Plastic waste is choking marine landscape in coastal areas of state

The marine litter, particularly the plastic waste, has been choking the marine landscape in coastal areas likeVisakhapatnam. There have been growing instances of fishing nets being filled with more plastic refuse than of fish inAndhra Pradesh.

With limitedspaceon their boats and the plastic would fetch them no even if they bring it back to the shore, the fishermen are simply dumping the bycatch back into sea.

As per the research being conducted bythe NationalCentre for Coastal Research (NCCR), the marine litter has been spread along the entire water column along the Indian coasts. With rainwater bringing it through various channels, a huge quantity of plastic refuse is noticed during monsoons. Apart from the socio-economic impact, the plastic ending up at the sea may have far-reaching implications on humankind as well as marine life and other living organisms.

According to a report released by theWorld Economic Forumand the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the plastic debris in the Oceans will be more than that of the fish species (by weight) by 2050.

Handloom rights forum seeks financial support from Centre

The All-IndiaHandloom RightsForum (AIHRF) has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend financial assistance tofamiliesin thehandloom sector.

The AIHRF president sought financial help of at least Rs 10,000 per family per month during the pandemic. This, he said, was because while some states have announced lockdowns and others have imposed curfews, all of which are hurting the sector. Narasimham said that around 31.45 lakh families are engaged in thehandloomsector across the country and 75% of those involved in handloom are Women.

The AIHRF president also wants the Centre to pay Rs 25,000 into accounts of weavers whose families were hit by Covid-19. He further requested the government to waive all taxes on raw materials, products and all direct and indirect taxes on the sector including those on hank yarn, chemicals, colours and cloth.

AP Governor lauds rapid rise in horticulture production, output

India is emerging as an economic superpower and as the food basket of the world and to sustain the ever-expanding Population, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and production will be a major challenge Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer said on Friday.

Presiding over the fifth edition of the Dr YSR Horticultural Universitys convocation, the governor said horticulture production had surpassed agricultural production and contributed nearly six per cent to the nations GDP. The horticulture sector was generating 14 per cent of EMPLOYMENT, of which Women formed 42 per cent of the workforce.

The Governor said Andhra Pradesh has seen tremendous Growth in the horticulture sector in the past few decades, adding that production levels have reached 312.34 lakh metric tonnes, up from 17.84 lakh hectares. The state was ranked second in terms of horticultural production, the Governor said.

Andhra Pradesh’s single largest floating solar project launched at NTPC in Vizag

TheSimhadri unitofNational Thermal Power Corporationof India Limited (NTPC) launched the 25MW of floating solar power project at its unit premises in Visakhapatnam.

The project is being developed in its own resorvoir spread over 150 acres.
The first 5MW block was completed and inaugurated byDiwakar Kaushik, head of the unit.

It is expected to complete the balance works by June 2021 and full 25MW will be made available to the grid, Kaushik added.
Power flow of more than 2MW was witnessed with present solar irrdiance, he said.
This is going to be the single largest floating solar PV project ofAndhra Pradeshonce commissioned, he added.

Two numbers of solar inverters, each having a capacity of 2.5MW, were switched on through Control Monitoring and Control Station.

Report on new districts to be given to CM soon

State planning department secretaryGSRKR Vijay Kumarsaid they will soon submit report on objections and suggestions made by public on the formation of new districts to the chief minister soon. Formation of new districts is a state subject. The Central government has also informed that changes can be completed by June.

The planning department secretary said they discussed suggestions, advice, and criticism from the public over the formation of new districts in NorthAndhraand East Godavari districts. Except for Nellore, review is over in all other 13 districts. The last date for submitting objections and suggestions is March 3.

Aquaculture industry set to scale new heights

Andhra Pradeshis focusing more on aquaculture which is a rapidly growing sector in the country. It also provides significant economic benefits for the state. AP plays a vital role in countrys seafood exports, ranking first in production of fish and shrimp, besides egg. It stood on top in marine exports in the fiscal year 2021-22.

While the state is gearing up for the Global Investors Summit on March 3 and March 4, and G20 Summit on March 28 and March 29 inVizag, the government has been showcasing its advantages in the farming sector.

