Breaking an age-old tradition, people in a district of the Eastern Indian state of Bihar are turning to cow dung cakes, instead of damp firewood, in order to cremate bodies in what is being considered a revolutionary step aimed at conserving energy.
“We place the kin’s body in a sitting position inside a ditch dug out with the help of villagers and then cover it (body) from all sides with cow dung cakes before setting it afire; this reduces the body to ashes without letting the foul odour from the burning body mix with the air, “ said Ravi Bhusan, a villager from Darbhanga town, some 122km north of Patna. Darbhanga is the only district in Bihar where people have taken to this practice.
“Cremation by this practice is not only cheap and time-saving but is also contributes to the conservation of energy and corrects ecological imbalances,“ he said. Explaining further, he pointed out that according to Hindu mythology, wood from the mango tree was required to cremate the bodies. This meant that a full-grown tree had to be cut down in order to meet demand.
“This had been posing severe threats to forestation in the region. Moreover, the cremation of the bodies by this method had been causing air pollution since the people were using damp firewood to enable the bodies burn fully, causing a great deal of smoke,“ said Dr Vidyanath Jha, a researcher at the botany department of CM Science College, Darbhanga, who has been encouraging the masses to adopt this practice in the interests of protecting nature. There has been a particular threat to mango trees since they are considered very auspicious in Hindu belief.
Officials had said that the practice was normally used only in flood-prone areas where the people found it difficult to consign the body to flames owing to lack of firewood and sufficient space. But today even towns in Darbhnaga were observing this practice.
The state government has in the meantime planned to construct raised platforms at the cremation sites in order to check air pollution and the huge consumption of firewood. “We have worked out a plan under which it will require only about 100 to 120kg of firewood, instead of over 350kg to cremate the bodies; this will indeed check pollution,” said Prem Kumar, a senior official at the public health and engineering department.link
Thursday 9 July 2009
Lawyers abstain from civil court
Lawyers of Patna civil court on Thursday abstained from their professional duty on a call of District Bar Association (DBA) in protest against imposition of service tax on lawyers having a legal practice of more than Rs five lakh.
The DBA has given a call for two-day abstention on Thursday and Friday. It has also passed a resolution, condemning attack on a judicial magistrate of Begusarai, S N Ram recently.
DBA president Jaiprakash Singh said lawyers already pay income tax and the imposition of service tax on them, as announced in the Union Budget, is unjustified as the Central government seems to have treated the legal profession as an industry.
Bihar State Lawyers' Association president Ramesh Prasad Singh said the imposition of service tax on lawyers would harm the interests of poor litigants.link
The DBA has given a call for two-day abstention on Thursday and Friday. It has also passed a resolution, condemning attack on a judicial magistrate of Begusarai, S N Ram recently.
DBA president Jaiprakash Singh said lawyers already pay income tax and the imposition of service tax on them, as announced in the Union Budget, is unjustified as the Central government seems to have treated the legal profession as an industry.
Bihar State Lawyers' Association president Ramesh Prasad Singh said the imposition of service tax on lawyers would harm the interests of poor litigants.link
Live telecast of question hour in Bihar legislative Council soon
The live telecast of the one-hour question session of the Bihar legislative Council on TV would soon become a reality. CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday said the government has absolutely no problem with it. Like the state assembly, it can be done in the council also, he said.
Nitish, who was present in the council during zero hour, said that there might be some problem on Friday as question hours in both the assembly and the council start at the same time on that day. This could be sorted out, he said.
Earlier, RJD member Badshah Prasad Azad raised the issue regarding the live telecast of council proceedings on the pattern of the assembly.
Acting chairman Arun Kumar said that the proposal regarding the live telecast of the council was rejected earlier. “Now, the proposal has been sent again,” he said. On July 2, raising this point, Mundrika Singh Yadav (RJD) had said that while question hour proceedings of the state assembly was being telecast live on TV channels, the same was not being done in case of the council.
Ghulam Gaus and Ram Bachan Rai (both RJD) supported Yadav for bringing the matter to the notice of the acting chairman of the council. Kumari Jyoti, Congress, too said that equality should be maintained on this front. link
Nitish, who was present in the council during zero hour, said that there might be some problem on Friday as question hours in both the assembly and the council start at the same time on that day. This could be sorted out, he said.
