It’s been one year now since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.  This is the time to give prayers and offer a candle-light for the victims of that attack.  As we all know that their family is experiencing sadness in their heart every time they thought of it.   

I also offered a candle light for the many people who lost their life.  Let’s all give them the sympathy and hope.

May God’s promise of eternal life, comfort for them and for their family in sorrow.

Good morning friends.  We will witness 30,000 runners at Vadodara Marathon.  Armed forces will lead the marathon. 

Chaotic start marks the race in 16 different categories of Go Vadodara Go

The Vadodara Marathon witnessed a huge turnout with over 30,000 participants running in 16 different categories, on Sunday morning.

The first prize in the male open category (21 kilometers) was bagged by a 30-year-old Armyman from Hyderabad, Vipul Sahariya. He took one hour and six minutes to complete the race. Govardhan Mali (24) from Rajasthan, an Indian Air Force personnel based in Gandhinagar finished second, while Narendra Sahi (28), a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel deployed in Porbandar, came third. 

In the women’s category, Kamlesh Baghel (24) from Gandhinagar won the race, followed by two physical education students from Junagadh — Reena Thumar (21), who in a state-level basketball player, and Dimple Gevaria (25), a national-level cross-country athlete.

Sahi said: “Earlier, I had participated in marathons in Delhi, Mehsana and elsewhere. There was no segregation of lanes, so there was a lot of crowd on the track with children coming in our way. Overall, it was a good experience.”

Among the participants was the duo of Dhanish Ramsari (28), a farmer, and Gajendra Yadav, a policeman, from Chhattisgarh, who ran barefoot all through the route.

“We have participated in several full and half marathons, and have won many of them. We come from a poor background and cannot afford good sports shoes. But it doesn’t matter because we have been practicing in the hilly terrain barefoot and we are used to it now,” said Ramsari, who finished eighth. -Indian Express

Good morning friends.  NASA signs an agreement with Indian Space Research Organization for the use of Indian Satellite.

US space agency NASA has signed an agreement with ISRO to use data from Indian satellite Oceansat-2, for various American agencies for research activities, including weather forecasting.

Launched on September 23, 2009 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, Oceansat-2; is designed to provide service continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) instrument on Oceansat-1.

The agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization will lead to the use of data from Oceansat-2 for various US agencies for research, education and other activities of public good including weather forecasting.

The Letter of Intent in this regard was signed by Michael H Freilich, Director Earth Science Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Mary E Kicza Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Science of the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and R R Navalgund, Director, Space Application Centre, ISRO.

The signing ceremony was done in Washington on the sidelines of Sixth Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO).

The Deputy Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy, Arun K Singh; and Deviprasad Karnik, Counselor (Space) were also present on the occasion.

The Letter of Intent signed between ISRO, NASA and NOAA under the overall Joint Civil Space Cooperation agreement promotes opportunity for receiving Oceansat-2 data by the US agencies for research, education and activities of public good.

The joint activities would include calibration, validation, algorithm development, scientific investigations and operational applications.

While ocean colour data is envisaged to be useful for fisheries, monitoring of harmful algae and in studying global carbon cycles, wind vectors from scatterometer would be useful in facilitating better weather forecasting.

Oceansat-2 carries three instruments like the eight band Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) to study Ocean biology, Ku band pencil beam Scatterometer to measure sea surface wind vectors and Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmosphere (ROSA).

While the first two instruments are ISRO built, ROSA has been contributed by the Italian Space Agency.

All the three payloads have been switched on and are working satisfactorily, providing valuable data, said a statement from the Indian Embassy. Indian Express

Aastha Dharmendu Patel

Look at this cute little girl.  Her name is Aastha Dharmendu Patel.  She is the daughter of my brother.  My niece.  She smiles cute.

Aastha Dharmendu Patel in a Rebel Costume

I saw her how she grew.  She love to play and wear costume dresses.  And she loves to make a good pose for the camera.  Very Cute!

Aastha Dharmendu Patel in a Pineapple Costume

How sweet it is to be a pineapple.   She enjoyed a lot whenever her mother dressed her up with the costume.  Nice little pineapple kid!

Aastha Dharmendu Patel in a Traditional Village Girl Costume

Today is the 7th birthday of Aastha Dharmendu Patel.  She is a good kid.  Her parents are very proud of her and so do I.  She is very sweet to her cousin and to all her uncles and aunties.  I wish she will stay that way.  I wish her all the best in life and a more birthdays to come.  “Happy 7th Birthday, Aastha Dharmendu Patel”.

Good morning friends.  I’m sure this day will be a special day to all parents, especially to all children, as it is the Children’s Day.  Children will be our future hope that’s why all parents must guide our children in a good way and in a right way.  We should always boost and uplift our children while they are growing.  And it is the right time for them to teach everything. 

The day had something in store for every child. For once, the difference between the haves’ and the have-nots’ melted away, as children from every stratum of society had something to cheer their spirits on Children’s Day. 

The British Library had a workshop on the theme of story-telling for children aged 8-12. The library also unveiled a fresh collection of books by contemporary British authors, which had the children all excited.

Children of Visamo Kids Foundation, besides participating in a rally protesting against child labour, performed a skit narrating the differences between their life, before and after joining the NGO, punctuating it with little personal inputs on the way.

At Ahmedabad Management Association, YJ Trivedi AMA Academy for Intellectual Property Rights organized a workshop on Intellectual Property Rights’. Young minds got an insight into rights to protect trademark, patents, copyrights, industrial design and trade secrets.

