Category Archives: Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

He Changed People’s Mind for the Cause of Environment

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features,

HUBLI:

Overflowing drains, spilled-over dustbins and uncleaned roads. This was the scene at the Hamalis’ Colony on APMC premises in Hubli till Ramu Moolgi came to teach in Govt Primary School near the place a few years ago.
Within months of his arrival, Moolgi transformed the premises into a clean and green heaven. “Soon after reaching the place, I realized that I need to do something immediately to change the sad state of the colony,” says Moolgi.

Instead of preaching cleanliness, he rolled up his sleeves and and started cleaning the area. “I wanted to send across a strong message to the poor and illiterate locals. I knew I needed to be one among them to teach them the importance of hygiene and cleanliness and to make some impact on their minds. I didn’t hesitate to dirty my hands,” he says.

He also asked his pupils to rid the place of discarded items like tyres, waste wood and iron rods piled up on the roofs of houses. “Mosquitoes had made these items a safe haven for breeding, causing diseases. Now, the scene has changed drastically,” he says.

Not the one who believes in celebrating Environment Day once in a year, he plants number of trees in and around the school and on APMC premises. “My students also join me in watering the plants everyday. Thus, I have managed to inculcate a sense of feeling for environment among them,” he says. A PhD holder in folklore, he uses folk songs as the medium for spreading the message. “I have written many songs for the purpose, besides staging street plays on green theme,” he says.

Acknowledging his deeds, many organizations and schools have felicitated him. He is a regular invitee in NSS and NCC camps held in the district.

“I have been doing this for the past 12 years. I feel happy when I see a person watering a tree. This keeps me going,” he adds.

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / TNN / Jun 04th, 2011

Belgaum Teen for Special Olympics

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Sports, , ,

BELGAUM:

Nineteen-year-old  Atish Anil Jadhav from Belgaum has been selected for the Special Olympic World Summer Games  (SOWSG), to be held in Athens (Greece) from June 22-July 4. He is one among six players selected from India,, and the only one from Karnataka.

Atish will compete in the 50 meters butterfly and 400 meters freestyle event. The Indian team will undergo a pre-Olympic training camp in New Delhi from June 9-19 and will leave for Athens on June 20.

Atish is studying in Bodhini, a school for slow learners. He took to swimming in 2004, and has participated in five national swimming championships for the disabled and underprivileged. He is supported by LEAD – the Society for Development of Disabled and Underprivileged.

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / TNN/ Jun 06th, 2011

Farmer Develops Machine to cut Canes and Costs

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, , , , ,

BELGAUM:

Ashok Malagouda Patil, an organic farmer turned mechanical engineer has designed a new machine for sugarcane harvesting, which could be a panacea for the sugar industry hit by labour shortage.

A BSc (agriculture) holder, Patil has  developed the cane harvesting and conveyer machine and received patent for it. The machine has been developed targeting small and medium farmers, providing them with a low cost option to harvest their produce applying minimum number of labourers.

The new machine can bring down harvesting cost to just 25% of labour harvesting, claims Patil. At present, factories harvest sugarcane crop from the lands of farmers sending labour troops on their behalf. With the use of the new machine, they can get the work done with just a handful of workers, he said.

While a similar imported machine costs about Rs one crore, the indigenously developed machine will cost below Rs 25 crore. “Several multi-national companies have approached me for buying the machine. It will be made available in the market by next year,” said Patil.

Apart from being cost effective, the machine is efficient in terms of speed, and ground level cane cutting, in a variety of climates. Patil has also developed machines to cut one eyed cane, grass and bushes and for mixing molasses and organic fertilizer.

His decade long experience in the sugarcane industry came in handy for Patil while developing this unique machine. Hailing from Beniwad village in Hukkeri taluk, Patil who is now the managing director of Hiranyakeshi Sugar Factory in Sankeshwar, has developed three similar machines with various capacities of cane cutting. His 18.5 HP machine harvests four metric tonnes (MTs) of sugarcane in an hour and loads to truck automatically. Another 35HP machine harvests 10 MTs, while a 60HP machine harvests 12MTs in an hour.

