Daily Archives: January 27, 2015

Bravery Award for Jomon

P G Jomo
P G Jomo

Alappuzha  :

The family members, friends and natives of Chennam Pallipuram were full of prayers and gratitude on Sunday after the Central Government declared ‘Utham Jeevan Raksha Pathaka’ to P G Jomon who sacrificed his life for saving hundreds of pilgrims and villagers stranded in Utharakhand during the floods in 2013. Georgekutty, father of Jomon, said that “we are thankful to the country and the Centre for honouring our son by bestowing the highest bravery award posthumously.

Our son helped hundreds of stranded people in the flood-hit area. We cannot bear his loss, but the honour bestowed by the country offers some solace to us”, he said. Jomon,25, and other crew members were killed when the Air Force helicopter crashednear Gaurikund in the Uttarakhand on June 25, 2013.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Dhinesh Kallungal / January 26th, 2015

 

Vechur Cow to be Micro-chipped Today

VechurKERALA27jan2015

Thrissur :

The Vechur cow, a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle with an average length of 124 cm and height of 87 cm, is all set to join the elite club of the ‘micro-chipped livestock’ in the world on Monday as the authorities have made elaborate arrangements to tag the indigenous cattle species with pet microchips that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

The Vechur Conservation Trust, a body formed to conserve domestic animal diversity in the state, will officially begin the drive of electronically tagging Vechur cows and distributing the pedigree certificate to the owners of the cows at a function to be held in Kottayam on Monday.

Dr Sosamma Iype, Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics, who is instrumental in popularising the Vechur breed in the country, said the Trust came forward with this venture of tagging the animals following widespread complaints of genetic pollution in the rare species of this local cow variety.

The unscrupulous middlemen in this sector have been promoting the sale of calves of Vechur cows that were bred with local ox varieties in the absence of enough Vechur cows because of the high demand for the indigenous cattle population among dairy farmers in the country. The introduction of micro-chipping and distribution of pedigree certificates will not only check the practice of genetic pollution,  but also serve as a tool to trace and isolate them in the event of a disease outbreak, said Dr Abraham Varkey, who assists the project.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Dhinesh Kallungal / January 26th, 2015