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Chennai police stations go the corporate way
by Jai Krishna

     Chennai: Soft music, courteous receptionist and a host of services, all these with a smile. Well, its not a reception office at the Taj Coromondal, or any other five star hotels in the metropolis, but the futuristic police stations in Chennai. The Chennai Police is trying to redo its police stations, and giving it a corporate look in sync with the times. As per the plan, different sections have been incorporated into the police stations to direct the people with different grievances as to what to do or whom to meet. The city's Vadapalani Police Station is very different from other normal police stations. It has spacious and neat racks for keeping uniforms. Table with drawers and shelves have been provided so that records and papers could be kept in safety. The station has rest rooms for police personnel, a clean bathroom and toilet and even pigeonholes have been provided so that duty police men could keep their letters and belongings. It also boasts of a corporate loo. "For preparing for ISO Certification we adopted three policies. These are neatness of police station, maintenance of record and behaviour of policeman with the public. We have also given training to our staff to teach how to behave with public. We have also got feed back from public as what they expect, what is our draw back and what more they expect from us "said, Vijay Raghuwan, law and order inspector. This police station is perhaps the only one that has a proper record and certificate issuing unit. The First Information Report copies are computer generated. Vadaplani is one of the 17 police stations in the metropolis selected, for a redo. Almost all the things a police station requires are already existing. The idea of selecting 17 police stations across the district is believed to motivate all the police stations, (numbering more than 160) to go in for such a new look "This has given us a very good boost and we are sure that our performance will surely enhance," said R Natraj, commissioner of police, Chennai. A number of new programmes, including meditation classes, yoga, help lines has also been introduced to enhance the performance of the police personnel.
-Aug 31, 2005

French tourist runs school for nomads in Manali  (Go to Top)
by Rajiv Kimta

     Manali (Himachal Pradesh): Moved by the plight of children from nomadic families who were deprived of a steady education in schools, a French woman has opened a school for them in the hill town of Manali, despite facing initial hiccups. Today, from the initial three, there are more than 40 students in Dominique's school aptly called "Prayas" or "The Endeavour." Most of the children belong to the lowest strata of society, and their parents move from city to city and state to state selling whatever handmade products or utilities they produce. In such a scenario, the children are the ones who suffer. Sometimes, they tag along with their parents, but at the worst of times, they are left to fend for themselves like the rest of the community. Dominique, 36, initially came to this picturesque town as a tourist, and then, decided to set up a school to make a difference in the lives of the children. Not only did she teach them basic language skills, she also taught them how to behave at social gatherings. Dominique also helped set up the Himachal Pradesh Human Welfare Association in 2001, a non-government organization or NGO of locals from the town, who run the school during the period she goes back to France. For the children of Prayas, Dominique's effort has made a world- of-a-difference in their uncertain future. "Earlier I used to just play at home, I did not go to any school. After coming here, I have learnt counting, Hindi, English, how to talk to elders, how to keep our house clean etc," said Nandini, a seven-year-old who wants to become a teacher, when she grows up. As an outsider, and a foreigner to aggravate matters, Dominique had initially faced resistance from the nomads, who are themselves uneducated. "The kids are motivated themselves. We don't need to motivate them. Most difficult is in fact to motivate their parents," she said. Most children in Prayas can now read fluently and Dominique says their progress has inspired other parents to put their children in her school. Besides basic learning skills imparted to the students, Prayas has recently opened a free computer-learning center for poor students. The vocational training, the school hopes, would make them self-reliant and serve as an example for others in society. Till now, Prayas has not used any government funds and the school is run entirely by contributions from Dominique herself, members of the governing body of the NGO, and the general public.
-Aug 30, 2005

Tiger cubs' first birthday celebrated at Jaipur's zoo  (Go to Top)
by Lokendra Singh

