Heartfulness Institute to develop rainforest near Hyderabad
Hyderabad, June 4: The Heartfulness Institute on Monday announced plans to develop a mini-rainforest over 25 acres of land at Kanha Shantivanam, its global headquarters, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Under the initiative announced to mark the World Environment Day, the institute will plant over 300 species of typical rainforest trees including several rare, endemic and threatened species.
These valuable seedlings and saplings have been procured from the Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Foundation for Revitalisation of Rural Health Traditions in Bengaluru, Forest Department of Karnataka and Grameena Krishi Vijnana Kendra in Bengaluru.
Kamlesh D. Patel, Global Guide of Heartfulness, observed that testing the resilience of the rainforest species is an imperative in the current scenario of global climatic change. He is confident that the efforts and methods employed will create a new paradigm.
"To begin with, we will be developing eight to 10 acres of land. The entire area needs to be prepared to receive the rainforest tree species. Special rain-guns that continuously spray water from 50/100 feet will be installed in this area to keep it moist and all other measures will be taken to create a microclimate for conducive for the growth of some of the delicate species," said Ramakantha, Heartfulness Trainer.
The rainforest is one of the three major initiatives announced by the Institute, buoyed by the success of Green Kanha, a successful initiative of shaping the microclimate of hundreds of acres of Kanha Shantivanam and its surroundings.
As part of Heartfulness Green initiative, it has committed to planting, adoption and nurturing 10 million trees over one year across all its centres in India.
Under the third initiative, it will associate with Google employees to plant 300 trees in Kanha Shantivanam on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kamlesh pointed out that Green Kanha was a result of extraordinary efforts to recharge the dry and barren ecosystem into a flourishing green environment.
"It is now home to over 1.5 lakh trees, including indigenous and several of the IUCN red listed species amongst those being nurtured here. This has helped create a positive microclimate in and around Heartfulness region," he said.
Kanha Shantivanam is being developed as a resplendent Green Space, hosting a wide variety of herbs, shrubs, and trees as part of the Green Kanha Initiative. More than 150,000 trees have already been planted and some 1,000 trees translocated from various regions.
Heartfulness is a system of Raja Yoga meditation founded at the turn of the 20th century.
A century later, Heartfulness has been embraced globally by people of all walks of life, including civil society, government departments, schools, colleges, and the corporate world.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
