Rajasthan General News

[Yagya]

58 more Jan Aushadhi medical stores to open in state

JAIPUR: The co-operative department will open 58 more Jan Aushadi Vikri Kendra in the state. Principal secretary, co-operatives Tapesh Pawar said the government's priority is to provide low cost and effective medicines to the public. These stores are one of the ways to promote generic medicines, he said.

Pawar said the drugs and medicines available at these medical stores will be much cheaper than the branded ones. For instance, he said cetrizine, an anti allergen, costs Rs 2.75 in these stores but the same will cost Rs 20 in the market.

Rajasthan is one of the seven states in the country where medicines are made available through such stores.

The co-operative department is the nodal agency for promoting these stores in the state. Pawar said medicines for heart ailments, diabetes, blood pressure are available at the stores.

[Yagya]

War against TB in Rajasthan soon: Minister

JAIPUR: A host of programme, including a two-wheeler rally, were organised across the state for awareness on World Tuberculosis Day on Thursday.

State TB disease officer K N Gupta said various programme were organised during the day to create awareness about the disease.

He said the disease is completely curable provided the affected people take regular medicine. Since the treatment takes a long duration, patients sometimes leave treatment mid way resulting in development of a drug-resistant form of the disease.

In the state level function held here, medical and health minister A A Khan flagged off a two-wheeler rally in the morning to create awareness about the disease and its treatment.

Speaking at the function, he said the government is providing free treatment to TB patients under the Directly Observed Treatment Short (DOTS) course and asked people to take the benefits and help in the eradication of the disease.

At another public function organsied at Idgah ground at the Delhi Bypass Road, minister of state for health Rajkumar Sharma announced that his ministry would chalk out a programme called TB ke virudh yudh' (war against TB) in the state soon.

He called for public co-operation in eradicating the disease which continues to be a major health problem.

Sharma said there is no need for fear or concealing the disease as effective treatment is now available.

The minister also highlighted that the government is providing Rs 1.5 lakh worth of medicines every day for TB patients.

Principal secretary health B N Sharma said Rajasthan comes first in the country in the disease identification survey and treatment of TB patients.

World Tuberculosis Day is observed across the globe to raise awareness about the epidemic of TB and efforts to eliminate the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one-third of the world's population is currently infected with TB and it causes the death of about 1.6 million people each year, mostly in the developing countries.

The Stop TB Partnership, a network of organisations and countries fighting TB, organises the day to highlight the scope of the disease and how to prevent and cure it.

The annual event on March 24 marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch, the German doctor, discovered the cause of tuberculosis as the TB bacillus. This was the first step towards diagnosing and curing TB.

WHO is working to cut TB prevalence rates and deaths by half by 2015.

Though the cause for TB was detected about 129 years back, the disease continues to be a major health problem. The main impediment in controlling the disease is the long duration of the treatment. In the last 50 to 60 years, no major break through could be made in the treatment of the disease.

[Yagya]

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Definitely a sign that the Man Sagar Lake cleaning up and the Jal Mahal restoration was done properly!

[Yagya]

A bankable name Rajasthan

Article on how the name Rajasthan came about.

Unlike other states, the erstwhile Rajputana states merged and earned a new name from the Bank of Rajasthan that is now defunct. The state of Rajasthan acquired its name from a bank that was promoted by the rulers of Mewar (Udaipur) and which was then a brand name in India' banking sector.

The Bank of Rajasthan has lost its identity after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed its merger with the ICICI Bank. After integration all the 463 branches of Rajasthan Bank, spread over various parts of the country, now function as ICICI Bank.

Bank of Rajasthan was founded in 1943 with just Rs 10 lakh by the former ruler of Udaipur the late Maharana Bhupal Singh with late Gobind Ram Sekhsaria as its first founder chairman. When the state was being formed after the merger of the 22 princely states, the bank's name was found appropriate in naming the state Rajasthan instead of Rajputana.

The Bank Of Rajasthan was established at Udaipur, on the auspicious day of Akshya Tritiya on May 8, 1943. The credit for the birth of the bank goes to the then finance minister of the erstwhile Mewar Government, late Rai Bahadur P C Chatterji, who persuaded Mansingka brothers of Bhilwara, who were in mining business, to establish a joint stock bank with its registered office at Udaipur.

