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TNN, May 23, 2010, 10.17pm IST
VARANASI: A survey has ranked the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as the number one university in the country. The varsity was established in 1916 by great visionary Madan Mohan Malviya.
In the survey, the BHU was adjudged better than Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), University of Delhi, University of Calcutta and other prestigious universities on a number of parameters.
"The university teachers and students are elated over the survey findings. In the past two years, the BHU did over 60 international negotiations in academic and research fields, and signed over 24 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with foreign universities," said coordinator of plant biotechnology of BHU, Rajesh Singh. "Significantly, most of the initiatives were taken by foreign universities because they were interested in having academic collaborations with the BHU in view of its multi-disciplinary faculty," he added.
Similar was the view of head of the department of agricultural economics, Saket Kushwaha.
In the survey, the BHU was ranked number one on all parameters including reputation of the university, quality of academic input, faculty, research publications/reports, projects, infrastructure and placements.
"The BHU has drafted a 'quality policy' that spells out principles, guidelines and procedures for implementing the institutional quality assurance system," said vice-chancellor DP Singh. "Also, the university has a 'value promotion policy'. "The purpose of this policy is to affirm our resolve to initiate effective measures for promoting ethics and human values as an integral part of the university system," said the vice-chancellor.
Another important initiative of the university is its policy for environment and sustainable development. The BHU is all set to establish its fourth institute - Institute of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development. The other three existing institutes are - Institute of Medical Sciences, Institute of Technology and Institute of Agricultural Sciences.
Singh said, "This internationally reputed seat of learning came into existence with a vision of Malviyaji and cooperation of great personalities like Dr Annie Besant. It played a stellar role in the independence movement and emerged as the greatest centre of learning in India." He added, "The university has produced many great freedom fighters and builders of modern India. It has immensely contributed to the progress of the nation by producing a large number of renowned scholars, artists, scientists and technologists."
The main campus of this premier central university spreads over 1,300 acres, and has well-maintained roads, extensive greenery, a temple, an air-strip and buildings with unique architecture. Another campus of the university at Barkachha, in Mirzapur district, covering an area of 2,700 acres, is in the process of development. The university has three institutes, 16 faculties, 140 departments, four inter-disciplinary centres, a constituent college for women and three constituents schools, a vast range of subjects in all branches of humanities, social sciences, technology, medicine, science, fine arts and performing arts. It has six centres of advanced studies, 10 departments under special assistance programme and a large number of specialised research centres. Four degree colleges of the city are affiliated to the BHU. Bharat Kala Bhavan, the reputed museum of the university, is a treasure trove of rare collections. The 927-bedded hospital of the university is equipped with all the modern amenities.
The university has large playgrounds, a big auditorium, a flying club and many auxiliary units like a printing press, a publication cell, a fruit preservation centre, an employment and information bureau.
The BHU today has nearly 20,000 students including 2,500 research scholars and 650 foreign students from 34 nations under one roof. These students are pursuing different academic programmes at BHU as well as the newly established Rajiv Gandhi South Campus. The BHU family also has 700 teachers, and nearly 8,000 non-teaching staff. The university has taken a leadership role in promoting new ideas, the spirit of integration of the world, and cultivation of intellect and culture.
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http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20100510/1053/tnl-natural-cure-for-ground-water-arseni.html
Mon, May 10 05:05 PM
Varanasi, May 10 -- Finally here comes a completely natural solution for people living in region with widespread Arsenic contamination of ground water. A team of researchers led by Dr Asha Lata Singh, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Department of Botany, BHU has successfully found out a natural (microbe) based cleaning solution to free ground water from slow poisoning Arsenic up to a level of 0.8 ppm (parts per million). And the natural cleaning agent is Lactobacillus acidophilus, a human system friendly bacteria, which as per research by Dr Singh's team has the capacity to remove Arsenic from arsenic contaminated water up to 0.8 ppm level within three hours only.
