‘e-water harmoniser’ to get rid of tepid smell emanating from the water body
Mysuru :
In a bid to get rid of the stinking smell emanating from Kukkarahalli Lake, the Mysore University authorities have come up with a novel initiative and installed an ‘e-water harmoniser’ (EWH) at the Lake.
EWH is a technology to add oxygen to water through ‘Aeration Fountain,’ a process of increasing oxygen saturation in water. When the water passes through the unit, it increases the level of stable oxygen, which reduces the anaerobic condition of water besides reducing the formation of algae.
The equipment has been lent free of cost to the University of Mysore (UoM), the custodians of the Lake, by Kalpavruksha Amruth Solutions, a city-based private company.
Technical Advisor K. G. Gururaj said that the process is natural as the unit is free from any chemical or harmful substances and added that the water can be cleaned without wasting it. Besides the unit is maintenance-free.
Gururaj further said that the process also reduces the content of Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the water and added that the process would also benefit aquatic animals.
Mysore University Green Campus initiative Co-ordinator Ravishankar V. Rai said that due to algae and high toxic level, the Lake used to stink. Stating that the initiative is in experimental stages, he said that the water will be re-evaluated after 21 days to see if the technology works.
He further said that more number of units will be put up to work after the water is re-evaluated.
Meanwhile, Kukkarahalli Lake Protection Committee Convener K. M. Jayaramaiah said that the initiative would help in maintaining water at the pink of its health and added that the aeration process would reduce the stink.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Friday – January 01st, 2016
New year is round the corner and a group of students in the city plan to celebrate it in an unusual way.
The students of Sanegoravanahalli Government School, Basaveshwaranagar, have created special greeting cards using waste/recycled paper. They were assisted by the residents of the 1984-85 batch of Government High School Police Colony (GHSPC), Magadi Road, who are working as part of the Art of Giving project.
These greeting cards will be given to those who litter in public places as a new year gift.
Roopa M, a 10th standard student, said, “A few days ago, we were asked to collect waste paper. We wondered why. After making my first greeting card, I learnt how we have the power to reduce waste in the city. Now, I have decided to gift these cards to those who litter the city. It is a way to embarrass them through my style of Gandhigiri.”
Mamatha N Swamy, an alumni of GHSPC, said, “Art and crafts help mould a student’s career. This was my first art class at this school and I was surprised by the way the students picked it up so quickly.”
The alumni team has drawn up an ambitious plan to launch vocational training in all government schools. “Besides art and craft, we are also looking at teaching meditation, exam writing skills, de-stressing techniques, music and other activities,” she added.
H C Dodde Gowda, who held personality development classes for the students, said, “It is a pity that government school students don’t get exposed to extra-curricular activities as much as their private school counterparts. Our goal is to bridge the gap. By teaching the students these skills for free, we hope to make them financially independent in the future.”
The project
Art of Giving is a social project started by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) founder Achyuta Samanta. It invites people to volunteer to inspire and change the lives of the underprivileged. The alumni of GHSPC hope to provide free vocational training at all government schools in the city in the coming days.
A few days ago,
we were asked to collect waste paper. We wondered why. After making my first greeting card, I learnt how we have the power to reduce waste in the city. Roopa M, student
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / December 28th, 2015
Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil taking a look at the sweet corn crop in his field at Udnur, a village on the outskirts of Kalaburagi, on Monday.— PHOTO: ARUN KULKARNI
Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil has earned a profit of Rs. 50,000 from one acre of land
For progressive farmer Basavaraj Arjun Rao Patil, the cultivation of sweet corn on his 14-acre agriculture plot has turned out to be a virtual money spinner.
While a majority of the farming community is reeling under heavy loss by taking up the cultivation of traditional crops due to failure of rain, it has been a windfall for Mr. Patil, who reaped a profit of Rs. 50,000 from one acre of land by taking up the cultivation of sweet corn.
He has turned out to be a benevolent seller of green fodder to needy farmers at a time when the farmers are facing severe shortage of fodder to feed their cattle. Talking to The Hindu in his agricultural field, Mr. Patil said that the market for sweet corn was very good and the traders come to his agriculture field to purchase the crop which was in great demand in Kalaburagi and outside. .
Average income
He said that the average income by selling the fodder and the sweet corn in an acre was around Rs. 55,000 to 60,000 and after deducting the cost of the cultivation the average profit from one acre of land was around Rs. 50,000. Mr. Patil said that the green fodder was edible and mixed with jaggery and salt water, the fodder would be more acceptable to the cattle.