Patil has received various awards from different institutions including the national award  for innovation in farming. Contact- 9448990860.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by Ravi Uppar / TNN / June 07th, 2011

Puttur Students to take Green Ink Forward

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, , , , , , , ,

MANGALORE:

If green is the way forward, award-winning-students  N V Pramoda and C S Bhargava have inked a success story by bagging international award for developing eco-ink without any chemical or toxic substances.
Two students of Sri Ramakrishna High School in Puttur, bagged the third place in environment category at the  Intel  International Science and Engineering Fair (IISEF) held in Los Angeles, California, earlier this month.

This third place, which comes with a prize amount of $1,000, has the boys awash with idea on taking their project to the next level. “We want to continue our experiment and have plans to prepare ink for ballpoint pens, printing press and hair dyes,” Pramoda and Bhargava told TOI.

“We have already applied for patent for our innovation and will not part with the formula for the eco-ink,” Pramoda said.

The ink was developed from seeds of alale kayi (Chebulic myrobalan or Terminalia chebula), a tropical herb with properties to treat multiple diseases. The eco-ink is waterproof, cheaper and will not spread while used on paper. Just 60ml of this eco-ink will cost Rs 6 to manufacture, he said. The ink was developed using powdered Terminalia chebula seeds, water, glycerine, vinegar, acetone and seeds of semicarpus anacardium.

Principal H Shridhar Rai said: “There were 12,500 participants from 15 nations at IISEF. It is a commendable achievement that our students could bag an international award competing with participants from 15 nations,” Shridhar noted.

After participating in the state-level Science Congress, Pramoda and Bhargava were selected to participate in Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science National Science Fair, hosted by the department of science and technology, Intel and Confederation of Indian Industry at  Mumbai in November last year. The team was selected as one among top six teams from India in the event to participate in the IISEF.

Pramoda and Bhargava recall that it was Dinesh Nayak, green belt adviser to Mangalore Special Economic Zone Limited (MSEZL), who inspired them to invent the eco-ink. They have not forgetten the constant support extended by their teacher and guide Vasanthi. “It was a great experience because I had never dreamt of participating in ISEF,” said Pramoda.

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by Vinobha K T / TNN / May 30th, 2011

He was Destined to be an IAS Officer

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders

BANGALORE:

He had the options of becoming a professor at the University of Florida, taking up aUnited Nations job and becoming a globe-trotter, earning tax-free income before taking voluntary retirement, or joining the IAS, which he had cleared in top form. Away in the US for a doctorate in criminology, deciding on one of these options was something which 26-year-old S M Jaamdar found difficult to do in 1979.

His procrastination made the central government give him a final call to either take or give up the IAS career. Coaxed by his father and wife, Jaamdar reluctantly chose to go down the bureaucratic path.

“I went directly from the US to Tarikere in Chikmagalur as assistant commissioner. My professor in the US, Vernon Fox, analyzed the three job prospects saying my country had sent me to study and use the knowledge back home. His advice helped me.”

But within six months Jaamdar called it quits and went to the UK only to return in 1984 to resume his IAS career. Today, he has no regrets about coming back. His most memorable and highly trying stint was as commissioner, resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of persons displaced by the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) in 135 villages of Bagalkot and Bijapur.

12 YEARS IN BAGALKOT

During the 12 years (1994-2006) spent in carving out a new town __ Nava Nagar __ in Bagalkot, Jaamdar reported to five chief ministers of four governments belonging to three different parties and came to be known as “people’s man”. Two arches in his name were put up on National Highway 13. But local politicians were not happy with him. “There was frequent pressure from netas to replace me, but none of the CMs yielded.”

The World Bank, while resuming funding for the UKP, put forth a condition that the official in charge of R&R cannot be changed till work is completed. “It was a challenging 24×7 job. Every day, bus-loads of people would come with their problems. I tried solving them by taking a decision on the spot and issuing relevant orders,” he recalls. Prominent among his many memories is the 1997 floods, when 300 people had to be shifted in boats at 7pm.