Earlier, RJD member Badshah Prasad Azad raised the issue regarding the live telecast of council proceedings on the pattern of the assembly.
Acting chairman Arun Kumar said that the proposal regarding the live telecast of the council was rejected earlier. “Now, the proposal has been sent again,” he said. On July 2, raising this point, Mundrika Singh Yadav (RJD) had said that while question hour proceedings of the state assembly was being telecast live on TV channels, the same was not being done in case of the council.
Ghulam Gaus and Ram Bachan Rai (both RJD) supported Yadav for bringing the matter to the notice of the acting chairman of the council. Kumari Jyoti, Congress, too said that equality should be maintained on this front. link
Bihar-Based Husk Power Wins $250K in Business Contest
Husk Power Systems, a Bihar-based start-up that can convert rice husks into electricity, has won an inaugural global business plan competition sponsored by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems.
The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.
There were 16 finalists in the “Global Business Plan Competition” for university and business school students. They presented their business plans to judges June 30 from 15 schools in six countries through Cisco’s TelePresence technology.
Members presenting from the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Charles “Chip” Ransler. They launched the company in 2007 with co-founder Gyanesh Pandey, a Bihar-based engineer.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition,” said Ransler, Husk Power’s chief strategy officer.
“We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India.”
“With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ.
“Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can’t wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer.”
HPS can cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity, using 35-100 kilowatt “mini power-plants” that deliver power on a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000—4,000 inhabitants in India’s rice producing regions.
The 31-year-old Sinha, who has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked at Intel Corp., learned first hand about power shortages in India when he grew up in Bihar.
The system produces enough electricity to supply 300-500 households for 8-10 hours a day. A byproduct is silica, a valuable ingredient in making cement. There are generators in five villages currently, with the hope to expand that to 100 in a few years.
The long-term plan, Ransler told one reporter, is to profit from the global market in credits — earned by avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions, and to sell the benefit.
Husk Power Systems previously won first place in the University of Virginia business plan competition in 2008 and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
Judges evaluated factors including management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency and financial projections. DFJ and Cisco said they will continue to work with the winner and other finalists to mentor the “next wave of disruptive technologies.”
The other India-based finalist in the competition was Kasaragod, Kerala-based Innoz from the LBS College of Engineering. The company developed an SMS text messaging interface for trivia and other information for 300 million Indian cell phone subscribers.link
The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.
There were 16 finalists in the “Global Business Plan Competition” for university and business school students. They presented their business plans to judges June 30 from 15 schools in six countries through Cisco’s TelePresence technology.
Members presenting from the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Charles “Chip” Ransler. They launched the company in 2007 with co-founder Gyanesh Pandey, a Bihar-based engineer.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition,” said Ransler, Husk Power’s chief strategy officer.
“We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India.”
“With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ.
“Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can’t wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer.”
HPS can cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity, using 35-100 kilowatt “mini power-plants” that deliver power on a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000—4,000 inhabitants in India’s rice producing regions.
The 31-year-old Sinha, who has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked at Intel Corp., learned first hand about power shortages in India when he grew up in Bihar.
The system produces enough electricity to supply 300-500 households for 8-10 hours a day. A byproduct is silica, a valuable ingredient in making cement. There are generators in five villages currently, with the hope to expand that to 100 in a few years.
The long-term plan, Ransler told one reporter, is to profit from the global market in credits — earned by avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions, and to sell the benefit.
Husk Power Systems previously won first place in the University of Virginia business plan competition in 2008 and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
Judges evaluated factors including management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency and financial projections. DFJ and Cisco said they will continue to work with the winner and other finalists to mentor the “next wave of disruptive technologies.”
The other India-based finalist in the competition was Kasaragod, Kerala-based Innoz from the LBS College of Engineering. The company developed an SMS text messaging interface for trivia and other information for 300 million Indian cell phone subscribers.link
Neetu Chandra paired opposite Chirag Paswan?
Of late there have been murmurs around Neetu Chandra being paired opposite Chirag Paswan. For the uninitiated, Chirag is the son of politician Ram Vilas Paswan and has been nurturing Bollywood dreams for quite some time now.
