NORTH-EASTERN STATES

Arunachal Pradesh’s endeavour to establish all-weather connectivity got a shot in the arm in February, with the Centre approving road construction projects of 598 km at an estimated cost of Rs 1,100 crore. During the year, the ministry, as part of its Indo-China Border Roads (ICBR) project, also awarded six road stretches in Arunachal Pradesh to the National Highways Development Corporation on a nomination basis, entailing an expenditure of around Rs 5,000 crore.

A group of students from carbon-negative Bhutan has this message for the world – do much more to ensure increased participation of youngsters in the fight against https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change.

This group of 12 boys and girls from Orong Central School inBhutan’s Samdrup Jongkhardistrict was here for the just-concluded Northeast Green Summit.

About 80% of the school students in Nagaland, Meghalaya andMizoram, characterised by difficult terrains and remoteness, walk to school while nearly same the Percentage of students in Goa either take the bus, family vehicle or ride bicycles to school.

The Foundational Learning Study report 2022 compiled by theUnion ministry of educationand National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) show that against the national Average of 55% of students walking to school, 84% walk to school in Nagaland, followed by 80% each in Meghalaya and Mizoram. On the other side of the spectrum, only a little over 20% students in Goa walk to school. In the national capital, 50% go to school on foot.

In Nagaland, 9% of students travel to and from school in private four-wheelers or two or three-wheelers while 3% go in school buses, 2% use public transport and the 1% go to school on bicycles.

In Mizoram and Meghalaya, the report said schools are able to provide transportation facility to only 1% and 2% students respectively, while 3% and 4% students respectively avail public transport to attend school.

In Mizoram, 11% of students commute in their own two or three-wheeler vehicles while 3% travel in their family four-wheelers in both Meghalaya and Mizoram. In Meghalaya, the percentage of students going to school in privately owned two or three-wheelers is 5%.

The Centre has sanctioned the setting up of a full fledged National Forenic Science University (NFSU) in Tripura and forensic studies up to the post graduate level will begin in the present academic session in a temporary campus here, state Higher Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said.

The central government has approved a proposal of the for setting up a National Forensic Science University in Tripura and the process for setting up the university has already started. Pending the construction of a full-fledged campus at Srinagar area here, academic courses up to master degree level will start soon within the present academic session.

The state government has already allotted 49.2 acres at Srinagar area for setting up the permanent campus. Rs 100 crore will be invested for the NFSU, Tripura campus in the first phase.

Memorial made of ashes collected from rhino horns were unveiled recently at the Kaziranga in Assam.

The memorial having three rhino sculptures was named Abode of the Unicorns.

It has one male rhino, a female rhino and a calf.

It also has three statutes of forest guards, created using different materials.

Toy-train safari will run from Siliguri junction to Rongtong station in West Bengal.

This is the NRFs second attempt to attract tourists and improve tourism business in Darjeeling Himalayan RAILWAY (DHR).

Existing direct DHR Toy train service was discontinued for one and a half years due to covid-19 pandemic.

In a significant milestone in Meghalayas fight against drug abuse and trafficking,DREAM(Drug Reduction, Elimination & Action Mission) was launched by chief ministerConrad K. Sangmaduring a function organised by theMeghalaya Policeand social welfare department on Monday. The theme of the programme was People First: Stop Stigma & Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention.

The vision of the targeted mission is to build a drug- free Meghalaya that leverages culture and communities through a multifaceted coordinated strategy to eliminate the incidence of substance use in the state.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), which has been helpingAssamfarmers get international markets for their natural, organic and GI-tagged Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture products, said the northeast has the potential to lead the country in exports.
Several consignments of litchi, pumpkin and Assam lemon (commonly known as kaji nemu in Assamese) were exported by Apeda from the state to different countries.

The state agriculture department under the aegis of Apeda held a conference on Friday focusing on the export potential of natural, organic and -certified agro-products here. The prime objective was to create an international market link for the farmers or the producers of the region.

Apeda has also planned to facilitate capacity building to officials of the agriculture department. The selected officials would be sent in batches toKarnataka,Maharashtraand Gujarat.

Weather conditions are set to turn favourable in the northeast for the monsoon to set in. The three-month pre-monsoon season did not experience much rainfall this year.

In the northeast, the normal date of the arrival of the rainy season is June 5. After the rains hit the Kerala coast, within a couple of days, the rains may arrive in the northeast. We are keeping a close watch on the movement of the clouds, said a senior official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

In the run-up to the monsoon, the region usually experiences thunderstorms, but this year there was less of this activity. Except Meghalaya, which received normal rainfall since March 1, six other northeast states recorded deficit rainfall. With a maximum shortfall of 67% and 60%, rainfall has been largely deficit in Mizoram and Tripura respectively. Meghalaya, despite receiving 8% less rainfall than normal, was categorized in the normal range as the deficit was not that low. In Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, there was 41% and 27% deficit rainfall, whereas in Manipur, the shortfall was 37%. Nagaland had 44% deficit rainfall.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the entire northeastern region may be impacted byCyclone Mochawhich is expected to hit the Myanmar-Bangladesh coast.

IMD officials told TOI that heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur in Mizoram, Tripura and south Manipur as an effect of Mocha. The Met office said several parts of southern northeast will be swept by gusty winds on Sunday even as southAssam’s three Barak Valley districts are also likely to experience rain.

Expecting damage in Mizoram, Tripura, and South Manipur, the IMD has suggested Disaster Management agencies to take action to minimize losses likely to be caused by possible landslides and uprooting of trees.