Category Archives: Green Initiatives/ Environment

It’s destination Europe for T.N. bananas

November 1, 2018Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, World Opinionadmin

The first consignment of the grand naine variety from Theni district, produced using the ‘post harvest protocol’, will commence its sea leg of the journey from Kochi on Nov. 1.

Thanks to a unique post-harvest handling system, a consignment will soon reach Italy

Despite India’s standing as one of the major banana-producing countries in the world, Tamil Nadu couldn’t export its produce by air given the fruit’s weight (making it uneconomical), its short shelf life and the European standards that lay emphasis on minimum human handling.

To counter this challenge, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation, has developed a unique post-harvest handling system — the cable way conveyor. The Port of Trieste, Italy, offered financial support for developing the system.

Thanks to the initiative, the first consignment of bananas grown in the State was flagged off for export to Italy on Wednesday.

“The new system reduced the post-harvest loss. From the farm to packing-house, we managed with conveyors. The 24-day journey to Europe was the next step in the sequence,” explained Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi.

The ‘cable way conveyor’ could be used in large farms for transporting both farm inputs and produce. It will help in exporting India-grown varieties like grand naine, red banana, ney poovan and nendran.

During the pioneering attempt, banana bunches with a sample size of about 400 kg were harvested at a farm in Kudalore in Theni district. They were then transported to the University of Udine, Italy, on an experimental basis. “After the positive results that we met with, we went ahead with the idea,” Mr. Bedi added.

As part of efforts to send the consignment to Europe, a ‘static inland simulation trial’ was conducted in Chennai by keeping a container fully stuffed with banana-packed pallets under climate-controlled atmosphere for three weeks. The National Research Centre for Banana, Maersk and the Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation too were part of the initiative.

The first consignment of grand naine variety from Theni district, produced and packed using the ‘post harvest protocol’, is to start its sea leg of the journey from Kochi in Kerala on November 1, according to an official release.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – November 01st, 2018

The humble naturalist

October 9, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

A Natural History of the Indian Sub-continent by Valmik Thapar, Walking the Himalayas by Levison Wood and Dervla Murphy’s books on touristy and travelling.

Lilian Jasper has co-authored the travelogue, Kenyan Odyssey (Photo | Nakshatra Krishnamoorthy)

Chennai :

Vaishali Vijaykumar It’s 9.30 am on a Monday. The college bell rings. We wait for Lilian Jasper, principal of Women’s Christian College (WCC), as she wraps up her English lecture. Soon, Lilian, draped in a pink silk sari with golden tree motifs, greets us with a warm smile. As we take a seat in her room, we notice a row of souvenirs and a stack of nature-themed books.

Classics like Land of the Tiger: A Natural History of the Indian Sub-continent by Valmik Thapar, Walking the Himalayas by Levison Wood and Dervla Murphy’s books on touristy and travelling. “I don’t believe in sight-seeing. I need to get on the field and experience the adrenaline rush. Traversing through rocky terrains, adventurous animal-spotting safaris and living with nomadic tribes give me the satisfaction of a purposeful trip,” shares Lilian, who has been a part of the institution since 1993. Lilian’s home is nestled in the lush green college campus that has 110 varieties of trees and several species of birds making frequent visits.

The biodiversity extends into her home as well, where she has set up her garden, which is dotted with orchids, water lilies and potted plants picked up during her various travels. Lilian’s in-depth interest in ecology combined with a flair for writing led her to start eco-literature in WCC in 2009. “This is a paper for English literature students. I’ve made it application-oriented with field trips and study tours to keep the students engaged. Kids these days might not be excited about rural trips or bird-watching sessions.

But, these are life-changing experiences. The itinerary usually includes a visit to the wildlife park, mountainous terrain or a tribal settlement. They’re expected to document the people they meet and the species they spot, so there’s no chance to bluff in their assignments. I’m thankful to Nirmal Selvamony, a pioneer in ecocriticism, who inspired me to take up this subject while I was a student,” she shares. An avid traveller, Lilian has taken her students to Parambikulam National Park near Top Slip, Kolli Hills on the western ghats, Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Rameshwaram’s fishing hamlets, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Attapadi village in Kerala.

