Sulabh Swachh Bharat - VOL: 2 | ISSUE 30

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Vrindavan Widows

Chandrayaan-2 Mission

Albert Einstein

The Making of a Legend

The primary objective of the 2nd Moon Mission is to search for helium-3 deposits

His genius changed the world in far-reaching ways that are still being understood today

We should aim for good health going beyond the health service

Violence, Torture, Scars – Vrindavan helped her forget it all

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RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561

A Good News Weekly

Vol - 2 | Issue - 30 | July 09 - 15, 2018 | Price ` 5/-

Arsenic-Affected areas in West BEngal

The villagers joined hands with NGOs to bring the world’s cheapest potable water at 50 paise per litre from the ponds contaminated by arsenic for years

E

SSB Bureau

very morning, Sapan Das goes to the water filtration plant in his village, established by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder, Sulabh International Social Service Organistaion. This is the only source of clean water as the tube wells in the vicinity have been found to be arseniccontaminated.

Das, like the others in his village, Madusudan Kati in West Bengal, had been drinking water from the wells for the last 20 years without knowing that he was drinking poisonous water, till he found symptoms of illness, which the doctors then detected to have been caused by the contaminated water in the village.

It was once a land where ground water was so contaminated by arsenic that many who drank it turned dark with its poison. Today, the same villagers are making a living by selling purified drinking water, a transformation brought about by the introduction of a cheap and effective surface water filtration technology introduced by Dr Pathak.

It has been a long journey indeed for the people of Madhusudankati, a village in what has come to be known as West Bengal’s “arsenic belt”.

“Since I was a child, I have seen how people around me suffered because of drinking local groundwater,” says Haldhar Sarkar, a retired engineer from Madhusudankati. Since the 1990s, ground water in parts of eastern India and Bangladesh have been found to be contaminated with naturally

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Cover Story Quick Glance

Every villager in Madhusudankati gets purified water for free Dr Pathak is happy his project is helping locals get clean water Villagers see the arsenic problem declining after using Sulabh Jal

July 09 - 15, 2018 used on a larger scale in rural West Bengal.

Four-step purification

The purification process is simple and low-tech.

According to Sulabh, the water from ponds or rivers is pumped into an overhead reservoir. It is then collected in a tank where a chemical, alum, is mixed at a desired rate.

The settled water is then passed through a slow sand filter, before being collected in a clear water reservoir. The water is then passed through activated carbon filters and membranes of varying sizes.

“This removes the finest contaminants from the water which will be treated with UV rays to make it totally bacteria free. The resultant treated water, which is free from all pathogenic micro-organisms, is then poured into 20-litre bottles and sealed.

The consumers either collect the bottles from the kiosk or it is delivered to their houses,” said Dr Pathak.

“We routinely send the filtered water for testing to Kolkata. In fact, it was recently even sent to a lab in the US. Every test has shown that it is free of all contaminants and safe to drink,” says Sarkar. Local villagers, he says, have also been very cooperative in ensuring that the pond used is kept as clean as possible – which is very important to maintain the quality of the drinking water. “We have erected a wall around it, but all the villagers know not to bathe or swim in the pond to keep it clean,” he says.

occurring arsenic, making it unfit for drinking. Drinking water laced with arsenic has catastrophic long-term consequences such as arsenicosis (arsenic poisoning) and cancer. “Over the years, I’ve seen villagers develop tumors’, skin problems and worse,” says Sarkar. While the West Bengal government set up a number of plants to purify groundwater in these areas, the projects were largely unsuccessful.

A paradigm shift occurred when Sulabh International’s experts met the French NGO 1001 Fontaines, an organisation committed to bringing safe drinking water to poor rural communities across the world. “We realised that the solution lay in purifying surface rather than ground water for drinking purposes,” said Dr Pathak. That is how the Sulabh Safe Drinking Water Project (SSDWP) came into being in 2014. Its first project was in Madhusudankati, and has been an unmitigated success.

Villagers are now able to obtain pure drinking water at the affordable rate of 50 paise per litre, even while others sell bottled-water upwards of Rs 10. Having consumed pure Similar Projects in different places drinking water for over a year now, the Sulabh has initiated similar projects in other parts of West Bengal — Suvasgram, villagers are reporting better health.

Bangaon, Murshidabad, West A recent survey conducted Midnapore, Nadia and Santiniketan. there found that even the victims All the plants are maintained by of arsenicosis who switched village-level committees, who to drinking Sulabh water in have also employed locals for the 2017 have seen rapid maintenance and home delivery improvement in their of water bottles in a 15 km health.

“A doctor radius on e-rickshaws. visits our village every “We work with local month. He has noticed field partners in each that there has been a of our sites,” says Dr significant reduction in Pathak. “They support skin problems, even Ground water the programme by lesions, amongst in nine districts providing land and villagers ever since of West Bengal ensuring source they have started including North of water.”

Setting drinking arsenic24 Parganas has up each site costs free water,” says severe arsenic about Rs 20 lakh.

Sarkar. contamination which The beauty of The water has affected around this technology purification 16 million people is that it can be tec h n o l o g y, in rural areas and implemented across developed by 12 million in urban India’s so-called the NGO, has areas arsenic belt – spread already been tested across West Bengal, in Cambodia and Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Madagascar but is being

I

n the last three years, West Bengal has witnessed a steep decline in arsenic-related diseases after setting up of a cheap and sustainable surface water purification plant.

“In course of periodic medical check-up of a group of patients suffering from arsenic-related diseases, it was revealed that this water purification system has become a boon for them [villagers],” Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the brain behind the water project, said.

“The villagers and local NGOs maintain this. It is a self-sustainable project with active participation from the villagers and generate employment,” Pathak said.

“This is the first time in the world that we have succeeded in producing pure drinking water at a very nominal cost by this new technology and villagers may get direct benefits,” he added.

“It is being sold at 50 paise after including other costs like distribution, storing, etc. Even people in neighbouring villages can also safely use this water,” the Sulabh founder further said.

Sulabh and the French organisation have also established pilot projects in North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Nadia districts of the state, where at many places people are forced to drink arsenic-

contaminated water.

Dr Pathak believes the entire problem of arsenic-contaminated water could be solved if the West Bengal government took interest and replicated the model.

Going beyond water from the Ganges that travels across almost 11 states before flowing into the Bay of Bengal, Sulabh has also tapped Bengal’s countless water hyacinthfilled ponds and put the water through a four-stage purification process. Dr Pathak knows his effort, as of now, is insignificant in a market worth over Rs 1,000 crore and growing at a whopping 40 percent rate, pushed by 1,200 bottling plans and 100 brands, but calls his efforts a giant move for the Indian water industry — words sounding as prophetic as the Neil Armstrong’s “a giant leap for mankind” in 1969.

Bottling System Inaugurated At West Midnapore

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r Pathak inaugurated an automated bottling system at the water purification plant that produces “SulabhJal”world’s “cheapest” potable water, at Chaksultan village in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district on June 30, 2018.

Accompanied by senior Bihar

BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi, Dr Pathak visited the project site on 30th June.

Saraogi, who represents Darbhanga assembly seat, said the water treatment project would be a great help in his area and parts of Bihar gripped with the arsenic problem.

Cover Story

July 09 - 15, 2018

03 07

Recovery Stories Of Arsenic Victims Pralay Mallick “I saw a ray of hope when I heard that a water purifying plant would be installed in our village,” local farmer Pralay Mallick said.

“I thought that our children would be safe.”

Laltu Rong The next step is Bihar, then Kerala and Tamil Nadu — states high on water bodies and accounting for one-third of the country’s bottled water business. “We are drinking – for the first time in our lives – bottled, purified water from the Ganges and the ponds. This is almost like a miracle,” says Laltu Rong, a villager who earns his bread as a mason.

Tapan Das “This is a revolution,” remarked Tapan Das, a villager of Tegharia when the 50 paisa per litrepurified water drawn from their own ponds was disbursed to them.

The accessibility of clean drinking water has come as a blessing for his family and village too as four member of his family have been suffering from skin diseases because of the arsenic ground water. At times the villagers used to go near Bangladesh border which is roughly 20 kms from there in search of clean water.

Gopal Krishna Das Gopal Krishna Das, 56, was one of the hundreds of victims with deep white wounds and shinny patches on his skin.

“We have seen the worst. Not just or indeed wherever villagers rely on ground water and rain-fed ponds and reservoirs for drinking water.

Further, in accordance with ‘1001 Fontaines’ mission, Dr Pathak and Sulabh have also worked out a unique entrepreneurship model to ensure the sustainable spread of this cheap and sustainable cheap water filtration method. “Selling cheap drinking water can be a viable rural enterprise as well as a social service,” says Dr Pathak. “In future, we hope to tie up with banks, rural financial institutions as well as corporate donors to finance more and more such projects.”

In India, arsenic contamination first surfaced in West Bengal in 1983 and over the years, other states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Manipur were also found to have been chronically exposed to arsenic

diseases, arsenic has even claimed the lives of our people, especially when we didn’t know what this exactly meant. The water from the treatment plant has given us new hope,” Das told.

Dilip Sarkar Dilip Sarkar, a veterinarian who developed skin cancer due to arsenic water, said villagers earlier used to buy water bottles from the nearby town. The cost was high and travelling daily was tiresome.

“We tried several measures earlier to get purified water from towns which had helped in the reduction of skin diseases,” Dilipsaid, recollecting how many in the villages who were unable to travel daily and buy water were affected by the diseases.

“With the discontinuity in the intake of filtered water, the skin diseases relapsed,” he said, showing his wounds that “are getting better now”.

Bhaban Mundal Bhaban Mundal, 52, a farmer says most of the tube wells in the villages here are contaminated with arsenic and “the water plants have come at the right time”.

“We had one tube well and used it for some time until its water was tested positive for arsenic. So we stopped drinking from it but we still use it for irrigation purposes.”

Mantosh Biswas Mantosh Biswas, 55, of Teghoria village in Pargana district told Dawn he remained uncured for 25 contaminated water from tube wells.

Free water for schools

Villagers like Sarkar are provided safe drinking water free of cost as well as free medicines and treatment. The anganwadis and schools in the area, too, do not have to pay for the bottled water.

The worst-affected villages apart from Madhusudankati are Farid Kati, Nagbari, Taghoria, Bishnupur and Gazna.

Bishakha Das from Taghoria and her sister have skin problems. Bishakha says her father and grandfather died of liver and skin cancer. Dr Sarkar says even the cattle in the area is affected.

According to workers at the plant, the sale of safe potable water has increased from 100 to 300 bottles a day within two years. The current production capacity is 5,000 litres; to meet the rising demand

years and that the government was always missing when it came to taking steps to reduce the spread of this menace in his village.

“Through surgery I was able to remove some patches from my body. But there seems to be no complete treatment,” he said.

“This new water plant has made me feel better, although I still have breathing problems.”

Manu Ghosh Access to affordable potable water has long been a dream for Manu Ghosh, a native of eastern India’s arsenic belt. Groundwater contamination there has poisoned for 500-600 bottles a day, a second tank would have to be installed.

According to Sulabh, the programme aims to provide affordable safe drinking water in affected rural areas through cost-effective treatment of water bodies, developing an entrepreneur model by training the locals and creating local management and infrastructure for operation. Madhusudankati Krishi Unnayan Samity, which manages the plant, is ploughing back the profit for the welfare of the region’s small and marginal farmers, says its chairman Haldar Sarkar.

Rains and contamination

A pathologist at the Mahakali Nursing Home near the plant, Dr Soman Ghosh said the groundwater here is high in iron. “The water turns red after keeping for an hour or so.”

and killed people for years.

“Groundwater is largely unsafe here and branded packaged drinking water is quite expensive for us,” Ghosh told.

She is delighted the Sulabh has found a way to provide much needed clean water at 0.62 rupees ($.01) per litre – about one-third of the market rate.

“We know this water is free from contaminants – most importantly from dangerous arsenic,” said Ghosh, a cook in Madhusudankati village, which lies 75km north-east of Kolkata. “It has come truly as a wonderful gift to poor people like us.”

He says contaminated surface water, especially during inundation in the rainy season, leads to a large number of diarrhoea and jaundice cases.

The people here say that during floods it is difficult to get surface water, and a large population is affected in villages like Nandapur and Singhchak; the water purifying plant is their saviour.

According to Sulabh, the use of purified water for the last two years has reduced the incidence of water-related diseases.

A plant for treating a dug-well in Haridaspur village was inaugurated in the last week of March. Commissioning the plant, Dr Pathak said his organisation has shown the way and it is for the government to set up similar plants in other affected areas. Studies have revealed that water in 79 blocks in

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Cover Story

July 09 - 15, 2018

Sulabh Gift To Gaighata Resident

Status of States

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bout 239 million people (around 18.8 per cent of India’s total population) across 153 districts in 21 states of India drink water that contains unacceptably high levels of arsenic. Over 65 per cent of Assam’s population is drinking arsenic-contaminated water. In terms of absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of people exposed to arsenic-contaminated water.

States affected with arsenic Affected Population

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he success story of Gaighata village has spread to other arsenic affected districts Determined to find a solution to their water problem, residents of the nearby village of Gaighata — many of who are members of the Madhusudan Cooperative Society — met with its chairperson Haladhar Sarkar to seek help.

“We are a large cooperative.

Around 145 women work with us in self-help groups and many suffered from skin infections which dermatologists identified as being caused by arsenic in the drinking water,” says Sarkar.

“We began making enquiries and learnt that Sulabh was working in this area. We reached out to them to find out if they could help us provide clean drinking water. We contacted (Sulabh founder) Dr Bindeshwar Pathak who agreed to help us,” Sarkar adds.

“The society owns one pond which is around 18-feet deep and is fed by rain water. The other two ponds are owned by local people, but they have been generous and did not hesitate to let us use it.