A source close to Neetu stated, "She may or not be a part of the project. It would be interesting though if Chirag and Neetu come together since it would be a unique pairing. Considering the fact that both of them hail from Bihar, it would be a full-on Bihar force in the offering."
The source goes on to add, "From the current generation, Neetu and Chirag are the new entrants and it would be quite an interesting preposition. They both look good together and if things work out then there is a good probability of the two being paired together for this film. In any case quite a few film personalities today are hailing from Bihar."
"We know about Madhavan and Imtiaz Ali. Other than that Jehangir Surti (director of AA DEKHEN ZARA) also hails from Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha's son and daughter would be seen on the big screen soon, Shekhar Suman has already made a good name for himself while Adhyayan Suman is showing a good rise in stocks as well", he rattles down a few names here, "It's pretty much a 'Jai Bihar' situation currently."
When contacted, Neetu refused to comment and neither agree nor deny being a part of the project. For the records, she is currently working with Tanushree Dutta, who again hails from Bihar, in Jagmohan Mundra directed APARTMENT.link
A source close to Neetu stated, "She may or not be a part of the project. It would be interesting though if Chirag and Neetu come together since it would be a unique pairing. Considering the fact that both of them hail from Bihar, it would be a full-on Bihar force in the offering."
The source goes on to add, "From the current generation, Neetu and Chirag are the new entrants and it would be quite an interesting preposition. They both look good together and if things work out then there is a good probability of the two being paired together for this film. In any case quite a few film personalities today are hailing from Bihar."
"We know about Madhavan and Imtiaz Ali. Other than that Jehangir Surti (director of AA DEKHEN ZARA) also hails from Bihar. Shatrughan Sinha's son and daughter would be seen on the big screen soon, Shekhar Suman has already made a good name for himself while Adhyayan Suman is showing a good rise in stocks as well", he rattles down a few names here, "It's pretty much a 'Jai Bihar' situation currently."
When contacted, Neetu refused to comment and neither agree nor deny being a part of the project. For the records, she is currently working with Tanushree Dutta, who again hails from Bihar, in Jagmohan Mundra directed APARTMENT.link
Mother, son burned to death in Darbhanga
A woman and her son, who was a student of an engineering college, were burned to death today in Bihar's Darbhanga town.
Sumitra Devi (40) and Mukesh Kumar (22) were charred to death at their house in Shubhankanpur area of the district headquarters town in the wee hours.
"The neighbours saw flames leaping out of their house around 4 am and informed the Fire Brigade which doused the flame. Both of them had died by then," Station House Officer of Darbhanga (Town) police station Vipin Kumar told reporters.
Traces of kerosene were found in the room where the bodies were lying and the main entrance of the house was locked from outside, he said.
Mukesh, a student of an engineering college at Raigarh in Uttar Pradesh, had come home three days ago and his two sisters were away at a relative's place in Bhagwandas Mohalla in the town when the incident took place.
Whether it is a case of suicide or murder would be known only after investigation, Vipin Kumar said, adding the two sisters were being questioned.
Sumitra Devi (40) and Mukesh Kumar (22) were charred to death at their house in Shubhankanpur area of the district headquarters town in the wee hours.
"The neighbours saw flames leaping out of their house around 4 am and informed the Fire Brigade which doused the flame. Both of them had died by then," Station House Officer of Darbhanga (Town) police station Vipin Kumar told reporters.
Traces of kerosene were found in the room where the bodies were lying and the main entrance of the house was locked from outside, he said.
Mukesh, a student of an engineering college at Raigarh in Uttar Pradesh, had come home three days ago and his two sisters were away at a relative's place in Bhagwandas Mohalla in the town when the incident took place.
Whether it is a case of suicide or murder would be known only after investigation, Vipin Kumar said, adding the two sisters were being questioned.
Solar eclipse popularises astro-tourism in India
After space tourism, it is astro-tourism that is catching up people's fancy, courtesy the ensuing total solar eclipse.
Air charter and tourist operators in India are receiving an overwhelming response for chartered flights to view total solar eclipse of longest duration in 21st century.
All set to take place on July 22, the eclipse holds special interest for scientists and general public as its path of totality passes through thickly populated western, central, eastern and northeastern regions of India.
Cox & Kings, a travel agency claims that both amateur astronomers and others are booking for the Boeing-737 that they have hired for the two-hour journey from Delhi to Gaya in Bihar to watch the rare total solar eclipse.