Late Seth Govind Ram Seksaria, an eminent industrialist, was the founder chairman. The first Board of Directors comprised such men of eminence as Rai Bahadur Seth Rameshwarlal Duduwala, Seth Subhhag Mal Lodha besides the Mansighka brothers, Seth Pusa Lal Mansighka and Seth Damodar Lal Mansighka. The other members of the board were Major Rajadhiraj Amar Singhji of Banera and the then accountant general of Mewar, Rai Bahadur Lala Sukhdayal.

In line with the contemporary practice of naming the bank after the location or princely state, the suggested names for the bank were Bank of Mewar and State or Bank of Udaipur. The promoters, particularly Rai Bahadur PC Chatterji being very clear in their vision, expressed the view that the word 'Rajasthan' will be more advantageous in future for expanding activities to other princely states. Chatterji suggested that the state of Rajputana were ruled by several Rajas and Maharajas, so a new word Rajasthan should be coined and the bank be named Bank of Rajasthan.

The promoters were of the firm view that some day when the country attains freedom and a new Constitution comes into force under the new Constitution grouping of the then local princely states was expected under one umbrella.

Chatterjee was a man with foresight. The rest is history, the individual princely states were merged under the final name for the state Rajasthan. The naming of the bank, The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd., that was set up in pre-Independence India in 1943 spectacularly reflected the foresight of the promoters.

After Independence a historic meeting was held on January 14, 1949 at the initiative of the late ruler of Udaipur Maharana Bhupal Singh which was presided by home minister Vallabhbhai Patel. It was in this meeting that the idea of naming the erstwhile Rajputana state as Rajasthan was suggested by the Maharana.The example of Bank of Rajasthan Ltd was quoted and it was said that when the bank was formed the word Rajasthan was given to the new bank as the state was ruled by rajas and maharajas. This meeting was attended by the two late chief ministers Heera Lal Shastri, Mohan Lal Sukhadia and Prof Gokul Lal Asawa, Abhinn Hari, Bhogi Lal Pandya, Prof Prem Narayan Mathur, Bhure Lal Baya and Brij Sundar Sharma, who were all political activists and came from various regions of the state.They all agreed to the new name of Rajasthan.That's how the state got its name from a bank.

[Yagya]

43 fast track courts to continue in Rajasthan

Jaipur, Mar 31 (PTI) The Rajasthan government has decided to run 43 fast track courts on its own in the absence of central assistance, a senior official said today. "The state government has decided to keep 43 fast track courts running in the state, though the rest 40 will be closed from tomorrow," Law Secretary S D Tank told PTI. He said the courts to be closed were those where work load was less.

[Yagya]

Low-floor buses to go hi-tech

Jaipur: The low-floor buses in the city are soon going to have CCTV cameras to keep an eye on suspicious activities and to monitor the behaviour of drivers and conductors towards commuters. Not only this, commuters will also get to know the exact location of the buses via SMS or call.

A control room equipped with latest technology will be set up to track each of 260 buses running on 10 routes in the city. The Union urban development ministry has given green signal for it under the proposed Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS).

According to the sources, the features were part of 260 low floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) but due to financial crisis the Jaipur City Transport Service Limited (JCTSL), the bus operator, failed to implement them.

"Next month an MoU will be signed with the company and commuters can avail the new facilities," said Malini Agarwal, managing director of JCTSL. The ministry has approved around Rs 48 crore recently to launch the system and also recommenced UTITSL, a government company, to sign a memorandum with the JCTSL for the implementation.

The company may also introduce smart card facility for commuters with the fund. Using smart card commuters can recharge seasonal tickets paying through internet.

[Yagya]

Govt employees can see their salary accounts online from May

Jodhpur: The state government employees in Jodhpur will soon be able to see their salary accounts online. Jodhpur joins 30 other districts across Rajasthan that will be connected to Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) from May 1.

Rajasthan Accounts Department has issued orders to its officials to connect the salary accounts of officials in Jaipur, Sikar, Bikaner, Kota, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur and other districts across the state.

The state government will install internet and computers in the cabins of all accounts officers across Rajasthan.

[Yagya]

Jodhpur slips to second position in tax collection

Jodhpur: Even after reaching the set target on 30 crore in tax collection, Jodhpur has slipped to the second spot.

