Longest Railway Bridges in India

The Indian infrastructures of bridges are making their way to international market. India has some of the best structure of flyovers, expressway, tunnels,cloverleafs, Dams, Elevated freeway and bridges. These structures and bridges play a very important role to make world’s largest railway network. The longest rail bridge in the country at 4.62km located in the land of attraction state of Kerala known as Vembanad rail bridge. Rail-cum road bridges like Godavari bridge on Godavari river, Naranarayana bridge on Brahmaputra river and Farakka Barrage on holy Ganges river are not include in this article. India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge is under construction on the river Gange in Patna, Bihar.

Vembanad Bridge: The Vembanad Rail Bridge is located in the state of Kerala and connects Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi. Vembanad rail bridge is the longest rail bridge in India with the total length of 4.62 km. The railway line bridge is dedicated for only goods trains and traffic is 15 trains per day. Vembanad bridge is build over the backwaters of Vembanad lake and passes through the 3 small islands. Vembanad lake is the longest lake in India and the largest lake of Kerala,also rank in one of the largest Indian lakes, used for traditional sports  of Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race.Upper Son Bridge : The Upper Son bridge also known as Nehru Setu rail bridge is the second longest railway bridge in India with total length of 3.065 km. Earlier Nehru Setu was the longest railway bridge in India build across the Son River in Bihar state. Nehru Setu connects Dehri-on-Son and Son Nagar open on 27 February 1900. There is a river road bridge Jawahar Setu on National Highway 2 NH-2 running parallel to the long Nehru Setu rail bridge.Havelock Bridge: The Havelock bridge or old Godavari bridge is 2.7 km long decommissioned bridge over the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. Godavari arch bridge was built as a replacement for Havelock bridge and now the bridge is used to host civic water supply pipelines. There is another bridge in Holy Godavari river known as Kovvur-Rajahmundry bridge, Asia’s second longest road-cum-rail bridge crossing a water body. Godavari river is the second longest river in India after The Ganges,Originate in Nashik and fall into Bay of Bengal.Godavari Arch Bridge: The New Railway bridge on holy Godavari river is a Arch bridge of total length 2.7 Km at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Godavari arch bridge is a single Railway lane bridge replaces then parallel running old Godavari bridge. The new Godavari bridge is one of the longest span prestressed concrete arch bridge in Asia. Jayakwadi dam near Paithan is one of the largest earthen dam in India build over holy river Godavari in state of Maharashtra.Mahanadi Rail Bridge: The Second Mahanadi Rail bridge is 2.100 km long railway bridge over the great Mahanadi river.Second Mahanadi railway bridge is located near Cuttack in the Indian state of Orissa, First Mahanadi bridge is locatd near Bhootmundei. The second Mahanadi rail bridge is one of the longest Indian Railways bridge and the biggest bridge in Orissa state. Crossing the huge Mahanadi bridge over the Great Mahanadi river by speedy trains must be thrill. The Great River also own one of the biggest dam in India Hirakud Dam at Sambalpur district.Pamban Bridge: The cantilever railway bridge is the second longest sea bridge in India (after Bandra-Worli Sea Link) with a total length of nearly 2.065 km. The Pamban Bridge is India’s first sea bridge and third longest rail bridge in India, build across the Palk strait water body. The Pamban Bridge also known as Rameshwaram bridge is located in Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu and connects Rameswaram island to mainland of India. Pamban Bridge is a bascule bridge that allows ships to pass under the bridge. There is also a 2 lanes Pamban Road bridge runs parallel to the cantilever railway bridge.Sharavathi River Bridge: Sharavathi is the major river of Karnataka state,flows entirely within the state of Karnataka and joins the Arabian Sea at Honnavar of Uttara Kannada district. The 2.060 km long Sharavathi Bridge is Konkan railway longest bridge, situated near to Honnavar. Sharavathi river is originate from Linganamakki dam in the Sagara taluk and flows towards west,one of the westward flowing rivers of India. The river basin lies in the Western Ghats which is home to rare species of flora and fauna and forms the famous Jog waterfalls.Konkan Railway Bridge: Zuari Bridge is build across the Zuari river in Goa state. The 1.319 km long bridge is the longest bridge of Konkan rail network, Konkan rail network is one of the most beautiful train route in India and connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka states. Karbude tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in India situated on Konkan Railway route near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.Jubilee Bridge Hooghly: Jubilee Bridge is the very important rail bridge build over the river Hooghly between Naihati and Bandel at Calcutta. Its acantilever truss bridge and one of the oldest rail bridge in India. It will be replaced by a new rail bridge built adjacent to it to be named as Sampreeti bridge.Balawali Railway Bridge: The new railway bridge was built across the holy river Ganga near Balawali between the Laksar Najibabad Railway route in Uttar Pradesh. Balawali railway bridge is run parallel to Balawali road bridge. There is a longest rail-cum road bridge over the Ganga river in Patna is under construction.Chenab river railway bridge will be the tallest railway bridge in the world is under constructed by Konkan Railway. The Panvalnadi bridge on the Panval river in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra is presently the tallest bridge in India. Please share your comments and information, if i have missed any longest rail bridge in India.