The state has favourable climatic conditions and ample Resources“>Water Resources, besides a long coastline of 974 km for aquaculture.

Around 1.38 lakh farmers are involved in aquaculture in 2.12 lakh hectares in AP. As many as 111 cold storages store 2.27 metric tonnes of aqua products. The government is now providing subsidised power to aqua farmers cultivating in areas of less than 10 acres falling under aqua zones, with about 26,000 power connections currently receiving the benefit.

Lack of basic safety equipment adds to problem of industrial mishaps in AP

Several industries in AP are lacking even the basic safety mechanism to raise alarm and initiate auto-shut off of troubled equipment, resulting in loss of several lives in the state.

The industrial mishaps at Akkireddygudem in Eluru district, Tadepalligudem in West Godavari district, Parawada in Anakapalli district and at a sugar refinery near Kakinada were having certain common features. Mainly, they were not having a proper alert system in case of any emergency situation like formation of high pressure, rise in temperature, leakage of gasses or solvents to alert the workers and save their lives.

This indicates some industrial units show scant regard for compliance with safety norms in terms of maintenance of equipment, handling of a crisis with professionalism and regular training to the work face to deal with emergency situations.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches citizen service portal to bring governance closer to people

Chief ministerYS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched AP Seva Portal 2.0 (citizen service portal) at his Tadepalli camp office to deliver better digital Services to people.

The updated portal has over 30 services of revenue and land administration, 25 services of municipal administration, six civil supply services, three services of rural development and 53 energy department services.

The chief minister further said that village/ward secretariat services along with a volunteer system was brought to take Governance to the village level, where almost four lakh people are part of the delivery mechanism and offering over 540 services directly to the people. Since January 6, 2020, as many as 3.46 crore government services have been provided to the public through village/ward secretariats.

He said with the latest technology, AP Seva Portal was brought, where the applicant can know the details of their application and would also receive phone alerts related to the service sought.

Cotton ryots in AP to gain big this season

Cottontrade season is expected to begin on a positive note inAndhra Pradesh. While early market reports have indicated poor yields from dominant states likeMadhya Pradesh, Gujarat,Maharashtraand Karnakata, the crop area in AP has jumped by 30% with production expected to rise by nearly 15 per cent.

In normal conditions, the increase in crop area and production would have adversely hit farmers. However, AP farmers are likely to gain big as the crop in neighbouring states were damaged due to heavy rains and floods, which in turn is expected to increase demand for the stock from state farmers.

Notwithstanding the favourable market conditions, Cotton Corporation of India has set the stage ready for procurement of stock from growers in AP. CCI has brought as many as 34 procurement centres in 14 cotton growing districts in the state into operation. The Centre has already announced 6,380 as minimum support price for the current season, which is nearly 355 more than the MSP granted last season.

According to inputs from the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department, cotton cultivated area has gone up by nearly 30 per cent across the state as many farmers went for its cultivation in large extents.

The agriculture Marketing department is also coordinating with CCI to extend support to growers at cotton procurement centres.

Andhra Pradesh : 40% rural houses in state lack tap water

Of the 95.69 lakh rural households inAndhra Pradesh, 54 lakh homes were provided with water tap connections by March 31, 2022. About 2.26 lakh more houses have so far got these connections in this fiscal, leaving nearly 39 lakh or 40% of the total households of the state out of this transition.
In fact, Andhra Pradeshs tap connection coverage was limited to some 32% before the rollout ofJal Jeevan Missionin August 2019. The number of households having tap connections has almost doubled in just the last three years. The key objective of Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented by the Union Government is to provide piped water supply for all the households by 2024 with minimum service level of 55 litres per capita per day.

Now, the aims to complete the remaining works by 2024 through various measures such as augmentation of water sources and development of supply Infrastructure and water treatment Plants in villages.

The water supply department has also proposed to provide these tap connections in theJaganannahousing colonies currently being developed across the state. For all this to happen, sanctions have been accorded to the tune of 18,932 crore.
The state government will also cover all schools, Anganwadi centres and residential schools under Jal Jeevan Mission.

Tap connections in these institutions will provide them with water for drinking, cooking mid-day meals, hand washing, and use in toilets.