Seafood festival from December 19
The first ever international seafood festival `Gavana 2000- 01' to be held at Hotel Park at Veraval between December 19 and January 4 will attract more than 50,000 domestic and foreign tourists. The organiser of the festival and Hotel Park managing director W Banatwala told a news conference that the location of Veraval was ideal for holding the festival. Veraval, being the largest fishing Port in Asia, has 2,400 varieties of fishes and exports seafood to 72 countries worth Rs 400 crore per annum. Mr Banatwala said that the main aim of the sea food festival was to promote tourism. This is the first time that the marine and forest wildlife would come together to make the saurashtra region as ''destination of the millennium''. He said conferences and seminars on travel, tourism and fishing industry would also be organised during the festival. A variety of live fish would be on display at the festival while stalls for fishing accessories, cargo vessels, freezing plants and ice plant machinery from all over thecountry would be put up, he said.Seminar on drought resistant crops
Fifty three agricultural experts from all over the world shared their experiences on field screening for drought tolerance in crop plants, in simulated and defined drought conditions during the four-day workshop organised by the international crops research institute for the semi-arid tropics at Patancheru. The emphasis during the workshop was on rice, and plans were afoot to develop simple and reliable tools for use in genetic improvement of rice for drought-prone areas. The Rockefeller Foundation of the United States had sponsored the workshop.At the end of the workshop, the experts said the current research efforts would lead to development of newer varieties of seed which give better yields under drought conditions. The experience gained during the workshop would be useful in generating new knowledge and information essential for minimizing drought effects in food crop plants, and thereby food availability and food security, they said.
Among those who addressed the press were Dr JCO Toole, senior scientist and field representative for south and southeast Asia, the Rockefeller Foundation (USA), Dr A Blum (Israel), Dr Renee Lafitte (Philippines), Dr Marianne Banziger and Dr Alain Audebert from Zimbabwe, and Dr NP Saxena and Dr CLL Gowda, both from Icrisat.To a question, Dr Blum said agricultural research alone cannot prevent any glut in farm produce. It was for the planners and economists to evolve schemes to avoid such situations, he added.
Nelp-II to launch second round bid
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Ram Naik will launch the second round of bidding under the new exploration licensing policy (nelp-II) during the Petrotech 2001 conference and exhibition next month. According to a Petrotech release, this will be one of the major highlights of the Petrotech-2001. Given the experience of relatively lukeworm response, from the investors and substantial delays in finalisation of contracts under the earlier bidding rounds, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas had formulated the nelp with the approval of the Union cabinet. The first round of bidding under the revised policy nelp-I was launched in August last year, and the decision to award contracts was announced in about six months time.
Under the nelp-I 25 blocks were awarded out of 48 on offer to 14 investor groups from India and abroad. These 25 blocks include 7 deep water offshore blocks, 16 shallow water offshore blocks and 2 onland blocks.
EU plan for Orissa's handicraft sector
The European Union (EU) is keen to help develop Orissa's handicraft sector and is formulating a detailed plan of action, according to Mr Michel Caillouet, ambassador of the delegation of European Commission in India.
Orissa's handicrafts, in the broader context of Indian handicrafts, were well appreciated in EU markets and "we are exploring possibilities for better benchmarking and marketing of the products", Mr Caillouet said. A support project for the handicraft sector would be announced soon, he added. Mr Caillouet said initiatives could be undertaken for this sector, under five generalised categories.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.