06.11.21

Odisha: School-on-wheels for tribal students

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The states ST and SC development department has launchedSchool Sanjog Programme, aninitiative of school on wheels for children, especially from the poor and vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) communities.
The initiative, a joint collaboration of the state government andUNICEF, aims to offer continued learning experience to approximately 40,000 students in classes I-V in the PVTG communities in Keonjhar, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Gajapati,Rayagada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Ganjam.

The lockdown, which led to the launch of virtual learning, denied education to many students in the PVTG areas as they dont have access to smartphones or internet.

CM Stalin starts mega housing scheme for Sri Lankan Tamils

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Chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the first phase of a mega project to construct 3,510 houses at a cost of Rs 142.16 crore for Sri Lankan Tamil people residing at Melmonavur rehabilitation camp in Vellore district.
The government has proposed to construct houses and extend all basic amenities for Sri Lankan Tamil people in all the 106 rehabilitation camps across the state.

Stalin also launched a series of other projects like providing basic amenities including pucca roads, clean drinking water and power supply among others. He announced that the government would bear the tuition and hostel fees of the wards of Sri Lankan Tamil people pursuing engineering, agriculture and agricultural engineering and postgraduate courses.

Kerala has 20.4L surplus stock of Covid vaccine

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The initial trend, where the public used to rush to the Covid-19 vaccination centres but shortage of vaccine supply caused even law and order problems, seems to have been reversed.
As per the latest figures of the state government (till Friday), there is a stock of 20.44 lakh doses ofCovid vaccinein state.

At the same time, there are more than 12 lakh people, who are yet to turn up for availing the second dose of vaccine even after completing a month after they became eligible for the second dose.

The state has been able to make optimal use of vaccine doses since the beginning of the vaccination drive. The figures show that the wastage of Covaxin in the state is just 0.11%, while in the case of Covishield, the wastage is a negative figure (-4.76%) which would mean that it could administer vaccines to more number of public than the allotted number of doses.

Even among the tribal population, the vaccination figures show that 90% of those in the age group of 18-44 years and 96% of those above 45 years have been administered the first dose, while it is 44% and 70%, respectively, when it comes to the second dose.

Karnataka government determined to put Kannada & Kannadigas first

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Barely 24 hours after the high court suggested thatnon-Karnatakastudents cannot be compelled to learnKannadaor any other language, chief minister BasavarajBommai, with passion that could easily have been taken for defiance, said his government will continue to fight to make the language a compulsory subject, not just in primary and secondary schools, but at the degree level as well.

Three days later, Bommai, in his state formation day speech on November 1, pledged that he is committed to establishing the supremacy of Kannada in Karnataka, and promised to reserve 75% of jobs for Kannadigas in both government and private sectors.

In line with the Centres policy, Karnataka has also taken steps to introduce Kannada medium of instruction in professional colleges. Approval has been granted to four engineering colleges Bheemanna Khandre Institute of Technology (Bhalki), SGC Institute of Technology (Chikkaballapur), Maharaja Institute of Technology (Mysuru) and BLDEB Institute of Technology (Vijayapura) to teach students from civil and mechanical streams in Kannada.

With drones, Med from Sky set to soar into newer areas in Telangana

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The Telangana governments ambitious Medicine from the sky project is all set to soar into newer areas.

So far, 350 drone flights delivered medicines to different locations in Vikarabad in little over a month, despite some of the locations being inaccessible. Vaccines, medicines and blood platelets were delivered by the drones to primary health centres (PHCs).

With Vikarabad experiment being a big success, officials said all the experience gained will be put to good use for drone delivery of medicines in Adilabad and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts.

Phase-2 of the project is being deliberated to include actual deliveries and use of hybrid vertical take-off and landing UAVs. Sources said the consortiums which participated in the first phase were eager for the launch of second phase.
Operated by remote pilots, the drones can travel up to 10 km in a single run at a speed of 32 km per hour.

Vijayawada 2nd in drunken driving deaths

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ijayawada stands second among cities in the country in terms of deaths that occur due to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A total of 7,039 people were killed and 19,675 persons suffered injuries in 17,924road accidentsinAndhra Pradeshin 2020 as per the latest data ofNCRBin its Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India-2020 report.

Of the 94 deaths reported in AP due to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in 2020, Vijayawada accounted for 67.

As per the cause-wise distribution of road accidents among cities in 2020, among the 53 cities, Vijayawada occupies the second position with 67 deaths, after Chennai (236 deaths). Though Kolkata reported 345 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it reported only two deaths and 338 injuries.

