Update: The ToI today carries an article stating that this entire piece of news does not seem to be validated. Most likely the device is just capable of simple computing operations and not as full-fledged as a laptop. End of update

Laptops and the internet are more or less ubiquitous for most urban high school students. However, the cost barrier is still high and hence only a limited section of the student population can afford it. This is poised to change in the near future with the advent of a new Rs. 500 laptop (currently in prototype phase)
This Rs. 500 laptop prototype will be on display on February 3rd at Tirupati. This prototype is a joint effort by the students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and involvement of Public Sector Units like Semiconductor Complex.

Akshaya Mukul writes in this article at the Times of India:

The $10 laptop project, first reported in TOI three years ago, has come as an answer to the $100 laptop of MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte that he was trying to hardsell to India. 

“At this stage, the price is working out to be $20 but with mass production it is bound to come down,” R P Agarwal, secretary, higher education said.

Another very interesting launches on this day will be those of an e-classroom, a virtual laboratory and an improved version of the existing ‘Sakshat’ portal.
The following is an interesting turn of events:

Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on ‘Sakshat’. Five per cent of these books can be accessed free. 

Of course, all these initiatives also require that the current infrastructure be improved significantly. The article mentions that:

In this context, government would give Rs 2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and subsidise 25% of costs for private and state government colleges. 

The mission would seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country, including each department of nearly 400 universities and institutions of national importance.

It is wonderful to see that the government and other institutions are coming together to herald in a new age of education and making use of technology to drive positive change.

Read the complete article here.
Image courtesy: incasoftware.co.uk

Urban India has it easy in terms of access to literature and good books. We have our malls and online book shops. However, it is not so easy for people in rural India to get access to vernacular literature. Majority of the rural population get access only to newspapers and textbooks. One man, Pankaj Kurulkar, aims to change this scene with his wonderful initiative – Granthayan.

Aruna Viswanatha reports about Granthayan in this article at The Mint:

An electrical engineer by training, 45-year-old Kurulkar ran a networking and hardware solutions company for 15 years, before he put Rs3 crore of his own into Granthayan, a chain of mobile bookstores that travels the length and breadth of Maharashtra selling mostly Marathi books. Kurulkar says he plans to later replicate his business model in other states, focusing on books in their regional languages. 

As one can easily imagine, the roadblocks and problems that such an initiative would face are significant:

Only 59% of India’s rural population can read, according to the 2001 census, and reading material itself is limited outside the cities. Local languages have also had to face the growing popularity of English. “The situation is pathetic. People are migrating from vernacular language to English medium, and not at all passionate about reading Marathi,” says Kurulkar, who writes novels and short stories as well.
“Rural areas don’t see anything other than newspapers and textbooks. So good, affordable reading material, which is simple, is the need for the day,” says Rukmini Banerji, a programme director at non-government organization Pratham, which prepares an annual report on the status of education measuring student literacy. “Nothing is easily available like you can go to the paan (betel) shop and get gutka.” Pratham’s publishing arm, Pratham Books, which prints cheap children’s books, also has plans to enter the rural retail market next month, according to managing trustee Ashok Kamath. 

Kurulkar, however, is confident that this initiative of his will make an impact on the current scenario. His progress so far has been very impressive:

To date, Kurulkar says, his trucks have visited 28 out of the 35 districts in Maharashtra, and covered 80% of the state. The trucks follow pre-set routes—up and down the Mumbai-Goa highway for instance—and stay in a neighbourhood from a few days up to a week, depending on the amount of local business. Each truck has a staff of three, with a driver, an accountant and a helper on board.
According to Kurulkar, Granthayan has sold around 100,000 titles in the first three months of operation, and stocks both Marathi and English titles, though, he says, 75% of the company’s stock and sales are in Marathi. 

To know more about what are the bestsellers in the rural areas and what are the other problems faced by Granthayan, please do read the entire article here.

Image courtesy: Mint

Located at Shri Kshetra Siddhagiri Math near Kolhapur city on the Bangalore-Pune highway, Siddhagiri Museum is indeed a unique project. Spanning over 7 acres with almost 80 main scenes and 300 statues, the Museum does a wonderful job of depicting a self-sufficient Indian village of the pre-Mughal era. Painstakingly carved with exquisite attention to detail, the museum is a must-see for its artistic beauty as well as the message it holds for one and all – a call to return to nature and restore equilibrium in our lives and environment.

