, Lakshmammanni and Vani Vilasa Sannidhana to be showcased
by Pushpa Vikram
Apart from the grand Vijayadashami Day procession, royal rituals and people’s participation in the festivities, Dasara is a time to recollect the contributions made by the erstwhile kings. While paeans are sung every year hailing the contributions of the Maharajas, very rarely, the sacrifice of the Maharanis are recollected or remembered.
Realising this, the Mysuru Zilla Panchayat has, this year, planned a tableau exclusively dedicated to the Maharanis of Mysore who have selflessly worked for the kingdom and have made sacrifices like selling their jewellery for the welfare of the people.
The tableau has been conceptualised and named ‘Mysurige Maharaniyara Koduge’ when translated in English means the contribution of Maharanis to Mysore. It will be a pictorial representation of the contributions of Maharanis Doddammanni, Lingarajammanni, Devajammanni, Lakshmammanni and Kempananjammanni (Vani Vilasa Sannidhana).
The tableau, one among the 41 tableaux that will be a part of the Dasara procession on Oct.11, is being designed by artists from all parts of the State.
Maharani Doddammanni: In the year 1660 the then King Ranadheera Narasaraja Wadiyar inspired by Maharani Doddammanni built the Bangaradoddi Dam for River Cauvery near Srirangapatna. This turned out to be the first dam built by Kannadigas across Cauvery.
Maharani Lakshmammanni: The kingdom of Mysore saw its low when Haider Ali, a common soldier in the Mysore army, usurped the throne in 1761. He and his son Tipu Sultan kept Maharani Lakshmammanni under imprisonment. Despite being in jail, Maharani Lakshmammanni was able to connect with the then ruling British and was able to give back the kingdom to the Yadu dynasty. Maharani Lakshmammanni’s negotiations with the British proved to be Tipu’s ultimate nemesis. He died fighting on May 4, 1799 at Srirangapatna. Between 1803 and 1804, Mysuru kingdom had to face the outbreak of deadly plague. Though the rulers took effective steps to control the disease, people were not ready for vaccination. Maharani Lakshmammanni had to convince the people and she told the doctors to vaccinate her first. This act by the Maharani earned her laurels from the British and the incident has also been mentioned in the gazette.
Maharani Lingarajammanni and Devajammanni: The Maharanis of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Lingarajammanni and Devajammanni built two lakes in the eastern side of Mysore – Devambudhi Lake – and the western side of the city – Lingambudhi Lake. They also constructed many temples.
Kempananjammanni (Vani Vilasa Sannidhana): Among the Maharanis of Mysore kingdom, Vani Vilasa Sannidhana is the most remembered queen. She was the mother of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (then a mere teenager) and she ruled the kingdom in the capacity of ‘Rajamathe’.
Vani Vilasa Sannidhana started separate schools for girls, planned the hydro electric station at Shivanasamudra, drinking water and UGD lines for Mysuru city and built Mari Kanive, a dam popularly known as Vani Vilasa Sagara in Chitradurga. This was the biggest reservoir in India at the time of completion. Under Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (called Rajarishi among kings by Mahatma Gandhi), Mysore witnessed tremendous economic, social and cultural progress. Mysore State had many firsts to its credit and was hailed as the Model State.
The Krishna Raja Sagar or the KRS Dam, completed in 1931, was then the biggest reservoir in Asia. As the estimate for its construction exceeded the State budgets, Nalwadi and his mother Vani Vilasa Sannidhana sold costly diamonds, ornaments, gold and silver plates of the royal family to provide seed capital for the project.
In designing and displaying this exclusive tableau, the ZP hopes to showcase the role played by the Maharanis for the welfare of the people.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Features Articles / October 07th, 2016
( Picture right shows ) Keerthi Kumar of Belagavi who created a new meet record in Discus Throw attempting his final throw at the Chamundi Vihar Stadium. (Centre) K.A. Bharath of Bengaluru City sporting victory sign after creating a new meet record in the men’s 1,500 meter run. ( Picture in extreme left shows ) the Bengaluru 4×100 meters women’s team sporting victory symbol after creating a new meet record in 4xx100 meters relay.
Mysuru :
Three new meet records were created on the second day of Dasara athletic events held at Chamundi Vihar Stadium yesterday.
K.A. Bharath of B’luru City in 1500 mts), Keerthi Kumar of Belagavi Division in Discus Throw and 4×100 women’s relay team of Bengaluru City broke old records to set new records in men’s and women’s categories at the Chamundi Vihar Stadium here yesterday.
At the end of Day-2, Bengaluru City tops in both men’s and women’s category with 10 gold, two silver and two bronze medals and are followed by hosts Mysuru with 9 golds, 11 silver and 7 bronze medals.
Bharath shines: K.A. Bharath of Bengaluru City, who had earlier won gold in 800 mts, hogged the limelight again by creating a new meet record in the men’s 1500 mts event by clocking 3:58.00s to erase the previous record of 4:01.58s set by M.D. Manjunath of Mysuru Division in 2009.
Keerthi Kumar of Belagavi division threw the discus to a new meet record of 49.77 mts and broke the previous record of 47.76 mts set by Dharamveer Singh of Mysuru Division in 2011. Keerthi Kumar on day-1 had won a silver medal in the men’s shot put.
