Features

By IANS,

Kolkata: Ferro-alloy and steel manufacturers in West Bengal Thursday said the sector was on the verge of closure following repeated power tariff hikes by the state-run utilities and demanded a halt to this.

The manufacturers also demanded reinstatement of an old incentive scheme which, they alleged, the state government has suddenly discontinued.

By IANS,

Kolkata: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Monday said the 12-hour shutdown called against the fuel price hike was successful and the people of the state had supported the strike.

"The shutdown in the state has been successful. People have supported this shutdown to protest against the government decision against the fuel price hike," Biman Bose, chairman, West Bengal Left Front.

By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, IANS,

Panaji : It's a cloudy night. The only sounds are that of rubber slippers sloshing in the ankle-deep marsh in one of the many nondescript paddy fields somewhere in north Goa and the noisy symphony of croaking bull frogs seeking mates.

Armed with a powerful flashlight, a gunny sack and a knife tucked in the waist, the team of hunters move in the direction where the croaking sounds seem to come from.

Frog meat, locally known as 'jumping chicken', is what these hunting teams are after.

By F. Ahmed, IANS,

Srinagar : Bustling markets, clogged roads and the loud voices of pavement vendors selling their merchandise can all suddenly turn into deserted streets where even a pin drop would make a noise. And in all likelihood, behind it is some rumour - a lethal weapon used in the Kashmir Valley to meet political objectives for ages.

By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,

Chandigarh : He may not have suffered a broken heart himself or even qualified as a medicine man, but that has not stopped others from calling him 'Doctor Rehabilitation', 'Doctor Feel-good' and 'Doctor Fixit'.

Ranjay Vardhan, an assistant professor at a post-graduate girls' college in Chandigarh, specialises in a unique area - mending 'broken hearts' - which is not just for those who were disappointed in love.

By Salman Sultan, TwoCircles.net,

Azamgarh: “Hazaron sal nargis apni benoori pe roti hai, badi mushkil se hota hai chaman me dedawar paida”. This Urdu couplet aptly depicts martyred Shahid Azmi who was an epitome of courage and conviction. Shahid’s achievement through legal battles in court and the adverse circumstances he faced in his short life is amazing, to say the least.

By Vishal Gulati, IANS,

Dharamsala : Every morning, along with a handful of volunteers, including some foreigners, British national Jodie Underhill sets out to collect non-biodegradable waste dumped carelessly in the mountains surrounding McLeodganj, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Himachal Pradesh.

She is a follower of Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama and also a believer in Gandhian values. But Jodie has earned a fan following of her own in this Himalayan town by helping clean up mountains of trash.

By Anindya Rai Verman, IANS,

New Delhi : He looks like an airplane pilot in his cockpit. Except that he is a surgeon and he isn't in a cockpit. This pilot in question is Prem Nath Dogra, a doctor, and he mans a surgical console. He is monitoring a robot fitted with four arms that he deftly manipulates to conduct a complex operation.

It's a scene from India's first robot-assisted surgery last month conducted by Dogra, head and professor in the Department of Urology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

By Ruchika Kher, IANS,

Pinnawela (Sri Lanka) : Don't call it crap. Dung is actually being turned into profit at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, thanks to a good idea.

At the entrance to the orphanage stands a shop, Pinnawala Elephant Dung Paper, where elephant excrement is used to make products like notebooks, photo frames, gift items, book marks, photo albums and greeting cards.

By Aamir Nowshahri, IANS,

New Delhi : You may cringe and curse and hurry to get inside your air-conditioned car or office. But Delhi is full of people toiling hard under a scorching sun without any beat-the-heat luxuries. Most of the time they are thankful for the shade of a tree.

"I place my cart under a tree or behind a high-rise for respite from the heat," says Om Datt Sharma, simply. The 31-year-old is physically challenged and sells paan and cigarettes on his hand-driven cycle cart donated by the government in the busy Connaught Place area in the heart of Delhi.