Category Archives: Records, All

Guinness Record: Nine visually challenged people stitch ‘world’s largest jute bag’ in Coimbatore

Members of the transgender community and students of a technical institute in Coimbatore assisted the visually challenged people during the process of stitching the bag to make a record.

Nine visually challenged people stitched the 'world's largest jute bag' measuring 66ft-tall and 33ft-wide in just five hours.
Nine visually challenged people stitched the ‘world’s largest jute bag’ measuring 66ft-tall and 33ft-wide in just five hours.

Coimbatore :

With an aim to make an entry in Guinness World Record and spread awareness about no-use of plastic, nine visually challenged people have stitched the “world’s largest jute bag” measuring 66ft-tall and 33ft-wide in just five hours.

Members of the transgender community and students of a technical institute in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district on Friday have assisted the visually challenged people during the process of stitching the bag to make a record.

Shashi Kala, the Chairman of Yuva Foundation, who orgainsed this attempt, said, “Nine visually challenged people from Yuva Foundation set out to make a Guinness World Record by sewing a 66-feet high and 33-feet wide jute bag without a handle. The jute bag was stitched to sensitise the people to stop using harmful plastic bags and switch to eco-friendly alternatives.”

Alluding to the famed speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the Independence Day where he urged the people and shopkeepers to eliminate the use of plastic bags completely, Shashi Kala said, “We have to launch a war against the plastic. This is the reason why our people have stitched a jute bag.”

She added, “Through the attempt, we also want to prove it to the society that differently-abled people have their own ability and it is our responsibility to give them confidence and encouragement.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by ANI / September 01st, 2019

A century old, and creaking

The facility clearly needs better maintenance.
The facility clearly needs better maintenance.

Once a lifeline for motorists and railway workers, the steel overbridge in Perambur Loco Works is now in a state of neglect

The British-era steel overbridge across the railway line in Perambur Loco Works is eroding. Signs of erosion will be visible to anyone who bothers to take a close look at the facility. Often, motorcyclists using the overbridge stick to one lane as half of the carriageway has eroded, exposing rusted steel beams beneath it.

Located between the railway stations at Perambur Carriageway and Villivakkam, the steel overbridge was built in the early 1930s to connect railway institutions, including Loco Works and ICF. It has two steel bridges with bitumen-topped ramps that are separated by a concrete sloppy median. The steel bridge towards Periyar Nagar and Kolathur is older; the second bridge was constructed by the Chennai Corporation in 2011 to decongest the lone narrow bridge.

For long, the overbridge was the only source of connectivity to various institutions from Loco Works and Perambur.

It’s still popular among a section of people. Even today, hundreds of railway employees and motorists use the overbridge to reach the rail line. As the main entrance of Loco Works is located near the ramp of the overbridge, it is convenient for the staff to reach the bridge. But, maintenance of the overbridge is deteriorating.

Over the years, the overbridge and its ramps have been damaged due to poor maintenance and weathering. Most of the electrical fittings including bulbs on the lamp posts are either damaged or stolen. Overgrown bushes on the concrete median block the view of pedestrians, who are mainly rail commuters from Loco Works railway station and railway employees.

The speed breakers on the ramp especially towards Periyar Nagar are not painted. The connecting roads to the bridge also do not have adequate street lights, forcing motorists to rely on the headlights of the vehicles.

“At night, we cannot see the unevenness of the carriageway, especially towards Perambur. I have seen people skid on the overbridge,” says K. Shanmugam, a motorist from Perambur. He says most of the street lights on the ramp are not functioning and many pedestrians carry small pocket-sized touch lights to cross the section.

“Steps will be taken to give a facelift to the overbridge soon,” says a Corporation official.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by D. Madhavan / August 31st, 2019

Science fair concludes, cash awards given

The National Science and Technology Fair organised by Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) drew to a close on Saturday, with six exhibits of school and college students bagging cash awards.

In the ‘Colleges’ category, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, won the first place with a cash award of ₹ 50,000. Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode, and KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, won the second and third prizes, with cash awards of ₹ 40,000 and ₹ 30,000 respectively.