As per the research whose findings have been published in a reputed International Journal of Bio-remediation recently, advantage of using the human system friendly bacteria to remove arsenic from water is that the bacteria is able to survive in toxic concentration of arsenic even after surface absorption. The technique is not only eco friendly, but also cost effective and easily available. Talking to Hindustan Times, Dr Singh, who has been working on arsenic contamination of ground water in Ballia district of East UP for last three years at Department of Botany, BHU said " our research has shown that with the help of the Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria arsenic can be removed from ground water up to a contamination level of 0.8 ppm (permissible limit being 0.1 ppm). "Till now in the ground water samples collected from Bairia, Sikandarpur and Maniar areas of Ballia (arsenic contamination endemic zones) the arsenic level in water has been found up to 0.5 ppm and with this microbe based natural cleaning technology, arsenic can easily be removed from water," Singh maintained. Singh, who prior to joining BHU was working on arsenic contamination of water in Ballia and other arsenic endemic regions during her stint with Bio-engineering & environmental centre at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (Hyderabad) is now working on other dimensions of her study under a UGC-supported project on Detoxification of Arsenic contaminated water by eco-friendly microbe. "Until now most of the works carried out to remove arsenic from ground water was through physiochemical processes, but they produced wet bulky sludge and required final filtration for secondary treatment," Singh informed.
Presence of Arsenic in ground water above permissible limit (0.1 ppm) causes variety of health hazards, spanning from skin problems to blood cancer and renal failure, cancer and neuropathy.
Dr. Asha Lata Singh can be contacted at: ashalatabhu@rediffmail.com
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http://www.watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=74057
Researchers in India develop microbe-based arsenic removal process
Monday, May 10, 2010
VARANASI, INDIA — A team of researchers at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in India have developed a microbe-based treatment solution for removing arsenic from groundwater, according to Yahoo! News.
The human-friendly bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus, was shown to have the capacity to remove arsenic from contaminated water up to a level of 0.8 ppm within a three-hour time period, the article stated.
One advantage of the natural cleaning agent is that the bacteria is able to survive in a toxic concentration of arsenic even after absorption, according to the story.
“Until now most of the works carried out to remove arsenic from groundwater was through physiochemical processes, but they produced wet bulky sludge and required final filtration for secondary treatment,” said Dr. Asha Lata Singh, an assistant professor of environmental science at BHU’s Department of Botany.
To read the entire article, click here.
For related information, click here.
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TNN, May 13, 2010, 10.55pm IST
VARANASI: The vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Prof DP Singh signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three top ranking American universities during his US visit from April 21 to May 9.
(BHU VC Prof. D. P. Singh)
Talking to reporters on Thursday, the V-C said: "During his visit to Cornell University, Ithaca, I met Dr Susan Henry, dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and other functionaries. Several important issues related to future cooperation in the areas of food science and technology, plant biotechnology, animal science, agri-business management and molecular breeding were discussed. An MoU was signed with the university for five years for cooperation in agriculture and life science."
Programme coordinator, Centre of Food Science and Technology, BHU, Dr Alok Jha accompanied Singh during US trip. According to him, Cornell University also has a programme in South Asian Studies. The BHU delegation met Dr Dan Gold, director of South Asia Programme, and interacted on the role of spiritual and religious values and ethics in higher education.
The V-C said: "Another MoU was signed with the University of Georgia, one of the oldest universities of the US, in presence of Dr Jere Morehead, Provost and others. The MoU includes cooperation in the areas of agriculture and environment sciences." He also met the director of environment science and discussed about the concept of green buildings and visited the pilot plant facilities of food science department of the university.
The third MoU was signed with the University of Illinois wherein areas of mutual interest and cooperation in future was discussed with the chancellor, Dr Robert Easter. Singh also visited the biotechnology centre of the university.