Mr. Patil said that the maintenance and cultivation of the sweet corn was very easy compared to other crops.
Another added advantage was that it was a short duration crop and the harvest of the crop can be done after 75 days. The only costly thing in the cultivation of the sweet corn was the seeds, he said. “I used to cultivate sugarcane and banana.
The average income generated was around Rs. 50,000 per season and the duration of the cultivation of these crops was one year, whereas sweet corn is a short duration crop,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka/ by T.V. Sivanandan / Kalaburagi – December 01st, 2015
The University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkot, will hold a workshop on papaya farming at the varsity on December 8.
A release said that 250 papaya growers had registered for the event which would be inaugurated by progressive farmers and the former Minister Ajaykumar Sarnaik. Vice-Chancellor D. L. Maheshwar would be present. An interaction programme between farmers and experts would be held and farmers could share their views and seek clarifications from the experts.
Second session
The second session would deal with pest management in papaya plantations and the last session would deal with the equipment required for papaya farming, preservation of the fruit and its marketing.
Exhibition
A special exhibition of material related to papaya cultivation too would be held, the release said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Bagalkol – December 07th, 2015
After witnessing an increase in tiger population over the last five years, Bandipur National Park emerged as the most visited tiger reserve in the country, according to a recent study by a travel information portal.
The report by HolidayIQ says that for two successive years, Bandipur National Park was the most visited tiger reserve even as tiger tourism in the country has grown by 230 per cent.
“Based on user interactions on our portal during the travel season of October, November and December last year and this year, the number of visitors to Bandipur National Park has shown a marked increase. The interactions also reveal that tiger tourism is fast growing in the country,” a representative for HolidayIQ told The Hindu .
A senior forest official at Bandipur attributed the popularity of the national park to “increased frequency of sightings” and “accessibility”. He said the national park, which was on the road to Ooty, is a natural choice for tiger tourism. Besides, the tiger population in Bandipur had increased, which translates into higher frequency of sightings.
The Forest Department accommodations can house 88 persons and bookings are almost always full during weekends and holidays, and show 70 per cent occupancy during weekdays. In addition, private resorts can accommodate about 250 persons. The department also organises safaris in the morning and evening.
The tiger population in Bandipur and the adjoining Nagarahole, Mudumalai and Wayanad forests was estimated at 570 in 11,000 sq km of habitat, according to a report on status of tigers in India-2014, which also showed that tiger population in the country had increased from 1,706 in 2010 to 2,226 in 2014.
Wildlife experts in the region believe that Bandipur, which is spread across around 870 sq km, hosts more than 110 tigers.
Meanwhile, the study by HolidayIQ shows that couple travellers account for almost 36 per cent of the visitors to tiger reserves, closely followed by families, who account for 32 per cent, while group travellers account for 28 per cent.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Laiqh A. Khan / Mysuru – December 16th, 2015
‘Integrated Disease Management in Vegetable Crops’
Mysuru :
A free training programme for farmers on ‘Integrated Disease Management in Vegetable Crops’ was jointly organised by Krishi Jnana Vijnana Vedike (KJVV) and Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City recently.
Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura, the Founder of KJVV and Rajyotsava Awardee, addressed the farmers on how to grow vegetable and fruit crops scientifically without the indiscriminate usage of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
He elaborated the harmful effects of these not only on the health of consumers but also on the farmer’s cost of production and suggested practical ways to avoid them.
He stressed the importance of using disease-resistant varieties, bio-control agents and environmental-friendly practices of cultivation to get maximum yield.
Dr. Vasanth Kumar suggested farmers to utilise his free plant clinic service in order to increase their productivity and yield.
More than fifty farmers from various parts of the district participated. A few progressive farmers shared their views and ideas during the session.
Dr. Lakshimipathigowda (former Deputy Director General of ICRISAT), Jayaprakash (Public Relations Officer of DRDO), Bannur Narayan (Farmer Leader) and Ln. Jai Prakash (Lions Club of Mysore Heritage City) were among the distinguished guests. KJVV Director D. Bharath and Scientists Dr. Harish, Dr. Yogesh and Dr. Chandrashekar were also present.
