The police said Jayamma of the village enlisted the service of Narayanasamy, a snake charmer, when she found that a venomous snake had entered here house. Though he caught the reptile, he received bites. He was rushed to Hosur Govertnment Hospital but his life could not be saved.
HOSUR: The sale of vegetables in Hosur Uzhavar Sandhai touched an all-time high of 29 lakh kg (Rs. 4.11 crore) during February. As many as 3.61 lakh consumers and 70,000 farmers have benefited from the Uzhavar Sandhai, said Collector V. Arun Roy here on Sunday.
Inaugurating the fifth Uzhavar Sandhai in Avalapalli village near Hosur, Mr. Roy said that the ‘Rajarajan 1000' method had got tremendous response from the farmers in the district with paddy cultivation being undertaken in 11,000 ha of the total 24,000 ha.
The new Uzhavar Sandhai with 20 shops was built at Rs. 22.50 lakh. It was the 169th Uzhavar Sandhai in the State.
Mr. Roy also declared open a Village Agriculture Marketing Centre at Thattiganapalli, constructed at a cost of Rs. 22.65 lakh, an Agriculture Marketing Procurement Centre at Gamonthotti and a cold storage facility for mango at Krishnagiri established at Rs. 1 crore.
HOSUR: The Forest Department has proposed to beautify 16 lakes at a cost of Rs. 1.46 crore in Krishnagiri district, under the National Wetland Conservation Programme. The programme was drawn up essentially to protect the flora and fauna of water bodies in the district.
The proposal has been sent to the State Wildlife Warden in Chennai, to be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Central government.
A.K. Ulaganathan, District Forest Officer, told The Hindu that the Hosur Forest Division's proposal would offer services such as flood water storage and control, recharge of aquifers, treatment of waste water, general water quality improvement, creating separate habitats for fish, wildlife as well as several other animals and plant species in these water bodies.
The proposal, for the year 2011-12, was prepared keeping in mind the invaluable benefits of the wetlands that offered several tangible and intangible benefits to the environment and the human population, Mr Ulaganathan added.
The water bodies were identified in Denkanikottai, Hosur, Krishnagiri and Uthangarai taluks in the district.
The lakes which would come under the beautification programme were Ramanaicken Eri, Dharga Eri, Thoddaseruvu Eri (Alasanatham lake), Therpet Eri, Thimmsandiram Eri, Namaleri, Eni Muchathiram Eri, Marasandiram Eri, Singarapettai Periya Eri, Marampatti Eri (Singarapettai), Avathanapatti Eri, Parur Eri,Thimmapuram Eri, Onnamma Eri, Thaly Perigoundan Eri and Veerarajan Eri (Devaganapalli).
The combined area of these lakes was 1191 hectares, of which 393 hectares were under the water spread.
The water bodies had abundant organic and inorganic nutrients and were a perfect feeding and spawning ground for fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic life forms.
The Forest Department's proposal comprises removal of silt, creating walk paths and benches along the bunds.
The Forest Department would also plant varieties of trees around the water bodies. For this purpose, an exclusive Wetland Conservation Committee (WCC), under a public-private partnership agreement, would be formed, it is learnt.
KRISHNAGIRI/DHARMAPURI: Over 300 teachers, including headmasters, were arrested and released in the evening when they resorted to road blockade in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts on Saturday.
In Krishnagiri, 167 headmasters and post-graduate teachers, including 50 women, resorted to block the Road in front of the Revenue Divisional Office on Old Bangalore Road in Krishnagiri.
The State-in charge for the Joint Action Committee for the agitation, R. Radhakrishnan, presided in the presence of D. Manoharan, district convener. They were all taken to a marriage hall near Pazhayapet and let off in the evening.
In Dharmapuri, 143 headmasters and post-graduate teachers were arrested and let off in the evening.
The district secretary, Post-Graduate Teachers Association, Ponmudy, presided over the agitation on Dharmapuri-Salem Main Road, near Ganesh Theatre, in Dharmapuri. All arrested were taken to the Indian Medical Association Hall and released in the evening.
The Federation of Higher Secondary School Headmasters and Post-Graduate Teachers' Association had announced state-wide demonstrations in front of the District Collectorate on February 26 and 27 to draw the attention of the government for an exclusive directorate for higher secondary education.
14-point charter
of demand
The Federation, consisting of 23,000 post-graduate teachers and 4,000 headmasters, would go on an indefinite strike from February 28 if the Government failed to fulfil its 14-point charter of demands.
The headmasters' association and two postgraduate teachers' associations claimed that there was a lapse in the Government provision that allowed those with lower academic qualification to become their administrative heads as District Educational Officers. A separate directorate would be a solution as the administrative postings would become an exclusive preserve of those with a minimum qualification of post-graduation. They also demanded announcement of recommendations by the one-member committee formed to study pitfalls in the GO 720; remuneration on a par with the Central Government employees; withdrawal of disciplinary action on heads and teachers of Adi Dravida schools; increment for those with over 30 years in government-aided schools; withdrawal of contributory pension scheme and service-regularisation of PG teachers appointed on contract basis in 1989 etc.