Meanwhile, the BHU delegation also visited the University at Buffalo during the trip. The BHU already has long standing MoU with the university. Singh said: "A number of issues related to strengthening of exiting MoU between the two universities were discussed." Besides, he also visited US Agency of International Development (USAID) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington DC and attended functions organised by BHU Alumni at New York, New Jersey and Maryland.
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http://printable-maps.blogspot.com/2008/07/printable-map-of-usa.html
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TNN, Apr 8, 2010, 10.30pm IST
VARANASI: "Information is power and right to information (RTI) brings accountability and transparency in administration," said Prof TM Mohapatra, director, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University while inaugurating the two-day training-cum-workshop on RTI Act, 2005 at UGC Academic Staff College, BHU on Thursday.
Stressing that the RTI Act could go a long way in empowering people to have access to vital informations, Prof Mohapatra said: "Positive initiatives taken by Goa and Tamil Nadu in 1997 for providing information to people paved the way for RTI Act in 2005." In his presidential remarks, BHU rector Prof BD Singh said RTI should not be used as a means of exploitation but as a tool to bring transparency and accountability for good governance.
Earlier, while tracing the history of RTI Act, joint director Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), New Delhi MS Kasana said: "Sweden was the first country to introduce the concept of RTI even though it had monarchy in 1766." He also raised hope that the act could help eradicate corruption in the society.
It is to be mentioned here that ISTM, New Delhi under the department of Personnel and Training, Government of India had organised the programme.
A number of senior university officials including Dr KP Upadhyaya, registrar and other members of Academic Staff College were also present.
Admission cancelled: The admissions of as many as three students including Gopalji, Shubham Mishra and Shivakant Pathak were cancelled on Thursday. The trio were granted temporary admission in the first year of Shastri (honours), equivalent to graduation in the faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vignana, Banaras Hindu University.
As per Prof Chandrama Pandey, head, faculty admission committee, the three students were not found fit for admission, as they could not meet the eligibility criteria of securing 50 percent marks in Uttar Madhyama (Intermediate) examinations.
Course on martial arts: The University Mountaineering Centre, BHU is going to start a certificate course on Martial Arts from April 22.
As per reports of the Centre, the course for self-protection is open for all school students in the city. The centre would also conduct test on April 18 in order to admit students.
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TNN, Apr 22, 2010, 01.36am IST
NEW DELHI: The HRD ministry will not let the objection by the health ministry come in the way of IIT-Kharagpur's plan to diversify into teaching medical science.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for HRD D Purandeshwari said the ministry has decided to amend the Institute of Technology Act, the law that governs IITs, to include medical science. The health ministry had said that IITs should not be allowed to start conventional courses in medicine.
The amendment, Purandeshwari said, would help IITs to offer programmes bringing together the diverse disciplines of medicine and engineering. Referring to the health ministry's objection, she said, "However, appreciating the fact that the modern trends in medical education and research in technology and medicine in all the developed and most of the developing countries are seen hand-in-hand, the government proposes to incorporate `medicine' in the IIT Act."
Purandeswari said the programme would bring the two important disciplines of medicine and engineering together. "On consultation with the ministry of health and family welfare regarding the proposal to include `medicine' within the scope of the IIT Act, 1961, it was opined that establishing medical colleges by IITs for starting conventional medicine courses would not be advisable," she said.
IIT Kharagpur has come up with a concrete proposal in this regard and plans to start a medical college in collaboration with Indian Railways. At a meeting of experts in the health ministry in February this year, it was observed that IITs should start courses on health information technology, biomedical engineering and e-health rather than running a hospital or starting MBBS courses.
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100425/jsp/frontpage/story_12378452.jsp
Sunday, April 25, 2010
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
New Delhi, April 24: The IITs have admitted that their Joint Entrance Examination this year carried misleading instructions for some students. The admission came in a report to the human resource development ministry, which is now mulling corrective measures to counter criticism.
HRD minister Kapil Sibal had asked for the report after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar wrote to him demanding that the JEE be conducted again to ensure fair opportunities to all students, top sources told The Telegraph.
