Daily Archives: June 25, 2016

Nadubhagam Chundan lifts the Raja Pramukhan Trophy

Sports
Representative image.
Representative image.

Alappuzha :

Ushering in the new boat race season, Nadubhagam Chundan, rowed by Nadubhagam Boat Club, Champakulam lifted the Raja Pramukhan Trophy of this year’s Champakulam Moolam Boat Race held on the Pampa River here on Monday.

In a pulsating finale, Nadubhagam, one of the most famous snake boats of Kerala, outdid the St Pious Xth Chundan(snake boat) of St Pious Xth Boat Club, Mankombu and Champakulam snake boat of Venice Boat Club, Alappuzha.

Renju Abraham, captian of the winner Nadubhagam Chundan said he and his team are very excited about their victory of this prestigious trophy and dedicated it to all his team members.” Our next aim is to bag the coveted Nehru Trophy Boat Race to be held on Punnamada Lake in August this year,” he said.

In the loser’s finale, Sree Karthikeyan of Junior CBC came at the first position. St Joseph of CBC Chempupuram and Pulinkunnu of Kunnamma Boat Club Kavalam came in second and third positions respectively.

In the ‘Iruttukuthi A grade’ finale(finale of smaller boats), Mammodan of St Mary’s Yuvadeepthi Club, Kainakary came in the first psotion. In `Veppu A grade’ finale, Chethikadan of Warriors Boats Club, Kuttamangalam, Kainakary came in the first position. Kottaparamban of SCDC Boat Club from Kaippuzhamuttu and Asha Pulikkalam of Samudra Boat Club, Kumaarakom finished in second and third positions respectively.

The traditional annual boat race of Kerala begins with Champakulam Boat Race which is also known as ‘MoolamVallamkali’. The other popular boat race that will follow the Champakkulam boat race are Nehru Trophy boat race, Kayamkulam BoatRace, Payipad boat race, the Rajiv Gandhi TrophyBoat Race, Karuvatta, Mannar and Neerattupuram boat races. As many as 6 snake boats took part in the Champakulam Moolam Boat Race on Monday.

Boat race organizing committee general convener and Kuttanad Tahasildar Cheriyan V Koshy said, “In 2014 and 2015, we could not conduct the finals of the snake boats following row among boat clubs over track length. However, this year, we have solved all the complaints related to the track length and we have ensured equal length in three tracks,” said Koshy. This boat race was organized by the district administration in association with Tourism Department and local bodies.

Kuttanad MLA Thomas Chandy inaugurated the boat race. Kayamkulam MLA Prathibha Hari flagged off the boat race.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kozhikode / Sajimon P S / TNN / June 20th, 2016

Designer eggs sans cholesterol concerns

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature
Designer eggs being produced by the Kisan Jyothi Farmers Club at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad.
Designer eggs being produced by the Kisan Jyothi Farmers Club at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad.

A group of farmers come out with designer eggs at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad

Though eggs have been considered as the complete food with most of the nutrients necessary for the body, concerns over its cholesterol content have kept many at bay.

Now, a group of farmers under the NABARD-supported Kisan Jyothi Farmers Club (KJFC) at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad have come out with designer eggs, which they claim will settle the apprehension once and for all. They say their ‘Omega’ brand eggs solve the riddle and set to rest doubts of the cholesterol-conscious.

“Designer eggs are those in which the content has been modified from the standard egg. The technology of designer egg involves manipulating nutrients in poultry feed and fortification of egg with micro-nutrients and vitamins,” Anil Zachariah, deputy project director of ATMA, Wayanad, the certifying agency, said.

Made using scientific method

Dr. Zachariah said the eggs were produced through a scientific method adopted for nurturing the layer with right feed so that they laid high quality eggs.

“The composition of the feed leads to the desired composition of the eggs adding to its nutritive profile through enrichment in the diet, and not by use of drugs or hormones,” Sreeshitha, district technology manager, ATMA said.

“Eggs laid by hens fed on a diet of greens and insects contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than those produced by hens fed on corn,” Dr. Sreeshitha added.

“When the project was launched under the Farm Sector Promotion Fund programme of NABARD two months ago, we distributed ten BV380 strain chicks each to 66 families in the area,” N.S. Saji Kumar, assistant general manager, NABARD, said. Training and technical support were given by ATMA to the farmers, he added.

250 eggs a month for a family

“Now each family is getting an average of 250 eggs a month and we have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the WAYFARM farmer producer company to procure the designer eggs from the farmers at a price of Rs.6.50,” P. Hariharan, chief coordinator of the club, said. The company would market the produce through its retail shops, he added.

P. Balachandran, general manager, NABARD, handed over the first lot of eggs to P.A Sabu, managing director of WAYFARM, at Mananthavady on Wednesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / E.M. Manoj  / Kalpeto – June 23rd, 2016