2,160-cr Additional Loan for Teesta III Project

REC-led Consortium Approves 2,160-cr Additional Loan for Teesta III Project


A consortium of lenders led by Rural Electrification Corp (REC) has approved an additional loan of.2,160 crore for Sikkim's 1,200-MW Teesta III hydropower project,which has been delayed due to the 2011 earthquake and issues over shareholding.The development comes at a time when the state government has cancelled four hydropower projects,including the 280 MW Teesta I,due to local opposition and environmental issues."The project is almost 75-80 % complete,which is a big positive and which is why we have approved the additional loan," said REC ED Puneet Kumar Goel.The state-run infrastructure finance company's share of the additional loan is.995 crore.Hydropower capacity addition in India is plagued by delays in environment clearances and protests over rehabilitation,which often lead to cost escalation.The cost of the Teesta III project has risen to.8,581 crore from the initial estimate of.5,700 crore.The revised cost is to be funded through.1,860 crore of equity and.6,720 crore of debt.Besides environmental issues,Teesta III's progress was affected by the earthquake that hit northeastern India in September 2011.It was also at the centre of a dispute between Teesta Urja,the special purpose vehicle executing the project,and the state government over allocation of shares.The matter was resolved recently."The project cost has escalated due to delays in execution.But now that our lenders have sanctioned the loan,and the Sikkim government is also supporting us,we hope to accelerate execution," said a senior executive of Teesta Urja.Teesta III in Mangan district of north Sikkim is the largest of the six hydel projects on the Teesta river.The state government holds a 26% stake in Teesta Urja while Singapore based-Asian Genco holds 50.1%.Asian Genco is jointly controlled by promoter Vijaykumar TV and a consortium of investors,which includes Morgan Stanley,General Atlantic,Goldman Sachs,Everstone Capital,PTC India Financial Services and Norwest Venture Partners.With the lenders approving the additional loan,the company has tied up the entire debt portion.Its investors are in the process of infusing the additional equity investment that stands at.720 crore."All the investors would be investing for the additional equity in proportion to their current holding in the company," said an executive of one of the private equity investors.Almost 85% of the power generated by the project will be supplied to the northeastern states,with Sikkim being the biggest beneficiary.The first unit of the project is scheduled to be commissioned in July 2013,and the entire project is to become operational five months

later.rachita.prasad@timesgroup.com

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NEW DELHI: Rural Electrification Corporation will extend an additional loan of Rs 995 crore to the 1,200-MW Teesta III hydro project in Sikkim whose overall cost has escalated to more than Rs 8,500 crore.

With the additional amount, state-run REC's total lending to the project would be Rs 3,095 crore, sources said.

Teesta III project has seen substantial cost overruns due to delays on account of natural calamities as well as legal hurdles.

Sources said the cost overrun is about Rs 2,700 crore. The additional term loan of Rs 995 crore would include Rs 851 crore senior debt. Originally, REC was to lend Rs 2,100 crore for the project, they added.

The fresh amount has been sanctioned since the project cost has jumped to Rs 8,581 crore from Rs 5,700 crore estimated earlier.

Earlier this week, REC communicated to project developer Teesta Urja about its decision to sanction the additional loan, sources said.

As per the original schedule, the project was to come up in September 2012. Now, it is anticipated to be fully operational by December next year. About 70 per cent of work has been completed.

The run of the river project was awarded by the Sikkim government to Teesta Urja Ltd on BOOT (build-own-operate- transfer) basis.

An earthquake last year and differences between Teesta Urja Ltd and Sikkim government have also led to delays in implementation of Teesta III.

Last month, power trading solutions provider PTC India, that holds 11 per cent stake, had said the project is expected to be commissioned in December 2013.

Singapore-based Asian Genco Pte holds 50.1 per cent stake in Teesta III while Sikkim government and Athena Projects has 26 per cent and 11 per cent shareholding, respectively.

The plant, which would supply power to Sikkim and Haryana, among others, would have six units of 200 MW each.

Juice from Potato Cures Ulcers

August 09, 2012   admin   

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Juice from the humble potato could treat gastric ulcers, thanks to its unique anti-bacterial properties, says a new research. A Manchester University microbiology team now hopes the compound, dubbed ‘potato juice’ could go into production as a daily diet supplement. Inspiration came as one of the department’s scientists tucked into a spud for Sunday lunch. It led to the discovery of a key molecule which could both cure and prevent the bacteria that lives in the stomach and causes stomach ulcers and heartburn.

