New Delhi: The auditions of the inaugural cooking competition Himalayan Master Chef were held Tuesday at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Sajong at Rumtek, Sikkim. The competition, aimed at popularising old and lost traditional recipes of the state, began on 12 December.
The organisers have been quoted as saying that the main motive behind holding the competition was to “rekindle the long forgotten (Sikkimese) dishes” and make it known to the world. Those who have taken part in the event were asked to use locally-available ingredients and add their own fusion to dishes.
There are 13 participants from the state and 12 of them are students at IHM, Rumtek. The event also aims to introduce Sikkimese cuisines to five-star hotels and restaurants across the country.
Sanjiv Pakhetra, senior lecturer at IHM Sikkim, has been quoted as saying, “We will need publications as these are the foods from Sikkim and not Chinese. We must promote them outside of the state.”
Kaziranga IFS officer creates 6 new wetlands to ensure water for rhinos, elephants
To cater to the water needs of animals at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam, its field director P. Sivakumar has helped build six new wetlands.
Silt gets accumulated during heavy monsoon rains in many wetlands in the park, which reduces their water-carrying capacity. To address this issue, the park authorities have created new wetlands by blocking the exit points in some of the existing ones to assist in rainwater harvesting.
“The issue faced here is that a little over 40 per cent of the wetlands have sufficient water throughout the year. The other wetlands start drying up post December depending on the rains received the previous year, and, if they are delayed, the wildlife bears the brunt of the water shortage during March and April months,” Sivakumar told The Better India.
Spread across 430 square km, the national park is home to two-thirds of one-horned rhinos in the world and several other endangered animals.
In Ukhrul, environment-friendly Christmas tree spreads awareness about conservation
A Christmas tree made out of e-wastes sits in the heart of the town Ukhrul in Manipur these days. Made by the NGO called Environmental Force at Grassroots Level (ENFOGAL), the tree has been made out of e-wastes that were collected from dumping sites or received as donations.
The outfit’s aim is to create awareness about solid waste management and preserving the environment. It is also building another tree made out of tyres at the Finch Corner in Ukhrul.
ENFOGAL is known for its unique Christmas trees made out of used pet bottles or compact discs to spread awareness about global warming, water management and other environment-related issues.
“Deforestation, habit destruction and unorganised waste management are prevalent in Ukhrul town…Jhum cultivation, poaching and poisoning and trapping of wildlife are some of the issues that are big threat to the nature and environment,” one of the co-founders of ENFOGAL has been quoted as saying.
Meet this ‘marigold man of Manipur’ who has been planting flowers for a mission
A 74-year-old man from the Ngarian (Raenghzaeng) village in Manipur has transformed an otherwise dull road, between the towns Bishenpur and Khoupum, to a beautiful stretch lined with marigold flowers.
Landuanlung Kamei began planting the flowers in 2018 in the 2km-long stretch after a visit to the Nehru Park in New Delhi. “My mood was transformed when I saw the flowers at the Nehru Park. I realised how a place can change with the presence of those natures. Since then, I have been imagining my home town road transforming into such a clean and brighter road,” Kamei told EastMojo.
Known as the ‘marigold man of Manipur’, Kamei also said that he was initially mocked by locals but he refused to give up. “Every morning, I started cleaning and levelling the side roads for planting the saplings, and now I can see the result of my hard work,” he added.
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