Before visiting, she reads about the place, its forest cover, unseen localities and tribal communities to make the best out of these trips. “Three years back we went to Dhanushkodi. We wanted to interact with the indigenous group to get a realistic perspective of their livelihood. A fisherman suggested we taste a fish fry made in their style. Freshly caught fish was flung into the fire and roasted with no spices. It was delicious. These instances teach us to go back to the basics.

The food was simple and it also nourishes your body,” she shares. “Apart from college trips, we have a team of five faculty members-cum-friends. We plan all-women trips and travel frequently. One such trip was to the Jim Corbett National Park. That was the first time I spotted the majestic creature — a tiger. It was close to a water hole, and suddenly jumped and stood in front of our jeep.

These experiences prepare you for long hours of trekking and untimely meals,” shares Lilian, who has co-authored the travelogue, Kenyan Odyssey. The book has vivid images clicked by Lilian about the species that lived in a forest in Tanzania, during her eight-day journey. “I’m a mountain person. The hills are a rich source of medicinal plants, sacred groves and endangered animals.

We often take faculty members from Zoology and Botany departments to help us identify the flora and fauna. These trips make you humble and expose you to the side of reality that you wouldn’t see in cities,” she says. Leh Ladakh, Netherlands, Ranthambore and Great Rann of Kutch are a part of her bucket list. She hopes to make eco-literature a compulsory subject for all students to inculcate the importance of ecosystem.

Memories

During our journey to Rameshwaram, we stumbled upon a group of women. They were sari-clad deep sea divers. They earn their livelihood by collecting seaweeds that grow along the coastline. Comfort zone was never a concern to them and they made no fuss about it. These were also the women who headed the panchayat and played a prominent role in the village administration.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / October 09th, 2018

Flowers bloom in the Cauvery delta rice belt

September 25, 2018Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Mannargudi farmer shows an alternative to water-intensive crops

When K. Marimuthu decided to cultivate yellow marigold, a flower in demand for garland-making, instead of paddy in Mannargudi, situated in the Cauvery delta rice belt, other farmers warned that he was taking a risk.

“But I proved them wrong. I have harvested eight tonnes [of marigold] even though those who supplied the saplings predicted that the yield would be between three and five tonnes,” said Mr. Marimuthu, who has already started experimenting with cultivation of other flowers, including kozhikondai poo (hen’s horn flower), jasmine and sambanki (Magnolia champaca).

Garland-makers in Mannargudi regularly buy flowers from Thanjavur and Tiruchi. Mr. Marimuthu’s experiment fulfils local needs and the money needed for transportation is saved.

He also opted for drip irrigation and, in the process, saved about 80% of the water that would have been required for paddy cultivation. “The profit is also very high. I would have earned a maximum ₹20,000 per acre [cultivating paddy]. Marigold has so far earned me ₹1.5 lakh, after all the expenses, including labour, pesticides and fertilizers,” said Mr. Marimuthu, who buys saplings and manure from farmers in Hosur.

He planted 25-day-old plants and the yield began from the 60th day. Though marigold continues to yield for 120 days, he was able to extend flowering up to 145 days. “The only problem will be rain. We can save the saplings by giving them support, but flowers will not tolerate heavy rain. We will learn the art of floriculture through experiments,” he said, adding that a few farmers had already taken a cue from him and begun cultivating flowers.

Mannargudi MLA T.R.B. Raja, who has been advocating the idea of switching to alternative and less water-intensive crops, agreed.

Roping in experts

“Forget Cauvery water. Climate change is a major factor. Heavy dependency on water is not possible,” said Mr. Raja, who had already consulted experts from Israel and is planning to rope in their expertise in a big way.

He said there was a need to change the mindset of the people and farmers in the Needlamangalam area, who had successfully cultivated cotton crop, even though the workforce for plucking wasn’t adequate.

Reiterating that “precision farming” was the way forward, he said farmers who cultivated paddy in the Kovilveni area were waiting for the government to open procurement centres, and gradually fell prey to middlemen. “Heavy use of fertilizers for paddy has already killed the soil. Let us opt for alternative crops like millets, cotton and flowers. They will help replenish the soil,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu/ by B. Kolappan / Chennai – September 05th, 2018

Chennai Central gets a green tag

September 16, 2018Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

The railway station has incorporated several eco-friendly concepts, says Southern Railways GM

The iconic brick red structure that the Chennai Central railway station is, now has a ‘green certification’ With this, the railway station becomes the first station in Southern Railway to be awarded Green Building Certification.

