ANDHRAPRADESH

Andhra Pradesh State Forest Department is trying to prevent mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans in the Naupada swamp in Telineelapuram, Srikakulam district.

Highlights:

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII-Deharadun), the Bombay Natural HISTORY Society (BNHS), and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI-Kolkata) have been contacted by the Andhra Pradesh State Forest Department to help prevent mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans.

The spot-billed pelicans are found in the Naupada swamp in Telineelapuram, Srikakulam district.

Since December 2021, pelicans have been dying due to a ‘Nematode infestation’ in Telineelapuram, a recognized Important Bird Area (IBA). It’s also where you’ll see painted storks.

On the other hand, Stork has not yet been affected by a Nematode infestation. At Telineelapuram, at least five spot-billed pelicans die every day on Average.

The mortality toll has surpassed 160, with 180 additional adult species and their babies surviving. By the middle of the summer, they should be back at Home.

Pelecanus philippensis is the scientific name for spot-billed pelicans, also known as grey.

They belong to the pelican family. From southern Iran to east India and Indonesia, the species breeds.

Mainly lakes, you can find the bird in coastal seas and vast interior bodies of water, mainly lakes.

These species’ breeding populations are restricted to India, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. They have been seen in Myanmar, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam during the non-breeding season.

The species is classed as Near Threatened on the Red List. It is a Schedule IV species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

Hunting is thus forbidden, but the penalty for any transgression is less severe.

Andhra Pradesh recently found that Mud Crab Reovirus (MCRV) has been the reason for mass mortality of wild crab (Scylla serrata).

Presence of MCRV in samples collected from Nagayalanka fields was confirmed by Joint research by Centre for Advanced Study in Marine Biology (Annamalai University, Nadu) and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).

MSSRF has been noticing mortality in areas like Machilipatnam and Nagayalanka in Krishna district, since 2019.

MCRV has taken a toll on wild crab in every farming method, crab polyculture and crab fattening in which shrimp and wild crab are cultured in exclusive mud crab ponds and in same pond.

Crab fattening technology was introduced in Andhra Pradesh by Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA-Chennai), in 2014.

Environmental activistsof the city fume over the recent large-scale tree cutting happened on the AndhraUniversity groundsfor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting. Citing security concerns for the PM’s meeting, the District Administration sought permission of theAU officialsfortree felling.

Hundreds of trees were felled on about 1.5-acre land. Andhra University has now decided to developgreeneryin three different parts of the university, totalling to four acres, to compensate for this. The locations would be chosen based on one major parameter, i.e. the places where there would be no immediate future constructions.

The number ofmotoraccident Insurance claims settled or booked in 2020-21 inAndhra Pradeshwas the lowest since 2016.

The third-party insurance claim settlements witnessed a steep decline of about 50 per cent in 2020-21 compared to the year before, according to the of India (IRDAI) on the basis of data submitted by the insurers.

Similar was the case with the quantum of compensation paid to the claimants in the last five years in Andhra Pradesh.

In absolute numbers, as many as 18,308 claims were intimated or booked in 2019-20 in Andhra Pradesh. This dropped to 12,470 during the corresponding period last fiscal.

According to experts, this can be attributed to the nation-wide lockdown during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and mobility restrictions, and the subsequent reduction in the number of roadaccidents.

For instance, there was a 16% drop in the number of accidents in Andhra Pradesh in 2020 compared to the year before. The state reported 15,512 overall road accidents last year against 18,462 accidents in 2019. Correspondingly, the death toll slid to 5,174 from 6,257 during this timeframe, representing a 17% decline.

Even the national figures reflected the same trend with a drop in the number of insurance claims. The number of claims stood in India at 4,87,085 in 2019-20. This number declined to 3,78,343 last fiscal.

Interestingly, the top three claimant states in terms of insurance settlement numbers in 2020-21 are located in south India. Kerala settled the highest numbers of claims at 52,301, followed by Tamil Nadu (48,036) and Karnataka (43,653). The number of claims in the majority of the north-eastern states was limited to double-digit numbers in 2020-21.

Andhra Pradeshhas been ranked seventh in the performance grading index (PGI) ratings released by the Union Education ministry.

The state, which has been implementing a variety of reforms in the , attained the best rating of L2 along with six other states.Gujarat,Rajasthanand AP are the new entrants to L2 level, with the state, which secured an overall score of 811 PGI in 2019-20, improving its score to 902 PGI.

The PGI is constructed based on 70 identified indicators and two categories containing five domains. The data for PGI 2020-21 was drawn from several sources including unified district information system for education plus (UDISE+) and national achievement survey. AP secured 154 PGI out of 180 in Learning outcomes and quality domain.

The had set an ambitious target of theAndhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(APSRTC) converting all its fleet into electric vehicles by 2029. The RTC is going to make a head start by introducing 100electric busesbut the road is too long for it to achieve the target within the stipulated time.

The state government in itsElectric Vehicle(EV) policy document, envisaged to convert more than 11,000 buses owned by APSRTC into electric vehicles by 2029 way back in 2018 but it has taken more than three years for the RTC to make a beginning. The state government set a target to convert 100 per cent of the APSRTC fleet in the top four cities into electric by 2024 in the first phase. Achieving this target would be next to impossible with the present operating conditions of APSRTC and the support it is getting from the government, according to insiders of the corporation.

The demand for luxury buses continues to grow over the years and APSRTC is under pressure to increase buses in this segment. Without policy incentives for electric buses from central and state governments, the APSRTC is not able to acquire electric buses on its own.

AP government explained that there is no surplus water inGodavariand allowing new projects by will have a serious adverse impact on the inflows into Polavaram national project. The State Government has also requested Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) chairman to turn down the DPRs of Telangana as it was not feasible to allocate water to the proposed projects.

In fact, the tribunal had already distributed all the water of river Godavari dependable flows and remaining water among the basin states based on the agreements finalised by all riparian states.

Cwc took up the study following apprehensions about storage capacity of the major Irrigation andhydro-electric projectlocated atAPandTelanganaborder. Srisailam project is the first major irrigation dam afterKrishnariver enters the state.

According to project engineers, the latest capacity might not be more than 180 tmc, which could further intensify the water war between AP and .

Irrigation experts and farmers in Andhra Pradesh have welcomed the Centres gazette notification marking jurisdiction for the Krishna and Godavari river boards.

Farmers, particularly in Rayalaseema, were anxious over utilisation of Krishna river water for power by neighbouring state.

Telangana had utilised about 27 tmc of the 29 tmc received as inflows at Srisailam in the last fortnight, AP officials allege. About 15 tmc of water was released into the ocean from Prakasam barrage due to the power generation by Telangana at Pulichintala project.