The society invested Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) in the project while Sulabh gave another Rs 10 lakh which helped with the equipment and other costs. We are now in a

eight districts of the State has arsenic contamination.

Doctors can see the difference

Subal Chandra Sarkar, a physician in Madhusudankati, has noticed the difference.

“Among people who have been using the Sulabh water for some months now, the occurrence of dermatitis, dysentery, some gynaecological diseases and other ailments, which are often triggered by overdose of arsenic in drinking water, have dropped considerably,” he told.

position to sell this purified water at 50 paisa per litre,” says Sarkar.

“We also bought a delivery vehicle that goes from house to house distributing 20 litres to each family per day. At present we sell 1,000 litresof water per day earning Rs 100,” adds Sarkar.

Dr Pathak, who inaugurated the pilot water purification project in Gaighata in February, is delighted at the villagers’ initiative.

Sulabh has been providing inputs for four similar drinking water projects in Murshidabad and Malda districts, with another coming up at AssiGhat in Varanasi.

Sumita Ghosh from Gaighata village is delighted with the scheme.

“I was admitted to a hospital twice for treatment of skin lesions on my feet and legs. I am happy that now my family can get clean drinking water,” she says.

Bullu Biswas,another Gaighata villager, sounds sceptical. “The scheme has to be kept up. It should not collapse as it often happens with government schemes,” he says.

Shantanu Ghosh, who works for the Madhusudan Cooperative Society, says, “Villagers continue to use untreated water for washing utensils, clothes and bathing. Our focus is that they drink treated water.”

“Sulabh water users too must have noted this. I am sure more people in Madhusudankati will switch to this water soon.”

Local Shital Ghosh – whose monthly income is about Rs. 4,000 ($64), happily spends about Rs. 450 ($7) a month on water from the plant.

“Some people in the surrounding area died of cancer and doctors said that they got the disease because they drank poisonous tube well water.

We have to be careful about choosing drinking water,” Ghosh said. “This Sulabh water does not carry that

Uttar Pradesh Bihar West Bengal Assam Punjab Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Haryana Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu Jharkhand Karnataka Jammu & Kashmir Chhattisgarh Delhi Orissa Manipur Rajasthan Himachal Pradesh Daman & Diu

70.1 63.3 41.6 21.2 7.4 7.4 6.8 6 4.6 3.7 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 0

Percentage of State population 32 60.7 44.3 65.1 25.4 9.5 10.8 21.7 5.2 5.3 4.6 2.1 10.2 4.6 2.9 1 12.9 0.4 2.1 0.3

As per data provided by Ministry of Water Resources in December 2017

Sulabh Water ATM

A unique Sulabh Jal (Water) ATM at Mahavir Enclave, New Delhi is providing cost effective pure and safe potable drinking water to public at the minimal cost

poison, many educated people said.

So, I have happily opted for it.”

Sulabh launched two similar plants in Murshidabad and Nadia districts where water from the Ganga River is being used to feed the Sulabh plants.

Dr Pathak said he is happy his project is helping locals get clean

water. “These three plants are basically part of a pilot project. We hope to launch more such plants to meet the need of the entire arsenicrisk zone of the state,” said Dr Pathak.

“We shall keep the price of this water as low as possible so that the poor people do not lose access to it.”

Vrindavan Saga

July 09 - 15, 2018

05 07

Reena Gupta

Violence, Torture, Scars – Vrindavan helped her forget it all Reena’s life was beautiful but then the 1971 horror happened…

Quick glance • Reena was leading a happily married life in Bangladesh • But the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide left her shattered • She decided to search for her peace, which Vrindavan gave

“The horrific scenes made me believe that the world is a lie, that humanity never existed. I was scarred emotionally”

n Ayodhya Prasad Singh

W

hen you least expect it, life throws you a curveball. And that is what happened with Gadchiroli’s (a district in Maharashtra) Reena Gupta.

Reena was married at the age of 12 to a 20-year-old man who hailed from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Despite getting married at such a young age, life was all sunshine and rainbows for her, all the while until 1971.

The horrors of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide turned hopes into despair for thousands and thousands who witnessed it, and one among them was Reena. The nine-month-long conflict saw military crackdown, ethnic violence, murders, rapes, and what not.

“People were being brutally slaughtered infront of our eyes. Houses were set on fire. Women were raped, killed and thrown into rivers. There were dead bodies lying around as far as the eyes could see. The horrific scenes made me believe that the world is a lie, and that humanity never existed. I was scarred emotionally.”

Reena and her husband finally escaped the disturbing environment when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi called back all the Indians living in the violence-hit region and provided them with assistance to start their life afresh.

Though the couple left the horror behind but it was all stuck in Reena’s head. She could not let go of the horrific sights she had come across. She had become like a living machine, losing the sense of reactions. Images of people being torched, butchered or raped would keep flashing infront of her eyes.

“I could not forget how the inhumane acts had blanketed our surrounding. It was like not for a moment my mind would rest. The scenes kept reeling infront of my eyes. The violence against women was especially what would keep me awake. The screams, the horror. It was all too much for me.”

In the course of time she gave birth to two children – a daughter and a son, with the hope that her and her husband’s life will get back on track. But that is not how easy life is.

Amid all the uneasiness and lack of peace and quiet in her head, Reena decided to visit the holy land of Vrindavan. It

was some 15-years-ago from now that she first set foot into the place. And ever since, that is where she would be found.

“When I left for Vrindavan, I had my doubts whether anything ever be able to erase those scars from my memories.

But I anyway proceeded with it. When I reached Vrindavan, its soothing aura, people and culture just captivated me.

Roaming around a few days only I started feeling a sudden lightness in my mind and soul. And so I realised that this is what I needed, this is where I belong.”

So Reena decided to stay back. She explained her feelings to her husband and children and bid them adieu. Yes it was difficult separating from them, she says, but this is what she really needed. She wanted to get lost in the prayers of Lord Krishna and Radha Rani and attain inner peace.

“My husband died four years ago. It was a painful time for the family. But Vrindavan eased my pain like it did in the past as well. Vrindavan has played the role of a pain-reliever in my life again and again. This place has given me what I had given up on – peace.”

Reena says that while Vrindavan gave her peace, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak and his Sulabh International Social Service Organisation has given her a way to lead her life here with ease and comfort. She doesn’t have to worry about anything, all is taken care of by ‘Lal Baba’ (alias of Dr Pathak).

She just sings bhajans in peace.

06

Sanitation

July 09 - 15, 2018

australia

The Prospect Of Recycled Water Not many are reconciled to the fact that “circular economy”, which is seen in the natural ecosystems, has to be replicated in the human habitations as well SSB BUREAU

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ustralia is First World country in the Far East, along with Japan and New Zealand, and its civic amenities conform to those of the developed western countries.

There are plenty of toilets, and the usual problems faced by poor people in developing countries in Asia and Africa are not those of the Australians.

But there is a hitch, though, and it is of a different kind.

Australia is a continent-country. It is the fifth continent. Large parts in the heart of Australia are desert stretch.

The settlements are on the south coast, a bit to the west and then to the southeast. Apart from the Murray-Darling, which is the country’s major river system, there are the artesian wells, and underground water tables with a rocky base. For a long time, the country did not have to worry about toilets and the sanitation system that went with it. But with population growth and climate change, Australian policymakers are forced to think of managing water supplies. They had two options.

The first is to build desalination plants, where the sea-water is made potable. It is a costly affair. Then

Quick Glance The sewage water is treated and used for drinking purposes Australian policy makers are forced to think of managing water supplies The government had to earmark funds for sanitation infrastructure

there is water-recycling. That is, the sewage water is treated and the water is used for drinking purposes. Perth, Australia’s western city, is already into using recycled water. And experts say that this could become the norm for the country. But the people are finding it hard to accept the fact.

The argument that is being put forward by the administration is that when urban habitations in Europe and other places use river water, like London uses water from the Thames, the water that reaches homes is treated because the river water is not potable and it needs to be treated. But Australians seem to be balking at the idea that they would be drinking water

Though citizens balk at the idea, in Australia, sewage water is being treated and then sent to homes for drinking purposes which has been recycled from sewage.

A more direct problem with regard to sanitation in Australia is the status of indigenous communities – the Aborigines – in Australia. A decade ago, Australian government had to earmark funds for sanitation infrastructure in the remote areas where the indogenous communities lives, and which did not enjoy the same facilities that the rest

of the white population enjoyed in the southern, coastal belt of the country.

A decade ago septic tanks and used pit toilets were what the communities had. Then the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Strategy on Water and Wastewater Services had provided funding for “centralized water treatment infrastructure”. Out of this, the Queensland government used

Sanitation

July 09 - 15, 2018 AUD8 million to improve indigenous councils’ capacity for secure and safe drinking water and wastewater services, while the New South Wales (NSW) government worked with the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to set up the Aboriginal Communities Water and Sewerage Program for the maintenance, operation and repair of water supply and sewerage systems.

About AUD 200 million over a 25-year period is allocated to 61 indigenous communities.

It has also been seen that the remote communities suffer from hygienerelated diseases at rates higher than the rest of the Australian population.

One of the reasons is overcrowding.

It was found that in 2014-15, 38 per cent of the indigenous communities in remote eras were living in crowded spaces compared to 13 per cent in the rest of the population. Twenty-eight per cent of them were living in a space where one or more of the facilities like washing clothes and bedding, safely removing waste, and/or for enabling the safe storage and cooking of food was not available or did not work quite as expected.

Though construction of houses was done to solve the problem of overcrowding, it has been noticed that not much was done to “promote healthrelated hygiene and behavior change”.

It was also noticed by researchers that in these indigenous communities living in remote areas use of soap and washing of hands, and absence of menstrual hygiene among women due to lack of privacy and cultural taboos as well as inadequate access to water is leading to health problems. There was also the persistence of “endemic Trachoma” an water-borne eye disease among these marginal communities.

According to the publication, “The Conversation”, in 2016 noted “As a developed nation, it might be assumed that Australia will easily meet these new goals at home – including goal

number 6, to ensure “availability and sutainable management of water and sanitation for all”. But the unpalatable truth is that many Australians still lack

Water Recycling Plant in Australia

access to clean water and effective sanitation.” It also refers to a Western Australia government report which said that drinking water in some remore areas was contaminated with “uranium, faecal bacteria and nitrates above recommended levels”.

Australia did not have a fullfledged sanitation infrastructure in its big cities in the south. The infrastructure grew over the early part of the 20th century. Like many other Western European and American citirs, Australian cities too had to experience the discomfort and ignominy of being dirty. Describing the Melbourne Sewerage System, the Institution of Engineers Australia says on its website, “Melbourne’s sewerage system was developed in a single mammoth effort in the 1890s.

However, before it was built there had been 60 years of complaint, make do, inadequate alternative proposals, and

07

ad hoc attempts at disposing of human and other waste. Until, 1897, the city did not have the facility for disposing off its waste, apart from the services of the night cart, and despite Melbourne’s well developed infrastructure, civic and commercial buildings and robust economy, it was known as “Marvellous Smellbourne”, to a great extent because of the raw sewage which lay in drains and cesspits due to inadequate collection and treatment facilities.”

Then the sewerage system was put in place with 2400 miles of underground sewers, steam-powered pumping station, a 16-mile gravitational Main Outfall Sewerand a Sewage Farm. After the Second World War, the system was extended to the suburbs which came up. The challenge that Australia faces then is that of social and poltical bias where the predominant white population neglects the needs of the marginalized indigenous communities.

Australian government, the political leaders and policy-makers have now turned their attention to the the distressing state of affairs in the vast and remote interiors of the land mass.

There seems to be the recognition that no civilized society can allow a section of its population to live in a deprived state, and that it does not reflect well on the country as a whole. It is also a fact that mere changes in policies and setting up the sanitation infrastructure would not be sufficient. There has to be participation on the part of indigenous communities through behavior change. It would require that the white population would have to display an inclusive attitude towards the indigenous communities if the water, sanitation and hygiene.

08

Environment

July 09 - 15, 2018

Electricity conservation

Setting The Norm For ACs

n Chandrani Banerjee

T

he new proposal of Ministry of Power to fix the starting temperature of room air conditioners (RAC) at 24 degrees is a step in the right direction, says Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). According to this, the current popular practice of fixing the starting temperature or switch ON temperature at 18-20 degree increases electricity guzzling. Comfort targets can be met at a higher temperature setting and at lower electricity consumption.

According to the estimates of the

Power Ministry, this new move can save 20 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in one year only if adopted by all consumers. At this stage, this is only an advisory to make people aware of high energy penalty associated with operating ACs at lower temperatures.

The Ministry has stated in its release that it may consider making this mandatory at a later stage.

This new move basically means that new RACs, when switched on, will start running at 24 degrees C temperature unless changed by the consumer. Currently, manufacturers are free to set the default temperature

at any level and often this can be lower than 20 degrees C or even 18 degrees C. This new step will make users more aware of the energy penalty associated with unnecessary lowering of AC temperature settings.

Speaking to Sulabh, executive director-research and advocacy, CSE, Anumita Roy Chowdhury, says, “This is, however, only a small part of the larger reform of the air-conditioning manufacturing, labelling and usage management sector that CSE has been asking for but this is a move in the right direction.”

While the new proposal has finally

Mandate temperature set points for RACs and centralised cooling systems in commercial and residential buildings, aligning with NBCrecommended optimum comfort level of 26°C got the AC industry’s nod, the initial attempts since 2016 to get the industry to agree with default temperature setting for ACs has faced resistance.

Publicly available minutes of an earlier meeting of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has shown the industry’s reluctance to accept such moves. In fact, the BEE’s proposal of the default set temperature of all air conditioners while switching ON at 27°C (which is in line with the testing temperature defined in IS 1391) was contested. Manufacturers had argued that if the ACs are programmed for default set temperature while switching ON, it will lead to discomfort to the user and it will always restart at 27°C instead of the set point preferred by the consumer.

