Rishikesh

GSE: A life changing experience When people said a trip to the USA was a life time experience, I did not want to believe them. After all, engineering students got their passports before their final year degree marks cards. And I knew that. There was no glamour attached to 'going to the USA ' any longer, or so I thought. However, I decided 'to go' as my family and friends seemed to be proud of such an act. To start with, the selection was tough and grilling and I had to study some sites on Rotary International and India in general for the interview. I had stiff competition but managed to scrape through. This preparation for the test gave me another reason for wanting to go to the USA . I saw that, that country had progressed from the land of cow boys to the breeding ground of successful entrepreneurs. And I wanted to learn the secret behind its success. My all expenses paid tour may not just be a jolly trip. It may result in some lessons in economic...

BIDAR, MARCH 7. There seems to be no end to the plight of sugarcane growers in Bidar, who have had a reduced yield due to delayed rainfall and pest attacks. Also, the delay in clearing dues by all the three cooperative sugar factories in the district has left them in the lurch. Bidar does not have an irrigation project and most of the sugarcane is grown using groundwater. It is the only cash crop grown in the district, where over 93 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture. Sugarcane made farmers rich and created a situation in which agriculture and cooperative banks thrived. The District Central Cooperative (DCC) Bank and the Krishna Grameena Bank, in many ways, owe their success to sugarcane growers. The high sugarcane yield in the district also led to the establishment of 10 Khandasari sugar factories, apart from innumerable in-house crushing units making jaggery. Bidar also has some of the highest yields of sugarcane to its credit, so much so that some organ...

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-        Fringes of Civilization Halakki Vokkaligaru Charmed by tribal jewelry, K. Venkatesh continues his jungle journeys What is beauty? Is it symmetry and balance, or asymmetry and rarity? Does it denote standing away from the crowd or is it all about conformity and endorsement? These questions haunt anyone who is in pursuit of beauty. Similarly engaging are the questions about tribes. What does it mean to be a member of a tribe? Does it mean growing up in a serene environment untouched by the evils of modern civilization or does it mean that you are part of an underdeveloped, wretched group that is yet to experience the pleasures of modern life? These questions are simple. But the answers seem to be extremely complex. Their intensity is proportional to your involvement in your exploration. If you are doing it to show some one that you did it, then their influence can be limited. But if you are doing it to quench your internal thirst,...

The Government has failed to enforce building regulations The rules prohibit residential buildings in a radius of 900 m from the air base The Government can deny permission for construction of buildings A circular issued by the Bidar Urban Development Authority is vague Minister plans to convene a meeting to discuss the issue Bidar: The State Government's failure to enforce the prohibition on civilian settlements in a radius of 900 m around the Air Force Training Base here has compromised safety. On March 18, an aircraft of the "Surya Kiran" aerobatics team of the Indian Air Force crashed on the outskirts of Bidar killing two pilots. The wreckage of the aircraft fell less than 40 ft from a college building and 200 m from a residential area. Air Force sources say the pilots avoided loss of civilian life by diverting the flight path just before the crash. Senior IAF officials say the Government should, without further delay, enforce the prohibition on civilia...

BIDAR’S PRIDE, BANGALORE’S ENVY Bidar sees a silent revolution S Kushala & Rishikesh Bahadur Desai | Times of India  Bidar: The Advanced Jet Trainer Hawks fly above with deafening speed. Bulldozers and earth-moving equipment roar to life and mow down buildings. Partially demolished structures, rubble, men clearing debris — it looks like a warravaged zone.      On the other side, vast stretches of ring road lined with trees and manicured median, run parallel to the Air Force station. Wide roads with a row of palms in the middle, roads meandering through two huge mountains into a valley, and colourful Surya Kirans doing sorties in the clear skies.      A silent revolution has been happening in the most backward district over the past two years, with the mantra being infrastructure development. Change came to Bidar with young IAS officer Harsh Gupta, deputy commissioner, who set the ball rolling.    ...

BIDAR: Preparations for receiving the `Hawk' Advanced Jet Trainer are almost complete at the Bidar Air Force Station. The first Hawk is expected to arrive from the British Aerospace Systems in 18 months. Air Force sources told  The Hindu  that 80 per cent of the Rs. 150-crore civil works at the Bidar base had been completed. They include upgrading the runway to international standards. There will also be a landing Instrument Landing System facility to enable planes land and take off in bad weather. Other works such as construction of three new hangars for parking planes is also nearly complete. Computer systems The computer systems are being overhauled and this includes upgrading the electronic and computer systems at the air base. Improved versions of Geographical Information System and Global Positioning System will be installed at the Air Traffic Control towers and at the base command and control offices. The non-technical works include construction of q...

Bidar Utsav -2014 Bidar Utsav, of the fest to celebrate the essence of Bidar was celebrated with joy on February 1, 2 and 3, 2014 in Bidar, Karnataka , India . The event proved that proactive initiatives by the government can help promote tourism, apart from quenching the people’s thirst for wholesome entertainment. Run Up Actually, the Bidar Utsav is a month long event. The cultural programmes however, are organized on the last three days of the Utsav. Innovative methods were used to publicise the event. A team of senior officials and Utsav committee members visited villages to accord traditional welcomes to members of rural local bodies and women’s groups. They also went around colleges to invite the youth to perform at the event and watch it. The run up included several interesting programmes that included a career fair and a job fair. The first one, Career Utsav, had experts from 12 disciplines introduce students to various interesting courses and careers. Resource persons from the...

Article 371- J- :  Expectations of the people Affirmative action to protect the interests of Hyderabad Karnataka region has resulted in an Amendment to the Article 371-J of the Indian Constitution. It seems to be the first step towards the emancipation of the area that seemed to be perpetually backward. The underlying principle behind the Amendment is that the central and state governments should take equal responsibility for the development of this backward region. Like many things in public discourse, the amendment seems to be an issue that is much talked about without being understood clearly. The amendment is a complex issue with several undertones. But on the surface, it hopes to achieve three things- equitable distribution of resources between all regions of the state, fill gaps in human resource development and infuse more funds to the backward region from the union and state governments. The most important of course is uniform development of human resource. This should be a...

Reinventing Secularism  I wrote this for a recent seminar Good morning everyone Firstly, I thank the organizers for having thought of such a subject for the seminar. These are trying times and we need more such efforts. Forces that want to disrupt harmony are speaking in voices so loud that it could tear out our ear drums. If we don’t speak in whispers at least, we have no right to dream of a just society. As they say, if you don’t participate, you have no right to complain- whether it is elections or debates on social issues. We will consider the definitions first and then look at how these principles work. Later, we shall examine the religion- secularism debate. Well then, what is secularism?  Contrary to public opinion, the term does not relate just to religion. It is a very broad term that encompasses several rights and privileges that make us human. Simply put, to be secular is putting your faith in equality while communalism is to believe in power play. A secular person ...