Category Archives: Green Initiatives & Environment

Contests to be Held as Part of Coir Kerala 2015

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

Alappuzha :

A series of competitions will be organised for coir workers and students from February 1-5 in Alappuzha, as part of Coir Kerala exhibition.

Essay writing competitions in English and Malayalam, based on the subject ‘Mechanisation in Coir Sector – Challenges and Opportunities’, will be open to all.

Entries for the competitions should reach The Convenor, Local Publicity Committee, Coir Kerala 2015, Kerala State Coir Machinery Manufacturing Company, Near District Court, Alappuzha -1, before February 2.

A photography competition will be held on the topic ‘Kayarinte Nattile Karalin Thudippukal’.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Express News Service / January 29th, 2015

KAU technology for solid waste disposal

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives & Environment, Science & Technology

A new technology developed by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) for safe and hygienic disposal of household garbage has been released for user trials.

KAUkerala24jan2014

The technology, which involves rapid conversion of degradable waste to value-added manure, was released by KAU Vice Chancellor P. Rajendran at a function held at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, last week.

The bioconversion methods currently in operation necessitate the dumping of waste for long periods, leading to environmental pollution and human health problems. The KAU claims that the novel mechanism of bioconversion developed by scientists at the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry is fast, efficient, non-polluting and completed within a day.

The research team led by C.R. Sudharmaidevi has fabricated a technology demonstration unit named Suchitha to be deployed for trials at various locations. The machine with 20 kg processing capacity requires only 1.5 sq m space and three units of electricity for operation.

A press note by the KAU said the product could be used as manure for various crops. The whole process was completed within a day.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by T. Nandakumar / Thiruvananthapuram – January 23rd, 2015

Fuel-efficient car heads for global contest

Education, Green Initiatives & Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology, Sports, World Opinion

CarKERALA15jan2015

A prototype of a fuel-efficient car, developed by mechanical engineering students of the Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, has been selected for the International Fuel Efficiency Contest, to be held from February 26 in the Philippines.

College Principal B. Anil said the car could give mileage of 200 km per litre. The technology was developed with the support of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment under the Technology Development and Adaptation Programme. The innovation was made by Bibin Sagaram, Ronith Stanley and Vishnu Prasad S., all in their sixth semester, with guidance of faculty members Santhosh Kumar and Anver Sadath.

The college was the only one selected from the State for the International Fuel Efficiency Contest, named Shell Eco Marathon. The contest would see participation of 120 teams from 16 countries, a press release said.

Prototype developed by students of Barton Hill engineering college.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – January 15th, 2015

Towards total organic farming

Agriculture, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

Lalitha of Panancode, who won the first prize in organic farming contest, being presented with a goat at the farmers’ meet held in Thiruvananthapuram. Special arrangement
Lalitha of Panancode, who won the first prize in organic farming contest, being presented with a goat at the farmers’ meet held in Thiruvananthapuram. Special arrangement

As part of an initiative to promote total organic farming among 1,000 families living in six wards in Venganoor panchayat, more than 800 families who have switched over to zero-poison farming met at Muttakkad near here on Sunday. This was the eighth such farmers’ meet, a press note issued here said.

The meet gave the finishing touches to a plan to enable more families to switch to organic farming in a year’s time. The organic farmers’ group, set up under the organic farming popularisation programme of the Kerala Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, is being promoted with assistance from Venganoor grama panchayat, the Krishi Bhavan, the State Horticulture Mission and NABARD.

At the meet, prizes were distributed to the winners of the organic farming contests. Lalitha, a resident of Panancode who secured the first prize, was given a goat as the prize. Other winners were given farming equipment. All participants were given organic fertilizers, seeds, a pamphlet on organic farming and certificate, , the press note said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – December 29th, 2014

Prakritheeyam, a Woman’s Effort to Protect Nature

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

Thiruvananthapuram  :

As rampant destruction of nature has become the order of the day and even the government remains a mute witness, a woman’s efforts to build up resistance against the mighty quarry mafia for protecting a rock and its surroundings has been catching the fancy of the people at this remote village of  Myladumpara near Nedumangadu in the district here.

Anandi Ramachandran, a writer herself and a friend of the late O V Vijayan, is tirelessly engaged in preserving the nature surrounding her ancestral home at Silk Farm Estate at Myladumpara.

Till recently, the land here fetched only Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 per cent.

But with the entry of the quarry mafia, land prices have skyrocketed by ten times. But she could not  imagine her house without the shadow of the rock nearby.

‘’The rock and the surrounding locale had always been there in my memory. I cannot even imagine this surrounding without the rock.

“Seeing the rock basking in the orange glow of the evening sky, the trees on the foothills  dripping in the rains, the reverberating  noise of the winds that hit the rock. …Money cannot be a compensation for such a distinct  ecstasy,’’ says Anandi. Unlike the others, Anandi did not want simply to be cowed down by the quarry mafia.

As a first step to protect the rock, she donated one acre of land adjacent to the rock to United Library, Irinchiyam – to  develop it as a mangrove.