Largest Cities in the World - List One Most Populous Urban Agglomerations

This is a listing of the 26 most populous cities in the world (those having a population over eight million). Data are estimates from late 2005.

All population figures for the world's largest urban areas are simply estimates. There's no way to know the exact population of such a large place. If you don't like this list, you can review Largest Cities in the World - List Two, based on different methodologies. Both lists are valid estimates.

1. Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan - 33,200,000
2. New York, United States - 17,800,000
3. Sao Paulo, Brazil - 17,700,000
4. Seoul-Incheon, South Korea - 17,500,000
5. Mexico City, Mexico - 17,400,000
6. Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, Japan - 16,425,000
7. Manila, Philippines - 14,750,000
8. Mumbai, India (formerly Bombay) - 14,350,000
9. Jakarta, Indonesia - 14,250,000
10. Lagos, Nigeria - 13,400,000
11. Kolkata, India (formerly Calcutta) - 12,700,000
12. Delhi, India - 12,300,000
13. Cairo, Egypt - 12,200,000
14. Los Angeles, United States - 11,789,000
15. Buenos Aires, Argentina - 11,200,000
16. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 10,800,000
17. Moscow, Russia - 10,500,000
18. Shanghai, China - 10,000,000
19. Karachi, Pakistan - 9,800,000
20. Paris, France - 9,645,000
21. Nagoya, Japan - 9,000,000 (tie)
21. Istanbul, Turkey - 9,000,000 (tie)
23. Beijing, China - 8,614,000
24. Chicago, United States - 8,308,000
25. London, United Kingdom - 8,278,000
26. Shenzhen, China - 8,000,000

The Amazing Man Made Island of Recycled Materials

Recycled Paradise: Amazing Man-Made Floating Island

Yes, it is real – it not only floats but also has beaches and can be moved as well as docked around the world. Almost like a pirate ship story of old, the tale of this remarkable artificial island that floats on 100,000 recycled plastic bottles is long, strange and does involve tales of adventure and danger. The second of its kind, the newest iteration of Spiral Island is an amazing work in progress.

The first Spiral Island sat upon 250,000 plastic bottles, bundled together in bags and used as the floating base for the bamboo and plywood supporting the entire sand-surfaced area above – over fifty feet in diameter. Remarkably, the original island had a multistory home with a solar oven, self-composting toilet, multiple beaches as well as a variety of lush plants and trees.

Not deterred by the destruction of the original island in a terrible hurricane, Sowa built a second one starting just a few years ago – it was completed last year. Nearly the same size it likewise has beaches, a house but also has a solar-powered waterfall and ponds within the island.

Far from an eccentric individual’s attempt to escape from the world, Spiral Island is a remarkably welcoming place – many people came together to help recreate it when the first one was destroyed. Camera and news crews have also been invited onto the island as it is (naturally) something of an international sensation.

The Country of Totos

The Toto is a primitive and isolated tribal group residing only in a small enclave called Totopara in theJalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India. Totopara is located at the foot of the Himalayas just to the south of the borderline between Bhutan and West Bengal (on the western bank of Torsa river). Geographically the location is 89° 20'E 26° 50'N.

Totos were nearly becoming extinct in the 1950s, but recent measures to safeguard their areas from being swamped with outsiders have helped preserve their unique heritage and also helped the population grow. The total population of Totos according to 1951 census was 321 living in 69 different houses at Totopara. In 1991 census, the Toto population had increased to 926 who lived in 180 different houses. In the 2001 census, their number had increased to 1184 - all living in Totopara.

