VSK TN
January 2, 2019
Independence 5 Years Before August 15, 1947?
For those diligent 7,500 schoolboys and girls who ran in a mini Marathon at Villupuram on December 30, 2018, it was a ‘run for independence’. The children were well aware that August 15 is the Independence Day. The Independence they were celebrating was the earlier independence achieved by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943 on the same date when he hoisted the flag of free India at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Last year the number of Chidren was 3,500. Awareness about this piece of forgotten history seems to be increasing here as a result of the efforts of FANS (Forum for Awareness of National Security) led by advocate Meyyappan in Tamilnadu. H.H. Mahamandaleshwar Swamy Yatindranand Giri of Juna Akhara, Haridwar and Shri Sardar Farookh Khan, Honourable Administrator of Lakshadweep flagged off the Marathon. Cash Prizes Rs 10,000, Rs 7,500 and Rs.5,000 were awarded to winners in each of the six categories – girls and boys separately – totting up to Rs 1,35,000. Certificate was issued to every participant. Earlier, only Andaman used to observe this occasion. Gradually it has assumed a pan Indian stature, with patriotic youth volunteering under the FANS banner. This year at A&N islands, family members of freedom fighters (like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Veer Sawarkar and Batukeshwar Dutt) along with the representatives of FANS from across Bharat participated under the leadership of Indresh Kumar, Patron of FANS and senior RSS functionary Udit Prakash Rai, Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman hoisted the national tricolor on the occasion.
Tamilnadu In The Fight Against A Dreaded Disease
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Deputy Director General, WHO, recently pointed out: “The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in children is about 8% to 15%; but only 3% are detected. The gap is huge. This goes to show our household contact screening is poor. One of the biggest challenges in detecting TB among children is doing the Sputum Test”. Starting from Thiruvannamalai District, a drive to prevent and eradicate tuberculosis in Tamilnadu in January 2019 is on. The tests are to be conducted in all schools throughout this district as declared by the Director of Public Health, Dr. K. Kozhandhaisamy. The school students will receive a small injectable dose of purified protein derivative (PPD), in an attempt to detect, treat and prevent tuberculosis among children and young adults. Soon it will be extended to students across the state and to household contacts of all TB patients. After few days of administering the PPD injection, health workers will check the children for reaction to the shots. Those with reactions will be taken up for a TB TEST, as they may have been infected by the bacteria. Students testing positive will be put on a combination of anti-TB drugs. Those testing negative still may have latent TB bacteria which can manifest itself as a disease anytime. These students too will be given 12 doses of preventive medicines for three months. The Central Government has declared incentives to both state and districts for target goals, 20%-bronze, 40%-silver and 60%-gold. 80% will be declared TB-FREE. all this to bring down the incidence this dreaded infection.
Honey Banana, A Hot Cake In The Market!
Honey banana is produced by drying the fruit using solar dehydrator. Swadeshi coriander seeds and Ginger are added to groundnut oil to make it special. Cold pressed (kal mara chekku) gingelly oil is produced by solar dehydration. These are a few processes Mohan Subarayan (54), a farmer – turned – entrepreneur of Thiruvadhikai, off Panruti, adopts to produce value added farm products. His vision is to promote agricultural products and upgrade the economic status of farmers. He wants farmers to turn their produce into their own business. His educated son Narayanan has joined his novel endeavour. The duo has found out that the concept of dehydrating the food products especially fresh fruits and vegetables has gained much interest in the commercial markets. In 2016 they have set up a unit where they produce value added products using innovative methods. The results and profits are better than anticipated, Mohan adds.