05.06.21

Covid: Annual Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya Temple cancelled

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The annual Ambubachi Mela, one of eastern Indias leading religious congregations held at Kamakhya Temple atop Nilachal Hills here, has been cancelled because of threats posed by the Covid-19 pandemic for the second year running.

The mela is held from June 22 every year but the temple will remain closed till June 30.

Over 20 lakh visitors/tourists had attended the 2018 mela and about 25 lakh in 2019 from within India and outside but most from Bengal and Bihar. The place hold special significance for Hindus because Kamakhya Temple is one of the 51 shaktipeeths in the country. The temple remains closed during the four-day period because the goddess is believed to undergo her menstrual cycle.

Four Assam tiger reserves get CATS accreditation

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Four ofAssamhave been accorded CATS (Conservation Assured Tiger Standards) accreditation.State forest minister Parimal Suklabaidyasaid the move would boost conservation efforts of big cats in the state.

TheNational Committeeof Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS) recommended proposals forKaziranga, Manas, Nameri and Orang tiger reserves forCATS accreditation.

The CATS assessment has been conducted by theNational Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) in 27 tiger reserves in the first phase.

The NTCA, which sets a benchmark for managing conservation sites through a set of minimum standards based on 17 parameters (F3 element wise) ranging from social, cultural and biological significance to Infrastructure/equipment and from management planning to human-wildlife conflict (HCW) management, have given scores of 81.25% to Kaziranga, 78.49% to Manas, 71.21% to Nameri and 74.01% to Orang Tiger Reserve.

CATS is an international coalition developed in response to the need for stringent conservation procedures for protection of big cats through a PARTNERSHIP between governments and conservation organizations.

Under the accreditation system of CATS, tiger conservation areas provide evidence under seven pillars and 17 Elements of critical management activity to demonstrate that they meet a range of criteria for effective conservation management.

Odisha best in climate action, worst in peace

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Odishahas improved its overall rank in ‘s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Index 2020 that was released on Thursday. From 15th place in the last edition, the state now ranks 12th among states. Odisha’s overall score also improved from 58 last year to 61 this time.
Kerala (overall score 75) retained the top spot while Odisha Shares its position withChhattisgarhandNagaland. Like last year, Odisha remains a performer state, the category with scores between 50 and 64.

Those with scores of 65-99 are categorised frontrunners while those below 50 are aspirants. The states have been ranked on the basis of their performance on 16 different Sustainable Development Goals.

While Odisha tops in the country in categories like Climate action and life below water, it is the bottom state in peace, Justice and strong institutions.

It’s big score in disaster preparedness and low carbon dioxide footprint put Odisha as top performer in climate action. The state’s potential area developed under aquaculture rose from 28.5% last year to 41.7% this time, helping it to bag the top slot in life below water, measured only in nine coastal states.

Most Health related parameters in the state have improved while those relating to peace and justice have gone down. In the sustainable development goal for good health and well-being, Odisha’s maternal mortality ratio (per one lakh live births) has improved from 168 to 150 while institutional delivery improved from 57.8% to 97.2%. Under-five mortality fell from 48 to 44 per 1000 live births. HIV prevalence also fell from 0.06 per 1000 to 0.05.

In the category of clear water and sanitation, while source of drinking water for rural Population improved from 91.2% to 98.13%, Percentage of industries complying with waste water treatment norms fell from 91.71% to 83.16%. Manufacturing employees as total percentage of total EMPLOYMENT improved from 7.42% to 8.15%.

In gender Equality parameters, while crime against Women rose from 94.5 per one lakh women to 103.5 per lakh, sex ratio at birth fell from 938 to 933.

In SDG for peace, justice and strong institutions, the state’s murders per one lakh population increased from 2.95 to 3.10. Cognizable crime against children went up from 22.70 in one lakh to 49.90. Victims of human trafficking per 10 lakh also rose from 7.04% to 20.03%.

The net enrolment ratio or percentage share of children of primary school age who have been enrolled fell from 94.7% to 71.57%, while Unemployment ratio worsened from 7.1% to 7.6%.

Chennai to get Krishna water before mid-June

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The citys water supply is set to be augmented, withKrishna waterfrom neighbouring Andhra expected to reach zero point inTamil Naduwithin the next10 days.

At present, officials in that state have blocked the flow from the Kandaleru reservoir at the state border itself, diverting it for farmers there.

The Kandaleru reservoir now has 45 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) against the full capacity of 68 tmcft, a comfortable level that allows the state to release water to Nadu.

The Poondi reservoir in Tiruvallur district, one of the five supplying Chennai city, is the culminating point for Krishna river water before it flows through an open canal into the reservoir at Red Hills. At present, the Poondi reservoir has 413 mcft (million cubic feet) of water, which is 12.78% of the total capacity of 3,231 mcft.

