Sheikh Mohammad Makim of Daffarchak village in Jangipara, Hooghly, is cultivating black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are an alternative source of protein for aquaculture, animal feed, pet food and human nutrition. Yes.
West Bengal and Kolkata have a long association with nature. Poet Nazrul Islam had once written, “Ami hobo shokalbelar pakhi/ Shobar agay kusum bagay/ Uthbo ami daki” (I shall be the morning bird who will fly to the flower garden at dawn and chirp before
In 1989, when a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut against Pakistan, the cricket community was taken by storm. But cricket has undergone a sea change since then. For one thing, it has grown younger. For another, it has become much more inclusive. So
To help villagers living in the remote hills get access to immediate medical help, the West Bengal Government with help of NGOs, have set up innovative Palanquin Ambulance Service. Such a service started recently in the Buxa hills of North Bengal. The palanquin ambulance service
The deadly parade continues. Just about a month after the passing of former Kolkata Maidan star Subhas Bhowmick, his comrade and fellow Maidan legend Surajit Sengupta has played his final shot, at the age of 71. Admitted to hospital owing to Covid-related complications, he was
On its website, Transcendent Knowledge Society (TKS) describes itself as “an organisation for education, empowerment and equality for people with disabilities”. This staid description, however, does little justice to the critical nature of the work that TKS does every day when it comes to integrating
Horace Mann, a pioneer of American public schools in the 19th century, famously called education the “great equalizer of the conditions of men.” Education is a mechanism that allows even those from the poorest circumstances to succeed and climb up the socio-economic ladder. But in
TIf trees are about grace and beauty then a Tree Walk down Dhakuria Lake displays a rare show. One such graceful tree is the Takoli or Chakemdia Tree with a buttressed pale trunk and roundish peel-off marks. The branches are slender, drooping - leaves feathery
A critically endangered resident of the Sundarbans is all set to get a new home, beginning a slow journey to recovery from a disastrous decline in the wild. It is more threatened than the Bengal Tiger but far less known. Batagur Baska turtle is presumed extinct
Have you recently come across something in the supermarket or local markets that look like cauliflower but instead of the traditional white, the heads are purple, orange, and green? Colorful cauliflowers have been popping up in the markets for the last couple of years and