    Jaipur: This Sunday was something extra special for the four tiger cubs at Jaipur zoo as officials celebrated the first brithday of four tiger cubs in the presence of several animal lovers. The bewildered foursome--Rudra, Gauri, Mehak and Rambha--arrived at their new enclosure, a birthday gift, amidst a media blitz as photographers jostled to catch a glimpse of the chubby toddlers. A cake was cut to give the occasion a real birthday colour. "Through this birthday celebrations we want people to know the tigers, they should understand them so that they realise that these animals must not be poached, be it in Sariska or anywhere else, people should now that these animals are not to killed but saved," said Damodar Sharma, the Secretary, Forest and wild life department of Rajasthan. The party started with the "Happy Birthday"song. But it was the huge pineapple cake and a generous helping of raw meat slices that got the felines into the party mood. They obliged both the visitors and the shutterbugs, with a cute display of their playful antics. The cubs, born to the zoo's oldest feline, have been in news almost ever since birth and it was not unusual to see hundreds of animal lovers from across the city turned up for their bash. "Certainly, this will be very very helpful for the community (Tiger community) at large, if we can protect them and provide them an environment like that," Taslim Siddiqui, a visitor, said. Meanwhile, the three sisters and one brother, officials say, have been growing extremely well on their high-protein milk and meat diet but the extra pampering has left them a bit too moody and also overweight. Officials are now planning to bring in some discipline and their round the clock nannies have been instructed to get more strict and also put in place a rigorous exercise schedule to get the siblings back in shape. Tigers are extremely endangered in India with their population plummeting to 3700 from roughly 40,000 a century ago, mainly due to rampant poaching.Conservationists suspect the numbers could be less than 2,000 and have warned that the majestic cats are under siege from poachers and people living in protect reserves. Their plight hit headlines earlier this year after Tigers disappeared from Rajasthan's main Sariska sanctuary sparking off a national outrage.The issue rattled the Indian government into action, which has since set up a task force to ensure their safety and conservation. State officials said they were hopeful programmes like these would help educate people about precious wildlife.
-Aug 29, 2005

Orissa's Lizard-eating man  (Go to Top)
by Sharda Lahangir

     Raigarh (Orissa): Sadouba Sarath of Raigarh in Orissa has a habit of eating lizards like any other food item served before him.He developed the taste of lizards when once he was forced t do so as he had nothing else to eat due to his poverty. Seven years ago Sadouba Sarath was on the verge of starvation. With no food to serve to his children, he thought of committing suicide by eating the lizards, which is largely believed to be vile and poisonous. But he survived. "I started eating lizards as I was very poor and unemployed. My children were dying of hunger, I then tried to commit suicide by eating Lizards. But nothing happened. Now eating lizards has become a habit," says Sarathi. Sarathi now relishes eating the reptiles and consumes upto 5-6 of them daily. He also plans to enter his name in the Limca Book of Records, for consuming maximum number of lizards in a record time. He claims to be able to eat 15 lizards at one go. Neighbours and people from far off areas throng Raigarh, his native town, to witness the daring event when Sarathi eats small and big lizards with equal ease. "We came to know about him from my friends and have never seen anybody else eating lizards," says Kishan, a spectator.
-Aug, 2005

Siliguri mountaineers aim to go where no man has gone before (Go to Top)
by Pallav Basu

