development 2017.pmd 217 29-03-2017, 14:05...A unique children’s festival The Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, Mangaluru, Karnataka, a 350 acre environment and eco-tourism project on the

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One family donates 18 pairs of eyesThe Ramnani family of Indore has a record in eye donations. Over the last 29 years, 18 pairs of eyes weredonated through the Lions Club of Neemuch and two members, Manina Ramnani and Laxman Das haveeven donated their bodies.

The tradition was started by Dr Jairamdas Ramnani who saw the large number of people from hisvillage in need of corneas for restoring their vision and set the example by donating his eyes in May 1987.Other members of the family followed suit. The women were not to be left out and of the 18 who havedonated eyes, eight are women. The youngest member was Mahesh Ramnani, who was just 42 when hedied in 2006.

20 years news clips on toiletsRamesh Bhateja, a Roorkee businessman-cum-

contractor for septic tanks, has over 20years of news clippings on

sanitation awareness andtoilets collected from 1996to 2016. He has interestingstories like gold and gemstudded toilets, animaltoilets, space toilet usedby Sunita Williams,wedding in a toilet, rape in

a toilet, PhD on toilets,power generation from toilets

and hi-tech toilets.His unique hobby has created

awareness about clean, hygienic toilets amongpeople. Some clippings were displayed at theWorld Toilet Summit in Delhi where he receivedan award. At the SRISHTI 2009 IIT hobby clubexhibition, he was recognised as the ‘Spirit ofUttarakhand’ and won a first prize. Currently, heis engaged in cleaning the Ganga at Haridwar.

D E V E L O P M E N T

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Andhra’s ideal municipalityThe Tadiparti municipality of Ananthapur District of Andhra Pradesh has won the national award forthe best state municipality in 2015. For the last seven years, this idyllic city has banned plastics; hascomplete underground drainage system with wide cement roads with dividers; hygienic, regular midday

meals are provided to school children, purifiedwater at low cost for all citizens; free note bookswere given to poor students; used clothes arecollected, washed, repaired and distributedamong the poor; talented students get financialsupport; garbage is collected door to door,segregated and recycled with dustbins placedstrategically all over the city. Regular treeplantation gives the city green cover.

It has won the Green Leaf Award 2015 andJCB Clean Earth Award 2015 for solid wastemanagement and the Clean India Award 2015 forenvironment conservation and preservation. Itsplastic ban initiative has been included in anintermediate environment education text book.

A new initiative by MLA JC Prabhakar Reddy is the 8’ × 12’ National Flag, mounted on a 48’innovative pole with internal halyard (inner rope) facility. Flying proudly in the municipality, the flagcan be unfurled through an electronic push button.

Chanting slokas to learn AyurvedaThe Amrita School of Ayurveda at Vallikavu, Kollam, Kerala, affiliated to the Amrita Vishvavidyapeetam at Coimbatore,conducted chanting of ayurvedic slokas or parayana from the astanahridaya, a compendium of ayurveda fundamentals,named after Hridayamritam from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm on Dec 27, 2015. Mata Amritanandamayi witnessed the unusualevent in which 1,036 people participated.

Ayurveda is a life science based on samhitas written by acharyas like Charaka and Sushruta.

LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS 2017


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A unique children’s festivalThe Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, Mangaluru, Karnataka, a 350 acre environment and eco-tourism projecton the Western Ghats, held one of the biggest festivals for children on Nov 21-22, 2015. Some47,542 children of 8 to 17 years who participated were treated to magic and mime shows, treasurehunt and games galore. Along with chocolates, puffed rice, peanuts, there were hundreds of bananasthat children feasted on. To quench their thirst there was buttermilk. Not only were the goodies freeof cost, the children got return gifts of flutes, masks and caps and hopefully knowledge of the biologicaldiversity of the Western Ghats.