Uniquely, unlike with anti-biotics, the gut bug cannot develop resistance to the ‘potato juice’ which also does not cause any side-effects. Scientists even carried out the test on different types of potatoes — discovering that Maris Piper and King Edward varieties worked the best. The process to extract the as yet unnamed molecule has now been patented, with hopes it could one day be sold as a supplement similar to pro-biotic yoghurt drinks, the Daily Mail reported.

Ian Roberts, professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, who worked on the discovery, said: “When I first heard about the idea of using potatoes to treat stomach ulcers I have to admit I was a bit sceptical. But on another level I wasn’t surprised – a lot of botanical products have very interesting compounds and we just have to find them.” ”We see this ‘potato juice’ as a preventative measure to stop stomach ulcers developing that people would take as part of a healthy lifestyle. It could be a huge market if we can get it developed,” added Roberts.

-IANS

54,500 Students Annually Getting Textbooks, Uniforms in Sikkim

August 07, 2012   admin   

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54,500 students have been availing free text books, uniforms and other items annually in Sikkim claims the Human Resource and Development Department (HRDD). Procurement of all these items is to the tune of 10% more than the enrolment figures to meet the enrolment in between the session also. The HRDD Secretary, during a press meet today informing about the same notified that all the uniform items have been supplied to students from class 1-8. Some Principals and Headmasters have lifted their stock after the directions of High Court, to complete it by 31^st July 2012 in a PIL and the completion reports have been received, he added. It may be mentioned here that the HRDD, Government of Sikkim, has been supplying text books and uniforms free of cost to students much before the Right to Education (RTE) was implemented in the State. Also after the implementation of RTE from 2010, students desiring to get admitted to different Schools at any time of the year cannot be denied entry. This sometimes leads to possibility of shortage of text books and other required items; however, the Department has planned for advance during such cases.

Further, he said that in case of any defects the Principals have been asked to get the items exchanged. If any of the uniform material is not good, then they are foremostly instructed not to receive it, however if there is any issue with the quality, then the supplier is under commitment to exchange it. He also informed that all the suppliers are liable to provide the items within 60 days of the issue order, incase they fail to do so the Department will be deducting 0.01% everyday from their due payment.

The Secretary also appreciated the High Court and the concerned officials for constantly monitoring the text books, uniform and other supply items to students, which he described as the collective responsibility. Likewise, Rao mentioned that the Department obtains text books from NCERT and CBSC on 20% concession for further supplying it free of cost. The content has been changed this time keeping in view the need of the time. For classes 9 and above, 50% concession is being given on text books, whereas the lower classes text books are 100% free.

Lastly, Rao informed that the State Government incurs expenditure of Rs1019/- per student every year in providing text books, uniforms, shoes, rain coat and other essential items.

source: North East Today

Remove inner line permits, revive old routes: IPCS study

Saturday, 28 Jul 2012 at 02:32

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Rising Kashmir News
Srinagar, July 28:  A Task Force constituted by the Institute of Peace Conflict Studies (IPCS), has recommended a three-tier approach at three levels to improve trade and development along the Himalayan states starting from J&K to India’s Northeast.

Titled ‘Trans-Himalayan Trade and Development 2020: Looking Beyond Nathu La’, the report of the Task Force has recommended that the state and Union governments should build the infrastructure within and between the states, and with the border countries, and with China.
Minister Chandra Deo, releasing the report, admitting several lacunae in the formulation of policy regarding border states and border trade, opined that the Task Force report goes a long way in bridging the gaps therein.
He particularly commended the report’s recommendation to promote medical tourism.
Prof Saugata Roy, another Union Minister, who jointly released the report also commended the report for having several pragmatic suggestions.
He also agreed on the need to develop physical infrastructure in the border states.
B G Verghese, commenting on the report, said the focus should have been trans-Karakoram, rather than trans-Himalayan.
He asked for the reopening of the Silk Routes which link India historically, culturally, politically and economically with Central Asia.
“The region which was once Eurasia is also a natural spin-off of such a connection and in today’s day and age, its salience is once again being realized, especially given its wealth in terms of resources and geostrategic importance,” Verghese said.
He said that since 1962, there had been a persistent fear of mythical Chinese hordes descending into India and a widespread fear that India will be transformed into a dumping ground for cheap Chinese goods.
“This inhibits a view of the actual economic and political advantage that such trade can bring,” Verghese said. “Border trade would, for example, provide access to the heartlands of Tibet and allow India to build a foundation of trust, which would go a long way to ironing out the creases in diplomatic relations.”
Pema Wangchuk, a leading journalist from Sikkim and an editor of a daily said Nathu La trade was not about trade with Tibet.
“It is about trade with China, and always has been,” Wangchuk said.
He criticised the government for being apathetic to the border trade and recommended that unless there was a change in attitude toward border trade from New Delhi, there would not be much change.
Reflecting the same sentiment, a senior media person from J&K also commented that the attitude of New Delhi vis-à-vis the cross-LoC trade suffers from the same syndrome, which is not helping the traders.
“As a result, the traders are repeatedly resorting to the boycott of the trade,” he said.  
Participants from J&K and Sikkim agreed that the trade basket should be decided with local inputs from respective states and not only by the Union government officials.
The Task Force report has also recommended the opening of Kailash-Mansarovar route, a new bus service between Gangtok and Lhasa, and the removal of inner line permits.

