Raipur Diary: ‘Krishna Kunj’ follows ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’

‘Krishna Kunj’ follows ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’
The Bhupesh Baghel government is set to invoke sentiments associated with Lord Krishna on Janmashtami by launching a unique tree plantation drive titled ‘Krishna Kunj’. The state will earmark a minimum of one acre of land in every urban local body to begin plantations of select venerated trees banyan, peepal, neem and kadam having cultural values on the day of Lord Krishna’s birth. “India has an ancient cultural tradition of worshipping these trees, which are beneficial to mankind,” CM said. Political observers cited that the state is in pursuit to gain advantage on religious-cultural politics over arch rival BJP. The new drive follows the ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ initiative.

Paddy growers opting for diversified crops
The state has remained concerned over the substantial expansion of paddy growing area — an increase of 48,000 hectare of cropped area last Kharif season, owing to high assured minimum support price (MSP). Since early 2021, the ‘rice-bowl’ state has initiated measures to encourage paddy farmers to opt for diversified crops. A state-wide campaign in his regard has helped over 3.21 lakh farmers successfully switch to other crops – in 1.75 lakh hectares during the current kharif season. An input subsidy of `10,000 per acre is given for cultivating the crops (other than paddy) as identified by the state. The farmers are now opting for sugarcane, maize, pulses, soyabean, ragi, horticultural crops, among others. 

Facilitating ‘journey of hearing’ for children
A Raipur-based ENT surgeon has achieved a milestone on surgical cochlear implant of electronic device for both the ears of a child – who suffered from profound sensorineural hearing loss. On early detection, cochlear implant surgeon Dr Sunil Ramnani said, “Get moving early assumes significance. Detecting the hearing loss early, diagnosing it early, treating it early is the best course of action to overcome the hearing loss in children.” In the journey of hearing with cochlear implant, surgery is the first step followed by sessions of speech and language therapy. This allow for improved speech understanding, according to experts at Mamta Super Specialty Hospital where the surgery was carried out.

Ejaz Kaiser
Our correspondent in Chhattisgarh ejaz@newindianexpress.com