The Indore Insider

Classes from 1st to 8th will not be conducted in all government and non-government schools of the state till April 15, 2021. These instructions have been issued by the School Education Department keeping in view the increase in the corona virus infection in the past. Instructions have been issued to all collectors, district education officers, district project coordinators to keep schools closed for the prevention of corona virus infection. It has been clarified that the classes from 9th to 12th will be conducted according to the instructions issued earlier.

The lockdown was strictly observed in Indore and this ensured muted celebrations of Holi, Shab-E-Barat and Palm Sunday. The city wore a deserted look throughout the day. There were fewer celebrations in some households. The usual ‘Rang Barse’ did not eco in the city during the entire two-day festival. Coronavirus spread tinted the celebrations and kept the celebrations to barely any in Indore. Streets were closed by putting barricades in place. At the same time, the police kept on interrogating the passengers. While there is no question as to how essential the lockdown was, it did bring down the spirits among children. Many children who were looking forward to finally have some fun after a tough year at home felt disappointed. "I feel like life has come to a standstill, because there are no more festivals, and without that... well, it's almost like being stuck in some alternate universe," Gaurav Gautam, a teenager, said. He was looking forward playing holi with his entire...

The wild fire spread in Choral forests exposed the negligence of the Forest Department. Several incidents of fire have increased in the forests between Shivratri to Holi Dahan. According to the fire alert, there has been a forest fire in the Indore forest area more than fifty times including Indore, Choral, Mhow and Manpur ranges. Forest workers said that several villagers believe that after a wish is completed, they must set fire in the forest. Following this, often fire is started by villagers. Officials also cite another reason as burning of cigarette, spread of smoke, rising temperature in the heat and fire set by miscreants. Shockingly, despite rising fire incidents, barely a few cases are registered. Apart from Choral, the forest area of ​​Indore, Mhow and Manpur have also witnessed wildfires in the last 25 days. In most of the cases, cases are closed citing miscreants and rising temperatures. Forest workers do not find it ‘needed’ to investigate them. According to sources, in t...

Two accused hunters roaming in search of prey were caught by foresters after chasing for over a kilometre. There were six alleged hunters in all, but four of them jumped from the car and fled. The two alleged hunters were arrested and were found in possession of guns, shrapnel and explosive material found in some types of guns used for hunting animals. The team caught the hunters Ramcharan and Vishnu, while their other companions fled. A case related to animal poaching has been reported in Indore. In the Nayapura forest area of ​​Indore range, forest workers caught two hunters who came in search of hunt after chasing them for about one kilometer. At the same time, his four companions escaped with a gun as soon as the car stopped. These people were roaming in the jungle with the intention of hunting. Shrapnel, gunpowder and weapons were recovered from the accused. The van in which the hunters came to hunt has also been seized. The arrested accused are said to be habitual hunters. Shrapn...

Horns of chinkara were found in the bag of a passenger at Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport in Indore on Monday. The youth had reached the airport to catch a flight plying0 from Indore to Mumbai. During the CISF investigation and bag screening there, Chinkara's horns were found from him. He was then handed over to the aerodrome police. The police has handed over the youth to the Forest Department team for further questioning. The forest department is going to take action under the Wildlife Act by presenting the young man in court. At the same time, in the whole case, the traveller says that he brought this horn to Indore in connection with the shooting and it is fake. At present, the Forest Department is also investigating whether the deer horn is genuine or fake. The Forest Department team is investigating the claim of horn being fake. It is learned that a 7-member team from Mumbai had come in Ujjain a few days ago in connection with shooting a documentary. On Monday, the team reache...

The special Sunday of Holika Dahan seemed rather plain and dull even compared to usual Sundays in the city, due to lockdown enforced in the city for controlling covid-19 second wave. To prepare for burning a small bonfire and celebrate Holika Dahan, people had already bought cow dung cakes on Saturday. Until evening, the city remained quiet. As the sun went down, a little hustle bustle was seen in various parts of city as people prepared their bonfire for the celebrations. Some people who could not make arrangements, they went out last minute looking for ‘jugaad’. The police did not show much strictness on those who carry wood for Holi. After questioning, instructing them not to go out, they asked to go home. After preparing the Holika, people worshiped and prayed for liberation from corona pandemic. Rajendra Joshi, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Charity Trust Manager, said, “Holika dahan was done symbolically in the temple courtyard, according to tradition.” He added that the burning of Holika...