Recently, poetess Sugathakumari launched the ‘’kavu nadal’’ project here by planting saplings.

She set up a charitable society ‘Prakritheeyam’ Centre for Conscious Living and Natural Wisdom and, under the aegis of it,  a reception was accorded to the Western Ghat Protection Council’s tour at Myladumpara.

Anandi, who is the president of Prakritheeyam, also spent a good amount of her fortune to set up a headquarters building for Prakritheeyam, an open auditorium with a capacity to seat 500 people and a decorative gateway.

Constructed in traditional Kerala architectural style within 50 metres of the rock, the headquarters and its premises will function as a centre for children from the locality to sensitise them about nature and its rare bounties.

“Prakritheeyam’ will help the children   realise the importance of protecting nature as it is essential for the survival of the entire humanity. We also have plans to set up a writers’ village, facilitating writers to  unwind themselves and write,’’ says O V Usha  who is the vice-president of ‘Prakritheeyam.’

The quarry mafia had approached Anandi by offering Rs 2 crore for two acres of barren land near the rock. But, for her, money cannot be a compensation for ‘’wiping out images lingering deep in one’s memory’’, Anandi says with conviction.

Green activist Kallen Pokkudan will formally inaugurate the activities on December 28.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by N V Ravindranath Nair / December 27th, 2014

A Useful Guide to Tackle Waste

Green Initiatives & Environment, Science & Technology

Green-ExpoKERALA27dec2014

Thiruvananthapuram  :

A city-based firm, which specialises in manufacturing biogas plants, has introduced incinerators for the slow biodegradable waste. The incinerators are among the items on display at ‘Green Expo’, an exhibition conducted by the firm Biotech Renewable Energy Private Limited.

The incinerators, being fairly new, are yet to find favour with the people here. The product that is turning out to be very popular is the water jacket model of biogas plants. “In this model, the water gets separated from the slurry and can be used as fertiliser. Most users bought the plants at the exhibition for domestic purposes,” according to Simon D Joseph, supply officer, Biotech Renewable Energy Private Limited.

A biogas plant, which avoids the growth of mosquitoes, is among the exhibits. In ordinary plants, to avoid mosquito menace, one needs to pour kerosene or grow guppies, which are time-consuming affairs. The anti-mosquito model, however, has a membrane which prevents mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water.  The exhibition has biogas plants for domestic purposes as well as institutional use. There are also peripheral devices like bone crushers which would be of use at hotels, restaurants and other institutions which have high volumes of food waste.

The exhibition, which started on December 21 at Biotech Towers, Vazhuthacaud, will conclude on January 22.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / December 27th, 2014

EMS Cooperative Library bags award

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature, Records, All

EMS Cooperative Library, Kakkanad, promoted by the Ernakulam District Cooperative Bank, has been selected for the award for the best library in the cooperative sector.

A statement issued by the library here on Tuesday said this was the first time that such an award was being given away.

The award was presented to the District Cooperative Bank directors P.P. Joy and Benny Paul and the bank’s general manager M.K. Radhakrishnan by former Minister for Cooperation G. Sudhakaran at a function in Thrissur. The library was opened in October 1999 with a view to inculcating the habit of reading among the young people and it was the first such venture under the cooperative sector, said the press statement.

The library is spread over 13,500 sq.ft. area in three storeys. The library is home to 86,000 books and it has a total of 11,400 members.

One of the key features of the library is a garden and walkway filled with trees and plants attached to the library and the library was launched as a place for reading in the garden.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – December 24th, 2014

Man who changed the course of a river

About Kerala, Amazing Feats, Green Initiatives & Environment, Leaders, Records, All

The statue of Chemban Kolumban, the Adivasi leader instrumental in the construction of Idukki dam, at Cheruthoni. Photo: Giji K Raman
The statue of Chemban Kolumban, the Adivasi leader instrumental in the construction of Idukki dam, at Cheruthoni. Photo: Giji K Raman

Memorial of Kolumban, who identified the ideal spot for a dam at Idukki, renovated.

Chemban Kolumban, the Adivasi leader who discovered the site of the Idukki dam, is finally being remembered by the authorities with the renovation of the Kolumban Park, close to the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki Hydroelectric project here.

Kolumban had identified the ideal spot for a dam when he found the Periyar river flowing between the Kuravan and the Kurathi hills.

In 1922, Kolumban had joined a team of the Malankara Estate superintendent and his friend on a hunting trip in Idukki. They found it difficult to move as they reached Kuyilimala. It was while moving between the two hills that they found the spot. They thought of diverting the water to the low range of Malankara-Moolamattom for power generation. In 1932, the then superintendent of the Malankara Estate, W.J. John, submitted a project to the Travancore government regarding the possibility of constricting a dam connecting the two hills.

The Travancore government in 1947 entrusted Electrical engineer P. Joseph John with the task of conducting a feasibility study and a report was submitted to the Central Waterpower Commission which gave the nod for the construction of a dam in 1961. The construction was entrusted to a Canadian company in 1963 and it was commissioned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on February 12, 1976.