To balance energy conservation and consumer comfort, the industry even suggested that a rider is added in the product user manual to state that “comfort zone for humans is 24-27°C, hence to conserve electricity and for comfort conditioning, air conditioner should be used between 24-27°C”.

The industry did not want this to be mandated, but has now agreed to temperature set points for RACs. It is also encouraging that the new release from the Power Ministry has mentioned that a similar temperature setting will be adopted for a centralised cooling system for commercial buildings that will include airports, hotels, shopping malls, official and government buildings (ministries and attached offices, state government and public- sector undertakings etc.

CSE would urge the government to expedite the process.

Comfort without freezing In India, the National Building Code (NBC) defines and regulates indoor comfort standards for all buildings in the country. This has been in place since the 1970s and the latest revision was issued in 2016. It says centrally air-conditioned buildings need to maintain temperatures in the range

Environment

July 09 - 15, 2018 of 23.5-25.5 degree Centigrade, while buildings with RAC can be comfortable at temperatures up to 29 degrees C and naturally ventilated buildings can be comfortable even at 34degree C. While there can be arguments against segmented definition of comfort, the bottom line is that it is deemed uncomfortable for all building types to have indoor temperature lower than 23-24 degree C during summer. There certainly cannot be any justification for RACs to be used for cooling down to 16-18 degree C. It may be noted that the NBC has already introduced adaptive comfort standards for buildings that use RACs intermittently to optimize energy efficiency and human comfort. This may guide further action on RACs. global good practice Those who are doubtful about the government’s role in setting temperatures for ACs and cooling systems should know that globally, indoor temperature settings are regulated as part of indoor health and comfort standards.

Japan’s environment ministry has been running a successful ‘cool biz’ campaign since 2005, seeking commercial establishments and households to voluntarily set their indoor temperature at 28°C during summer and recommending people to adopt comfortable and seasonappropriate dress codes. Japan recommends 28°C as a default setting even for RACs: the overall approach is to target attaining the optimum ambient room temperature of 28°C. It is expected that mechanical cooling devices will deliver on that target running at that range of thermostat setting. Even in Hong Kong, the indoor temperature requirement is set at 25.5°C. California, as part of its Standard Operating Efficiency Procedures, mandates that “the temperature setpoint should be no higher than 68°F (20°C) in winter and no lower than 78°F (25.6°C) in summer, unless such a temperature in a particular job or occupation may expose employees to a health and safety risk”.

Similarly, Harvard University has introduced a temperature policy mandating set points should range from 74-78°F (23.3-25.6°C) during

09 07

The way forward • Adopt effective energy consumption-based billing to discourage excessive and prolonged use of ACs • Tighten AC standards and make AC labelling more effective and climate-sensitive.

• Adopt a summer cooling action plan. For example, refer to international best practices such as requiring establishments to operate ACs at 26oC or above (as the one adopted by Japan and California).

• Adopt effective fiscal measures including more effective electricity pricing based on consumption to discourage indiscriminate usage.

• Create policy opportunities for use of natural ventilation, shading and daylighting to improve thermal comfort and reduce mechanical cooling of spaces.

summer. London School of Economics (LSE) has mandated 24 ± 1°C at all its facilities for summer. Its website sternly states: “This provides for an optimum comfort vs. environmental benefit.… we cannot accommodate personal preferences that fall outside the above parameters.”

India needs to act, too Such interventions to reduce the energy intensity of AC usage have become necessary, as even at low market penetration, the impact of ACs on energy demand is immense. ACs can use up 80 per cent of the household electricity budget. A recent CSE study has shown that almost up to 50 per cent of electricity used during summer months in Delhi is consumed only for cooling. This quantum is so big that it can power nine cities the size of Chandigarh during summer months.

Night-time peak demand for electricity can be higher than the day-time peak demand because of residential use of ACs. Such uncontrolled energy guzzling has enormous environmental and equity impacts.

A previous CSE study had also found that 5-star ACs consume on an average 20 per cent more energy than their labelling when outdoor temperatures hit 45°C, a common occurrence in northern India.

It also noted that their

The temperature settings in ACs will be in the range of 24 to 26 degree Celsius

The impact • According to the power ministry, this move can save 20 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in one year – only if adopted by ALL consumers. With a 1 degree drop in temperature set point of ACs, energy consumption increases by 6 per cent. This can upset the household and national energy budget and undermine energy security • According to the National Building Code, in India’s climatic condition people are comfortable between 24 degree C and 30 degree C. Unnecessary lowering of AC temperatures can increase electricity consumption significantly and must be regulated • ACs are energy-intensive and high emitters of heat-trapping CO2.

Unregulated usage can undermine energy insecure and aggravating environmental costs.

• The next steps should be to set a similar temperature setting for commercial buildings with centralised cooling facilities. Combine this strategy with energy efficiency measures of cooling down buildings with shading, ventilation and appropriate insulation and also moderate the demand for cooling with effectively priced consumption-based billing

cooling capacity dropped by 13-15 per cent. “We also tested ACs to run at 20°C indoor setting instead of standard requirement of 27°C and found that it led to a drop in energy efficiency by 15 per cent and cooling capacity by a staggering 20 per cent,” said Roy Chowdhury. These tests were done independently and it is certain that if these conditions co-exist (which they do regularly), the performance of an AC will be exponentially worse.

Cooling is not about refrigerating ourselves, but about feeling comfortable.

And comfort levels of buildings can be improved in many different ways other than setting RACs at lowtemperature levels. Proper

shading, ventilation, air circulation, and appropriate insulation is needed to cool down a building. Fans can bring greater comfort at lower energy cost if used with RAC at optimal temperature. But new AC-friendly building designs are eliminating fans.

The intensity and duration of AC use can be reduced substantially if buildings are designed more sensibly to reduce heat gain. Summer heat gets trapped by climateinsensitive construction and a highly concretized urban-scape.

Inappropriate architectural design and material used in the country such as glass-dominant structures, the predominant use of concrete, and inadequate shading etc trap a lot of heat. Even though the nights are cooler, buildings cannot release heat effectively, and hence require active cooling.

10

Chandrayaan-2

July 09 - 15, 2018 indian space mission

Moves For The Chandrayaan-2 Mission The main objective of the Second Moon Mission is to search for deposits of helium-3

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n Prasanta Paul

he spectacular success of India’s maiden moon mission ‘The Chandrayaan-1’ has made the scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) further ambitious; now they are quietly working on a mission no nation has undertaken ever.

The ISRO scientists have been planning to dispatch ‘Chandrayaan-2’ to the south side of the moon, not explored by any nation so far, to study the potential of mining a source of waste-free nuclear energy that could be worth trillions of dollars.

The primary objective of the second Moon Mission is to search for deposits of helium-3. Solar winds have bombarded the Moon with immense quantities of helium-3 as it is not protected by a magnetic field like Earth is.

Why helium-3? “It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear

NASA is slated to launch a rover in October next to explore virgin territory on the lunar surface and analyze crust samples for signs of water and helium-3. India does not want to lag behind either. The Chandrayaan-2 mission would solidify India’s place among the fleet of explorers racing to the moon, Mars and beyond for scientific, commercial or military gains.

At the moment, the governments of the US, China, India, Japan and Russia are competing with startups and billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson to launch satellites, robotic landers, astronauts and tourists into the cosmos.

The rover landing will naturally be one step in an envisioned series for ISRO that includes putting a space station in orbit and, potentially, an Indian crew on the moon. The government is yet to set a timeframe though.

“We are ready and waiting,’’ said Sivan, an aeronautics engineer who joined ISRO energy in a fusion reactor, in 1982. since it is not radioactive “We’ve The ISRO scientists have been planning and would not produce equipped to dispatch ‘Chandrayaan-2’ to the south dangerous waste ourselves to products,’’ the European take on this side of the moon, not explored by any Space Agency has said. particular This isotope program.’’ nation so far (helium-3) is limited on C h i n a earth, yet so abundant on is the only the moon that theoretically, it could as many as five, centuries, Kulcinski country to put a lander and rover on meet global energy demands for 250 said. Helium-3’s value, he estimated, at the moon this century with its Chang’e years if harnessed in a proper manner. about $5 billion a tonne, which means 3 mission in 2013. While China did not There are an estimated 1 million 250,000 tonnes would be worth in the disclose much of its mission results, metric tonnes of helium-3 believed to trillions of dollars. according to unconfirmed reports, be embedded in the moon. In reality, “The countries which have the the Chinese rover was believed to however, only about a quarter of that capacity to bring that source from the have discovered marks and traces on could be tapped and brought to earth, moon to earth will dictate the process; the surface of the moon that could be said Gerald Kulcinski, director of the I don’t want to be just a part of them, I linked to the alien presence. It’s only Fusion Technology Institute at the want to lead them,” ISRO chairman K but natural that China is keen to return University of Wisconsin-Madison later this year by sending a probe to the Sivam was quoted as saying. and a former member of the NASA As for the record, India’s The unexplored far side.

Advisory Council.

In the United States, President Chandrayaan-1 craft, launched in Nevertheless, the quarter of the October 2008, completed more than Donald Trump has signed a directive total helium-3 deposit is still enough 3,400 orbits and ejected a probe that calling for astronauts to return to the to meet the world’s current energy discovered for the first time molecules moon, and NASA’s proposed $19 demands for at least two, and possibly of water in the surface of the Moon. billion budget this fiscal year calls for

Science

July 09 - 15, 2018

How The Payload Will Land On Moon

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fossil

150-mln-yr-Old Turtle Fossil Discovered The fossil will be displayed at the geological museum of Qijiang, China

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launching a lunar orbiter by the early 2020s.

In sharp contrast, ISRO’s estimated budget is less than a tenth of that – about $1.7 billion; but accomplishing feats on a slender budget has been a hallmark of ISRO since the 1960s.

The upcoming mission is likely to cost about $125 million or less than a quarter of Snap Inc. co-founder Evan Spiegel’s compensation last year, the highest for an executive of a publicly traded company, according to the Bloomberg Pay Index.

ISRO has packed a lot in the upcoming launch of Chandrayaan-2; it includes an orbiter, lander and a rectangular rover. The six-wheeled vehicle, powered by solar energy, will collect information for at least 14 days and cover an area with a 400-meter radius.

The rover will send images to the lander, and the lander will transmit those back to ISRO for analysis.

Interestingly, the presence of helium-3 was confirmed in moon samples collected during the Apollo missions, and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt, a geologist who walked on the moon in December 1972, is an avid proponent of mining helium-3.

However, there are numerous obstacles that are to be overcome before the material can be used; this, of course, includes the logistics of collection and delivery back to Earth and building fusion power plants to convert the material into energy.

Those costs would obviously be stratospheric!

“If that can be cracked, India should be a part of that effort,’’ said Lydia Powell, who runs the Centre for Resources Management at the

New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. “If the cost makes sense, it will become a game-changer, no doubt about it.’’

Again there is another rider; it won’t be easy to mine the Moon.

Only the U.S. and Luxembourg have passed legislation allowing commercial entities to hold onto what they have mined from space, said David Todd, head of space content at Northampton, England-based Seradata Ltd. The fact remains that there isn’t any international treaty on the issue.

“Eventually, it will be like fishing in the sea in international waters,’’ Todd said. “While a nation-state cannot hold international waters, the fish become the property of its fishermen once fished.’’

The Indian government is already careful about the influx of commercial firms in space by drafting legislation to regulate satellite launches, company registrations and liability, said GV Anand Bhushan, a Chennai-based partner at the Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. law firm. But it doesn’t cover moon mining.

What does India’s one and an only astronaut have to say about this? Is he on board with other nations for turning the moon into a place of business?

According to Rakesh Sharma, who spent almost eight days aboard a Russian spacecraft in 1984, nations and private enterprises instead should work together to develop human colonies elsewhere as Earth runs out of resources and faces potential catastrophes such as asteroid strikes.

“You can’t go to the moon and draw boundaries,’’ Sharma was quoted as saying. “I want India to show that we’re capable of utilizing space technology for the good of people.’’

n agency

turtle fossil dating back 150 million years to the Jurassic Period has been found in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality.

Farmer Liu Changyu found a turtle-shell-shaped “rock” while in Qijiang district.

Liu’s daughter uploaded photos to WeChat, which were spread and spotted by the district’s land resources and housing management bureau, said Xie Xianming, director of the geopark management department of the bureau.

Invited by the department, paleontologists from the municipal exploration bureau confirmed it was a fossil of a snake-necked turtle from the Jurassic Period.

The fossil will be displayed at the geological museum of Qijiang.

Qijiang is rich in geological resources, including a cluster of dinosaur and primitive fish fossils.

Jurassic turtle fossils were previously found in Chongqing and in the neighbouring Sichuan province, but it is the first time for a snake-necked turtle fossil was found in the area.

wireless device

To Detect Heart Dysfunction Handheld heart monitor can detect heart dysfunction in cancer survivors

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n IANS

wireless device was comparable to cardiac MRI in accuracy when detecting heart dysfunction in childhood cancer survivors who were treated with anthracycline chemotherapy, according to a study.

Childhood cancer survivors are urged to undergo screening for the detection of heart dysfunction as a result of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.

However, screening with echocardiography can be highly variable and limited. In this study, researchers evaluated the feasibility of using a wireless prototype device to detect heart abnormalities in

this population.

The protype handheld device, called Vivio, collects pulse waves and phonocardiogram data form the carotid artery. The data are then wirelessly sent to a mobile device where it can be interpreted.

Vivio measures the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to collect measurements in detecting signs of abnormal heart function. The study included 191 patients who were diagnosed with cancer before 22 years of age, had completed their treatment at least two years prior and been exposed to anthracycline chemotherapy.

