About 195 self help groups and hundreds of artisans representing 22 states are showcasing their work in Delhi in the Saras Mela.
The 16-day SARAS Mela got off to a colourful start at Pitampura Dilli Haat on Saturday. Inaugurating the Mela the Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangma called upon the people to be in synch with time to get benefit from global changes.
Special attractions for SARAS are Metal work products from Madhya Pradesh, Sambalpur Saris from Orissa, Wood-works from Tamil Nadu, Bamboo Craft from Tripura, Madhubani paintings from Bihar, Terracotta’s from Chhattisgarh, Shawls & Carpets from Jammu & Kashmir and several others.
Ministry of the Rural Development is organizing SARAS Mela at Dilli Haat Pitampura for the first time.

Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) School of Engineering and Technology has begun admissions for the January 2010 session for engineering programmes.

These programmes are aimed at both the working professional as well as students who will be able to study in the face-to-face mode. They are being offered in collaboration with institutes and the industry to increase job potential and economic advantage to the learner.

The programmes being offered to working professionals through the Open and Flexible mode include, B.Tech(Civil Engineering), B.Tech(Mechanical Engineering), Diploma in Civil Engineering and Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.

These B.Tech programmes are aimed at professionals who are already working. They offer the advantages of quality educational opportunity in modular and flexible ways with weekend contact lessons. The curriculum developed is industry-oriented and it helps the development of industry skills for personal and professional growth.

The other programmes for which applications are being invited are full time degree and diploma programmes in the disciplines of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering and Electronics and Communication Engineering. These programmes have been launched in collaboration with Sri Angala Parmeshwari Educational Trust(SAPET) . The fees for these programmes have also been revised.

For further information interested candidates may dial -011-29532863 or 011-29572917 or email at soet@ignou.ac.in.

Rocky ridge of Aravalli hills extending into Delhi will be restored to its pristine glory by undertaking intensive protection and plantation. The Aravali hills in Delhi have to distinctive features. Native tree species is one of the two distinct natural features of Delhi. Many parts of the Ridge are in a degraded state due to biotic factors.
Forest Department has undertake enrichment plantation of about 10000 saplings of native tree species at the Central Ridge in the triangular piece of approximately 80 ha in extent surrounded by Simon Bolivar Marg, Upper Ridge Road, Sardar Patel Marg and Dhaula Kuan.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today called upon younger generation including students to render their constructive contribution in mitigation of danger arising out of climate change. She further exhorted them to help in increasing survival rate saplings being planted across the city. Dikshit was speaking after inauguration of plantation drive for eco-restoration of Central Ridge at Sardar Patel Marg and Plantation of Bougainvillea on the bank of Burari Supplementary drain on NH-1 Outer Ring Road. She along with large number of School Children planted saplings to mark inaugural of the drive.

The total area of that part of the ridge is approximately 82 Ha. Out of which approximately 28 Ha. is with the Army public School, Mahavir Vanasthali, DMRC and Northern Railways. Of the remaining area, restoration works can be initially undertaken over three patches measuring about 8 ha as the remaining area is covered with vegetation.

The species to be planted have been selected in consultation with Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), Delhi University, and include Acacia leucophloea, Aegle marmalos, Albizzia spp, Balanites roxburghii, Butea monosperma, Cassis fistula, Cordia myxa, Emblica officinal is, Holoptelea integrifolia, Prosopis cineraria, Terminalia Billerica etc. The available grasslands in the Ridge will also be enriched with grass species including Cencharus ciliaris, C. Setigerus, Heteropogon Contortus, Chrysopogon, Arstida, planting material for which will be provided by CEMDE.

The plantations being raised will be supported by water augmented through water harvesting measures and by utilizing the treated sewage water available from the five star hotels situated near the planting side across the Sardar Patel Marg.

It may seem little surprising but a scientist by profession Lakshmi Nandan Bora has been awarded Swarswati Samman, one of the most prestigious literary awards in India. Bora was awarded for his contribution in Assamese literature and his novel ‘Kayakalp’ in function on Friday evening.
Born on 1st March, 1932 Bora had his early education at Nagaon, passed his M.Sc. in Physics from the Calcutta University and obtained a Ph. D. in Agricultural Meteorology (Agrometeorology). On completion of his education he worked as a lecturer in Physics in several colleges during 1955-58. In 1958, he joined the Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat and rose to be the Professor and Head of the Department of Physics and Agrometeorology which post he held till his retirement in 1992 . He was a Visiting Professor , Johannes Gutenberg University , Germany (1989). After retirement also, he held the post of Chairman, Pollution Control Board of Assam from 1997 to 2003 and was also a Member, Planning Commission of Assam for five years.
.But on the other hand Bora has 56 volumes of books to his credit. Although Bora has published one-act plays, travelogues and biographical works also, he is mostly known as a short story writer and novelist. His novel Patal Bhairavi (1986) won him the Sahitya Akademi Award too.
Kayakalpa, a novel by Lakshminandan Bora published in 2002 which has been selected for Saraswati Samman, 2008, covers a wide canvas, ranging from modern technology and science to the ancient thoughts and philosophy of the great Rishis of India. The novel is unique because of its unusual theme, evocation of a scientific ambience, characters and situations throwing light on some of the fundamental values of life and society. To regain youth, delay aging and prolong lifespan constitute what is called Kayakalpa.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar awarded him the ‘Samman’ in a function on Friday. Noted Hindi novelist Mannu Bhandari too had been awarded with ‘Vyas Samman’ in the function.