Last year, Jodhpur RTO stood number one in tax collection in the state.

Department officials said, Jodhpur reached the 30 crore mark in the last fiscal.

They said, they were not sure if they will be able to achieve the target as their targets were raised 2-3 times. But, on the last day of the closing year we reached the target.

They added that this is not the total figure.

Last year, 20 crore target was set for the Jodhpur RTO. But, they collected more tax than that and stood number one in tax collection in the state.

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[Yagya]

Greening India's deserts with olives

Rajasthan, India's popular tourist state, is famous for its sprawling palaces, historic forts, vast tracts of desert and celebrity weddings. Olives may be added to the list. The state is trying to grow the fruit on a large scale in India for the first time, in its deserts and semi-arid areas, and there are signs of success.

Not only would olive cultivation introduce struggling farmers in the state's ailing and neglected agricultural sector to a lucrative cash crop and boost the local economy. It would also satisfy the growing domestic demand for healthy olive oil in the country, which has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world.

The $3m pilot project, testing olive cultivation across seven agro-climatic regions, is in its third year and on track to deliver olives this year and next. About 112,000, saplings were brought from Israel three years ago and planted across 182 hectares. "Four farms in the north of the state, in the desert areas, have shown positive signs of flowering and olives will follow shortly. A semi-commercial yield is expected this year. We are certain it will be a success," says Surinder Singh Shekhawat, head of the project under Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd, a three-way collaboration between the state government, an Israeli firm and an Indian firm.

It may come as a surprise that olives are being grown in the harsh climatic conditions of the state where temperatures swing from extreme highs to lows, especially when the olive's native home is the mild Mediterranean. But Rajasthan's cold spells are key to cultivation. "The olive requires a certain chilling temperature, which we have in the state. Everything else can be managed with technology," says Shekhawat. In addition, the olive is able to withstand scorching temperatures and has a low water requirement, which is crucial in this water-scarce state.

The state has taken its cue from Israel, which experiences a similar climate to Rajasthan and has been successful in producing olives in desert areas with the help of technology. As part of the joint venture, the Israeli firm Indolive Ltd is providing Rajasthan with the latest sensor and drip irrigation technology, which measures exactly how much water, nutrients and fertilisers the plants need for a healthy, high yield, avoiding water wastage.

Once the pilot is a success, cultivation will be taken to hundreds of farmers in the initial stage. The technology would be replicated locally and handed to the farmer at a subsidised rate, along with training in crucial plant management.

The challenge will be how to modernise the traditional farming community and encourage small farmers to come together to farm and manage olives on larger, more efficient plots. Experts say Indian agriculture is in poor shape due to low standards and practices, and has suffered from cost-saving shortcuts. But olives need great care, so management – and the state's role – will have to be robust.

Exploring crop diversification and efficient, modern farming techniques are part of the state's plans to breathe life into the state's agriculture. The adverse climate conditions and water scarcity means very few commercial crops grow in the state, while common crops such as wheat, mustard and maize consume large amounts of water and don't bring big financial returns.

About 30km from the state capital, Jaipur, at Bassi, 40 hectares of wasteland has been cleared to grow peppers, strawberries, pomegranates, tomatoes and cucumbers under fasttrack modern farming techniques. A high technology centre with modern nurseries and cooling chambers is planned for the area.

With other northern states in India closely watching the pilot, Shekhawat believes they will quickly start replicating it once there's concrete success, which means India could compete with the Mediterranean in the future, producing olives at a lower cost. Olive picking and pruning is a labour-intensive task and India's labour costs are low. On top of that, the state has huge swaths of underutilised land, unlike European countries. He hopes to expand to 5,000 hectares in the next few years, with 2,500kg of oil being produced per hectare and 15 tonnes of fruits.

There is potential to export table olives and high-grade flavouring olive oil for which Indians have not yet developed a palate. But most olives could be channelled for domestic consumption. Lower-grade, pomace cooking oil is increasingly being used in the country's kitchens as heart-related diseases soar.

With two years of the project left, the focus will turn to overcoming the challenges of rolling out olive production on a mass scale. If this goes to plan, India could be the new home of the olive.