Campaign to save the girl child Lavjibai Daliya, fondly calledBadshah (b July 20, 1972), abusinessman of Surat, Gujaratdistributed Badshah Sukanya Bonds ina Betiko Bachana Hai – Save theGirl Child – campaignconducted in Surat, Rajkotand Ahmedabad in March2016. Special bonds,each worth Rs 2.5 lakh,were given to 10,000people for the second girlchild. Each function wasattended by over 50,000.



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Largest cleanliness driveThe largest cleanliness campaign of Panipatand its adjoining village Matlaudha, Haryana,was organised with 4,90,793 peoplecollecting litter under the Chief Patron of ShahSatnamJi Green S Welfare Wing, Sirsa as wellas Dera Sacha Sauda, Panipat.

Panipat was divided into five zones for thecampaign and the village formed the sixth zone.All participants were registered in theirrespective zones and by 9.00 am theirnumbers rose to 4,29,982. All came with theirown cleaning kits — brooms, sweep brushes,spades, axes, dust pans and canvas strips forcollecting the litter. Hooters signaled the startof the cleanliness drive at 9.43 am and the skywas dotted with balloons carrying the sloganHo prithvi saaf, miten rog abhishaap (Clean theearth, stop illness and misfortune.) They evenbrought their food and water not toinconvenience the city and the organisers.

The volunteers cleaned each sectionmethodically, putting the litter in large bins.Fifty JCBs were used to lift the litter and move itto an area outside the city demarcated by thelocal administration. The cleaning drive wasover by 6.00 pm.

Two child marriages annulled in 3 daysKriti Bharti, managing trustee of Saarth Trust,Jodhur has intervened in the Jodhpur FamilyCourts and annulled two child marriages in a spanof three days in mid-April 2015. While Vikramand Priyanka were married when they were fiveyears and 10 months respectively, Ashok andSaroj were 7 and 4 years. The cases were filed onApril 16 -18, 2015, just days before AkshayTrityawhen mass marriages take place acrossRajasthan.

So far the Saarth Trust has got 29 childmarriages annulled in the country. The marriageshad been solemnized by the elders in the familiesas per the old traditions.



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Non-stop cycling by autistic boyAutistic Bharat Chavan (b Nov 14, 1999) cyclednon-stop from Kohlapur to Pune, a distance of250 km in 22 hr and 45 minutes. A student of BalKalyan Sanstha, Pune, Bharat began cycling at2.00 am on Feb 3, accompanied on cycles by hisfather and a team of 13 and completed the journeyat 12.45 am on Feb 4. Members of SpecialOlympics, Maharashtra, witnessed the event.

Since Bharat has a short attention span and hisbody is low functioning, all through the journeyBharat’s father sang and recited mathematicaltables to keep him focused and motivated. Trainingfor the ‘record ride’ began a year and a half earlierwith walking, running, swimming and cycling. In2014 too Bharat swam non-stop for 13 hours tomake an entry in Limca Book of Records.

Challenged but multi-talentedRachna D Shah of Ahmedabad was born in Nov 22, 1992 withprofound hearing deficiency, but with speechtherapy and training from a youngage, she can speak, read andwrite in Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskritand English. She dances, singsclassical and folk songs, playsthe harmonium and holds a firstclass BTech degree. Early in2016, her five volumes inEnglish titled ‘Rachna Fashions’were published by Gurjar SahityaPrakasham Ltd. Rachna, who haswon eight awards, also has computerskills, can skate, cycle, stitch and do embroidery.

Disabled prodigy sings bhakti songsOm Vyas, born in September 2006 with 90%CP (Cerebral Palsy) and MR (Mentallyretarded) presently studying in class 3 ofAhmedabad municipal school, has shownuncanny ability to sing religious songs. He hasbeen performing on public platforms includingtelevision and at religious functions like MahaShivratri. Doctors are amazed that his hearingand grasping power is only for bhajans andbhakti music. He has no inclination for filmy orparty songs and music.