A sculptor Kunnuvila Murali made a statue of Kolumban near the Cheruthoni dam then as a tribute to him. For long, it was a forgotten chapter in the history of the dam with weeds growing over the statue.

The park was renovated as part of a major project taken up by the Department of Culture to renovate the Kolumban memorial on the roadside near here, where his body was cremated.

His grandchildren are living at the Kolumban colony and are the carriers of a rich legacy. According to Roshy Augustine, MLA, visitors to the dam would be interested in the history of the dam, of which Kolumban is an integral part.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Giji K. Raman / Cheruthoni (Idukki) – December 24th, 2014

Malabar Botanical Garden to sport lichen conservatory in Thiruvananthapuram

Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

LichenKERALA18dec2014

Thiruvananthapuram:

The Malabar Botanical Garden in Kozhikode has taken up a project to set up a lichen conservatory to preserve and showcase the diversity of the plant that is widely used for many purposes, yet poorly understood by researchers.

A composite organism that emerges from a biological association of algae and fungus, lichens grow on rocks, trees and soil. As many as 2,450 species of lichen have been recorded in India, out of which about 1,000 are in the Western Ghats. Edible species are used by traditional communities for food and flavouring while many others are known to possess antibiotic, anti viral and anti cancer properties. A large number of lichens are found in high altitude forests.

R. Prakashkumar, Director, MBG, said the live lichen garden was envisaged as a facility to create better awareness about the species among students and researchers. The garden will seek to simulate the microclimatic conditions and natural habitat in which lichens survive in the wild. “It is a laborious and time- consuming process. For example, a lichen that grows on rock will have to be transplanted in the garden along with the same substrate”, he says.

Lichen02KERALA18dec2014

Lichens are the least studied group among plants, says Stephen Sequeira, Assistant Professor in Botany, Government College, Chittoor. He points out that deforestation, habitat loss and unsustainable extraction as well as pollution and climate change were threatening wild populations of lichen.

In Attapady, tribals use lichen as food as well as to treat skin diseases and promote hair growth. Research laboratories across the world are studying the potential of lichen as a pharmaceutical and cosmetic agent. Pollutants like sulphur dioxide are known to damage lichens and inhibit their growth, making them natural indicators of pollution.

“In hill stations and tourist locations like Munnar, Wayanad, Ootty and Kodaikanal, unsustainable extraction from the wild has whittled down the number of lichens, threatening to wipe them out”, observes Mr.Sequeira. “The species is characterised by slow growth, sometimes only upto 2 mm per year, and hence regeneration fails to match the extraction rate”. Reintroduction of lichen prepared from tissue culture has not been successful.

Dr.Prakashkumar said the live garden would also focus on conservation of rare and endangered lichen species and bioprospecting to identify lichens with commercial value. Eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan handed over the first lichen material for the garden at a function held in Kozhikode on December 10.

EOM/TNK—-

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu  / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by T. NandaKumar / Thiruvananthapuram – December 14th, 2014

Champion of Trees Builds Woodless House

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature

P K Pradeep Kumar in front of his house 'Woodnil' | t p sooraj
P K Pradeep Kumar in front of his house ‘Woodnil’ | t p sooraj

Kozhikode :

When working with the Centre for Water Resources Development Management (CWRDM), P K Pradeep Kumar took on the role of principal investigator for the project ‘Impact of Deforestation on Hydrological Parameters.’ The project threw light on what happens to the environment when even one tree is cut down. After the project, the team recommended that maximum effort should be put to try not to cut down a tree for any developmental project. Once the recommendation was given, it dawned on Pradeep Kumar to try this out himself.

“It is easier for people to preach. I decided to make a practical move on the recommendation and when I started building my house, I made it a point not to use a single piece of wood anywhere in the house,” says Pradeep Kumar, whose house is aptly named ‘Woodnil.’ Nowhere in the house can you see any piece of wood. Everything, from the window sill and doors, to the tables and cots, nothing is made of wood. The construction of the 2311 sq ft house began in 2002 and was completed in 2006. After a letter detailing the extraordinary woodless house was sent to the Central Government, it was appreciated by the Ministry of Environment. He currently holds the Limca Book of Records for constructing a house without a single piece of timber. Pradeep Kumar, who retired from the CWRDM last month, says that building a house without wood has plenty of positive sides. “When it comes to the financial figures, I had a gain of 30 per cent in building this house. It saved a lot of labour charges and time as well. I only took time to finish the house as I had official duties in Lakhshadweep. Once I entered the Limca Book of Records, plenty of people visited the house and many of them are seen trying to reduce the usage of wood in constructing houses.”

‘Woodnil,’ a  book giving the details of the house, the construction techniques with illustration and photographs written by Pradeep Kumar, was released on his retirement day. It was published by Poorna Publications. Residing with his family at ‘Woodnil’ near Pavangad, Pradeep Kumar says, “I am not against the usage of wood, but we should try not to cut down trees as much as possible.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Deepthi Sreenivasan / December 12th, 2014