Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

Sorlagondi women become agents of change

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
Women mangrove plant seed collectors engaged in work at Sorlagondi Reserve Forest in Krishna district.— Photo: T. Appala Naidu
Women mangrove plant seed collectors engaged in work at Sorlagondi Reserve Forest in Krishna district.— Photo: T. Appala Naidu

They have played a pivotal role in conservation of seven mangrove species

Venturing into one of the rarest eco-regions of the world — the Sorlagondi mangrove forest— has become a regular chore for a group of ten women for two months every year.

A visit to the dense forest in the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary between October and November will offer a peep into their activity of collecting seed of mangrove plant species. The lesser known is fact that they became unsung heroes in conserving the seven mangrove plant species, including Avicennia marina and Avicennia officinalis. Like every other woman member of her group, Kokkiligadda Muriamma, 38, reaches the sanctuary before sunrise and begins her six-hour daily task of collecting seeds.

The women belonging to Sorlagondi venture into the forest on barefoot. Holding a bamboo basket in their hands or a gunny bag on their shoulders, these women collect at least a few thousands of seeds and nuts of the mangrove plant species.

Nursery-mode treatment

“The survival rate of a seed that falls from the tree is very low. Hence, we peel the nut and raise it in the local soil for a week. The nursery-mode treatment to the seed is a success,” Ms. Muriamma told The Hindu. Usually, half of the seed germinates, much to the delight of the seed collectors.

“We have been hired by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation to supply seeds and raise them in the reserve forest. We are being paid Rs. 170 each per day,” said another seed collector K. Seeta Kumari. “We are happy to be part of raising the forest. The two-month activity is all about how we spend our leisure time,” said Naga Laxmi Naidu, a seed collector. Recently, the women shared their experiences during a field study by experts who are working on the United Nation’s Green Climate Fund.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Sorlagondi (Krishna) – October 14th, 2016

Wild plants are no more worthless!

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Scientist suggests agave and cactus plantation in barren lands.

If you think the wildly grown plants have no role to play, think again. Plants like agave, cactus (opuntia) and sitaphal, having high drought resistance and rich in nutrients, have a purpose that is yet to be fully uncovered and unleashed.

Agave is one such plant that is ‘wildly’ abused in India, in spite of its multiple benefits to nature as well as society. Its tough fibre is used to make ropes in Central America, while its cellulose is a key ingredient in Brazil’s paper industry. These apart, hecogenin, a steroid is extracted from its juice.

Similar is the case of cactus, a regenerative plant known for its ‘carefree’ growth, which is confined to field fences. Categorised as a ‘Crassulacean Acid Metabolism’ (CAM) plant, the stomata open in nights to absorb carbon dioxide and closes in the day to facilitate photosynthesis.

“It has been proved beyond doubt that natural calamities happen due to CO2 concentration and atmospheric vapour. CAM plants grown on a massive scale are the simplest solution to act as a carbon sink,” says Anumakonda Jagadeesh, Director, Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives, Nellore.

In an informal chat with The Hindu , he explained how the Government can saturate barren lands with these plants to maintain equilibrium and as well kick-start the rural economy. According to him, the CAM family members yield fruits having nutritional values similar to apples and pomegranates.

A cup of prickly pears contains 1.09 gm of protein, compared to a medium-sized apple’s 0.47 gm. “Israel is a major exporter of juice that fetches Rs.1,000 per litre”, he added.

While the State is grappling with the menace of water hyacinth,

Dr. Jagadeesh suggests a cheap and easy remedy. “The combination of water hyacinth and animal dung is the best source of biogas”, he pointed out.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / A.D. Rangarajan / Tirupati – August 08th, 2016

AP to organise largescale training programme for rearing ducks

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment

Hyderabad :

Realising the commercial value of duck farming and its impact on improving the socio-economic condition and economic empowerment of the rural poor, the state government has decided to promote it on a large scale and train duck farmers scientifically to improve egg and meat production in the state.

Since duck farming in Andhra Pradesh is in a primitive stage, which is mainly in the hands of nomadic, illiterate and Scheduled Tribe communities, the government has decided to train duck farmers in scientific rearing and healthcare system.

Ducks occupy an important position next to chicken farming in the state. They form about 10 per cent of the total poultry population and contribute about 6-7 per cent of the total number of eggs produced in the state.

However, though AP is one of the leading states in the production of duck eggs and meat in the country, there is very little demand in the domestic market and most of them are exported to West Bengal and other states where there is demand for duck eggs and meat. As the rearing practices being followed by AP duck farmers are unscientific and traditional, the production is not reaching the desired level. Hence the decision to provide scientific training to them, a top official of the animal husbandry department.