Palm Sunday was celebrated in a symbolic manner in Catholic churches due to Corona outbreak on Sunday. Bishop Chacko said, “This year, we have organised spiritual practice from 10 am to 6 pm.” During this time, devotees will take blessings and online procession from the date palm. Last year too, online events were held due to the lockdown. It is a request to the members of the community to worship Lord Jesus by staying at their homes. Due to the lockdown, there will be no worship of date palm Sunday in Christian Temple in the cantonment. According to community representative Yashwant Netram, devotees will decorate their houses with date branches. “We will offer obeisance by holding palm trees and leaves. There will be online events this year as well,” he said. Pastor Anil Kumar Das from Jaipur shared Jesus Christ’s message in the morning. A three-day spiritual practice had begun on Saturday. Don’t blame others, change oneself: Chacko In the online event, Chacko said, “This is not the t...

Coronavirus has brought us down in many ways, especially the fun frolic festive season has a tint of fear and loneliness. To beat this blues amid limitations of playing with colours on Holi, a new fad evolving in Indore is creation of colourful looks. While the fun of running and colouring friends and family members might still exist in smaller gatherings, the usual fun of roaming around the city and gathering with extended family members will be missed. Hence, to reach out to their extended family members and friends, women have come up with an innovative solution of posting colourful pictures on social media and sending it to their loved ones. Though it is fun to play with colours of Holi, the pictures of us looking painted in pink, yellow and blue are generally not pretty. Using the same colours, women are now ready to glam up and create their own colourful Holi look. They call it ‘Rainbow Holi’ as despite the natural occurrence, rainbow has perfect alignment of colours and shades. ...

With coronavirus outbreak and lockdown on Holi and Dhulendi, this Holi will see a new colour. Instead of the usual fun frolic colourful Holi, Indoreans will celebrate the two-day fest with traditional food. The city of food lovers usually also celebrates with special dishes on Holi, but this year, food will be the highlight. Wishes will be given via online platforms to control the spread of covid-19. In the Holika Dahan that will be organised on a much smaller level in individual households, this year, offering food is an essential ritual. Colourful rasgullas in strawberry, kiwi, black currant, orange and lemon flavours are not just good to look at but have a different taste compared to the traditional white ball of chhana. The bowls full of pink, orange, green, yellow and purple rasgullas attract everyone whether at home or to the markets on Holi. These are specially made for the Holi season along with other sandesh and kheer items. Orange flavoured laddus, Kanpuri topped with nuts, s...

School Education Department has prepared two digital courses for training of teachers regarding early childhood, education and basic literacy of children. They will impart training to teachers. Both the courses have been prepared with the intention of helping teachers in implementing National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In the first phase, one and a half thousand former primary teachers of Bhopal, Sehore, Sagar, Chhindwara and Shahdol districts will be imparted training. This training will begin on April 1. At the same time, six courses are being started under the basic literacy course series keeping in mind the teachers and academic officers from the first to the eighth grade. Rashmi Arun Shami, Principal Secretary of the Department, said that early childhood care and education has been included as an important component in the NEP. “The inclusion of children in the age group of three to six years has given important goals related to early childhood care and education,” Shami said. T...

With a dream to study in the top engineering institutes in the country, over 6 lakh students across the country and over 10,000 in Indore attempted Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021 February and March attempt. While there was a considerable improvement in March attempt despite tougher papers, candidates hoping to inch closer to their best can attempt April attempt as well. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has invited applications from the candidates willing to appear in the JEE Main exam which is going to be conducted in April 2021 for admission into engineering colleges across the country. Candidates who want to apply for the JEE Mains exam can apply on the official website of the NTA – jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates should quickly register themselves for the examination as the last date for the submission of application is April 4, which leaves the candidates with a window of only about a week. Candidates application form will be accepted on the website till 11:50 PM on Apr...

Environmentalist Padma Shri Janak McGilligan Palta conducted Virtual Training on preparing Natural Colours for Holi. She USED Flowers, Plants and Fruits for making colours. “To prepare liquid colours, we can boil the tinted fruits and flowers in water, for example, Malabar spinach berries and Tessu,” Palta said. “Using dried flowers of Bougainvillea for purple colour, rose petals for red and Orange peel for orange colour, we can just blend it in a mixer and prepare Gulal,” Palta said. She added that many people are unable to play Holi due to fear of reaction and infection, allergies, so they can play with these home-made natural colours.