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), instituted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, awarded the certificate during the Railway Swachchta programme at the Chennai Central railway station on Saturday.

Speaking at the programme, Southern Railway General Manager R.K. Kulshrestha said the green building rating for the railway station was given after it incorporated several concepts and features which the rating requires.

C.N. Raghavendran, chairman, IGBC Chennai Chapter, presented the IGBC plaque and certificate to Mr. Kulshrestha. Naveen Gulati, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai division, was present at the function.

The IGBC, after evaluating the green features implemented in the railway station, awarded the certificate.

The railway green building projects include facilities like 100% LED lighting fixtures, installation of 5-star rated fans, solar energy, solar water heaters and segregation of waste at source along with waste recycling.

The Southern Railway has also improved the passenger amenities by creating separate pick-up and drop points, seating arrangements, waiting hall, pay-and-use toilets, air-conditioned dormitory, emergency medical care facility, and trolley-based luggage assistants.

The railway station also has smart passenger’s information systems and services. IGBC is working with 40 other stations in Indian Railways for the certification.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – September 16th, 2018

All about the ayirai meen

September 5, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

SQUIGGLY DELICACY: The ayirai fish is usually sold in padi, a Tamil unit of measurement | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A Tamil Nadu favourite, the native fresh-water fish has become rarer to find with the drying of the Vaigai river

At 7 am, inside Madurai’s Nelpettai fish market, 75-year-old K Bose sits on a cemented platform with two big aluminium basins in front of him. As he uncovers them, customers eagerly peek in. Inside the water-filled containers, a school of alive and active Ayirai fish (Lepidocephalichthys thermalis, also called common spiny loach) swim restlessly.

As the old man carefully ploughs a plastic bowl into the vessel, the jiggly squiggly mass of the worm-like fish lash their tiny fins and gambol around, some hopping out onto the floor, twitching for breath before being caught and let back into the water. “The major catch comes in from the Papanasam dam, apart from irrigation tanks in Cauvery Delta region. However, the ayirai from the Vaigai river and the ponds of the Sivanganga and Ramnad districts are considered the tastiest,” says Bose, who brings around 10 to 12 kilos of loaches every day from the town of Tirupuvanam.

“Ever since the Vaigai dried up, there’s been no ayirai fish in our meal,” says M Shenbaga, an expert home-cook. She recalls catching the fish in the Vaigai at Manamadurai in the ’70s, when the river was still flowing.

Ayirai Meen Kozhambu, signature dish of Amma Mess in Madurai. Photo: R. Ashok | Photo Credit: R_ASHOK

“During summers, the water levels in the river would go down and we used to set up a panai pari (a pot made of clay or bamboo that’s tied upstream, so that the loaches that swim against the current are caught in it) and by the evening, we’d take home a potful of ayirai fish.”

The fast dwindling population and the growing demand has made ayirai a pricey delicacy. “There are lots of specialities to this small fish, including the peculiar flavour and taste. Since, they live in the marshy bed of rivers, ponds and lakes, they are rich in mineral and the taste differs according to the soil type. It’s probably the only fresh-water fish that’s sold in padi (a Tamil unit of measurement) and not kilograms. They can live for days in containers if the water is changed daily,” says Bose.

Harvesting ayirai fish | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

One padi of the fish equals to about 1.25 kilograms and is sold at ₹3,000 at the Nelpettai market. S Sumathi of Amma Mess, buys about three kilos every day. The Amma Mess’ ayirai meen kozhambu is a brand in itself, without which Madurai’s food scene is incomplete.

“Our restaurant is often visited by celebrities, including politicians and film stars, and they never miss the ayirai curry. It’s a favourite of poet Vairamuthu,” beams Sumathi, who learnt the recipe from her mother-in-law. “Since, there’s no business of weeding out bones, it’s easier to eat for kids and old people, and is also a rich source of calcium.” The fish lends its unique muddy flavour to the curry and that gives the kick. With spicy reddish oil films floating on the top, the curry is thick and is typically eaten for lunch, mixed with white rice.

