Mangaluru: PUC girl found dead, suicide suspected

Mangaluru, Mar 14: During its 41st annual convocation, the Mangalore University would confer three honorary degrees on March 15. The recipients are Haji U K Monu (Education & Social Service), G Ramakrishna Achar (Agriculture, Education & Social Service) and Prof M. B. Puranik (Education & Social Service).

Haji U K Monu

Haji U. K. Monu is the founder and managing director of Kanachur Group of Industries in Mangalore. Under his leadership, the Kanachur Academy of General Education was established in 2002 to provide quality education to the people of the locality, especially women and the underprivileged. The Academy includes a range of institutions, including the Kanachur Public School, Kanachur Pre-University College for Women, Kanachur Institute of Management and Science, Kanachur Institute of Medical Science, Kanachur College of Physiotherapy, Kanachur College of Nursing Science, Kanachur Institute of Allied Health Science, and Kanachur Hospital and Research Centre.

In addition to his outstanding achievements in the educational field, Haji U.K Monu has made significant contributions in the social and religious fields. He has served as the President and Vice President of the Syed Madani Charitable Trust and Dargah Association Ullal, Mangalore, and as the President of the Mohidin Jumma Masjid, Panjala, Mangaluru for the past 25 years. He has also served as the Vice President of the South Indian Plywood Manufacturers Association and the Karnataka Timber Importers Association.

Haji U.K Monu's business ventures have provided direct and indirect employment opportunities to many people, and his efforts have extended globally through his association with Global Business Associates in Singapore, Dubai, Myanmar, Africa, and Europe. He has been recognized for his outstanding contributions in the field of Education and Social Service by the Newspaper Association of Karnataka and by the Mangalore University on 43rd Foundation day.

Haji U. K. Monu is Self-taught and self-made entrepreneur and educationist with an undying passion for constant learning and amelioration. He is universally compassionate, empathetic and involved in social service, helping many poor families who are economically backward, facilitating fee concessions and free education for
 
deserving students, and conducting free mass marriages for poor couples. He has covered a vast sphere of business interests and diverse social ventures, providing both direct and indirect employment to many people. He has faced numerous difficulties and challenges during his initial days towards the path of achievement. His dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence made him a role model for the younger generation. His contributions to society are truly commendable.

Ramakrishna Achar

G Ramakrishna Achar was born in a financially backward family from Gangolli in Kundapur taluk in Udupi district and due to the fact that he had to support his family he quickly took up work at a fabrication workshop and dropped out of the school early in his childhood. All the time his heart yearned for more academic education, but learnt skills from his work at an impressionable age. The self-learning desire in him took him deep into mechanics and fabrication field and made him master craftsman, when he had just reached his teenage. He upgraded his technical knowledge by working as a trainee in the Central Food Technology and Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru.

From then on, he did not look back or paused on the road to his horizons. Though he started his professional life in a shed with only Rs. 25,000 capital, he ploughed hard and today he owns a fabrication company that is making waves in the field of agriculture, water management, sewage treatment having a turnover of Rs. 250 crores per annum and employed over 3000 people in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled segments. He has built infrastructure close to Rs. 100 crores. His clientele is spread over the globe- even in the developed world.

His line up of products began in 1990 with paddy processing unit which he quickly upgraded into a modern range of machinery with inbuilt dryer that played a major role in controlling the moisture and retaining the quality of rice for a long time. This was a world innovation and many paddy growing countries around the world have subscribed to his idea and started using his machinery. As a result in India alone, the wastage of cured rice was arrested and the country gained Rs. 100 crore every season by way of stopping the rice going waste due to moisture retention.

This process also had another advantage of retaining the composition of rice that made it suitable for the modern day rice-based fastfood recipes. Today if the common rice smells and tastes better all over the country, it was due to the deep research product of Ramarkishna Achar’s ingenuity, imagination, creativity and innovative outlook.

