Indian-American teen wins 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest
New York: Navneeth Murali, an Indian-American teenager from New Jersey, has won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest by correctly spelling "flipe" to earn the annual title and USD 3,000 grand prize.
The South Asian Spelling Bee (SASB) is an annual spelling bee platform in the US for children of South Asian descent. "Navneeth Murali, 2019 SASB Champion!" the SASB announced in a Facebook post.
"Congratulations to our 2019 SASB First Runners-up Vayun Krishna of Sunnyvale, California, Hephzibah Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas and Pranav Nandakumar of Austin, Texas, the SASB Team could not be more proud!" the SASB said on August 14.
Murali correctly spelled the word flipe, variant spelling of flype, that Merriam-Webster dictionary describes as "to strip off by or as if by peeling", a media report said.
"For the first time in spelling history, we have a winner... on an APPEAL! Flipe and flype are variant spellings according to Merriam-Webster's Third Unabridged Dictionary, granting Navneeth Murali the championship! Way to go, Navneeth, a true champion! South Asian Spelling Bee 2019, signing off!" the SASB said in another Facebook post.
The competition is open to any student at or below the age of 14, who has at least one parent or grandparent who is of South Asian descent, or whose lineage can be traced to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and/or Sri Lanka.
Since its launch in 2008, the SASB has been aired in over 120 countries.
The contest was held in five regional centers across the US, including New Jersey, Dallas and San Francisco Bay Area and Charlotte. Over 600 spellers from these centers participated from which 15 participated in the finals.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
