
Rotary Club of Nagpur Elite comes up with three biodiversity parks
2
Nagpur: The Rotary Club of Nagpur Elite (RCNE), in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi Ayurveda College, Hospital and Research Centre, inaugurated a Biodiversity Park to promote conservation of regional and medicinal plants, pollination, and green living.
RCNE also opened two more biodiversity parks — in Aanji and Samudrapur — where saplings suitable for pollination and beekeeping were distributed with support from YogArt and Rotary leaders.
At Wardha, the park, developed jointly under the leadership of RCNE president Jyotsna Pandit, will serve as a habitat for birds and insects, boosting local biodiversity and agriculture. Rotary donated 200 saplings — including medicinal, flowering, and fruit-bearing varieties — and committed to supporting organic fertilisation and soil rejuvenation.
The initiative also aims to create a live research lab for students, integrating Ayurveda with environmental preservation. Topics like spice garden development, organic fertilizer, and water conservation were discussed. Rotary and MGAC will further collaborate on agricultural research, farmer engagement, and student awareness.
Present were Jyotsna Pandit, Pramod Misal, Arvind Patil, Sonali Jichkar, and others from Rotary, along with Dr Bharat Rathi, Dr Gaurav Savarkar, and Dr Jaymala Jadhav from MGAC.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Restaurants use unsafe colouring agent: Karnataka minister on quality food
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday appealed to people not to be "fooled" by attractive and colourful dishes, but to insist on safe and quality food. He cited the recent testing of six samples belonging to the Empire Group of Restaurants, which turned out to be unsafe due to the use of banned synthetic colouring.(PTI) He cited the recent testing of six samples belonging to the Empire Group of Restaurants, which turned out to be unsafe due to the use of banned synthetic colouring. "Despite repeated warnings, the restaurant group continued to use the unsafe colouring agent. Only after legal notices were sent did the colour go from red to yellow," the health minister told reporters during his weekly media briefing. There was no response from the Empire Group of Restaurants. According to the minister, better quality food and drugs can become the norm only if people insist on quality goods. "Yes, the government needs to do its part and tackle this legally, but people too should cultivate quality conscious as culture," he said. The minister also said the health department held a video conference on July 30 with cooking oil manufacturers to insist that the trans-fat level should not exceed 2 per cent. "We told them that if it exceeds 2 per cent, strong action will be taken against them," he added. Dinesh Gundu Rao said the oil manufacturers were also urged to sell used cooking oil (UCO) to manufacturers like Pyrene Industries, which converts UCO into biodiesel. According to 2024-25 data, 28,73,124 litres of UCO were used to manufacture biodiesel and soap, he said. "We want this figure to increase substantially so that UCO does not go back into the market for cooking purposes," he added. Rao said the Karnataka government has merged the enforcement division of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) medicines under the AYUSH Department, as well as the existing AYUSH drug testing laboratory in Bengaluru, with Drug Control Division of the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department for better functioning of the Health Department. According to him, the government's proposed app to control drug safety is expected to be functional by the end of this month. "With this app, we can immediately withdraw defective drugs, as we can track at distributor level. So, we can put an immediate stop to further sale of that drug," said the minister. He said, once the app is in force, they will expand its scope. "Next will be to take it to the pharmacy level. We want to onboard every pharmacy on the app," he added. At present, the recall procedure takes two days, he said, citing the recent recall of nearly 40 lakh drugs in two days. "This too, we had made a breakthrough with the help of a software. Earlier, it used to take nearly 30 days to recall batches of failed drugs from the market," he added. The minister also said work is progressing at expected pace in bringing the private ambulances and mobile medical units under the ambit of Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act. "We will be coming out with an amendment soon," he added.


Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Rotary Club of Nagpur Elite comes up with three biodiversity parks
1 2 Nagpur: The Rotary Club of Nagpur Elite (RCNE), in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi Ayurveda College, Hospital and Research Centre, inaugurated a Biodiversity Park to promote conservation of regional and medicinal plants, pollination, and green living. RCNE also opened two more biodiversity parks — in Aanji and Samudrapur — where saplings suitable for pollination and beekeeping were distributed with support from YogArt and Rotary leaders. At Wardha, the park, developed jointly under the leadership of RCNE president Jyotsna Pandit, will serve as a habitat for birds and insects, boosting local biodiversity and agriculture. Rotary donated 200 saplings — including medicinal, flowering, and fruit-bearing varieties — and committed to supporting organic fertilisation and soil rejuvenation. The initiative also aims to create a live research lab for students, integrating Ayurveda with environmental preservation. Topics like spice garden development, organic fertilizer, and water conservation were discussed. Rotary and MGAC will further collaborate on agricultural research, farmer engagement, and student awareness. Present were Jyotsna Pandit, Pramod Misal, Arvind Patil, Sonali Jichkar, and others from Rotary, along with Dr Bharat Rathi, Dr Gaurav Savarkar, and Dr Jaymala Jadhav from MGAC.

The Hindu
10 hours ago
- The Hindu
Karnataka Health Department brings AYUSH medicines, testing labs under FSDA purview
After merging the Drugs Control Department with the Food Safety Authority, the State Health Department has now brought all AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy ) medicines and AYUSH testing laboratories under the purview of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA). Announcing this at a press conference on Monday, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the move is to control the quality of medicines being prescribed under the alternative systems of medicine, especially as their consumption continues to rise among the public. Moreover, the department has also reduced the time it takes to recall substandard medicines from the market. Earlier, once a drug was flagged as 'Not of Standard Quality' (NSQ), it could take up to 30 days for the drug to be removed from pharmacies and distributors. Now that time has been cut to just two days, the Minister said. NSQ drugs Pointing out that it is a crucial decision, the Health Minister said NSQ medicines, if left on shelves, may continue to be consumed by patients, posing direct and serious health risks. In June 2025 alone, drugs worth ₹40.48 lakh that did not meet safety standards were swiftly recalled and seized across the State, he said. Giving details about the drives conducted by the FSDA in the last few months, the Minister said: 'In July, 1,433 drug samples were analysed by testing laboratories located in Bengaluru, Hubballi, and Ballari. Of these, 67 were found to be substandard, with the department filing 29 cases.' A two-day special enforcement drive was also conducted from June 24, during which 279 inspections were carried out at drug stores across the State and 231 show-cause notices were issued to offending establishments, while 15 compliance notices were served, he said. Online applications for blood centres All applications related to blood centres are now processed through the Online National Drugs Licensing System (ONDLS) Portal, with licenses issued exclusively online. In addition, an online platform has been launched to issue Recognised Medical Institution (RMI) certificates required by institutions authorised to handle essential narcotic drugs, he said. Street food samples A total of 1,557 street food eateries were inspected, and items including fruits, vegetables, water bottles, bakery products and spice powders were checked, with 406 found violating safety norms. Spot fines amounting to ₹44,500 were collected from these violators. At 186 bus stands across the State, 889 food stalls were inspected, and 206 were found in violation, the Minister said. 'Despite a ban on the use of artificial food colours in food preparation, the Empire Restaurant chain in Bengaluru has been found to be using synthetic food colours in chicken kebabs. Food Safety officials, through a State-level inspection and laboratory testing, collected six samples of chicken kebab from various branches of this restaurant, and all six samples were found to be unsafe for consumption,' Mr. Gundu Rao said. Pointing out that the restaurant is now preparing kebabs without colours, the Minister urged the public to demand better quality and report cases where they find eateries serving artificially coloured food.