Each ticket is priced at rupees 79,000 (around $1,618). "Well, we have got very strong response. The airline that we are flying has 21 seats facing the sun and 21 more window seats, which are facing away from the sun, facing the earth. We call them the ''''sun side seats'''' and the ''''earth side seats''''. The sun side seats, which will have direct view of the eclipse, cost about 79,000 rupees. We are actually getting very strong response form the amateur astronomy circles in India, from the corporate world and a wide variety of audience," said Nikhil Pawar, Scientific Officer, Space Technology and Education Private Limited, Mumbai.
On July 22, the moon will totally eclipse the sun after a decade. The next total solar eclipse will take place again only in 2034.
People on board these chartered flights can watch the eclipse for almost 10 times more than those on ground. And, there are reasons attributed to such a phenomenon.
"Theoretically the totality (of the eclipse) can be only 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that is the maximum you can get, if you are stationed at one place and during that period, by chasing the moon shadow they (people in airplanes) increase the time to 74 minutes that means almost ten times than the theoretically maximum possible," Piyush Pandey, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
Meanwhile, hotel owners in Patna are preparing to welcome the rush of astro-tourist guests expected to halt here. "The solar eclipse on the 22nd can be seen from Bihar. The tourists will come on the 21st and 12 rooms have been booked for them in our hotel," said Vinay Pandey, owner Hotel Republic, Patna.
In India, the eclipse will commence soon after sunrise.
Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh apart from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar are stated to be the ideal locations for good views of the total solar eclipse.
It provides a rare opportunity to view and study this grand spectacle of nature. The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible throughout the country.
Astro-tourism comes as a surprise in a country where people for ages have been considering eclipses especially solar eclipses as bad omen.
The belief that the sun is at the mercy of two evil planets, Rahu and Ketu causing the eclipse, still prevails among a large section of people despite propagation of scientific temper among the masses.link
Air charter and tourist operators in India are receiving an overwhelming response for chartered flights to view total solar eclipse of longest duration in 21st century.
All set to take place on July 22, the eclipse holds special interest for scientists and general public as its path of totality passes through thickly populated western, central, eastern and northeastern regions of India.
Cox & Kings, a travel agency claims that both amateur astronomers and others are booking for the Boeing-737 that they have hired for the two-hour journey from Delhi to Gaya in Bihar to watch the rare total solar eclipse.
Each ticket is priced at rupees 79,000 (around $1,618). "Well, we have got very strong response. The airline that we are flying has 21 seats facing the sun and 21 more window seats, which are facing away from the sun, facing the earth. We call them the ''''sun side seats'''' and the ''''earth side seats''''. The sun side seats, which will have direct view of the eclipse, cost about 79,000 rupees. We are actually getting very strong response form the amateur astronomy circles in India, from the corporate world and a wide variety of audience," said Nikhil Pawar, Scientific Officer, Space Technology and Education Private Limited, Mumbai.
On July 22, the moon will totally eclipse the sun after a decade. The next total solar eclipse will take place again only in 2034.
People on board these chartered flights can watch the eclipse for almost 10 times more than those on ground. And, there are reasons attributed to such a phenomenon.
"Theoretically the totality (of the eclipse) can be only 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that is the maximum you can get, if you are stationed at one place and during that period, by chasing the moon shadow they (people in airplanes) increase the time to 74 minutes that means almost ten times than the theoretically maximum possible," Piyush Pandey, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
Meanwhile, hotel owners in Patna are preparing to welcome the rush of astro-tourist guests expected to halt here. "The solar eclipse on the 22nd can be seen from Bihar. The tourists will come on the 21st and 12 rooms have been booked for them in our hotel," said Vinay Pandey, owner Hotel Republic, Patna.
In India, the eclipse will commence soon after sunrise.
Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh apart from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar are stated to be the ideal locations for good views of the total solar eclipse.
It provides a rare opportunity to view and study this grand spectacle of nature. The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible throughout the country.
Astro-tourism comes as a surprise in a country where people for ages have been considering eclipses especially solar eclipses as bad omen.
The belief that the sun is at the mercy of two evil planets, Rahu and Ketu causing the eclipse, still prevails among a large section of people despite propagation of scientific temper among the masses.link
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