Category Archives: Agriculture

Women make Bengal government doorstep delivery a hit

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All

A state government agency delivering essential items has outsourced its entire operation to the women of Self Help Groups in various districts.

A state government agency has been promosing everything – from locally produced vegetables and select fruits to grocery, fish and meat products – at the doorstep. Freshly-cooked meals, too, are available. / Sourced by the Telegraph

A doorstep delivery of essential items for senior citizens during the lockdown has now turned into a full-fledged delivery system for the entire city and parts of Howrah.

A state government agency has been promising everything — from locally produced vegetables and select fruits to grocery, fish and meat products — at the doorstep.

The West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation has been delivering such items and more to people in Calcutta within hours of them placing orders on WhatsApp or on the department’s website.

The corporation is an autonomous organisation under the Panchayat and Rural Development Department.

Freshly-cooked meals, too, are available. The entire operation has been outsourced to the women of Self Help Groups in various districts.

The corporation, which has been training members of Self Help Groups in agriculture, fishery and animal resource development, used to sell their produce in New Town before the pandemic struck. They sold at fairs and haats (Ahare Bangla and Saras), too.

The corporation started doorstep delivery for the elderly once the Centre announced the lockdown. A WhatsApp group was formed.

Also, the state government began an exercise to create a database of all senior citizens living on their own in Calcutta, Howrah and Salt Lake.

Orders are placed on the WhatsApp group or on the corporation’s website.

Women SHG members prepare meals at the CADC canteen for doorstep delivery. / Sourced by the Telegraph

The corporation started expanding from vegetables, essential items such as pulses, cereals, and oil, and fish and meat to cooked meals, moringa powder, Mecha sandesh (a GI product from Beliatore in Bankura), crabs, Kadaknath chicken and fresh hilsa.

Before Durga Puja, the corporation intends to introduce chicken dust, mango flake, and dried fruits.

Primarily, Self Help Groups were trained in pisciculture and rearing animal husbandry. “We are into research, output and production,” Soumyajit Das, special secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development, said.

Das personally responds to every WhatsApp order. “The initiative here is to empower women, the entire operation is run by women from Self Help Groups handpicked by us.”

Piu Bag from Birohi Mahila Samannay Samiti in the Haringhata Block has been supervising girls from her Self Help Group in the supply of vegetables to the corporation this month.

“We cultivate bottle gourds, ladies fingers, onions, cauliflowers… we have been supplying to the corporation after the lockdown. We are getting a better price here than elsewhere. My girls are helping out in the corporation canteen, too, and they get a monthly salary,” Bag said.

Salekha Khatun from Hariharpara in Murshidabad is part of Nil Akash Mahila Samannay Samiti, which supplies spices and pulses to the corporation. “We have leased out 50 bighas this time in the hope of getting more orders from the corporation.”’

The department is now trying to grow the produce locally and Self Help Groups are being trained in vertical gardening and maintaining bioflock ponds at Mrittika Bhavan, the corporation headquarters.

“We have noticed we need to produce locally to maintain quality. So, we are training them to grow here in Calcutta where they are supplying,” Das said.

All customers give their feedback on the WhatsApp group and every complaint is attended to.

Indranil Hazra from Belgachhia said: “A friend sent me the link to the WhatsApp group and I have been ordering since April. I am very impressed with the professional service as well as the range and quality of products.”

His neighbour Subhasree Banerjee, a Corona warrior, along with her husband, too, have benefitted from the service.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Anasuya Basu / Calcutta – October 11th, 2020

Breed and eat fish at home, panchayat dept shows how

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

A demonstrative version of biofloc technology was inaugurated at Mrittika Bhavan on September 28P

Panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee releases fingerlings in the artificial pond in Mrittika Bhavan in DD Block recently / Brinda Sarkar

It doesn’t get any fresher than this. A new technology provides you the means to build an artificial pond in your house, garden or terrace where you could head to every morning and pick out any fish you want cooked for lunch.

