“Babar Ali, is the role model of Indian youth”-T.Stalin Gunasegaram.

Babar Ali

“Babar Ali, is the role model of Indian youth and he is an Indian student and teacher from Murshidabad, West Bengal is called the youngest headmaster in the world by BBC, at the age of 16” said by T.Stalin Gunasegaram,President,Erode Makkal Sindanai Peravai while introducing Babar Ali to a massive gathering of Erode Book Festival-2012 at Erode, recently. T.Stalin Gunasegaram further said,” As he is now only who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family’s backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village, this young man from Murshidabad in West Bengal is a remarkable youth living with  the direst poverty still serves as an extraordinary change maker. Babar happens to be one of the fortunate souls in his village. In the Bhapta neighborhood of Gangapur Village in West Bengal’s Murshidabad, Babar lives with his three siblings and his parents in a thatched house which is the size of an average city kitchen.         He is still among the privileged ones in his village, because unlike most children there, he went to school and got formal education. He was better off also in being the son of Nasiruddin Sheikh. Nasiruddin is a jute seller and a dropout who believes that education is man’s true religion, and who initially supported his son’s venture with his own income. Coming from a privileged family Babar realized he must do something for the other children in this village. In the evening school that he runs is an outdoor school and counts a total of 10 teachers - all of them students at nearby school or college - who volunteer to teach. There are no tuition fees, thus making it affordable for the poor in this economically deprived area and thereby helping increase literacy rate there. .Babar Ali won a prize from the program Real Heroes of the Indian English news channel CNN IBN for his work and was awarded the NDTV Indian of the year award”. In school Babar is an ideal student but it is what he does after his school hours that intrigue the entire world. Babar Ali actually started his school at the mere age of nine. In fact, his school “Anand Siksha Niketan” grew out of a game. Behind the Babar’s home, there is where rows of poor, underprivileged kids sit under the open, blue sky and learn what most children in the modern world pay hundreds of dollars for, for free. This is where around 1000 kids who are deprived from their basic right for education, walk miles to learn, free of cost, the basics and fundamentals of life. Babar Ali teaches his students under the open sky. T.Stalin Gunasegaram concluded by introducing Babar Ali, “It is this hope, and the faith that he has upon himself that has helped him come all this way.” Noted Administrator and Scholar Iraianbu IAS congratulated Babar Ali for his humanity service initiative undertaken by Babar Ali. Babar Ali thanked the Makkal Sindanai Peravai for honouring him Tamilnadu and further said “In the beginning I was just play-acting, teaching my friends but then I realised these children in his village will never learn to read and write if they don’t have proper lessons. It’s my duty to educate them, to help our country build a better future. Then he in teamwork of my friends, I promoted the innovative school for those under privileged children of my village”.-Govin

Dried Cow dung patties used as a fuel and manure by poor

Dried cow-dung ready for use

“Dried Cow dung patties used as a fuel and manure by poor” said by T.Vanitha, coordinator of a Trichy based NGO, SEVAI while addressing in a seminar on eco-friendly energy applications recently in Trichy. T.Vanitha further said that several members of SHGs of SEVAI have undertaken drying of cow dung and marketing as a decent income generation activity in Rural Trichy District. T.Vanitha added, “Cow dung patties made by SEVAI self help village women groups are used as a fuel while cooking when wood is scarce. Cow dung is dried and shaped into patties which are then burnt to produce heat. In many parts of Tamilnadu, caked and dried cow dung is used as fuel. Dung may also be collected and used to produce biogas to generate heat. One of the wonderful things about cow dung is that it is dried and used as fuel for cooking. Cows eat a variety of leaves, grass, grains, and so on, and chew everything thoroughly hence, their gober is composed of many combustible fibers. The cowherd men and women knead the gober into melon-size balls and stick them on the wall to dry in the sun. In good weather they dry in 3-4 days and are then collected and stored near the kitchen to provide fuel for cooking. Cow manure is an excellent alternative to chemical-based fertilizers and is used in food crops and vegetable gardens. Cow dung is the undigested residue of plant matter which has passed through the animal's gut. Cow dung, usually combined with soiled bedding and urine, is often used; cow dung can dry out and remain on the pasture, creating an area of grazing land which is unpalatable to livestock. Fresh manures from cattle and other ruminant animals, goats and sheep amongst the most common, contain cellulose decomposing bacteria along with active digestive enzymes. These enzymes contribute to faster heating of the manure which accelerates the decomposition of organic materials by the soil microorganisms. The end result of better decomposition of organic material is faster nutrient release to the plant. While cow manure is excellent for growing vegetables it is not recommended to use fresh manure directly on the growing area because they will burn tender plant roots. It should instead be either, applied to an area for future use as sheet compost, dug into the garden and allowed to age for at least 30 days and composted in a conventional compost heap. Many women SEVAI Self Help Group members as gardeners find that dried cow manure is better than fresh manure for several reasons as it's easier to apply dried manure since all they have to do is spread it and the manure that is no longer sticky also produces less odor”. -Govin

Pettavaithlai sugar factory Effluent discharged water in irrigation channel is the pain in neck of farmers of the neighbourhoods.