The sixth Friday of Lenten season was commemorated by Parish people of St. Joseph's Church, Nanda nagar by distributing ration to leper families of Mahesh Yadav Nagar, Banganga. Fr Thomas Rajamanikam, Fr Selvin Drazon, Gabriel Francis, Raj Francis and Philip Francis visited and met with over 25 families at Santh Gyaneshwar Kusht Seva Samithi, Mahesh Yadav Nagar. “Every Friday of the Lenten season the catholics participate in the Way of the Cross where 14 stations are remembered and reflected by which Jesus carried the cross on the way to Calvary where he was crucified,” Rajamanikam said. He added that community members are advised to participate in charitable deeds. “Keeping in mind the present escalation of covid-19 cases and bad situation of lepers, we distributed ration to those who needed it,” Rajamanikam said. Sarang the leader of the lepers cooperated and arranged the distribution. He also identified the people who really needed help and sought the same from the community mem...

Over 10 peafowls were reported death in 2020, up from 6 in 2019 in Indore district. This rise is becoming a cause of concern for forest department, especially after the recent outbreak of bird flu that spread among various species bring the avian population down in the district. The national bird of India Peafowl is protected under Indian Wildlife Act 1972, but following the mysterious deaths of peafowls across the country in 2009, several actions have been taken to conserve their population. With coronavirus outbreak and enforcement of lockdown, possibly the peafowls also suffered several challenges from rising temperatures, pesticide-treated wheat and poaching. Even in 2009, in Madhya Pradesh, veterinary doctors had estimated the only possible cause behind mysterious deaths of peafowls in the state to be similar, i.e. rising temperatures or pesticide-treated wheat. The challenge for peafowls in upcoming summers: “As summers begun and there is shortage of water in the forest as well a...

A lion cub has gone missing from Kamla Nehru Prani Sanghralaya, i.e. Indore city zoo. The search for cub is on. Due to the darkness in the cave and the presence of a lioness, the search is not fruitful. Lioness Megha gave birth to three cubs 4 days ago. A cub was very weak since birth. Two cubs were seen on Thursday evening, but the weaker cubs did not show up. When city zoo in-charge Dr Uttam Yadav came to know about this, he reached the cave with the staff. They lit the torch and searched the cubs from afar in the cave for several hours, but it was not found. Yadav, said that one of the three cubs was very weak. “It was kept in the hospital for observation. But in the wild animals it is also dangerous to keep the child far away from the mother, so the cub was left in the cave again with the tigress,” he said. The tigress was not feeding her. The staff had been trying for two days, but the tigress Megha would not let the weaker cub near her. Tigress often eats the cub?! A few years ba...

In view of the problem of catering to the children due to the closed canteens and shut down of mid-day meal facility in the government schools, the department announced an alternative way of ensuring nutrition for students in the school. Now, children will be given jaggery and gram in the school when they are hungry. This system has been implemented in every school. Commissioner of School Education Department issued an order in this regard. It may be noted that the preparation of the board has been affected in the lockdown caused by Corona. The students' course has not been completed. Because of this, the School Education Department has conducted additional classes to complete on time. Classes are also being held on holidays. Here, the department has also given instructions to open the school from 9 am to 5 pm so that the teaching work can be prolonged. In such a situation, children are facing problems that they are not getting food to drink. Some working parents do not make tiffin...

In a first, Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE is giving the students an option to change their examination centre/ city for the upcoming CBSE 10th 12th Board Exams 2021. In a notice released by the board, CBSE has permitted the students to request for a change in the exam centre – either for practical exams or theory or both. Despite the initial confusion among parents as coronavirus second wave spikes cases in Indore, Indore Sahodaya complex of CBSE schools has clarified that as per board instructions, both practical and theoretical examinations of board will be conducted in offline mode at various exam centres. With the pandemic, many students of classes 10 and 12 have shifted along with their families to some other city or country. The board notes that in this circumstance, it is difficult for students to appear for the practical or theory examination from the school or examination centre the students is enrolled or allotted – respectively. All students who have moved to an...

With Sunday lockdown enforced in the city to control the spread of coronavirus, various festive celebrations coming Sunday on March 28 are in question. On Sunday not just one, but there are three major festivals that will be celebrated by different communities in Indore. Holika Dahan, Shab-e-Barat and Palm Sunday will be celebrated by communities in the city. People of the concerned communities are in a dilemma about how the festival will be celebrated during lockdown. Catholic community has preponed celebrations of Palm Sunday by a day. The community will celebrate on Saturday. However, the question rises on how people will burn the bonfire of Holika Dahan on the streets. Further, how will the followers of Islam reach the tomb of ancestors to read the Fateha on Shab-e-Barat. Community heads and spokespersons are unsure of the possible solutions and state that they will take a decision after discussing this with the administration. Holika Dahan: cow dung bonfire to save trees Various H...