The write-up on the website better surmises the purpose:

Each sculpture has a multi dimensional effect and lifestyle theme which Swamiji very keenly arranged each and every scene to make a proper visual story. In the total cluster the village demonstrate a self sufficient machinery within village. Barter economy, Interpersonal healthy happy relationship among villagers is reflected. The Museum projects the entire village as a single family, and as single family members in a joint family. No adulteration, no cut thought practice, no mad Rat Race, No pollution, but Caring, and delightful atmosphere, no bitter feeling, but fertile land, clean water, clean air, quality food, maximum use of natural resources, cattle field, livestock, job satisfaction. All these things are reflecting the beauty, Joy, satisfaction of human race and oneness with nature. It advises us to get back to nature, without disturbing the equilibrium of nature and many other things which are beyond our imagination.

Set in pristine surroundings, with an abundance of flora and fauna in its vicinity, the museum truly inspires simple living. Here you see the benefits of an unspoiled and clean atmosphere, the bonding between the people of a village who live as a single large family, and the joys of an uncomplicated family life. The scenes in fact seem so far from our ordinary lives that we might find it difficult to believe that people, including many of our forefathers, once lived in such conditions.

Even if you cannot make it to the physical site of the museum at present, they have made available an online tour on their website, which transports you and gives you a feel of the actual place. Here, they describe in detail the various aspects and characters of a typical model village in the days gone by. For example, the following picture depicts the abode of the ‘Joshi’ or village priest, along with a passage describing his functions and duties.

On your right, the first house is of the village priest. Being a highly educated person in the entire village, he performs the following duties, rites and rituals like weddings, thread ceremony, to find out auspicious day and moments for house building and house warming activities, digging of new wells, sowing seeds, punching of noses and ears etc. He meets his livelihood on ‘Dakshina’ (money offered to him by the villagers). He consults and then refers to the ‘Panchaang’ (almanac) for finding auspicious occasions. The priest also suggests instant remedies for ordinary ailments. He studies and also teaches the spiritual literature and books, inculcates culture in the people and acts as such etc. These persons are good councilors, preceptors and philosophers.
Lastly, the priest performs all rites and rituals from cradle to grave. They serve like a lighthouse for the villagers in evolution and preservation of rural culture.

Do visit this amazing village, and tell everyone about it. You never know how it might change your life!

Take their online tour at their website: http://www.siddhagirimuseum.org/
Link Courtesy: Pramod. Thanks a ton for this gem!

The past year was ridden with terror attacks. And most of us shook our heads, deplored the state of national security, blamed the government for its lapse, and moved on. However, a citizen’s group in Delhi has decided not to blame others and move on. Instead, it has formed Jagruk Nagrik Suraksha Sangathan, a group of like-minded people with an aim to become self-reliant and responsible for their own safety.

Nidhi Bhardwaj tells us more in Mint about the objective behind this group:

JNSS President Denson Joseph says a citizen has to “take up the responsibility of becoming alert, forming a network, and falling in line, to secure himself and the people around him. If we do that, we would not have the security forces to blame.”

So how do they plan to go about achieving their goal? Their first step was to identify the most likely terror targets, busy and crowded market places. Then, two separate teams were formed – the Citizen’s Intelligence Network to keep a watch and report any suspicious activities in the area, and Citizen’s Active Response Team to take quick action in case of any emergency.

All the shopkeepers have been asked to volunteer just one worker to join the Citizens’ Active Response team. They would be expected to take note of any suspicious activities and people moving around the market.

The plan is already being executed at Sarojini Nagar and Mehrauli market, some of the most popular destinations for shopping and terror strikes in Delhi. The citizen initiative has received widespread appreciation and response from the market associations. Simple in idea and implementation, this plan urges the citizen to be alert and responsible for their own lives – a credo that could prove very effective in this age of mindless terror.

Read the complete article on this voluntary group here.
Image Courtesy: Urban Planning Blog

Channapatna. It is the name of a small town between Bangalore and Mysore. But more often than not, the name evokes images of beautiful, colourful toys that had us enthralled as children and still make us remark at their exquisite craftsmanship. If ever toys made a town, this would be it, as the Geographical Indicator tag on Channapatna also confers. Savitha Karthik writes in Deccan Herald of her journey through the town, the changes she witnessed bit had not expected, and the work of Maya Organic – an NGO that helps the toy makers earn a decent living from a dying art.

Expecting to see an old craftsman sitting in a quiet corner and chipping away on a piece of wood that would eventually turn into one of those dolls, Savitha was surprised to find the factory of Maya Organic where workers of varying ages chipped away on power lathes and crafting those toys.