SOLD PROPERTY TO STUDY

Studying for two masters degrees and a doctorate was financially not easy for Jaamdar. His father used to own lands at Ramdurg in Belgaum district but lost them due to bad management. “I lost my mother in infancy and my only sibling was a sister eight years older to me. My father, who had studied till seventh standard in Marathi, was keen that I should get the best of education. To pay my SSLC fee, he sold two acres of land and during my PUC, some gold ornaments.” Appearing for the IAS was sheer accident and this time he was inspired by neighbours, the Rege family, where the father, daughter and uncle were in the IAS.

EARLY MARRIAGE

“I can call mine a sort of child marriage as I was only 20 when my father got me married. I’d got a scholarship to Stockholm University and my father decided if I’m not married I would either not come back or if I did, I’d not return alone.” He adds in a lighter vein, “My in-laws were ready to take the risk of me being away for a long time. That’s possible only if you don’t have a demanding wife.” His wife, of the reticent kind, is from Torgal in Belgaum.

Jaamdar credits his wife for the upbringing of their four children. Two daughters are married __ Meena, a doctor, is in Singapore and Naina, a software engineer, is settled in Arizona, US. The youngest Sapna is a techie working with Accenture, while son Chetan is doing his BE in telecommunications. “It was our mother who took care of us entirely,” says a candid Naina.

US STYLE IN BUREAUCRACY

Any person who walks into his chamber is first made to sit. “I learnt this in the US that even if you cannot help a person, just listening makes a difference.”

ME AND I…

“I am supposed to be snobbish and arrogant. That’s because I don’t mix with people and am not bothered. I am cruel with my staff and suspend or dismiss them if they don’t do what’s to be done. My new posting as principal secretary (home) is of a sensitive and secretive nature.”

Quote Hanger

I have taken up the role of mentor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Belgaum which is affiliated to Rani Channamma University. The government has allowed me to visit the institute once a week. A year from now, when I retire, I will be the dean.

OFFSIDE

* I am a sharp-shooter and learnt it when I enrolled for the officers’ training unit, from which I dropped out. Had I continued, I would have been a major-general now.

* I believe in God, but not in religion.

FAVOURITES

Interests: Architecture, landscaping, photography

Movies: Watched Ingrid Bergman’s 29 of 37 films. Likes Western classical and old Hindi film songs

* Food: Vegetarian and Italian

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by Nigar Ataulla / TNN / June 06th, 2011

A Car from the Garbage Bin !

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, ,

BHATKAL:

If we allow high school lads like Mohan Anand Naik of this coastal town of Bhatkal to find a way to mitigate the problem of the growing size of our  automobile dump yards he will come up with a series of cars! Yes in a recent attempt to do so he has indeed created a car that can take two people and which is built completely out of material taken from junk including the engine. But please pardon the disheveled look of this car which he fondly calls ‘Expert car’. 

He might have spent Rs. 8000 from his pocket money over a period of two months but today he has his own car.  “It all started when I found an old 50 cc motorcycle engine lying there in my father’s workshop, it gave me an idea of first putting together a motorcycle but making a car was easier”  Mohan tells with a grin.

Then I rummaged through the backyard scrap material. I found out an old kiddy’s tricycle of which metal wheel became the steering wheel, an old pickle storage tank became the fuel tank and an odd set of anglers and GI pipes became the frame and the chassis.  But still I had to find the transmission which I found in the town’s scrap dealers who offered it free to me after knowing about my dream car, he says.

Today after two months Mohan drives this car in his village called Talanda about 35 kilometers from Bhatkal and sometimes gives ride to his friends. “The ride is bumpy as I have not found the right set of shock absorbers to fit into the Chassis and the frame but the scrap dealer has told me he will find it for me and when they arrive I will have a smoother ride”  says Mohan.

“The shape is also nothing great, I need a windshield  and bonnet hood that needs replacing, but money is not coming smoothly as once the car was put on the road my financier –my father has slowed down investing on it”

Mohan also contacted his relatives who is a transport department official for a registration but the answer was in the negative. “rightly so,  I did not expect a car made out of scrap material to get a registration”  he understands.