12

Cleanliness Drive

July 09 - 15, 2018

Leave No Trace

Aiming to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission, Debendranath Bera, a BJP activist from West Bengal, has set out on a unique journey

Swachh Bharat

Cyclist On A Unique Journey A Bengal cyclist will travel across India on a cycle which does not have brakes, or even a seat, to promote Swachh Bharat n Milinda Ghosh Roy

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peeding cars pulled over and pedestrians stopped by on a busy central Kolkata street seeing a middle-aged man strangely bending forward on his bicycle and spinning the front wheel with his hands. But while the cyclist’s incredible balance impressed many, his aim to achieve the nearimpossible seems more stunning.

Aiming to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission, Debendranath Bera, a BJP activist from West Bengal, has set out on a unique journey to travel more than 22,000 km across the country’s 33 states and union territories on a bicycle that neither has brakes, nor a seat nor a rolling chain that runs bicycles.

A resident of West Midnapore district’s Sabang, Bera started his voyage from the district’s Debra

block on June 17, with his nephew who would accompany him across the country on a normal bicycle.

Before restarting his journey from BJP’s state headquarters at central Kolkata’s 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane, Bera claimed he would not only create a world record but also hoped to influence thousands of people about cleanliness if he got their support and encouragement.

“I will travel more than 22,000 kilometres. I will go the capitals of all 29 states in India and a few union territories to spread awareness about the Swachh Bharat Mission. It will take me almost a year to complete the journey on this bicycle. I hope to inspire people to fulfill the government’s dream of building a ‘Swachh Bharat’ (clean India),” said Bera, who has been practising the art of riding the rather peculiar contraptions for the last 25 years.

“My cycle does not have any brake, gears, chain or seat. It is extremely tough riding such cycles for a long time, let alone travel across India.

I seek support and encouragement from everyone to complete my journey. I hope to see my name in the Guinness World Records as no one has ever travelled on a cycle like this,” he said.

A stuntman by profession, Bera has often left locals mesmerised with deadly feats like pulling big buses with his hair or lifting pick up vans on his chest. However, the 45-yearold said his mission to travel across India is the closest to his heart as he is doing it for a noble cause.

Bera and his cousin Akash Kumar Karan would enter Assam from Bengal and travel through northeastern states. They would then go to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, before traversing the rest of the country.

Motorcyclist On A Multi-nation Anti-plastic Mission He has planned beach and city clean-up initiatives in plastic pollution and what India is doing to fight it n Vishnu Makhijani

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ith India estimated to generate 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, media professional Abhimanyu Chakrovorthy, 31, is all set for a 10,000 km crowd funded motorcycle expedition through India and five neighbouring Southeast Asian countries to spread awareness of its pernicious effects and to encourage people to shun its use.

“I have always been environmentally conscious about issues such as climate change and wildlife, and I used to practice this concept of outdoor ethics called ‘Leave No Trace’ in the Himalayas where you pick up your own waste and dispose it off properly.”

“I am also a motorcycle enthusiast who has toured quite extensively across India. So this presented a unique opportunity to merge my two passions: Motorcycling and addressing the menace of plastic pollution in Southeast Asia and India. Hence this trip from New Delhi, covering more than 10,000 km, travelling to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Nepal to raise awareness on plastic pollution,”

Toilets Record

July 09 - 15, 2018 Chakrovorthy told in an interview.

How exactly will it work on the ground?

During the journey, through tie-ups with NGOs and schools in the five countries, he has planned beach and city clean-up initiatives and will conduct short sessions/presentations with them on the global scenario in plastic pollution and what India is doing to fight it.

kumbh mela

Yogi Eyes Guinness Toilets Record At 2019 Kumbh The Uttar Pradesh government has invited the Guinness jury to check out creating 1.5 lakh toilets at the Prayag Kumbh Mela site

“Through these workshops, I will share knowledge about India’s waste management system, and also learn from them their solutions to the plastic pollution problem.

The focus of my work will be on reducing, reusing and recycling waste as much as possible. Through this trip, I plan to document plastic consumption in these countries and their waste management processes,” Chakrovorthy explained.

The planning, he said, had been quite a nightmare. For instance, he figured it would cost Rs 70,000 one way through Myanmar and at least Rs 80,000 one way through Thailand.

“At this stage, a friend told me about (crowdout sourcing platform) Milaap.

This presented some hope because I couldn’t bear the cost on my own.

So I got down to work and prepared my statement of purpose over one week for the trip to be advertised on Milaap.

My target is Rs 3 lakh and till now I have reached just Rs 40,000 but I am hopeful my story will resonate with people and some funding comes through Milaap. I believe the momentum against plastic pollution is strong and through this trip I will highlight all the challenges,” Chakrovorthy explained.

What about the back-up for the journey?

“I am positive that Plan A will work out, because there’s still some time to raise funds (through the platform). I am also in talks with a few potential sponsors who might come on board to help me out with resources.

However, the Plan B is to simply skip Nepal and put my bike on train from Imphal (on the return leg) to New Delhi in case I fall short of money.”

What of the future?

In the near future, I will be organising few more clean-ups in association with embassies and institutions by asking them to moderate their consumption so that less waste ends up in our ever-increasing landfills, Chakrovorthy concluded.

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n S Shukla

he Yogi Adityanath government is all set to stake its claim in the Guinness Book of World records by constructing 1.5 lakh toilets and declaring 3,200 acres of the Kumbh Mela Ground area open defecation free (ODF) for the world’s largest religious congregation in January 2019 at Sangam in Allahabad.

The state government has already sent an invite to the Jury of Guinness Book of World Records to visit Allahabad and verify its claims.

Organised every three years, the Kumbh Mela 2019 is going to be bigger than even last Maha Kumbh in 2013. Showcasing the mega event globally, the Yogi Adityanath has already sanctioned Rs 2,500 crore to execute as many as 216 projects for the Kumbh Mela, divided into 20 sectors.

About 14 crore devotees from around the world are expected to throng Triveni Sangam, the confluence of holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati during the 49-day-long Kumbh Mela 2019.

Spread in an area of 20 km radius, over 10 lakh tents will be erected in the world’s biggest-ever ‘Tent City’.

“The focus is on health, hygiene, safety, security and enhanced worldclass experience to those visiting

Over 10 lakh tents

will be erected in the world’s biggest-ever ‘Tent City’ the Kumbh 2019,” said Vijay Kiran Anand, the Kumbh Mela Officer.

To meet up the sanitation challenge, the Yogi Adityanath government has sanctioned over one fifth or Rs 550 crore for construction of a record 1.5 lakh modern toilets.

A workforce of 15,000 sweepers is being deployed for maintaining these toiletswhich will be linked with underground pipelines to take away the sewage to outside the Tent City. Since the Yogi Adityanath government has extended an invitation to NRIs and foreign missions in 190 countries, a record 3 to 4 million foreign visitors are expected to arrive during Kumbh Mela.

The Mela office said, “The state government is pitching a place in the Guinness Book of World Records on two main grounds.

Firstly, nowhere in the world has such a large number of toilets been constructed at one place. Secondly, the entire Tent City will be declared ODF to achieve total sanitation which is almost next to impossible when a temporary city is created.”

“We are sure to get a place in the Guinness Book of World Records on our world-class toilet project for the Kumbh Mela. Nowhere in the world, such a massive total sanitation activity has ever taken place,” claimed Ashish Goel, the Commissioner Allahabad.

Besides this record-breaking feat, Kumbh Mela 2019 will have many firsts to its credit. A record 3 crore devotees will take a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya falling on February 4, 2019. For the first time, Allahabad has been linked with Air route for foreign tourists and about 150 special trains will be run by the Indian Railways to take visitors to Allahabad.

The State government has already hired Prasoon Joshi’s McCann Worldgroup India for showcasing the mega event globally. Foreign missions from 75 countries have already given their confirmation to participate in the world’s biggest ever and holiest Hindu religious congregation in Allahabad.

A special Tent City is being erected for about 5,000 foreign dignitaries. It will have the best of the tent accommodation and world-class facilities including wifi, modern toilets and kitchen with food of their choice.

About 45 4G towers, 38,000 LED lights, 42 police stations, 40 fire stations, 20,000 police personnel, 1,000 CCTVs, over 500 drone cameras, 1,100 lifeguards, special 20,000 capacity pandal for yoga and meditation etc are some of the notable features which the coming Kumbh Mela will have.

The Allahabad Railways Station is being expanded and modernised to handle a bigger crowd and ensure that 2013 like a stampede was not repeated again.

For the crowd management, the Indian Institute of Information and Technology Allahabad has developed software which will not only manage the crowd but will keep a ‘third eye’ through video footage on the behaviour of the crowd.

14

International Personality

July 09 - 15, 2018

Albert Einstein

Genius Who Outshines Geniuses His genius changed the world in farreaching ways that are still being understood today

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n Urooj Fatima

lbert Einstein (18791955) was the pre-eminent scientist in a century dominated by science. The touchstones of the erathe Bing Bang, the Bomb, quantum physics and electronics, all bear his clear imprint.

“I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.” — Albert Einstein In the arena of scientific achievement and the quest to discover genius, Albert Einstein stands alone.

He remains a profoundly important figure who undertook extraordinary, groundbreaking work that not only shaped the pillars of modern physics but greatly influenced the philosophy of science. Quite literally, Einstein changed the way we see and travel across the world and cosmos. He was responsible for the world’s most famous equation and for discovering the theory of relativity, considered to be mankind’s highest intellectual discovery.

The embodiment of pure intellect, the bumbling professor with the German accent, a comic cliché in a thousand films, Albert Einstein was

Born Died Nationality Languages known Awards

Education

Parents Spouses

Appeared in films

March 14, 1879, Ulm, Germany April 18, 1955, Princeton, New Jersey, United States German, Swiss and American German, French, English Nobel Prize, Max Plank medal, Gold medal of the royal Astronomical society, Franklin Medal, Honorary degree, Matteucci Medal, Copley Medal, Barnard Medal Luitpold gymnasium, Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (Swiss Federal Polytechnic School) Hermann Einstein | Pauline Einstein Mileva Mari (1903-1919) Elsa Einstein (1919-1936) The Eternal Jew (1940) | Naqoyqatsi (2002) | Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995) | Atomic Power

unfathomably profound - the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed.

Even now scientists marvel at the daring of general relativity (“I still can’t see how he thought of it,” said the late Richard Feynman, no slouch himself). But the great physicist was also engagingly simple, trading

ties and socks for mothy sweaters and sweatshirts. He tossed off pithy aphorisms (“Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one’s living at it”) and playful doggerel as easily as equations. Viewing the hoopla over him with humorous detachment, he variously referred to himself as the Jewish saint or artist’s model. He was a cartoonist’s dream come true.

Einstein’s Miracle Year (1905) While working at the Swiss patent office, Einstein did some of the most creative work of his life, producing no fewer than four groundbreaking articles in 1905 alone, and he was just 26 years old. First paper, QUANTUM THEORY OF LIGHT, second article, BROWNIAN MOVEMENT, third and most famous article, ON THE

International Personality

July 09 - 15, 2018 ELECTRODYNAMICS OF MOVING BODIES, and a fourth paper in which he demonstrated the link between mass and energy that led to the idea of nuclear energy today, E=mc2 (where “c” was the constant speed of light) expressed this relationship.

After making his name with four scientific articles published in 1905, he went on to win worldwide fame for his general theory of relativity and a Nobel Prize in 1921 for his explanation of the phenomenon known as the photoelectric effect. An outspoken pacifist who was publicly identified with the Zionist movement, Einstein emigrated from Germany to the United States when the Nazis took power before World War II. He lived and worked in Princeton, New Jersey, for the remainder of his life.

Did You Know? One day during a speaking tour, Albert Einstein’s driver, who often sat at the back of the hall during his lectures, remarked that he could probably give the lecture himself, having heard it so many times. Sure enough, at the next stop on the tour, Einstein and the driver switched places, with Einstein sitting at the back in his driver’s uniform. Having delivered a flawless lecture, the driver was asked a difficult question by a member of the audience. “Well, the answer to that question is quite simple,” he casually replied. “I bet my driver, sitting up at the back there, could answer it!”

The Saga of Einstein’s Brain The parietal lobe in Einstein’s brain was 15% larger than that of an average brain.

In 1955, after the death of the famous physicist and scientist, his body was cremated and ashes scattered. However, the only part of his body that was retained by pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital while conducting his autopsy was his brain, (eyes too).

Thomas Harvey was later fired from the hospital for not returning Einstein’s brain, which he removed during the autopsy.

Many years later, Harvey sent slices of Einstein’s brain to various scientists throughout the world. One of these scientists was Marian Diamond of UC Berkeley, who discovered that compared

to a normal person, Einstein had significantly more glial cells in the region of the brain that is responsible for synthesising information.

In another study, Sandra Witelson of McMaster University found that Einstein’s brain lacked a particular “wrinkle” in the brain called the Sylvian Fissure. Witelson speculated that this unusual anatomy allowed neurons in Einstein’s brain to communicate better with each other. Other studies had suggested that Einstein’s brain was denser, and that the inferior parietal lobe, which is often associated with mathematical ability, was larger than normal brains.

Did You Know? Einstein skipped the Nobel Prize ceremonies to take a trip to the Far East. “I have decided definitely not to ride around the world so much anymore; but am I going to be able to pull that off, too?” he wrote to his sons after his 1922 trip to Japan. Unlike most of us, for Einstein travel was more than an escape from the mundane.

Speech difficulty in childhood Einstein did not speak until the age

of three. He revealed this fact about the delay of his speech abilities to his biographer. Today there is a term, “Einstein Syndrome,” which was coined

by Dr Thomas Sowell, to describe exceptionally bright people whose speech is delayed.