A demonstrative version of biofloc technology was inaugurated at Mrittika Bhavan on September 28. The building in DD Block houses the state comprehensive area development corporation (CADC), under the panchayats and rural development department and inaugurating the facility was minister Subrata Mukherjee.

“This system can breed fish like Koi, Pabda, Singi, Magur and Golda Chingri that people love,” said Mukherjee. “It can come in handy at a time when prices of fish increase. While the system is fairly easy people rarely start something new by simply hearing about it. They want to see it in operation before adopting it and that’s why we have built this demo version. Anyone is free to come and learn about it from us and replicate it at home.”

A kitchen garden which will produce spinach, brocolli, cabbage, lettuce etc on tiered bamboo shelves / Brinda Sarkar

Unlike an open pond, the biofloc tank doesn’t need acres of land. The one at Mrittika Bhawan is a round-shaped open-top tank with an iron net body and polymer sheet wrapped around it. Its base is connected to an underground water pump that will replenish water that gets evaporated and there are slim aerator pipes sending oxygen into the water for the fish to breathe. Its capacity is 10,000l.

“Biofloc is a relatively new technology developed in and for cold European countries where the rivers stay frozen for much of the year.

There they use thousands of biofloc tanks to farm fish,” said Soumyajit Das, special secretary to the panchayats and rural development department and administrative secretary of the CADC. “The technology has also seen success in Bangladesh.”

The water in the tank at Mrittika Bhavan is nourished with probiotics, bacteria and jaggery that will convert the droppings of the fish into their food. So one doesn’t even have to spend on food for the fish thereafter. Only the probiotic-solution needs to be added afresh every two months. Other than that it’s zero-maintenance,” he said.

Those interested in replicating this system are welcome to go and learn at the centre. “Households can install a 1,000l tank at a cost of about Rs 10,000,” said Das.

“The lockdown has proven how little of the city’s fish and agricultural demand is produced within it. If people can grow their own fish it would help them be self-sufficient to some extent,” Das said.

The minister released fingerlings into the water and the department expects the first batch of fish to be ready for sale by Diwali. The fish will be available at Mrittika Bhavan as well in vehicles that tour the township selling fish, meat and agricultural products sourced from farms.

The minister also inaugurated a kitchen garden section on the day, produce of which will be added to their cart. “Plants like spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, capsicum are being planted on ‘hanging seed beds’ which are three-tier bamboo shelves installed around the parking lot of the building.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal> Calcutta / by Brinda Sarkar / October 09th, 2020

Fish farming: Push to use biofloc technology

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All

Kolkata:

The state Panchayats and Rural Development department is laying special emphasis on fish farming through biofloc technology with the objective of livelihood support amidst the COVID -19 pandemic situation.

West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (CADC) under the aegis of the department which is executing and pushing for biofloc to be adopted by the SHG groups across the state has set the ball rolling by setting up an infrastructure of fish cultivation through biofloc at its own office at Mrittika in Salt Lake. It is expected to be readied by this week.

“Biofloc is a technology using which one can produce fishes significantly in large quantities (in a small volume of water) as compared to the traditional form of aquaculture in large ponds. It is easy to monitor the fish movement, their behaviour and abnormalities as they will remain within a tank which in turn will facilitate taking the corrective measures immediately, ” said a senior official of CADC.

Probiotic and molluscs are used to eliminate chances of food particles and excreta of the fishes in polluting the water . These components produce planktons and prevent the production of ammonium nitrate which is toxic for the fishes. An aerator is used to add oxygen to the water.

“We will be creating a biofloc model in each of our 23 projects in the state and accordingly training will be provided. The seeds will also be supplied by us. The interested SHGs will bear have to bear the other costs. However the scheme can also be taken up under MGNREGA in which the government will bear the entire cost, ” said the official.

The technique is already being practised at Tamluk in East Midnapore, Ayodha Hills in Purulia and in some semi arid zones in Murshidabad, Jhargram and Birbhum.