Girish, who has been working on toys for the last 18 years, explains, “We are a family of toymakers. My father, now, 74 years old, my brother, all of us, have been working on making toys.” So, how have things changed over the years? I ask. “Things have changed. Earlier, people would work on hand lathes in their homes, or hire lathes, and then we would go to the toy emporiums and sell our toys. Life was difficult because we had to make ends meet on a daily basis. Now, with the factory, things are more streamlined, and it is no longer a daily wages thing. Also, back then, we would make saada bombe (plain toys).”

Once believed to have been the art of Persian toymakers, who were brought in by the Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, the skill has undergone a host of changes to cater to the changing environment. With exports being the mainstay of the industry, the toys have also evolved to hold greater appeal to the western markets. The use of vegetable dyes is one such innovation, which makes these toys score over their more controversial lead-containing Chinese counterparts.

However, the picture still isn’t that rosy for these artisans:

An enquiry at a Handicrafts Emporium within the town brought a new perspective to the toy story.

The owner explains that while there are huge export orders, there is always the fear that such bulk orders get rejected even if there is a slight fault in one of the toys. And in the non-tourist season, on ordinary weekdays, there are not many people who actually buy toys from such shops in the town. And so, there is diversification, from the traditional toys to metalware, to incense sticks to sarees.

The Channapatna toys have been more than playthings for the many girls growing up in the town, offering them a means of livelihood and empowerment at the factory. Their story is intricately linked to the toy story of Channapatna.

Read the complete article here.

Image Courtesy: Seattle Times

He is 66 years old. He has recently had a bypass surgery and a cataract operation. He is a retired senior executive at Mico. And he is a voluntary traffic cop at a very busy junction near his house. He is B M Ramachandra of Bangalore.

Having undertaken these duties for the past six months, Ramachandra has managed to restore some sanity to one of the busiest and most chaotic junctions in the city. At an age when most men his age would enjoy a life of leisure and retirement, spending more time with friends and family without having major commitments anymore, Ramachandra has been dutifully executing his duties as a ‘traffic cop’, controlling and directing the traffic flow during peak hours everyday. Clad in tee and Bermudas, and blowing his whistle furiously, he is present at the junction in Arakere-Mico Layout locality off Bannerghatta Road at 7.30 am everyday till 9am, and then again from sunset till 8.30 pm.

The impact of his dedicated service is plain to see. Here is feedback from one of the shopowners in the locality, who has been a witness to this phenomenon:

“Honking and road rage incidents were on the rise and it took more than an hour to reach our homes through this road. It was real hell. After this man took over control of traffic, there is order and there is smooth flow of vehicles,” said Srilakshmi Anand, who owns a commercial establishment in the area.

Not just this, Ramachandra also wakes up very early and cleans the street outside his house. And on his way to the junction, he picks up litter and drops it into the box. So what makes this model citizen tick?

“I am blessed in that I am immune to dust, sound and pollution related allergies. So, this traffic work has not taken a toll on me. I see it as a game and enjoy it. To my surprise, my health has dramatically improved after I took this up. After heart surgery, I was advised to do respiratory exercises. Whistle blowing compensated for that”, he said.

MK Ashoka and Hemant Kashyap report in Bangalore Mirror about what inspired this amazingly positive man to take up this mission:

One day, the local residents’ welfare association president R N Baliga casually spoke about the traffic issue to Ramachandra and how difficult life had become after the apartments had come up.

Ramachandra went the very next day to the spot, stood in the middle of the road and started directing the traffic. Initially, the motorists ignored him, but his persistence and obvious sincerity soon made them fall in line. Later, he politely requested shop owners near the junction not to park their vehicles, and they were more than willing to oblige. Soon, the situation improved so much that motorists started giving him flowers, some even garlanding him.

A responsible citizen, a man of action and not just words, a problem solver, an inspiration – there are many ways to describe B M Ramachandra. Most of all, he is a person we can all attempt to emulate in our own lives.

Read the complete article on this remarkable personality here.
Image Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror
Link Courtesy: Sridhar Raman. Thanks!

What is Parivaar?

Parivaar is a humanitarian service organisation, based in 24 Parganas (S), West Bengal, and at present is chiefly working for total care and overall development of homeless children from categories like orphans, girl children highly vulnerable to exploitation, victimization, and trafficking, street children, abandoned children, highly impoverished children from tribal areas and other such highly vulnerable children at Parivaar Ashram, Village- Barkalikapur, P.O. Bakhrahat, District 24 Parganas (South), West Bengal.