“They will be given proper training so that they could improve the production of duck eggs and meat. We will train them in best practices available in the country. We are even planning to invite leading duck farmers of the country to share their experiences with our farmers,” the official added. Duck rearing is prevalent among weaker sections of rural population which provides them supplementary and steady income on daily basis besides providing them nutrition duck eggs for family consumption and generates rural employment.

Therefore, the government is trying to involve many people belonging to these sections in duck farming by offering them incentives, the official said. “Duck farming can also be a stable employment source. Young unemployed educated people can enter into this business,” he said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / July 09th, 2016

Singapore consortium to have 58 p.c. stake

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, World Opinion

The Singapore-based consortium, which submitted its Swiss challenge proposal for the construction of Amaravati Seed Capital in an extent of over 1,600 acres, will be given an equity share of 58 per cent in the project.

Earlier, it was proposed to share the revenue equally between the consortium and the Amaravati Development Corporation, which was called Capital City Development and Management Corporation, a special purpose vehicle floated by the government. According to the latest discussions, the share of the ADC now will be 42 per cent, mostly in the form of land.

The revenue from the project will be shared in the ratio of 58:42 between the consortium, comprising Asendas, Singbridge, and Sembcorp Development Ltd., and the Singapore government with 74.5 per cent share in the consortium and the ADC respectively.

Final decision today?

“Chief Secretary, who is the Chairman of Infrastructure Authority, called for a meeting with Secretaries of five to six departments to consider all aspects on Wednesday. A final decision on accepting the Swiss challenge proposal is possible tomorrow,” sources said.

Once the proposal submitted by the consortium, which had been fine tuned after several rounds of discussions to meet the norms, is cleared, it will enter into an agreement with the ADC. The proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet for its approval. Once the proposal is approved, it will be put in the public domain and invite better proposal from any competitor. If a competitor submits a better proposal, the consortium will have to match it to bag the project.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by M.L.Melly Maitreyi / Hyderaba – June 22nd, 2016

India’s first mangrove centre to be set up in Vizag

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All

Visakhapatnam:

Around 100 acres of land has been identified by the district administration at Yerrakonda near Simhachalam for setting up India’s first exclusive Centre for Mangroves and Coastal Ecology under the Institute of Forest Biodiversity which is under the aegis of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education  (ICFRE).

Vizag district collector N Yuvaraj said the foundation stone would soon be laid at the site. It would be a centre dedicated to study and research on mangroves ecosystem. “Considering that mangroves have been fast depleting due to shore-based development, the Vishakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) would take up professional regeneration and replantation of mangroves in 50-acres of area within the port at its own expenditure,” said VPT chairman M T Krishna Babu.

Both the district collector and VPT chairman were speaking at the inaugural of the second national seminar on conservation, restoration and sustainable management of mangrove forests in India, hosted by the Institute of Forest Biodiversity (IFB), Hyderabad, being held in the Port City from June 15-16.Mangroves are trees that grow in coastal saline or brackish water in estuarine environment, where marshy soil conditions prevail.

The district collector further said, “The Kerala model of identifying, notifying and conserving mangroves should be replicated in the rest of India. As a case study, AP forest department should also study it and begin the conservation work from Vizag. The district administration would provide all support.”
VPT chairman Krishna Babu said there’s a need for a systematic action plan to improve the biodiversity index of various places, especially with respect to the native species. “Awareness generation should be through introduction about biodiversity in school curriculum, organising field trips and quiz and so on. When it comes to mangroves, around 100 years ago, Vizag was full of it. But now, most of it has been lost.

Mangroves ecosystem support many species to thrive, absorb carbon dioxide and help tackle beach erosion. As a first step towards conservation, we need to identify and notify the mangrove patches on government lands (irrespective of their being patta lands) as reserve forests and conserve them. Also, since VPT has been held responsible for disappearance of mangroves due to our shore-based development works, we will therefore regenerate 50 acres of mangroves in our land with our own expenditure and take technical support from the scientists of the forest institutes concerned.”

At his welcome address, GRS Reddy, director, Institute of Forest Biodiversity, thanked the district administration for allotment of 100-acre land to set up the mangroves research institute and said, “Considering the ecological importance of mangroves and the need for their conservation, an institute exclusively for research on mangroves is needed in Vizag. Work would begin this year and the foundation stone laying may happen by this month-end.”