“Ayirai is always bought alive and is a robust fish that doesn’t die so fast. As part of cleaning before cooking, the fish is let to swim in either coconut milk or butter milk. As the fish thrives in the bottom of water bodies, they tend to have mud sediment in their mouth, which is removed when put in milk,” explains Shenbaga.

“Loaches are difficult to culture artificially. So far, there’s been only one instance of success where a fish farmer named Pugazhendi from Vaduvur in Thanjavur district has been able to raise ayirai as an inter-crop in ponds, along with keluthi and catla fish,” says K Karal Marx, Dean, Institute of Post Graduate Studies, Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, Chennai OMR Campus.

“Much needs to be researched on reviving the population of ayirai. Given the various unique features of the fish and their strong cultural connection to the State, we have given a proposal to the government from the Fisheries University to make it the State fish of Tamil Nadu.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / Madurai – September 03rd, 2018

Swelect uses sun, air to make drinking water

July 31, 2018Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

Coimbatore 21/10/2012. A one megawatt scale grid-connected solar power plant commissioned by Swelect Energy Systems Limited under REC scheme at Kuppaepalayam near Coimbatore. The solar arrays are ground mounted with light sensing tracking systems for increasing output. Photo:K.Ananthan. | Photo Credit: K_Ananthan — Coimbatore 21/10/2012. A one megawatt scale grid-connected solar power plant commissioned by Swelect Energy Systems Limited under REC scheme at Kuppaepalayam near Coimbatore. The solar arrays are ground mounted with light sensing tracking systems for increasing output.
Photo:K.Ananthan. | Photo Credit: K_Ananthan

Tastes better than bottled water: firm

Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. (formerly known as Numeric Power Systems Ltd.) has unveiled ‘Source,’ a hydro (solar) panel to provide pure drinking water using sunlight and air, said a top official.

“For this, we have partnered with U.S.-based Zero Mass Water,” said R. Chellappan, managing director, Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. “By using hydropanels, we are eliminating plastic and water waste of bottled and filtered water.”

Source is a combination of solar PV (photovolatic), material science and other technologies. It is a standalone product and can work anywhere — on top of the building or on the ground. It can be installed immediately. It doesn’t require any electrical input.

Absorbing water vapour

He said water vapour from air is drawn into Source through fans, following which special materials absorb the water. The vapour is collected as the air flow passes through a condenser, then flows into a reservoir where it is mineralised with calcium and magnesium. Water is pumped through a polishing cartridge before being delivered to a dispenser. “The water will taste better than bottled water and the total cost of ownership will be cheaper when compared with bottled water,” he said.

The price per panel will be ₹2 lakh and it will generate up to five litres of water per day depending on humidity and sunlight, he said. The panel would last for about 15 years. There is also a storing facility underneath a panel that can hold 30 litres.

“The product is very similar to solar PV. It is scalable and we can do one panel per home to 100 panels for a village,” said Robert Bartrop, executive vice-president– business development, Zero Mass Water.

Swelect plans to sell Source panels to government-run programmes on water, retail and institutional markets through its network of channel partners. The company will target primary health centres, schools, large villas, resorts and water-starved places.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> India / by N. Anand / Chennai – July 30th, 2018

‘Cos now I’m living on green power: An ode to the green guava

July 17, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Deliciously healthy The green guava chutney

It’s guava season now and here’s something new to try with this amazing fruit

At a recent wedding, there was a surprise element on our vazha yellais. A chutney made with green guava by a local caterer. An appetising green in colour, it was smooth, creamy and delicious. It had the sour flavour that one associates with chaat.

It is now a sought-after item at wedding feasts and the credit goes to Madhampatty Rangaraj for not just developing the recipe but for getting me to think about using the green guava as a veggie option.

The guava may have originated in Central America but after hundreds of years in the Indian subcontinent, it is considered local. When it comes to nutrition, the guava is to Asia what the apple is to the west. Guavas contain possibly the highest amount of Vitamin C present in fruits. They are equally rich in Vitamin A, manganese, which helps the body absorb other essecinal nutrients, and folate, which is necessary for conception and growth of the foetus.

