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Uttar Pradesh News Archive: November 2005

BJP MLA killed

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 | AY
BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and six of his supporters were today gunned down in a suspected gang war near a village, around 100 km from Varanasi, while they were on their way to a marriage function in the MLA’s constituency, Mohammadabad. Rai was in his 40s and has left behind his wife and a son. Four companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary were rushed to Ghazipur district and security was tightened to nab the culprits. In Lucknow, state home secretary Mr Alok Sinha said the killing was a sequel to a gang war in the eastern Uttar Pradesh district.

Pollution to our environment is a serious threat

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 | AY
The third International Conference on ‘Plants and Environmental Pollution’ took place at Lucknow. Apart from tsunami, the southern part of the US had witnessed some unusual typhoons like the Katrina which wreaked havoc and causing extensive damage. South India too has been witnessing continuous rains in the past couple of months, following an unusual number of depressions in the Bay of Bengal. Governor T V Rajeswar expressed concern over deforestaton in the sub-Himalyan region, especially in the north-east, which has led to serious consequences. Many conventions, conferences, discussions on environmental pollution have been held since the Kyoto Protocol on climatic changes. However, less have been done to implement the recommendations keeping in mind the fact that the deadline for achieving targets end in 2012, the Governor pointed out.

GAEL plans to expand further

Monday, November 28, 2005 | AY
The Gujarat Adani Energy Limited (GAEL) which has recently obtained no-objection certificates (NOCs) for Faridabad, Noida and Khurja, is aiming to secure NOCs for at least 10 cities by March 2006 and invest more than Rs 12,000 crore—over the next three or four years—for setting up a distribution network in these cities. Natural gas is already available in all the three cities and GAEL would only be responsible for the distribution network within them. Along with these cities, GAEL further plans to expand its business in other major cities of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam. The investment in larger cities like Lucknow, Jaipur and Pune and others would be around Rs 400 crore. The company plans to invest about Rs 200 crore in the first year. GAEL started its operations in Vadodara in September 2004 while it started providing gas in Ahmedabad in October 2005.

Tulsi has additional values

Sunday, November 27, 2005 | AY
Experts at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), says that fabric dyed with Tulsi (Osimum sanctum) extracts perform some useful function like warding off bacterial and fungal infections. While Tulsi has traditionally enjoyed the status of a sacred and medicinal plant in the country, this is the first time that it has been recommended as a dyeing agent with anti-microbial properties. Durable fabric containing anti-microbial cellulose has a great demand in a country like India, where the temperate climate conditions especially during the Monsoon damage untreated cotton fabric. To have both anti-fungal and dyeing property is a major breakthrough for fabrics for surgical use. There is another plus factor. Fabric dyed with Tulsi extract is a pleasant green colour with a faint aroma.

New findings about the diet of perished Dinosaur

Sunday, November 27, 2005 | AY
A new discovery seeks to debunk the theory that grasses didn't emerge until long after the dinosaurs perished. Fossilized dinosaur droppings found in central India show sauropod dinosaurs may have ingested grass between 65 million and 71 million years ago. The study was conducted by an international team of researchers, including Vandana Prasad of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, India, studied the dinosaur coprolites, or fossilized dung, of 65 million years ago. Before the find, the earliest grass fossils ever found were about 55 million years old - from the post-dinosaur era. The researchers who spotted tiny particles of silica called phytoliths that have come from the grass family, including relatives of rice and bamboo and forage-type grasses. The findings also suggest that rodent-like early mammals that roamed among the dinosaurs may have fed on grass. They had teeth looking like those of grass-eating animals today, but much smaller.

Programmes planned for Mahotsava

Saturday, November 26, 2005 | AY
10-day Lucknow Mahotsava begins, among the events lined up are an art show and seminar at the State Lalit Kala Akademi, a three-day classical music fest involving the Bhatkhande Sangeet Sansthan and a Natya Samaroh at the Rai Umanath Bali auditorium. Several venues in the Old City have been selected to give a pan-Lucknow ambience to the Mahotsava, not restricting the festival to the Ambedkar rally ground alone. Speaking on the occasion, Tourism Minister Kaukab Hamid claimed that international visitors in the State had shot up by 40 per cent under the Mulayam regime. He added that 350-year celebration of the Taj Mahal had registered a 167 per cent increase in tourist inflow to Agra in the current year. Principal Secretary, Tourism, Rita Sinha, announced the government’s decision to celebrate 2550 years of the Buddha next year, with an eye on tourism prospects of the Buddhist circuit.