D Jayaparasad, additional principal chief conservator of forests, IFB and organising secretary of the seminar stated that Vizag has been chosen for setting up the mangroves research institute as it’s situated in the middle of the eastern coast and there’s a vast stretch of mangroves (59 %) on the east coast with 44% being in the Sundarbans. An interesting talk on ‘Mission Mangroves’ was delivered by the guest of honour and district collector of Kannuar  district P Bala Kiran. He deliberated on how 600 acres of land was surveyed and notified as mangroves reserve forest and how the remaining 1225 acres are being acquired from private parties so that the mangrove lands can be conserved.

Another speaker Surendra Kumar, IFS and director of Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore said India has around 4,640 square kilometre of mangrove area and recently 112 sq km were added. “Three districts have registered good growth including Krishna district, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Raigarh district, each adding around 15 sq kilometre mangroves. For better mangroves conservation, all stakeholders should be involved together,” he said.

The inaugural session was followed by technical session, where K Kathiresan, professor of Annamalai University delivered his keynote address on ‘Mangrove Forests in India: Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Management’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Visakhapatnam / Sulogna Mehta, TNN / June 16th, 2016

Working up a lather

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature
Asha Gunapati, a woman entrepreneur, who makes handcrafted organic soaps under her enterprise ‘Sreshta Skin Essentials’ in Visakhapatnam.
Asha Gunapati, a woman entrepreneur, who makes handcrafted organic soaps under her enterprise ‘Sreshta Skin Essentials’ in Visakhapatnam.

Asha Gunapati’s products are based on her belief that “what goes into your mouth should go on your skin”.

Her range of soaps is natural and handcrafted with subtle fragrances. But they stand apart in their incredible designs making them look deliciously tempting. Cupcakes, jelly bars and whipped creams, so enticingly designed are the soaps that she literally had to keep a disclaimer — ‘Do not eat. It’s a soap’ — at her recently held exhibition at a mall in the city.

An HR professional, who quit her corporate job to be with family, Asha started making handcrafted organic soaps as a hobby in 2013, and it was only last year that she decided to dive into an entrepreneurship venture to start her own line of products called ‘Sreshta Skin Essentials’. Now, she also provides employment to a team of eight underprivileged women who help her in making the organic soaps.

Asha says her soaps are devoid of chemicals as she uses natural ingredients such as essential oils like lavender, tea tree, cedar wood and rose and carrier oils like olive oil, coconut oil and almond oil to make the soaps. Before starting her venture, she did a thorough market research on handmade soap brands in India and found that most of these soaps were very expensive.

“I felt there was a big untapped market for natural organic soaps in the affordable segment. But if I had to make my products stand out, I knew I had to give equal emphasis to quality and design,” says the creative entrepreneur. With an initial investment of Rs. 6 lakh, Asha set up her home-based enterprise and started reaching out to customers through the e-commerce route.

Her soaps come in a range of flavours like lavender mint cupcake, raspberry bar, rainbow soaps and chocolate cupcake and can be ordered from the websitewww.feminineindia.comor her Facebook page ‘Sreshta Skin Essentials’.

“Initially, we were in losses since the manufacturing cost was way too high. The raw material cost itself was over Rs. 2 lakh, most of which are procured from Noida and Bengaluru. We use imported almond oil from France and Kojic acid, a natural whitening agent, from Japan,” adds Asha. She uses two methods in making the soaps — the cold process which takes about 30 to 45 days to make a batch of soap and the glycerine soaps that can be used instantly.

Describing her entrepreneurial journey so far, Asha says: “It has been a roller coaster ride. I started the enterprise when my father passed away and I had to support my mother. It was the toughest phase of my life. But it was this business of making handcrafted soaps that helped me come over it. I put in all my creative energy into it. Sometimes it is great and sometimes it is tiring and backbreaking. My day starts off with me collecting online orders, processing them, checking the stock, packing and shipping them. If the item is out of stock, I make it. Amidst all this, I also like to experiment with new things and update my product list.” To reach out to more people, Asha showcases her work at various exhibitions. Her next exhibitions will be in Vijayawada and Bengaluru.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / Nivedita Ganguly / Visakhapatnam – June 01st, 2016

Capital region gets its first SBI paperless, digital branch

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All
SBI chief general manager Hardayal Prasad and DGM Rajiv Kohli (2nd left) and regional manager GV Sastry during the inauguration of SBI Intouch (digital branch) at Governorpet in Vijayawada on Thursday | Express
SBI chief general manager Hardayal Prasad and DGM Rajiv Kohli (2nd left) and regional manager GV Sastry during the inauguration of SBI Intouch (digital branch) at Governorpet in Vijayawada on Thursday | Express

Vijayawada :

First SBI Intouch (digital) branch in Vijayawada was inaugurated at Governorpet as part of the bank’s contribution to ‘Digital India’ initiative of the Central government on Thursday.