Starting from scratch and thereafter developed brick by brick, Parivaar Ashram is being continuously developed and moulded into a unique institution transforming the lives of each of its residential members (children and adults) and acting as a training ground of highly dedicated life-committed Seva-vratis for taking up multifarious service activities in future. As on 15th December ’08 there are 372 resident children and 30 Resident Seva-Vratis and 40 other day-time workers at Parivaar.

Parivaar Ashram also acts as a hub for various service activities for scores of the villages in the vicinity. At the Parivaar Ashram campus is also located Parivaar’s own Formal School ‘Amar Bharat Vidyapeeth’ in which the resident children of Parivaar study.

Children are admitted at a young age of 4 to 10 into Parivaar Ashram. Each resident child once admitted into Parivaar will be under the care and custody of Parivaar till higher education (graduation / post-graduation) and subsequent job placement and settlement into future phase of life. Parivaar is and shall be behind each child and pave his/her way into any future career which he/she is aspiring for and showing promise of making to, whether it is a stream graduation in humanities, commerce or sciences, or a professional degree education in engineering/medicine. Their eldest group of children is already in Class 8 and despite the fact that they were late-starters in academic path (trained and initiated straight into Class 4 in 2004) they are outperforming children from educated households in their respective schools, and securing top-bracket ranks.

In the next 2 years, Parivaar is being developed to accommodate 1000 such resident children while ensuring the same high quality. A separate All-Girls Residential Institution is on the way of being developed which will be gradually expanded to accommodate 500 resident girls. Residential Institutions shall also be started in some of the far-off tribal areas where Parivaar is working.

Parivaar Ashram is also the base for many other projects serving the rural areas in 24 Parganas district as well as far-off tribal areas in districts of Midnapore (West), Bankura, and Purulia in West Bengal and Singhbhum (East) in Jharkhand. Two main tribes, Sabar and Birhore, are the main beneficiaries of Parivaar’s tribal service programs. 400 such families from highly impoverished tribal areas are enrolled in Parivaar’s regular Foodstock Scheme whereby 9 tonnes (9000 Kg) of foodstock (Rice and Dal) are ferried and distributed by Parivaar Seva-vratis through most inaccessible terrains in these areas every month. More than 100 children from these tribal areas have also been admitted at Parivaar Ashram Residential Institution. Also miscellaneous service activities like house-repair of dilapdited dwellings etc. are taken up across these villages.

See http://www.parivaar.org/Food_stock_Distribution_Scheme.shtml

Parivaar’s work has attracted an increasing number of supporters from amongst Indians in varied walks of life, and at the same time has been able to build a cadre of highly dedicated youth Seva-vratis who are initiated into ideals of service and trained at Parivaar Ashram.

The Beginning

Parivaar was started by Vinayak Lohani (an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta), who, inspired by spiritual and humanistic ideals of Swami Vivekananda, decided to devote his entire life for serving ‘Divine in Man’ as taught by Swami Vivekananda. Immediately after passing out of IIM in 2003, with just 3 children in a small rented building with almost no financial resources, Shri Vinayak started Parivaar. Till the level of 15 children at Parivaar, he used to take some lectures for students appearing for Management entrance examinations and through that could meet the expenses. Gradually people began to be inspired by this dedicated service and started to support this initiative and the number of children at Parivaar grew. At the end of 2004, Parivaar could purchase its own land to develop its permanent campus called Parivaar Ashram. Parivaar’s mission and theme began to attract dedicated youth, many of whom joined Parivaar Ashram as resident workers and began to become bearers of this mission.

Parivaar Ashram : Building of a Unique family

December ‘03 : Admission of 3 children at rented building at Bonogram near Thakurpukur, Kolkata.
June 30th ‘04: 59 children
Dec 29th ‘04: Purchase of land at Barkalikapur, Bakhrahat in 24 Parganas (South)
Dec 31st ’04: 67 children (all housed at Bonogram Centre)June 30th ‘05: 110 children.
Dec 31st ‘05: 145 children.
June 30th ‘06: 200 children.
April 15th ‘07: 226 children.
May 15th ’07: 250 children.
Oct 15th ’07: 275 children.
Feb 15th ’08 : 310 children.
Jun 15th ’08 : 332 children.