For any crop problems, suggestions and information on upcoming training prog., contact Dr. Harish on Mob: 98806-22979 or Dr. Chandrashekar on Mob: 97393-85165.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / December 15th, 2015
Dr. K.N. Amruthesh (right) is seen receiving the National Award from former Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, at the awards ceremony held in Panaji, Goa, on Dec.6.
Mysuru :
Dr. K.N. Amruthesh, Senior Lecturer and Principal Investigator at Department of Studies in Botany and Co-ordinator, CSIR/UGC- NET Coaching Centre of University of Mysore, has been given the prestigious “Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam National Award” by the International Institute for the Social and Economic Reforms, Delhi.
This award was conferred for his significant contributions in the field of major agricultural crops’ disease management strategies, especially for his extensive research work on pearl millet downy mildew host pathogen interaction and reporting of two new plant species to the Science, Research Publications and Teaching.
Dr. Amruthesh received the National Award from former Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat at the Entertainment Society of Goa, Panaji, on Dec.6. The award comprises a certificate, memento and a citation.
Dr. Amruthesh, who obtained his doctoral degree from University of Mysore with Government of India, ICAR Fellowship, completed his post doctoral degree research work at University of North Texas (UNT), Texas, United States of America (USA).
He started his professional career in 2002 as a Senior Scientist with the Danish Government, Copenhagen-funded collaborative research project at the Department of Biotechnology and subsequently was appointed as a faculty in 2004 to the Department of Botany of the Varsity.
Dr. Amruthesh has published more than 65 research articles in the national and international reputed journals and 3 book chapters so far on plant – microbe interaction and disease management strategies. He has successfully guided 7 Ph.D. scholars for their doctoral degree and currently 7 Ph.D. scholars are working under his guidance. He is the Principal Investigator for three research projects funded by DST, UGC and DBT. Dr. Amruthesh is also the recipient of Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) & Department of Science & Technology (DST)- Young Scientists’ Awards among others.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday – December 14th, 2015
Lakshmidevamma in her clean kitchen in Vyachakurahalli village, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka, on Thursday.
Gauribidanur (Chikkaballapur District) :
Until last month, Thimmakka had to blow her lungs out even to make a cup of coffee. And this has been her ritual for 40 years now . Not any more. Her kitchen is now fitted with an LPG stove. Like 274 other households in Vyachakurahalli of Gauribidanur taluk in Chikkaballapur district.
Cooking with firewood is passe in Vyachakurahalli since all households here have LPG. The Union petroleum ministry has officially declared it as India’s first smokeless village, owing to its conversion from conventional fuel to LPG. “My compliments to the residents of Vyachakurahalli which has been declared as the first smokeless village in India,” tweeted petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) piloted the ‘Mission Smokeless village’ project here, about 77km from Bengaluru. “The idea was to redeem women’s health,” said Moti Sayi Vasudevan, general manager (smokeless villages) at IOC. “Due to the continuous inhalation of particles, women are more prone to pneumonia due to usage of firewood as a fuel.”
For over four decades, firewood had been the only fuel for the most of the village’s women. Wracked by bouts of cough caused by the soot-filled air in the blackened kitchens, cooking was an ordeal for them.
But that was until last week. Now, the kitchens have got swanky steel gas stoves and red cylinders. While a separate plank has been built to accommodate the new gas stove in Lakshmidevamma’s kitchen, Saraswathamma is looking forward to cooking these days. “I would frequently have bouts of cough due to the continuous use of firewood,” she said. “This is the best thing that has happened to women in the village.”
In drought-hit Gauribidanur, this recognition for clean fuel comes as a huge relief. As Ratnamma put it: “No more black roofs and black lungs.”
Learning safe handling of LPG
Gita Jayender sits with a group of women in a small thatched roof kitchen, telling them how to operate an LPG stove, how it is important to switch off the regulator at the end of the day, how not to leave utensils on the stove and go away, among other things. Shrenik Enterprises on Railway Station Road is buzzing with activity as entire families walk in to purchase new LPG stoves. “We had to first conduct an awareness campaign for villagers to tell them why it is important to go smokeless. Drought is staring at them. Why LPG, they asked,” said Shrenik R J, who is spearheading the smokeless movement in the village. The next project will be taken up at Gandhian Dr H Narasimhaiah’s birthplace, Hosur, in Chikkaballapur district, he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bengaluru / by Seetha Lakshmi, TNN / December 04th, 2015
With farmers’ suicides in Karnataka touching 800, the highest ever in the state, the government is quickly pushing through an initiative to promote cash-rich horticulture farming by linking up the poor and marginal farmer directly to private companies that deal with agri-produce.