Sibal may meet the directors of the IITs in Delhi soon to evolve a strategy to convince students that they will be marked fairly despite the errors, which the institutes have so far underplayed, the sources said.
The report to Sibal sent by IIT Madras, the institute that organised the JEE this year, does not itself suggest solutions to compensate for any disadvantage to students who received erroneous instructions, the sources said.
But the sources insisted that conducting the JEE again — as demanded by the Bihar chief minister — was an extremely unlikely option for the government to take.
“We haven’t yet figured out how to resolve the concerns, and a meeting involving the minister is possible. But holding the JEE again this year is highly unlikely,” a source said.
Over 4.5 lakh students appeared for the JEE this year on April 11. But the question papers carried a series of errors, mostly in the instructions informing students how they would be marked.
The Optical Mark Reader answer sheets wrongly advised students to fill bubbles corresponding to math questions where they should have answered physics questions, and indicated physics where math answers had to be marked.
Although the error was announced in all examination centres after it was spotted, several students had by then already filled several bubbles. Although the bubbles are to be filled with pencil, erasing marks is not advisable as traces of marking on more than one bubble can confuse the reader.
IIT officials are, however, convinced that they can rectify the impact of this error on students.
But concerns remain among IIT administrators over two other errors that appear to adversely impact only those students who took the test in Hindi.
Section four of the question paper offered eight marks for each completely correct answer. But the instructions on the Hindi papers said that these same questions would earn students only three marks — instead of eight — for completely accurate answers.
The incorrect information misled students who took the test in Hindi about the true weightage of the questions and many students may have opted to instead attempt questions offering higher marks.
A partial saving grace that the IITs can use in their favour is that these questions did not carry negative marking and so even students who received incorrect information may have attempted the questions.
But the incorrect low marking for these questions, combined with the constraints of time, could have made at least some students either ignore these questions, or mark answers randomly, spending more time on questions carrying larger weightage.
An entire question was missing from one set of question papers in Hindi, the third error pointed out by Nitish in his letter to Sibal last week.
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TNN, Apr 11, 2010, 08.59am IST
NEW DELHI: Nearly 4.72 lakh candidates will appear for the IIT joint entrance exam (JEE) to be held on April 11 this year. The exam, touted to be the most challenging in the country, will be held at 1,026 centres across the country with the results expected to be announced on May 26.
IITs will implement the last phase of 27% OBC reservation this year with approximately 10,000 total seats up for grabs in the new session. "There are around 4.72 lakh applicants for JEE this time as compared to 3.98 lakh candidates last year. We have 10,000 seats in 15 IITs, IT-BHU and ISM-Dhanbad this year," said Professor T S Natrajan, JEE chairperson, IIT Madras that is organizing the JEE this year.
The reservation for OBCs was first implemented in 2008 by increasing the total number of seats. The number of IITs has also increased to 15 since then. So of the total 10,000 seats this year, 27% will be reserved for OBC, 22.5% for SC/ST and also a few for persons with disabilities.
The exam to be held on Sunday, will have two sessions of three hours each starting at 9am.
Though it is one of the toughest exams to crack, lakhs of aspiring engineers sit for IIT JEE with dreams to make it big and also to fulfil their parents’ aspirations. However, Ajay Antony, vice-president, IITJEE training, TIME, said, "Of the total number of students, who sit for IIT JEE, every year, only 10-15% are truly motivated and willing to give it their best."
He added that appearing for IIT JEE is like taking part in a marathon and only a good practice over a period of time can see the candidates through.
"The test goes on for six hours. So students should pace their answering accordingly and should not panic if there is any change in the pattern, though students are made to practice different patterns before the exam," Antony said.
With just a couple of days to go for the exam, students too, are nervous yet excited. Archana S N, who will be attempting JEE for the first time this year, said, "I want to sit for JEE because I love science. It’s also so challenging that I want to feel the thrill. I have been preparing for the last two years and I will have just six hours to perform. I hope to get a good rank."