Dec 15th ’08 : 372 children

The Road Ahead

Parivaar wants to continuously develop its cadre of dedicated Seva-vratis who can devote themselves to a life of service and work in various neglected parts of India for our unserved brethren and bring light to their lives. Thus in the years to come similar full-fledged Seva-Ashrams shall be started in other places first in West Bengal and then in rest of India.

Parivaar’s Support Base

Indians (and a few foreign nationals too) all over the world have been influenced and inspired by Parivaar’s work. A large no. of working professionals including IIT and IIM alumni (more than 500 of them) the world over support Parivaar. Parivaar received more than Rs 3 Cr in the said Finacial Year, by Parivaar supporters worldover. Out of this the bulk was from individual donors who inspired by Parivaar support it magnanimously.

Read more about Parivaar and its activities at: http://www.parivaar.org/

A 16-year old who teaches 600 students in his backyard. A single man who led to an entire city being declared smoke-free, a year before the nation enforced it as a law. The saviour of the endangered whale shark who has rescued as many as 50 so far. A former Tisco employee who gave up her secure job to help poor tribal families in a remote Maoist-infested village build a new life. And a Physics professor who learnt all there is about rain water harvesting and then made it mandatory for all official buildings in Tamil Nadu. These are just some of the everyday heroes that are doing their bit to change lives, whether they are recognized for it or not.

Babar Ali is a class XI student in Berhampore, West Bengal. Moved by the plight of poor parents who could not afford to send their children to school, this youngster has been conducting classes after his school hours since he was 11. His students come from nearby villages, some even walking four km to reach his house. In order to induce better attendance, Ali also managed to get government officials to distribute free rice at the end of the month.

Besides lessons, the children are drawn by the free rice distributed at the end of each month. “Attendance was falling drastically. That is when I hit upon this idea. As my school is not recognised by the government, I couldn’t have got free rice. But government officials helped me,” says Ali.

Ali has big dreams for the future. “I dream that my school will grow and expand to other parts of the state and country where children want to but can’t go to school.” But for now, he will be content if his students get a proper classroom.

——

Hemant Goswami had been committed to act against tobacco since a school project he did in 1987. In 2004 he filed a writ petition with the Chandigarh High Court, following which the government was instructed to follow the tobacco Act in letter and spirit.

In 2005 when the Right to Information Act (RTI) came into force, Hemant decided to use it to make Chandigarh the first smoke-free city. He filed over 300 RTI petitions with all government departments and offices, raising questions about their adherence to tobacco control laws. In a year, more than 1,800 signboards warning people of the health implications of smoking were up in all government offices. Educational institutes too fell in line.

Hemant’s efforts finally resulted in Chandigarh being declared smoke-free in July 2007. But he didn’t rest even after that. He continues to monitor the proper enforcement of the law, and smokes out the violators.

——

Dinesh Goswami is a daily wage earner in Junagadh district of Saurashtra in Gujarat. But every time he hears of the whale shark being indiscriminately hunted by fishermen on the rough and choppy sea off the coast of Saurashtra, he rushes to their rescue.

Describing his most dangerous rescue so far, Goswami recounts, “State officials called me after reports that a shark was trapped in a net. After we set off, the sea got very rough and every minute, we thought the boat would overturn. Thankfully, we managed to save the whale shark and return safely.” Goswami now runs Paryawaran Mitra, an NGO for the protection of sea animals.

Having learnt about the whale sharks and their plight in a documentary by environmentalist Mike Pandey, Goswami decided to make it his mission to save them every time they are in danger.

——

In Purulia, along the Bengal-Jharkhand border, Jayati Chakraborty has started a school to help a tribe called santhals build a better future. Inspired by an NGO run by Kamalesh Chakraborty for developmental work in the area, she decided to stay on and make a difference.

She quit her job, faced down appalled friends and family. “They found it hard to believe that I would be better off working with poor people in a godforsaken village.” And she tried new things — linseed and tomato farming — finally deciding the area needed a school. “We converted a hall into a classroom and started with 66 students in 2001. It seemed the school was waiting to happen,” she says. Students pay Rs 30 a month. But paid pupil or not, no one is turned away.

—–

Chennai-based professor Sekhar Raghavan’s passion for saving and harvesting water found an outlet when he worked with the Centre for Policy Studies, which examines traditional ways of living.

He says he found “we had the complete records of Chengelpet district for 200 years and realized rain-water harvesting is not new, it’s just something we had forgotten”.