Ayodhya, Kashi has new security strategies

Saturday, November 26, 2005 | AY
New security plans which includes para-troopers and police with sophisticated arms has been approved by the centre for Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura shrines costing Rs 54 crore. The Centre had already released Rs 18 crore out of Rs 54 crore earmarked for the plan. Upgradation of intelligence network, installation of more watch towers and providing sophisticated arms to security forces were part of the new security plan. The DGP said security along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh had been strengthened to check infiltration. The police had managed to check Naxal activities in Mirzapur, Sonebhadra and Chandauli districts.

Gymnastic championship for UP

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 | AY
Gymnasts from Uttar Pradesh took home the overall championship in the 19th Sub-Junior Artistic Gymnastic championship at the Andheri Sports Complex. The kids from Uttar Pradesh, who have been ruling the apparatus and the floor exercise for the last 12 years, finished with a whopping 534.400 points leaving behind Andhra Pradesh (504.400) and West Bengal (485.77) in the second and third places respectively. In the individual section, Uttar Pradesh’s Iqrara Hasan and Aditya Singh Rana made it 1-2 in the boys’ section, with Andhra Pradesh’s A Gopikumar taking the bronze medal.

HIV- AIDS spreading like wildfire

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 | AY
There are now more than 40.3 million people affected with HIV/AIDS globally, a UN report on HIV-AIDS has said. Over 3 million people have died of AIDS this year alone, while nearly 5 million people have been newly infected with HIV in 2005. States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where the HIV-AIDS population is still small, the report has warned that even a small increase in infection rates can lead to an explosion since the epidemic is spreading heterosexually through families. Though the HIV/AIDS epidemic is stabilising in high-risk states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, newer high-risk populations are emerging, including the youth.

Sahara expands their market

Monday, November 21, 2005 | AY
Sahara Computers and Electronics Limited (SCEL), has announced the launch of several technology products, aimed at strengthening the company's products' portfolio in the domestic market. Their new project "Goldmine", offering the best computing solutions in conjunction with loan schemes through bank tie-ups, will help people in the B, C and D towns, to make the right computer choice by educating them. SCEL has tied-up with over 6000 conventional IT channel partners and plans to invest Rs 150 crores in order to expand this market. The "Spectra Media Center Edition",a new technology product, features the Intel Pentium 4 processor with HT (hyper-thread) technology, which reduces heat produced by the CPU and offers greater stability plus performance par-excellence. It incorporates a 160ssGB HDD powered by 333MHZ 512MB DDR RAM, and a "Completely Wireless" Desktop for TV and cable viewing. The "Compact NB2630-N7 Tablet Notebook" weighs just 2.5kg; and incorporates the Intel Pentium M Dothan 1.7 GHZ processor (Centrino mobile technology), and the Intel 855 Embedded Real 256 VGA Graphic chipset. SCEL's initial manufacturing plant, based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, will supply a broad range of IT products, through 25 distribution hubs across major states in the country.

Fake passports from Lucknow

Sunday, November 20, 2005 | AY
Abu Salem had procured his own as well as his first wife Sameera's passport from Lucknow. Salem had reportedly used the name Akhil Kumar Azmi while wife Sameera Jumani was shown as Sabina Azmi in the passports that were issued by the Lucknow regional passport office July 6, 1993. According to local police, after procuring the passports from Lucknow, Abu Salem and Sameera initially moved to Hyderabad, from where they managed to slip out of the country. CBI issued red-corner notices in the names of Salem and Sameera in 1995 and 2000, respectively.

Jaya Bachchan clarifies herself

Saturday, November 19, 2005 | AY
Jaya Bachchan is fighting to save her Rajya Sabha seat after a complaint was filed against her for holding the post of Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council. The Election Commission is looking into the complaint, which was filed by a Congressman from Kanpur who lost the Rajya Sabha election to Jaya in 2004. By law MPs cannot simultaneously occupy what is called an office of profit in the government. But in her defence, the actress-turned-politician has told the EC that her post in the UP government is not an office of profit and the film council is purely an advisory body. Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, which elected Jaya Bachchan to the Rajya Sabha is confident that she has not done anything wrong and will complete her term in Parliament.