Delhi Public School, Coimbatore, came first in the ‘Schools’ category, and won a cash award of ₹ 25,000. Bannari Amman Public School, Sathyamangalam, and Vadanta International School, Jaipur, Rajasthan, came second and third, winning ₹ 20,000 and ₹ 15,000 respectively.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / Coimbatore – August 31st, 2019

Dindigul lock, Kandangi saree get GI tag

DindigulLocksCF31aug2019

The two iconic products face similar challenges and have been on the decline over the years

Will granting the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to two iconic, but dying products from Tamil Nadu be able to revive them?

The products — the Dindigul lock and the Kandangi saree — were given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai on Thursday. While the application for the lock was made by the Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers Industrial Co-operative Society Limited, the Amarar Rajeev Gandhi Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited filed the application for the Kandangi saree.

It remains to be seen whether the GI tag will infuse fresh interest in these two products and improve their performance in the market, and thereby revive the workers dependent on these products.

“Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree were registered today,” Chinnaraja G. Naidu, Deputy Registrar of Geographical Indications, said on Thursday. He added that both these products were losing their sheen in the market, and the GI tag would help them get some recognition.

Lock City

The famous Dindigul locks are known throughout the world for their superior quality and durability, so much so that even the city is called Lock City.

The abundance of iron in this region is the reason for the growth of the lock-making industry.

Though machine-made locks are easily available, government institutions like prisons, godowns, hospitals and even temples use the older pattern locks. These lock manufacturing units are limited to an area of 5 km in and around Dindigul. There are over 50 varieties of locks made by the artisans.

But over the last few years, this industry has been slowly dying due to competition from Aligarh and Rajapalayam. Marketing these locks has also been a challenge. A. Premkumar, a third-generation lock maker, who runs Jegankumar Industries in Nagal Nagar, said, “The lock industry in Dindigul is focussed [more] on quality than production (referring to quantity). Aligarh replicates mechanisms from here but produces in large quantities. The GI tag will help people differentiate Dindigul locks from others.” He added that several people have moved away from the craft due to meagre wages and waning demand.

Currently, this industry is worth over ₹20 crore per annum.

The Kandangi saree, manufactured in Karaikudi taluk in Sivaganga district, is facing challenges similar to Dindigul lock’s. V. Krishnaveni, who runs Sri Mahalakshmi Handloom Weaving Centre in Kanadukathan, said the GI tag for the Kandangi saree will help revive lost patronage. The market is flooded with sarees that are woven in other parts of the State and look like the Kandangi saree.

The original Kandangi saree is manually made using a winding machine, loom, shuttle and bobbin. It is a team effort of the families who live in the town of Karaikudi and it forms part of their livelihood. These sarees are characterised by the large contrast borders, and some of them are known to have borders covering as much as two-thirds of the saree.

The sarees are usually around 5.10 meters – 5.60 meters in length. The Kandangi sarees exude brilliant colours like bright yellow, orange, red and a minimal black in the traditional pattern of stripes or checks with broad borders woven in coarse cotton. Over the years, more interesting colours have been introduced for the saree, which is worn in a particular manner.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Sangeetha Kandavel & A. Shrikumar / Chennai – Madurai, August 30th, 2019

Milk ATM takes village in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri by storm

40-year-old Murugan from Kelagampatti village came up with the idea after he saw that people even in villages were unable to source fresh milk through the day.

The milk ATM installed by Murugan in Kelagampatti village | Express
The milk ATM installed by Murugan in Kelagampatti village | Express

Dharmapuri :

Necessity is the mother of invention. When 40-year-old Murugan realised that people even in villages were unable to source fresh milk through the day, as and when they wanted, he decided to do something about it and voila! An entrepreneur was born.

Murugan’s milk ATM has taken the Kelagampatti village in Harur by storm. The machine provides undiluted and unprocessed milk 24/7, and the demand has been strong. “The machine accepts Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes, and people can choose the amount of milk they want to buy,” explains Murugan. “People can also get a special debit card to buy milk from the machine,” he added.

These ‘debit cards’ are like prepaid coupons. For Rs 10, the machine will dispense 225 ml milk. “I am giving these RFID cards free of cost, based on consumers’ demand. There is no limit on recharge amount, but most people charge for Rs 500,” says Murugan. So far, 30 people have subscribed to the card.