It's a moment of Deja Vu as Indore's Antriksh Gupta clears Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021 March attempt with flying colours and becomes the state topper again. He was the state topper for the February attempt of JEE Main 2021 as well. The first JEE Main was held in February. The NTA had released the result on March 8 in which six candidates have scored a perfect 100 percentile. Thirteen candidates scored 100 percentile in the JEE (Main) March exams for admission to engineering programmes. The number of candidates who scored 100 percentile in the February exams was six. The results were announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Wednesday night. NTA will reopen the registration window on Thursday for correction and registration for the subsequent cycles of April and May and the window is likely to remain open for a week. 99.995717%: State Topper: Antriksh Gupta says… “I am 17-year-old and it was my second attempt for JEE Main. I did not expect to be state topp...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the spirit of this festive season in India, as most people are keeping indoors amid fears of contracting the disease, and restrained from shopping sprees. Though the usual hustle-bustle has returned in the markets and shopping complexes, the normal festivity mood is missing with people spending money mostly on necessities than on luxuries. From Rakhi, Eid to Christmas and Diwali, all the festivals were celebrated in muted tones at home without any get-togethers and party for an entire year.

For over a year now, most people have not walked into a multiplex and enjoyed watching a new movie on the so-called silver screen. Despite lifting the ban on multiplexes, none of them are even able to pay the rent of their premises till date in malls in the city. When it comes to single screen theatres, most of them remain shut-down as neither anyone is willing to risk their safety nor are new releases coming into the theatre to entice viewers. Sharing details about the current status of multiplexes in Indore, owners of several malls in the city Karan Chhabra said, “None of the multiplexes have been able to pay the rent for a year now, we are being supportive considering the less number of visitors in theatres.” He added that walk-ins for multiplexes is limited to 2 to 3 for a movie show. “It’s not even enough for them to pay salaries to their own employees, so rent is out of question,” Chhabra added. To stay afloat without incurring too much debt, most single screens and multiplexes h...

The time when we read comics during our leisure hours was also a time when some creative cartoonists and writers could imagine a world when not just home-schooling but virtual education would be the usual norm. The concept when students didn’t worry about dressing up or even bathing before the class came rather quickly as lockdown was enforced and online education was the only way out for schooling. Online education in India has come a long way with the development of technology. India is one of the nations that is developing at an exponential rate in terms of technology. With the population of more than 1.3 billion, the availability of high-speed internet and smart-phones, India has the most number of technologically driven persons. The Indian government is also allowing the universities to offer fully online degrees - a change that could reshape the education industry in the country. While education sector adopted to the new normal, many students residing in other cities preparing fo...

After the first four cases of coronavirus reported from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and following positive testing five patients in Indore, coronavirus had spread like wildfire in the state and country wherein lockdown was enforced as from March 24. One year after the lockdown, our life has changed in several aspects, whether it is in simple visible aspects like wearing a mask or the way we commute, to deeper aspects like our family bonds, relationships, working style and overall industrial developments. While summing up the entire year since the beginning of lockdown is a tough task, it is possible to get a bird’s eye view with experts and common people of Indore with their unique skill for precision. From this day onwards, we hope that the challenges have turned into lessons and we will make better decisions learning from the pandemic. Only functional relationships survive in tough times “It was wonderful to see everyone working together. There were clashes sometimes, because everyone...

From the closed doors of city zoo comes good news, as three new cubs come to the city bringing the population up 13 lions in city zoo. The news comes amid coronavirus second wave, when the zoo has been shutdown. Usually, after this good news, people would throng into the zoo to meet the new members. Lion cubs have always been a fascination for everyone in the city including children and elders alike. Among the three cubs, one is slightly weaker than the other two. However, city zoo is hoping that it will build up the strength soon and survive adding to the population. Meet the parents… The cubs are born with the union of lioness Megha and lion Akash. Megha is one of the oldest and fertile lioness at the zoo. “Megha is mother to 13 lions already and with these three, she is mother of 16 cubs now,” Dr Uttam Yadav, city zoo in-charge, said. He added that Megha and Akash were parents to last cubs born about 1.5 year back as well. Reunited after a year, Megha & Akash become parents agai...

