Towns and Cities

Age should not be a deterrent for doing service, Mayor tells youth

Thursday, 03 October 2013 05:19 administrator

The Hindu 03.10.2013

Age should not be a deterrent for doing service, Mayor tells youth

Special Correspondent

Age is no bar to doing service, said P. Karthiyayini, Mayor of Vellore, while delivering the valedictory address of the four-day Tamil Nadu State Level Junior Red Cross (JRC) Camp, which concluded at the B.M.D. Jain School here recently.

Ms. Karthiyayini said that JRC has the laudable objective of instilling in young minds the spirit of service. Yoga, which is taught as part of JRC activities, is a good co-curricular activity which enables the youth to develop their talents.

The objectives of health, friendship and service, which JRC seeks to promote among the youth, would sow the seeds for fostering brotherhood and humanitarianism among the school children, she said.

The Mayor distributed the awards to the best juniors, prizes to the winners of competitions and certificates to all participants.

Muthu Nagalingaswamy, yoga instructor imparted yoga lessons to the JRC students.

M. Vengadasubbu, vice-president, Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Vellore district branch, T.M. Vijayaraghavalu, S. Srinivasan and S. Rameshkumar Jain, members of the Management Committee of the IRCS, Vellore district branch, and Rotarians K. Pandian, P. Umapathy and J. Jayaprakash offered their felicitations. N. Prakasam, vice-president of the JRC, Tirupattur Education District presided.

C.P. Maharajan, Tirupattur Education District JRC vice-president welcomed the gathering.

S.N. Janardhanan, Tirupattur Education District JRC convener read the camp report. S.S. Sivavadivu, vice-president, JRC, Tirupattur Education District proposed a vote of thanks.

A total of 260 Juniors from 43 education districts in Tamil Nadu participated in the camp.

A total of 260 juniors from 43 education districts in Tamil Nadu participated in the four-day Tamil Nadu State Level Junior Red Cross Camp.

Amma canteens to serve dinner from next week

Tuesday, 01 October 2013 08:57 administrator

The Times of India 01.10.2013

Amma canteens to serve dinner from next week

CHENNAI: After dishing out idli, dosa, sambar rice and curd rice, Amma canteens across the city are likely to introduce chappati, dal and channa as dinner next week. So far the 200 canteens have been serving only breakfast and lunch.

An official said the canteens will have a trial run this week and start serving four lakh chappatis by next week. People from northern states who visit the canteen are happier. "The canteen has been a blessing for me, but eating sambar rice and curd rice every day is not fun," said Nishant Mehta, a Mumbaikar working in Chennai. "Now I get to have chappati."

The canteens were to be opened for dinner a couple of weeks ago, but it got delayed because the chappati-making machines didn't arrive. Though the corporation opened canteens mostly for the poorer sections like daily labourers, the general hygiene at these places have made them attractive for even the middle class. Tens of thousands of people have been thronging the canteens which provide an idli at 1, curd rice at 4 and sambar sadam at 5.

An official said 15 centralised kitchens, one each in a zone, will churn out chappatis for the canteens in each ward. Each zone has seven to 15 canteens, depending on the number of wards. "With the chappati-making machines in place, we will be able to supply 2,000 chappatis for each canteen," said the official. "On a trial basis, chappati will be introduced during day time and made available for dinner." The canteens work from 7am till the breakfast ends and opens at noon for lunch. Officials are awaiting the chief minister's nod to make the chappati dinner official.

The machines can make 3,000 chappatis in an hour, while a group of six women now employed through self-help groups can make only 50 chappatis in the same time. The state government allocated 4 crore to buy machines to make chappatis, dal, sambar and sambar rice.

Civet cat gives birth at Corporation Zoo

Tuesday, 24 September 2013 05:14 administrator

The Hindu 24.09.2013

Civet cat gives birth at Corporation Zoo

Civet cat gives birth at zoo

A three-year-old Asian palm civet gave birth to two kittens, each weighing around 80 grams, at the Coimbatore Corporation Zoo on Saturday.

According to Zoo Director P. Asokan, the Zoo authorities are giving special care to the mother and the kittens. They gave the mother eggs, apples, grapes, bananas and bread slices. With the birth of the two kittens the total number of kittens in the Zoo has gone up to 10.

They have kept the mother and the kittens away from other civets, in a separate enclosure as a precautionary measure.

The kittens are feeding on mother’s milk and are healthy.

The palm civet, also called toddy cat, is a small, nocturnal animal. They are terrestrial as well as arboreal.

More Articles...