His Akash Ganga Trust eventually led to rainwater harvesting becoming compulsory for all buildings in Tamil Nadu in 2002.

—–

Thus we see that it is possible for a single person to change the lives of many, even while performing normal duties like going to school or earning a daily wage. All our barriers are just imaginary.

Read the complete article in Times of India here.
Image Courtesy: jyothsnay.wordpress.com

His name is Raja, but he is more popularly known as “Auto Raja”. Once a youth given to gambling, drinking and even stealing money from his home, Raja left home when he was 15, and experienced first hand the hardships of living on the streets. Sleeping on the roads and eating from dustbins on the streets of Bangalore taught him about the realities of life. Now, at 41, he has rescued over 3000 people from the rough streets over the past 12 years, and offers them hope and rehabilitation at his New Ark Mission of India, also called the Home of Hope.

Auto Raja, as the name suggests, took to driving an auto rickshaw to earn a living. However, as he plied his way around the city, he was struck by the sufferings of the homeless on the streets. Though he had meager means of income himself, he was so moved by the plight of these people that he had to give in and start helping them. Madhumitha B writes more in Deccan Herald about the inspiration behind this man and his mission:

Most people feel the need to help the underprivileged but it’s always only a select few who go the entire mile. For Raja, it was a constant struggle with his conscience until he gave in one day to help a person on the street and from then on, he gradually set up a place they can call home. “I began to realise that this was my calling. I felt a sense of satisfaction, an inner bliss everytime I helped someone. It was very difficult but I strongly believe that if you help the poor, God will help you and that keeps me going,” says Raja.

It doesn’t stop with providing a place to stay. Raja also provides three wholesome meals a day, medical care as well as round-the-clock presence. “While the men and women have separate areas to stay, I have moved in here along with my immediate family where we stay together with the children we have sheltered,” he says. In return, daddy as he is referred to by all of them, is blessed with lots of love and affection. This, he says, is a reward in itself.

Surviving mainly on charity and grants, the home is housing 300 inmates at present, with a capacity for only a 100. With limited help, Raja has still been managing to provide food, clothes and medical help to his inmates. The home has about 15 staff members, some of whom are senior inmates. What about the inmates themselves? ThaIndian News reports in this feature:

The oldest inmate of the home is Tatha, a 101-year-old man, who is fondly called “anna” – meaning elder brother in the Kannada language – by other inmates and staff.
“I am almost blind and had been roaming the city’s roads without food for days. I was rescued from the streets by Raja’s team members almost a year back and since then I have been staying here. I am lucky to get a home, many are still suffering and dying on the streets,” said Tatha.
The youngest inmate is a one-year-old girl who is yet to be named. She was rescued by the team almost a year ago.
“We rescued her as a newborn from a garbage bin in the city. She is cute and we will celebrate her birthday Jan 30, the day she was brought to the home. We will also name her on that day,” smiled Padma, a staff member.
Some inmates trained in various vocations at the home are now leading independent lives. Around 1,000 destitutes have died in dignity in the home in the last 12 years.

While the going is tough for this Home of Hope, we do hope that “Auto Raja” goes a long way in his noble cause and receives greater support from various individuals and organizations along the route.

Read more about this personality and his work in Deccan Herald and ThaIndian News.

Image Courtesy: www.newarkmission.org

Not many people would have heard of Chaupakhi, a remote village in Assam. However it could be one of the latest entrants into the Guiness Book due to an eco-friendly afforestation initiative taken up by its residents. They succeeded in planting 280,000 saplings in just 24 hours, in a bid to outdo the previous record of 254, 469 planted by villagers in Nagapattanam, Tamil Nadu.

Manoj Anand writes in the Asian Age about this tree plantation drive and the man behind it:

The man behind motivating the Chaupakhi villagers for plantation drive was M.S. Manivannam, sub-divisional officer (civil) of North Salmara, who incidentally is from Tamil Nadu.
He told reporters: “Basically our purpose was also aimed at to involve the villagers in both eco-conservation and income generation activities. As we found a vast empty plot of land, we thought why not try out for tree plantation which has both eco-conservation and economic values. Moreover, the villagers can also get engaged under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.”

The benefits of such a mission are plenty. Besides guaranteeing an esteemed place in the Guiness Book for a hitherto unknown hamlet, it also provides employment and environmental benefits to the many residents of the place. Record or no record, let us hope the thought spreads, and such missions take root everywhere.

Read the complete article here.
Image Courtesy: www.tigerflag.com