06.08.21

Mizoram and Assam ink pact on border hands-off

by

Assam and Mizoram inked an agreement to keep their Police and forest guards away from the troubled inter-state border as the first tangible step towards easing tension in the area and maintaining continuity of talks to end their decades-old territory dispute.
As decided by the Union Home ministry, neutral forces will remain in charge of the disputed zone straddling the three Barak Valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, and Mamit and Kolasib in Mizoram.

The dialogue followed several telephonic discussions between Mizoram CM Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, both of whom subsequently declared their commitment to finding a solution that has eluded successive governments since the first round of talks in 1993.

Assam reclaims 200 hectares of land from Mizoram encroachersThe Assam government on Wednesday informed the state assembly that it has reclaimed 200 hectares of land in Inner Line Reserve Forest from encroachers of Mizoram a few days ago. The state government had last month said in the House that nearly 1,800 hectares of Assam land have been encroached by the people of neighbouring Mizoram. In reply to a query by AIUDF MLA Suzam Uddin Laskar, Border Area Development Minister Atul Bora said that the Forest Department in association with the Assam Police cleared 200 hectares of land inside Inner Line Reserve Forest.

by

also said that miscreants from Mizoram set ablaze 27 houses at Jalnacherra village in Hailakandi district of Assam on February 9 this year, affecting 20 indigenous families. He further informed the House that miscreants also torched a few houses on July 25 at Bilaipur-Dhalcherra of Hailakandi. In Hailakandi district, around 1,000 hectares of Inner Line Reserve Forest have been encroached by people from Mizoram for a long time

Odisha government decides not to shift warrior horse statue

by

Following strong resentment and opposition from various sections over the plan to shift the iconic Konark warrior horse statue from Master Canteen Square, theOdishagovernment has now changed its decision. The statue made by noted sculptor, lateRaghunath Mohapatra, will not be shifted from its original place. Rather, the statue will be repaired and the podium will be revamped.

TheBhubaneswar Smart City Limited(BSCL) had sought permission from the culture department to shift the statue from Master Canteen Square to Raj Bhawan Square to make way for development projects in the smart city. The said that due to various developmental projects coming up around the same place, the iconic horse statue is likely to lose visibility so it would be shifted in front of Raj Bhawan Square.

The 18ftx15ft statue made in Khandolite stone was installed in 1988 by the then chief minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik. However, due to lack of proper maintenance and exposure to sun and rain, the statue has become brittle.

Stalin launches Makkalai thedi maruthuvam scheme in 8 dists

by

Chief minister M K Stalin launched Makkalai thedi maruthuvam, an initiative to take healthcare Services to peoples doorsteps, at Samanapalli village near Shoolagiri. He also handed over medicines to beneficiaries of the scheme.

After rolling out the scheme, the chief minister said, The first of its kind scheme in the country will include physiotherapy-related therapies, testing and providing medicines to the poor and for non-communicable diseases at their doorsteps.

Stalin said one crore people from 30 lakh families would be reached out under the scheme.

Kerala assembly to consider setting up ad hoc panel

by

Theassemblywill consider settingupan ad hoccommitteeso as to give recommendations regarding modifications in the assembly proceedings, including the inordinate delay in giving replies to the MLAs on several occasions, speaker M B Rajesh has ruled.

He said that the chair would hold discussions with the chief minister and the opposition leader and take a call in this regard.

Jacob said that on several occasions, the answers get delayed by months or even years that the relevance of the question itself would be lost by the time the MLAs receive the answers.
He said that questions asked under the RTI Act would be better answered than raised in the assembly, as the RTI Act has some penal provisions for delayed answers over a particular time frame.

Karnataka to play a critical role in increasing domestic consumption of coffee

by

Coffee growing countries, India, Brazil, and South Africa, should collaborate to combat common challenges they face such as global price volatility, high cost of production, and labour shortage, suggested International Coffee Organisation (ICO).

India produced over 3,20,000 tonnes of green coffee in the last harvest season that ended in March 2021. Karnataka alone accounts for over 70% of the countrys total coffee production, with Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan districts being the States coffee heartlands.

Coffee production had increased 34% in that country in the last two decades although the area under production had only reduced. Indian coffee community had to adopt cost-effective growing techniques and yield enhancing practices from Brazil.

Unesco tag: Deccan Sultanate sites lost to Dholavira

by

The forts and monuments of the Deccan Sultanate spread acrossTelanganaand Karnataka have been defeated by Kutch districts Dholavira this time around, in the race forUnescos world heritage site tag. Turns out, authorities have decided to prioritise the archeological site from Gujarat, as Indias entry for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO) recognition.

The monuments of the Deccan Sultanate comprising five dynasties that ruled Bijapur, Golconda, Bidar, Ahmadnagar and Berar include Hyderabads Golconda, Vijayapuras Gol Gumbaz, theHaftGumbaz tombs of Kalaburagi district and theBidarRoyal Citadel.

The Unesco nomination list also states that India has indicated its wish to prioritise Dholavira this year.

Andhra Pradesh: Property cards in 100 villages by August 15

by

The is gearing up to issue property cards in 100 villages by August 15 and 1,000 villages by October 2.

The cards will be issued to land and property owners after resurvey in the area. The cabinet sub-committee headed byPRminister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy reviewed the progress of the survey programme.

Farmers and land owners have been struggling with improper land records and title cards as no land survey was conducted in the state for over a century.

Goa draws up plans for phase-wise implementation of smart power meters

by

The electricity department will replace all existingmeterswithsmartmeters under the government of Indias smart meter national programme.

A trial run of 250 smart meters, which provide real time data to the department for better planning, is complete. The meters were placed across Goa in different terrain and the department found that they were 95% efficient.

The department is now drawing up a plan for phasewise installation of 6.5 lakh meters and hasplansof replacing around 50,000 meters by the end of the financial year.
Around 30% of the cost of each meter will be borne by the Centre and the rest by the department.

Through the smart meter programme, the government of India aims to bring in efficiency in thepowerdistribution system leading to better service delivery

The system will provide area-wise and time of the day, data on consumption and shortfall in capacity, which will help the department in its upgradation projects.

Dhule first city in Maharashtra to get Covid-free tag

by

Dhule city has become the first urban centre in Maharashtra to get a Covid-free tag, something only villages in the state have earned thus far. The northern Maharashtra city has a Population of 3.75 lakh.

The city was one of theCovidhotspots in the district during the second wave of the pandemic. Although there were fewer deaths during the second wave, the total number of people who tested positive in Dhule city was much higher than in the first wave.