A history graduate and a farmer, Murugan bought the milk dispenser from a private market in Haryana for Rs 4 lakh. “Other vending machines sell milk in packets. I wanted to reduce plastic usage, so people bring utensils to take milk from this machine,” he said. It has been six months, Murugan now sells 150 litres of milk daily.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Jevin Selwyn Henry / by Express News Service / August 29th, 2019

The record-breaking rider

Injuries and family committments did not stop Kalaivani J from riding 2,000 km, without a break, to enter the India Book of Records.

Photos: D Sampathkumar
Photos: D Sampathkumar

Chennai  :

Zipping through the highway, firmly seated on her motorbike, Kalaivani J is the embodiment of determination. The 42-year-old, mother of one, recently set the record for the longest ride in a single sitting, covering 2,300 km from Chennai to Pune on her trusty vehicle.

Kickstarting her passion
Her first brush with riding was in her village Cheyyar near Kancheepuram, when she was 12 years old. Jumping onto her father’s motorcycle, she used to zoom through the streets, completing errands for her mother. “I was a tomboy when I was younger. I loved motorbikes and biking. My father was supportive. The joke around the house was that friends came to see me after school, only to find that the motorcycle and I were missing,” said Kalaivani.

It was only three years ago when Kalaivani decided to take up riding seriously. After her marriage, her husband always supported her passions. Kalaivani was stirred to join The Bajaj Avenger Club in the city. She then bought herself a Bajaj Avenger 220CC Groove. With the assistance of fellow club members, she learned maintenance and upkeep of the bike.

Setting a record
Upon hearing her love for motorbikes, her colleague at the law firm suggested that she try to set a record for the longest bike ride by a woman. “I saw that the record set for the longest bike ride by a woman was only 1,600 km. I had never done any long-distance riding before. My longest ride was only 700 km. But I was intrigued to do it. Well, I’m the type of person who cannot sit around waiting once I get an idea,” she laughed.

In June this year, she conducted her first test ride to Vijayawada. The trip revealed a lot to her about long-distance riding. “As a woman, you need to be extra careful when you take bio-breaks, that is, bathroom breaks. I had to make sure I was safe. You cannot stop for anything, and you have to maintain a certain speed limit always,” she said. Later that month, she decided to take a test ride to Nagpur. “My club members were incredibly helpful.

They organised with the club members from other cities that I would be stopping by, so that my trip would be smooth. They also took care of my son while I was away,” she said. This test run failed as her motorbike began to run into some technical difficulties in between. She returned to Chennai, not defeated, but with the knowledge to succeed the next time.

She also decided to make some adjustments to her initial route. Finally, on the morning of her record-breaking ride, she went to a temple and prayed to Saibaba. Renewed with confidence, she embarked on her 2,000-km ride to Pune at 4 am. Halfway through the ride, she fell off the bike, injuring her foot. She ignored the pain and got back on. She completed the ride at 10 pm the next day and set the record.

Women and vehicles
Upon reaching home, the realisation did not sink in until she received the email from the India Book of Records, which she then excitedly showed her family and friends from the club. Thrilled, she has her sights set on the next ride.

But the record is not the only thing Kalaivani has broken – gender roles too, lay smashed on the floor. “There is nothing a woman cannot do. We can do anything a man can. People may say we are not supposed to do certain things, but let them say it. You decide what you want to do, not someone else,” she said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Rochana Mohan / Express News Service/ August 26th, 2019

The long road to St Petersburgh

MeenakshiCF24aug2019

Meenakshi Sai Arvind and her team plan to cover 20, 000 km in two vehicles while spreading awareness about cervical cancer

In 2017, Meenakshi Sai undertook a road trip from Coimbatore to London. “That trip changed my life. I learnt so much from the different people I met on my way. My confidence increased manifold. I decided I wanted to do another road trip; so I researched for a year, set up route maps, marked the stop points, and so on. My brother Sanjay Subbian was the first to join me and four close friends, Sharath Madhav, Pradeep Yuvaraj, Sheila Verghis and Jomet Mani joined later. The only two people that I did not know from earlier are Madhuri Sapru and Anjana Kaul. They came forward seeing a post I had put up on Facebook inviting people to join.”