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http://beta.thehindu.com/education/college-and-university/article394112.ece
New Delhi, April 11, 2010. PTI
Nearly 4.7 lakh students on Sunday appeared in the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination for admission to prestigious 15 Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad and IT-BHU.
(Students writing All India Test Series for IIT-JEE 2010 exam at a private school in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: N. Sridharan)
The number of candidates has gone up to 4.72 lakh this year against four lakh candidates last year, Prof T.S. Natarajan, Organising Chairman, JEE 2010, said.
The students qualifying the test will be eligible for admission into B.Tech programmes in these institutes offering over 10,000 seats.
About 90,000 candidates from National Capital Region have registered for the test. The results will be announced on May 26.
The IITs have decided to conduct on-line counselling for general category students this year. This will give relief to students who earlier used to go to different counselling centres for securing a seat for themselves.
However, the OBC candidates will have to go to the exam centres for counselling where their certificates will be examined.
The test comprises two sessions. The first session started at 9 a.m. and will continue till 12 noon while the second session will start from 2 p.m. The papers had questions on Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100501/jsp/nation/story_12401287.jsp
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
New Delhi, April 30: Students who appeared for the IIT Joint Entrance Examination in Hindi performed far worse than English test takers over the past two years, suggesting a possible language disadvantage that errors in this year’s examination may have amplified.
Hindi test takers were disproportionately unsuccessful compared with their English counterparts in the IIT-JEE in 2008 and 2009, data accessed by The Telegraph from the organisers’ confidential reports for the two years reveal.
The trend suggested by the data for 2008 and 2009 extends to earlier years too, confirmed top sources among IIT-JEE organisers — two days before the institutes unveil a damage-control road map after this year’s errors.
The IITs are scheduled to announce on May 2 how they plan to compensate for errors in the question papers that could have selectively hurt Hindi test takers.
Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal has already expressed his unhappiness over the errors to the IIT directors. Around 4.5 lakh students appeared for the IIT-JEE this year.
The errors misled Hindi test takers about the true weightage of several questions, which these students may not have attempted to the best of their ability as a consequence.
But the reports of the organising committees of the IIT-JEE for the years 2008 and 2009 suggest that the errors may only be accentuating traditional disadvantages suffered by students who take the test in Hindi.
The reports — which are not made public even years after the tests are over — reveal that Hindi test takers had a much lower success rate than those who took the test in English.
In 2008, Hindi test takers comprised 13.08 per cent of the total 3.15 lakh students who appeared for the IIT-JEE. But only 1.27 per cent of the successful candidates were Hindi test takers.
Last year, students who appeared for the test in Hindi constituted 12.86 per cent of the total number of students who appeared for the examination. But only 1.84 per cent of the qualified students took the IIT-JEE in Hindi.
In contrast, English test takers who constituted 86.92 per cent and 87.14 per cent of aspirants in 2008 and 2009 respectively made up 98.73 per cent and 98.16 per cent of successful students respectively in the two years.
These statistics cover all categories of seats — general, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes and physically disadvantaged.
Poorer performance of a group is often interpreted as equivalent to lower merit.
SC/ST, OBC and women students are often said to be less “meritorious” because their average performance is often below that of general category students.
But vast differences in performance between two groups, observed over large samples — as in the case of the IIT-JEE — are also attributed globally to likely disadvantages one group suffers.
The historical disadvantages suffered by SC/ST and OBC students are the reasons cited by the government for reservations across higher educational institutions for them.
A key reason behind the poorer performance of Hindi test takers as compared with those who appear for the IIT-JEE in English may be the inability of the former set to benefit from coaching classes, sources said.
Most IIT-JEE coaching classes are centred around metros and special hubs like Kota, and invariably train students to take the test in English.
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Binay Singh, TNN, Apr 24, 2010, 10.45pm IST
VARANASI: The World Intellectual Property Day has been observed globally on April 26 every year since 2001, but the knowledge of intellectual property right is still in nascent stage, particularly in Varanasi which is one of the ancient seats of learning.
