Daily Archives: August 3, 2015

Creating the Best Out of Waste

Agriculture, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature
A man working at the paddyfield on the premises of the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant
A man working at the paddyfield on the premises of the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant

Brahmapuram  :

Several people, including  professionals, have recently turned farmers by starting their own gardens or by setting up organic farms at home.

Apart from the expenses incurred on setting up the vegetable garden, these farmers are spending large sums of money for buying the manure for the plants. The money they spend for purchasing manure ranges above Rs 30 per kg, and for the branded items, the price is over Rs 100 in the market. But a little-known fact is that the bio-manure generated from the Brahmapuram waste treatment plant is available at just Rs 6 per kilogram. The manure, named ‘City compost’, now a hit among the vegetable cultivators in the city, is also available at Rs 300 for a pack of 50 kg from Brahmapuram waste treatment plant.

“As it is generated from garbage waste, the manure has all the ingredients needed for the vegetables to grow. There is no need for adding  further ingredients as it has the contents of meat, blood, food waste and all types of other waste. The price, compared to the market rates, is also low. As we are not running it as a profit-generating enterprise, we haven’t opened any outlets in the city,” said A A Byju, who has been running the plant on contract basis for the last four years.

With organic farming become a trend in the state, the demand for the manure from the plant has skyrocketed. “Every day, on an average, around 40 tonnes of manure is made, of which 70-80 per cent is sold. Earlier, we could only sell around 10 tonnes per day and had to find space to keep it. But, from last year, there has been a huge demand from different places,” he added.

Interestingly, the demand for the manure is mainly from Tamil Nadu districts.

“Some are using the manure to prepare their product for the market. Most of them will mix the manure with their product as this is the cheapest and of the best quality. Several companies sellinng branded manure have also approached us for the item,” said Byju.

The contractor, along with his team, is also distributing the manure free of cost to some NGOs, schools, hospitals and government offices to support vegetable cultivation. The rest is also used in their farm set up at Brahmapuram plant.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Anil Kumar T / August 03rd, 2015

3-yr-old Anjana Becomes Youngest Donor in State

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All

AnjanaKERALA03aug2015

Thiruvananthapuram  :

Three-year-old Anjana from the district, who was declared brain-dead on Saturday night after suffering from acute tumor, has become the youngest donor in the state.

Her family donated her liver, two kidneys and corneas to five-year-old Aninraj.

Anjana from Karakulam was admitted to the SAT hospital here in a critical condition on Thursday. She was declared brain-dead on Saturday morning. Soon after, her parents told the doctors at the SAT about donating the organs.

The doctors then contacted Mritasanjeevani, a government’s organ donation programme, and the officials at the organisation then contacted the parents of Aninraj, who was registered with them.

Soon after Anjana was declared brain-dead on Saturday, the harvesting of the organs began at 2 am in the night.

The retrieval surgery was over by 8 am on Sunday and the organs taken to KIMS hospital.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service / August 03rd, 2015

First ‘China ready’ hotel in Kochi

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Travel, World Opinion

The first “China Ready” hotel in God’s Own country to cater to the needs of Chinese tourists is getting ready at Kundanoor in Kochi.

As much as 80 per cent the work mandatory for Chinese accreditation is over at the 267-room five star deluxe Crowne Plaza belonging to Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), Sanjay Kaushik, general manager of the property told The Hindu .

The hotel will have trained personnel who can communicate to the tourists in Chinese, UnionPay payment facility on the lines of RuPay, Mandarin speaking personnel on call 24×7.

Authentic Chinese breakfast, lunch and dinner will be offered in the restaurants attached to the hotel. The menu card will also be in Chinese language for the benefit of the guests. Television in the hotel rooms where the Chinese tourists will be put up will have access to Chinese channels.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – August 03rd, 2015