     Siliguri (West Bengal): Almost a year after scaling Mt. Shinkhun and creating history in the field of adventure sport, the nine climbers of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF), are aiming to scale the unexplored regions of Mt. Jupika, in Himachal Pradesh The Siliguri based HNAF recently organized a flagging-off ceremony at the PWD inspection bungalow here, where all the nine mountaineers were felicitated. Prominent mountaineer Kusang Sherpa, Darjeeling MP Dawa Narbu La and Siliguri mayor Bikash Ghosh attended the ceremony The team has already left Siliguri for Delhi, from they would go to Simla, the base for the arduous expedition, to scale the 6,279 metre high Mt.Jupika in the Baspa valley range. The members are scheduled to undertake a month long expedition to get acclimatised to the rigours of attempt, which is likely to be completed by September 20. HNAF officials said that they chose Mt Jupika, as scaling it would be a real challenge for the climbers. It would be an acid test of courage, determination and skills of these mountaineers. "Mt. Jupika is situated in Himachal Pradesh. Though there have been a few expeditions in that region, Mt. Jupika is completely unexplored. No technicalities have been obtained from these expeditions till now. With this camp we aim to know the unknown and explore the unexplored," said, Sujit Sil, secretary, HNAF The terrain is very rugged and considered dangerous at some points, but the HNAF team has taken the challenge to be the first to explore the terrain at Mt. Jupika, and are excited and fully prepared for the test ahead. "This will be my first experience where I will be going on an expedition. I am very happy and want to thank the members of HNAF for choosing me and giving me such a great opportunity." said, Rinchen Chewang, a team member. The team members are Debabrata Ghosh (team leader), Prosenjit Roy, Debojyoti Dey, Upasana Dewan, Rinchen Chewang, Rupak Das, Souman Dey, Temba Sherpa and Dawa Sherpa. Apart from exploring new heights, the expedition also seeks to promote advanced techniques of mountaineering with Alpine Style of climbing.
-Aug 14, 2005

Assam forest department launches zoo animal adoption scheme  (Go to Top)
by Peter Alex Todd

     Guwahati: The Assam Forest Department has launched an adoption programme that would help in providing better care to caged animals. As the Wildlife Protection Act does not allow wildlife to be kept at home, the animals would live in the zoo but with their cages dedicated to the adopter. While the minimum period of adoption is one year, the maximum is two years. The scheme was recently launched by State Forest Minister Pradyut Bordoloi at the Guwahati Zoo, the largest natural zoo in the country. The Revenue Minister of Assam, Gautam Roy, adopted a baby bear for a period of two years. The wildlife authorities said that the initiative would not only lessen the burden of expenditure on care of animals in the cash strapped zoo, but would also give animal lovers an opportunity to provide their bit in its upkeep. "First time this system has been started by us here. And I think it will encourage the people of Assam, further they will adopt more wild animals," said M.C. Malakar, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Wildlife Assam. Various animal protection groups had raised their concerns over the poor condition of the animals suggesting improvements such as clean drinking water, space and shade for the animals and protection against bad weather. Spread across an area of 130 hectares, the zoo is visited by around 500,000 people every year. The zoo mostly, with open enclosures houses swamp tapirs, tigers, leopards, Assam's famous one-horned rhinos and a rich bird life among other species, some of which are very rare and extinct.
-Aug 13, 2005

Muslim tailors clothe Hindu deities in Vrindavan (Go to Top)
by Brajesh Singh

     Vrindavan: For generations hundreds of Muslims in Vrindavan are engaged in stitching clothes for Hindu deities. For the 700-odd Muslim men of the holy town, embroidering, adding motifs and sequins and tailoring resplendent attires for the idols is a way of life. Working with sincerity and devotion, their respect for these deities is as much as their Hindu brothers. Ikram, a Muslim dressmaker says that devotion to work is the best form of worship. "I make dresses for gods and goddesses. I don't believe in religious differences. My devotion lies not in being a Hindu or a Muslim, but in my work," says Ikram. The Muslim artists command high respect among the Hindus who feel that the tailors help in fighting the communal divide. "They (Muslims) are devoted to the God. In a way, they are serving the Almighty. I feel really happy and believe that it's a way of fostering communal harmony and brotherhood among masses. I have great respect for them," says Sumirandan Das, a Hindu saint. The silk and fancy attires made by Muslim artists are also exported to a number of foreign countries. The annual business is worth 20 million rupees. "The dresses are exported to New Jersey, Washington DC, Houston, Kenya and Italy. In India, the dresses are supplied to several temples such as Birla temple of Calcutta, ISCKON (international society for Krishna consciousness) temple of Bombay and even Vrindavan," says Anil Khandelwal, a dress designer. Vrindavan, the abode of Lord Krishna, is primarily a place of temples, having nearly 4,000 shrines. According to mythology, Lord Krishna spent his childhood in Vrindavan and it was here that Krishna indulged in adolescent pranks with the milkmaids.
-Aug 5, 2005