Anthropologists agree that the Toto culture and language is totally unique to the tribe, and is clearly distinguished from the neighbouring Rajbongshis, Koch, Mech or the Bhutanese Sharchop tribes.

Physical features and ethnic identity

The Totos are considered as Mongoloid people, with flat nose, small eye, broad and square cheeks, thick lips and small eyes and black iris. Their complexion is rather on the darker side, which reflects their nearness to the equator. They are generally endogamous and marry within their own tribe. They are generally divided into 13 exogamous clans or groups of families from which they choose to marry. They do not marry anyone related to them through their paternal uncles or maternal aunts.

Toto language belongs to Tibeto-Burman family of sub-Himalayan group, as classified by Hodgson and Grierson. They do not have any script. Most of the young members can speak Bengali and Nepali, which are the mediums of instruction in the local schools.

Totopara: The Toto village

The area of entire Toto country called Totopara is 1,996.96 acres (8.0814 km²). It lies 22 km from Madarihat, the entrance of the famous Jaldapara National Park. So, we can safely assume that the Totos live near the northern edges of this forest. The Toto localities of the village are sub-divided into six segments - Panchayatgaon, Mandolgaon, Subbagaon, Mitranggaon, Pujagaon and Dumchigaon. Totopara also has a settlement of Nepali-speaking people. A primary school was established in the village in 1990. Later in 1995, a high school with hostel facility was also established there. There is one primary healthcare centre in Totopara.

History

As to the past history of the Totos writes Sailen Debnath, "The Totos are the descendants, most probably, of some fugitive tribe of Bhutan to have been driven out from the mountains by the early Bhutanese-cum-Tibetatans from the period of Sabdrung Nagwang Namgyal. They might have fled that country to take shelter in a cluster in the jungles of the Dooars. The physical appearance and skin colour of the Totos do not anyway confirm their Mongoloid origin; their brown and moderately bright colour tells of their Indian connection or blood-mixture with some people of Australoid origin. From this it can be surmised that the Totos might have been the offspring of some people of Indian origin to have settled in Bhutan and then driven out from that country to the plains of the sub-Himalayan zone of the Dooars. Or the Totos might have some blood mixture with the fugitive slaves of Bhutan whose forefathers had been dragged away to Bhutan from the plains and enslaved.

Society

Toto family is patrilocal in nature dominated by nuclear type. However, joint family is not rare. Monogamy is common form of marriage among the Toto but polygamy is not prohibited. If a man's wife dies, he may marry the deceased wife's younger sister, but a woman cannot marry her deceased husband's brother. On the death of a spouse, the husband or wife must remain single for twelve months before he or she is free to remarry. There are various ways of acquiring mates viz., (1) marriage by negotiation (Thulbehoea), (2) marriage by escape (Chor-behoea), (3) marriage by capture (Sambehoea) and (4) love marriage (Lamalami). There is no custom of divorce among the Totos.

Food habits

Though they make their main food from marua (a kind of millet), the staple food of the Totos now includes rice, chura (parched rice), milk and curd. They also eat meat, generally goat, pork, venison, poultry and fish of all kinds. Women eat the same food as men and there are no restrictions of any kind on the widows.

Totos also drink a fermented liquor called Eu, made from fermented marua, rice powder and malt, which is served warm in Poipa (wooden glasses). Eu is drunk on all occasions.

Houses

A traditional Toto hut at Totopara, West Bengal

Totos live in elevated bamboo huts. These are raised on machas (raised platforms), and have straw thatches. There is a single log placed to get to the hut, and this log is meant to be drawn up at night

Religion

They define themselves as Hindus, but the Totos have two main gods whom they worship:

1. Ishpa - He is supposed to live in the Bhutan hills, and causes sickness when displeased. The Totos offer him animal sacrifices and Eu.
2. Cheima - She keeps the village and its people safe from troubles and sicknesses. She is also offered rice, fowls and Eu.

The Totos have no priests and offer their worship and sacrifices on their own. Ishpa is worshipped in the open outside the house and Cheima inside the house.

Of late, there are a few Christian converts among the tribe, largely attributed to Christian missionary works.

Economic activities

Totos cultivate land. The Totos are not active farmers and hence do not cultivate a particular crop to a great extent. Every home has a kitchen garden surrounded by bamboo fences; in these gardens they grow vegetables, potatoes and bananas, among others. Sometimes they trade with traders from the outside world. Some Totos raise cows and pigs as an occupation.