The blackish effluent discharged water stagnated in canal

effluent water discharge- undernourished banana cultivation-

“Pettavaithlai sugar factory Effluent discharged water in irrigation channel is the pain in neck of farmers of the neighborhoods” one of the farmers said. One of the sugar factories is located in a small town, Pettavaithalai, situated between Trichy and Karur and the distance from Pettavaithalai to Trichy is 24 kms is situated by the river Cauvery in Tamilnadu, India and Pettavaithalai is the takeoff point for the Uyyakondan canal which is the major irrigation canal for the fertile lands in Trichy district and this town belongs to Hon’ble Chief Minister’s own Srirangam Assembly Constituency of Tamilnadu. It is good to note that this is one of the very few factories that has a captive power plant. The concern here is the pollution of the sugar factory. It is alleged that this sugar mill generates about 1,000 litres of wastewater for per tonne of cane crushed; the effluent is mainly floor washing wastewater. The sugar mill effluent appears relatively clean initially, however after stagnating for sometime, it turns black and start emitting foul odour, as effluent is discharged, in water courses, It depletes dissolved oxygen In water and makes the environment unfit for aquatic life. This effluent discharged water is diverted in irrigation canals and is being used for cultivation of rice, banana etc and effluent is discharged water on irrigation land affects the irrigation land, decaying organic solids and oil and grease clog the soil pores and also affects the quality of underground water. Fly ash is very light it escapes in the atmosphere through chimney and travels long distances, One can see the flyash elements get deposited in the residential and adjacent irrigation areas which generates environment degeneration. The irrigation water canals where It is further alleged that this effluent of Pettavaithlai sugar factory discharged water is diverted into irrigation canal which irrigates hundreds of acres in Sirugadu and Sangliandapuram, S.Pudukottai and Sirugamani villages etc.The land   loses its fertility and the farmers are not able to get the desired yield of crops as this effluent of Pettavaithlai sugar factory discharged water gets mixed with fresh Uyyakondan irrigation channel water. As the Cauvery delta is already suffering for want of irrigation water, this effluent of Pettavaithlai sugar factory discharged water is the pain in neck of farmers of these villages. The bushes in Sirukadu canal needs to be cleared so that effluent of Pettavaithlai sugar factory discharged will not get stagnated in the canal by polluting fresh water for irrigation. The farmers appeal the sugar factory authorities to visit these areas and undertake remedial activities under their CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility projects.-Govin

Bamboo is poor friendly plant for shelter construction.

Bamboo plantation in SEVAI

“Bamboo is poor friendly plant for shelter construction” enlightened by Malathi of Vedarajapuram.In Vedajapuram village near Sirkali, in SEVAI Centre, Bamboo is grown for years as it is eco friendly and has utility value in construction of dwellings. Malathi, the garden keeper of the SEVAI centre mentions, “Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants depending on local soil and climatic conditions, primarily growing in regions of warmer. Unlike trees, individual bamboo stems emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height of three to four months. During these several months, each new shoot grows vertically with no branching out until the majority of the mature height is reached. Then, the branches extend from the nodes and leafing out occurs. In the next year, the pulpy wall of each Culm slowly hardens. During the third year, the culm hardens further. The shoot is now considered a fully mature culm. Over the next 2–5 years fungus begins to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrate and overcome the culm. This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in construction within about three to seven years. Individual bamboo culms do not get any taller or larger in diameter in subsequent years than they do in their first year, and they do not replace any growth lost from pruning or natural breakage. Bamboos have a wide range of hardiness depending on species and locale. Small or young specimens of an individual species will produce small culms initially. As the clump and its rhizome system mature, taller and larger culms will be produced each year until the plant approaches its particular species limits of height and diameter. Timber is harvested from cultivated and wild stands and some of the larger bamboos. In its natural form, bamboo as a construction material is traditionally associated with the cultures. Bamboo has also long been used as scaffolding for buildings, bamboo is used primarily as a supplemental and/or decorative element in buildings such as fencing, fountains, grates and gutters, largely due to the ready abundance of quality timber. Bamboo can be cut and laminated into sheets and planks. This process involves cutting stalks into thin strips, planning them flat, boiling and drying the strips; they are then glued, pressed and finished. Bamboo intended for use in construction should be treated to resist insects and rot. Several institutes, businesses, and universities are researching the use of bamboo as an ecological construction material. In parts of India, bamboo is used for drying clothes indoors, both as a rod high up near the ceiling to hang clothes on, and as a stick wielded with acquired expert skill to hoist, spread, and to take down the clothes when dry. It is also commonly used to make ladders, which apart from their normal function. Furthermore, bamboo is also used to create flagpoles”. -Govin

“Significant intellectual processes are emerging during Adolescence

An adolescent learner

Significant intellectual processes are emerging during Adolescence” mentioned by Chitra Balasubramanian Principal of SEVAI Shanthi Matriculation Higher Secondary school in a school seminar conducted  for school teachers on “Educating Adolescent girls” recently. Chitra further said, “Young adolescents go through tremendous brain growth and development. Understanding" means, in the most literal sense of the word, to stand under another, that is, to bear his burden and take his place, to share his point of view. To understand the adolescent mind, we have to become perfectly aware of the way it conceives itself and reality, so as to share completely its point of view. Adolescence is a critical time for brain growth. Significant intellectual processes are emerging. Adolescents are moving from concrete to abstract thinking and to the beginnings of the active monitoring and regulation of thinking processes. They are developing skills in deductive reasoning, problem solving, and generalizing. This period of brain growth marks the beginning of a person's ability to do problem solving, think critically, plan, and control impulses. Some of these changes manifest themselves in behaviors that are observable and stereotypical of middle school students. Taken in concert with the other major development issues at this age, brain development reinforces the typical adolescent behaviors such as Engaging in strong, intense interests; often short lived; Preferring interactions with their peers; Preferring active to passive learning. As with other developmental changes, students reach the "starting point" of this brain growth cycle at different times and progress through it at different rates. Some students will be ready for problem-solving activities, while others may still be working at their best when dealing with concrete information. Given these facts and the fact that students learn in different ways and respond to different stimuli, the direction is clear: The school classroom should be an active, stimulating place where people talk and share, movement is common and planned for, and the teacher uses a wide array of approaches to introduce, model, and reinforce learning. -Govin