It is second such branch in the state after Visakhapatnam. Paperless transaction and online transaction are the focus the branch. By September 2016, SBI management want to have at least one such branch in each of 13 districts of the state.

Addressing the media, after inaugurating the digital branch, SBI Chief General Manager of AP and Telangana, Hardayal Prasad said that ‘SBI  Intouch’ branch will have facilities including instant opening of account, printing and issue of personalised debit card, and expert advice on investment through video conference. “It will have an Online Banking Kiosk, where customers can learn and use Internet Banking. It also has an Express Banking Zone that includes an ATM, recycler (ATM + cash deposit machine), debit card printer, passbook printer (Swayam), and electronic cheque drop machine,” CGM said.

Deputy General Manager (B&O) Rajiv Kohli, Regional Manager G V Sastry and SBI Intouch Branch Manager P Rajeswara Rao were present.

Digitisation First SBI Intouch  at Visakhapatnam

Second at Vijayawada

By September 2016 in all districts

Advantage SBI Intouch

Instant opening of account

Printing, issuing of personalised debit card

Expert advice on investments

Online Banking Kiosk

Express Banking Zone

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Express News Service / May 13th, 2016

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Project Wins International Information Prize

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

United Nations :

An Andhra Pradesh project to collect very specific climate data from farms and give farmers personalised information through SMS has won the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2016 prize in the e-Agriculture category.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao announced the prize Tuesday in Geneva.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) in Hyderabad developed the project, which is having a pilot run in Anantpur district. WSIS said the organisation had an e-strategy for implementing it at the national level.

“The WSIS Prizes recognize all players in the effort to improve global connectivity, from governments and global ICT (information communication technology) companies to grassroots NGOs leading innovative ICT-oriented projects at the local level.” Zhao said.

A total of 18 prizes were awarded in categories ranging from international cooperation to information ethics. The prize in the e-Agriculture category was the only one won by an Indian organisation.

The project, Harmonized Information of Agriculture, Revenue and Irrigation for a Transformation Agenda- Precision Technology for Agriculture or HARITA-PRIYA, uses wireless sensor networks (WSN) to collect micro-climate information from farms, according to WSIS.

This data is used to create advisories and alerts on irrigation schedules and pests and plant disease. Based on them state agriculture officers send out personalised crop advisories in Telugu to farmers by SMS.

The Andhra Pradesh government, the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) station and the Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University in Anantapur partnered in the project.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by IANS / May 04th, 2016

The Deccan’s ‘precious nine’ shine on like the Kohinoor

Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
File photo of the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. / Reuters
File photo of the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.
/ Reuters

Legendary diamonds mined by the Qutub Shahis are on display in Washington, Paris and Moscow.

It is not just Kohinoor; nine other famous diamonds left the shores of India and these are now displayed in museums in Washington, Moscow, Paris and Istanbul, besides forming a part of the Iranian crown jewels.

The precious nine, all categorised as legendary diamonds and mined by the Qutub Shahis of the Deccan, are the Hope Diamond, Hortensia, Darya-i-Noor, Noor-ul-Ain, Orlov (also called Orlof), Regent, Sancy, Shah Diamond and Spoonmaker’s, says V. Madhavan, who worked as a Professor of Geology in the Kakatiya University.

While the 45.5 carat Hope diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the 190 carat Orlov diamond, a bluish-green gem, is now part of Moscow’s Diamond Treasury.

On the other hand, the 140.6 carat Regent, 55.2 carat Sancy and 20 carat Hortensia are now at the Louvre museum in Paris.

Two pink diamonds, the 182 carat Darya-i-Noor and 60 carat Noor-ul-Ain are part of the Iranian crown jewels while the 88.7 carat Shah Diamond and 86 carat Spoonmaker’s are housed in the Diamond Fund of the Kremlin and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul respectively.

Origins a mystery

Prof. Madhavan, who has studied diamond mining for nearly six decades, says that by all historical accounts, the Kohinoor was mined by the Kakatiyas when Rani Rudrama Devi headed the kingdom, its headquarters in present day Warangal.