Sudershan supported by BJP

Saturday, November 19, 2005 | AY
A day after RSS chief K S Sudershan urged Hindus to produce not less than three children, the Uttar Pradesh BJP, extending whole-hearted support to the idea, warned that the nation would face another division if the political outfits and Hindus "do not heed to his advice". BJP spokesman Surjeet Singh Dung told that, riots take place only in the places where the population of the Hindus is less in comparison to the Muslims. Majority of Hindus believe in smaller families while the Muslims, under the influence of the fundamentalists, consider family planning as anti-religion. Dung said the Hindu community would be forced to produce more children to save their existence if the role of the "fundamentalist forces in population growth is not controlled.

UP plans to expand its business potential

Thursday, November 17, 2005 | AY
Uttar Pradesh plans to increase its export in the next few years as the demand for basmati rice, potatoes and mangoes is rising in the market. To overcome the hurdle of not knowing business skills amongst farmers, a roadmap has been chalked out which revolves around farmers' training. It was decided in the meeting to impart on-the-spot training to farmers in different areas on the basis of export module prepared on the recommendation of the meeting. Mango remained the main fruit crop, occupying 85 per cent of fruit area in the state. Over four million tonnes of mangoes are produced annually from 2.5 lakh hectares of mango orchids in the state. The average yield of 16.3 metric tonnes per hectare in UP is much higher than the national average of 7.8 million tonnes per hectare. Similarly, potato is also grown on a vast area with an estimated production of six million tonnes annually. Basmati rice produced in UP is of potential quality and in demand within and outside the country.

Scientific way to determine a fresh fish

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 | AY
By looking at the fins, one can judge how fresh the fish is and their suitability for consumption. Erosion in fins of fish indicate that they are carrying an infection. Such fish when consumed by us can lead to several toxic effects in our body. According to the traditional wisdom of buying fish, the gills are examined. The reddish tinge near the gills’ area makes us believe that the fish is fresh. That’s the ‘traditional’ and incorrect way ‘devised’ by us for ascertaining the freshness of fish. But fish-sellers at times use some chemicals to bring out the reddish tinge of blood. If all the fins, especially the tail fin is intact without any erosion, you can go for the purchase blindly. Insecticides and the industrial effluents get accumulated in the muscles of fish. These muscles- the edible part of fish are consumed by us and the toxicity gets transferred into us.

Neem bath for your pets

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 | AY
A ‘‘neem bath’’ can now be used to pamper your pet, thanks to the latest studies of the scientists at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI). As neem has anti-bacterial and other medicinal properties they have thought of using it for pets. At present, the scientists have only developed the formulation. But they say it could be launched in the form of soaps, shampoos, drugs, creams and sprays. This formulation was used on all almost all types of domestic animals. The best results were obtained when it was applied on dogs. According to these scientists, the range of pet soaps, shampoos available in the market at present run the risk of causing side effects. The new formulation which is herbal is completely safe and acts as a powerful protectant for pets. Normally pets, are in the habit of licking the drug formulation applied on their body. But with this neem formulation having a bitter taste, the pets would not do so.

Railway stations to be included in heritage status

Monday, November 14, 2005 | AY
Among five railway stations that a heritage directorate constituted by the Railway Ministry has recommended for UNESCO World Heritage site status are Lucknow's Charbagh station and Kanpur Central. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus have already been given this status due to their glorious history of over 100 years. The Kanpur station had appeared on the railway route map in 1920. In Lucknow, the Charbagh Railway Station, an architectural masterpiece with a history dating back to 1914, is still counted among the popular monuments of the city. The building’s architecture reflects both the Mughal and European influences, highlighted by the nawabs’ royal emblem, a pair of fish.

AIRs 24X7 music channel from Trichy and Lucknow

Sunday, November 13, 2005 | AY
A 24-hour channel in Hindustani and Carnatic Music will be launched shortly by All India Radio (AIR), which also plans concerts at prominent open public places to popularise classical music in the country. Lucknow for Hindustani classical and Trichy for Carnatic music would be the hub of the 24X7 music channels. AIR, in collaboration with the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, proposed to hold classical music concerts at public gardens and prominent open spaces, for which the Prasar Bharati (PB) Board had given its consent recently.