[Yagya]

Rajasthan to try to get drop-outs back to school

Jaipur : Rajasthan will start a massive drive across the state from July 1 to bring over a million school drop-outs back to the classroom, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Thursday.

Those teachers who produce good results during the drive will be awarded by the government, he said.

A child tracking survey (CTS) conducted by the state education department recently put the number of school drop-outs at a staggering 1.2 million.

"This will be a month-long drive and will be part of our ambitious plan to bring about 100 percent literacy in the state," said Gehlot. He added that during the drive, the teachers at primary schools will contact parents in every household and urge them to send their children to school.

Letters will be sent from the chief minister, the education minister, the chief secretary and other senior administrative officials to the local public representatives urging them to take part in the initiative.

"Each teacher will be given a target of bringing at least two children to schools," said Gehlot.

According to the CTS survey, at least 30,996 children between the age group 6-14 are not going to school in Jaipur alone.

Children rights activists have welcomed the initiative and said that if the drive is run seriously, it may change the education scenario in the state.

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[Yagya]

Tech support to emancipate Raj women

Jaipur: It seems, the latest census showing a skewed gender ratio and poor literacy figures for women in Rajasthan has grabbed Rajasthan government's attention.

In a bid to improve the level of awareness amongst the women, particularly those in the rural areas, the state government has decided make use of projects under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

To start with, the utility of Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras, which are to be set up at Panchayat samiti level, as government service centres are being widened by including computer literacy programme as a major part of the multi-utility service centres.

Senior officials involved with the project mentioned that over 1,000 such centres are being set up all over the state.

Besides, providing other facilities such as online banking, booking and other facilities required for MNREGA schemes, the centres would be used for carrying out free computer literacy courses for women, which would be provided free to the women in the rural areas.

It is learnt that a sum of Rs 1,000 crore is being spent on setting up of these centres all over the state of which a significant amount is to be used for equipping these centres with the latest technical know how.

"The work for setting up of these centres began some time back and over 500 such centres are at the stage of completion. However, following new instructions a renewed focus is now being given on raising awareness level of women through these centres," said a senior official involved with the project.

[Yagya]

Village Secretariats to start from Thursday

Jodhpur: The State Government has decided to start Village secretariats from Thursday.

The government has made it compulsory for the workers of the panchayat to participate in these programmes. The Panchayat Samiti and District officials are not bound to attend the meeting.

Earlier, meetings were organised by panchayats but they failed to provide solutions to the problems of the villagers.

So, now it has been decided to setup four village secretariats in a month. The meeting will be attended by the anganwadi workers, lineman of Water and Power Department, patwari and sarpanch of the village. The new system will benefit the rural people.

The village secretariat will try to bring amicable solutions to the problems of the villagers, incase of problems the issue will be taken care by the Panchayat Samiti or will be referred at District level.

This system will certainly change the pace of development in villages.

[Yagya]

Jodhpur launches its first city portal

Jodhpur: The city launched its first city portal named business.com on Wednesday.

The inauguration was done by JNVU vice-chancellor Naveen Mathur and Dr Mahender Singh of Mehrangarh fort trust.

The concept is the brainchild of software engineer Chiranjeevi Kantiya.

Technical Head Engineer Dharam Pal said, this is an enquiry station which gives information regarding almost everything. The portal consists of information relating to game, education, entertainment, health and tourism. Even music lovers can download songs of their choice from this website.

Chief Guest Prof Mathur said Jodhpur city needed such a portal from a long time.

According to Dr Mahender Singh, the website is like a magic box.

[Yagya]

रेलवे में अब ई-टीटीई

जोधपुर। ट्रेन में अब टिकट जांच करने के लिए टीटीई को पेन और चार्ट लेकर नहीं घूमना पड़ेगा। रेलवे चलती गाड़ी में आरक्षण की व्यवस्था को अपडेट करने और सभी तरह के शुल्क वसूल कर प्रिंटेड रसीद देने के लिए सभी जोन में टीटीई को हैण्ड हेल्ड टर्मिनल से लैस करने जा रही है। इस योजना के शुरूआती चरण में उत्तर-पश्चिम रेलवे जोन को 50 टर्मिनल उपकरण मिलने की उम्मीद है।