Using a programme devised by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) in its second term for integrated agriculture development through private-public-partnerships (PPP-IAD), the state’s horticulture department is dovetailing state, central and corporate initiatives to turn the farmer into a horti-business entrepreneur.
Karnataka, with lakhs of small and marginal farmers, has the third largest area under horticulture crop in the country. It is the seventh in production. The state is the highest exporter of cashew, roses, gherkins, rose onion, spices and condiments, earning a whopping Rs 8,453 crore annually.
Tomatoes grown in Kolar travel all the way to Kolkata for sale, while lemons from Bijapur are sold in Bihar. Income generation from the sector is Rs 36,000 crore. Still, Chawla sees a vast, untapped market for horticulture crop and value-added products from the state. “Why can’t the extraspicy Byadgi chilli become as famous as Mexican chilli?” he asked.
The area that the state wants to fix is the 20 to 25% post-harvest losses in the sector. The idea is to find value additions to the horticulture produce that will use up the highly perishable items without causing any loss to the farmers.
They want to do this by facilitating private intervention, rather than set minimum support prices for all products. Chawla pointed out that the government-sponsored HOPCOMS (Horticultural Producers Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd), which purchases vegetables and fruits from the farmers and sells them to consumers through stalls, covers hardly 3% of the 12,000 tonnes consumed in Bengaluru city.
Government Intervention
The horticulture department has studied several models including the PPP-IAD implemented by Maharashtra, which began functioning in 2012. Karnataka is also looking to scale up through government intervention two private, successful models in horticulture.
The sale of vegetables from groups of farmers through linked-up groups of vendors under the Samriddhi brand by IIM-A alumnus Koushalendra Kumar in Patna is one model the state wants to replicate. The other is that of the Siddhivinayak group in Maharashtra, where everything from seeds to modern, efficient technology to turning of the grown potato crop into chips and their sale is handled by the company, through agreements with farmers.
Here’s how the Karnataka model, inspired by those from the other states, works: about 20 farmers first get together and form an interest group. About 50 such groups join together and register a farmer producer organisation (FPO) under the Companies Act, complete with a board of directors with two representatives from each interest group.
The FPO is adopted by either the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research or the University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkote, which provides technical support. The government pitches in by paying for a technically qualified chief executive to run the FPO as management support for a period of three years. Besides this, the government gives the FPO members all the subsidies provided in the sector and Rs 90 lakh towards permanent infrastructure such as cold storages, on the condition that the FPO puts in Rs 10 lakh.
The state is expecting a range of companies, including the Big Four consulting firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, to come forward to bid for tenders to provide manpower to support this project on the marketing, BPO and IT side. The government is likely to give each FPO seed money of Rs 25 lakh, while the centrallyfunded Small Farmers Agriculture-Business Consortium (SFAC) will give an equity linked grant of Rs 10 lakh that the state will facilitate. Besides this, NABARD is committed to give each FPO Rs 5 lakh.
Horticulture officials and farmers discussing how to store and market vegetables through the FPO
The FPO draws up a detailed project report with help from the horticulture department and focuses on a specific area. For example, Yogananda of the alreadyregistered FPO in Chikkamagaluru district, told ET Magazine that their FPO will focus on vegetables including tomato, potato, cabbage, beans and green chillies. And they are planning a cold storage to store them and sell them to FPOs in districts that don’t grow vegetables, or to other private outlets. “Farmers are not getting good prices, so these FPOs that we have formed among ourselves are a very good idea to ensure that we don’t suffer.
The FPO will get fertilisers and pesticides at cost and sell them to all of us shareholders, who have paid Rs 1,100 to join it, at cost. We will also get all benefits and no taxes. There will be no intermediaries and we will sell directly to the consumers or the company that links up with us,” Yogananda explained. The state is aiming to register 92 FPOs this financial year and get them off the ground.
The horticulture department insists that the FPO model will work better than the cooperatives that have been racked with politics and power play. Yogananda pointed out that he was a BJP supporter, but Congress and JD(S) farmers were also present in his FPO. Rudresh, a director of another registered FPO in Davanagere district, said: “Politics may come in at some point, but currently, we are all just farmers who are working together for the welfare of all. We can plan who will put what crop and work out benefits for everyone.