Anand Naik his father was also skeptical about his son’s intentions in the beginning, “I thought this boy was just squandering my money, but as the car took shape I was happy about his concept and hard work that he put in. He learnt drilling, welding and working on engine all by himself.”

Mohan says that he wanted to do automobile engineering but that is a long way to go as he has just entered the tenth standard and needs to concentrate on doing well there to get into science stream.

 

source: http://themangalorean.com / by Rajat. R / Mangalore / May 18th, 2011

 

Personifying “never say die” Spirit

Amazing Feats, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Sports, , , , , , , , ,

BELGAUM:

Belgaum’s teen swimming sensation has over 1,000 fractures!

Belgaum: “Never, never, never, never give up,” goes the famous saying of Winston Churchill, former British Primer Minister known for his inspiring leadership during the Second World War.

There are very few people who personify this never say die spirit. What about a 13-year-old physically challenged boy from Belgaum?

Only a few would bet that Moin Junaidi, who has suffered not less than 1,000 fractures all over his body, can aspire to take part in the World Swimming Championship.

Moin, son of Musthaq Junaidi and Kousar Banu, has a rare disease that causes zero-bone calcium. Called Osteogenesis Imperfecta in medical terms, the disease has made Moin’s bones so soft that the gentlest pat would cause fractures.

The boy can neither stand on his feet nor catch anything in his hands. His parents hail from Kudachi in Belgaum’s Raybag taluk but are settled in this border City’s Mujawar Galli locality.

2 years: 50 fractures

They say Moin suffered his first fracture when he was just nine months old. By the age of two, he had more than 50 fractures.

When doctors were called in, not only they couldn’t diagnose what he suffered from, but their treatment also worsened his condition. No orthopeadician in Belgaum, Miraj, Mumbai, or even the U.S.A. could detect this rare disease.

Moin’s parents stopped consulting doctors after spending lakhs and were told that there was no cure for the disease.

They, however, didn’t lose hope. With doctors advising them to handle Moin with utmost care and no school willing to admit him, Banu began tutoring him at home. While Moin cannot write holding a pen in his hand, he can still read.

One day, Fairoz Sait, Belgaum North MLA, happened to meet Moin at a function. Impressed by his aptitude, Sait immediately gifted him a laptop. Now, Moin can now use the laptop with his tenderest fingers.

The other day, Moin’s parents had a chance meeting with Umesh Kalghatgi, a swimming coach, at the Belgaum City Corporation pool.

Instantly recognising Moin’s potential to become a swimmer, Umesh offered to train him. Initially reluctant, his parents later accepted his proposal.

The little swimming genius

The result is spell-binding: Moin can swim for more than an hour. But whenever his legs become immovable while swimming, he pushes the water back with his hands like a tortoise.

Till date, the wonderful boy has taken part in a number of swimming competitions. In October 2008, he participated in the National Paralympics Swimming Competition in Kolkata and bagged the gold medal in the 50 metre freestyle event.

No sooner than he won the gold that awards and felicitations began pouring in. Indradhanush Samman, Belgaum District Award, B R Motage Award, Sagar Prashasti (carrying a cash prize of Rs one lakh), etc are but a handful of awards he has been honored with. Moin was also felicitated at the Shabhash India reality show aired on Zee

TV.

An avid cricket fan, Moin adores Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He also likes Shah Rukh Khan. Moin wants to showcase his talent at the World Swimming Championships. But the road isn’t easy.

Will Karnataka’s Muslim leaders lend a helping hand and help this wonder kid realise his dream? Let’s hope they do.

source: http://www.karnatakamuslims.com / Belgaum / Jan 18th, 2011

 

On the Road with Bio-Fuel Power

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, , , , ,
L-R: Prem and Shiva along with mission lead Avinash with the reactor designed and developed by the group.
L-R: Prem and Shiva along with mission lead Avinash with the reactor designed and developed by the group.

While the country frets and frowns about the fuel price hike and environmental degradation, a group of youngsters are setting out to show the nation that the solution lies within and is not formidable to achieve.

Through their initiative to promote clean energy, they present an opportunity to resolve two issues in one attempt. That of developing clean fuel and a clean environment.