Now, a gurukul approach to learning

• August 6, 2012 
• By Cynthia Chandran 
• DC 
• Thiruvananthapuram

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Swami Chidananda

An attempt is on in the state to propagate alternative education, styled as Gurukul system, that’s largely free of the trappings of the popular forms of learning. And, as of now, it is done at the weekends here.

“It is high time alternative education is taken up seriously in a creative and innovative way where life-saving wisdom is passed on to people when life has become so fast-paced,” said Swami Chidananda from the scenic locales of ‘Sala Gramam’ where the School of Bhagavadgita is located – at Kundamankadavu in the city.

It was a chance encounter with Chinmaya Mission in 1987 that changed the life of Chidananda forever. He would otherwise have been, he says, an IIT Chennai electrical engineer. Now, at 55, Swami Chidananda is based in Varanasi, and as the director of Krishnamurti Foundation of India, is on a mission to propagate the Gurukul system.

The weekend Gurukul at ‘Sala Gramam’ teaches 7-17 aged students on Indology, art, culture, games, trekking and language skills in Malayalam, Sanskrit and English. The course will be of four-month duration with 40 students each in two batches. The idea is to inculcate leadership qualities in them apart from following a normal curricula.

Swami Chidananda originally belongs to Kundapura near Mangalore. Having served Chinmaya mission for 16 years, during which he taught philosophy and Vedanta in India and the US, he says that when people are after material pursuits, they are losing the human values.

Swami Chidananda has come here for the first time and will be giving talks on a number of spiritual and management topics – especially on how a leader can evolve in to a good human being.

Linking Innovation with Investment & Enterprise

Honey Bee Network SRISTI NIF

Within the country, the ITBP looks after sensitive installations/institutions like Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Vice- President’s House, Parliament House, and the Rumtek Monastery and the Raj Bhavan in Sikkim. It also watches over the terrorist Kasab. At the border in the North-East, it provides security to traders moving from Nathu La to Sherathang and back. It provides security, medical aid and telecommunication assistance during the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, from Gunji to the Lipulekh Pass.

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August 7, 2012, 9:02 am3 Comments

From Manipur to London, Mary Kom Punches Her Way to a Medal

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Dennis M. Sabangan/European Pressphoto AgencyM.C. Mary Kom, left, celebrates after defeating Maroua Rahali of Tunisia in the Women’s Flyweight (51kg) boxing quarterfinal at the London Olympics 2012 on Monday.

Mary Kom, who for years kept her passion for boxing a secret, has a chance on Wednesday to win a rare Olympic gold medal for India when she faces Nicola Adams of Britain.
Ms. Kom, a five-time world champion, guaranteed herself at least a bronze medal when she won the quarterfinal of the women’s flyweight boxing event in London on Monday. (The losers of the semifinals are each awarded a bronze.)
Ms. Kom’s chance for Olympic gold began in August 2009, when the International Olympic Committee announced that women’s boxing would be added at the 2012 London Olympics.