A simple man Einstein believed and wished that people should be respected for their humanitarian work and thoughts, and not for their nationality and origin. In this context, expressing his cynicism for nationalistic pride, he once said: “If relativity is proved right, the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, and the Germans will call me a Jew.” Did You Know? NO SOCK! Part of Einstein’s charm was his disheveled look.

In addition to his uncombed hair, one of Einstein’s peculiar habits was to never wear socks. To Einstein, socks were a pain because they often would get holes in them.

Gandhi a Two of the nd Einstein letters becau greatest thinkers of the communicat se of their admiration fo 20th century interacted ion r In 1931, phy , the two geniuses never each other. Despite the through sicist Albert m written Einstein wro et face-to-face. te a le tt er to Mahatma Respected M Gandhi I use the pre r. Gandhi se n ce of your frien You have sho d in violence evenwn through your works, thour home to send you th w We may hop ith those who have no at it is possible to succee ese lines. countr y, and e that your example will t discarded the method o d without all, that will tawill help to establish an inspread beyond the bord f violence. er te ke decisions and replace w rnational authority, resps of your ected by ar conflicts.

With sincere admiration, Yours (Signed, ‘A . E instein’) I hope that I will be able to meet you face to face some day.

Gandhi’s resp onse LONDON, O ctober 18, 19 31 DEAR FRIE ND, I was delig through Sun hted to have your bea d the work I amaram. It is a great consoutiful letter sent la indeed wish doing finds favour in tion to me that your sight. I that we could too in India at d m my Ashram. eet face to face and thato Yours sincere ly, (Signed, ‘M. K

. Gandhi’)

15 07

Smoking habit Einstein loved to smoke. One could see the trail of smoke behind him when he walked from his home to his office. In 1950, after accepting a life membership in the Montreal Pipe Smokers Club, Einstein said he believed “that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.”

Did You Know? Almost immediately after Albert Einstein learned of the atomic bombs use in Japan, he became an advocate for nuclear disbarment. He formed the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists and backed Manhattan project scientist J Robert Oppenheimer in his opposition to the hydrogen bomb. But Einstein himself did not create the atomic bomb or even work on the Manhattan Project. He later regretted his involvement, telling Newsweek that “had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing.”

The power of play “A new idea comes suddenly and in a rather intuitive way. But intuition is nothing but the outcome of the earlier intellectual experience.” — Albert Einstein was very fond of music, and learned to play the instrument at the tender age of five. He said once, “If I were not a scientist, I would be a musician.” Einstein named his violin ‘Lina’. Einstein took breaks from his work to play the violin. Beethoven favoured “long, vigorous walks” in which he carried a pencil and blank sheet music. For some, it’s walks and breaks in the day. For others, it’s applying time to a deep interest in areas that are completely different from their professional work. In addition to music, he was a proponent of ‘combinatory play’ — taking seemingly unrelated things outside the realms of science (art, ideas, music, thoughts), and blending them together to come up with new ideas.

It’s how he came up with his most famous equation, E=mc2.

He also plays the piano. Music helps him when he is thinking about his theories. He goes to his study, comes back, strikes a few chords on the piano, and jots something down, returns to his study.

Did You Know? When Albert Einstein was working in Princeton university, one day he was going back home he forgot his home address. The driver of the cab did not recognise him. Einstein asked the driver if he knows Einstein’s home. The driver said “Who does not know Einstein’s address?

Everyone in Princeton knows. Do you want to meet him? Einstein replied “I am Einstein. I forgot my home address, can you take me there? “The driver reached him to his home and did not even collect his fare from him.

16

July 09-15, 2018

NITIN GADKARI Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

W. H. Auden

VIEWPOINT

SAving the stuff of life

Celebration and Determination

The aim of celebrating World Population Day is day is to raise awareness among citizens

W

o r l d Po p u l at i o n Day is celebrated annually on 11th of July. It has been in existence for almost three decades now.

The observation of this day began back in 1989 when the Governing Council of United Nations Development Programme recommended that there should be a day dedicated to population issues.

Population control is a matter of global importance and thus it is imperative that people be aware of ways to control population growth. Some of the most important measures include education, availability of contraceptives, delayed marriages, etc. Education, especially women’s education, can be a big help as far as this issue is concerned as an educated woman realizes the benefits of having a small family. Availability of contraceptives is extremely essential as well. These tools help in avoiding unwanted pregnancies and births, which is a big reason behind population explosion. Another good measure is delayed marriages.

According to a report by UN, there will be a notable decline in population if the legal age permitting marriage is raised to 20 years. Thus, a little effort by the governments and citizens would go a long way in ensuring the comfortable survival and progress of the human species.

Editor-in-Chief

Kumar Dilip Edited, Printed and Published by: Monika Jain on behalf of Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation, owned by Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation Printed at: The Indian Express Limited A - 8, Sector -7, NOIDA (UP) Published at: RZ - 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam - Dabri Road, New Delhi - 110045 (India) Corporate Office: 819, Wave Silver Tower, Sector - 18, NOIDA (UP) Phone: +91-120-2970819 Email: editor@sulabhswachhbharat.com, ssbweekly@gmail.com

Water conservation by various means is now an absolute necessity

W

ater is a cross cutting element of sustainable development and for poverty eradication. It is key to food, energy and health security, and therefore it is not surprising that water is covered under many Sustainable Development Goals. There is enough water in the world, but many people do not have access to it due to problems of water management. Sanitation remains a major issue. Further, demography, pollution and urbanization are putting additional challenges on management of water. I believe that political will is extremely essential for water governance, finance and education.

The key to promote sustainable water management and to explore synergies with other water related aspects of the SDGs calls for cooperation at all levels across all sectors and stakeholders including the sharing of knowledge, experiences, innovations and solutions.

Water, forests, land and animals are invaluable gifts from God, and development could be ensured only if these were preserved.

We have to adopt a scientific approach in the planning and conservation of water in order to ensure a balance.

We must enhance our efforts to conserve nature including plantation to ensure availability of water. We also have to work to

convert waste into wealth with the help of technology. We can revive our rivers by using technology. A river is alive only when it flows from one source to other.

Cleaning the Ganga is our top priority while the next priority is to maintain flow in the river through Aviral Ganga. We are also working for cleaning the ghats along the river besides cleaning the tributaries of Ganga and seasonal nullahs. Ganga is a symbol of our religious life, heritage and culture. We are doing our best to achieve 100 percent cleaning of the holy river. Right now, the project is focusing on liquid waste management to be followed by solid waste management to prevent the flow of garbage into the river.

For identifying drains directly flowing into the river, we have taken services of Google for identifying such nullahas (drains) and one such drain is Sisamau nullah in Kanpur which people know even in London.

The objective of Ganga cleaning is conversion of waste into wealth and supplying recycled water to urban local bodies, thermal power plants of NTPC and methane gas to Indian Oil Corporation produced from bio digesters.

The surplus water of Indravati (in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district), which meets Godavari, will be taken to Kaleshwaram

Water, forests, land and animals are invaluable gifts from God, and development could be ensured only if these were preserved

July 09-15, 2018 dam. From there it will be transferred to two other dams and again from there it will be pumped to the tail end of Cauvery.

The backwater of Polavaram dam will be channelled into Krishna river, from there to Pennar river (in Karnataka) and again from there to Cauvery. So, we will be able to nearly solve the water problems of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

Around 3,000 tmc ft of the Godavari’s water flows into the sea. Socio-economic changes can be attained even if 1,000 tmc ft of it is held and transferred to the waterscarce region. Initially 300 tmc ft water would be transferred from the Godavari to the Polavaram project through Nagarjuna Sagar dam and to River Krishna. After that water will be conveyed to Somasila dam (in Andhra Pradesh) on the Pennar and from there it will be taken to the Grand Anicut (in Tamil Nadu) on River Cauvery.

We should also focus on pilot desalination plant (to be installed on scrap ships) in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin to gain potable water at Rs 5 paise per litre. It will be a cost-effective, technology-based intervention, which will save water while fulfilling needs. We need to conserve water wherever possible with the help of the government and people.

The water problem can we solved if we learn to conserve and use the water available with us. The need of river connectivity, construction of Barrages, Dams, Rubber dams and Bandhas, drip and piped irrigation in the country and the need for water circuits in the country on the lines of power circuits for better water conservation.

Enhancing drip and pipe irrigation will reduce wastage of water and will be cost effective for farmers. River connectivity programme can reduce water crisis in critical areas like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra. The government has planned 30 river linking programmes.

We need to study advanced technologies and procedures like cloud bursting and water accounting being used in other parts of the world, and adopt those that are feasible for our country.

A lot of people and organisations are doing very good work in this field, and we need to network them on a single platform.

Many departments are doing the same kind of work to achieve the same objective, but there is a lack of proper coordination and information sharing among them. In my suggestion a website should be created for sharing available resources, information and best practices available in different parts of the country.

We are taking steps for development and management of water resources in sustainable manner through improved water assessment, equitable resource allocation, improved efficiency, pollution abatement, conservation and water harvesting and providing safe sanitation.

OpEd

17

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

He is a spiritual leader, frequently referred to simply as “Sri Sri” or as Guruji or Gurudev

upfront

Significance Of OM It is in all the religions in some or the other form

O

m is called the sound of one hand clapping. Om is the eternal sound; Om is the sound which is there in the universe all the time.

All the saints in the past, when they went deep into meditation, they just heard Om. So, Om means many things. It means love, eternity, purity, peace.

Om is made up of several dhatus: ‘Ah’ ‘Oo’ ‘Ma’. Just ‘Ah’ has 19 meanings.

You can derive some several thousand meanings from Om. All those meanings are attributed to Om, so Om is the seed of the whole creation; Om is the sound of creation.

In Bible too, it is said, ‘In the beginning there was a word and the word was with God and the word was God’. That is Om.

There they don’t say which word; the word is Om. It is in all the religions in some or the other form. That is the true name, ‘Ek Omkar Sat Naam’. Om means truth. It is the name of the infinity or the Divinity. It means love. It is the origin of the universe.

There is a beautiful verse in the Guru Granth Sahib, which begins with ‘Ek Omkar Sat Naam, Karta Purakh’ – From Om everything has come, in Omeverything dwells, and

letters to the editor 0/2017-19

N NO. DL(W)10/224

POSTAL REGISTRATIO

08 Writer Who Chose ‘Bitter Truths’ Gorky is regarded as the founder of Socialist Realism

10 Green Lungs vs Concrete Jungle The title Van Mahotsava means “the festival of trees”

24

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The Making of A Legend

Vrindavan Saga

Schemes for the welfare of special sections

When the unexpected knocked on her door

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Green lungs vs concrete jungle

After reading this article I came to know about the van Mahotsav festival. According

to this festival, I think people should follow the principle of growing more plants and more forest in order to save the planet. This festival is all about letting people to feel the importance of greens. India is highly populated country so as to maintain healthy living, planting trees can be extremely affective in slowing down global warming and It also help in reducing pollution as they make the air cleaner. It not only helps from pollution but also help to provide food resources and shelter belts to people.

Neelima Chettri, Nagaland

Please mail your opinion to - ssbweekly@gmail.com or Whatsapp at 9868807712

into Om everything will dissolve; both matter and consciousness.

The best thing is that it is a complete vibration.

‘Ah’ affects the lower part of the body, ‘Oo’ affects the middle part, ‘Ma’ affects the upper part. The total prana is represented by one syllable Om. Before birth, we were part of that sound and after death we will merge with that sound; the sound of the spirit. So, you can say many things about Om. There is a whole Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad, which is all about Om. Now, why don’t we take only Om as a mantra? Why do we need any other mantra to chant during meditation? Before meditation, you chant Om and create the vibration, but for meditation you need different mantras. Just Om is not used; Hari Om or Om Namah Shivaya, or something else is used along withOm. Only recluses, those who want to do nothing with the world, or are very old are allowed to do chant Om. Even then, it is not advisable.

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18

Photo Feature

July 09 - 15, 2018

The bea ut y that is K ash mir Kashmir has always been more than a mere place. It has the quality of an experience, a state of mind, an ideal PHOTO: Sipra Das

July 09 - 15, 2018

People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re in Kashmir. And that is what makes it the ‘Heaven on Earth’. The beauty, the environment, the culture and the people - all things that make Kashmir the beauty that it is

Photo Feature

19

20

Exhibition

July 09 - 15, 2018 on birds

A photographer’s abiding romance with the avian world

Birds Of Vibrant Feathers T

n Siddhi Jain

ill about seven years ago, birds for photographer Prerna Jain came in various shades of black and grey and generally created a lot of noise and a mess. It all changed when she started viewing the avian world through her camera lens and discovered a vast spectrum of colours.

“I have spent all my adult life in New Delhi but it was not until about seven years ago that I started to observe how many beautiful birds shared my immediate environment as their home. “Up until then, I had only noticed pigeons, crows and mynas and I judged them for being noisy and messy in public areas.

However, when I started to see the world through my camera lens, I felt like I had been given new eyes,” Jain, whose photo exhibition “Birds of Delhi” was on view at the Indian Habitat Centre, told in an interview.

“I suddenly found myself faced with vibrant purple, green, blue, golden yellow - colours that one can hardly expect to miss, especially when they are on birds which routinely fly past or perch within one’s regular eyeline. I noticed the variety in size - birds smaller than my fist, as well as birds the size of a basketball. Not just the colours and the size, I started hearing beautiful songs that birds sang at all times of day,” Jain added.

She began to wake up early every morning and go to her terrace to observe birds and photograph them.

India, in particular, is home to over 1200 avian species, out of which 87 species are globally hreatened

“I was staggered by the sheer diversity of the different species of birds that visited my home across the seasons and at various times of the day. Initially, I had no idea what any

of these beautiful winged creatures were called, and I gave my picture folders names like “the mustard bird” or “the sparrow with a shiny beak”, Jain explained.

