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8th, January, 2022

The Governor presides over the Shri Guru Ravidas Shaktipeeth Sathapana program in Haridwar.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that under the current pretext there was a greater need for adopting the teachings of Sant Ravidas ji. He worked to connect the society that must be adopted and propagated in society in a correct perspective.

The Governor was speaking at a program of foundation of Shaktipeeth of Shri Guru Ravidas ji at Buggawala in Haridwar.
The Governor said that Guru Ravidas did not belong to any particular caste and worked for the whole society.
He said that Sant Ravidas ji started a movement against the evils prevailed in the Hindu society and whatever idea he gave, he did it to unite the society. Let us all work together for the society and the country by following the message of Ravidas Ji, said Shri Arlekar.
Shri Arlekar said that his life was dedicated to the society and such saints do not live for themselves but for others. He has been our inspiration, whose thoughts and teachings need to be taken forward.

Shri Guru Sant Ravidas Ji was a great saint, philosopher, poet, social reformer and disciple of God in XVth century India.
He was one of the most famous and important of nirguna sampradaya (sant parampara) and was one of the principal leaders of the North Indian Bhakti movement.
He had given a variety of spiritual and social messages through his great writings of poetry to his lovers, followers, and peoples of the society to reform their minds and show their boundless love towards God.

Birth: in 1377 AD (means Bikrami Samvat-Magh Sudi 15, 1433, however; some people believed that it was 1440 A.D.) at Seer Goverdhanpur, Varanasi, U.P.

Father: Shri Santokh Dass Ji

Mother: Smt. Kalsa Devi Ji

Grandfather: Shri Kalu Ram Ji

Grandmother: Smt. Lakhpati Ji

Wife: Smt. Lona Ji

Son: Vijay Dass Ji

Death: in Varanasi in 1540 A.D.

(Source: HP Government and. Varanasi (dot) org (dot) in)

Following the footsteps of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal is planning to venture into the production of oak tussar and eri silk in a big way with large castor and oak plantations growing naturally in various parts of the state.

Though so far about 10,500 farmers in Himachal are into the cultivation of shehtoot (mulberry) which gives fine quality silk, the state is now keen on venturing into the production of eri silk, 90 per cent of which is produced by Assam alone.
Efforts are also being made to tap the potential of oak silk, primarily produced by Jammu and Kashmir.

The fact that both Erie and oak silk can be blended very well with Pashmina and wool will only add value addition to Himachali handicrafts and enhance their quality and price.

Large areas in the districts of Bilaspur, Solan, Kangra and Una have natural cultivation of castor which is the primary food for the eri silkworms. Encouraging farmers to take to eri silk cultivation will help supplement their income

Tussar silk is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms of the genus Antheraea, among which A. assamensis, A. paphia, A. pernyi, A. roylei, and A. yamamai.
These silkworms live in the wild forests in trees belonging to Terminalia species and Shorea robusta, as well as other food plants such as jamun and oak found in South Asia, eating the leaves of the trees on which they live.
Tussar silk is valued for its rich texture and natural dark gold colour, and varieties are produced in numerous countries, including China, India, Japan and Sri Lanka.

(Source: HP Tribune)

To protect highly endangered species, ranging from the elusive endangered pheasant western tragopan to the musk deer and the Himalayan tahr in the Great Himalayan National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site in the north-west Himalayas, is a Herculean task for a forest official.

Any task extremely difficult or requiring a huge strength is therefore called Herculean.

The Greater Himalayas National Park covers 90,540 hectares.
It includes the glacial water and snowmelt sources of the high mountains of several rivers and water supply basins that are vital for millions of downstream users.
The Park authorities fear for their vulnerability to poaching of human settlements in the buffer zone known as an eco-zone.

In addition to threatened animal species, his job was to protect a multitude of native avifauna and mammal species and a large number of medicinal plants.

(Source: HP Tribune)