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The Army8217;s main battle tank, Arjun, will roll out of the Capital tomorrow to set out on a cross-country ride. So will its various missi...

The Army8217;s main battle tank, Arjun, will roll out of the Capital tomorrow to set out on a cross-country ride. So will its various missiles8212;Agni, Prithvi, Nag and Brahmos8212;and the multi-role Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and pilotless Nishant. Close behind will be Indian space launch vehicles PSLV and GSLV, as also satellites INSAT and IRS.

A huge portrait of astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia break-up while returning to earth, will tower over all space-technology models, displayed on Vigyan Rail8212;a Science Exhibition on Wheels.

It8217;s a 15-coach train, to be flagged off by PM Atal Behari Vajpayee tomorrow, that will take India8217;s scientific heritage and prowess to 56 places in the country over the next eight months.

The coaches meant for Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO and the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO will display military prowess and achievements in our space programme.

In all, there will be 12 coaches exhibiting India8217;s development in various fields of science and technology, including the achievements of the Department of Atomic Energy DAE.

The Vigyan Rail will also carry exhibits of 18 other departments of various ministries, including environment, communication, information

technology, scientific and industrial research, water resources, ocean development,agriculture, health, non-conventional energy sources, meteorology and survey of India.

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It will also have a section on India8217;s scientific heritage which will showcase contributions of greats like J C Bose, P C Ray, C V Raman, M N Saha, S N Bose, H J Bhabha abd Vikram Sarabhai.

In fact, the exhibition was to be launched on November 7, to coincide with the birth anniversary of Sir Raman. But with so many ministries and departments involved, things got delayed.

Conceptualised by President of Vigyan Prasar Society M V Kamath, the aim of the exhibition is to spread scientific awareness among people, especially children.

8216;8216;With 2004 designated the Year of Scientific Awareness, this kind of exhibition was considered the best way to take developments and achievements in related fields directly to the people, even in far-flung areas,8217;8217; said one of the chief organisers.

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The train will travel all over the country, including Guwahati, New Jalpaiguri, Dimapur and Dibrugarh in the North-East, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Patna, Samastipur, Barauni, Muzzafarpur, Durgapur, Hatia, Kathgodam,

Haridwar, Kanyakumari,Ernakulam, Palghat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Agra and Ferozepur.

8216;8216;It will stay at one station for three to seven days, allowing people the chance to witness and be a part of the progress that has been made in science and technology. Not just that, people will be shown how to preserve environment, conserve water and power through working models, multi-media shows, slides, posters and other interactive material,8217;8217; said another organiser.

The Ministry of Railways had organised a similar exhibition to celebrate 150 years of Railways in the country last year.

Though it had only depicted the growth of Railways, the exhibition was extremely popular all over the country.

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Realising the impact and reach of the Railways, the same refurbished coaches are now being used on Vigyan Rail.