Air-breathing fish rearing in cement tank by 60 farmers in Kolaghat has already seen success. Every 8 feet by 6 ft tank were provided with 500 seeds on an average each costing Re 1. In three to four months each tank produces 25 kg on an average (koi, singi, magur, ) whose average price is Rs 250 to 300 per kg. The income from each tank is around Rs 7000 a month so for 60 tanks the income is Rs 42,0000.

A wide variety of fishes can be cultivated through this technology like Koi, Magur, Singi, Telapiya, Pabda and even prawn.

source: http://www.millenniumpost.in / Millennium Post / Home> Kolkata / by Soumitra Nandi / September 21st, 2020

Being tolerant the Bengali way: Rise and fall of the Brahmo Samaj

Agriculture, Leaders

The Brahmo Samaj was founded on 20 August, 1828 in Kolkata by Rammohan Roy and Debendranath Tagore

The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj prayer hall in Machuabazar, KolkataSadharan / Brahmo Samaj website

The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was denied the status of a minority religion in an order issued by the West Bengal Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department in September 2017. The context was that of the Samaj constituting the governing bodies of eight prominent colleges in Calcutta. The order proclaimed that as the Samaj was not a “separate minority religion”, the colleges governed by it should be treated as “non-minority Government-aided Colleges.” It further stated that the governing bodies of these institutions, run by the Brahmo Samaj Education society,   be dissolved. The Samaj decided to take the West Bengal government to court, stating the government was in an utter state of “confusion”. It is rather ironic that an institution, time and again divided over its vision and constitution, arraign others for getting bewildered by its habitus. 

But we will refrain from rallying on those walkways, and instead look back at the checkered yet fascinating history of this once reformist movement, founded on this very day in 1828 by Ram Mohan Roy, Tarachand Chakravarti, and Dwarkanath Tagore among others.

Emerging from the gatherings of educated, upper-caste elite bhadraloks and their newfound belief in religious reform and congregational praying, the Brahmo Samaj in its earliest avatar organised weekly services with marked segregation. The recital of vedas were performed by orthodox priests, only for the Brahmin members of the congregation. It was followed by commentaries on the Upanishads and the singing of songs and hymns which were open to all. This did not fit very well with the greater idea of universal worship that lay at the core of the Samaj. After Ram Mohan’s departure for England in 1830, and his subsequent death in 1833, it was Debendranath, Dwarkanath’s son, who took charge of the Samaj. Debendranath established the Tattwabodhini Sabha, which became the hub of the cultural elite in Kolkata, gathering some 800 members at one point of time.

Ram Mohan Roy and Debendranath Tagore / Wikimedia Commons

The era of the Tattwabodhini Sabha (1839-1859) thus ushered in a significant and creative epoch in the history of the Brahmo Samaj which had for once come to receive the sincere co-operation of nearly all the progressive sections of the contemporary Hindu society. The unification of these diverse elements of national life on a common platform was certainly an organisational achievement which reflects credit on the tact, foresight and earnestness of the young Debendranath.

Rituals and Adi Brahmo Samaj ceremonials of the new church were formulated, the most prominent among these being the system of initiation. It started with the initiation of Debendranath and his friends in 1843. The initiated Brahmo was a new phenomenon in the history of the faith. Along with initiation came the special status of membership system and compulsory subscription for the initiated was introduced. A notable doctrinal change that took place was the abandonment of the belief in the infallibility of the Vedas. It was decided and formally declared that the basis of Brahmoism would henceforth be no longer any infallible book, but “the human heart illumined by spiritual knowledge born of self-realisation”. 

The Brahmo movement spread rapidly in the country and by 1872 the church had succeeded in establishing altogether one hundred and one branches throughout India and Burma. In one respect however a notable change had taken place in the nature of Brahmoism from this epoch. The Samaj had now definitely taken the shape of a religious sect or community with its own creed, rituals and regulations. This began increasingly to mark it out as a separate religious unit, distinct from other existing sects. 