Mahabharat destinations boosting tourism

Sunday, November 13, 2005 | AY
Uttar Pradesh government has a unique plan of reviving the treasured Mahabharat period to give a boost to tourism sector of the state. An action plan has been drawn to develop a Mahabharat Age Tourist Circuit in the western part of the state, by tracing the remains of the prized period and also developing places mentioned in the epic by Ved Vyas. Excavations will be carried out by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) in the Bagpat district, which is believed to house the five villages demanded by Pandavas from Kaurav King Dhritrashtra. Already a cave (believed to have been used by Pandavas to escape the attack) was excavated some years ago in the Meerut division. A makeover of the cave was on the cards to attract tourists. The other places associated with Mahabharat including Hastinapur and Parikshitgarh in Meerut district, Shukratal in Muzaffarnagar district and Garhmukteshwar in Ghaziabad district will be developed further to be a part of the Mahabharat Circuit.

An alternative treatment for brain strokes

Saturday, November 12, 2005 | AY
The humble turmeric, commonly used in all Indian kitchens as haldi, may be a cure for treating brain strokes economically and effectively. Recent studies conducted by the Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, ‘‘curcumin’’ — a naturally occurring component in turmeric — is the most effective treatment for the deadly disease. At present, the only treatment for brain strokes is innoculation of a drug costing around Rs 45,000 per dose. Although the drug is yet to be developed, CDRI scientists said curcumin-based drugs would be cheaper than the Tissue Plasminogen Activator (TPA) innoculation that is available at present. A stressfull life, hypertension and high cholesterol level are among the factors responsible for brain strokes. The medical properties of curcumin are that it is Anti-tumorogenic, Anti-carcinogenic and Anti-oxidant.

A technology to purify water

Saturday, November 12, 2005 | AY
The Industrial Toxicological Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow, has devised a unique purifying technology to remove heavy metals from water. Under this technology, the ITRC has developed ‘indigenous adsorbents’ for removing contamination of heavy metals from water. The water purifying technology also removes microbial agents from water. Presence of heavy metals, like flouride, causes a debilitating condition-flourosis- adversely affecting dental and skeletal tissues. Persons consuming Arsenic contaminated water suffer from Arsenicosis which affects skin and vital organs. Activated carbon and activated alumina are some of such adsorbents- having the potency to soak chemicals at their surface. When indigenous materials materials like groundnut husk, saw dust, rice husk, were combined with activated Alumina and activated Carbon, the efficiency of removing water contamination by the adsorbents was increased. Different types of clays and sand have also been used as adsorbents in this technology.

UP with new plans

Wednesday, November 9, 2005 | AY
Uttar Pradesh would hold its first ever State Games in Lucknow, from 11 to 15 January. The five-day games featuring 14 Olympic events would be held in as a run up exercise to the Guwahati National Games in February next year. These games would be the selection games to draw a strong team for the National Games. This is an effort by UP to make its presence felt in the national and international sports arena.

Beware of sweets covered in silver foil

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 | AY
A study by scientists at the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC) in Lucknow has found that sweets wrapped in silver foils contain ‘appreciable residues of nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium’. Over half of the analyzed silver foils had lower silver purity than the 99.9 per cent purity stipulated by the prevention of food adulteration act of India. In the Indian subcontinent silver foil has been used for centuries to garnish and embellish several food items including betel leaf. The practice is so widespread that, according to the scientists, roughly 275,000 kilograms of pure silver are converted into edible silver foil each year in India.

Brilliance lies in the genes

Monday, November 7, 2005 | AY
A five-year-old girl has been promoted to class IX at Hindnagar's St Mary's Inter College, in Lucknow, after passing class VI, VII and VIII examinations with excellent marks! If she maintains the trend in future also she would appear at the High School examination at the age of six and enter university at the age of nine years. Earlier the education department had raised objection when the college promoted her to class IX. But when the experts gave their report about her, the Education Department had no objection on the decision of the college and recognized her as a student of class IX. There is no age limit for sitting at the High School examination but the only mandatory requirement is that the candidate must have passed class IX before appearing at the High School exam. Interestingly, Sushma's elder brother Shailendra Verma also got admission last year in Lucknow University's BSC I class at the age of eleven years.

Delhi was planned for the Ayodhya attack

Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY
The culprits who have been taken into custody, for Ayodhya attack confessed before the investigators that they had initially planned to strike at Delhi but for "some unknown reasons" their "high command" put the idea on hold and instead shifted focus to Ayodhya. Another possible clue which the investigators are banking on are the cell phone calls being made to Saharanpur immediately after the Ayodhya attack and explosions in Delhi. It was further traced that the Saharanpur number on which the calls were made was used for making calls in the J&K.

Vipin wins the Scorpio speedster contest

Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY
Vipin Tyagi from Muzaffarnagar was crowned the fastest bowler with a bowling speed of 133 kph, in Kanpur round of the Scorpio Speedster Contest, a 10-city hunt for India's fastest bowler. Vipin received a cheque for Rs 10,000 and insurance policy worth Rs five lakh from Birla Sun Life. The winner will now travel to Mumbai to paticipate in the semis of the contest on November 20 where 7 finalists will be selected. A total of 3,413 contenders competed at the Green Park stadium in their quest for sporting glory.

Tuberculosis causing tension

Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY
Since 1967, when the most potent drug-‘Rifampicin’- was discovered as the treatment for Tuberculosis, medical fraternity all across the world is trying to develop new drugs and vaccines for a more effective treatment of TB. At present the only vaccine to fight TB is BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin). Although, BCG sometimes fails to control this disease, as it is more effective in protecting babies and young children than adults. Experts were of the view that, at times, the patient are in a habit to stop the treatment on their own when they feel slightly better. Without completing the desired medication course the patients, especially the poor, leave the treatment mid-way. This, in turn, helps TB microbes to resume their growth, which lead to several complications. A need to develop efficient vaccines that can reduce the period of chemotherapy- for treating the disease is required.

Crackers need to be controlled

Sunday, November 6, 2005 | AY
Festival of Diwali witnessed a drastic rise in the noise level in the city of Lucknow. Alambagh locality was the worst hit. Industrial Toxicological Research Center (ITRC), had monitored eight prominent localities of the city — Gomti Nagar, Aliganj, Vikas Nagar, Indira Nagar, Alambagh, Chowk, Aminabad and Hazratganj. Exposure to such noise levels can lead to various health complications. Children, especially infants, are the worst affected. The elevation in noise level recorded on the deepawali day was enough for adversly affecting the defence mechanism of the infant. Toxic fumes of phosphorus, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide are virtually poison for asthmatic patients. It’s not only high decibel crackers beyond 125 dB (A) which have adverse health consequences. Even crackers which do not produce a deafening sound, but emanate colour are equally harmful. In such crackers, metal salts as colouring agents are used, which, when inhaled, may lead to several bronchial complications.

A very rare finding discovered by Lucknow scientist

Wednesday, November 2, 2005 | AY
A rare finding of a 65 million year old fossil, showing two tiniest members of the animal family in sexual union, has been discovered by Lucknow scientists. One needs a microscope to see the fossil sex frozen in time because what Kar and co-workers have captured is between "swarm cells" that are smaller than the width of a human hair. Swarm cells are one of the three stages in the development of the fungus Myxomycetes, also known as "slime moulds" that are classified due to their creeping behaviour. Having two flagellas, swarm cells are motile and sexually reproduce by "fusing" to produce what is known as "zygote." Once they are fused, the flagellas are lost. The sexual organs (of swarm cells) being delicate and the time of conjugation short-lived, it is indeed rare to get this stage (of conjugal union) in the fossil state.

Investigation of Delhi blasts leading to UP

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 | AY
Investigation of Saturday's serial bomb blasts in Delhi has revealed that several anonymous calls had been made to the particular area in Uttar pradesh before and after the blasts and these are being verified. Police were also examining a possible link of the Delhi blasts with the module of Lashker-e-Taiba that attacked Ayodhya makeshift temple in July as some similarities have been found. The suspected calls had been made from both mobile and landline phones to particular numbers. The agencies were also looking at the new angle in regard to the use of electronic-timer devices, which had been used in India for the first time.

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