Meghalaya To Follow In Maharashtra's Strawberry Path

Impressed by the rapid strides Maharashtra has made in the strawberry plantations, farmers from Meghalaya are looking to recreate the success in their own state.

A 25 member delegation from the Meghalaya was  at Mahabaleshwar studying various aspects of the strawberry farming. According to the members of the delegation, the Meghalaya is leading in the tea plantation owing to a very conducive climate. However, the state is not so successful in having the production of starwberry in same measure. He compares the climate of his state to Mahabaleshwar which is very same. That is why he thinks that this study tour will be helpful for the farmers from his state.

In return, the delegation will impart training about the tea gardening to farmers in Mahabaleshwar which is the only place with favourable conditions for tea gardening in Maharashtra.

Balasaheb Bhilare, president of Strawberry Growers Association of Maharashtra said, "We had imparted training in the strawberry cultivations to Meghalaya farmers some years ago. Now that the initial experiments have brought good results, the farmers there came to probe further opportunities. The delegation was here for two days and studied various aspects."

However, this will not be a one way affair as the Maharashtrian farmers are also looking for opportunities in tea cultivation. A team of farmers will leave for Meghalaya in June to study the possibilities of tea cultivation on the hill slopes of Mahabaleshwar.

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Pune's Blackberry Experiment To Go Global

After having won accolades from the government and people alike, the traff-i-cop experiment started in the city is set to reach to international level. The designers of the Blackberry-based system presented it to a conference in Orlando and countries like Bermuda are looking at it for the implementation.

"Right now Kolkata and states like Assam, Punjab and Gujarat have asked us for the implementation of this system. In a conference at Orlando, US, the company officials had a presentation on this system to which Bermuda has responded positively,” said Hitesh Shah, Director, Commercial Relationship India of Research In Motion (RIM), the producers of the Blackberry. The conference was organised by RIM for its worldwide partners showing their applications where traff-i-cop was applauded by all.

In November 2009, the traff-i-cop system was experimented by the Pune Traffic police with the application for the system developed by Omni Bridge Systems, a city based company. The system envisages tracking down the traffic offenders with the help of Blackberry. Initially the project was meant to be for three months but it was extended to 13 months.

"Right now we are in talks with the Pune police, RTO and other officials. Even though it is away from public glare, the work is underway to update the system and removing whatever shortcoming which came or might come in future,” said Shah.

The application has been awarded ‘Best innovative project/technological application’ by Ministry of Urban Development last week.  By using this application, traffic police could easily identify the offenders and trace them real time. Now, this is set to be used for detecting the stolen vehicles which are taken to other cities.

"National Informatics Centre (NIC) is digitising the databases of all Regional Transport Offices in the state. Once it will be available on the server, the stolen vehicles or vehicles found violating traffic norms will also be traced easily,” said Amit Shitole, director of the Omni Bridge Systems Pvt. Ltd.

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Mark Of A Controversy

The jewellery professionals in the city are now up into arms agaisnt a recent directive by the central government to make the hallmark certification mandatory. The professionals have termed this order as an impractical one and say that it will create more problems for the sarafi pedhis.

The Union Cabinet had decided in January that all the gold jewelleries sold in the country should bear the Hallmark stamp. Apparently, the decision was taken to ensure the quality and authenticity of the gold jewelleries. A large part of the jewellery sold in the country carries this stamp already but it was a voluntary step and not the mandatory one.

However, the decision has not gone down well among the jewellers. Fattechand Ranka, president of the Pune Saraf Association, told Pune Mirror, “At the moment, there are not enough Hallmark centres. To get the Hallmark stamp means that jewellers from far off places will have to put off their business for at least four hours a day. Also, carrying the jewellery will pose danger to the person.”

The Jewellers are also dissatisfied with the provision that if the jewellery is found faulty even after the Hallmarking, then the responsibility will have to be carried by jeweller himself rather than the Hallmarking centre.

Ranka said, “We have given a presentation to the Union government in this regard. We have requested to set up more centres and clear these shortfalls. It has not come up with the draft of the law. If the law is enacted in the current form, then we will have no other option but to go to court.”

The Hallmarking of the gold and silver jewellery is done in India by the Bureau of Indian Standards, under the Consumer Affairs Ministry. 
The mandatory Hallmarking oof gold jewelleries, among others, will be implemented once the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, bill will be amended.

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Bio-Diversity Map Of India Ready : Kasturirangan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Bio-technology (DBT) has prepared a biodiversity map of the country on the landscape level. It has also prepared digitized inventories of important bio-resources which includes medicinal plants, other economically important plants, animal, marine and microbial resources. This map will be instrumental for strategic planning, said Dr. K. Kasturiranga, member of the planning commission and former chairman of ISRO.

Dr. Kasturirangan was speaking after inaugurating the National Conference on BiodiversityAssessment, Conservation and Utilization which was organised by Abasaheb Garware College along with BAIF Development Research Foundation. He praised Madhav Gadgil, senior scientist and chairman of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, who was present on the dais. He said, “You are lucky to have Prof Madhav Gadgil , who is the world recognized expert on ecology and for his work on the Western Ghat as your patron. His work evokes pride in all of us. Prof Gadgil had kindly consented to be the chairman of Steering Committee on Environment & Forests which was constituted for the 12th plan preparation.”

He outlined the key course of action taken by planning commission based on recommendations made by the Prof. Gadgil's working group as greening 5 million hectares under Green India Mission including 0.75 million ha. of degraded lands and afforestation and eco-restoration of 2.0 million ha of ecologically sensitive areas, Reclaim wetlands/inland lakes /ponds of 0.1 million Ha by 2017, Improve forest production and maintain biodiversity, Prepare and implement recovery plan for identified 16 wildlife species and assess ,Coastal Biodiversity resource, use and sustainability.

He said that the Planning Commission is developing a Environmental Performance Index (EPI) that combines ecological performance with economic delivery for purposes of fiscal planning and social delivery.

Prof. Gadgil reminded that Western Ghats is one of the two biodiversity hotspots in the country other two being Eastern Himalaya. Eminent scientist Dr. Vasant Gowarikar, principal secretary of revenue and forest, Maharashtra, Pravinsingh Pardeshi were also present on the occasion.

The Biodiversity Facts

• India has over 91,000 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its ten bio-geographic regions have been documented so far.
• Nearly 6,500 native plants are used in indigenous healthcare systems.
• Thousands of locally-adapted crop varieties are grown traditionally since ancient times, and nearly 140 native breeds of farm livestock, continue to thrive in its diversified farming systems.
• The country is recognized as one of the eight Vavilovian Centres of Origin and Diversity of Crop Plants, having more than 300 wild ancestors and close relatives of cultivated plants still growing and evolving under natural conditions.
• It is estimated that about 4,00,000 more species may exist in India which need to be recorded and described.
• In addition over 3 lakh samples of cultivars , which have gone out of cultivation are under long term storage in the National Gene Bank.
• An estimated 41 percent of the country’s forest cover has been degraded to some degree.
• As much as 78 percent of forest area is subject to heavy grazing and about 50 percent of the forest area is prone to forest fires.

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