Andhra Pradesh reported 154 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in 2020, in which 94 people were killed and 168 people suffered injuries. Vijayawada reported 67 deaths and 102 injuries in 96 cases in the category, while Vizag city reported only one death and two injuries in four cases in the category.

Rules for plastic waste should be applicable from 2016: State to Centre

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The state government has raised concerns over the implementation of the draft uniform framework for extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which has been notified by the Centre.

The state held that it should be applicable from the year 2016 and not from 2021, even as it estimated a Rs 21-crore loss to the exchequer if implementation began from 2021.
The framework, it said, should be linked to the goods and services tax regime and should be implemented through any state government department or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) constituted by it, and not by a private agency.

It also urged the development of a national software enabling all states to access data.
In March 2016, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) had notified the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which mandated that generators of waste take steps to minimise generation of plastic waste, to not litter, to ensure segregated storage of waste at source, and to handover segregated waste to local bodies or agencies authorised by them.

Vaccine wastage up in some districts; Maharashtra’s average under 1%

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The shortage of auto-disable syringes has marginally pushed up vaccine wastage rates in several districts in the last two months.

Even if the states cumulative wastage rate continues to be under 1%, a handful of districts have reported wastage in the range of 3% to 12%. The rates are higher forCovaxin compared to Covishield.

According to the last available data, Indias vaccine wastage rate was 6.3% in June.

Recent numbers compiled by the state government showed that the states wastage rate for Covaxin was 0.72%, while that for Covishield was negative (-1.09%). However, at least a dozen districts have a higher wastage rate than the state average for Covaxin. Among them, Nandurbar touched a staggering 12% this month. In 14 districts, including Mumbai, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Jalgaon, the Covaxin wastage is negative.

Raigad saw a Covishield wastage rate of (2. 7%) and Yavatmal (2.6%). In nine other districts, it has remained between 1-2%, while in a dozen districts, the wastage is less than 1%. Mumbai, Palghar Ratnagiri are some of the districts that have a negative wastage rate (see box) for Covishield.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that Antyodaya Gramodaya Mela would be organised across the State in order to increase the income of poor families and to financially empower them.

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In these fairs, such families will be associated with self-employment, the Chief Minister said while presiding over the State Working Committee meeting of BJP OBC Morcha in Panchkula.

He said that the work of income verification is being done by collecting data through Parivar Pehchan Patra Yojana. For this, the work of setting up self-employment through 40 schemes of six departments is at the final stage. To increase the income of the poor family, financial assistance will be provided from the banks through the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, he said.

Khattar said that all the office bearers of OBC Morcha should prepare a list of ten such families in their surrounding areas and send it to the State Government so that the goal of increasing the income of poor families can be achieved.

The Chief Minister said that the OBC class is skilled in many fields and such skilled workers are needed not only in the country but abroad as well. Craftsmen play a pivotal role in boosting the economy. Every year Shilpkar Mela is organized in Surajkund to promote the skills of craftsmen. In future, this fair will be organized twice a year so that the craftsmen can showcase their skills in a better manner, he added.

Khattar further said that it is for the first time in the country that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed the Ministry of Skills to promote skill-based education and training. On these lines, Haryana Government has also established Shri Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal so as to sharpen such skills in the State. Along with this, Skill Employment Corporation has also been constituted in the state, he said.

Census Of Indus River Dolphin Began In Punjab

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The Punjab Government is set to start the Census of Indus River dolphin, the most threatened species.

Highlights:

Platanista gangetica minor is the scientific name for the Indus River dolphin.
It’s a freshwater dolphin that lives in the Beas River.
The census will begin in the winter as part of a central government operation.
Punjab’s wildlife preservation wing, on the other hand, will go a step farther and safeguard not only dolphins but also their natural habitat.
The project will take five years to complete.
It will focus on gathering data on species spatial and temporal distribution patterns, as well as population status, using a well-established and authorized approach.
The Indus River dolphin is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list (IUCN).
In 2007, a viable population of Indus dolphins was identified in Punjab’s Harike wildlife sanctuary along the lower Beas River.
Since its discovery, the Punjab Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation has been undertaking studies on the habitat utilization, current distribution, and population of dolphins in collaboration with the WWF-India.
The Indus River dolphin was named the Punjab State Aquatic Animal in 2019.
Extension initiatives will be arranged by a group of dedicated persons known as the ‘Beas-Dolphin Mitras’ of the river Beas under Punjab’s initiative.
Dolphin eco-tourism will also be a part of the project.