Bangalore City Station becomes India’s First Train Station with WiFi for Passengers: October 2014

Bangalore City Railway Station

The Union Minister for Railyways D.V.Sadananda Gowda recently inaugrated the facility.

Bangalore City’s Railway Station has become the first railway station in the country to have WiFi facility that will provide high speed internet to passengers.

The facility has been created by RailTel with a gigabit ethernet network using optic fibre in a ring. RailTel has been mandated by Railyways to provide WiFi facility at major railway stations.

‘RailWire’ the retail broadband distribution of RailTel Corporation of India (a PSU of Ministry of Railways) is the powering engine for distribution internet bandwith through WiFi.

Free of Cost:

The WiFi facility will be available to the passengers on their mobile phones free of charge for the first 30 minutes.

Subsequently the user can purchase scratch cards for additional usage. The scratch cards are to be priced Rs 25 for 30 minutes and Rs 35 for one hour with a validity of 24 hours.

Belgaum’s First Commissioner of Police : September 2014

The new office of the Commissionerate of Police, Belgaum was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday September 12th, 2014.

This is now Karnataka’s 5th Commissionerate, the other 4 being Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore and Mangalore. Prior to the the inaugration, Belgaum was headed by the Superintendent of Police in the District Police HQ.

The Belgaum Commissionerate would now have 15 police stations under its jurisdiction. 12 for law & order, 2 for traffic and 1 women’s police station

Bhaskar Rao took additonal charge as the first Commissioner of Police. He was also the Inspector-General of Police, Northern Range. Bangalore city’s Joint-Commissioner, Bangalore West was posted effective October as Commissioner of Police.

Hubli’s First Community Radio Service : September 2013

FM radio station KLE Dhwani BVB- 90,4

September 21st, 2013. The new radio service to operate from the campus of BVB College of Engineering & Technology (BVB-CET). It is the first community FM radio station launched by an engineering college in North Karnataka.

Programmes broadcast will be folklore, education, research, technology and entertainment. MOU has been signed with Lahari and Akash audios to share songs.

The broadcast range is around 11 to 14 KMs in the city and can be heard on Mobile phones as well.

Broadcast timings scheduled: 6.30am to 11am and 2pm to 6 pm

Prabhakar Kore, Working President, KLE Society

Prof. Ashok Shettar, Principal, BVB-CET

IIM-Bangalore – India’s First B-School to join edX : August 2014

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) joined edX as a new contributing member

edX is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based non-profit enterprise created by founding fathers of Harvard University and MIT. edX offers interactive online classes from the worlds best universities.

As IIMBx , India’s leading B-School will leverage new technologies and deliver education via MOOC’s (massive open online courses)

IIM-B, Director : Dr. Sunil Vachani

edX, CEO        : Anant Agarwal

First Time European-Symphony Orchestra Scores for Kannada Album : October 2014

Kannada music album ‘Ananya Aalaapana’ – The Czech Symphony Orchestra, Prague, Czechoslovakia.

For the first time an European Symphony Orchestra scored for a Kannada music album.

Ananya Aalaapana is the second album by the group ‘Techies for Kannada’ and ‘KChords’. The Kannada patriotic song Jagadalli Yelle Hodaru Moodada Mohaka Anubhava is 1 of the 7 songs in the album.

Music is composed by Karthik Somanath, Lyrics by Karthik and Paawana Poonacha.

Bangalore’s First Crematorium for Pets : October 2014

Established by BBMP, Magadi Road near Sumanahalli

The pet crematorium has 2 incinerators, one for small pets like cats and dogs and the bigger for larger livestock. The facility has the capacity to perform upto 20 cremations a day.

There is also a facility for rituals to be performed to dispose of pet’s ashes for the religiously inclined.

Recently established, the operations are scheduled to begin in November 2014.

Bangalore is already home to South India’s First Pet Cemetry located on a half acre plot near Kengeri, run by People for Animals.

Karnataka’s First Hovercraft : September 2014

Panambur Beach, near Indian Coast Guard (ICG) – Karnataka Head Quarters, Mangalore

It is the first time that a Hovercraft is stationed in Karnataka State. Monday, September 22nd, 2014

The 21m long Hovercraft H-196 is 3rd in the series of Air cushion vehicles manufactured in the United Kingdom.

This Hovercraft temporarily based in Panambur beach is first of the 2 scheduled for Mangalore. A permanent Hoverport facility will be developed over a 15-acre site at Tannirbhavi beach.

The amphibious vehicle with a speed of 45 knots (90Kmph) becomes the fasted vehicle in the Coast Guard fleet in the state. This will now boost the patrolling capabilities of the Indian Coast Guard in the State which will keep an eye on the 320-km long Karnataka coastline.

The crew manning the hovercraft had obtained specialised training in London.

World’s First Hybrid Varalaxmi Tetrapoloid Cotton: 1992

Varalaxmi and DCH-32, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad

Tetrapoloid Cotton: The World’s First inter-specific commercial hybrid Varalaxmi and later DCH-32 in the 1970s.

Research on hirsutum cottons lead to the development of Laxmi which became a household name to symbolise hirsutum cotton.

Research conducted at CRS, Dharwad / Agricultural Research Station, Dharward Farm, Dharwad, Karnataka

source of information: All India Coordinated Cotton Improvement Project Center, Dharwad (AICCP)

First food bank of ‘Bangalore Food Bank’ launched: October 2014

Bangalore Food Bank (BFB), Bangalore

October 16th -Thursday,2014.  Griffith Laboratories Private Ltd, supported the initiative by providing the first donation of ready-to-cook khichidi packets to reach 5,000 people.

About 28 NGO’s partnered with Bangalore Food Bank (BFB) including Auto Raja’s Home of Hope, Mitra Jyothi School for the Blind, Vathsala Charitable Trust etc.

BFB acts as a facilitator between those who have surplus and those who need food.

Potential donors both individuals and companies who are interested may contact BFB. Only dry food can be donated.

Meher S. Dasondi, Director (Operations) BFB. Telephone: 9538-035-252

 

World’s First Lady Ghatam Artist .

Smt. Sukanya Ramgopal, Bangalore, Karnataka

She was the first girl in India to hold and play the ghatam on her lap at an early age of 12. Making her the first woman ghatam artist of India in a male dominated universe.

Sukyana Ramgopal was a student of Shri Vikku Vinayakaran who gave India its first Grammy.

This uniquely talented carnatic music player has won over a dozen honours, awards and laurels in her career spanning 4 decades. Originally from TamilNadu the 57 year old frontline musician had made Bangalore her home a long time ago.

Firsts:

(1) She is the First to create the unique concept of Ghata Tharang playing 6 ghatams at the same time (2) She is also the First to set up a Bangalore All-Woman Carnatic Ensemble the ‘ Sthree Thaal Tharang’

The Ghatam is a percussion instrument used in Carnatic music of South India.

Ghatam:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghatam