KERALA

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the Kochi Water Metro, set to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, as a “dream project” of the state that would accelerate the Growth and development of Kochi.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said PM Modi would launch the Kochi Water Metro service in a function here on April 25.

With the launching of the flagship project set up at a cost of Rs 1,136.83 crore in the port city, one more assurance given to the people of the state by the LDF government is being fulfilled, Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

The cost-effective and secure journey in air-conditioned boats would help people to reach their respective destinations without being stuck in traffic snarls, he said. Passengers can travel in both Kochi metro and water metro using the “Kochi 1” card. They can also book the tickets digitally.

The first session of the 15thKerala Legislative Assemblybegan here on Monday with the swearing in of newly elected MLAs, of whom 53 are fresh entrants, under strictCovid-19 protocols.

As many as 136 legislators of the 140-member-strong house took the oath of office during the over three-hour-long session which began at 9 AM.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who scripted his name in the HISTORY of the house as the first chief minister in the last four decades to assume office for a second consecutive time, made a solemn affirmation, while some of his cabinet colleagues took oath in the name of the God.

A new effluent treatment plant developed byKerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University(KVASU) has the twin advantages of mitigating fears of contaminating neighbouring water bodies and drastically cutting down water consumption through recycling.

The plant set up at the university’s Centre for Pig Production and Research (CPPR), Mannuthy, can treat 75000-80,000 litres of effluent per day. Presently, nearly 50,000 litres of effluent is required to water the fodder plots of the university’s Farm, Mannuthy, and the rest of the 25,000-30,000 litres is treated in the plant.

According toKeralaanimal husbandry department assistant directorDr R Venugopal, the current pig Population in Kerala is about 90,000. But farmers’ association leaders said Keralites consume the meat of at least six lakh pigs per year. The state is the largest consumer of pig meat in south India

Tourism to the Nilgiris has reduced by almost 70% since January this year, due to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.

According to data available on visitors to the popular tourist locations in the district, such as the farm in Kallar, the Kattery Park, Doddabetta Tea Park, Government , the Rose Garden, Sims Park and the Arboretum, the Average number of visitors during the weekends has dropped to just a little over 2,000 visitors. It stood at around 15,000 prior to the surge in cases.

Nearly a three-fold increase was witnessed in incidences of very heavyrainfallacross districts ofKeralasince 2015, according to data maintained by theIndia Meteorological Department. While the coastal state experienced 43 very heavy rainfall events in 2015, the number of such extreme weather events increased to 115 in 2021, the weather office data showed.
Very heavy rainfall events are categorised as days that experience rainfall between 115.6 and 204.4 mm.

Forty-three incidences of very heavy rainfall were registered in 2015, of which 19 were in June; year 2016 registered 23, of which 16 alone were in June; 2017 registered 38 such events, with September witnessing 14 incidences.
The year 2018 registered 163 such events, with August recording 74 such events, June 35 and June 34. Next year, there were 117 incidences, with 71 being registered in August and 22 in July July.
In 2020, 110 events of very heavy rainfall were witnessed, 40 being recorded in August, followed by 26 in September and 20 in July. The year 2021 recorded 115 such incidences, of which 51 were recorded in May alone.

In Kerala, the total incidences of heavy rain (64.5-115.5 mm per day) in 2015 were 360 across 10 months, with the maximum being recorded in June (116), followed by July (61).

Kumbalanghi in Kerala will be India’s first village without sanitary napkins.

Highlights:

Kumbalanghi in Kerala is scheduled to be the first sanitary napkin-free panchayat in the country.

This action is part of the ‘Avalkayi’ initiative, which is being carried out in the Ernakulam electoral district in collaboration with HLL Management Academy’s “Thingal Scheme” and Indian Oil Corporation.

Menstrual cups will be supplied to Women in Kumbalangi village aged 18 and up as part of this campaign.

Under it, 5000 menstruation cups will be supplied. The Governor will also designate Kumbalangi village as a model village at the same time.

The Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (PM-SAGY) is funding the model village project. In addition, a new visitor information center will be built in the village.

Kumbalangi is an island town on the fringes of Kerala’s Kochi metropolis.

It is a popular tourist destination known for its Chinese fishing nets.

It’s roughly 12 kilometers from the city center, nestled among backwaters.

The village is also India’s first eco-tourism destination.

Kerala government is set to launch a mobile application to improve and track the collection of inorganic waste across local self-governing bodies.

Smart garbage mobile app will be launched across all six municipal corporations, 300 village bodies and 70-odd municipalities in the initial phase.

Launch of the mobile app will make waste disposal more efficient.

App will be deployed to manage and realise the quantity of inorganic waste collected from household.

It will also and explain how waste has to be treated.

Each household will be given QR codes, which will be used to obtain details of waste being generated.

This app will enable all local bodies and department to track waste collection.