The eight of them are driving 20,000 km across four countries in two Tata Hexas upto St Petersburgh. It is not just a long drive, it has a purpose. XPD Trans-Siberian 2019: Beyond Asia, as the expedition is called, will spread awareness about cervical cancer.

“Cervical cancer is common among Indian women. It is also the only cancer that has preventive vaccines. We hope that the visibility that we receive will turn people’s attention towards this issue and bring in more sponsors to buy these vaccines for women from underprivileged background,” explains Meenakshi, who is also the managing trustee of RR Trust that organised the expedition.

The team was flagged off recently by social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham, athlete Gomathi Marimuthu, and and Indian Navy veteran Rajiv Choudhry. The journey will take them through Nepal, China and Russia. “We will drive through the day and rest at night. We plan to cover an average of 600 km a day. The highway between Vladivostok and Saint Petersburg, known as the Trans-Siberian highway, is the longest in the world. It is also dangerous as the place is sparingly populated and secluded. It stretches for a distance of 11,000 km.” The expedition is also taking along spare parts for the vehicle and fireproof jerry cans filled with fuel. They will come in handy especially in the long desolate stretches, especially in Siberia, that may not have fuel stations.

The only thing Meenakshi is worried about is Acute Mountain Sickness when they reach the Everest Base Camp. “The air will be thin there. We are carrying apparatus to keep a check on our oxygen levels, besides oxygen cylinders.

The team will also carry dehydrated vegetable biryani and tamarind rice. “We will eat it when we crave local food. I do not eat meat and finding vegetarian food in Russia can also be challenging. We are just being cautious.”

They plan to reach Saint Petersburg on September 27. “We will be flying back on October 1 and the cars will be shipped home.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Susan Joe Philip / August 23rd, 2019

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: A shining star of astrophysics

This great astrophysicist strongly influenced our understanding of stellar objects, black holes, white dwarfs and conducted remarkable work on Newton’s seminal work titled Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

As a young boy, astrophysicist and mathematician Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar had a deep desire to be like Isaac Newton. Often, he used to go to the beach alone, and pray: ‘Oh God, may I be like Newton!’(Illustration: Rushikesh Tulshiram Gophane)
As a young boy, astrophysicist and mathematician Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar had a deep desire to be like Isaac Newton. Often, he used to go to the beach alone, and pray: ‘Oh God, may I be like Newton!’(Illustration: Rushikesh Tulshiram Gophane)

Chandra, as he was widely known, was born on October 19, 1910, in Lahore, to Tamil parents Sitalakshmi Balakrishnan and Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar. His father was the deputy auditor general of the Northwestern Railway. The family moved to Allahabad in 1916 and settled in Madras in 1918.

Early life and education

Chandrasekhar was homeschooled till the age of 12. He then attended the Hindu High School at Triplicane, Madras and studied at Presidency College, Madras from 1925 to 1930. During this stint, he met Lalitha Doraiswamy and they got married in 1936.

A highlight of his college years was the publication of his paper, The Compton Scattering and the New Statistics. Successes such as this strengthened his determination to pursue a career in scientific research despite his father’s wish for him to join Indian Civil Service.

In 1930, Chandrasekhar was awarded a government scholarship to pursue graduation at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and he joined Trinity College. During this time, Chandra became enamoured with the subject of white dwarf stars. He explained how when stars run out of hydrogen, they become unstable and collapse in on themselves. But the most massive stars explode into a supernova and then collapse down into neutron stars, or black holes. He earned a PhD in 1933 and was elected to Prize Fellowship.

Career

In 1937, Chandrasekhar was appointed assistant professor in the University of Chicago – a position he continued in for his entire career spanning six decades. In 1947, he was appointed the distinguished service professor of theoretical astrophysics and, in 1985, became the professor emeritus.

As the editor of The Astrophysical Journal (1952-1971), he transformed the private publication into the National Journal of the American Astronomical Society. Apart from his work at the University, he also conducted research at NASA’s Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research.

In 1990, he began working on the detailed geometric arguments in Sir Isaac Newton’s famous work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which is considered a significant work in the history of science. He died on August 21, 1995 of a heart attack.