His mother, Varsha Vyas, who spends 12 hra day working on his speech and physicalfitness, noticed that when Om was six monthsold he would cry when the normal songs toput babies to sleep were sung for him, but heheard the Gayatri mantra and bhajans intently.His repertoire of bhakti songs includes thosein Gujarati, Sanskrit and Hindi. He was fiveyears old when he gave his first publicperformance with his mother holding him. Hecan narrate the Hanuman Chalisa and singsongs of Ganeshji, Shivji, Ram and Krishna.



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Free delivery of baby girlsTo ensure that baby girls are wanted and not seen as aburden, Dr Ganesh Rakh, founder of the 50 beddedMedicare Hospital in Pune, has been delivering baby girlspro bono since January 3, 2012. So far he has delivered 436baby girls without charging a paise. Dr Rakh saw that

when a boy is born there is rejoicing butwhen a girl is delivered the mother,

father, in-laws were upset andeven reluctant to pay the

hospital charges.In addition to the free

delivery of baby girls, DrRakh celebrates their birthby cutting a cake,distributing sweets to all inthe hospital and presenting a

bouquet to the mother. Evenwhen twin girls are born, no

money is charged but if one of thetwins is a boy, 50% of the hospital fees

are levied. Even if a baby girl has to be inintensive care, there is no fee. Those who insist on payingfor the birth of their baby girls are asked to spend thatmoney on other baby girls in the hospital.

Games & fun galore at KilkariThe Bihar Bal Bhavan Kilkari organiseda 20 day summer camp from June 5 toJune 24 2016 called ‘Chak DhoomDhoom,’ attended by 2,500 children,participating in 95 sports, games andfun events. There were musical events— western, classical, light andRabindra Sangeet; painting, crafts,theatre, dance, computer, sculpturemaking and creative writing.Youngsters learnt photography, mobilerepair, participated in science contestsand played games like musical chairs,sack race and skipping. However, themost enjoyable games were golgappaand jalebi eating contests!

Fastest building of toiletsAs part of Swacch Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G), district Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhnad has

launched the Mission Swabhiman on Nov 9,2015 to make the district open defecationfree (ODF) by 2017. To meet the goal,under Swajal (SBM) and MGNREGAschemes, 8,000 toilets were built in all grampanchayats (GP) of the district with theinvolvement of local community and publicrepresentatives especially those ofPanchayati Raj Institutions.

On Jan 25, 2016, eve of Republic Day,construction started on 8,000 IndividualHousehold Latrines (IHHL) in all 351 GPs(except the 40 which were declared ODFearlier) involving 41,000 people to make

the district clean and hygienic. All toilets were completed in 20 days, that is, on Feb 15, 2016. Thecommunity driven program has become a symbol of self-respect.

Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava led Mission Swabhiman.



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High altitude rescue medical manDr Pradeep Bhardwaj, director of Six Sigma High Altitude Medical Rescue International Operations,Delhi, has worked in most difficult terrains and saved 5,600 victims of floods, earthquakes and disasters.Not only is he a pioneer of such rescue and medical missions but the service provided is free. He hashelped in rescue work during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, J&K floods 2014 and Nepal earthquake 2015.In July of the same year he organised medical services in China at a height of 19,500 ft for 27 days forparticipants of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. In September 2015 he organised the largest free medicalservices for participants in the Manimahesh Kailash Yatra, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, serving 64,000yatris at a height of 14,500 ft for 21 days under minus 3 degree temperature.

Dr Bhardwaj’s work has won him accolades from Prime Minister Modi, Nepal government and thegovernments of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and several national awards.

Bulk immersion of ashes at HardwarThe Gandhinagar Shaher Vasahat Mahamandal hasfor the last 20 years been collecting ashes fromcrematoriums across Gandhinagar and once in threemonths, three members of the Mahamandalaccompanied by a priest, carry the ashes toHaridwar and with proper rituals immerse them inthe Ganga. Since 1996, when this humanitarianservice began, the ashes of 30,000 people have beenimmersed in the holy river. The voluntary service iswelcomed, in particular by the poor and thoseunable to travel to Haridwar for the immersion ofashes of their loved ones.

President of the organisation Arun Buch has beenrecognised by the state government for hispioneering work.