“This is my dream come true,” Ms. Kom had told Somini Sengupta of The New York Times days after the announcement.
For the boxer who was born Mangte Chungneijang Merykom, the journey from a small town in India’s northeastern state of Manipur to the Olympics in London has not been easy.
When she broke into a sport that Indian women have largely shunned, she found little support from her family or community. Ms. Sengupta wrote:

At 17, she left home to join a government-run sports training center in Imphal, the capital of her home state, Manipur, and begged the boxing coach to let her enter the ring.
“She was so small, I told her no,” the coach, L. Ibomcha Singh, said. Tears rolled down her face. The coach relented.
Kom kept boxing a secret from her family — until she won a state championship in 2000, and everyone, including her parents, discovered what she had been up to. Her father goaded her to give it up. Boxing is too dangerous, he told her. Members of her clan disapproved. The boys in her hometown ridiculed her. She held out.
“One day, I will show you who I am,” she recalled thinking.

“The tales of my struggles have no end. I did not have enough money to afford my basic needs like sports kits and a proper diet,” she told India Ink in a recent interview.
The stumbling blocks she faced, including a lack of basic training and adequate facilities, encouraged her to create in 2006 a boxing academy in her home state for aspirants like her.
Ms. Kom’s greatest test, however, was getting back into the ring after the birth of her twin boys in August 2007. “It was hard to wean the boys off her breasts, harder still to leave them at home and go off to camp for a month at a time,” Ms. Sengupta wrote in 2009.
On Sunday, just as her twins celebrated their fifth birthday, their mother was busy punching her way to victory in her first match at the London Olympics.
Ms. Kom has been fighting in the 46-kilogram and 48-kilogram weight slots for most of her boxing career, but she trained hard to gain weight to qualify for the 51-kilogram category, the lowest of the three weight classes established for female boxers at the London Olympics.
“I will pray to God to keep my body fit,” she told Ms. Sengupta. “Because if my body is fit, I can do anything.”

When will the next bull market start?

Malini Bhupta / Mumbai Aug 08, 2012, 00:22 IST

While Morgan Stanley believes individual stocks are in a bull phase, rate cuts, GDP growth revival are key

Despite all odds, the Nifty has returned over 15 per cent since January. For an economy with high deficits and slowing growth, this is no mean feat. With foreign institutions pumping dollars into Indian equities after a brief lull, many are asking if these are early signs of a bull market. The answer to this is a clear no.

Technical chartists and experts on fundamentals are trying to figure when the next bull run would begin. Strategists are looking at previous bull markets to figure if the time is ripe for another such cycle. Even as the Nifty is expected to trade in a wide trading band of 4,500 to 6,000, experts don’t expect the market to break new ground. Since these have been moving sideways for long, foreign institutions are allocating incremental money to India, as earnings have grown. Despite incremental flows, the markets are likely to trade in a wide band.
So, what does it take for a secular bull market to kick off? Morgan Stanley has worked out a framework detailing the ingredients. Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley says: “Our framework suggests there are three fundamental ingredients — bullish steepening of the yield curve (as a leading sign of better growth), expanding profit margins (to translate ‘GDP growth’ into ‘profit growth’, as higher share prices need profit growth) and attractive valuations (i.e the story is not in the price).”
Are any of these in place? Desai believes while valuations are attractive and ready for a bull market, profit growth is entering a phase of mild recovery. However, a full-blown margin expansion cycle is not happening just yet. Though the broader market is not in a bull phase, Morgan Stanley believes investors can make outsized returns, as individual stocks (small and large) are in a bull market.
While valuations might be attractive, for a secular bull run to return, economic growth has to revive. Rikesh Parikh, vice-president (equities) of Motilal Oswal Securities, believes for the bulls to return, interest rates have to start declining and economic growth has to trend upwards. Till both these happen, the markets will see some upward movement but there will be no long-term directional change. He says: “The government can take measures to revive growth but as of now, there is no indication of this happening. Similarly, while interest rates have peaked, the central bank is unlikely to cut (interest rates), as inflation remains high.”

What’s your outlook for equity markets?
We are positive that the markets will go up in the future. A few incidents in recent times indicate the optimism. First, oil price is on a decline, which will stay given the global economic scenario. And, though inflation has not come down as much as one would have wanted it to, it has peaked and has been factored in. As for the interest rates, RBI has not yet loosened them up but it is clear that there will be no further tightening as well. We are looking for a revival in the investment cycle with the policy bottlenecks going away and easing of supply gap. Even now, the valuations are attractive, especially in dollar terms. Though, a depreciating rupee is of concern, it still benefits the export business. All these factors make us believe that markets may go up from here on.
How do you view the investor sentiment as of now?
At present, investor confidence is low. But, it takes a few policy initiatives to change the mood. Investor sentiment would follow once government initiatives start coming in. So, if there are large structural changes announced by the government and steps taken to boost the investors’ confidence, we think investors will again start equity investing.
What are the key things that you will avoid and emphasise in the portfolio of your equity funds?
Just the way we have an approach to stock selection, we also follow a broad theme to avoid certain stocks. We avoid weak businesses and companies which have proved to be mediocre in their respective fields. We also avoid businesses with poor corporate governance. It goes without saying that we keep away from companies which are highly leveraged, with no signs of improvement in underlying businesses.
Portfolio emphasis depends on the investment mandate of the specific fund scheme. For instance, BNPP Equity Fund will invest in growth companies within the large-capitalised stocks. Overall, companies with secular growth and a strong moat will form the bedrock in selecting companies for equity portfolios.

