New Delhi, June 15 : The huge quantity of scrap generated by Railways is now making way to manufacturing units for production of wheels, thanks to the innovation brought about in this field.
Senior Railway Board officials said the Railway Wagon Factory in Bangalore has made a major headway in this regard using about 1.2 lakh ton of scrap metals for rolling out wheels.
"Scrap will also be used at the Chhapra Wheel Plant," they said.
The breakthrough came after the Bangalore plant reviewed the scrap, which mostly comprise worn out rail tracks, and made improvements in their metallurgy.
Railways also stand to save revenue with the in-house utilisation of scrap, officials said.
In fact, in-house utilisation of scrap was first recommended by a high-level committee, after which a study in re-utilising the scrap was taken up.
Interestingly, the breakthrough in utilising scrap comes at a time when the Railways have achieved the highest ever sales earning by selling scrap in the last financial year.
Railways earned Rs 3,005 crore by selling scrap, which is 9.8 per cent higher than the sales of previous years, officials said.
10:43 PM
Railways using scrap to make wheels
planetInfo
10:43 PM
Bid to abduct Chand Mohammad
planetInfo
Mohali (Punjab), June 15 : A group of about 100 people made an unsuccessful bid to abduct former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammad from the house of his estranged wife Anuradha Bali alias Fiza here, police said.
The group tried to abduct Chand last evening from Fiza's house, where he had returned after almost five months, Mohali police said.
Upon receiving the information, a police team reached the spot where the mob attacked them following which police opened fire.
Two head constables Ram Sarup and Sarwan Kumar besides a man identifed as Ashok Kumar were injured in the clash, Phase XI SHO Sub-Inspector Deepinder Singh said.
Chand Mohammand yesterday returned to his estranged second wife and apologised for "past mistakes", months after declaring publicly that he had divorced her, but Fiza remained non-committal on a "reunion"
The group tried to abduct Chand last evening from Fiza's house, where he had returned after almost five months, Mohali police said.
Upon receiving the information, a police team reached the spot where the mob attacked them following which police opened fire.
Two head constables Ram Sarup and Sarwan Kumar besides a man identifed as Ashok Kumar were injured in the clash, Phase XI SHO Sub-Inspector Deepinder Singh said.
Chand Mohammand yesterday returned to his estranged second wife and apologised for "past mistakes", months after declaring publicly that he had divorced her, but Fiza remained non-committal on a "reunion"
10:43 PM
New Delhi, June 15 : As many as 12 new species of frogs and 14 insects have been discovered by scientists across the country in 2008, according to the latest report of the Zoological Survey of India.
The new species have been discovered in 13 states across the country with most of the frogs being discovered in the Northeast.
Of the 14 new species of insects, five were discovered in various sanctuaries of Kerala.
The new species of frogs were found in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh while those new to the country have been discovered from the fringes of Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal and Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana, says the Zoological Survey of India's recent publication "Animal Discoveries-2008".
The discoveries include a frog which changes colour and spots (Rhacophorous subansiriensis) found in the forests of Subansiri district in Arunanchal Pradesh and the diminutive frog (Philautus manipurensis) from Tumzane river in Manipur.
Chirixalus senapatiensis is another frog species that has been found from the Mabing river bed in Manipur.
The new species have been discovered in 13 states across the country with most of the frogs being discovered in the Northeast.
Of the 14 new species of insects, five were discovered in various sanctuaries of Kerala.
The new species of frogs were found in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh while those new to the country have been discovered from the fringes of Neora Valley National Park in West Bengal and Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Haryana, says the Zoological Survey of India's recent publication "Animal Discoveries-2008".
The discoveries include a frog which changes colour and spots (Rhacophorous subansiriensis) found in the forests of Subansiri district in Arunanchal Pradesh and the diminutive frog (Philautus manipurensis) from Tumzane river in Manipur.
Chirixalus senapatiensis is another frog species that has been found from the Mabing river bed in Manipur.
4:43 AM
BJP rules out any action against Jaswant
planetInfo
New Delhi, June 12 : BJP today ruled out any action against senior leader Jaswant Singh, who had raised certain issues at the party's core committee meeting on Wednesday.