A team of six professionals will begin their journey to show the country not just the need for clean energy resources, but also that achieving it is not merely an attempt on paper.

The team called ‘Momentum From Waste’ will drive through the country on bio-diesel creating awareness on the same. The group comprising an engineer, MBA graduates, biotechnologist and a clean energy technologist will drive over 6,000 kilometres across 21 towns and cities in India on 900 litres of bio-diesel.

Developed by using waste vegetable oil from restaurants across the city, the group will carry the message that India has tremendous potential for clean energy through plants as well as waste such as oil, according to Avinash Narayanaswamy, a Bengaluru-based chemical engineer and a post-graduate in Sustainable Energy Technology from the University of Twente in Netherlands who is leading the mission.

“About 300 to 400 litres of bio-diesel has been developed with plants such as pongamia and Jatropa along with the Karnataka Bio-fuel task force while the remaining 500 litres has been made with waste vegetable oil. The Tata Sumo has been modified to run on this clean fuel that was developed in the reactor designed by us with the help of University of Agricultural sciences (UAS) in the city. The mission across India will include interactions with farmers, civil society and universities,” stated Mr Narayanaswamy.

The 23-day India mission will flag off in Bengaluru on World Environment day on June 5.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / by Madhumitha B / DC / Bengaluru /May 23rd, 2011

Green Crusader Digs into his Pocket

Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, , , ,
MITTLAKATTE, DAVANGERE :
  • He is a true lover of nature as neither poverty nor protests from his family have deterred him from carrying on with his mission of planting trees and creating awareness about how important they are to the environment.

Sixty-two-year old green crusader Veerachari has nurtured thousands of avenue trees but is in financial trouble as he goes about it with no help from the government. He has had to pawn his wife’s jewellery to pay the loan he took to buy an autorickshaw to drive around villages and speak to the people about caring for the environment.

A blacksmith by profession, Veerachari, who has planted over 3,000 trees of various species, does not have money to repair his dilapidated house in Mittlakatte, Davangere district or get his daughter married. But this does not stop him from eyeing with pride the 2,500 trees he has nurtured along the 10 km stretch between Shamanur and Jarikatte, at bus stands and schools in and around his village.

So committed is Veerachari to the cause that he makes it a point to take part in mass marriages and gift the bridegrooms plants and after a funeral he never fails to plant saplings near the grave. Neither acute poverty nor opposition from his wife, three daughters and a son have been able to stop him from following his green mission.

“Trees are my children. I worship God by planting and nurturing them. But I had to pawn my wife’s jewellery to repay the Rs 2 lakh loan I took to buy an autorickshaw as private financiers threatened to confiscate it and take away the only mode of transport I have to distribute saplings to the people,” Veerachari says.

Over the last three decades, he has explained to children the importance of planting trees in their schools and homes, and gifts books, pencils and pens to those who take the trouble to actually do so.

He even uses the cash awards he receives from various organisations to employ workers to plant more trees and distributes the seeds and saplings which he gets from the forest department free of cost to the people at village fairs.

 

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / By Vittal Shastri / Jun 05th, 2011 / DC / Hubli

 

Capt V Roopa: Flying High, and Back

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, , , , , , ,

BANGALORE:

If you’re likely to fly by the AI 804Bangalore to Delhi today, you’re privileged. An all-woman crew flight will be flying you. Bangalore-based Capt V Roopa will be in command, with Capt. Niranjana Ashok as co-pilot. The cabin crew will also be Bangalore-based Mohita Ponnappa, Sneha Annagiri, Shruthi Chowdhury and Rituparna Dasgupta. The same crew will return to Bangalore on AI 506.

Air India will operate 11 all-woman crew flights across domestic and international stations. These flights will also be mark 100 years of civil aviation in India. In December 1985, Air India operated the first all-woman crew flight in the world from Kolkata to Silchar on a Fokker Friendship F-27 aircraft.

Air India honours women by operating such flights on March 8. It will, for the second year running, operate an Ultra-Long Haul Flight from Delhi toToronto with a woman commander at the controls.

 

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Jayashree Nandi / TNN / Mar 08th, 2011