सफल रहा प्रयोग

रेल मंत्रालय ने रेलवे में ई व्यवस्था को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए इस तरह के उपकरण प्रायोगिक तौर पर देश की प्रमुख 12 ट्रेनो में काम में लिए जो सफल रहे। अब इस सुविधा का दायरा बढ़ाने के लिए रेलवे ने ऎसी एजेंसी की तलाश शुरू कर दी है, जो सभी 17 जोन में इनकी आपूर्ति कर सके।

मोबाइल सिम जोड़ेगी नेटवर्क

रेलवे की कम्प्यूटरीकृत आरक्षण व्यवस्था संभालने वाली एजेंसी क्रिस ने इस टर्मिनल के लिए एक सॉफ्टवेयर विकसित किया है, जो जीपीएस व जीपीआरएस तकनीक पर आधारित है। हैण्ड हेल्ड टर्मिनल में मोबाइल सिम लगाई जाएगी, जो रेलवे के मुख्य सर्वर से इस टर्मिनल उपकरण को जोड़कर डाटा का सम्प्रेषण करेगी। सर्वर से ऑनलाइन सम्पर्क में रहने वाले इस उपकरण में छोटा प्रिंटर भी जुड़ा होगा, जो सभी तरह की रसीदें भी जारी करेगा।

टीटीई को मिलेगी सुविधा

रेलवे की योजना के मुताबिक हैण्ड हेल्ड टर्मिनल के उपयोग से चलती ट्रेन में टीटीई जीपीआरएस के माध्यम से आरक्षण चार्ट डाउनलोड कर सकेगा। चार्ट के हिसाब से यात्रियों की जांच कर ट्रेन में खाली सीटों और मांग के बारे में चार्ट को अपडेट कर मुख्य सर्वर को जानकारी भेज सकेगा।ट्रेन में यात्रियों से वसूले जाने वाले अतिरिक्त किराए, जुर्माने और अन्य शुल्क की वसूली भी इसी टर्मिनल उपकरण के माध्यम से हो सकेगी तो उसकी रसीद भी इसी से जारी होगी।

[Yagya]

Rajasthan to launch helpline for school kids

Jaipur: School children in Rajasthan will be able to file a complaint against corporal punishment or discrimination by their schools. The state government is planning to launch a helpline service for the purpose, an official said on Friday.

The education department, in a written direction, has also asked district education officers (DEO) to ensure deployment of a child rights supervisor at each school - private and government-run. The children will be able to approach the supervisor if their rights are violated.

"It is a unique initiative and we took the decision after we received regular complaints regarding physical punishment to children and other violations of their rights," a senior education department official said.

He added that children will be able to call up the helpline number and register their complaint if they are discriminated on the basis of caste, meted out corporal punishment or mental harassment by a teacher or if deprived of scholarships when they are eligible.

"To make sure that each child knows about the toll-free helpline service and their rights, a child rights supervisor will be deputed in every school. The supervisor will be one of the school teachers. He will have to conduct special sessions every week to apprise the children of their rights and inform them about the helpline number," said the officer.

He added that each complaint will be assessed on priority basis and after thorough investigation action will be taken against the teachers or school staff who violate child rights.

The decision has been welcomed by child rights activists and the parents.

"Physical and metal harassment of children at school is a common practice in Rajasthan.
Not only in urban areas, but in rural areas too, teachers usually give corporal punishment to children on flimsiest grounds, like for not doing homework. Parents even had to lodge police cases against teachers in the recent past when their children were badly thrashed," said Ashima Singh, parent of a 10-year-old girl.

"If implemented properly then the step would go a long way in protecting child rights," said Rakesh Bhardawaj, a child rights activist.

[Yagya]

मिसाल: और आठ साल की तबस्सुम बन गई एकलव्य!