Agri sector receives fund for modernization in Kerala

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To attract more youngsters and persons who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic to the agri sector, the finance minister said that fair prices will be ensured for farm products.

As part of this, Krishi Bhavans to be modernized as smart offices and the finance minister has allocated Rs10 crore as preliminary expenditure. Integration of various stages from distribution of quality planting materials, cultivation (depending on the nature of the ), extension activities of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, harvest, use of warehouses, cold storage chain and Marketing will be modernized using advanced digital technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, AI for the benefits of farmers.

Subiksha Keralam scheme started during the tenure of the previous government to address Food scarcity and increasing income duringCovidhas enhanced production on a large scale. He said that shortage of godowns equipped with facilities for preservation, drawbacks in procurement and marketing networks, pushed farmers into distress.

A sum of Rs 10 crore has been earmarked for a computerized service Network for marketing agri products. Two districts will be chosen for the pilot project this year in which farmer producer companies, co-operative societies and agri markets shall be included in this scheme. An amount of Rs10 crore is earmarked for this.

Karnataka to cap mucormycosis treatment cost: Minister

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TheKarnatakagovernment said that it will cap the treatment cost of mucormycosis in private hospitals across the state. A potentially fatal fungal infection, mucormycosis spreads rapidly from the nose and sinuses to the face, jaw, eyes, and brain, entailing expensive treatment and long hospitalisation. Hundreds of families are shelling out lakhs on anti-fungal drugs, the prices of which have rocketed in recent weeks following a spike in cases.

The cost of treatment, especially in private hospitals, can go up to Rs 3 lakh. Moreover, with the relatives of patients being told to bring the medicines on their own mainly Liposomal Amphotericin-B and Amphotericin-B injections medicine prices have surged, besides leading to blackmarketing and a price surge.

Government firm on three-capitals plan, shifting of administration to Vizag to happen soon

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The is firm on moving forward on its three capitals proposal. Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is understood to have given his nod to the departments to make their own arrangements to move to executive capital,Visakhapatnam.

The government had made laws in the assembly locating the executive capital in Visakhapatnam and judicial capital at Kurnool, while retaining the legislative capital at Amaravati.

With eye on carbon neutral, Goa to incentivise e-vehicles

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As part of the larger objective to make Goa carbon neutral by 2030, the intends to incentivize the adoption ofelectric vehicles, bring in electric vehicle manufacturers to Goa and restore fragile Ecosystems in the state.

Environment minister Nilesh Cabral said that the government aims to make electric two-wheelers cheaper than petrol-powered two-wheelers while the price difference between a conventional car and an electric car will be reduced from 30% to 5%.

The states subsidies are in addition to the subsidy for scrapping of vehicles and the Centres subsidy for electric vehicles. For motorcycle pilots, 50% to 54% of the cost of the vehicle will be subsidised.

The cost of the undergroundMetro 3project has escalated by over Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 33,406 crore from the original estimate of Rs 23,136 crore in 2016. When tenders were invited in 2016, the cost was based on the 2011 estimate.

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The escalation proposal was submitted to the state finance department by theMumbai Metro Rail Corporation(MMRC), which is implementing the 33.5km rail link betweenCuffe Paradeand Seepz, in February.

It is also learnt that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is funding almost 60% of the total project cost, has not released funds for Metro 3 for the past year.

On World Environment Day, Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that 3 crore trees will be planted in a year in Haryana and plantation would be done on 10 percent of the 8 lakh acres of panchayat land, which will be named as Oxy Forest. Not only this, all the trees planted in a year will also be named Oxy Forests.

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To promote the process of gettingnatural Oxygen from trees, plantations will be done in the name of Panchavati in every village of Haryana. Besides this, agro Forestry will also be promoted on vacant land so that Panchayat income in rural areas can also increase.

Besides this, the Chief Minister also inaugurated and laid foundation stones of three other projects at the same programme, these include laying foundation stone of Nagar Van Panchkula, starting Panchavati plantation at 134 places of Kurukshetra pilgrimage and Pran Vayu Devta Pension Scheme.

Khattar said that the Mera Pani-Meri Virasat scheme was started by the to save water for future generations. He said that for this, it was decided that an incentive amount of Rs.7000 per acre would be given to the farmers adopting crop diversification in place of paddy and now the government has decided that any farmer who opts for agro forestry and Plants 400 trees on his land, then an amount of Rs.10,000 would be given to such farmers for a period of three years instead of Rs. 7000.

He said, ‘Pranvayu Devta Pension’ scheme will be unique and the first of its kind in India. As a matter of honour, the State Government has taken an initiative to honour all those trees which are of the age of 75 years and above and have served humanity throughout their life by producing oxygen, reducing pollution, providing shade and so on. Such trees will be identified throughout the state and these will be looked after by involving local people in this scheme.