The next phase of the Brahmo movement is dominated by the dynamic personality of Keshub Chandra Sen (1838-84) who joined the Samaj in 1857. Debendranath loved the young man and appointed him an acharya of the Samaj. Keshub was the first non-Brahmin to be given that position. In 1864 he undertook an extensive tour of the presidencies of Madras and Bombay and prepared ground for the spread of the Samaj in Southern and Western India. But serious differences regarding creed, rituals and the attitude of the Brahmos to social problems had arisen between Debendranath and Keshub, men of radically different temperaments and the Samaj soon split up into two groups – the old conservatives rallying round the cautious Debendranath and the young reformists led by the dynamic Keshub. The division came to the surface towards the close of 1866 with the emergence of two rival bodies, the Calcutta or Adi Brahmo Samaj, consisting of the old adherents of the faith and the new order (inspired and led by Keshub) known as the Brahmo Samaj of India.

Keshub Chandra Sen / Wikimedia Commons

In spite of the dynamic progress of the Brahmo movement under Keshub, the Samaj had to go through a second schism in May, 1878 when a band of Keshub Chandra Sen’s followers left him to start the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, mainly because their demand for the introduction of a democratic constitution in the church was not conceded. The body led by the veteran Derozian Shib Chandra Dev comprised some of the most brilliant and talented young men of the time including Sivnath Shastri, Ananda Mohan Bose, Dwarkanath Ganguli, Nagendranath Chatterjee, Ram Kumar Vidyaratna, Vijay Krishna Goswami and others. They were all staunch democrats and promptly framed a full-fledged democratic constitution based on universal adult franchise, for the new organisation. It was declared in Bengali mouthpiece of the Samaj Tattwakaumudi that the Brahmo Samaj was about to establish a ‘world wide republic’ by replacing inequality with equality and the power of the king with the ‘power of the people’. The new body displayed, considerable vitality and dynamism in making inroads into fresh fields of philanthropy and politics. Quite a few of its leading figures took part in the activities of the Indian League (1878), the Indian Association (1878) and the nascent Indian National Congress. It has proved up till now, as demonstrated at the outset, a powerful and active branch of the Brahmo Samaj in the country. 

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, online edition / Home> Culture / by Abhirup Dam / August 21st, 2019

7 floors of organic yield

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

A market cum food court is being planned in New Town


Baskets of organic vegetables on NKDA’s CB Market terrace. / The Telegraph picture

The West Bengal State Agricultural Marketing Board has tied up with the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) to start an organic market between the Harley Davidson showroom and Eco Park. The name of the market will called Joibo Haat meaning organic market in Bengali.

Minister of the agricultural marketing department, Tapan Dasgupta, laid the foundation stone on January 17 in presence of ministers Sujit Bose and Purnendu Basu.

The plot, that has been leased from NKDA, measures around 14.77 cottahs, the building will be a G+6 one and the project should take two years to complete. The estimated cost is Rs 11.40 crore and funds are being raised from the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

“People are falling sick these days due to chemicals in fertilisers. Going organic is a much safer option,” Dasgupta told The Telegraph Salt Lake. “Also, we wanted to give a platform to those involved in organic farming.”

According to an official of the state agricultural marketing board, they have already called for a tender to build the market. “We expect construction to start within the next few weeks,” said the official.

Organic supermarket

The market will have separate floors for a variety of organically grown fruits, vegetables, rice, pulses, flowers and even honey. The idea is to create an organic hub in New Town. According to the officer, the organic produce will not only taste better but will also be healthier.

“We want to give a super market-like experience to shoppers who come here. Everything stocked will be organically produced with zero use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides. All racks will be properly labelled,” the official said.

Organic produce growers and self help groups from all over the state will be welcome to showcase and sell their produce too.

“The farmers’ markets organised in Calcutta get good response from both buyers and sellers so we believe there is a ready market for organic products. “Organic farming is being undertaken in large scale in North and South 24-Parganas and we’ve observed that people of New Town are ready to pay higher prices for quality products. So setting shop in New Town would guarantee more buyers,” the officer said.

The ground, first and second floors will house the organic market. The third floor will house an organic food court. The fourth floor will have training centre for skill development. The fifth floor will house an advanced laboratory and office. The sixth floor will have a guesthouse.