Asked where she finds the birds, Jain listed multiple sites. Some shots have been taken in her own backyard in Greater Kailash, where a variety of birds nest often temporarily. Jain also photographed in Okhla Bird Sanctuary in south Delhi and in the Sultanpur National Park on the national capital’s fringes.

Today, after photographing some 40 species of Delhi’s birds, Jain’s collection includes birds like starlings, mynahs, tailorbirds, storks, herons, vultures, flamingoes, cuckoos, kingfishers, owlets, woodpeckers, cranes, parakeets, sunbirds, waterhens and sparrows -- Delhi’s state bird.

Admitting that she still doesn’t know a lot about birds, Jain said she had certainly learnt the names of many birds and has gradually started to understand more about them by observing

and reading about them. To that extent, the exhibition is not about documenting the birds of Delhi, she said.

“My purpose of exhibiting these pictures is to make people aware of the beautiful world around us which we seldom take time to observe and acknowledge in our busy lives. Once we start observing, we will realise that the bird population is dwindling at an alarming rate. It is said that healthy bird populations are an indication of a healthy environment.

“Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, yet we have so many different species of birds. It’s time we appreciate our feathered friends and create a conducive environment for them so that they can flourish,” Jain maintained.

As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List data, as of 2015, it has been established that, globally, 1,375 bird species (13 per cent of the total, or roughly one in eight) are threatened with extinction.

India, in particular, is home to over 1200 avian species, out of which 87 species are globally threatened. This means they could be Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild.

Education

July 09 - 15, 2018 punjab

21 07

A Lord Gives Back To Rural Punjab Through Education

Rana is originally from Punjab, left India in 1955 for England

Diljit Rana, one of the UK’s top businessmen, has set up educational institutions in Punjab’s rural belt

It is situtated next to Harappan excavtion site at Sanghol district

H

n Jaideep Sarin

e may have built a fortune and become a member of the British House of Lords but when it comes to love for the motherland, he is a deeply rooted person.

Lord Diljit Rana, one of the UK’s top businessmen, has set up educational institutions in Punjab’s rural belt to bring quality education to students in remote villages of the agrarian state.

The Cordia Education Complex, which is located right next to the Harappan excavation site at Sanghol village, around 40 km from Chandigarh, in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district, has been set up by Rana with the aim of bringing quality education to a backward and rural belt of Punjab.

“I decided to bring quality education in Punjab’s rural belt as the majority of the students from the villages did not have the means to go and pursue higher studies. Our first college started functioning in 2005. We now have six colleges, offering graduate and postgraduate courses,” Rana told in an interview at the complex.

The Lord Rana Edu-City is spread over 27 acres and offers courses in

business management, hospitality and tourism management, agriculture, education, vocational training and skill development.

“I chose Sanghol to set up the educational institutions as my mother, Jwala Devi, was from here. The project involves lot of commitment, time and funding. The students coming here are mostly from government schools in rural areas. It is a challenge to educate them,” Rana said.

Rana, originally from Punjab, left India in 1955 for England “without any intention to settle abroad”. Starting from scratch in Belfast in Northern

Ireland, Rana worked hard to build a 60-million pounds business empire dealing in restaurants, hotels and trading.

However, even though he launched the education project in rural Punjab as a noble initiative, Rana rues the fact that he had to face red tape and bureaucratic hurdles.

Rana says the minimum requirement of 35 acres of land for setting up a university campus was coming in the way.

“Planning laws are outdated here.

There are many universities across the world which has much less land. They are world famous universities. Things need to change here,” Rana pointed out.

“Grants worth nearly Rs 2 crore, meant for Scheduled Caste and

Quick Glance

To bring quality education in remote villages

Scheduled Tribe students, which the Punjab government had to reimburse, have been pending for over two-anda-half-years, resulting in a cash-flow problem for us,” he stated.

He said that finding quality faculty to teach in rural areas was also a hard task.

“I visit India every 3-4 months to ensure that the project runs smoothly,” he said.

Rana, who himself comes from a refugee family from Lyallpur (now in Pakistan) that saw India’s partition in 1947, said that his family was “possession-less” when they first arrived in Indian Punjab.

Despite over 25 bombings at some of his establishments during the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, Rana remained resilient and steadfast to the trouble-torn region and ended up as a successful and highly respected businessman in the United Kingdom. He even facilitated peace initiatives in Northern Ireland and the British government recognised his services Appointed Honorary Consul General of India in Northern Ireland, Rana is also the president of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin.

Rajasthan

Milk To 62 Lakh School Children

T

he Rajasthan government will provide milk thrice a week to 62 lakh children studying in government schools and madrasas under its Annapurna Milk Scheme, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said.

“Parents work very hard to ensure that their children get proper nutrition.

Now, parents of 62 lakh children studying in government schools and madrasas need not worry. The state has started its Annapurna Milk Scheme for the young population.

Our future will be bright once these children start getting milk as part of their midday meal,” Raje said while announcing the scheme at a state-level function at a government school in Dahmi Kalan .

Students till Class 5 will get 150 ml of hot milk thrice a week while those in Class 6 to 8 will get 200 ml milk.

The Chief Minister directed officials to accord priority to

Students till Class 5 will get 150 ml of hot milk thrice a week while those in Class 6 to 8 will get 200 ml milk milk producers’ committees run by women for the supply of milk to schools under the scheme.

She highlighted innovations carried out in the state education sector, adding that vacancies of school teachers had been filled and model schools set up in all panchayat samitis.

Earlier, Education Minister Vasudev Devnani said that the milk scheme will prove to be a milestone in ensuring better nutrition for school children.

22

Health

July 09 - 15, 2018

body water

side effects

Drinking may be associated with changes in the metabolite profile which includes reduced brain grey matter in adoledcents

ay Red M u is

ce

It wouldn’t be pretty as your body is 60 per cent water

Th

Body and brain minus water... beware!

W

R

n ssb bureau

Junk food

egular consumption of alcohol, even in moderate levels, can adversely affect young people, especially girls both their metabolism as well as volume of grey matter, a study has found.

The findings showed that drinking may be associated with

er

hat would actually happen to your body if you stopped drinking water, including all beverages that contain water, like juices, soft drinks, and tea?

Well, let’s start by saying it wouldn’t be pretty - your body is made up of 60 percent water. All that water works hard to ensure that you continue functioning properly, by transporting vital nutrients and hormones to where they’re need to go.

But we lose a whole lot of it through processes such as urination - about 1.5 litres a day - defecation, and sweating, so we need to know when we should be upping our intake.

That’s where the ‘thirst centre’ of the brain, which is located in the hypothalamus, comes in. It’s constantly communicating with the blood vessels to figure out how hydrated you are, and when your hydration levels drop below ideal, your brain will tell you that you need to drink something now.

So what happens when you don’t? It’d take a little while, but eventually your brain would start to shrink in size, and you’d feel light-headed and have a higher tolerance for pain.

Studies have also shown that a thirsty brain is a less efficient one, with dehydrated participants’ brains requiring more oxygen to perform a task.

Then comes the lack of peeing and swallowing, the nausea, and the delirium. Nobody ever said it would be pretty.

is socially acceptable,” said Noora Heikkinen from the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Moreover, heavy-drinking adolescents also showed increased concentrations of 1-methylhistamine -- formed in the brain from histamine produced by immune responses --, which, in turn, was associated with reduced brain grey matter volume. “Our findings suggest that the production of histamine is increased in the brains of heavy-drinking adolescents.

This observation can help in the development of methods that make it possible to detect adverse effects caused by alcohol at a very early stage,” Heikkinen said.

“Possibly, it could also contribute to the development of new treatments to mitigate these adverse effects.”

In the study, published in the journal Alcohol, the team analysed data on metabolite profiles from heavy and light drinking young adults. They also used MRI to measure their grey matter volumes.

The study sheds light on biological implications of adolescent drinking, and could contribute to the development of new treatments.

Grey Ma t t

n BEC CREW

Source: abenaitwecliff.wordpress.com

changes in the metabolite profile which includes reduced brain grey matter -- involved in muscle control, sensory perception, self control.

The risk of these changes was found to be higher among heavy drinking adolescent girls.

“The study observed metabolite profile changes even in young people who consumed alcohol at a level that

Night-time Craving & Sleep Deprivation

A

re you in the habit of snacking in the middle of the night? The research showed that poor quality of sleep seemed to be a major predictor of junk food cravings, and it was associated with a greater likelihood of participants reporting obesity, diabetes and other health problems.

Laboratory studies suggest that sleep deprivation can lead to junk food cravings at night, which in turn leads to increased unhealthy snacking at night, which then leads to weight gain. This connection between poor sleep, junk food

cravings and unhealthy night time snacking may represent an important way that sleep helps regulate metabolism.

A phone-based survey conducted for this study analysed data from 3,105 adults.The results showed that about 60 per cent of the participants reported regular nighttime snacking and two-thirds reported that lack of sleep led them to crave more junk food.It is associated with double the increase in the likelihood of night time snacking, which was associated with an increased risk for diabetes.

Off-Beat

July 09 - 15, 2018

23 07

the funny side

Lakshman Biradar

UAS Goes All Out To Promote Millet Raichur,has been doing its bit to encourage millet cultivation by setting up a millet-based food processing unit on its premises n G Ulaganathan

L

akshman Biradar, a middle-aged farmer of Raichur, never considered millets as a good investment option in drought-prone Karnataka. But as the state embarks on a mission to revive millet cultivation and its use in the country, Lakshman has been reaping benefits by sowing millets for the past two years.

Karnataka has been pitching strongly for nutrient-rich millets.

And due to the state’s initiatives, the Centre has even declared 2018 as the ‘National Year Of Millets’.

University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Raichur, has been doing its bit to encourage millet cultivation by setting up a millet-based food processing unit on its premises. It purchases raw millets from farmers and sells diversified millet rice and bakery items to people living inside and outside the campus at a reasonable rate. This has boosted both the production and popularity of millets.

“The processing unit established between 2014 and 2016 has given a boost to millet farming in the region.

Processing at UAS is comparatively cheaper, and since there is no involvement of middlemen, farmers of Hyderabad-Karnataka region save a lot of money. I grow foxtail millet, and have been selling the produce to

UAS, Raichur for the past two years,” says Lakshman. Different varieties of millets are grown in Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir and Ballari districts.

To help the local farmers, the minimal price processing is also done.

This means the growers, apart from selling millets can give raw millets to the University for processing and the farmers, in turn, can sell it in the market on their own.

The processing is done at Rs 6 per kg. Foxtail millet, brown top millet, corle, finger millet, proso millet and barnyard millet are used for preparing rice and semolina (rava), while foxtail millet is used to produce bakery items such as cupcakes, muffins, puffs, dilpasand, biscuits, rusks and bread.

The bakery items have huge demand and on a monthly basis, the university sells 1,000- 2,000 pounds of bread, 25-35 kg of biscuits, 5,000 to 10,000 cupcakes and over 100 puffs per day. While bakery items are mainly sold in the market at a reasonable price, rice and semolina sell like hotcakes inside the UAS campus itself.

“Demand for millet products is on the rise in the state. Millets are more nutritious and rich in minerals and fibres than wheat, and processing units were established at the UAS under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY),” says Agricultural Processing and Food Engineering.

People Love To Be Angry These Days The Internet, and particularly Facebook and Twitter, are magnets for the Super Angry n Nury Vittachi

are mostly limited to the Western media. These days, the Asian his columnist once wrote media does the anger thing in some to a friend gently suggesting countries, while in others, news that he was not cut out to items are bland and emotionless. be an anger management therapist.

In some Indo-China nations, the He replied in capital letters: “SO. first item on the TV news is always WHAT. ARE. YOU. SAYING?” the same: “Premier cuts ribbon.”

People love being angry these Sometimes the entire news bulletin days, and the problem is getting is the premier cutting various worse. Looking at Facebook, I feel ribbons. Aliens intercepting those I need to stand well back. transmissions must think this is a “The aviation industry suffers planet in which fame and fortune the most,” said a reader who go to men who can use scissors. works in that sector.

But elsewhere, the She showed me a news modern love of anger People love can have bad results. report expressing outrage being angry A few days ago, the about an airline which threw a passenger off the these days, New York Times told flight “because she was the shocking story of and the breastfeeding”. Another a bird scientist who was about an airline problem is did his job: He caught which ejected a man “for getting worse and dissected a bird having a tattoo”. as a specimen for his “But not one of them museum’s million-piece happened as reported,” said the research collection. An angry woman, who did not want her web-surfer published his name on name printed. “In each case, the the Internet as a “bird murderer”. passenger was actually thrown off The scientist got so many angry for breaching industry-wide safety death threats that he needed police rules. But journalists prefer to protection. say it was because the person was The Internet, and particularly breastfeeding or whatever because Facebook and Twitter, are magnets anger gets all the clicks.” for the Super Angry. One of my A typical case was reported last social media friends thunders: “I December. Just as a Delta Airlines don’t need anger management. plane was about to take off from Everyone else needs stupidity Atlanta, a man rose from his seat management.” To him, life seems and went to the toilet. The crew horribly unfair. “When Thor booted him off the flight -- so he throws his hammer he’s a hero. called reporters and told them: When I throw a hammer I need “It’s because I’m black.” therapy,” he grumbles. Stand well The good news is that such cases back. Literally.

T

24

Toilet Awards

July 09 - 15, 2018

Winners include a James Bond-themed loo on a mountain top, a toilet that makes you feel you’re in a forest, and an airport where guide dogs can poop indoors very much in comfort Overall winner (top right) – the James Bond themed bathroom at Piz Gloria, Murren, Switzerland (and then clockwise from there) the town centre loos at Cummins, South Australia; Hotel La Jolla, San Diego; Bowl Plaza, Lucas, Kansas; Saskatchewan Science Centre forest bathroom, Canada; and Brisbane Airport accessible rest rooms

toilet awards

It’s Toilet Tourism Time Again!

