Excavation at oldest Harappan site begins
CHANDIGARH: Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department (HAMD) and the Indian Archaeological Society and National Museums on Sunday started excavations at Kunal in Fatehabad district, the oldest Harappan site in the state.
The Director General, National Museums, Dr BR Mani and Haryana Archaeology and Museums Department, Deputy Director Dr Banani Bhattacharyya on Sunday started the digging process with a spade.
An MOU to this effect was signed between HAMD and the New Delhi-based society in the presence of Haryana Archaeology and Museums, last year.
Kunal being one of the earliest sites in Haryana had a great contribution in the early Harappan studies in the Indian sub-continent and would definitely open new prospects for future researches.
The Archeological excavations at this pre-harappan site of 5000 years old were started in the year 1986 and are continuing till date with a few fieldseason's gap. Three successive phases of occupation from pit dwelling to that of square and rectangular mud brick houses have come to light and are supposed to be the earliest remains of pre-harappan culture in India.
In earlier excavations, a hoard of regalia item including six gold beads of a necklace, an armlet and a few bangle pieces and 12,445 beads of semi-precious stones first of its kind were found. That makes the whole gamut of luxury items as 'richest' when seen in the context of rural nature of settlement of 3000 BC.
One of the important contributions of this site is the discovery of steatite and shell seals, which are the earliest example of seal manufacturing in India, so far. NEW DELHI: Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday claimed that "some forces" wanted to disturb peace and harmony in the country and called for the defeat of their "nefarious design".
Inaugurating a day's workshop organised by BJP Delhi Minority Morcha, Minority Affairs Minister Naqvi said harmony and tolerance are in India's "DNA" and none should be allowed to "weaken" the country's unity.
"Some forces want to disturb the country's peace and harmony. We all have to work together to defeat any such nefarious design," a statement quoted Naqvi as saying at the workshop. The minister, however, did not name any individual or party.
"Harmony and tolerance are in the DNA of India...we should not allow anybody to weaken Indian culture of unity and brotherhood under any circumstances," he said.
Hailing the rise in the budgetary allocation of his ministry for 2018-19, Naqvi listed several programmes being implemented by the government for CHANDIGARH: Haryana Public Works (Buildings and Roads) Minister, Rao Narbir Singh said that after March, if any complaint received on Harpath App pertaining to pits on road is not resolved within 72 hours then fine would be imposed on the agency concerned and that amount would be given to the complainant.
He said that the construction of roads and their repairs was looked after by five agencies namely Public Works (Buildings and Roads) Department, Urban Local Bodies Department, Marketing Board, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and Haryana Urban Development Authority.
These agencies usually face problem in repair of roads due to jurisdiction limits. In order to deal with this problem, the state has been divided into three zones and joint tenders have been floated by the five agencies.
The PWD Department would manage the work of filling pits and the tender would be opened on February 7 and work of filling pits would be allotted to one agency. This entire process would be got completed by March end. Thereafter, the agency concerned would be responsible for filing pits within 72 hours of the complaint. In case of failure, fine would be imposed on the agency concerned and that amount of fine would be given to the complainant. the welfare of the communities to ensure their "empowerment without appeasement".
The government has been working for empowerment "without any discrimination", he said.
Referring to the "record" increase of Rs 505 crore in the ministry's budget, he said it proved that the government's priority was inclusive growth.
The ministry's budget for 2017-18 was Rs 4,195 crore, which has been increased to Rs 4,700 crore for 2018-19.
"This increase will be help- MUMBAI: Mumbai airport, the busiest single-runway airport in the world, broke its own record when it handled 980 arrivals and landings in 24 hours on January 20, agency report said.
"Before this, on December 6, the airport had landed 974 flights," a Mumbai International Airport+ Pvt Ltd spokesperson quoted as saying. Though India's second largest airport has the record breaking numbers, Gatwick airport, UK'S second largest airport, is still the most efficient singlerunway airport in the world. ful in socio-economic- educational empowerment of minorities, especially in effective implementation of programmes aimed at educational development of girls," he said.
More than 65 per cent of the previous budget was spent for the "educational empowerment" and employment-oriented skill development of the minorities, he said.
Naqvi said instructions have been given to ministry officials to work out plan to ensure the benefits of the increased allocation reached the needy.
He also said that 2.42 crore minority students were provided various scholarships during the last three years.
According to statistics from UK'S Airport Coordination Ltd, Gatwick single runway declared an aircraft handling capacity of 870 flight movements per day for summer 2018. But, unlike Mumbai airport, which is functional 24 hours a day, Gatwick handles most of its flights in the 19 hours between 5am and midnight because of night time restrictions in force since 1971.
Gatwick single-runway's peak handling capacity is 55 air traffic movements (landings or take offs) an hour, while Mumbai has touched 52 LUCKNOW: After its proposal to make floor cleaners using cow urine, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to give a push to the use of cow urine in preparing medicines.
"The Ayurveda department has prepared eight medicines using gau mutra which can prove to be useful in case of liver ailments, joint pain and immunity deficiency," the department s director Dr RR Chaudhary said.
"The department, which has two pharmacies (in Lucknow and Pilibhit) along with other private units, is preparing Ayurvedic medicines using cow urine, cow milk and ghee," he said. There are eight Ayurvedic medical colleges in the state in Banda, Jhansi, Muzaffarnagar, Allahabad, Varanasi, Bareilly, Lucknow and Pilibhit.
"In these medical colleges, degree course in ayurvedic medicine is imparted. Along with this, in these medical colleges, everyday thousands of patients come for treatment.
"In Lucknow alone, the daily footfall in the OPD of the Ayurveda Hospital is around 700 to 800." movements an hour. However, unlike Mumbai, which rarely handles 52 movements an hour, Gatwick runway frequently handles 55 movements/hour daily during the peak hours between 6 am and 7.50 am; 10 am and 1.50 pm and 3pm and 7.50 pm. Mumbai, on the other hand, handles an average of around 48 movements in peak hours.
"The most important difference between Gatwick and Mumbai is the environment the two airports are set in," says a senior air traffic controller from Mumbai.