01-15 March 2020 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
New Delhi : Even as authorities see
a huge heritage tourism potential of
Rakhigarh village in Hisar district of
Haryana and is making efforts in this
regard, villagers are obviously fearful of
what the future holds for them, including
their sources of livelihood.
For a small village that does not even
have a proper garbage disposal system
in place, the Culture and Tourism
Ministry plans to give Rakhigarhi a
completely new identity, including a
museum on the Harappan culture that
would be the world's biggest.
The village is about 150 km to the
northwest of Delhi. It is not exactly
Rakhigarhi that is of interest to the
world at large, but 'teelas' or mounds
nearby that hide within them the remnants
of the largest Indus Valley civilisation
sites, even larger than Mohenjodaro
in Sind in Pakistan that is dated
around 2,500 BCE. Rakhigarhi is also
said to be the site of a pre-Indus Valley
civilisation settlement dating back to
about 6,500 BCE. Later, it was part of
the mature Indus Valley civilisation,
dating back to 2,600-1,900 BCE.
The archaeological excavations on
the mounds adjoining the village in the
past have revealed human remains and
artefacts of Harappan and pre-Harappan
civilisations, which have been kept at
the Hisar archaeology office near
Jhajpul.
Now with the plan afoot to construct
a museum, villagers have welcomed the
initiative but are wary too. Landless
ASIA
GOVT SEES TOURISM potential in
Rakhigarhi, villagers fear livelihood loss
farmers who depend heavily on livestock
to make a living point out they
will have to leave the land holding
traces of Harappan civilisation below.
The villagers claim the government is
offering them flats in lieu of land, which
will mean they will have to discontinue
rearing of livestock, their only source of
income. "I currently own 500 square
yards, while they are offering me a flat
of 100 sq yards. Why should I leave my
land? How will I rear cows and buffaloes
in a flat?" griped Satbeer, an elderly
farmer. The authorities point out
that Satbeer and over 160 other landless
farmers like him are actually settled illegally
on the mounds and that offering
flats is the best the administration can
01-03-2020 to 15-03-2020
11
do as limited land was available to compensate
affected farmers.
The Archaeological Survey of India
has been able to get hold of just 83.5
acres of the 350 hectares spanning 11
mounds ever since the process began in
1996, encroachments and pending court
cases have drastically slowed down the
excavations.
ASI's Chandigarh Circle archaeologist
Zulfeqar Ali said the ASI has been
able to excavate only five per cent of the
land in the village since 1996. Union
Tourism and Cultural Minister Prahlad
Singh Patel visited the village on
Sunday to act as a facilitators between
authorities and residents. Patel interacted
with both sides and took note of
issues involved. He announced that the
panchayat will come with a plan to
move forward and put it before authorities
and then both sides will try to find a
middle path. He offered to mediate.
"Let's fix a date. You tell me when
can you sit with the farmers; I will join
in the discussions," Patel was seen
telling the area SDM.
"There is no way we will move ahead
without the cooperation of locals. I propose
that the panchayat comes out with
a plan to be discussed with authorities,"
Patel added.
Till such time arrives, farmers are
using the mounds to dry cow dung
cakes and throw plastic waste. No surprise
that the site that boasts of nurturing
one of the oldest civilizations in the
world once upon a time at present can
be mistaken for a garbage dump.
Eating walnut linked to healthy life in women
New York : Women in their late 50s
and early 60s who consumed at least
two servings of walnuts per week had a
greater likelihood of healthy aging compared
to those who did not eat walnuts,
researchers have found. In the study,
published in the Journal of Aging
Research, "healthy aging" was defined
as longevity with sound mental health
and no major chronic diseases, cognitive
issues or physical impairments following
the age of 65. Previous research
found that eating walnuts may have a
positive impact on reducing the risk for
physical impairments in older adults as
well as cognitive decline.
Additionally, others in the same
research group have found decreases in
cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
- all conditions that become more
common as we age.
There is no one solution to slowing
down the effects of aging, but adopting
the right habits, like snacking on a handful
of walnuts, can help.
In this study, the researcher Francine
Grodstein from Brigham and Women's
Hospital in the US, looked at data from
33,931 women in the Nurses' Health
Study (NHS) to evaluate the association
between nut consumption and overall
health and well-being in aging. Between
1998-2002, female nurses in the NHS
were asked about their diet (including
total nut consumption); evaluated for
chronic diseases (such as cancer, heart
attack, heart failure, stroke, type 2 diabetes
and Parkinson's disease); and
assessed for memory concerns, mental
health and physical limitations (including
daily activities like walking one
block, climbing a flight of stairs,
bathing, dressing oneself and pushing a
vacuum cleaner). Of the study participants,
16 per cent were found to be
"healthy agers," defined as having no
major chronic diseases, reported memory
impairment or physical disabilities as
well as having intact mental health.
Although previous research has connected
a healthy diet, including walnuts,
to better physical function among older
men and women, this study only included
women. According to the
researchers, more research is needed to
understand if these results hold true
among men.
Additionally, participants were not
assigned to eat walnuts or other foods;
they were simply asked about their
dietary choices. As an observational
study, this does not prove cause and
effect. However, the research does shed
light on simple habits that can influence
health during later years in life - such as
eating walnuts, the researchers said.
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