Yet it is not a fruit that is found as often as some others at our homes. This may have something to do with the fact that it isn’t used much in cakes, pies or even salads. While I have heard of guava jellies, squashes and jams, I wonder how much of the actual fruit goes into making these condiments. Also given that these products are pink/peach in colour, they are probably made using the pink strawberry guava rather than the green, which are easier to find here.

The country variety ranges from a small one with dark green flesh to bigger ones that with a paler green exterior. I wasn’t too fond of the guava especially because of the seeds that wouldn’t break, no matter how hard they were bitten.

With guavas in season now and available everywhere here, the first dish I experimented with was, of course, the chutney. I didn’t want to ask the caterer for his secret recipe but going by the taste, I used onion, green chillies, tamarind, turmeric powder, rock salt and a few coriander leaves. In went the chopped guava, seeds and all, because discarding the latter meant losing so much flesh. Once it was all blended together, we had to strain the chutney. The smooth purée was tempered with dried red chillies, curry leaves and mustard seeds. One taste and I was supremely happy.

With the rainy weather we’re having, a warm green guava soup is next on the agenda. And a koyakkai rasam maybe?

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Shanthini Rajkumari / July 17th, 2018

Chennai’s very own glass studio

July 11, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environmentadmin

For the founder of Goli Soda Glass Studio, it is a captivating, understated medium of art

K Radhika remembers staring at the flames of the kiln long before her first glass art class at Ohio State University. “I would go to the classroom and just watch the glass melt in the fire for hours, but never do anything. I used to feel so intimidated,” she recalls. That was back in 2008. Today, the 39-year-old runs her own glass making studio, Goli Soda Glass Studio at Palavakkam.

Having returned to Chennai in 2016, after 20 years of life in the US, Radhika opened the studio last year and has been holding workshops on lamp working. “I think Goli Soda bottles have been our first memory of glass that is quirky and fun,” she says.

When I meet her, she is demonstrating how to join two thin tubes of glass. “You have to make sure that both pieces of glass have the same co-efficiency,” she explains. She later creates even thinner stringers out of the tubes, heating one end and plucking the molten glass out like cheese from a pizza: the stringers harden instantly.

She bends down on her seat, curling the end of a glass stringer in each hand simultaneously, till the fire fuses them to one sphere at the centre. A blue glass pendant with a white petal design inside it lies next to her on a graphite holder, fresh off the flame. The petals look like they are blooming upwards inside the glass. “We call it the implosion technique — creating a lens effect, it’s been very popular for the past 20-30 years,” says Radhika.

She shows us how it’s done, gathering a sphere of glass on one end and flattening it to give it a semi-hemispherical shape. She exposes the base to a light flame simultaneously etching patterns on it with a coloured glass pen. The surface of the sphere is then heated further so that it gathers below the design, lifting it up inside and giving the impression that the design has been frozen in glass mid-implosion.

“The glassmakers of Murano used this technique a lot. It used to be their trade secret once,” says Radhika.

In her other workshops, she teaches her students how to cut and reuse old glass bottles. “You have to give the bottle a thermal shock. It’s basically creating a fault line, heating it along that line and then dunking it in ice cold water to break it,” she explains.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Radhika sources all her glass by going to the various pubs and bars along ECR, sack in tow. She recycles most of the glass in her studio, throwing away only the unusable pieces.

When she came to Chennai, she was surprised at the lack of a ‘glass community’ in the city. A ‘full-time mom’, as she calls herself, she then decided to run her own studio. “Glass, as a medium, is very exciting and challenging. You only have so much time to finish one piece. It’s not like painting, where you can take a break, come back and paint again. It’s a one-shot thing and if you go wrong, you just have to start all over again,” she says.

And then of course, there is the captivating beauty of glass, its translucence. Radhika wants people to not think of glass as intimidating. She recently participated in the Glass Conference 2018 at Murano, where designers showcased outfits made majorly out of glass. She fashioned a black V-neck top with icicle-like frills of glass hanging from it. The outfit was completed with a glass necklace and a gajra made of glass flowers that had been sewn together. Says Radhika, “I want to experiment further with glass in traditional Indian clothing. People see glass as this fragile thing. But I want to make it fun!”

