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Kashmiri students keep date with IMA
Dehradun, November 25 All three are part of a group of students from Ganderbal district in Jammu and Kashmir on a 15-day tour of various parts of the country under Operation Sadbhavna undertaken by the armed forces. “It’s a different world outside the valley. It was a great experience to travel by train. We also went to watch Bollywood flick ‘Dostana’ in a multiplex in Agra. “Today we got an opportunity to interact with officers at Indian Military Academy and witness the training of Gentleman Cadets. It is a wonderful learning experience for students like us, who till date have only seen bloodshed”, said the trio.
Under Operation Sadhbavna, a group of 20 boys, 14 girls, two teachers along officers of 5 RR Battalion (Jat) are in city. During their stay here, the students will visit various places, including the Rashtriya Indian Military College, the Doon School. They will also visit the queen of hills, Mussoorie. At IMA today, a majority of the students from Sainik School, Jawahar Navodaya School and Physical Training College of J & K said the valley has begun to witness a change and people wanted peace and development. “Some persons, for vested interests, tried to create hatred in the minds of the Kashmiris against the Indian Army, which they claimed was there to kill innocent Kashmiris. “But today people have full faith in the armed forces and believe that the Army is there to protect them and not to suppress their voice”, said Syed Sajid Ali and Ishfaq Majeed Padder. Visiting Parliament House and Raj Bhawan and travelling by the Delhi Metro were other memorable experiences for them. The tour gave 22-year-old Shazia Amin Sheikh an opportunity to step out of home for the first time. “We had heard so much about the beauty of the Taj Mahal. After visiting the Taj, we realised it is even more beautiful than the photographs ”, said Sanober Majeed Kar. The students also said the high voting turnout in the state in the ongoing elections was an indication that people wanted peace in Kashmir. “The environment seems to have changed and people have started identifying opportunists,” echoed another student Tanvir Ahmed Bhat. Operation Sadbhvana was launched by the Army to win the hearts and minds of terrorism-affected people, particularly in remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir. “Under the unique operation, the Army has launched several development schemes in far-flung areas, where civil officials feared to ventur,” said Major Munish of 5 RR Battalion. Major Munish said under Operation Sadhbavna, the Army at its own expense was rebuilding bridges, roads and school buildings. He said this had come as a major relief for the people facing problems in the absence of any infrastructure. “The Operation being undertaken at a massive scale has provided a healing touch to residents of the valley, ” the officer said. Meanwhile, IMA Commandant Lt-Gen Rajinder Singh Sujlana AVSM, VSM, also interacted with the group. Terming Operation Sadhbavna as fruitful, he said: “When the group will go back to J & K, the students will have a lot to tell. They will tell their families and friends about what is happening in the country.”
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Small town makes big strides in science
Roorkee, November 25 The share of Roorkee in the overall national contribution in science and technology is 1.01 per cent, which is around 100 times of its population percentage. The number of research papers contributed from India, as indexed in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIE) from 1996 to 2005 were 2,01,125. Out of these 2,047 have been contributed from Roorkee. Dr. Yogender Singh, librarian, Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, points out in his latest study “A small town in the world of big science: Contributions of Roorkee to scientific and technological research” that Roorkee, a small town with a population of over a hundred thousand, which is about 0.01 per cent of the total Indian population, has established itself as a hub of scientific and technological education and research by producing around one per cent of overall country’s productivity. The contribution of Roorkee has increased in 2004 and 2005: the figures standing at 1.12 per cent and 1.29 per cent of national contribution, respectively. The main reason is attributed to the conversion of University of Roorkee into an IIT, which has resulted in increased intake of research scholars. “The three institutions - the IIT, Central Building Research Institute and National Institute of Hydrology - have made significant contributions in scientific and technological research at the international level,” points Dr. Singh in his study. He added that chemistry continues to be the most popular subject with Roorkee contributing 26.36 per cent research papers in the subject, which is followed by physics at 19.31 per cent and water resources at 12.41 per cent. The study reveals that all research papers contributed from Roorkee have been published in over 500 journals and conference proceedings. The contribution of IIT has been excellent due to the infrastructural facilities and skilled human resources. The citation pattern of the papers reveals that the work of researchers from Roorkee has been recognised internationally, the study adds.
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Afghan team on state visit
Mussoorie, November 25 Led by Tika Lakshmi Gurung, the team visited the Mussoorie Forest Division to learn more about participatory forest management techniques today, which could be replicated in Afghanistan. According to the DFO Mussoorie A.K. Banerjee, “The discussions focussed on the need for peoples’ involvement in conservation.” He said the team was given presentations on joint forest management, participatory forest management and van panchayats. Gurung said the international centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, was working on afforestation and biodiversity issues in Afghanistan and this multidisciplinary team, comprising forestry planners, foresters and agriculturalists, was a part of this project. the team would review the work of the eco-task force. Later, they would visit the fire control centre at Malsi to learn about the latest fire control techniques being used in the Mussoorie forest Division.