President Obama said it would be very important for the Americans to reaffirm that regardless of looks, origin and beliefs, they were all one people and look after one another and respect one another.

Data Source: The Economist

'Mahal' of MLA Gopal Kanda, who resigned from the post on charges of abetment of suicide of a former employee of MDLR, at Sirsa in Haryana. (IE: Sumit Malhotra)
source:indian express

recent report by Aspiring Minds, based on a study of 55,000 students from 250 engineering colleges, said 25-35 per cent students are unable to comprehend English. That shouldn’t have been a problem, except that most books and instruction manuals are in English. Only 57 per cent can write grammatically correct sentences in English, less than 48 per cent understand “moderately sophisticated” words, and almost 50 per cent possess grammar skills no better than a Class VII student. Not more than 30 per cent of the students, who go through stress and exhaustion while preparing for engineering college, are acquainted with the word “exhaust”. “Absurd” is a word not understood by 50 per cent.

SIKKIM TOO SUFFER FROM STRAY DOGS.

Where Streets Are Thronged With Strays Baring Fangs

Enrico Fabian for The New York Times

bY GARDINER HARRIS

• 
  

NEW DELHI — Victims of the surprise attacks limp into one of this city’s biggest public hospitals. Among the hundreds on a recent day were children cornered in their homes, students ambushed on their way to class and old men ambling back from work.

 

Enrico Fabian for The New York Times

The dogs, protected by law from euthanasia, feed on mounds of garbage.

All told the same frightening story: stray dogs had bitten them.

Deepak Kumar, 6, had an angry slash across his back from a dog that charged into his family’s shack.

“We finally closed the gates to our colony and beat the dog to death,” said Deepak’s father, Rajinder.

No country has as many stray dogs as India, and no country suffers as much from them. Free-roaming dogs number in the tens of millions and bite millions of people annually, including vast numbers of children. An estimated 20,000 people die every year from rabies infections — more than a third of the global rabies toll.

Packs of strays lurk in public parks, guard alleyways and street corners and howl nightly in neighborhoods and villages. Joggers carry bamboo rods to beat them away, and bicyclists fill their pockets with stones to throw at chasers. Walking a pet dog here can be akin to swimming with sharks.

A 2001 law forbade the killing of dogs, and the stray population has increased so much that officials across the country have expressed alarm.

In Mumbai, where more than 80,000 people reported being bitten last year, the government plans to conduct a census of the strays by using motorcycles to chase down dogs and squirt their fur with ink. A member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly proposed in June sending strays to China — where dogs are sometimes eaten — after more than 15,000 people in the state reported being bitten last year. In New Delhi, officials recently announced an intensified sterilization campaign.

India’s place as the global center for rabid dogs is an ancient one: the first dog ever infected with rabies most likely was Indian, said Dr. Charles Rupprecht, chief of the rabies program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Dog bites cause 99 percent of human rabies deaths.

Indeed, tackling rabies on the subcontinent is challenging because the relationships that Indian dogs maintain with humans are ancient. India’s pariah dog, the dominant street breed, is probably a descendant of an early Chinese immigrant, said Peter Savolainen, a professor of evolutionary genetics at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. With pointed ears, a wedge-shaped head and a tail that curls over its back, the pariah is similar in appearance to other prehistoric dogs like the Australian dingo.

For thousands of years, dogs’ relationship with humans was similar to that of pilot fish with sharks, said John Bradshaw, director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol in Britain.

“Dogs essentially started out as scavengers,” Dr. Bradshaw said. “They evolved to hang around people rather than to be useful to them.”

While that relationship has largely disappeared in the developed world, it remains the dominant one in India, where strays survive on the ubiquitous mounds of garbage. Some are fed and collared by residents who value them as guards and as companions, albeit distant ones. Hindus oppose the killing of many kinds of animals.