K Radhika can be contacted at 9566105313.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Sweta Akundi / July 11th, 2018

Madurai herbal healer’s cataract cure gets NIF lift

July 4, 2018Amazing Feats, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinionadmin

MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year

In what could give Indian indigenous medicine a boost, a herbal concoction used by a 60-year-old woman to treat early stage cataract of people in in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district may soon make its way to market shelves.

This traditional wisdom used by herbal healer Muthulakshmi for decades may be commercialised after Ahmedabad headquartered National Innovation Foundation (NIF) which supports such grassroots innovations has signed an MoU with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year to develop and commercialise the product.

The herbal medicine which was used to treat early stage cataract patients is currently up for clinical trials and is expected to hit the markets in 6 months.

“We scouted this product with the help of Honey Bee Network, our collective a few years ago. In the past we have validated traditional knowledge and practices of people that are unavailable in classical codified texts with the help of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). We got excellent results with the herb that treats patients with early state cataract after preliminary tests were conducted on this herbal medicine tested with PERD (Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development) Ahmedabad.

Later we signed a co-development agreement (MoU) with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year for testing and developing the herbal medicine. Dabur also has the first right of refusal and can pay market cost for the technology,” said Vipin Kumar, director & chief innovation Officer(CIO) of NIF-India, an autonomous body of DST, Govt of India.

Kicking off the momentum for indigenous traditional medicine made from a flower and administered by Muthulakshmi to treat cataract patients in her region, may be available commercially in an affordable format after it is developed as a viable herbal product.

“We have signed a broad-based MoU and are working with NIF to develop herbal-based products to treat humans through the non-codified herb. The flower is indigenous and grows widely in the country. However, knowledge of this traditional medicine may be lost if it is not passed on to the people. The formula needs to be checked for efficacy on cells and duplicated and made affordable to poor. Through preliminary data we are trying to see if the extract has the potential to cure and will be conducting a clinical trial on 200 subjects.

We are currently in the process of finalising a chemical centre. The money generated through the IPR or patent of this herbal medicine and its royalty will go to the inventor Muthulakshmi and not to us or the NIF. The product can be commercialised within 3 to 6 months once clinical trials are over. Once the product formulation is complete we would obviously not like to refuse it and bring it at affordable rates as our CSR and try to make it low cost for people,” said Dr Manu Jaggi, chief scientific officer, Dabur Research Foundation.

source: http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com / Ahmedabad Mirror / Home> Ahmedabad> Others / June 29th, 2018

Documentation of heritage sites, tourist spots begins

June 28, 2018Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Sithannavasal rock cave in Pudukottai district is one among the places to be documented online. | Photo Credit: M_Moorthy

‘This project will help domestic and international tourists’

The Tourism department has embarked upon a project to document all heritage, historic and popular tourist spots and monuments in the State, including Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts, so as to lure both domestic and foreign travellers through online campaign.

Collection of rare pictures, taking latest pictures and writing description are part of the project, which will be uploaded in the official website of Union Ministry of Tourism, which is projecting the tourism hotspots of the country to international tourists under the tag of “Incredible India”.

The Rockfort temple in Tiruchi, Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, Sri Akilandeswari-Jambukeswarar temple in Thiruvanaikoil, Butterfly park at Melur in Srirangam, Erumbeeswarar temple in Tiruverumbur are among the temples, monuments and places to be documented in Tiruchi district.

K. Ilangovan, Tourism Officer, Pudukottai, told The Hindu that expert photographers had been hired to take pictures of historic places and monuments. Avudaiyar temple, Viralimalai, Thirumayam Fort, Sithannavasal paintings, Brahathambal temple, cave temple in Malaiadipatti, Kundrathar temple, Muthukuda beach on East Coast Road were among the places to be documented online from Pudukottai district. They would be uploaded in the websites of Tamil Nadu Tourism and Union Ministry of Tourism with the participation of National Informatics Centre (NIC). The task would be completed within two weeks.

He said that websites and online booking had become an important tool for disseminating information of the country’s rich heritage, arts, culture and tourist places worldwide.

The project would help domestic and international tourists to know the treasures of the country.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchrapalli / by C. Jaishankar / Tiruchirapalli – June 25th, 2018

Chennai First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Chennai, Tamilians and all the People of TamilNadu – here at Home and Overseas