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This is my second birth: Crash survivor

May 27, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Kasargode (Kerala), May 27 (IANS) With one hand in a sling from a dislocated shoulder caused by his ‘great escape’, K. Krishnan, 47, one of the eight who survived the Mangalore air crash, returned home at Mangad near Udma to a hero’s welcome.

Waiting for him anxiously was his 72-year-old-mother Vellachi, who even though told that he had miraculously escaped the crash that killed 158 passengers on board, could not believe her luck until she saw her son in flesh and blood.

Krishnan was travelling in the IX 812 Dubai-Mangalore flight that overshot the runway while landing at the Bajpe airport, about 20 km from Mangalore, Saturday.

Tears of joy trickled down his cheeks when he saw a large number of people waiting to receive him. It was a home coming that would remain etched in the minds of all those who had gathered here to receive their dear friend and relative.

‘I got my son back. This is certainly a gift from God,’ was all Vellachi could say amid tears as she kissed and hugged her son.

Accompanying Krishnan from Mangalore after he was discharged from a hospital was his wife Bindu and his two daughters, eight-year-old Keerthi and three-year-old Kripa.

Krishnan who works as a helper in a company in Dubai, said: ‘No doubt this is my second birth.’

Narrating his ‘great escape’, he said he still could not believe that he had managed to escape.

‘It was a huge sound that I heard when the aircraft came down and then everything happened quickly. I saw an opening in the aircraft above my head and in a moment I was scaling down the aircraft and fell into the greenery. Then I knew that the aircraft would burst into flames and in a few minutes it happened as I ran for my life,’ recalled Krishnan to IANS.

He remembers that the first thing he did was to call up home around 6.30 a.m informing his wife to say that he was safe.

‘I passed on the good news of my escape and the bad news of the aircraft going up in flames to my wife,’ said Krishnan.

But the five stitches that he has on his forehead constantly remind him of the accident.

‘I got many calls from my company inquiring about my health. I have also lost my passport,’ said Krishnan, who has been working in Dubai for the last nine years.

Asked if he is ready to fly back again, Krishnan could only smile.

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Uttar Pradesh district launches afforestation drive

May 14, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), May 14 (ANI): The Forest Department in Uttar Pradesh”s Kushinagar District has begun a drive to plant saplings on a large scale in a bid to prevent deforestation.

“Global warming is increasing, pollution is increasing, so, to stop these things to increase, we are motivating the forest department and even the common people to plant more and more trees,” said R P Singh, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).

The forest department is motivating other organisations to spend one percent of their budget on tree plantation, as the district accounts for just two percent of the total forest cover in the state.

“We are planting saplings on the road sides, near the canals. We are putting our best effort to plant more saplings to increase the greenery,” said Mukhundu, a gardener.

The forest department is taking help from the non-governmental organisations in the plantation drive.

According to the State of Forest Report 2009, the country has only 21.02 percent of its geographical area under forest cover. This is targeted to grow to 33 percent by 2012. (ANI)

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Unique election campaign for civic polls in Bangalore

March 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Mar 26 (ANI): Bangalore is witnessing a unique campaign for the forthcoming city corporation elections as Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) candidate Amrita is distributing plants to everyone while asking for their votes.

Amrita is asking them to plant the saplings to turn the ”concrete jungle” into a green city.

“Bangalore is no more a green city because we hardly see a tree, we hardly see greenery around us. We only see dug up roads, we only see spoiled roads and Bangalore is filled with traffic,” said 23-year old Amrita.

” It just flashed in my mind that why I should not give a plant to everybody while campaigning. I just give a plant and also say that please plant it in front of your house and please plant greenery,” she added.

Amrita, who has already created ripples being a popular television anchor of a local channel, is now attracting a lot of attention through her distinctive style of campaigning. (ANI)

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Urban green spaces are “essential to humans’ wellbeing”, claims biologist

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 9 (ANI): Urban green spaces are essential for physical well-being and should be protected from permeating developers, warns a researcher.

Environmental biologist Ross Cameron, from the University of Reading, said that gardens have a range of social, physical, environmental and even psychological benefits and should be given the same protection as virgin countryside.

He insists that UK gardens must be protected against a wave of “garden-grabbing” developers.

He added an estimated 32 sq km (7,900 acres) of gardens had been lost in London alone in the past five years as developers tried to build more homes on green spaces.

Cameron said studies with patients suffering mental health problems also showed that gardens helped to reduce stress.

He also warned that “garden-grabbing” could even “cost lives” if it exacerbates depression and other conditions.

“A recent report from Australia suggests gardening helps delay the onset of dementia in the elderly,” Times Online quoted Cameron as saying.

“There is evidence from a study in Chicago that areas with greater greenery have less crime. The greatest reduction was in domestic violence, a stress-related crime,” he added.

Green spaces could also help to cool cities as climate change warmed up our urban environments. (ANI)

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Demolition drive to knock down illegal structures in Nainital

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Nainital (Uttarakhand), Aug. 9 (ANI): Civic authorities in Naintal launched a fresh demolition drive of illegal buildings and structures, which were posing a threat to the fragile landscape and environment of the region, on Sunday.

