GUJARAT

A national study comparing states’biomedical wastegeneration duringCovid-19reveals that Gujarat generated the third largest quantity of biomedical waste in 2020. However, it was also among the states that recorded the sharpest falls in 2021 – 71%, according to the data based on thecentral pollution control board’s (CPCB) reports.

According to the study, ‘An investigation of bio-medical waste produced in India during Covid-19 pandemic and Maharashtra state (pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid-19) analysis: a GIS-based approach’, published inResearch and Health Services& Regions journal indicated that mean biomedical waste generated in tonnes per day was the highest at 25.75 in Maharashtra, followed by 15.72 in Kerala, 14.71 in Gujarat, 13.4 in Nadu and 11.93 in Uttar Pradesh. The number fell to 4 tonnes per day (72.5% drop) year-on-year.

According to the CPCB data, the number of common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities (CBWTF) reduced from 20 in September 2020 to eight in August 2022.

The Gujarat government, which had written to the Centre to increase its Oxygen quota from 975 metric tonnes (MT) as it expects demand to touch 1,600MT by May 15, said that demand and consumption of oxygen has stabilized at 1,250MT. It anticipates that demand will remain at 1,250MT for the next four to five days and may even decrease by 100MT in a week.

In its affidavit filed in theGujarat high courtin response to the suo motu PIL on Covid-19, the gave details on demand and supply of oxygen between April 23 and May 7 and stated that Average daily demand and supply in Gujarat was 1,232.3 MT for the last two weeks.

The state socio-economic review (SER) for the year 2022-23 reveals that the strength of the TEACHING staff in these colleges has almost halved over the past six years, leaving the existing teachers overburdened and exposed to a tide of mental Health and social issues.

From 15,398 teachers in the government-run technical colleges in 2016-17, the number has dropped to 7,755 in 2022-23.

The data tabled in the SER reveals that in 2016-17, there were 238 institutes with the maximum staff strength of 15,398 – an Average of 64.7 teachers per institute. The number of institutes increased to 242 in 2019-20, but the number of teachers plummeted to 10,342.

By 2022-23, the number of institutes stood at 230, while the strength of the teaching staff dropped further to 7,755 – making it an average of 33.6 teachers per institute and a decline of 49.6 per cent in the total number of teachers.

Significantly, the number of Women teachers at these institutes dropped by 51% in six-years – from 4,915 to 2,415.

SuzukiMotor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation, has commenced production from third unit at its Ahmedabad-based manufacturing facility.

With production starting at the Plant C, which has an annual production ability of 2.5 lakh units, together with Plant A and Plant B, the total ability of SMG will be 7.5 lakh units.

In October 2020, SMG became the fastest production site of Suzuki to achieve accumulated automobile production of 10 lakh units.

Union minister for Home and cooperation,Amit Shah, describedGujaratscooperativesas a model for the entire country saying it has provided development opportunities for all sections of the Society.

Gujarats co-operative system is a role model for the country, with sugar mills being the best in the country. The sector has made an invaluable contribution in providing equal development opportunities to the poor, farmers, Women and youth of the country, Shah said.

A project on satellite telemetry ofDemoiselleCranes and Common Cranes was launched on Saturday by the Sasan-Gir forest department to understand its Migration pattern, habitat preferences, dispersal, as well as foraging ECOLOGY.

While the two crane species are enlisted as least concerned in Red List, they are protected underSchedule IVof Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The project aims to prepare a suggestive plan of action for long-term conservation of cranes inGujarat.

According to a statement it released, the forest department said it had tagged selected birds under this project but prior to the tagging, the team carried out a thorough, in-depth survey. They then captured two birds each of the two species with the help of skilled and experienced trappers and set them free after tagging them with solar-powered leg-band type GSM-GPS transmitters.

Three out of 15 species of cranes found globally are seen in Gujarat. Though they are under the Least Concern category, the global Population of Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoidesvirgo) and Common Crane (Grus grus) are estimated to be between 2,30,000 2,61,000 and 4,91,000 5,03,000 individuals, respectively.

After a reprimand by theGujarat over large scale misuse of the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, the Gujarat government has promulgated an ordinance to amend contentious provisions of the act.
The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 has modified the original provisions of the Act which were affecting tribal rights.

By this crucial amendment now no action will be initiated against any tribal person under the land grabbing act if any such proposal before the concern authority is pending for the allocation of land under theST and Traditional Forest Dwellers Act.