Caring for leprosy infectedDr Johnson Vedayil Edicula, 45 years, of the Vaaliyil EdiculaChandy Foundation has been working for the inmates of theNoor and Leprosy Sanatorium in Thalavady, Kerala. Every year,since 2003, he has made Christmas and New Year a memorableoccasion for the inmates. Organising humanitarian activitiessince 1993, he has donated to the sanatorium artificial limbs,sound systems, TV sets, wheel chairs in addition to clothes, food,bed linen and medicines.



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Pune’s clothes for the poorSince most people have an excess of clothes, Givefor Pune, a new initiative of the MaharashtraCosmopolitan Education Society, launched acampaign to collect clothes and after washing and ifnecessary repairing them, distributed the clothes toorphanages and homes of the poor and needy. Afterintensive advertising and campaigning for clothesdonations, a two months home to home drive wasorganised in November 2015 and 2,93,623 clothescollected. The process of folding and packing theclothes in polythene bags was done by the studentsof Azam campus. The counting was done by theBCA final year students of Abeda Inamdar College,Pune.

Gender sensitization competitionSmt J P Shroff Arts College, Valsad, Gujarat celebrated womenempowerment with the whole institution from the Principal tothe watchmen taking part in a ‘Gender Sensitisation Slogan/Quotation’ competition on Dec 31, 2014. The Principal and staffwanted to sensitise people and spread awareness everywhere. Inall 1,362 participated in the competition which lasted for twohours at their college grounds.

Vaishali’s rainwater harvesting recordVaishali District of Bihar, with technical supportfrom UNICEF, constructed 7,158 rooftoprainwater harvesting units with a catchment areaof 65 lakh square feet in a single day — on July24, 2016. Some 14,000 people were involvedin constructing the structures on government andsemi-government buildings like schools,anganwadi centres, health centres, block office,ration shops.

The campaign, called Mission 24×7, led byDistrict Magistrate Rachana Patil, sought torecharge the groundwater table which has beenfalling. With the district receiving 1,168 mm ofrainfall annually, some 70 crore litres is expectedto percolate into the ground annually. A cyclerally was also flagged off to motivate thecommunity to install similar rainwater harvestingstructures on the roofs of their homes.

Newspaper cleaning driveRajasthan Patrika, the daily morning Hindinewspaper, organised a seven hour ‘Mega SafaiAbhiyan’ at 1,100 locations in six districts ofRajasthan (Dausa, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur,Karauli, Dholpur and rural Jaipur) from 7.00 amon March 20, 2016. Around two lakhvolunteers participated in the event to createawareness on cleanliness and sanitation. Withthe help of government employees, publicrepresentatives, students, social activists,businessmen and local people, they cleaned upschools, bus stands, railway stations, maincircles, markets, hospitals and police stations.



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Road safety campaignCalled Aaiye, bachyein jeevan (Let’s save lives), Hindi daily Rajasthan Patrikaorganised a road safety and traffic awareness programme for students, youth,local residents, government employees, business community and others inseven locations of Rajasthan between Jan 13 and Feb 25, 2016. Between25,000 to 50,000 people participated in the awareness programmes inJaipur, Bandkini in Dausa District, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Jhunjhunu, Hindauncity in Karauli District and Dholpur.

Saving farm animalsOne of the largest awareness campaigns to savefarm animals was held in 12 cities, covering apopulation of 1.33 lakh for eight weeks from Jan16 to March 18, 2016 by the Federation ofIndian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO)which has 70 members and 200 supportorganisations.

Called The Compassion Cruisade, under theflagship programme Living Free, volunteers andanimal rights activists spoke at public meetings,distributed leaflets, met other activists andmobilized people to save farm animals inAhmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore,Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Surat,Udaipur and Varanasi. Seeking to change people’sattitudes towards farm animals, there will befollow ups to the Cruisade and more suchcampaigns are in the pipeline. It is estimated that66,500 animals benefitted from the campaign.