Gourds hanging from the overhead structures. / The Telegraph picture

The laboratory will not only conduct research on organic farming but also verify whether a vegetable is organic or not.

This will be the first laboratory in the state to conduct such tests. Currently, to conduct such tests samples are sent to other states. This adds to expenses.

The laboratory will also work to develop organic fertilisers and the facility will have regular workshops to encourage farmers from the villages to shift to organic methods.

Sikkim has managed to become India’s first fully organic state by implementing organic practices of farming on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land. It had taken Sikkim around 12 years to achieve this feat and Bengal is now taking baby steps towards organic methods.

Farm on your rooftop

Debashis Sen, the chairman of NKDA, said such a market in New Town would give plenty of opportunities for residents to buy fresh produce and also motivate them to have roof-top gardens where vegetables can be grown.

“We are already in talks with agencies to develop rooftop farms on individual plots and buildings. Farming and gardening on the roof of a building will enhance the look of the terrace and provide quality food to residents. It will also keep the building cooler in summer,” said Sen.

NKDA runs a farm on the terrace of CB Market near Novotel and Sen says hydroponics and other alternative methods for container gardening are being used there extensively. This farm was started by Owl Spirit, a company formed by the NGO Uthnau, in 2017. They grew gourds, spinach, beans, cucumbers, carrots, brinjals etc in baskets up there.

At present, they are working on tower planters at Karigori Bhavan opposite Uniworld City. These are containers stacked one above the other and they are growing brinjals, chillies, gourds and spinach on trial basis there.

“We have been approached by the NKDA to help residents grow organic food in their balconies and terrace,” says director of Owl Spirit, Kunal Deb. “Chemical use in commercial crops has spread to such an extent that even if you have money today you can’t buy healthy food. It’s best if you can grow your own food then.”

Hari Mitti is another agency that has been approached. This Sector V-based company prepares crates of fruit, vegetable and herbs to sell to residents. “The nascent stages of plants are the most delicate. We shall look after the plant at this stage and hand them over when they are older and hardy. We also provide lifelong maintenance of the plants,” says Suhrid Chandra, the founder.

That there is a demand for organic farming is clear from the fact that Hari Mitti has started managing 82 rooftops over the past two years. “If a family takes in 30-35 crates, it won’t need to buy any vegetables from the market besides potatoes and onions.”

Both the agencies try to avoid using soil. Instead they use coco peat, vermin compost, hydroponics etc. “These options are lighter than soil and also, if we use soil, no matter where we source it from, it will be contaminated with chemicals,” says Chandra.

But the agencies are wary of practical problems. In 2014, Owl Spirit had started an urban farm on the terrace of Siddha Town in Rajarhat. They had to discontinue after nine months after residents refused to pay for its maintenance. “Residents can also complain about insects, those living on the top floor may complain of disturbance,” says Deb. “So we have requested minister Firhad Hakim to allow us to carry out urban farming atop government buildings.”

Residents are keen to give organic farming a shot. “I shall be retiring in six months and thereafter would love to indulge in gardening. When I moved to New Town I had about 25 pots but most of them didn’t survive. With help from these experts I would love to grow lemons, chillies and other fruits and vegetables,” says Chaita Mukherjee, a resident of Sree apartments.

Inputs from Sudeshna Banerjee

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Online edition / Home> West Bengal / by Snehal Sengupta and Brinda Sarkar in Calcutta / February 15th, 2019

Paris pat for Siliguri tea firm

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion

Athena Minami receives the award on behalf of Lochan Tea Limited in Paris

Siliguri:

A Siliguri tea firm has bagged an award in a Paris contest with its Darjeeling Tea picked the winner from an assortment of worldwide contenders.

Lochan Tea’s Giddapahar Spring Wonder drew rich pickings at the first edition of the “Teas of the World” International Contest, becoming the only Indian company among winners in various tea categories.

The contest was organised by Agence pour la Valoriasation des Produits Agricoles (Agency for the Valorisation of Agriculural Products orAVPA), and the awards were handed out in Paris on July 10.

