Reward or Punishment ?

I thought of posting this after I recently happened to visit an Old Age Home. An old lady who was staying in my Neighbour's place  had been shifted to an Old age home few months back .She had no husband nor children .It was her desire to join the old age home as she could find some company during her last days. A few days back we got the news that the lady had passed away .So me and my family visited the Old Age home. For all those who are not happy or satisfied with their lives ,a visit here is a must.It was noon.The place was very quiet.I saw about thirty Old aged People who were waiting for their lunch.One could see the kindness and patience in their eyes. Aura was surrounding their faces .They truly din't deserve this .This was the reward/punishment they had got for taking care and sacrificing everything for their children.At one moment,i thought how inconsiderate those children must have been to forget what their parents had done for them.Even though the inmates found good company ,they surely missed their children .I eventually spoke to some of them .They said their children were too busy or dint bother about them.There was one lady who told her son had got her fish curry for the lunch.I still wonder why the person had admitted his mother to an Old age home if he was really concerned about her.However It is the choice of an individual to live the way he wants .But definitely one must not forget what their parents have done for them.What we do is what we get ,our present actions decide our future.So what I personally feel is children must definetly think twice before taking such a decision.

My 1st Sem Environmental Science Project :

MANGALORE :A NATURAL HEAVEN IN THE PAST BUT NOW A MANMADE HELL 

Brief History: Mangalore is also known as “Mangala Puram “(the town of the goddess Mangala Devi) or the “Land of the saint Parashurama “.  According to the legend, The Sahyadri Kanda visualizes that Parashurama threw his axe into the Sea and retrieved as much land as the Axe flew from the King of Sea. A marvelous fantasy that has inspired and mesmerized the coastal folks for hundreds of years. The retrieved coastal land is called ‘Parashurama Srishti’ (creation) or Kshetra (land) Another legend has it that  one of the important protagonist of the Nath  cult Matsvendranath  had arrived at Mangalore with the princess of Kerala ''Premaladevi''. He converted the princess to his cult and named her ''Mangaladevi''. Hence Mangalore gets the name from the goddess .It has been known for its natural and scenic beauties from the past.

Current position: Now, Mangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in India, with a population of more than five lakh.  A district with highest number of educational institutions in the world, paradise for realtor sector, infrastructural hub for some of the most reputed national as well as international institutions and enterprising people.  A town which is always in the news for its cultural diversity is now in the limelight for its various environmental issues.

Environmental issues surrounding Mangalore:

Mangalore is one among the 43 most polluted industrial centers in the country according to the study published recently. It is the most polluted city in Karnataka according to the survey. The study has concluded that those centres with a CEPI score in excess of 70 have been “critically” polluted. Mangalore with a score of 73.68 is in the list of cities that are critically polluted which is a major concern for the environmental activists and nature lovers. The major reason for this is the petrochemical industries surrounding Mangalore. Mrpl, mcf, kiocl are a few industries to name among them.

These are the major contributors to the pollution. 

Below mentioned are a few reviews of people on the ill effects of this Environmental Pollution.

§         The Nandini River that flows past Soorinje was teeming with fish ten years ago, says Sundar Shetty (60), a farmer. “But, ever since these companies came, the fish catch has become negligible,” he added.

§         Upendra Hosbet, president of the Parisaraasakta Okkuta, says the fish catch in the Arabian Sea has also come down.

§         Imtiaz Kana, a resident, also said that several residents had developed skin allergies. During the visit of a team of experts from the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the villages around Bajpe on February 3, 2008, several farmers complained that their yield was getting affected adversely owing to the effluent discharge from nearby industries.

Another main environmental issue the city is facing is that related to it’s modernization of roads.

  While modern roads are welcomed by the Mangalorean community, the problems associated with these progressive works seem to be endless.

Some of the problems related to this are:

· Primarily due to the concrete blanket and lack of proper drainage system the monsoon rain water fails to seep as groundwater. Moreover since Mangalore is a coastal area the rain water easily flows into the sea converting itself to non-potable salty water.

· While widening the roads several trees which earlier used to serve as shade for pedestrians and also serve as air plant have also been cut -off.

·  In the absence of trees the fertile soil of the land is also getting eroded into the ocean. On the other side even the ocean on account of global warming is encroaching upon the land.

·  Also modification or development is not done in the traditional drainage link as a result; the manholes and drainage system are also constantly blocked by these litters making its purpose useless. The rain water also scatters all the filth in its path making the entire surrounding unhygienic.

In addition to this, the nagarjuna power project, the MSEZ phase 1 expansion are the projects that are being taken up inspite of serious opposition from the environmental activists.

            Solution:

• Proper drainage system should me made.
• Proper facility should be made to avoid the accumulation of rain water in the roads resulting to manholes.
• Waste management system should be undertaken.
• Waste water treatment should be undertaken before dumping the waste from the industries into the rivers.
• The poisonous gases which are liberated by the industries should be first purified before letting them into the atmosphere.
• Unauthorized acquisition of fertile land from the farmers for the sake of building new industries should be stopped.
• World environment day, earth day, vanamahotsava and other social activities should be encouraged.
• Rain water harvestment should be undertaken.
• Inspite of being titled the most polluted city in Karnataka, phase 1 works for the Mangalore special economic zone (MSEZ) are in progress. This should be immediately stopped. The people should join hands with the environmental activists, nature lovers, and other organizations in this regard.

I strongly hope that these measures are undertaken and Mangalore again regains its past natural beauty.

Apps for Rooted Android Phones

Android Phones are a new revolution to the world of technology .Rooting your Android device is an attempt to unleash its full potential, break it free of the chains that bind it.You break the impositions set by the manufacturer and gain the Superuser Access.Here are a few Apps which i feel are a must for Rooted phones .

1) Adfree :Usually Free apps come with Ads .This is Quite irritating when you are using a application.AdFree removes most ads in the browser and other apps. It does this by nullifying requests to known host names in the system hosts file .


2)Titanium Backup :This is a Must have app for all Rooted Phones .It allows you to backup Apps in case you install a new custom ROM .Extremely  powerful tool. Backup ALL apps, Market links.


3)No frills Cpu : Another important use of Rooting is that you can control your Cpu Frequency and make your phone Faster.No-frills CPU Control is a tool you can use on your Rooted phone to quickly set the CPU frequencies and governor to use. You can set the highest frequency while gaming and lowest frequency when you are not using your phone .All of this without any memory footprint or services running in the background.


4)ROM Manager :Must have app for any root user. Make backups, flash ROMs, and own your device. Manage your ROMs via a handy UI. Organize and perform backups and restores from within Android Install ROMs from your SD card.


5)Shoot Me :Android does not have a built in feature to capture screenshots . Shoot Me  is easily one of the best screenshot tools for your Android device, allowing you to take screenshots by shaking your device.MIUI has this feature inbuilt.