Chandrasekhar Limit

He is best known for the discovery of the Chandrasekhar Limit, which he came up with as a student. Using this, he proved that there is a maximum mass which can be supported against gravity by the pressure made up of electrons and nuclei.

Awards, achievements

Chandra was honoured with the Padma Vibushan in 1968. In 1983, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with William A Fowler for work on the structure and evolution of stars. He was, however, upset that the citation mentioned only his earliest work and not his later ones. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Gold Medal of Royal Astronomical Society (1953), the Royal Medal (1962), and the Copley Medal (1984).

He has authored several books including – An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (1939), Principles of Stellar Dynamics (1942), and Newton’s Principia for the Common Reader (1995).

Interesting Facts

1. He was the nephew of Sir CV Raman, who was a Nobel Prize recipient. Chandrasekhar became a US citizen in 1953, retired from the University of Chicago in 1980, and continued to be a researcher.

2. In 1979, NASA named the third of its four Great Observatories after Chandrasekhar. The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999.

3. The Chandrasekhar number, a vital dimensionless number of magneto hydrodynamics, was named after him as were the asteroid 1958 Chandra and the Himalayan Chandra Telescope.

4. The Chandra Astrophysics Institute runs an initiative for high school students interested in astrophysics. They are mentored by scientists from MIT and sponsored by the Chandra Observatory.

5. His brother, S Balakrishnan, revealed that as a boy, Chandra had a deep desire to be like Isaac Newton. He used to go to the beach alone, and pray: ‘Oh God, may I be like Newton!’

Source: famouspeople.com; notablebiographies.com;Wikipedia

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India> Inspiring Lives / by HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi / August 21st, 2019

380th Madras Day: Anna Nagar through the ages

From a village settlement to the commercial and residential hub it is today, locals trace the history of their neighbourhood.

The twin arches that leads to Anna Nagar (File photo | Express)
The twin arches that leads to Anna Nagar (File photo | Express)

Chennai :

A scene from the 1971 film Rickshawkaran featuring the late actor-former chief minister of Tamil Nadu MG Ramachandran racing in a wagon on the roads of Anna Nagar is one that’s etched in the minds of Tamil film enthusiasts.

A closer look at the background, and one can spot the 51-year-old Anna Tower, one of the popular landmarks of Namma Chennai. While not much has changed about the magnificent edifice, the locality where it stands has seen exponential changes since its origin.

Since 2013, Nam Veedu, Nam Oor, Nam Kadhai, a social history group headed by architect-planner Thirupurasundari has been recording the evolution of Anna Nagar. As part of the Madras Week celebrations, the group curated a two-day exhibition featuring panels of the history and heritage of the neighbourhood, at Joy of Books.

Community initiative

“A few years ago, when preparations for Madras Day were in full swing, I noticed that no heritage events were being conducted in this part of the city. That’s when I decided to form this group to simply understand the locality. But, I didn’t want to constrain myself to just hosting walks or talks,” said Thirupurasundari, a resident of Shenoy Nagar.

The initiative spread like wildfire — thanks to community tabloids and the locality’s heritage crusaders. “When we began, we had a simple concept — to explore and document the history and heritage of the neighbourhood I was from. Six years later, it has grown and become a community initiative. There’s a sense of ownership among the residents about the area now,” she said.

A rural flavour

Before the 1950s, the village of Naduvakkarai had a truly rural flavour, with paddy fields and a serene river flowing nearby. Impressed by the true rural essence in the otherwise busy city as seen in Mount Road and Parrys, a few people settled down here to appreciate its silence and serenity, writes Thirupurasundari in a booklet released by the group in 2014.

People from other busy pockets of the city, including Mylapore and Triplicane, began migrating to Naduvakkarai in the 1940s and 50s. An illustrated depiction of this event by Akshayaa Selvaraj was on display. “When we interviewed the residents, some senior citizens even told us that they moved here because palm jaggery and first-class toddy were available here. Naduvakkarai had an abundance of palm trees,” said the architect.

Post-freedom rush

In the early 1960s, due to mushrooming of industrial pockets and rapid migration in the city, the housing board was formed to provide necessary housing facilities. In the wake, the West Madras Neighbourhood Scheme, which initiated subsidised development schemes and other structures was born. “The blueprint of contemporary Chennai was beginning to emerge. The idea of an integrated system of housing, meant for all classes possibly for the first time in the country, was initiated,” she said.