As an initiative, this FPO idea is very good and can work at the ground level.” The government is further incentivising FPOs by giving them trader licences in the agriculture produce market committee (APMC) markets that sell agriculture products in each district. The FPO can itself sell to consumers directly at these markets without going through any agents, as they are a group of farmers and not individuals. The FPOs also get priority storage space in all APMCs.
IT Support
All FPOs will be linked up through a database that can be accessed by any company which wants to work with them. The horticulture department will identify five local resource persons who will geo-map the land owned or leased or used by each FPO member. There will be constant updates in all the project area and at any point in time, the state of the land, the fertilisers that have been used, the state of the crop and how it is progressing towards harvest, can be accessed at fingertips.
“A package of practices, which is a set of prescribed practices like the seeds, pest and disease details, pesticides and fertilisers and so on, recommended by University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkote will be given to the farmers. These will be monitored at every step through an app, developed for the purpose,” Kshama Patil, deputy director of horticulture (project monitoring unit), told ET Magazine.
Chawla has written to several companies that linked up with the contract farmers in Maharashtra and other states, besides all food processing majors and super-markets including Hindustan Unilever and Metro Cash and Carry, inviting them to attend a workshop on the project and begin the linkage process. “The companies can directly link up with the FPOs and control the whole process of growing their raw material, like providing the seeds, the fertilisers, the know-how and finally purchase the product.
However, unlike contract farming, if the farmers want to sell the produce to someone else who will give them a better rate, they are free to do so. They are not bound to the company. So the company will have to pay them market rates,” Chawla explained. Prabhakar Rao, trustee of the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust, said he has expressed interest in attending the workshop. “I believe the PPP-IHD model has great potential as demonstrated by the Sri Sri Farmers Market we have going in Madhya Pradesh. It is fully run by The Art of Living as a direct linkage between farmers and consumers.
With government support, we believe that there is tremendous potential to take it further,” he told ET Magazine in an emailed response. Hemant Gaur, managing director of Siddhivinayak Agri Processing, pointed to the success of his model in Maharashtra, where everything from seeds to the final marketing of potatoes was done by his company, benefitting everyone along the line. “I don’t believe that the middleman or the dealer has managed to make a lot of money between the consumer and the producer as, if that was the case, the middleman should now be very rich. That has not happened. But what we are looking at is control of the quality of the product that we deliver to the consumer and, for that, this system is very effective,” he said.
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / www.etsmallbiz.com / ET Home> Small Biz> Entrepreneurship / by Sowmya Aji, ET Bureau / November 29th, 2015
Increase in pepper prices from Rs. 200 a kg to Rs. 700 a kg serves as incentive for farmers to take up its cultivation.
2014-15 estimates point to State overtaking Kerala
Spices Board of India Chairman A. Jayathilak said that estimates for 2014-15 suggest that Karnataka has overtaken Kerala as the largest producer of pepper in the country.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the International Pepper Community’s 43rd session and meetings here on Monday.
Dr. Jayathilak said a large number of coffee and arecanut farmers from Karnataka had taken to pepper production as an “adjunct crop”.
The increase in pepper prices from Rs. 200 a kg three years ago to around Rs. 700 a kg had served as an incentive for farmers to cultivate the spice that enjoys huge demand in the international market.
According to estimates, the State last year produced around 5,000 tonnes over Kerala, which used to occupy the numero uno position by accounting for 40 per cent of the country’s pepper production.
Pepper production in the country had dipped to 37,000 tonnes in 2013-14 owing to unfavourable weather conditions. However, the situation was looking up with estimates suggesting a production of 70,000 tonnes in 2014-15.
Earlier, while delivering the presidential address at the session, Dr. Jayathilak appreciated the contribution of farmers from Karnataka in the turnaround. The spices board chose Mysuru as the venue for the annual meet to honour pepper growers in the State, he said.
He cautioned that importing countries were coming up with stringent quality standards that were “practically difficult” to achieve, particularly in case of pesticide residues.
Rajani Ranjan Rashmi, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, New Delhi, in his keynote address, said the wellness industry and health tourism had provided enormous potential for the growth of the spice industry. He urged the industry to further explore the medicinal and nutritional value of pepper.
Pratap Simha, MP, claimed that Kodagu accounted for half the pepper produced in Karnataka.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Laiqh A. Khan / Mysuru – November 24th, 2015