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Nashik’s Save Electricity projectInspired by late former President Dr A P JAbdul Kalam,Manavdham Samajik ShaikshnikVikas Sanstha Nashik, has been working withchildren since 2009 to save electricity andcontribute to nation building. Called the ZeroBudget Save Electricity Project, 1,522 studentswere able to save Rs 80,41,465 by notconsuming 13,63,685 units of power during theacademic year 2014-15. Annual average savingin electricity per child was 878.66 units or73.22 units per month. The data was tabulatedand the economic cost worked out bycollecting the electricity bills of the studentsand comparing it with data of normalconsumption available with the class teacher.

P S Kolhe, chairman of MSSVS, says thestudents were inspired to save electricity bysimple means like sitting together and studyingin same room; turning off electrical appliancesnot in use; whenever possible using sunlightfor studying and playing; switching off TV forat least an hour every day; switching offelectrical appliances not in use; not usingelectrical bulbs for decoration. An atmospherefor saving electricity was created by distributinghand bills with tips on saving electricity. Parentsin turn kept electrical appliances clean;switched off the main switch and all electricalappliances when the house was shut; notallowing accumulation of ice in refrigerators;avoiding use of washing machines; since ACsconsume six times the power of fans, using fansinstead of ACs. Now the focus is on solarpower and use of led bulbs.



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Sending home dead bodiesIn 14 years Indian businessman Ashraf Palorakunnummal, 43,settled in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, has sent home2,400 bodies of people from 35 countries without charging apaise. Realising the difficulties of the grieving families tocomplete the formalities of repatriation of bodies of lovedones, he has made it his life’s mission to help such families byarranging for the last journey. Even during the fasting season ofRamadan he continues his mission sending home about fourbodies a day. Most of the dead, who have suffered a heartattack or were killed in an accident are Indians andBangladeshis and largely from the labour class. In January2015, he received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (NRIaward). This was followed by a spate of 174 awards andhonours from different organisations of the UAE, Qatar andIndia in nine months. He also created another record bygetting 42 awards for social work on just one stage.Palorakunnummal never goes into the details of the case. Hejust gets calls from people seeking his help.

Spectacles for the needyWith 150 volunteers and the support ofeight opthalmologists, Karan Singh, aMumbai-based businessman and ahobby pilot held an eye checkup campat his ancestral home in Pratapur,Allahabad and distributed 26,800spectacles to those in need of it. Some30,000 people attended the campcontinuously for 16 days from April 14-30, 2016 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm). Thiswas Singh’s personal gesture to thepoor. No NGO or Trust was involved inthe eye camp.

The felicitation manChandulal Mohanlal Biyani, born in 1965, fromBeed, Maharashtra has felicitated and celebrated theachievements of a record number of 5,000 peoplesince 1995. He give bouquets away and awards torecognise outstanding work by school children aswell as adults — doctors who do free surgery,policeman who have distinguished themselves,journalists for path breaking stories and politicianswho have a record of good work. The outstandingwork could be in the area of education, sports, social,cultural, literary fields or even in industry.



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Landmark in kidney programmesThe Kidney Federation of India, founded by Father Davis Chiramelin 2009 after donating his own kidney to a poor Hindu electrician,is a pioneer in kidney care and kidney banking in the country. It hasover 100 living donors and its massive campaigns have listed 3.6lakh organ donors.

Through its Surakshna Keralam it ensures early detection ofkidney disorders, pushing back kidney ailments by 10 to 15 years.It has three mobile labs for detecting kidney ailments in Ernakulam,Thrissur and Kottayam and the medical screening is done with thesupport of panchayats, municipalities, clubs and residentsassociations. Some 200 people are screened at a camp and theresults given the same day. Between 1.5 - 2% of those screenedshow early signs of kidney disease. Some 80,000 people havebeen screened so far in 545 camps.

Through cross donations (when the blood group of a relativedoes not match that of the patient, a similar pair is locatedelsewhere) 35 lives have been saved. To ensure a kidney is notrejected, the Federation provides free medicines worth Rs 10,000a month to those who have been through transplant surgery.TheFederation also runs a free dialysis centre and provides free taxiservice for bringing patients for dialysis. Through its communityradio ‘Hello Radio’ it promotes organ donations and healthawareness.

