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#Punjab

Star Citizens

Punjab's Silent Organic Revolution Thrives: Women Entrepreneurs at the Vanguard of Change

In a quiet revolution taking place in the villages of Punjab, women homemakers are spearheading a remarkable movement towards organic products. With the brand name 'Van Utpatti,' around 3,555 members of 257 active Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are making significant strides in the organic market. These enterprising women from SAS Nagar, Hoshiarpur, Dasuya, and Pathankot forest divisions are producing a wide range of organic goods. Their offerings include face and skin products, Holi colors, morabba (fruit preserves), pickles, sweets, bamboo products, cloth bags, and leaf plates used for serving food during social gatherings. The annual turnover for these organic products runs into lakhs of rupees. The SHGs were formed by the state forest department approximately five years ago to empower the local communities residing in and around the forest areas. With the assistance of two facilitators employed under the SAS Nagar forest division, the SHGs receive guidance and support to ensure their products are manufactured and sold effectively. The uniqueness of the products is another factor contributing to their popularity. For instance, the women create rakhi (a decorative thread) using seeds collected from the forest. The thread is made of local bhabar grass, making it fully organic and eco-friendly. Additionally, their organic colors for the Holi festival, made from arrowroot and natural coloring materials, sell out before the event. The SHGs have also embraced eco-friendly practices by manufacturing cloth bags, which have gained significant attention from industries and shops looking to transition away from plastic bags. With the provision of automatic sewing machines, the women have been able to fulfill numerous orders. As their products gain recognition and demand, efforts are being made to establish partnerships with the Khadi Board, further expanding their market reach.

21 Aug 2023
Star Citizens

Good News

Revolutionary Chemical Solution Developed to Tackle Water Pollution Crisis

Punjabi University Patiala has made a significant breakthrough in the fight against water pollution. The Chemistry department at the university has developed a low-cost, highly efficient and specific solution to tackle the emerging dangers posed by water pollution. The solution, called the core shell Molecule Imprinted Polymers (MIP), has been designed to extract harmful pollutants from water and purify it effectively.  According to researchers, the conventional procedures used to remove these pollutants are ineffective and expensive, and new types of contaminants that are emerging from pesticides, creams, water bottles, and pharmaceuticals are poisoning the water. The MIPs detect new types of pollutants using a fluorescent method, which is the fastest way to detect pollutants. The molecules created during the research can absorb these pollutants and help in purifying the water.  The research team has developed a separate core shell MIP for each category of pollutants, including alkylphenols, pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial agents, plasticizers, and hormones. MIPs were constructed using iron oxide, silica, and carbon dots, which were then tested through experiments to assess their ability to rapidly detect and absorb pollutants. This ground-breaking invention offers a comprehensive strategy for combating the dangers of water contamination. The development of core shell MIPs is a significant breakthrough that will have a positive impact on the environment and human health. The research team's efforts in developing this solution will undoubtedly inspire further innovations in the fight against water pollution.

21 Feb 2023
Good News

In a Groundbreaking Development, Hybrid High-Yielding Rice That Needs To Be Sown Only Once in Two Years Can Be a Solution to Stubble Burning

Researchers have developed a long-lived perennial rice that is essentially a type of paddy that allows farmers to sow just once while permitting up to eight harvests without reducing output – that's roughly two years of freedom from crop plantation. By crossing a domestic annual rice from Asia with a wild perennial rice from Africa, researchers have created this perennial rice. By using contemporary genetic technologies to expedite the process, the team discovered a promising hybrid in 2007, set up extensive field trials in 2016, and launched PR23, the first commercial variety of perennial rice, in 2018. Perennial rice has several benefits over ordinary rice. For instance, farmers that grew perennial rice used about 60% less labor and spent half as much on seed, fertilizer, and other inputs because they didn't have to plant every season. There is excitement about introducing this variety in India as apart from its regular benefits, this rice can play a major role in curbing air pollution in Northern India where stubble burning is a major issue. Due to its detrimental effects on air quality, human health, and the environment as a whole, stubble burning is hindering states like Punjab, which are renowned for the types of rice they produce and the agricultural techniques they use. Farmers would thus be able to harvest the crop numerous times, and their requirement to burn the stubble after harvest would be substantially lessened if this high-yielding, long-lived perennial paddy could replace the current types with a few simple alterations, thus paving the way to sustainable agriculture.

10 Nov 2022
Good News

A Punjab Village Honours Women In A Unique Manner

Himmatnagar is a tiny village in Punjab’s Bathinda district which resorted to a novel way of empowering women. This village which has the fifth lowest sex ratio has started displaying woman member’s name outside their houses thus reversing the statewide trend of displaying names of male members. Along with the name, their mobile numbers and a slogan for social awakening are also displayed. While Himmatpura may be the first village in Punjab to honor women by this way, the practice was started in Haryana’s Bibipur village in July 2015.

14 Jan 2018
Good News

Punjab village to be given national award for water conservation

Few people lead by example. A village in Punjab, Man Aspal has not only solved its water woes, but also stopped its ponds from being polluted by implementing proper water conservation methods. In recognition of its efforts, the village has been chosen for a national award by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. Union Rural Development Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar will hand over the award to the village panchayat on June 19 in Delhi. The people of Man Aspal village do not allow its water to go waste. Through proper water conservation methods, water is not only reused, but the flow of water into ponds is stopped, thus protecting the water bodies from getting polluted.  Water conservation methods include constructing soak pits and septic tanks (concrete tank used to store used water) in every house of the village, which has been completed under MGNREGS ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme). The villagers executed the rural employee guarantee scheme with its USP being water conservation. In 2015, with the help of a multinational company, the villagers initiated the soak pit project which dealt with waste water management to make the villages drain free. Under the project, soak pits of four feet by 10 feet with a septic tank of three feet by four feet were constructed at the cost Rs 3.29 lakh in all the 65 houses. Among the 107 MGNREGS job card holders, majority of them were employed in the project. Apart from building soakpits, they also renovated a pond, bricklined a street and laid a drinking water pipeline all under MGNREGS.  

13 Jun 2017
Good News

Positive Reads

Know Why Is Stubble Burning Which Adds to Environmental Woes Absent in the South

Every year, at the onset of winter a thick smog envelops the states of Punjab and Haryana and the neighboring states. The burning of stubble largely adds to this condition. However, South India does not suffer from the haze and the ensuing surge in pollution, unlike Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh because farmers in the southern states do not burn stubble. So, one may wonder why there is no stubble burning in South India. Well, in the 1970s the green revolution changed the face of farming in the North as people switched to paddy from maize, millets, oilseeds, and pulses cultivation. Paddy being water-guzzling crops, the groundwater started getting depleted at an alarming rate so much that the state governments had to introduce a law. The law was passed to conserve groundwater by forcibly postponing the transplanting of paddy until after 10 June, when the most severe stage of evapotranspiration, which is the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere through soil evaporation and plant transpiration, is complete. So, the harvesting season was pushed to the end of October or early November which is the apt time for sowing wheat. Therefore, farmers had to burn stubble to prepare the land for sowing wheat. In the South, the situation is different as farmers don’t face any restrictions on sowing paddy. Crops are harvested in September and farmers allow the stubble to decompose on the field or use it as fodder for cattle. Additionally, there is no compulsion on Southern farmers to begin planting wheat; instead, they cultivate other rabi crops like pulses and millets, thus there is no need for them to burn the stubble.  

26 Nov 2022
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