“We were the sole Indian company that won an award in the contest. Some other varieties of Darjeeling teas were also put up at the event but those were by foreign importers,” said Rajeev Lochan of Lochan Tea.

Lochan had sent the samples from Giddapahar, a garden near Kurseong.

“It is called the Giddapahar Spring Wonder, one of the finest first flush muscatels. We have informed Sudhangshu Shaw, the garden owner, about the achievement,” Lochan said. The AVPA is a France NGO working in the field of agriculture.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> West Bengal / by Avijit Sinha / July 14th, 2018

Trees offer multiple benefits — don’t kill them, breed them

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

In 1979, Dr. T.M. Das of Calcutta University estimated the value of a tree to be $2,00,000 | Photo Credit: S. SIVA SARAVANAN


Hundred trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. They also catch about 1,40,000 gallons of rainwater per year.

Officials in Delhi wish to fell about 17,000 fully grown trees in some parts of the city to make space for building housing colonies. And to “pacify” people who object to this tree destruction, they say that for every tree that will be felled, they will plant 10 saplings. Interesting — the minister knows it; the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) knows it and we all known it — that this is a stupid answer. “What you lose today, I will make up” (20 years from now? and if the saplings survive?) And this is not just in Delhi. Government and city planners in several other states do the same. This attitude shows not just ignorance but arrogance, disregard for trees and their value. It is time planners wake up and understand the value — economic, ecological, health-related and sociological — that trees offer.

Value of a tree

Way back in 1979, Dr. T.M. Das of Calcutta University estimated that the monetary value of a tree, during a life span of 50 years, amounted to about $2,00,000 (at 1979 rates). This was based on the amount of oxygen it produces, the fruit or the biomass and the timber it offers when felled and so on. For every 1 gram that a tree accumulates as it grows, it generates about 2.66 grams of oxygen. Dr Nancy Beckham of Australia, in her paper, “Trees: finding their true value”, points out that “trees and plants silently carry out their daily routine years after years, stabilizing the soil, recycling nutrients, cooling the air, modifying wind turbulence, intercepting the rain, absorbing toxins, reducing fuel costs, neutralizing sewage, increasing property values, promoting tourism, encouraging recreation, reducing stress and improving personal health as well as providing food, medicine and accommodation for other living things”. (Link: ).

The Department of Environmental Conservation of New York State, USA offers numbers in this connection (see ), along with references to scientific papers which estimate these numbers. It points out that (1) healthy trees mean healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of CO2 and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year; (2) healthy trees mean healthy communities: tree-filled neighbourhoods lower the levels of domestic violence and are safer and move sociable; (3) healthy trees mean healthy environment — 100 mature trees catch about 1,40,000 gallons of rain water per year; (4) healthy trees mean home-owner savings — strategically placed trees save up to 56% of air conditioning costs; evergreens that block winter winds can save 3% on heating; (5) healthy trees means better business — in tree-lined commercial districts, shoppers report more frequent shopping and spend 12% more for goods, and (6) healthy trees means higher property values.

The minister and the NBCC officials are smart people and they surely know all these facts. Yet for them, a mature tree is “dead urban space” and clearing 17,000 trees means real estate for building houses, colonies and shopping malls in a city that is gasping for clean air. (Delhi Greens, an NGO, estimated in 2013 that a healthy tree is worth Rs. 24 lakh a year, just with respect to its oxygen producing capacity). And for them a sapling occupies (today) about a hundredth (or even less) space. But where will they plant the saplings — where the trees were? How will they survive if construction starts already? Clearly the officials’ attitude is: ‘well, we will be gone (transferred/ retired) and do not need to answer’. What Gurgaon was then, and is now, makes the point.

Admire trees, don’t axe them

In stark contrast to their cruel attitude towards trees stand the examples of Sunderlal Bahuguna’s “chipko” movement, Saalumarada Thimmakka of Karnataka who has planted 398 banyan trees — each representing her own child, and Majid Khan and the team of biologists and horticulturists who are offering “intensive care” (injecting insecticide mix in to the phloem of each branch) to a 700 years old “pillalamarri” banyan tree near Mahabubnagar, Telangana, spanning a 4–acre canopy , which is being eaten up by termites, and bringing it back to life. (See: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/a-tree-in-intensive-care/article24241462.ece). Should it have been cut and the 4 acre space used as real estate?