Surguja fights against three evilsTo fight illiteracy, alcoholism andmalnutrition which were keepingdown the largely tribal dominatedSurguja District in Central India, theZilla Lok Shiksha Samiti of theDistrict Administration organised anovel Sankalp Sutra Abhiyan for threehours on August 15, 2014 in which2,11,071 people tied a thread oneach other’s wrists with three knotssymbolizing the three evils they hadto overcome. In government offices,panchayats, schools and open spacespeople tied the thread and resolvedto bring development to the district.

This was followed up withformation of Self Help Groups thatestablished linkages to economicactivity, literacy and campaignedagainst alcoholism, open defecationand malnutrition. In two years, 2,404SHGs (Self Help Groups), 1,187widows and divorced people and334 ASHAs became literate; 30,264toilets were constructed and put touse, 41 gram panchayats were freedof alcoholism and 704 children of0 to 6 years adopted by thecommunity and pulled out ofmalnourishment.



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Multi-disabilities wonder childUttam Maru, 11, was born with multipledisabilities in Rajkot, Gujarat but today he cansing over 100 songs of Kishore Kumar,Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh, memorise 1,000slokas from the Bhagvad Gita and plays the keyboard with great finesse. Born without eyes,nose, no mouth muscles and several otherphysical disabilities, doctors felt death was abetter option than life for the new born. Butignoring their advice, when Uttam turned four,his family began giving shape to his body aswell as his life. He was enrolled in a musicinstitute and today he can give liveperformances three hours continuously.

Even today he is totally blind but his innersenses are so strong that he has developedskills that amaze people. When he plays thekeyboard his fingers literally race, lovinglystroking the keys.

First Yoga Utsav by visually challengedNayan Foundation in Parel, Mumbai organised Yoga Utsav with 33 visually challenged persons participating in three hoursyoga, the first of its kind on June 18, 2016. They performed shuddhi kriyas, jaladeepasana, rope and pole mallakhamb,pranayama, pratyahara and dhyanaasanas.

Ponnalagar Devendra, also blind, started the Foundation in 2010 to promote activities for the visually challenged. NishaThakkar, a Yoga Ratna and Uday Deshpande, a reputed Mallakhamb trainer, prepared the challenged for the unique Utsav.

Gas leak & blast-proof villageThe 60 houses and 600 population of Wajewadi village inKaradtaluka, Satara District of Maharashtra have been protectedagainst domestic gas leaks and cylinder blasts and have an insurancecover of Rs 3crore from New India Assurance Company. Thevillage has been adopted by a resident villager, advocate VikasPatil Shirgaonkar (46), who suffered from a gas leak blast anddecided to protect Wajewadi from such disasters.

The Gassafe device, produced in Pune and approved by UnderWriter Laboratories Inc US is fitted between the valve on thecylinder and the regulator.In case of tube rupturing or water ormilk overflow shutting off the burner flame, it shuts off the gassupply within seconds. A pressure gauge also indicates theamount of gas left in the cylinder. The device ensures 30% savingin gas and 100% safety and has been approved by the ExplosivesDepartment of GOI.

Walkathon for Smart Navi MumbaiNavi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai,organised a walkathon to raise public awarenessabout Clean, Green and Smart City and SwachhBharat Abhiyan initiatives with mass participation of27,000 students and 105 schools from 7.00 am to9.00 am on Nov 7, 2015. The walkathon started atGanpatrao Tandel Ground and ended at DPS Schoolcovering 6 km. Students chanted ‘I am Smart – I amNavi Mumbai’ and other slogans. Around 5,000colourful balloons were released by children pledgingsupport to make Navi Mumbai a Smart City.



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Documents

development 2017.pmd 217 29-03-2017, 14:05...A unique children’s festival The Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, Mangaluru, Karnataka, a 350 acre environment and eco-tourism project on the