At different stages of history, the Toto tribe has been moving away from a subsistence economy to market economy. Further, the transformations of the village from community ownership of land to individual land holding and from isolated tribal group to a multi-ethnic habitat have also taken place in the recent past.

HOW TO READ BAR CODES

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS ON THE FOODS YOU BUY--NO MATTER WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BOX OR PACKAGE SAYS, TURN IT OVER AND READ THE BACK---CAREFULLY! 


With all the food and pet products now coming from China, it is best to make sure you read label at the supermarket and especially when buying food products. Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located. The whole world is concerned about China-made "black-hearted goods".

Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ? The world is also concerned about GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods; steroid fed animals (ex: 45 days old broiler chicken).

It is important to read the bar code to track its origin. How to read Bar Codes....interesting !

If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan .
If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 00-09 then it's made or sourced in USA.

This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA", so they don't show from which country it is made. However, you may now refer to the barcode -

remember if the first 3 digits are:
890......MADE IN INDIA
690, 691, 692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09 ... USA and CANADA
30 - 37 ... FRANCE
40 - 44 ... GERMANY
471 ........ Taiwan
49 .......... JAPAN
50 .......... UK Share it!
 www.way2usefulinfo.blogspot.com

A Heart Opening Real Life Story!

"Binti Jua is a western lowland gorilla female in the Brookfield Zoo, in Brookfield, Illinois. Binti is most well known for an incident which occurred on August 16, 1996, when she was eight years old.A three-year old boy climbed the wall around her zoo enclosure and fell 18 feet onto concrete below, rendering him unconscious with a broken hand and a vicious gash on the side of his face.

Binti walked to the boy’s side while helpless spectators screamed, certain the gorilla would harm the child. Another larger female gorilla approached, and Binti growled.Binti picked up the child, cradling him with her right arm as she did her own infant, gave him a few pats on the back, and carried him 18 meters (59 ft) to an access entrance, so that zoo personnel could retrieve him. Her 17-month-old baby, Koola, clutched her back throughout the incident..

The boy spent four days in the hospital and recovered fully.

Difference of male and female brains

Human Brain Analysis - Man vs. Woman......A MUST READ!


1. MULTI-TASKING
Women - Multiple process
Womens brains designed to concentrate multiple task at a time.
Women can Watch a TV and Talk over phone and cook.
Men - Single Process
Mens brains designed to concentrate only one work at a time. Men can not watch TV and talk over the phone at the same time. they stop the TV while Talking. They can either watch TV or talk over the phone or cook.

2. LANGUAGE
Women can easily learn many languages. But can not find solutions to problems. Men can not easily learn languages, they can easily solve problems. That's why in average a 3 years old girl has three times higher vocabulary than a 3 yeard old boy.

3. ANALYTICAL SKILLS
Mens brains has a lot of space for handling the analytical process. They can analyze and find the solution for a process and design a map of a building easily. But If a complex map is viewed by women, they can not understand it. Women can not understand the details of a map easily, For them it is just a dump of lines on a paper.

4. CAR DRIVING.
While driving a car, mans analytical spaces are used in his brain. He can drive a car fastly. If he sees an object at long distance, immediately his brain classifies the object (bus or van or car) direction and speed of the object and he drives accordingly. Where woman take a long time to recognize the object direction/ speed. Mans single process mind stops the audio in the car (if any), then concentrates only on driving.

5. LYING
When men lie to women face to face, they get caught easily. Womans super natural brain observes facial expression 70%, body language 20% and words coming from the mouth 10%. Mens brain does not have this. Women easily lie to men face to face.
So guys, do not lie face to face.

6. PROBLEMS SOLVING
If a man have a lot of problems, his brain clearly classifies the problems and puts them in individual rooms in the brain and then finds the solution one by one. You can see many guys looking at the sky for a long time. If a woman has a lot of problems, her brain can not classify the problems. she wants some one to hear that. After telling everything to a person she goes happily to bed. She does not worry about the problems being solved or not.

7. WHAT THEY WANT
Men want status, success, solutions, big process, etc... But Women want relationship, friends, family, etc...

8. UNHAPPINESS
If women are unhappy with their relations, they can not concentrate on their work. If men are unhappy with their work, they can not concentrate on the relations.

9. SPEECH
Women use indirect language in speech. But Men use direct language.


10. HANDLING EMOTION
Women talk a lot without thinking. Men act a lot without thinking.