Six toilets popular with tourists around the world have officially been crowned and are ascending their thrones for 2018

T

n Carolyn Childs

he six toilets in tourism destinations around the world that have won coveted titles in the 2018 International Toilet Tourism Awards. Submissions were received from tourism destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The toilets were judged for their design, quirkiness, location, accessibility, and economic contribution to their locality.

Best Design – The Saskatchewan Science Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan,

Canada The design for the newly refurbished 2nd floor restrooms was inspired by the boreal forests of northern Saskatchewan. There are floor to ceiling visuals of the deep forest and audio of birdsong and woodland sounds. Whole wall panels are covered in immersive images of the calming deep Canadian forest by award winning photographer Todd Mintz.

Best Economic Contributor – The Cummins Mosaic Loo, Cummins, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, Australia

The local community converted a bland red brick toilet block from the former railway station into a public loo with personality. Due to word of mouth, tourists now seek out the rest rooms, which feature statues, mosaics and paintings reflecting a more genteel bygone era from the early 20thcentury. Local businesses now benefit from passers by stopping to visit the old fashioned themed restrooms in the centre of town.

Best Location – Hotel La Jolla, Shores Drive, La Jolla, California, USA Sitting on the 11th floor overlooking

La Jolla and the sea, the restroom offers a breathtaking view of the coastal urban village of La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.

Best Accessible Toilet – Brisbane Airport, Queensland, Australia Brisbane Airport’s upgraded accessible toilets have been designed to exceed accessibility legislation.

Dedicated changing places facilities allow for specialised equipment such as an adult change table, hoist and a toilet with removable hand rails for people with severe disabilities. The spacious, flexible design makes travel accessible to thousands of people with disabilities and their carers, many of whom were previously deterred from travelling. Sophisticated digital reporting ensures constant cleanliness.

Quirkiest Experience – Bowl Plaza, Lucas, Kansas, USA Bowl Plaza is a public restroom with bling! The restrooms, which took four years to build, are now a major attraction in Lucas, the small town grassroots arts capital of Kansas. The bathroom’s walls are covered inside and out with detailed mosaics created by local residents and artists. The entire building is shaped like a toilet tank. The entrance is designed like a raised toilet lid with benches that represent the curved toilet seat. The sidewalk to the loos flows from a large concrete toilet roll.

Overall Winner and Category Winner for Overall Contribution to Toilet Tourism – The James Bond Loos at Piz Gloria, Murren, Switzerland Located at 2970m at the top of Mt Schilthorn in Switzerland, the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant and visitor centre has embraced a James Bond theme since the location was used as Blofeld’s Lair during filming of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

Refurbished in 2017, the toilet experience now has James Bond audiovisual effects: Bond girl Diana Rigg appears in the mirror when men wash their hands. There’s a sign for men in the toilets saying, “Shake, don’t stir” and “Aim like James.”

The ladies’ loo has music and a shot ringing out as an image of James Bond appears in the mirror beside a bullet hole. In the ladies restroom there’s an audio of Bond saying, “Tonight, my place – just the two of us.”

Entertainment

July 09 - 15, 2018

25 07

Make Up is Art, Beauty is Spirit’ S aira

B anu

H olds

B oth

vintage style portrayed by Saira for light-hearted drama in a film Banu. Real beauty never fades and like Shagir. Her electric comic Saira Banu is an echo of the past interactions with IS johar saw her still flourishing in the present. She bagging the Filmfare best actress was not an accomplished dancer nomination. like many other actresses yet she She fell in love with Dilip Kumar earned a great success through her who was 19 years older than her. hard work.

Saira Banu was just 22 the time she Fashion enhanced her got married with legendary icon magnificent beauty. Her concerted Dilip Kumar. She faced hard times acting skills along with sense later in the marriage when of style gave out breathher husband was involved taking prominent in an extra-marital moments on screen. affair, but the couple She was always survived because comfortable of the strong bond “I am no martyr with her unique of love. She was but I regret n gitanjali chettri She started out when she was dressing. She vivacious and Dilip nothing” merely 16 but gradually gradually changed the Kumar intense and he Embodies the Natural reached the pinnacle where nobody image of an Indian handsome. They Saira Banu Beauty of the Soul could reach her. Only some have the woman in a saree also created magic Undoubtedly she is the rare opportunity of becoming an and made it look on screen. Saira Banu ultimate diva who is beyond astonishing star on their very first scintillating with her always dreamed comparison on screen, her alluring film. Saira thrived because of her laid back and childlike of marrying only beauty was as delicate as filigreed debut in Junglee which coincided innocence. She was Dilip Kumar. She silver. In a male-dominated film with the onset of the era of colour the perfectionist when it comes to learned Urdu for Dilip Kumar spoke industry, Saira Banu was amongst and Kashmir in Hindi films. clothes. She shone like a star on excellent Urdu. Right from the the top class actresses. She She is a creative artist who is the sky. She always demanded to childhood she had always dreamed surmounted histrionic limitations still in the minds of the people. dress as per the occasion. She was of becoming a super star and to as she was the biggest glamour icon. She has an adorable beauty that the stylish actress par excellence by marry the man of her dream Dilip She was the beauty that radiated matches her style and elegance. many.

Kumar. warmth.

The younger generation follow the She showed surprising fair Ever since after her marriage, most of the films didn’t line the pockets of the distributors as success chose to play hide and seek. After her marriage, Saira preferred looking for dramatic roles.

Her valiant attempts to establish n an interview to me several have grown up. Some know how to a reputation as an actress after years ago, Dilip Kumar said: conduct themselves well, others not Gopi,Sagina and Bairag all with “I’m grateful to God for so well. I’ve to deal with both kinds.

Dilip kumar met with very limited giving me such a girl as a friend Saira ji helps me to sift through all success. and companion, who has given the people I’ve to connect with, They were the golden couple everything to me. I’m indebted to almost like a woman who separates of Bollywood. She was once the her in every possible way. When the wheat from the chaff. She has a trend-setter of Indian cinema but anyone calls, when anything needs much higher designation than a wife her marriage has in one way blown my attention, Saira makes a note. in my life. Sometimes she gets angry, away her professional life. In 1976 There’s no aspect of my life that she with or without reason. Even now she decided to end her acting doesn’t touch with her generosity. she’s monitoring and observing me. career. She weathered a storm in No, not possible. Saira keeps me in She’s constantly making me repay her marriage but she primarily touch with what’s going on around my debts to my audience and well concentrated on being Mrs Dilip me. The children of yesterday wishers.”

Kumar.

S

Dilip Kumar on Saira Banu

I

26

Sports

July 09 - 15, 2018

DIEGO MARADONA

The Flawed Soccer Genius From the Hand of God to shooting a journalist; one of the greatest footballers of all time, the life of Diego Maradona has been governed by two things - football and controversies Chehak Nasa

A

t the age of 25, Diego Maradona was the central figure of the 1986 World Cup challenge. The short, stocky midfielder scored two goals against the English. The first was cause for great debate, as he had hit the ball with his hand, an illegal move.

Maradona had shrugged it off, saying, “from the hand of God to the head of Maradona.” He apologized four years later on Italian television as reported in the Chicago Tribune, “It was my hand, not His. I don’t want anyone to think God robbed someone, rather it was Maradona who did the robbing.”

The second goal, however, guaranteed him a place in soccer history. Having controlled the ball for over half the field, guarding it against the English midfield and defence, he slid the ball off his left leg into the net. Many experts, football critics, former players, current players and football fans regard Maradona as the greatest football player of all time.

Diego Armando Maradona Franco, born 30 October 1960 in Buenos Aires, is an Argentine Former footballer. He has served as a manager and coach at other clubs as well as the national team of Argentina. Maradona was given his first soccer ball by his cousin, on his third birthday.

Young Diego slept with the ball that night.

Maradona is only 165 m or 5 ft. 5 in tall which is funny and surprising as it has given him a great advantage over his counterparts.

His extraordinary vision, passing,

A Glimpse into his life He made his professional debut at age 15 and full international debut at age 16 with Argentina’s national team.

He won the Golden Ball award at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He was the UNICEF Brand Ambassador.

In 1999, he was bestowed with the Diamond Konex Award for being the ultimate sportstar of the decade.

Maradona’s autobiography Yo Soy El Diego (I am the Diego) was a bestseller in his home country.

His second goal against England in the quarter-final during the 1986 world cup was voted ‘Best Goal Ever’.

ball control, dribbling skills and speed, reflexes, reaction time together made a deadly combination for the opponents to handle.

Maradona on his peak almost got the Argentina number 10 shirt retired in his honour. This was rejected and it’s probably safe to say that Lionel Messi was happy with the outcome.

Lionel Me s s i recently revealed that it was Diego Maradona who served as his inspiration to become the living legend that he is now.

The finest moment in Maradona’s career was the 1986 World cup where he single-handedly led Argentina to a World Cup glory and won the Golden ball making him a legend in the football world. He scored on the most controversial Goals in the history of Football called ‘Hand of God’ and in the same game scored the greatest goal in the history

The finest moment in his career was the 1986 World Cup where he singlehandedly led Argentina to a World Cup glory

of Football. The prodigy’s life has been governed by two thingsfootball and controversies.

In 2005, Maradona was handed his own Argentine television show named, La Noche del 10 (The Night of the no. 10). Surprisingly, his main guest on the opening night was Pelé. The two had been at loggerheads for years but showed no signs of this on the show. Maradona has always been the people’s favourite; he almost topped all the fan polls.

He was given the nickname ‘El Pibe De Oro’ which when translated to English is Golden Boy. This nickname stayed with him throughout his career. His outstanding skills of the game simply made him a great star. He was unstoppable.

Iglesia Maradoniana or the church of Maradona is an Argentine based religion which worships the player of the century, Diego Maradona. Football is a religion for the Argentines and as every religion has a God, Diego Armando Maradona turned out to be theirs. And just like every other religion Iglesia Maradoniana also has its own customs which include ‘love football over all other things’, ‘defend the colours of Argentina’ and ‘ do not proclaim the name of Diego in the name of a single club’. The team Argentinos Juniors which was joined by Maradona at the age of 10, named their ground Estadio Diego Armando Maradona to honour him.

The world will probably never see a Maradona again!

Curious & Curiouser

July 09 - 15, 2018

27 07

The mystery of how the Easter Island statues got their colossal hats may finally have been solved

easter island

The

Statues

Mysterious

How on earth could you ever lift and fit this hulking headwear?

PETER DOCKRILL

I

t’s a towering problem, one to stump the most determined of milliners. You’ve carved almost 1,000 immense statues standing up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. And now you want to put their hats on.

There’s just one problem. The hats, like the graven colossi themselves, are hewn out of solid rock, and weigh weigh several tonnes a piece. How on earth could you ever lift and fit this hulking headwear?

This ancient puzzle is just one of many posed by the strange stone legacy of Easter Island, whose unflinching moai statues maintain their silent vigil many centuries after the mysterious collapse of the Polynesian Rapa Nui society that erected them.

“Of the many questions that surround the island’s past, two tend to stand out,” explains anthropologist Cari Lipo Binghamton University.

“How did people of the past move such massive statues, and how did they place such massive stone hats (pukao) on top of their heads?”

Researchers already solved the

first part of the puzzle. For decades, archaeologists have experimented with various methods of ‘walking’ the moai – rocking replica statues from side to side along prepared paths, ever slowly inching the towering figures forward.

It’s kind of like shuffling a fridge into a new kitchen (although decidedly more epic).

But what about the world’s heaviest hats? In a new study, Lipo and his team suggest that the cylindrical

pukao – with diameters up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) and weighing 12 tonnes – may have been rolled across the island from the red scoria quarries they were cut from.

That’s how they were transported to the moai, but to lift them onto the statues’ elevated heads, props – and a little physics trickery – would be needed, with a ramp-and-ropes technique called parbuckling.

“In parbuckling, a line would have been wrapped around the pukao

cylinder, and then people would have pulled the rope from the top of the platform,” says Lipo.

“This approach minimises the effort needed to roll the [pukao] up the ramp. Like the way in which the statues were transported, parbuckling was a simple and elegant solution that required minimum resources and effort,” Lipo adds.

The solution may seem simple in hindsight, but to show that the hypothetical rig would have been workable for Rapa Nui islanders required building detailed 3D models of 50 pukao and 13 red scoria cylinders found on the island, and calculating how the huge hats may have been pulled up the inclined ahu platforms.

“Transport equations based on Newtonian physics, human strength estimates, and estimates of moai height and pukao mass at four different ahu verify that pukao transport by rolling up a ramp is physically feasible with 15 or fewer people,” the researchers write, “even in the case of the most massive pukao (about 12 metric tonnes).”

This technique means it wouldn’t have required a huge number of peoples or resources to construct and assemble the moai and pukao, which helps discredit the view that the Rapa Nui may somehow have helped destroy their own civilisation through overpopulation taxing the island’s natural resources.

“Instead, we see moai and pukao carving and their transport as vivid cultural expressions of groups in a challenging and competitive environment,” the authors write.

“Multiple lines of evidence, including the ingenious engineering to ‘walk’ statues and top them with massive stone hats, point to Rapa Nui as an odd story of success in a most unlikely place.”

And yet, for all that ingenuity and coordinated effort, most of the pukao are sadly no longer affixed to the moai heads. Centuries of weather, erosion, and animal activity have seen the majority of these rock hats fall back to Earth, where they rest crumbled and damaged around the island surface – which is one of the reasons you rarely see this monumental headwear in photos of the iconic statues.

28

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODAR MODI: the making of a legend”

July 09 - 15, 2018

Welfare Schemes FOR HEALTH

Mission Indradhanush

Creation of Government Super Specialty Hospitals In 2003, in the time of the NDA government, a scheme was initiated to establish six new AIIMS and to upgrade six hospitals on the lines of AIIMS. By extending this scheme the present government has decided to establish 11 new AIIMS and upgrade 58 colleges which were established by the previous governments.

