Rahul's 'emotional' link with Wayanad
Wayanad (Kerala), Apr 4: Congress President Rahul Gandhi has an emotional link with Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency from where he is contesting polls besides his family bastion Amethi, party leaders said here Thursday.
An urn containing the ashes of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was brought here in 1991 and they were immersed in Papanasini, a stream connected to a famous temple dedicated to Lord Mahavishnu in picturesque Thirunelli village, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala recalled.
"The then chief minister K Karunakaran, myself, Mullappally Ramachandran and K C Venugopal had attended the ritual of immersing the ashes of Rajiv-ji in Papanasini," Chennithala told PTI here.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bomb blast at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991 during an election campaign.
The Congress leaders indicated that Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer prayers at the holy place when he visits the constituency for campaigning next time.
Papanasini means destroyer of sins. According to Thirunelli temple officials, if the ashes of the dead are immersed in Papanasini, it is equivalent to doing the rituals in Gaya.
Surrounded by the Kambamala, Karimala and the Varadiga peaks, the Thirunelli temple near Mananthavady embodies traditional Kerala architecture, the Kerala Tourism department said in its website.
The shrine, situated among scenic mountains and forests, is shielded with 30 granite columns and the ground is paved with huge square pieces of granite.
Gandhi on Thursday filed his nomination from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
Rahul, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and senior Congress leaders including K C Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik, submitted the papers before district collector A R Ajayakumar at the district headquarters here.
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Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
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The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