Obviously trees offer emotional, even spiritual solace. Indian history is replete with examples — Lord Buddha, Emperor Ashoka, and the Tamil King Pari Vallal who left his chariot near a plant to help it spread its branches.

Should not Delhi then think of building houses and colonies elsewhere in the suburbs, saving these 17,000 trees? Or if at all it has to do it in Delhi, think new thoughts, but without cutting the trees (or at best sacrificing the smallest possible number)? This impossible-sounding scheme offers challenges to architects. Indeed, high rise apartments have been built elsewhere, saving trees and even including them as part of the building. Some examples are seen in Italy, Turkey and Brazil.

India has been blessed with creative architects, both Indian and foreign, who have built houses and campuses, totally in harmony with the surroundings. The Indian Institute of Architects has about 20,000 members, we have about 80 institutions that teach architecture. Why not throw a challenge to them to come up with the best plan, offer a handsome award to the most suited and creative one, and use it to build the colony?

dbala@lvpei.org

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Science / by D. Balasubramanian / July 07th, 2018

Makaibari ‘crown’ for workers

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Planter Rajah Banerjee to ‘gift’ his shares

Makaibari tea packets kept in a room at the garden

Makaibari (Kurseong):

The “Rajah” of Makaibari tea has decided to “gift” his crown to workers.

Swaraj Kumar Banerjee, more famous as Rajah Banerjee, said on Thursday he would “gift” his 12 per cent shares in the marquee estate to the workers.

Barely a fortnight ago on March 16, Rajah had declared that he would exit Makaibari by selling his 12 per cent share to the management of the garden led by the Calcutta-based Luxmi Group.

That announcement had come exactly a year after Rajah’s bungalow at Makaibari was gutted in a fire, hastening the 70-year-old’s plans to hang up his planter’s boots.
If the decision is approved under corporate laws, this will possibly be the first time in the history of Darjeeling tea that the owner of a garden will give up his shares for the workers.

“I will gift my 12 per cent share to the workers,” Rajah told a meeting in the garden on Thursday, stressing his aim was to empower the 600-odd workers.

Sources in the Luxmi Group in Calcutta welcomed the move “as long as it is permissible under the Companies Act”. “We have no problem if he wants to give away his shares. It is a welcome gesture. We have to see if this is permissible under the Companies Act,” a source said.

Industry observers said, however, that the share transfer could turn risky, especially in years of poor earnings. “If the garden does not make enough profits and distributes dividends, workers may feel let down and this could be a tricky situation,” one observer said.

Rajah had forged a “strategic tie-up” with the Luxmi Group in 2013 and retained the 12 per cent stake in the estate that his family had been running since taking it over in 1859.

Members of the Makaibari Joint Committee, which represents the workers, on Thursday expressed “gratitude” for the “gift”. Rajah made it clear, though, that “the management representative on the panel will not be entitled to the shares”.

Additional reporting by Sambit Saha in Calcutta

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> West Bengal / by Vivek Chhetri / March 30th, 2018

‘Extinct’ in India, plants exist in UK

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Hundreds of species of plants that used to exist in India 200 years ago and are now believed extinct are not only alive, but well preserved in the UK. A team of senior botanists from Kolkata, which returned last Friday after a four-month tour to the UK, has found that these plants, samples of which had been carefully collected by the British and kept at the Royal Botanic Garden and the Natural History Museum, UK, are well preserved to this day.

The team has also made a startling find related to climate change: a large number of plants in the two herbaria used to naturally grow at lower altitudes 200 years ago, when they had been collected. Plants that used to grow in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar have now gone up the slopes to Darjeeling and Sikkim, which the scientists ascribe to global warming.