जयपुर. क्या आप कल्पना कर सकते हैं कि महाभारत के एकलव्य की कहानी फिर कहीं दुहराई जा सकती है? शायद नहीं, लेकिन जयपुर की उदयपुर गिलारिया बस्ती में ठीक ऐसा ही हुआ है। यह एकलव्य है आठ साल की तबस्सुम खान। हाल ही राजस्थान रायफल एसोसिएशन की राज्य स्तरीय शूटर प्रतियोगिता हुई, तो इसमें 10 मीटर एयर रायफल ओपन साइट सब जूनियर विमिन का खिताब जीता तबस्सुम ने।

एक मामूली मैकेनिक की इस गोल्ड मेडलिस्ट बेटी का अपनी सनकी जिद के सहारे इस मुकाम तक पहुंचना अपने आपमें सफलता और साहस की सम्मोहक कहानी है। नन्ही तबस्सुम ने अपने बचपन के बाहर खड़ी होकर अभ्यास की सुबहों को सफलता में उतारकर एक अनूठी कहानी रची है। वर्ष 2007। राज्य सरकार राजधानी में शूटिंग रेज शुरू करती है, जहां राजधानी के शूटर सुबह-शाम निशानेबाजी के लिए बंदूकें थामे सबको आकर्षित करते हैं। शूटिंग रेंज के बगल में एक बड़े गड्ढे के पास झोपड़-पट्टीनुमा मकान में मुनव्वर खां और रेशमा दो बच्चों के साथ रहते हैं।

एक रात पांच साल की बेटी तबस्सुम रूठ जाती है कि वह भी शूटर बनेगी। उसके पिता उसे शूटिंग रेंज में ले जाते हैं, लेकिन वहां इस नन्ही बालिका को प्रवेश देने से इनकार कर दिया जाता है। आखिर वह खिलौना बंदूक से अभ्यास करती है, तो एक दिन उसकी निशानेबाजी देखकर उसे सिर्फ अभ्यास का मौका दे दिया जाता है। लेकिन राज्य स्तरीय प्रतियोगिता से उसे यह कहकर बाहर कर दिया जाता है कि उसमें बंदूक उठाने की क्षमता ही नहीं है! नवज्योति पब्लिक स्कूल में अब चौथी कक्षा में पढ़ रही इस बालिका के मन में शूटर बनने की इच्छाओं ने ऐसा सिर उठाया कि उसके ज्यॉमेट्री बॉक्स में पेंसिल या पेन की बजाय पेलेट्स (छर्रे) भरे होते थे।

उसके पिता मुनव्वर खां बताते हैं, उसने शुरू से ही जिद की कि मुझे तो निशानेबाजी ही सीखनी है। उसे क्या मालूम कि इस खेल में ढेर सारा पैसा, बंदूक उठाने लायक कंधे और जिस्म में जुंबिश भी चाहिए। यह हर समय शूटरों को देखती रहती और निशानेबाजी का अभ्यास करती रहती। आखिर हमने इसके लिए एक पुरानी बंदूक खरीदी, लेकिन वह इससे उठती नहीं थी।

पिछले अक्टूबर में जब वह राज्य स्तरीय प्रतियोगिता खेलने गई, तो उसे दिल्ली से आए कोचेज ने यह कहकर प्रतियोगता से बाहर कर दिया कि खुद उससे बंदूक नहीं उठती और बंदूक को लोड करने के लिए हैल्पर दिया नहीं जा सकता। लेकिन नन्ही तबस्सुम के हौसले देखकर चंडीगढ़ से आए एक शूटर ने उसे 3000 रुपए में 25 नंबर की गन दे दी। लेकिन जब वह प्रतियोगिता में शामिल हुई, तो उसकी निशानेबाजी देखकर सबकी आंखों से अचरज टपकने लगा। सभी ने देखा कि उसका हौसल गजब तरह से दिपदिपा रहा था।

पिता चार हजार कमाते हैं, और दो हजार बेटी के लिए: टू-वीलर मैकेनिक मुनव्वर खान चार हजार रुपए महीना कमाते हैं और बेटी के शूटिंग शौक के लिए डेढ़ से दो हजार रुपए खर्च करते हैं। अगर तबस्सुम हर रोज शूटिंग रेंज में अभ्यास करे, तो उन्हें पांच से दस हजार रुपए महीना खर्च करने होंगे। वे बताते हैं, ‘मैं इसे सिर्फ रविवार को ही अभ्यास के लिए शूटिंग रेंज ले जा पाता हूं। बाकी समय तबस्सुम घर की दीवार पर ही टार्गेट बनाकर अभ्यास करती है।’