Approval for the new AIIMS in the states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh has been given. New AIIMS is also proposed in Assam, Himachal Pradesh,

Jammu and Kashmir (2), Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

The government has taken steps in the field of health. We want to extend our full support in time of illness. We should aim for good health going beyond the health service.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Convergence of PIO and OCI Card People of Indian origin and nonresident Indians were being issued separate types of cards.

The facilities received through these cards were also different.

Now, a single card in the name of Overseas Citizen of India is being issued which facilitates lifetime Visa besides many other facilities.

Nearly 2 lakh cards have been converged so far.

Wherever in the world is my fellow Indian, we do not see the colour of the passport. Colour of the blood is sufficient, relation of the mother earth is sufficient.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Through this movement, free vaccination is given to the children and pregnant women to protect them from seven fatal diseases like TB, Polio, Hepatitis, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough and Measles. More than 2.8 crore children and more than 55.4 lakh pregnant women have been vaccinated under this initiative.

To make maternity and pre natal tetanus and polio free nation, my government has started world’s largest immunisation program ‘Mission Indradhanush’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

July 09 - 15, 2018

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODAR MODI: the making of a legend”

29

Welfare Schemes FOR NON-RESIDENT INDIANS ‘Madad’ Portal For integrated redressal of the complaints of Indians residing in foreign countries, Madad portal has been established by the Ministry of External Affairs. On this portal, any nonresident Indian can file his/her complaint.

The complaints are categorised in the portal itself, it reaches direct to the Indian embassy where redressal process is initiated. All embassies have been connected with ‘Madad’ portal. The facility for the registration of the students who are going abroad for studies has been started on ‘Madad’ portal.

Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana Workers from India going to Gulf countries go without proper orientation of their rights and safeguards and thus they become susceptible to exploitation. The Ministry of External Affairs along with the Ministry of Skill Development, under this scheme, provides proper training and orientation to these workers. The tagline is ‘safely go, trained go’. Training has commenced w.e.f. October, 2016. 50 special skill centers are proposed to be in place till the end of the year.

Hindustan has the strength of giving labor power to the world which it needs today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Safe Return of Non-Residents to India in Times of Crisis The Modi government has faced many challenges in evacuating Indians stuck in conflict zones and has successfully risen to the challenge on all occasions. The government has evacuated 7200 Indians from Iraq, 3750 from Libya, 4748 from Yemen, 1100 from Ukraine and 157 from South Sudan. This has developed confidence and

boosted the morale of Indians working abroad.

This government is sensitive to the problems faced by non-resident Indians engulfed in trouble and it is resolving them.

We have brought troubled Indians safely to India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Simplification of Passport Process If a passport applicant submits Aadhaar card, Voter ID card, PAN card and a self-attested affidavit that no criminal trial is going on against him along with

With the right convergence of modern technology and effective communication only, the government of India will come nearer to the Indians residing abroad.

his application, he will be issued the passport without waiting for police investigation which will be done later. New passport centers have also been opened

to make the facility accessible in far flung areas. In the last two years, one new regional passport office has been opened in Vijaywada and 12 new passport centers have been opened in which all states of North East are included.

Continue in next issue

30

Literature

July 09 - 15, 2018

story

The Wedding Of The Mouse

T

Yajnavalkya, whose very name commands awe and respect, is a great wonder, a myth personified

here was a beautiful hermitage on the bank of river Ganga, where a group of hermits lived in peace. The hermits were disciples of a Guru Yajnavalkya, who was always absorbed in meditation, and followed rigorous self-discipline.

One day, while he was bathing in the river, a hawk flew over with a mouse in its claws. Suddenly, the mouse fell from the hawk’s grip right into the hands of the Guru.

When the Guru noticed that the hawk was flying above, he knew he cannot leave the mouse alone, or it will be caught again. He put the mouse on a leaf of a nearby Banyan tree, and took a second bath to purify himself. He used his powers to transform the female mouse into a little girl, and took her to the hermitage.

He said to his wife, “My dear, please accept her as our blessing, as we do not have a child of our own.”

Thus, the girl started growing in the hermitage, under the care and supervision of the Guru himself.

She learnt many sciences, and ways of life. Both the Guru and his wife were very proud of their special child.

One day, the Guru’s wife brought into his notice that their girl had reached marriageable age. They decided to give it a serious thought, as she was a special child and deserved a special husband.

The next morning, using his powers, the Guru summoned the Sun God to him, and said, “Please accept my daughter’s hand. I wish you to marry her, if she chooses so.”

But the daughter said, “Father, the Sun God lights up the entire world, but he is unbearably hot and fiery-tempered. I do not wish to marry him. Please seek a better husband for me.”

The Guru wondered, “Who might be better than even the Sun God?” The Sun God advised, “Guruji, you can seek the alliance of the King of Clouds. He is superior to me, for he can cover me and my light.”

So the Guru, using his powers, summoned the King of Clouds, and said, “Please accept my daughter’s hand. I wish you to marry her, if she chooses so.”

But the daughter said, “Father, the King of Clouds is dark, wet and too cold. I do not wish to marry him. Please seek a better husband for me.”

The Guru wondered, “Who might be better than even the King of Clouds?”

The King of Clouds advised, “Guruji, you can seek the alliance of the Lord of Winds. He is superior to me, for he can blow me away.”

So the Guru, using his powers, summoned the Lord of Winds, and said, “Please accept my

daughter’s hand. I wish you to marry her, if she chooses so.”

But the daughter said, “Father, the Lord of Winds is too fast and restless. He keeps changing his direction. I do not wish to marry him. Please seek a better husband for me.”

The Guru wondered, “Who might be better than even the Lord of Winds?

The Lord of Winds advised, “Guruji, you can seek the alliance of the Lord of Mountains. He is superior to me, for he can stop me from blowing.”

So the Guru, using his powers, summoned the Lord of Mountains, and said, “Please accept my daughter’s hand. I wish you to marry her, if she chooses so.”

But the daughter said, “Father, the Lord of Mountains is too hard and rigid. He is immovable.

I do not wish to marry him. Please seek a better husband for me.”

The Guru wondered, “Who might be better than even the Lord of Mountains?”

The King of Mountains advised, “Guruji, you can seek the alliance of the King of Mice. He is superior to me, for he can make holes all over me.”

So the Guru, using his powers, summoned the King of Mice, and said, “Please accept my daughter’s hand. I wish you to marry her, if she chooses so.”

When the daughter met the King of Mice, she was delighted and coyly agreed to the marriage.

The Guru transformed her daughter to a beautiful female mouse, for her to perform all household duties of her clan.

Thus, the Guru’s daughter was married.

The wise indeed say: What is in-born, can never change.

Events

July 09-15, 2018

events & more...

ACROSS

3. Which of these wireless technologies could support users at ranges up to 30 miles?

5. Garage door opener is a 7. What is the name for the mapped hexagonal geographic areas that make up the cellular phone grid?

11. Which is one of the following African countries where mobile phone penetration is the highest?

12. Commonly used mode for 3G networks is 13. The first ever mobile phone to feature software applications was done by which company 15. Which telephone company introduced the first mobile telephone service (MTS), in 1946?

17. What year was the first cell phone commercially available in the U.S.?

18. The process of transferring a mobile station from one base station to another is 19. 2G CDMA standard – cdma one supports up to 20. What do you call a wireless access point that improves cellular reception inside a home or office building?

Development Organisation (CSDO, E-61) E-61, Block E, Lajpat Nagar II, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi Mon, 16 Jul 10:30AM - Wed, 18 Jul 1:30PM

SSB crossword no. 30

events

Startup candle making course Venue : Craft And Social

DOWN

SOLUTION of crossword no.29

Monet’s Waterlilies Canvas Painting Party by Delhi Drawing Room Venue : Dramz 1580/1, KD Marg, Near Qutub Minar, Mehrauli, New Delhi Sat, 21 Jul 10:30AM - 12:30PM

Trousseau packing Venue: Lajpat Nagar

E-61 , 1st Floor ,Lajpat Nagar 2 , Delhi Mon, 16 Jul 10:30AM - Thu, 19 Jul 1:30PM

Disney’s Aladdin Is Coming To Town Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Pragati Vihar, New Delhi 6 Jul 2018 7:00 PM - 15 Jul 2018 11:59 PM

31

1.Four 2.Australia 3.Shane warn 4.1926 5.West Indies 6.Hsaltham 7.Nepal 8.Melbourne 9.Essex 10.1927

11.15 12.1864 13.1934 14.Kent 15.Green 16.Pear 17.1909 18.Parsis 19.Sydney 20.Blue

solution of sudoku-29

1. Which manufacturing company produced the first camera phone, called the J-Phone, that could send photos over a cellular network?

2. Which Indian Mobile operator company has become the world’s 3rd largest mobile operator company on 30 June 2015?

4. Which country’s court on 10 July 2015 barred mobile phone users from using film songs from India and other nations in the sub-continent as ringtones or welcome tune?

6. Which is the most sold mobile phone unit in India?

8. NADC is a 2G standard for 9. Carrier frequency of a TV remote control is in the range of 10. Complaint Here As Incorrect Question / Answer Which one amongthe following metals is prominently used in mobile phone batteries?

14. Which state Government launched seven e-service and software applications in a measure to provide hassle-free and graft- free administration to the people of the State?

16. 3G W-CDMA is also known as

sudoku-30

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Venue : DLF Place, SAKET Press Enclave Road, Sector 6, Pushp Vihar, Saket, New Delhi

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Please mail your solution to - ssbweekly@gmail.com or Whatsapp at 9868807712, One Lucky Winner will win Cash Prize of Rs 500/-. Look for the Solution in the Next Issue of SSB

POSTAL REGISTRATION NO. DL(W)10/2240/2017-19

32

Newsmakers

July 09 - 15, 2018

unsung hero

Dr Mahi Talat Siddiqui

Muslim Lady Writes Ramayana

aslam khan

A True Guardian Angel

A Muslim lady from Kanpur spreads the message of communal harmony

O

ne Muslim lady from Kanpur is a perfect example for setting Intercommunity harmony.

She has set a remarkable example to the society screaming out communal differences. While many are opposing the construction of the Ram Mandir, she has translated the text of Ramayana in Udru.

Dr Mahi Talat Siddiqui, a resident of Prem Nagar area, is giving out a perfect message that she wanted the Muslim community - along with the Hindus - to be aware of the goodness of Ramayana.

As she shares her experience of writing the epic tale, she says: “It took me more than one and a half years to translate it. I focused on the fact that the translation shouldn’t change the original meaning of the

text”. The thoughts she tried to invoke during the translation is just wonderful to know. She holds a Master’s degree in Hindi Literature, and said that she will continue to work on maintaining mutual harmony through the pen.

Chief Justice Sanjay Karol

“Justice” In water Control Rooms Shimla Judge Works All Night in Control Room to Ensure Water Supply

A

mongst the acute water crisis hit “Queen of the Hills” or Shimla, a wonderfully positive step has been taken by the state’s highest judicial authority the acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol.

Chief Justice Sanjay Karol has been working on hearing the petitions regarding the water crisis case and while doing so he made up his mind to inspect the situation of water himself in the four water control rooms of Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Justice Karol spent the entire night in the water control rooms alongside

Senior Municipal Corporation officials to make sure that there is an undisturbed water supply for the people of Shimla.

Not only this, Justice Karol also asked the tourists living in the ridge area where the central water control room is wlocated about the possible solutions to tackle the water crisis and also inquired about the citizens’ complaints and manpower available.

“It was a rare gesture by him and showed his resolve to see that a highly reliable mechanism is put in place” said officials present there.

An IPS Officer from Delhi gives half her earnings to a deceased truck driver’s family

S

ardaar Maan Singh was a truck driver. On one late, unfortunate night while he was headed home, he took a wrong turn and ended up on an unfamiliar and deserted road.

He made the mistake of getting out of his truck in order to ask for directions and was attacked by two robbers. When he refused to give up his hard-earned money to them, the men assaulted him, leaving him there to die. A few hundred kilometers away, his family slept soundly, having no clue that their life was about to change so drastically. His children, Baljeet Kaur, Jasmeet Kaur and Asmit Kaur, their mother Darshan Kaur and grandmother, were all excited to be meeting him after such a long time. A happy little family, they resided in a little hut, just a couple of kilometers away from the Indo-Pak border.

The next day, however, devastation struck when they got a call from Delhi, informing them Maan Singh’s murder. It caused not only a deep emotional trauma for the entire family but also a sense of helplessness. But then they received a phone call from Delhi.

“We were worried about how we’d continue with studies and manage school fees. Even a square meal seemed unaffordable to us.

Then, one day, we got a phone call from Delhi. DCP ma’am spoke to all of us and promised that she would transfer some amount to our account every month. She even told us that she would try to get governmental help for us.

It was a very emotional moment for us. We refused to take her help, but she didn’t listen. Our studies and our lives are going on only because of her,” said Baljeet Kaur. Since that day, DCP Aslam Khan has been sending half of her monthly pay to Maan Singh’s family. She also contacts them on a regular basis and keeps herself updated on their lives. She treats them like her own family. To the Singh family, DCP Aslam Khan is their guardian angel.

Baljeet added that she aspires to be an IPS officer and is working hard towards achieving her goals.

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561, Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Delhi No. F. 2 (S-45) Press/ 2016 Volume - 2, Issue - 30 Printed by Monika Jain, Published by Monika Jain on behalf of SULABH SANITATION MISSION FOUNDATION and Printed at The Indian Express Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, NOIDA (U.P.) and Published from RZ 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam-Dabri Road, New Delhi – 110 045. Editor Monika Jain