Clean and pure water to the last person in society- Elixir of life

Ramakrishna Achar’s quest for research took another turn which was towards providing safe drinking water to the masses. His ‘Elixir’ brand of water purifier with different configuration is now a standard equipment for water dispensing in public places all over the country and in the neighbhouring countries. Heeding to the call of honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji for clean and safe water for every citizen under ‘Sujala’ programme, Ramarkishna Achar upgraded his range of water purification plants and made it more affordable to install them in more places where people can fill up one litre of purified water at Rs. 1 per litre. This worked like a charm in rural areas where the drinking water supply quality was always wanting for improvement. Thanks to the efforts now thousands of villages, temple complexes, public offices, schools, colleges or wherever there is a good number of visitors the ‘Elixir’ machines were installed providing safe drinking water.

The Elixir machines also minimised the use of pet bottles being littered after the use that led to plastic pollution. This innovative product also gave jobs to many urban and rural youths by installing the Elixir water dispenser machines and earned their livelihood. In fact, the Elixir Machines have taken care of three objectives together, namely stand-up India, Skill India and clean water programme which the honourable Prime Minister of India had envisaged.

Effluent treatment plant -micro and macro operations.

Another area of vital importance where Ramkrishna Achar concentrated is the treatment of effluent water or what we call municipal waste. There are a number of scientific findings and research papers that indicate untreated sewage discharge from towns and cities polluting the surface water resources and gradually turning the surface water and the sub-terranean water sources unusable, especially in the highly urban areas and cities.

To deal with this problem, he has designed sewage water treatment plants of various configurations that can cater to individual households, medium and large housing colonies, industrial houses, high-rise apartment blocks. Since space is always a constraint in housing complexes, the design of these new-generation effluent treatment plants can fit in a corner of any independent house and what is more? The system does not need any civil work and is fully automated and requires no or minimal human intervention for maintenance purposes. This model also has been widely accepted in many parts of the globe including some developed countries. To put it simply it is a ‘plug and play’ system.

Industrial Training Institute- a ray of hope for the rural youth.

His deep understanding of the social system around the youth was instrumental in promoting an Industrial Institute at Bannadka near Moodbidri. He has developed thousands of skilled youth who have populated Industrial set-up in various countries in the world and are gainfully employed in ancillaries and mainline industrial houses in fabrication, technology integration and adoption, and mechanical automation. The National Council for Vocational Training has recognised the Institute. Many of them already own SMEs in the rural engineering and fabrication in small towns and cities. Even here, the Skill India programme of our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has been a motivating factor.

Go Dhama - a passion and a mission

In another initiative towards making the farmers self-sufficient, Ramakrishna Achar has launched a ‘Go Dhama’ in a remote village - Muniyal in Karkala taluk about 25 kilometers from Moodbidri on a 35 acres of land. His idea was to create a model, micro self-sufficient village led by the cow-rearing and value- addition to the milk and milk products. It started as a passion and later became a mission of his life.

The Go Dhama has 37 Indian breed cows from different parts of the country. A fully machinised production unit, in-house veterinary service, composting, fodder development, training programmes for the farmer in integrated farming and intercropping and developing nutrition programme for the cows for better milk-yield and healthy progeny. The Go Dhama also has plans for development of the hyper local variety of cows and cattle.

The wider vision of Go Dhama is to have a SME level Dairy development based on modernisation and Technology based on PLC norms.

Social service

His heart and mind fill with joy when he talks about the social work aspect in his life so far. The Sri Kalikamba temple in Moodbidri of which he is a trustee has climbed from strength to strength over the last few years. The managing committee and devotees acknowledge the growth with high degree of confidence.

The Bala Samskara Kendra is an institution he launched with help from his own community. The basic objective of the institution is to impart traditional knowledge and Indian ethos along with the school curriculum tapping into the forgotten traditions of our society.

The SKF has also laid out substantial funds for taking up Corporate Social Responsibility projects. It participates in water conservation, water body revivals, Human Resources Development and holding regular medical camps.