मेंटल फिटनेस गजब की: शूटिंग में तबस्सुम की मेंटल फिटनेस देखने वाली है। उसका एयर पर्फेक्शन गजब का है। नेचुरल, एल्बो, बट, चीक प्लेसमेंट में वह अद्भुत है। वह राजस्थान की सबसे छोटी निशानेबाज है। उसने खेला और गोल्ड जीता। - चंदनसिंह मीणा, कोच, शूटिंग रेंज, जयपुर

शूटिंग रेंज देख बनी शूटर: मैं शूटरों को देखती रहती थी। मुझे पहले शूटिंग रेंज के अंदर नहीं जाने दिया, तो खिलौना बंदूक से निशाने लगाती। घर की दीवारों पर निशाने लगाती। मैंने पापा को कहा: मुझे तो शूटर ही बनना है। और मैं बन गई। - तबस्सुम खान

Title: 8 year old Tabbasum became Eklavya!

Can you imagine that Eklavya's story in Mahabharat can be repeated? maybe not but in this is what exactly happened in Jaipur's udaipur gilariya area. This Eklavya is 8 year old Tabassum Khan. Recently, in Rajasthan Rifle Association's state level shooting competition, Tabassum won in the 10 meter air rifle open site sub junior women's category.

A normal mechanic's daughter reached this level due to her mad passion. In 2007 the Rajasthan government opens a shooting range in Jaipur and people get attracted by seeing the state's shooters practicing day and night. Not far from here is a slum where Munnawar Khan and Reshma live with their two children.

One day their five year old daughters get annoyed and says she will become a shooter. Her father takes her to the shooting range but they refuse her entrance to this little girl. So she starts practicing with a toy gun. However she is turned away from a state level competition because she doesn't have the strength to pick up a gun. This girl, now in 4th class of Navjyoti public school, had so much love for the sport that here geometry box was full of pallets and not pencils and pen!

Her father tells: from the beginning she started saying that she wanted to learn shooting only. She never knew that for this a lot of money, strength and stamina is needed as well. She watched other shooters and practiced. Finally we bought an old gun for her but she didn't use to pick it up.

Last October when she went to a state level competition she was barred from the competition as they said that she is not able to pick up and load her gun by herself and they wouldn't allow a helper. But When a shooter from Chandigarh saw her passion for the sport he gifted her a 25 number gun for 3000 rupees. When she entered the competition everyone was astounded by her shooting abilities!

Tabassum's father is a mechanic and manages to earn only 4 thousand rupees a month but to fullfil her daughter's ambition he spends 2000 rupees on her. If Tabassum is to practice everyday at the shooting range then it would require 5 to 10 thousand rupees a month so her father tells that this is why she only practices on Sundays and on rest of the days she practices at home by drawing a target on the wall.

Chandan Singh Meena of the Rajasthan shooting range, jaipur tells that Tabassum's mental fitness is amazing! She has a great air perfection and the natural elbow butt cheek placement is incredible! She is Rajasthan's smallest shooter but she played and she won gold!

Tabassum says that she became a shooter by seeing the shooting range. First she wasn't allowed to go inside the shooting range so she practiced at home by shooting on the walls. I use to tell my father that I wanted to become a shooter and I became a one!

Such a nice story! I hope she manages to get some sponsors or something and make our country proud one day!

[Yagya]

सैनिक होंगे अत्याधुनिक बुलेटप्रूफ जैकेट से लैस

जोधपुर. भारतीय सेना आतंकियों, नक्सलियों व सीमा पार के दुश्मनों से निपटने के लिए जवानों को अत्याधुनिक बुलेटप्रूफ जैकेट और आंतरिक संचार गियर युक्त बैलिस्टिक हेलमेट से लैस करने वाली है। पचास हजार रुपए कीमत वाले मॉड्यूलर बुलेटप्रूफ जैकेट का चंडीगढ़ स्थित बैलेस्टिक रिसर्च लेबोरेटरी में टेस्टिंग के बाद राजस्थान के थार में परीक्षण किया जाएगा।

इसके बाद नए जैकेट व हेलमेट जवानों को दिए जाएंगे। जम्मू कश्मीर व पूवरेत्तर राज्यों में पिछले एक दशक से बुलेटप्रूफ जैकेट नहीं होने से सेना और बीएसएफ के सैकड़ों जवान शहीद जा चुके हैं। अब अत्याधुनिक बुलेटप्रूफ जैकेट और युद्धक हेलमेट मिलने से इस समस्या से राहत मिलेगी। सेना ने बारह कंपनियों से प्रस्ताव मांगे थे। इसमें से मॉड्यूलर बुलेट प्रूफ जैकेट व बैलेस्टिक हेलमेट का चयन किया गया।