The World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2001 to raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in daily life and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of societies across the globe. The day is observed on April 26 as it is the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation came into force in 1970.
Even the intellectuals of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), the prestigious university of the country, admit that most of the people are ignorant about intellectual property and rights. Most of people do not know differences in patent, trademarks and geographical indications.
The level of unawareness can be understood with the fact that in a university like BHU, only 10 patents have been filed in the past six years and out of them five patents, including two international patents, have been granted so far. According to university spokesperson, BHU got two patents in negative thermo expansion materials and bio-pesticides.
"We have no data of old patents filed in the university, but after the formation of Intellectual Property Rights Cell at the university in 2005, things started getting streamlined," said Dr P. K. Mishra, member of IPR Cell and chief coordinator of Institute Industry Partnership Cell, Institute of Technology. An IPR Cell has been created at the university under the chairmanship of the vice-chancellor to look after the activities related to the intellectual property of the university, evaluation and filing of patents, copyrights and design. The BHU has also formulated its own Intellectual Property Policy and Technology Commercial Policy. "There is an urgent need to create awareness among people about intellectual property," Mishra told TOI.
However, it is an encouraging achievement that the world-famous Banarasi sarees and brocades got the certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) in September last. Recently, the Union ministry of textiles organised a special workshop in the city to educate the Banarasi saree producers as well as consumers about GI rights. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) worked closely with the weaver community through its partners, Textiles Committee, Mumbai and Human Welfare Association, Varanasi. UNCTAD India supported the weavers and artisans in seeking GI certificate of Banaras sarees and brocades.
The GI tag means that no saree or brocade made outside the identified geographical area can be legally sold under the name of Banaras saree. This is the first GI status to any product in this region of eastern UP covering Varanasi, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Azamgarh districts.
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http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/537884.aspx
Varanasi, May 01, 2010
First Published: 08:42 IST (1/5/2010)
Is river Varuna, which bisects temple city Varanasi turning into an obnoxious nullah?
A study by experts from IT-BHU conducted during first three months of 2009 could hold an affirmative reply to this question.
Conducted by a team led by Dr Pradip Srivastava (Associate Professor at School of Biochemical Engineering, IT-BHU) and Dr PK Mishra (Associate Professor at Department of Chemical Engineering, IT-BHU) between Kotwan village and Sarai Mohana, the study aimed at analysing present state of water quality of Varuna has delivered shocking results.
Talking to HT on Thursday, Dr Mishra detailed about findings of the study, which is based on analysis of water samples collected from 32 points between Kotwan and Sarai Mohana.
Out of the nine nullahs, which flow into Varuna round the clock, analysis of water samples of four nullahs revealed a poisonous picture, as Desired Oxygen (DO) level in these nullahs is alarmingly low than standard level of at least 6-8 mg/litre.
At the nullah which carries domestic and industrial waste into the river at Phulwaria-Lehertara, the DO is just 0.6 mg/litre, while it further deteriorates to 0.4 mg/litre at Chowkaghat, Nakhighat and Bhagwa Nullah, while the DO level in the river after Chowkaghat is 1.2 mg/litre after Chowkaghat which means only disease causing micro-organisms or bacteria can thrive in Varuna after Chowkaghat and no normal aquatic species can survive in the river between Chowkaghat and Sarai Mohana, as it has turned into a virtual nullah in this five to six km stretch, said Mishra.
"If the four most pollution causing nullahs are not diverted elsewhere or their water not treated via treatment plants, it will turn entire Varuna river into an obnoxious nullah in three to five years, he added.
Added Mishra, while the river between Rameshwar and Lehertara could be used as arable source, the amount of Nitrate and Phosphate (five to ten times more than permissible limit) can in long run mean the death of agriculture in the same region.
Also the excess Nitrate in river means drinking the river water by kids can lead to Nitrate Poisoning.