The natural beauty of Nainital that attracts hordes of tourists every year is gradually fading away with the coming up of several concrete structures, both legal and illegal.

The Supreme Court also had taken a serious view of such developments, forcing the Nainital Development Authority to knock down all these illegal structures.

“We had sealed this building in January. But, despite that, they carried on construction activities. An FIR (First Information Report) has also been lodged against this person. But, still he continued constructing. So, in the end, we had to demolish the building,” said Dheeraj Gabryal, Secretary of Nainital Development Authority.

However, one of the building owners complained that he was not given any prior notice.

“They did not give us notice. If they had given us a notice, we would not have built this,” said Ajiz Ahmed, owner of an unauthorised building.

Environmentalists have maintained that the rapid illegal construction were responsible for the decline of greenery in the city.

“The natural beauty of Nainital is extraordinary. In order to protect its beauty, we should have put a check on construction of several buildings. But, unfortunately, building after building was constructed, both legal and illegal. You can see many unauthorised buildings being demolished,” said Navin Verma, an environmentalist.

Situated at an altitude of 1,938 metres above sea level, Nainital is surrounded by mountains and boasts of a world famous lake named Naini, which is the prime attraction of the city.

Tourists in large numbers throng the city every year to catch a glimpse of its natural beauty, which unfortunately has been marred by the illegal construction activities. (ANI)

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Hindus, Muslims pray for rains in Patna

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Patna, June 27 (ANI): Following a delayed monsoon, people in Bihar have turned anxious and want the God to bless them with rains.

On Saturday, various Hindus and Muslims held special prayers to invoke divine powers of the Rain Gods who, they believe, have decided to give the region a miss.

Residents said while incessant rains are lashing western parts of the country disrupting normal life, it played truant here.

Many Hindus participated in a Yajna, or the holy fire ritual whereas members of the Muslim community offered Namaz for rains.

Priests chanted shloka and hymns that reverberated in the entire vicinity during the Yajna ceremony.

“We are pleasing the rain God by offering this prayer. We are praying here in a hope that the rain God accepts our wish and grants us with rain. This rain will bring smile on the faces of the farmers and would help bringing back greenery in the state,” said Prakash Malakar, a Hindu priest.

Members of the Muslim community, took part in prayer session and said they had full faith that the Gods would be pleased and rains would soon touch not only Bihar but other parched lands as well.

“The intense heat and lack of rain is not only causing serious problems to the people of Bihar but to other states as well. We wish that Allah blesses not only Bihar with rains but also the other drought hit regions,” said Mohammad Kalimuddin, a Muslim priest.

The delay in the arrival of monsoon is becoming a cause of concern for the masses especially farmers, as nearly two-thirds of agriculture depend on the rains and two-thirds of the population is dependent on agriculture.

The Meteorological Department has said that the total rainfall from the crucial June-September monsoon would be 93 percent of the long-term average, coming in below normal for the first time in four years. (ANI)

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Rituals to appease ‘Rain God’ in Allahabad

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Allahabad, June 25 (ANI): Women ploughed fields and sang songs in a ritual to appease the rain gods in Allahabad.

Fervently praying for the timely arrival of the monsoon, people across the country are performing various rituals to appease the rain God.

“All of us together performed rituals with flowers and incense sticks. Together we ploughed the land on our own, the way men do. We prayed to Lord Indra (God of Rain) so that he could bless us with rain for healthy crop yields and greenery,” said Ramkali, a village woman.

In a country where nearly two-thirds of agriculture depends on the rains and two-thirds of the population is dependent on agriculture, the delay in the arrival of monsoon is a serious cause of concern for the people especially farmers.

According to the officials of the Meteorological department, monsoon is likely to arrive in the state by the first week of July. (ANI)

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Tokyo stocks lose 2 per cent over swine flu fears

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tokyo – Tokyo stocks lost more than 2 per cent to close Tuesday trading on fears of swine flu and concerns over the US economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 232.57 points, or 2.67 per cent, to close at 8,493.77.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 21.11 points, or 2.53 per cent, at 811.99.

The market entered positive territory at the end of morning trading on pharmaceutical shares.

But selling took over in the afternoon session as the yen’s advance against the US dollar hurt export-oriented issues, especially the auto and electronics sectors, and reports of spreading swine flu increased fears among investors.

First detected in Mexico, at least 26 of the country’s 149 suspected swine flu cases have been confirmed, with the illness also spreading to the United States, Europe and Asian nations.

The Japanese government and businesses have encouraged people to wear face masks, wash hands and gargle frequently to prevent the virus spread.

Japan’s markets will be closed Wednesday for national Greenery Day holiday. Trading is to resume Thursday.

On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 96.34-37 yen, down from Monday’s 5 pm quote of 96.72-73 yen.

The euro traded at 1.3010-15 dollars, down from late Monday’s quote of 1.3165-67 dollars, and at 125.27-32 yen, down from 127.33-37 yen.(dpa)

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