Kohinoor’s exact vintage, right from its discovery, continues to be a mystery. However, “There is a general consensus among historians that it was found at Kolluru in the late 13th century in present day Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh,” he said adding that Kolluru was part of the Kakatiya kingdom.

Former Professor of History at the University of Hyderabad, V. Ramakrishna, said the Manual of “Kistna District in the Presidency of Madras”, written by Gordon Mackenzie and published in 1883, also indicated that the Kohinoor was found in Kolluru, then part of Krishna district.

Pages 244-247 refer to diamond mining in the district in general and the Kohinoor in particular. The manual however, says that the gem was mined by Qutub Shahis and not the Kakatiyas.

Another book, A Study of the History and Culture of Andhras, by noted historian K. Satyanarayana and published in 1982, also speaks of the Kohinoor being found in Kolluru.

According to Prof. Madhavan, India was the only producer of diamonds in the world till 1725 AD when they were mined in Brazil. Later in 1870, diamonds were explored in South Africa. Marco Polo, who visited India in the 13th century, talks in his travelogue of an inland kingdom ruled by a queen (Rudrama Devi)… “which produced all the diamonds in the world”.

At the time of its discovery, the Kohinoor was the largest diamond in the world. But no longer. In 1905, workmen at the Premier Mines in South Africa unearthed the 3106 carats (621 grams) Cullinan diamond, which remains the largest so far. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the founder of Premier Mines.

The original weight of Kohinoor was stated to be 793 carats (158.6 gm). In the 17th Century, emperor Aurangazeb wanted to reduce its size to add to its lustre.

He tasked Horenso Borgia, a Venetian lapidary with the job, but he cut the diamond down to just 186 carats and invited a heavy fine.

At present, the weight of Kohinoor, meaning mountain of light, is 105.6 carats.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / Prashanth Chintala / Hyderabad – April 23rd, 2016

Master plan to restore lost glory of Horsley Hills

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nature

Efforts under way to tide over water crisis; long-pending ropeway will be a reality soon, says tourism official

Place to be:The newly-constructed View Point atop Horsley Hills. (Right) The famous Governor’s Bungalow at the hill resort.—Photos: By Arrangement
Place to be:The newly-constructed View Point atop Horsley Hills. (Right) The famous Governor’s Bungalow at the hill resort.—Photos: By Arrangement

Horsley Hills, the one and only 160-year-old hill station in Andhra Pradesh, which faced the worst-ever water crisis in 2015, has a ray of hope this year with steady inflow of tourists from all over India, particularly from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The Kadapa District Collector during the British rule, W.D. Horsley, discovered the beauty of the gigantic 4,312-ft.-high hill near Madanapalle in 1857. In a record time of a couple of years, he had transformed it into a hill station. The resort gradually took the name of its discoverer.

GovernorsANDHRA19apr2016

It had served many a British officer and royal family visiting it to beat the oppressive summer heat in South India till Independence.

Later, the hill station faded into oblivion. And it is yet to regain its lost glory. In spite of this, the very mention of Horsley Hills means romance and beauty to nature-lovers and tourists. After the State’s bifurcation in 2014, the hill station has topped the list of thrust areas of the AP Tourism.

The accommodation potential has risen to over 500 tourists from half of the figure. An amount of Rs. 50 lakh was spent to construct tent-model cottages, which would be ready in the next few months.

The annual revenue suddenly shot up to Rs. 3 crore from a few lakhs before 2014.

The hill station has everything to attract tourists such as trampoline, meltdown zone, adventure combo, bull ride, canopy walk, and view points at dizzy heights overlooking steep valleys, mini-zoo park, swimming pools, and, above all, cool climate round the year, which feature has brought it the title ‘Andhra Ooty’.

The Governor’s Bungalow and Forest Bungalow are an added attraction, for they have turned historical monuments.

To meet the water needs of the tourists, the hill station completely depends on water pumped from the foothills.

At present, water is being pumped to the hilltop through pipelines up to a distance of nearly 8 km in eight stages.

The daily average consumption stands at one lakh litres. The consumption could be more in the summer months. In 2015, when groundwater totally dried up, the tourists were forced to return immediately on arrival.

District Tourism Manager D.V. Chandramouli Reddy told The Hindu that the administration was all set to execute a master plan, giving top priority to overcome the water crisis and give wide publicity to attract tourists.

“In fact, the space available on the hill is just two square km, and congestion will be another problem. In the next one decade, Horsley Hills will definitely be one of the best hill stations with global standards. The long-pending ropeway will be a reality soon,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / byK. Umashanker / Chittoor – April 19th, 2016