Duration : 0:5:23

Technorati Tags: punjab, Transportation

The Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI) in Pune has developed a biogas plant which uses food waste rather than manure as feedstock and supplies biogas for cooking. The plant is sufficiently compact to be used by urban households, and over 700 are currently in use.

Pune is a relatively affluent city in south India, and many people use liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or kerosene for cooking. Waste food is often discarded at the side of the road, as in many cities, attracting stray dogs, flies and rats and creating a public health hazard. The ARTI compact biogas plant is made from two standard high-density polyethylene (HDPE) water tanks: the larger tank acts as the digester and the smaller one is inverted and placed into it to serve as a gas-holder. The plant safely digests kitchen waste, food waste or waste flour from mills, thus reducing the problem of waste disposal. A 1,000 litre plant produces sufficient biogas to at least halve the use of LPG or kerosene for cooking in a household, as well as a small amount of liquid effluent which can be used as fertiliser. ARTI has developed the technology, field tested it, and managed the supply of about 700 biogas plants in Maharashtra. Around 100 plants are now being installed every month.

The first-prize Ashden Award to ARTI recognises the enormous potential for using this compact biogas digester in towns and cities, both to supply cooking gas and to ist in the disposal of organic waste.

Duration : 0:5:26

Technorati Tags: anaerobic, Appropriate, ARTI, ashden, awards, Biogas, cooking, digestion, energy, food, India, Institute, Rural, sustainable, Technology, waste

The story of the Nehru/Gandhi dynasty is continued at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum (open Tues-Sun 9.30am-5pm; free) at 1 Safdarjang Road. This bungalow was her residence and the place where she was killed by her bodyguards. Blood stains are still visible at the spot in the gardens. Inside you can see her study and her wedding sari, woven by Nehru. Close by, on Tees January Marg, is the site of another political assassination, the Gandhi Smriti (open Tues-Sun 9am-5.30pm), museum and memorial, in the house of the industrialist G.D. Birla. In the garden, the place where Mahatma Gandhi was shot in 1948 is marked by a simple memorial.

Southeast of India Gate is the National Gallery of Modern Art O (open Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; free), in the former Delhi home of Jaipur’s royal family. Its permanent collection includes 1930s paintings by Jamini Roy and Nandalal Bose and 18th-century Indian landscapes by Thomas and William Daniell. The ground floor is devoted to contemporary Indian artists. The National Museum (open Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; entrance fee) south of Raj-path on Janpath, is noted for its Indian sculpture and jewellery collections, Chola bronzes and a Buddhist gallery, including a carved Buddhist gateway from Sanchi. Especially good, on the second floor, is the Verrier Elwin collection of Adivasi art, from northeastern, central and southern Indian states.

Southwest of Rajpath is Chanakyapuri, the diplomatic enclave where the majority of foreign missions and embassies are located. The Rail Museum (open Oct-Mar 9.30am-5pm, Apr-Sept 9.30am-7.30pm), just off Shanti Path, is worth a visit. There are some interesting period coaches and a large array of steam engines, including the huge Garratt, built in 1930 in Manchester; there is also an unusual working steam monorail. Nearby is the Santushti Complex (opposite the Ashoka Hotel), with shops of Indian designers and the pleasant Basil and Thyme restaurant.

Technorati Tags: Dehli '

Duration : 0:5:37

Technorati Tags: India, of, South, tour

Kasturba Gandhi Marg leads southeast to India Gate past the cultural centres of the UK and the US, which have good libraries and reading rooms in addition to cultural programmes. To the southeast, Barakhamba (Twelve Pillar) Road leads to the cultural circle with Rabindra Kala Sangam, Triveni Theatre and cafe, and various auditoria hosting regular performances of dance, music and theatre.

The area around India Gate formed the British administrative centre of Delhi with the local “Champs Elysees” of Rajpath surrounded by lawns and shady trees, water channels and fountains. India Gate, a 42-metre (138-ft) high archway, was built by Lutyens at the eastern end in 1931 to honor Indian soldiers who died during World War I and on the Northwest Frontier.

Rashtrapati Bhavan O the presidential residence (former Viceregal Lodge), can be seen at the western end of Rajpath with the circular Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) nearby. Flanking the approach to Rashtrapati Bhavan are the North and South Block Secretariats, housing the Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs, and Ministries of Foreign Affairs respectively. At the eastern end of Rajpath (by India Gate) are two magnificent residences, Hyderabad House and Baroda House, built for the two most powerful rulers of the so-called princely states of British India. Beyond India Gate lies the National Stadium.

Technorati Tags: Dehli Vacation

Duration : 0:4:46

Technorati Tags: hyd, Hyderabad, murad, nager

In this video Jim and Paige see Dhobi Ghat, a laundering business in Bombay, India.

Copyright Jim Rogers - provided as a special contribution to The Fenton Report. http://www.fentonreport.com

Duration : 0:2:2

Technorati Tags: adventure, adventures, advisor, agencies, agent, airline, Asia, best, Bombay, channel, city, clean, cleaning, Cloth, Clothes, clothing, company, day, discovery, economist, economy, guide, holiday, hotel, ideas, India, INTERNATIONAL, investment, investments, itinerary, jim, Laundering, Laundry, manager, map, money, Mumbai, resort, resorts, rogers, time, tips, tour, travels, trip, vacation, VACATIONS, world

Duration : 0:2:3

Technorati Tags: development, digital, divide, ecommunication, fishermen, forecast, ICT, India, ITU, nations, swaminathan, UN, united, weather

South of India Gate lie most of the sites of the former cities of Delhi and many good shopping areas, such as Khan Market, which has good bookshops and up-market stores selling everything for the house, including fresh flowers. A short walk southwest along Subramania Road brings you to the beautiful Lodi Gardens (open sunrise to sunset), with fascinating tombs set in well-maintained lawns lined with rows of flowerbeds, immense trees, a bridge and walkways.

Old Delhi

The peaceful 18th-century Qudsia Gardens, near the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) and Kashmiri Gate, mark the southern boundary of British Delhi (which was strung out to the east of the Northern Ridge) with its cantonment bungalows and administrative buildings of the Civil Lines © and the University campus. South of the gardens lies Mughal Shahjahanabad, Delhi’s seventh city, with the spectacular Lai Qila (Red Fort) facing Chandni Chowk (meaning moonlit or silver crossroads), once the central avenue of an ancient bazaar that is still an important commercial centre.

Each side street around Chandni Chowk has its own specialty: silver and gold at Dariba Kalan, wedding paraphernalia and theatrical props at Kinari Bazaar, silk saris, copper and brassware and a fascinating wholesale spice market (with dry fruit and nuts from Kabul) at Naya Bazaar. On Main Street is Digambara Temple, the oldest Jain Temple in Delhi, and the Bird Hospital, where injured birds are nursed back to health.

The Sisganj Gurudwara (Sikh temple), Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque), and Fatehpuri Masjid (1650) are some of the sites crowded between stalls selling a jumble of wares, street photographers using ancient cameras, and hawkers and touts. The famous sweetmeat shop of Ghantewala, established in 1790, is worth a visit. Specialities include sohn halva and sohn papri (caramelised sweets made with clarified butter). South of Central Road, follow Dariba Kalan to the massive red sandstone and white marble Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), the focal point for Delhi’s Muslims. Commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1644, the mosque can hold 20,000 people in its huge courtyard, in the centre of which is a tank used for ritual ablutions. The mosque and fort, opposite each other, were integral to the complex plan of the walled city.

Technorati Tags: Dehli '

Duration : 0:5:52

Technorati Tags: SPTV