Malini Jadeja, who lives in Delhi part time, said she was walking her beloved dog Fudge Cake some years ago not far from Lodi Gardens when “two dogs came out of nowhere and attacked.” Fudge Cake was leashed, so he could not run away.

“I tried to grab the strays and pull them away, but just as I got one, the other would attack,” Ms. Jadeja said. “They killed Fudge Cake right in front of my eyes.”

She blames herself for her dog’s death and remains terrified of strays. “It’s very difficult to take a dog for a walk here because of the attacks from street dogs,” said Dr. Radhey S. Sharma, president of the Indian Veterinary Association.

Nonetheless, India’s burgeoning middle class has begun to adopt Western notions of pet ownership, buying pedigreed dogs and bringing animals into their homes. But many pedigreed dogs end up on the street, the castoffs of unsuccessful breeders or owners who tire of the experiment.

Enrico Fabian for The New York Times

Many of the animals are rabid, and India has more than a third of the world’s deaths from rabies

 

Stray dogs are dangerous not only because of their teeth but also because they help ticks and other parasites thrive. But animal welfare advocates fervently reject euthanasia, and some warn that reducing the stray population while doing nothing about the country’s vast mounds of garbage could be dangerous because rats might thrive in dogs’ place.

“The first thing you need to start doing to reduce the stray population is manage your garbage better,” said Arpan Sharma, chief executive of the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations. “And the second thing is very aggressive spaying, neutering and vaccinating of animals.”

Jaipur has reduced its stray population, but it is a lonely exception that overcame not only enormous logistical and financial challenges but cultural ones as well.

“People really don’t want us to take the street dogs away, particularly in poor areas,” said Dr. Jack Reece, a Jaipur veterinarian who helped lead the city’s effort. “In other areas, especially Muslim ones, they won’t let us release the dogs back. I have been surrounded by large crowds, angry young men, saying you can’t release the dogs here, even though they were caught from there two days before.”

More than a dozen experts interviewed said that India’s stray problem would only get worse until a canine contraceptive vaccine, now in the lab, became widely and inexpensively available.

Dr. Rosario Menezes, a pediatrician from Goa, said that India could not wait that long. Dogs must be taken off the streets even if that means euthanizing them, he said. “I am for the right of people to walk the streets without fear of being attacked by packs of dogs,” he said.

Arshpreet Kaur was 3 when a stray came in through her home’s open front door and bit her and her grandfather. Within a week, Arshpreet got a headache and then a fever. Her parents took her to a hospital, but she soon slipped into a coma, in which she remained for nine years before finally dying.

“There are stray dogs everywhere in Delhi,” Arshpreet’s mother, Jasmeen Kaur, said in a telephone interview. “We are more scared of dog bites than anything else.” 

SOURCE: WWW.NYTIMES.COM

Sikkim set to woo Japanese tourists

Sikkim set to woo Japanese tourists

14000 HOME STAY IN RURRAL SIKKIM.


Press Trust of India / Gangtok August 06, 2012, 17:35


Having attracted a large number of Buddhist pilgrims, mostly from Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan in the last two years, the Sikkim government today said it is now trying to woo visitors from Japan.

"Sikkim is now looking to attract tourists from Japan," state tourism Secretary Ravindra Telang said here.

To boost pilgrimage tourism in Sikkim, the government is developing several projects scheduled to be completed by 2015, he said.

On rural tourism, the tourism secretary said the government will construct over 14,000 home stays in rural areas and encourage Sikkimese youths in the booming service sector industry.

The dream project 'Buddha Park' in South Sikkim's Rabong area which was originally scheduled for completion last year but got delayed due to the September 18 earthquake last year will be completed by November, officials said.

Two more pilgrimage projects - the Sleeping Buddha in North Sikkim and Srijunga Statue in Hee-Bermiok - will be completed by 2015, they said.

Over the past eight months, a large number of tourists from Nepal visited the Sideshwara Dhaam popularly known as 'Chaar Dhaam', Sai Mandir in Namchi and Daramdin, Samdruptse and two hot springs located in West and South Sikkim, the officials said.

As per official records, Sikkim, as compared to the entire northeast region, has recorded 30,000 foreign visitors, the highest number in the last two years.

Around 24,350 foreign tourists visited the state in the nine months since the earthquake, as per an official record.