Prof. M. B. Puranik

RajyotsavaPuraskar Recipient, Prof. M. B. Puranik is a visionary, a philanthropist, an educationalist, an entrepreneur, a social worker and a politician committed to the nationalist idea that is India.

Prof. M. B. Puranik has a rich 34 years of experience in teaching as the Professor and Head, Dept. of Botany. He was initially associated with St. Mary’s Junior College, Shirva and later on with Canara College, Mangalore. Education is his passion and he realised that a lot of problems in the society could be solved by empowering the youth with education and employment. Over the past thirty years he has been successful in building 10 institutions in four different campuses. He is currently the President of Tulunad Educational Trust and Sharada Group of Institutions. He is a noted alumnus of Sri. Rama Higher Elementary School, Majur; Sri. Vishnumurthy Hayavadana Swamy High School, Innanje; Poorna Prajna College Udupi, Regional College of Education Mysore, and Sardar Patel University, Anand Gujarat. All his alma maters have known him for his leadership skills and diligence. He was the Union President in College, and Senior Under Officer in NCC (Army) having C-certificate with distinctions. As a Professor, he was also the Associate NCC Officer (ANO) in the Air Wing branch, Student Welfare Officer, and Fine Arts Association Convener.

Prof. M. B. Puranik has always been interested in social welfare – he believes that one should be able to give back to the society at least a small portion of what one has taken from the society. His interests apart from education and social work are animal husbandry and agriculture. He is a President of an orphanage called Mangala Seva Samiti Trust (Bala Samrakshana Kendra, Kuttarpadav) and started the Gowvanithashraya Trust in Pajeer which shelters 400 cows and a few destitute women. He is also the president of RCPHD Trust, which runs a school for the economically deprived as well as physically handicapped children. Due to his philanthropic leadership, every year nearly 100 students receive free education, and so far 21 orphan girls have entered into wedlock.

From a Karyakartha in Udupi, he was raised to the level of the Working President of VHP (Karnataka state),a responsibility of a very grave nature, which he is very proud of, till date. His association with the RSS starts from his early youthful days, and though he was elevated to the position of the Vibhag Sangha Chalak, Mangaluru, he had to renounce it later to take
 
up larger roles. Prof. M.B Puranik was also appointed as State Committee Member of Rajya Dharmik Parishat and the Chairman of Gau-SevaAayog in 2013 by the then BJP Government under Sri. B. S. Yediyurappa.

Philanthropist, Prof. M. B. Puranik born in 1945 in Majuru, a small village of undivided Dakshina Kannada, as the 7th son of Late Sri. Ramkrishna Puranik and Smt. Jalajakshi Ammais thus a doyen of education, empowerment, and social upliftment which sums up to patriotism.

Institutions under Prof. M.B. Puranik’s Leadership:

Sharada Vidyalaya - 1992

Sharada PU College - 1998

Shubhodaya Vidyalaya - 2003

Sharada Vidyanikethana Public School - Residential - 2005

Sharada Vidyanikethana Public School - Day Boarding - 2005

Sharada Vidyanikethana P.U. College - 2010

Sharada First Grade College - 2010

Sharada Ayurdhama Medical College & Hospital - 2016

Sharada Shishu Vihara - 2017

Sharada Yoga & Naturopathy Hospital & Research Centre - 2019

Awards & Honours:

Best NCC Officer - Karnataka State Government - 1984

Rajyothsava Puraskar - Karnataka State Government - 2010

Ahara Rathna - Hotel Owners Association - 2011

Seva Rathna - by Swarnavalli Mutt, Sonda - 2015

Krishnanugraha - by Pejavara Mutt - 2018

Hari Bhaktha Netha - by Paryaya Sri.Adamaru Mutt - 2021

Ananda Samaja Bhushana - Ananda Balaga Bengaluru - 2022

Shivalli Shikshana Ratna - Shivalli Spandana, Mangaluru– 2022
 
Vidyanidhi Shilpi – Shanbhog Dasappa Datti – 2023 (100th Silver Crown)

Prof. M. B. Puranik has been a member of many other organisations and associations in various capacities and has been honoured with multiple recognitions. However, only a few have been listed above.