"Since there is no no proposal that action should be taken against Jaswant Singh there is no no question of taking any action. To understand his words as accusations against some party leaders is wrong. Media is wrong in saying that action will be taken," party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
He said Singh had raised some issues and the party would consider them. However, party seniors feel that internal matters should not not be discussed in the media or in public, Rudy said.
Speculation about action against Singh arose after a meeting between party President Rajnath Singh and Leader of the Opposition L K Advani today.
In the core committee meeting at Advani's house on Wednesday, Singh had questioned the way the party was being run and the nomination of Arun Jaitley as Leader of the Opposition and some other appointments. There should be a relationship between performance and reward, he is believed to have said at the meeting.
"Since there is no no proposal that action should be taken against Jaswant Singh there is no no question of taking any action. To understand his words as accusations against some party leaders is wrong. Media is wrong in saying that action will be taken," party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
He said Singh had raised some issues and the party would consider them. However, party seniors feel that internal matters should not not be discussed in the media or in public, Rudy said.
Speculation about action against Singh arose after a meeting between party President Rajnath Singh and Leader of the Opposition L K Advani today.
In the core committee meeting at Advani's house on Wednesday, Singh had questioned the way the party was being run and the nomination of Arun Jaitley as Leader of the Opposition and some other appointments. There should be a relationship between performance and reward, he is believed to have said at the meeting.
3:29 AM
Tai Chi 'can cure arthritis'
planetInfo
New York, Jun 12 : Suffering from arthritis? Try out Tai Chi, a form of exercise which is regularly practiced in China, for a study says that it can reduce chronic pains.
An international team has found carried out the study and found that Tai Chi helps in mitigating the pain associated with problems like arthritis and lessen disability -- in fact, it reduces pain with trends towards improving overall health.
Tai Chi is an exercise that is regularly practiced in China to improve overall health and well-being. It is usually performed in a group but is practiced individually at leisure, which differs from traditional exercise therapy.
"The fact that Tai Chi is inexpensive, convenient, and enjoyable and conveys other psychological and social benefits supports the use this type of intervention for pain conditions such as arthritis," lead researcher Amanda Hall.
Hall of George Institute in Australia and colleagues have based their findings on an analysis of systematic review and meta-analysis, the results of which are published in the latest edition of the 'Arthritis Care & Research' journal.
In fact, they analysed seven eligible randomised controlled trials that used Tai Chi as the main intervention for patients with musculoskeletal pain and found that Tai Chi improves pain and disability in patients suffering arthritis.
"It is of importance to note that the results reported in this systematic review are indicative of the effect of Tai Chi versus minimal intervention (usual health care or health education) or wait list control," Hall said.
However, the researchers said that establishing the specific effects of Tai Chi would require a placebo-controlled trial, which has not yet been undertaken.
An international team has found carried out the study and found that Tai Chi helps in mitigating the pain associated with problems like arthritis and lessen disability -- in fact, it reduces pain with trends towards improving overall health.
Tai Chi is an exercise that is regularly practiced in China to improve overall health and well-being. It is usually performed in a group but is practiced individually at leisure, which differs from traditional exercise therapy.
"The fact that Tai Chi is inexpensive, convenient, and enjoyable and conveys other psychological and social benefits supports the use this type of intervention for pain conditions such as arthritis," lead researcher Amanda Hall.
Hall of George Institute in Australia and colleagues have based their findings on an analysis of systematic review and meta-analysis, the results of which are published in the latest edition of the 'Arthritis Care & Research' journal.
In fact, they analysed seven eligible randomised controlled trials that used Tai Chi as the main intervention for patients with musculoskeletal pain and found that Tai Chi improves pain and disability in patients suffering arthritis.
"It is of importance to note that the results reported in this systematic review are indicative of the effect of Tai Chi versus minimal intervention (usual health care or health education) or wait list control," Hall said.
However, the researchers said that establishing the specific effects of Tai Chi would require a placebo-controlled trial, which has not yet been undertaken.