"In totality the study starkly reveals that Varuna river after Phulwaria village is falling short on all safety parameters, as Total Solid in it's water owing to unbridled pollution has shot up to 1400 mg/litre (seven times more) than permissible limit of 200 mg/litre, while other parameters like Hardness, Alkalinity, Acidity, BOD and COD, all are at alarming level."
Against the safe BOD of 2.5, BOD in nullahs is up to 30, while BOD of Varuna river is nearly 75 to 80 times more at 160.
Mishra maintained that results of recent study also brings to fore that even the self-purifying capacity of Varuna (due to stagnant water and pollution beyond imagination) has vanished.
Amount of Lead and Nitrate in the ground water in 20 villages edging Varuna too have gone up alarmingly. While level of Nitrate contamination is alarmingly high in 12 villages, that of Lead too is very high in 5-6 villages, while Chromium content in ground water too is nearing the danger mark, raising the possibility of the Varuna river turning carcinog (cancer causing).
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100515/jsp/nation/story_12451930.jsp
CHARU SUDAN KASTURI
New Delhi. May 14: India plans to restructure its college admission policy to allow vocational education students lateral entry mid-course into mainstream higher educational institutions for the first time following the Australian model.
The human resource development ministry has asked the University Grants Commission and the IITs to prepare a mechanism for “multiple entries and exits from courses”.
Multiple entry and exit points, which will allow students to shift institutions mid-course, could theoretically benefit students of both vocational and mainstream higher education.
Delhi University already allows mid-course transfers, but these are generally on a case-by-case basis and the policy is never extended to vocational education students.
The IIT Council — the highest decision-making body of the institutes — occasionally makes exceptions to allow transfers of students from one IIT to another. No IIT, however, admits students mid-course from other institutions .
But the single largest section of students who will benefit from such multiple entry and exit options will be vocational education students, HRD ministry sources said.
Lakhs of students join institutes teaching industrial training, software applications, hospitality, secretarial work and other vocational programmes. In 2007, India announced a National Skill Development Mission with a promise to provide job-oriented vocational training to a million people a year.
But at present, only those with few opportunities in mainstream higher education generally take up vocational education.
One major reason, sources said, is that vocational courses are not recognised as academic qualifications that facilitate lateral entry into higher educational institutions.
A student trained in industrial work for four years has to apply for first year engineering at a college with fresh school pass-outs, at present.
Under the restructured policy, such a student will be allowed to join an appropriate engineering course mid-way — directly in second year, for instance.
The impetus for the plan came following a trip by HRD minister Kapil Sibal to Australia last month.
Australia allows lateral movement of students between mainstream and vocational education courses.
Close to a lakh Indian students went to Australia last year alone, mostly to pursue vocational education courses.
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Manjari Mishra, TOI Crest, May 15, 2010, 04.54pm IST
The myth goes that when King Bhagirath asked Ganga to come down to earth, she put her foot down and said no. Then Vishnu intervened. He promised that all the sins accumulated by mortals would dissolve the moment sages entered her waters for ablutions. Finally, Ganga relented — with what sad consequences we now know: not only is the Ganga flowing through the holy town of Varanasi dirty, the river has little of the original Himalayan waters.
(http://grant.robinson.name/photos/india/india-Pages/Image10.html)
The government has spent Rs 36,448 crore on cleaning the Ganga, yet at Varanasi the river is little more than a deadly cocktail of groundwater, sewage discharge and spillage from tributaries like the Yamuna and the Betwa — hardly the sacred Ganga jal that, many believe, has the powers to wash away the sins of mankind, 50 lakh of whom visit this town every year for the holy dip.
A recent study by the Ganga Lab and River Ecosystem Environment Management and Training Centre at the Benaras Hindu University (BHU) has found that "the quantity of (original) Ganga jal could in fact be less than 1 per cent in Varanasi" . Here's why. First, there are dams and barrages on the way. These trap the river and divert the waters. The next assault comes in the form of toxic substances dumped in the river as it flows through Uttar Pradesh. The end result is that the Ganga, as it enters Varanasi, flows more in faith than in reality.
