THIS HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA(PART-1)

THIS HAPPENS ONLY IN INDIA

For a change I thought let me present something which are buzzing around in Indian news circle. Neither I am going to tell about the political crisis the Indian Government is facing with respect to nuclear agreement with USA nor I am going to predict about Indian share market which is in a deep slump. News headlines are screaming negatives like India lost to England in cricket match, media hype that has led to killing of kidnapped boy in Mumbai, new MMS clip of sex involving students of Hyderabad, so on and so forth.

But there are some great news about India which has far reaching implication on society, environment and mankind as a whole. Here there are three news reports for you, which shall certainly bring smile on your face.

CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD FROM PLASIC WASTES

Meet Mr.Ahmed Khan, Founder of KK Plastic Waste Management, who uses plastic waste to construct road. The technology is patented by him. He has already constructed 430 k.m. stretch of road by mixing plastic wastes with bitumen. The technology has also given the city of Banglore, the Information Technology capital of India, a way to get rid of the 9,000 tons of plastic waste it generates every day. The roads so developed have also shown great amount of durability by surviving several rainfalls over past five years.

E-policing

This news is from central Indian city of Nagpur famous for its superb quality oranges. The Nagpur rural police have introduced an Internet-based e-policing system called Lok Samwad that connects district police stations with the headquarters. The Lok Samwad not only represents a new face of policing but it is also an award-winning initiative introduced by the Nagpur police that allow the complainants to register their grievances through the Internet. Howard University's Kennedy School of Governance has awarded Nagpur police this year's innovation in governance award. With 22 police stations having been fitted with the video conferencing system, the innovative e-policing concept has several benefits.

People are not required to travel long distances to meet the police. Complaints are addressed instantaneously. Transfer of documents through the Internet means policemen need not do a postman's job. And finally these conferences save time and money.

Stem cell cure for diabetes

And this news is from western Indian city of Ahemedabad. Dr H L Trivedi and his team from Ahmedabad claim that they have discovered a cell that is present in human fat that can produce insulin, when cultivated.

”If we could transplant stem cells which have the ability to cure diabetes, then it's the final of final and ultimate of ultimate as far as cure for diabetes is concerned,” says Dr Trivedi, who is the director of Institute of Kidney Diseases.The miracle stem cell can be transplanted into the liver, where it not only multiplies, but produces insulin as well - much like the islet cells that produce insulin in the pancreas.With the cells present in fat, it would side step the controversy associated with embryonic stem cells. In fact Trivedi feels this could be nature's way of countering insulin. “There is a strong reason to believe that this is a back-up system generated by nature. Nature has stored these insulin producing cells in our adipose tissue,” says Dr Trivedi.The discovery couldn't be more relevant today, with India considered the diabetes capital of the world. However, if Dr Trivedi's team manages to develop this, it would mean treatment for a condition that is the 4th leading cause of death in the world. So what is the next step?

To begin with, the team will now seek permission from the Internal Review Board of the institute to start using this technique on patients. Says Dr Trivedi, “Once we get the permissions, we should be able to treat the first 10 patients in a month or so."The institute has decided to use this technique to treat children with diabetes first.The treatment will initially cost about one lakh rupees and doctors hope that this will mean the final word in diabetes treatment.