The portal for applying for scheduled tribe scholarships has been reopened. Eligible applicants can apply on the portal till March 31, 2021. In the latest report of Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, the committee noted that only 113.15 lakh students have benefited during 2018-19 and 2019-20 (upto 31 December), and said the number of beneficiaries should be “much more”. “…only 113.15 lakh students have benefited during the last two years i.e., 2018-19 and 2019-20 upto 31st December, 2020 with an expenditure of ₹ 8639.47 crore under this Scheme. The Committee feels that the number of beneficiaries should be much more i.e., around 80 lakh per year to realize the number of 4 crore students, projected to be benefitted in the next 5 years,” the report said. While the scheme is financed on 60:40 basis by the central and state governments, the committee noted that states haven’t been giving their share efficiently, which has resulted in students not getting their scholarshi...

For seven days starting on Monday, no auspicious functions will be considered beneficial as per Hindu traditions and beginning of Holashtak Every year, Holashtak falls on the Ashtami tithi of Phalguna month, Shukla Paksha and continues till Purnima, that is, Holika Dahan. Consisting of two words Holi and Ashtak (eight), Holashktak is observed eight days before the Holi festival. Pandit Gaurav Upadhyay said that in general, Holashtak is of eight days, but this time due to ‘tithi shray’ it will be of seven days only. Holashtak will end on March 28 and Holika Dahan will be celebrated by Hindu community. “This time the Bhadra period will end at 1:50 pm, so there will be no obstruction of Bhadra at the time of Holika Dahan,” Upadhyaya said. Holi will be played on March 29, also known as Dhulandi.

About 569 students seeking admission in Bal Vinay Mandir, i.e. Excellence school attended the entrance examination at two centres in the city on Sunday. Amid lockdown, students reached the centre along with their parents to attempt the examination. “About 715 students had registered for the examination, but 569 attempted the examination, i.e. about 80 percent attendance was recorded for the entrance,” coordinating in-charge Sangeeta Vinayka said. She added that 80 percent attendance was recorded at both the centres. The first centre was at Bal Vinay Mandir and another was at Swami Vivekanand school. “This scheme is introduced to provide better education to students with minimum possible fees,” Vinayka said. This examination was conducted for admission to class 9th in the schools of Madhya Pradesh. Students who have completed the 8th class or still studying in Class 8 could apply for this exam. “We allowed students to enter the premises from 9 am onwards and the examination was conducte...

Madhya Pradesh forest department will work on revival of degraded forests this year in monsoon 2021. For revival of degraded forests, state will receive 1500 crore rupees from the Ministry of Defence. The reason for this is that defence ministry is working on a project in Andaman and Nicobar. A degraded forest is a patch of forest with a canopy density of 40 per cent or less. Under this project, large numbers will be cut off in the forest. To compensate for the same, defence ministry will fund improvement of degraded forests in Madhya Pradesh. Significantly, 40 percent of the forests in the state fall under the category of degraded forests. In such a situation, instead of cutting trees in Andaman and Nicobar, plantation scheme in Madhya Pradesh can prove to be effective for the forests. As per the latest records, MP has the highest 94,689 sq km forest cover in the country. Five crore saplings to be planted, up from 3.5 crore Forest Department is preparing to plant five crore saplings i...

Starting from the great ruler Maharani Ahilya Devi Bai Holkar to the inspiring women in leading the development of Indore as a smart city, the city is a model of balanced development and equality. Recognising these women of substance with Ahilya Awards, Free Press in association with Omaxe Limited organised a felicitation program in Free Press office on Saturday. Shankar Lalwani, Member of Parliament and Asha Shukla, vice-chancellor of Dr BR Ambedkar University of Social Science Mhow felicitated the women of substance of Indore along with special guests of the evening. Special guests for the event were: Vineet Sharma, Regional Business Head of Omaxe Ltd; Naveen Narang and Anas Iqbal from Vishisht School of Management; and S S Kabir from Indian Biodiesel and Energy. “The name of Ahilya is enough to show its power. She was from Maharashtra, got married and came here. She was very young. Sadly, her husband passed away and that was the time when Sati tradition was in force. She did not be...

Due to coronavirus second wave, city zoo was shutdown and so were many events. Hence, to celebrate world sparrow day on Saturday, Indore city zoo conducted various activities online. About 1500 entries were received from all over India for various competitions. World Sparrow Day, World Forest Day and World Water Day are celebrated on 20-21-22 March respectively. Quiz based on these topics was conducted online in which about 600 people participated. Along with this, the NEST Making Workshop was also conducted in which participants were told about how to make nest for birds and protocols to atteact birds in theee boxes. Nest boxes were made from old plywood for small birds. Around 200 people participated. Third competition was Tshirt Painting Competition in which students as well as elders participated. Save sparrows was the subject of the competition. After this, all the Tshirts will be distributed among needy by volunteers . "We got around 200 Tshirts," Aishani Jain, NGO ARPF...