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1. HOW DO DAMS WORK?

    A dam is a structure built across a river to control its flow. Sometimes a reservoir or lake is created behind the dam and can be used for recreation. Water flow controlled by a dam may be used to supply water to nearby communities, to power a hydroelectric plant, or to irrigate crops.

    Dams can be built in different designs, and of different materials such as earth, rock, or concrete. Most large dams are made of concrete. They are often designed to arch toward the incoming flow of water, a design that provides additional strength and distributes the weight of the water to the ends of the dam.

    Dams typically have a valve, built in, to allow operators to release excess water from the upstream side. They also have spill-ways to release larger amounts of water in order to prevent unwanted flooding.

    Dam building—as in the case of the construction of Aswan Dam in the late 19^th century on river Nile in Egypt or of China’s Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze River built in the 20^th century—at times, floods, land, that has importance economically, culturally, or even as a wildlife habitat. Dams must be designed to withstand the challenge of floods or earthquakes. Enormous damage can occur when a major dam breaks, often including loss of life.

HOOVER DAM on river Colorado US withstands pressures up to 45,000 pounds per square foot and generates over four billion kilowatt-hours of power a year.

2. Lake Eyre is officially known as Kati Thanda. Lake Eyre, is located at the lowest natural point in Australia, at approximately 15 m (49 ft) below sea level (as per Australian Height Datum). On rare occasions when it fills up, it is the largest lake in Australia, covering 9,500 km2 (3,668 sq miles). The shallow endorheic lake is the depocentre of the vast Lake Eyre basin and is found in Northern South Australia, some 700 km (435 miles) north of Adelaide.

    When the lake is full, it has the same salinity level as the sea, but as the lake dries up          and the water evaporates, salinity increases.

    The lake was named by Europeans in honour of Edward John Eyre, who was the first        European to see it, in 1840. The lake’s official name was changed in December 2012 to        combine the name “Lake Eyre” with its indigenous name, Kati Thanda.

3. There are only three surgeons to look after elective and emergency surgeries in Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) the only tertiary care hospital in Bhutan. They literally work 24×7, 7 days a week.

    But that is not all. For they have another ‘honorary standby surgeon’—the Prime                Minister of Bhutan himself, who comes to the hospital every week on Friday to                   operate. Though he is trained in urology, he can do all abdominal surgeries ‘as there is      no one else.’

         If there is an emergency or a difficult problem, just ‘call the PM’.

         He comes even if it’s midnight. The nursing staff is pretty happy to help their PM in conducting operations. No hang ups. Just normal scrubs and slippers for him.

    Kudos to ‘Dr Lotay Tshering—the Surgeon Prime Minister of Bhutan.’

4. The Rusty-Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) wins the title for the world’s smallest wild cat weighing a mere 1.8-3.5 lbs (0.8-1.6 kg)and is 14 to 19 inches (35 to 48 cm) in length (not counting the tail which is half the size of the body). This feline has short grey fur, over, most of its body with rusty spots over its back and flanks, from where it derives its name. Their underbellies are white with large dark spots and they have six dark streaks on each side of their head, extending over their cheeks and forehead.

    The Rusty-Spotted Cat, known as the “hummingbird of the cat family”, is only found in India and Sri Lanka. There are 10,000 Rusty-Spotted Cats in the wild and the species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Like other wild cats, the Rusty-Spotted Cat is on the decline mostly due to habitat loss and hunting pressures.

5. Yesterday is but a dream. Tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope—said famous poet Kalidasa.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10^th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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