The third record came in the women’s section with the Bengaluru City’s relay quartet of Afsana Begum, Nityashree, Prajna S. Prakash and Reena George creating a new meet record in the 4×100 mts relay event with a timing of 47:00 sec, erasing the old mark of 47.48 sec, set by Bengaluru City’s athletes in 2014.
Swimming: In the swimming events held at the University Swimming Pool. S. Nishanth of Bengaluru City with 11 points (gold in 200 mts Breaststroke, silver in 100 mts Breaststroke & silver in 200m Individual Medley) won the individual champion title in the men’s section. Sunaina Manjunath of Bengaluru City excelled in the pool in the women’s section by winning the individual title with 15 points (three golds).
Team games: In the team games, Mysuru men’s tennis team spearheaded by S. Prateek won the title beating Bengaluru Rural 2-1 in the final. Bengaluru Rural won the women’s title beating Bengaluru City 2-0 in the final.
In a bid to throw more light on the history of our ancient archaeology and culture, the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, has set up a stall at the Dasara Exhibition Grounds.
The stall, which is very informative to students and the public alike, features the biography of B.L. Rice, who was the first to establish an exclusive Archaeology Department in the country.
The exhibition also provides information on the country’s many great historians who include R. Shamshashi, M.H. Krishna, Dr. S.R. Rao, Prof. H.D. Sankalia, Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Prof. R.C. Majumdar, Prof. Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi, Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Prof. Romila Thapar, Prof. G.S. Dikshit, Prof. A.R. Desai, Prof. Bipin Chandra, Prof. B.P. Desi, Sardar K.M. Panikkar, Dr. B.A. Salvatore, Dr. Radha Kumar Mukherjee and Prof. Irfan Habib.
The exhibition is divided into four galleries, with one providing information on 20 areas listed by the Government as heritage sites, which include Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Golconda, Belur, Halebid and Srirangapatna, one on the 16 museums controlled by the Government, which feature historical site such as Talakad and Hampi, one of folklore and the other on the complete history of Dasara festivities.
The Department has taken great pains to make a documentary which will be screened for an hour everyday in the evening.
In the past, the Department had set up an exhibition featuring only the erstwhile rulers of Mysuru, who included Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. But the Department, realising the importance of educating the public, especially younger generation, on our rich culture and practices, has designed the exhibition in such away that it is more educative and informative, throwing light on our great heritage and past glory.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / October 04th, 2016
Project will be implemented at livestock breeding and training centre at Koila, says Manju
The government has taken up a project to conserve and promote the Malnad Gidda cow breed, according to A. Manju, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services.
Addressing a gathering at a function organised to lay the foundation stone for a veterinary college at Koila, he said that the project would be implemented at the livestock breeding and training centres at Koila in Dakshina Kannada and at Koodige in Kodgadu district.
“The government has sanctioned Rs. 5 crore for the project,” he said adding that 50 cows had been selected now for breeding.
Maland Gidda is an indigenous breed of cow whose numbers are on the decline.
The veterinary college at Koila would be opened in 2018. The Minister said that the State’s milk production had touched 75 lakh litres a day now. He said that the government would recruit 650 veterinary doctors within a month.
Mr. Manju said that the government had constituted Karnataka Sheep Federation with 260 cooperative societies attached to it.
U.T. Khader, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, urged the Minister to open a dairy unit of Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Union Ltd. at Koila.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / Special Correspondent / Koila (Puttur Taluk) / October 10th, 2016
A 20-minute short film titled ‘Bannerghatta Breathing for Bengaluru,’ throws light on man-animal conflict, the rich biodiversity of the forest patch spread across 270 square kilometres and challenges due to increasing urbanisation around the forest.
It shows the wildlife and biodiversity of the fragmented forest patch in full valour.
The lone wild tiger roaming in Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) has also been captured in the film.
It also covers the problems which the department has been facing because of shrinking land due increasing denotification and mining. The movie also dwells on the history on how the forest patch was notified, how the zoo was carved out of it and how land was added to the patch to strengthen elephant corridors.
The film has been commissioned by Sunil Panwar, Deputy Conservator of Forest, BNP and has been filmed by conservationists and film makers duo Ashok Hallur and Padma Ashok of Ideas for Change. The film was released on Friday by Governor Vajubhai Vala.
Butterfly Walk
The Karnataka Forest Department will organise a Butterfly Walk in Hennur Park on Sunday, October 9, for Bengalureans. The park spread across 34 acres has over 34 species of butterflies. During the walk, people will be shown different species, the host plants, the larvae and the nectar plants. Apart from Forest department officials, experts are also being roped in to create more awareness among people.
The Forest department has created three artificial ponds in the park and improved the biodiversity to increase the number of species to the park. The open storm water drain passing through the park, has little impact on the butterflies. This park along with parks in Jarakabandekaval and Doreswamypalya. The green environs of Doraisanipalya Jallary Reserve Forest off Bannerghatta Road is home varied species of butterfly.
BBP open on Vijayadashami
The Bannerghatta Biological Park will remain open on October 11, on the occasion of Vijayadashami. Tuesday is normally a holiday. The management this time has decided to keep it open, said an press release.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City / Bosky Khanna / Bengaluru – DHNS, October 08th, 2016