The astonishing discovery to retrace the journey of these plants was undertaken by the botanists from the Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur. The scientists were allowed access to all 8,00,000 specimens of Indian plants that had been transported out of the country from the time of William Roxburgh, the first superintendent of the Shibpur garden (1794-1812). His successor, Nathiel Wallich, continued the practice and the lion’s share of the specimens was sent out till 1899.

Roxburgh had tried to set up a herbarium inside the garden in Shibpur, but the plants suffered fungus attacks and couldn’t be preserved. So, he started sending them to the Kew Garden (the Royal Botanic Garden) and British Museum (out of which the Natural History Museum was born in 1881). Roxburgh and his successors, however, got artists to draw the likenesses of each species before sending them out, and these have been preserved as reference points at the Shibpur garden to this day.

“While we blame the British for taking away our treasure trove, the Kohinoor being a case in point, we were both emotional and ecstatic when we saw hundreds of these Indian specimens preserved in the Natural History Museum. But for these, there is no other way of physically knowing these plants,” said Basant Singh, one of the senior botanists in the team. He was accompanied by Gopal Krishna and Dilip Roy. The study happened under the guidance of Sandra Knapp, who heads the life sciences department at the museum and its curator, Rani Prakash.

“This is a ground-breaking project and we are grateful to the department of business, energy and industrial strategy of the UK government for facilitating this. For years, we have just spoken about these endangered plants and this time we got a chance to physically examine them,” said P Singh, director of the Botanical Survey of India.

The research team has also digitised the details of 25,000 specimens and brought those back with them, because rules say that no specimen can be taken out of its country of residence. So, despite the fact that these are specimens of native Indian plants, they cannot physically travel back to India. Some examples can be the Panax pseudoginseng, Picror kurroa or Podophyllum hexandrum of the Eastern and Western Himalayas, which have lost a large number of plants forever. The other two zones are the North-East and the Western Ghats.

“That is not all. We have found that over these 200-odd years, several changes have come about in the sizes of the plants, the shapes of their leaves, their flowering and fruiting patterns, the look and colour of the flowers and fruits,” Singh explained. The mammoth data that the team has collected will now be worked on for specific details of extinction and plant behaviour, he added.

The team has also found out that two of the country’s most unwanted weeds — Lantana and Parthenium, which are exotic in nature — got introduced by British botanists by accident. Lantana got introduced as an ornamental plant, whereas Parthenium was mistakenly introduced along with wheat.

On Tuesday, the additional secretary of the ministry of environment and forests, A K Jain, visited the Shibpur garden and took stock of the initial findings of the team, asking members to draw up a detailed report from the wealth of data that they have collected.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey / TNN / March 22nd, 2018

Bird fest takes wing

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel

Ravikant Sinha inaugurates the bird festival by lighting a lamp on Saturday. (Anirban Choudhury)

Alipurduar:

The second edition of the annual bird festival was inaugurated at the Buxa Tiger Reserve on Saturday.

The state forest department and Siliguri-based Himalayan Nature & Adventure Foundation (HNAF) are jointly organising the event.

Forty bird lovers and experts from different parts of Bengal and even from Delhi are participating at the four-day fest.

The Buxa Tiger Reserve is rich in avifauna and the fest is unique as it aims to bring together eminent ornithologists, researchers and bird enthusiasts from the region. “It (the fest) offers an opportunity to explore nature’s avifauna in this region alongside the rich biodiversity and wilderness of BTR,” Ravikant Sinha, the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) of the state, said after inaugurating the fest.

The fest will also help foresters to make a checklist of the birds available in the reserve, generate awareness among people about conservation of birds and study their habitat, said foresters.

Last year, 127 species of birds were sighted during the fest. They included rare birds like the mountain imperial pigeon, Rufous-bellied hawk eagle, Silver-eared mesia, Jerdon’s baza, Sultan tit, Brown dipper and wreathed hornbill.

“We want to highlight the avian population in Buxa, which is no less attractive (than the animals) . We have plans to make it a state-level festival in the coming years. The Buxa Hills are comparatively undisturbed and we hope more species will be sighted this year,” said Sinha.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> West Bengal / by Anirban Choudhury / January 07th, 2018