अब इन जैकेट और हेलमेट की क्वालिटी व दक्षता की बैलेस्टिक रिसर्च लेबोरेटरी में टेस्टिंग हो रही है। सेना की डेजर्ट कोर की एक यूनिट राजस्थान के रेगिस्तान में इसका परीक्षण करेगी। इसके अलावा लद्दाख के बर्फीले इलाके में इसका परीक्षण होगा। हर मौसम में उपयुक्त यह जैकेट व हेलमेट पहनने से गोलियों से कितना बचाव होता है और यह जैकेट खतरे के समय कितने कारगर होते हैं, इसका आकलन परीक्षण के दौरान होगा।

कितनी जैकेट होंगी शामिल: सेना पहले चरण में 1 लाख 50 हजार और दूसरे चरण में 1 लाख 80 हजार जैकेट शामिल करने वाली है।

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[Yagya]

Mother of two girls to get priority in state govt jobs

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government is planning to adopt a most innovative way to check the state's declining child sex ratio. Women who only have two girl children and voluntarily adopt the terminal method of contraception will be rewarded with a privileged status by the state medical and health department. They will get priority in employment in government jobs, grace marks in competitive exams and even loans for education!

The latest census figures have revealed a decline of almost 30 girls per 1,000 boys in the last 10 years. According to census 2011, the child sex ratio in Rajasthan has dropped from 909 to 883 girls per thousand boys. In Jaipur, there are only 859 girls per 1,000 boys below the age of 6 years. In 2001, there were 900 girls per 1,000 boys in Jaipur.

BN Sharma, principal secretary, medical and health, told DNA that the department is considering all possible and permissible incentives to such women. "Enhancing their employability will be a top order; we can assist them in education and they can be given vocational training. We are studying our options and will come out with a neat package," he said.

The department will also felicitate them and make them role models for other women. "They would be awarded at state-level functions and projected as ambassadors of women empowerment," Sharma said.

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[Yagya]

Ration to be delivered through Smart Cards from April 15

Jodhpur: Ration Cards will soon be replaced by ATM card-like Smart Cards if a government scheme turns out to be successful. To check the efficacy of the scheme, ration at 2 shops in the city will be delivered through Smarts Cards from April 15 in the first phase of the scheme.

The ration shops where Smart Cards will be used from April 15 are located in the Magara Punjala area of the city (Shop no 56-281, 282).

Smart cards for people registered at 5 ration shops in the city were made last by a Hyderabad-based company on the order of the Food Supply and Public Distribution Department. Smart Cards are similar in shape and size to the regular ATM cards.

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[Yagya]

Two rare vulture species seen in Baran

JAIPUR: Reported sighting of two rare species of vultures in large numbers in Baran district on Tuesday cheered environmentalists and bird watchers.

"These two rare species -- white rumped and long billed were sighted in large numbers on the banks of Villasi river in Kishangang and Kraye river in Shabad, respectively," SDM Muktanand Agrawal said here on Tuesday.

Noted bird watcher and vulture expert, Harshvardhan Singh, said, "In the past few years the population of white rumped had gone down by 95%. Since very few such vultures survived these birds could not breed and their numbers were going down fast. However, the number of long billed is more and these birds can be seen often but their numbers too are declining at a fast rate." He added, "It iss good news, however, efforts should be made to continuously follow these birds."

One of the main reason for rapid diminishing of these species throughout the country, Singh said, was the use of diclofenac given to cattle as painkillers by veterinary doctors. The drug was harmful for vultures which feeds on flesh of dead animals.

According to environmentalistVittal Sanadhaya, the vulture population has diminished rapidly across the country in the past decade. However, these rare species which are on the verge of extinction can be found in small numbers in some areas in Kota and Bundi districts.

"The recently found colonies of vultures in Baran is a good news and there is a need to develop a new vulture hub in the region for their conservation," Sanadhaya said.

About five species of vultures were found in Hadautti region previously but most of them have disappeared from the forests in thelast decade, he said.