There are 12 dams and reservoirs on the Ganga's route till Varanasi and each takes a toll on the river. But the biggest offenders are the Bhimgaura barrage at Hardwar and the 260-metre Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi. Since 2005, filling of the Tehri reservoir — which can generate 2,400 MW of power — has led to the flow of the Bhagirathi plummeting from the normal 1,000 cubic feet per second to a mere 2 cubic feet per second. The Bhimgauru barrage diverts 95 per cent of the 'holy' waters from what is left in the Ganga to the western and eastern Ganga canals. The next halt at Narora in Aligarh deals a fatal blow by directing 100 per cent of the flow into the lower Ganga canal.
Thereafter, the river is totally bereft of Ganga jal, says U K Chaudhary, head of the BHU Centre. "It only comprises surface water, drainage and flow from other tributaries (like the Betwa)." At Kanpur, the waters turn toxic as 420 tanneries dump their untreated effluents into the river.
Things improve a bit in Allahabad after the Yamuna, swollen with Betwa waters, joins the river. The same concoction then flows into Varanasi, whose bathing ghats "are the worst polluted pockets perhaps in all North India," as Professor B D Agrawal, an environmental scientist in the BHU and a member of the Ganga River Basin Authority, puts it. The faecal coliform count (FCC) at Assi — the point where the Ganga enters the city — is 60,000, but shoots up to 1.5 million by the time it reaches the Varuna confluence at the tail end of the city.
The two cremation grounds — Harish Chandra Ghat and Manikarnika — add a touch of the macabre by dumping 33,000 bodies, 300 tonnes of half-burnt bodies and 16,000 tonnes of ash annually into the river.
If that is the condition of the river today, environmentalists question the fate of the Ganga when all the planned and proposed hydroelectric dams come up in Uttarakhand and choke the flow of the river further.
Bumper-to-bumper reservoirs and dams are planned along the tributaries of the Ganga. The Centre has recommended that work be halted on two dams along the Bhagirathi, but activists point to more than a hundred small, medium and large dams that are on the anvil on tributaries like the Alaknanda and Mandakini.
The multi-thousand-crore Ganga Action Plan, the Central Pollution Control Board admits, has failed to clean up the river, though it also points to how much worse the river would be without the plan. "The issue of ensuring environmental flows in the river was not attended to. This has become increasingly important in view of the competing demands on the Ganga water for drinking, irrigation and power generation," the CPCB says in a status paper on the river.
"Only a part of the pollution load of the river could be tackled. Connections of household toilets to the sewer system, solid waste management, and some other vital aspects of municipal activities, which impinge on the water quality were not addressed," it notes.
The GAP has a new avatar, the National Ganga River Basin Authority. It's been formed recently and is headed by the Prime Minister. Unlike the GAP, it's meant to look at both the quality and quantity of water in the river and the riparian states are part of the set up. The Centre promises that by 2020, no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents will flow into the Ganga. It's set out to achieve in a single decade what the GAP didn't achieve in three.
What is needed is the will to rectify the very first flaw, says Chaudhary. And those are the dams and reservoirs. Unless the river is allowed a free flow without dams and diversions and barrages, attempts under the NGRBA would be just a cosmetic exercise, he says. "Can you expect a man to live after he donates 95 per cent of his blood?" he asks.
His demand may be impossible to meet. The river cannot be fully restored to its old glory, but it can surely be managed better. Religious heads have begun clamouring for "aviral aur swaccha (unfettered and clean) Ganga".
The UPA is in the mood to cater to the 'religious upsurge,' but the government will have to do more than cancel a couple of dams upstream, and they certainly need to set up more sewage treatment plants downstream to ensure that the 11.66 crore Indians living in 2,073 townships by the banks of this revered river don't bear witness to its strangulation.
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Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005, UP