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Improper land use causing eco degradation
Mussoorie, November 25 “ Eco-conservation in the region is important to keep alive major lifelines (rives) of the country,” he says. Human intervention on account of lifestyle changes, are major catalysts of change in Uttarakhand, he maintains. “A lifestyle that promotes social justice and avoids excessive and expensive habits in the use of natural resources needs to be revived,” Ajay opines. Stressing on the need to revive the rich culture of Uttarakhand, he says: “ While giving due importance to appropriate modern technologies, traditional subsistence methods for management of natural resources need to be strengthened in order to promote sustainability in the use of natural resources.” A firm believer in community-based and community-driven approach to development, Ajay stresses on the need to “Consider the hill people’s wishes and aspirations in the development process for achieving higher levels of self-reliance and community control over their own lives and environment.” The society was formed in 1982 and for over two decades the organisation has been working on resource regeneration and strengthening the livelihood systems of the rural poor in the country. Although the society is working in a number of states, among the hill states, Uttarakhand forms a priority region for the organisation.Through its various programmes in Uttarakhand, it seeks to enhance the quality of life of the hill people through intervention in land, water, and forest resources. It is working with several organisations in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, most notably Appropriate Technology India (ATI) in Tehri Garhwal, Dasholi Gram Swaraj Mandal (DGSM) in Chamoli and Mahila Haat in the Kumaon region. Ajay says the society has been supporting various interventions for plantation of multipurpose trees, fodder development, vermi-composting, catchment treatment and organic vegetable farming in Uttarakhand. He says research forms a cross-cutting component of the society activities and the organisation is conducting research in seven agro-climatic zones of the country for understanding the factors leading to land degradation. In Uttarakhand, the study is being conducted in Tehri-Garhwal district.
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Forestry-based industry growing ‘rapidly’
Dehradun, November 25 Inaugurating the two-day workshop entitled He said the programmes like National Forestry He said the forest cover in the country was on an upward trend and this was certainly an healthy indication for social forestry. “The present forest area is 23.4 per cent of the geographical area and is slated to reach the target of 30 per cent by 2012,” he said. Elaborating on the importance of forest-based industry, Regupathy said the forestry-based industry was growing rapidly in the country and a steady rise in the demand for furniture, house construction material, packaging, sports goods and plywood can evidently be seen. He said the Indian furniture market was estimated at $8 billion and had 3 lakh people in direct employment. But expressed concern over the increase in import of furniture contending that there was no reason to import furniture particularly when there was a huge population and adequate skilled labour. Referring to the importance of joint forest management, the minister said that as many as one lakh JFM committees are managing an extent of about 22 million hectares of forest area involving 22 million people. He termed Village Development Fund as strength of JFM. He lauded the initiatives of HESCO towards alleviating the poverty of rural communities. He also greeted Dr Anil Joshi, founder, HESCO, for his role in eliciting greater participation of common people in forestry. Director general of forests and special secretary P.R. Mohanty reaffirmed the commitment of the Environment and Forests Ministry towards improving the condition of environment including forests for betterment of local communities and the nation at large. Earlier, director general, ICFRE, Jagdish Kishwan said the welfare of a very large number of people was linked to forestry. He said it was encouraging to see tremendous participation of people in the implementation of forestry programmes. He, however, said it was still a long way to reach the goal of covering 33 per cent of geographical area with forests and tree cover by 2012. Director, FRI, S.S. Negi accorded the vote of thanks. Earlier in the day, Regupathy visited the gharat set-up at the initiative of HESCO. He appreciated the role of HESCO towards empowerment of rural population.
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National Photo Exhibition
Dehradun, November 25 Addressing the prize distribution function at the close of the three-day National Photo Exhibition, Rawat, while congratulating the winners of different categories, dwelt at length on the importance of wildlife photography. He said that such exhibitions were vital as they provided the right sort of encouragement to youngsters. The fall in number of participants at the National Photo Exhibition by Nandadevi Biosphere certainly was a matter of concern. While the first exhibition in 2006 had 559 exhibits from 10 states, the 2007 exhibition had 580 exhibits from six states. The present exhibition only had 279 exhibits and number of participants were a miniscule 54. Judges Threesh Kapoor and Dhananjaya Mohan lauded the quality of the photographs. “It is certainly worth appreciating that exhibits this time focused more on lower forms of wildlife.” Chief wildlife warden Srikant Chandola and chief conservator of forests STS Lepcha were also present on the occasion. DFO, Nandadevi National Park, Shravan Kumar accorded the vote of thanks.
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