HIGH BLOOD Pressure- Watch it

HIGH BLOOD Pressure 

DR. JALAJA RAMASWAMY

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• 
  The Hindu Don't let it go up ... Photo: S. Siva Saravanan
• 
  The Hindu Go easy on the salt... Photo: M. Karunakaran

Control your BP with a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Increased blood pressure is possibly one of the most common health concerns; medically referred to as hypertension. Blood pressure is the force of blood against the artery walls. It is expressed as systolic and diastolic pressures. Both numbers must be maintained within normal values. A normal reading should be less than 120 mmHg for systolic and less than 80 mmHg for diastolic pressure.

Pre-hypertension is a stage when the systolic reading is between 120 and 139 mmHg and when the diastolic is between 80 and 89 mmHg. Stage 1 hypertension is indicated by a systolic reading between 140 and 159 mmHg and diastolic between 90 and 99 mmHg. Stage 2 is when the systolic reading is 160 mmHg and diastolic 100 mmHg.

Many people with high blood pressure have no significant signs or symptoms and are often diagnosed as hypertensive during a routine medical examination. So it is important to monitor blood pressure regularly, especially for those over 50 years even when they’re feeling fine. High blood pressure does not happen overnight. It typically takes some years to develop. In some people, there is no known or identifiable cause for the chronic elevation of blood pressure and this is referred to as essential or idiopathic hypertension.

Why is uncorrected hypertension a health risk? Uncontrolled hypertension can cause damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and even the eyes. When diagnosed as hypertensive, the doctors may prescribe medication. In addition to pharmacological interventions, there are other ways to control blood pressure. Of these, lifestyle changes and diet are perhaps the most important.

Lifestyle changes

This includes maintaining a healthy weight, regular physical activity, limiting the alcohol intake, quitting smoking and managing stress. Yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises all help manage blood pressure.

Maintain a healthy weight: If you are overweight or obese, shed a few pounds to reach the ideal weight. This is possible through a healthy eating plan and sustained exercise. For Asians, the recommended BMI is < 22.9 kg/m2. A waist measurement of less than 72cm for women and less than 78 cm for men is best. Work towards 30 to 40 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. If that’s not possible, divide the 30 minutes into shorter periods of 10-15 minutes each.

Healthy eating: What you eat influences your blood pressure. Choose foods low in salt and sodium. Lower your salt intake to as low as possible. The WHO recommends a daily salt intake of no more than 5 gm, while a committee set up by the Institute of Medicine suggests 3.75 gm as adequate to ensure nutrient adequacy. One teaspoon of salt is about six gm. Many packaged and processed foods contain added salt. Check labels for salt content. If you feel that food is less appetising, add spices like cinnamon, cloves and ginger and herbs like mint and coriander to make it tasty. Combining the DASH eating plan with a low sodium diet gives the biggest benefit in preventing and managing hypertension.

Deficiencies: Deficiency of potassium can cause retention of sodium and elevate blood pressure. Foods high in potassium include sweet lime, musk melon, peaches, plums, many green leafy vegetables, brinjal, drumstick and most dals and pulses. Food that contains calcium and magnesium also help lower blood pressure. Go for low fat dairy products for calcium and pulses, nuts and leafy vegetables to supply the magnesium. The higher the protein intake, the lower the blood pressure. This is especially true of vegetable sources of protein like soya bean.

Other foods: Dark chocolate (not milk or white) contains high amounts of a phytochemical called flavonol, which induces vaso-relaxation and lowers blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic). Garlic, green and black tea contain many compounds that can have beneficial effects on hypertension while aerated drinks, including the diet drinks, could pose an increased risk. Omega -3 fatty acids, found predominantly in fatty fish, walnuts, flaxseeds and canola oil, also help.

Serving size: It is not only what you eat, but how much you eat that contributes to your calorie intake, overweight status and blood pressure.

Note: Drugs prescribed by the doctor have to be taken regularly. Do not stop just because you feel better.

Risk factors

Family history

Increasing age

Being overweight or obese

Physical inactivity

Smoking

Excessive consumption of alcohol

Constant stress

High intake of salt and fat

Abnormal cholesterol levels

Diabetes mellitus

Conditions like atherosclerosis

DASH diet

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet is high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, as well as protein and fibre. It has low amounts of fats and red meat. Here’s how it goes:

Eight to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day

Use whole grains instead of refined cereals

Include poultry, fish, nuts and 2-3 servings of low fat dairy foods