There is a need for increased monitoring and precautionary measures to ward off H3N2 but no cause for panic yet, say experts as India confirms its first two deaths due to the influenza virus.

In Karnataka, 78-year-old Hiregowda. a diabetic who suffered from hypertension died due to the H3N2 seasonal influenza subtype on March 1. Another death, that of a 56-year-old lung cancer patient, was reported from Haryana.

From January 2 to March 5, 451 cases of the H3N2 have been reported in the country, according to data shared by the ministry on Friday. It also said it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from month end.

H3N2 is a non-human influenza virus that normally circulates in pigs and has infected humans, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu viruses and can include fever and respiratory symptoms such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, including body ache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.

As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn’t expect to see a massive wave.

"Admission to hospital has not been very common and only about 5 per cent cases have been reported to be hospitalised," added Tarun Sahani, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo Hospitals.

While there is no need to panic yet, Sahani said it is advisable to take precautions similar to those taken during Covid times.

"... if most of the infected people recover albeit slow, it should be fine," virologist Upasana Ray, an alumni member of the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) and member of Global Young Academy (GYA), told PTI.

She noted that lockdowns and extensive use of masks for extended periods of time helped control transmission of more virulent versions of the virus, but also prevented good exposure of regular seasonal respiratory viruses.

"Due to at least two years of elaborate, expansive use of masks, we might have lost part of our immunity against the versions of these other respiratory viruses that are now getting transmitted," Ray argued.

According to Agrawal, H3N2 outbreaks can "indeed cause death" and are more severe than regular flu.

"Since there is general immunity to flu and vaccines exist, I wouldn’t expect to see a massive wave but yes, all outbreaks and deaths are of some concern," Agrawal, the dean of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, told PTI.

Sahani noted that India is witnessing a huge spike in H3N2 cases since the start of 2023.

"The incidence is two to three times higher than usually seen at this time of the year. This virus is known to be a subtype of Influenza A virus which is common at this time of the year," Sahani told PTI.

Though the Covid pandemic seems to be ending, the spate of respiratory illnesses continues among adults with a significant number being infected with influenza viruses such as H3N2, adenovirus and H1N1.

According to the latest data available on IDSP-IHIP (Integrated Health Information Platform), a total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of Influenza including H3N2 have been reported till March 9 by the states.

This includes 1,245 cases in January, 1,307 in February and 486 cases in March till 9th, it said.

The Union Health Ministry is keeping a close watch on the seasonal influenza situation in various states/UTs through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network on a real-time basis.

Agrawal said flu surveillance is an important part of public health.

"In coming times we will have better combined respiratory virus surveillance," Agrawal, the former director of the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology noted.

Ray agreed, saying disease monitoring is urgently needed to address the situation. 

New Delhi, Mar 15: Leaders of 18 Opposition parties began their march to the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) office in Delhi today to press for an investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg issue.

The stage is set for a massive face-off between Delhi Police and the marching leaders. Police have put up barricades and deployed several mobile vans to block the march.

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, it is learnt, will not be joining the march.

US short seller Hindenburg Research has alleged that the Adani group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud", and used offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.

The group has denied the allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India.

The Supreme Court has set up a six-member committee of experts to examine issues arising out of the stock crash. The committee has been tasked with an overall assessment, suggesting measures to make investors more aware and to strengthen regulatory measures for stock markets.

The Adani Group has welcomed the Supreme Court order, with Chairman Gautam Adani saying "it will bring finality in a time bound manner" and "truth will prevail".

While a section of Opposition parties have welcomed the Supreme Court order, another, including the Congress, have insisted on a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC).

The Opposition's demand for the JPC probe and the government's offensive on Rahul Gandhi's remarks in London have led to an impasse in Parliament. The first three days of the second leg of the Budget session have seen frequent disruptions and repeated adjournments.