At the Shahpur Memorial School, YUVA volunteers organized a magic show, where about 150 children had a memorable time trying their hands at various magic tricks. With free goodies distributed at the end, the children went back with large, bright smiles on their faces. Similarly, at a couple of municipal schools in the city, the Ahmedabad chapter of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)’s Young Indians’ group put together an animated moral-based story-telling session as well as a puppet show, where about 300 children participated and had a whale of a time. – The Times of India

Good morning friends.  I am glad to know that IBM will facilitate in the creation of “Little Africa” in the city of Gujarat.  This means a lot to youth as there will be an employment opportunities.  So it will be a good  information to many especially to Gujarat people 

In a bid to provide employment to youth of the African-origin Sidi community settled in Saurashtra, Gujarat government has planned to create a ‘Little Africa’ on the fringes of Gir forest by developing a theme-based resort. 

The resort to be developed on 25 acres of land would be promoted by global giant IBM. The tribal development department of the state government has entered into a tie-up with IBM India for the project.

“The Rs 10-crore project, excluding the cost of land, would be fully funded by the Gujarat government. IBM will provide expertise to select a private partner to run the resort. It will also provide consultancy to market this ‘Little Africa’ across the world to lure maximum tourists,” said Per Yorgansen, project manager, IBM Denmark, who is in Ahmedabad for IBM’s Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program.

Pallavi Shukla, senior consultant to the state government for the project, said that development work would start by March 2010 and the resort would be functional in three years.

“Around 200 Sidi youth will get direct employment. Besides, there would be plenty of indirect employment opportunities as a ‘gram haat’ to display Sidi handicraft will be set up. Every evening there would be cultural events featuring Sidi ‘Dhamal’ dance troupe, which is very popular,” said Shukla.

The resort would be a replica of a typical Sidi village. Even interiors of all the 30 rooms would have an African touch. A museum would display various facets of Sidi life in and around Gir, especially their interface with the Asiatic Lions.

The Sidi community came to India from East Africa as slaves around 500 years ago. Their population is currently 10,000 in Gujarat, concentrated mainly on the periphery of the Gir forest in Junagadh district.   -The Times of India

Good morning friends.  Many of farm worker will be glad to know that there will be a new terminal at Ahmedabad airport to facilitate export of their harvest product.  They will have now the convenience of transferring their farm produce product to any market.  Many will be please with it, specially farmers.

The state government is setting up a separate terminal at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to facilitate the export of perishable agricultural produce.

The Rs 8-crore project is likely to be completed in the next five months and will be made operational immediately. Being developed as a single-window facility, it will have Customs clearance facility to expedite the loading and transport of such perishable commodity.

Simultaneously, the state government is also constructing a Rs 8-crore ‘Integrated Pack House’ with a ripening chamber for vegetables and fruits, at Naroda,

Gujarat’s biggest wholesale fruit market.

The commodities meant for export will be collected here, treated as per international standards to ensure they do not get spoiled during transportation and are packed properly for export.

Joint Secretary (Agriculture) P M Asari told The Indian Express that the facility is being developed following a detailed survey regarding demand of fruits and vegetables in the world market from Gujarat. According to him, the exports will not be confined to any particular region, but all over the world.

Good production of quality vegetables and fruits notwithstanding, the state has been unable to exploit the world market even with the opening of the international borders for trade and commerce of agricultural commodities, due to a lack of storage facilities.

According to statistics available with the state Agriculture Department, production of horticultural crops has increased significantly in the last couple of years. During 2007-08, the production of fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers was 60.20 lakh tonnes, 74.03 lakh tonnes, 9.67 lakh tonnes and 0.84 lakh tonnes respectively. In 2006-07, it was 53.58 lakh tonnes, 60.63 lakh tonnes, 6.29 lakh tonnes and 0.55 lakh tonnes respectively.

In the current financial year, the production of fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers is estimated to be 66 lakh, 80 lakh, 10 lakh and 0.90 lakh tonnes respectively, say Agriculture Department officials.

According to Asari, the facility at the Ahmedabad airport will give a boost to agriculture, particularly vegetable and fruit production in the state.  -Indian Express

My eldest son Shivam Patel.  Look so young and innocent but have a good value of life.

Good morning friends.  Eating has a very special part in our life.   If we dong eat we’ll die.  But  as we eat, we eat all healthy foods.  We should make sure the cleanliness and safeties of the food we eat, especially to our kids as they have weak body yet.

Eating at a roadside eatery could take you to a doctor. There is an alarming amount of adulteration in that lip-smacking dish that you gorge on.

The adulterated ingredients range from chemicals such as ammonia to heavy metals like lead and arsenic. Poor quality of snacks and food products sold at restaurants and sweet shops in the city are hazardous to health too. What’s worse, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) isn’t equipped enough to crack down on food adulteration.

But this is set to change soon. AMC is coming up with a state-of-the-art public health laboratory in Navrangpura to keep a close check on the standard of food items sold in the city. The project will cost Rs 1.25 crore. Deputy municipal commissioner, AMC and in charge of health, IK patel said, “The lab will carry out detailed testing for food additives, pesticides, heavy metal contamination and microbiological presence harmful to human body.”

“In the upcoming AMC budget, funds will be allocated for the setting up of this modern public health laboratory,” added Patel.

The laboratory is also a part of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) enacted by Parliament in August 2006. The Act requires setting up ultra modern centers for food testing across the country.

Chairman of AMC health committee Praful Raval said, “It will be a public health laboratory with advanced technologies for food testing, focusing on infrastructure strengthening and training of personnel to upgrade their existing skills. The building will have a section dedicated to food testing.”

There are 72 food laboratories across the country set up by different state governments. Besides, four Central Food Laboratories have been established by the Central government.

AMC also hopes to get a grant from Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Central government, under a capacity building project for food safety and quality control of drugs.

The new AMC laboratory will be developed as per the requirement of National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

NABL has been authorized by the Central government as the sole accreditation body for testing and calibration laboratories in the country. – The Times of India