Guided through

Since the roads in Anna Nagar are designed based on matrix structure or similar to roads in developed countries in the western world, for many, hunting for the right lane and street is a task. Thirupurasundari said that between 1968 and the early 80s, Anna Nagar had guides who used to help people navigate. “These guides used to charge `1 or `2 and would guide you to whatever place you wanted to go to in the locality,” she said.

A historic fair

The 1968 Indian International Trade and Industries Fair, aimed to show India’s industrial development, changed the face of the neighbourhood. Brands like Voltas to Ovaltine had put up stalls as part of the fair. One of the main attractions was the Panchsheel tower (now called the Anna Tower) from which a panoramic view of the fair-site could be seen for a rupee or less.

After the fair’s success, more people were drawn towards the locality. “Interestingly, my amma and appa had attended the fair too. He was five and she was three years old. They both remember sitting in the Russian pavilion. This was the time when paper cups were emerging, and they both remember refusing to drink from a cup made of paper!” she said.

Interactive tour

We took a tour of the exhibition — from touch and feel exhibits depicting layouts of the State Housing Board’s West Madras Neighbourhood Scheme, panels of the 1968 Indian International Trade and Industries Fair, the evolution of Chandramoulishwarar temple, vintage images of the parabolic archway, screengrabs of film scenes that featured Anna Nagar, and other representational panels were on display. A drawing competition, quiz, storytelling session about Madras, display of household heritage items by Venkatraman Prabakaran and Sivagamasundari T, and early residents sharing anecdotes about the area were also part of the event.

“Talking to people who witnessed the stages of the neighbourhood’s development was essential. We have so far done 672 interviews of residents, senior citizens…they’ve all been kind and generous. Most of what you see here is a collation of all the information they gave us. From old photographs, maps and layouts of the area, they came forward to share whatever they know about Anna Nagar,” she shared.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Roshne Balasubramanian / Express News Service / August 22nd, 2019

App uses AI to detect banana pest, diseases

Versatile: The App can detect symptoms on any part of the crop and is trained to read even images of lower quality. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Versatile: The App can detect symptoms on any part of the crop and is trained to read even images of lower quality. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

An App using this tool can diagnose the disease and give treatment options

Identifying diseases and pests on banana crops will now be just a click away. Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence system (AI) which can look at photographs and tell what disease the plant has and also give recommendations and treatment options to the farmers. The results showed that the model was over 90% accuracy.

Training the network

The neural network was given about 20,000 images showing diseased and healthy plants. “Just like teaching a kid to tell an elephant from a horse, we taught the AI to identify leaf, root, fruit diseases and pests. Pictures from Uganda, Colombia, Congo and India were fed into the system for the training,” says Dr. Sivalingam Elayabalan from the Department of Biotechnology, Imayam Institute of Agriculture and Technology (IIAT), Trichy, Tamil Nadu. He is one of the authors of the study published in Plant Methods.

The tool is now incorporated into an App called Tumaini, meaning hope in Swahili, and being tested.

Expansion of scope

The team is planning to add more diseases based on regions and also make the App available in local languages. “When users take the photo, it gets uploaded to a global system for large-scale monitoring. Also, it is automatically GPS-tagged so we know what and where the problem is. We are also planning to incorporate high-resolution satellite monitoring to check the health of large fields,” explains Dr. Michael Gomez Selvaraj, from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia in an email to The Hindu. Dr. Selvaraj is the senior author of the paper. The App can detect symptoms on any part of the crop, and is even trained to read images of lower quality.

Major Indian diseases

The app is now being tested across many countries and when the confidence of 100% is reached it will be available for free download. “Yellow leaf spot and Fusarium wilt are the major fungal diseases in India and farmers spend a lot of money on fungicides. Apart from the fungal disease, the viral disease such as Banana Bunchy top virus is a big problem in hilly areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Northeast region. The App can tell the farmers in advance bringing down the treatment costs,” says Dr. Elayabalan. “We are now testing the App in Tamil, and it will soon be available in Hindi and Malayalam. The National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have shown interested in the App.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Science / by Aswati Pachi / August 17th, 2019