07.09.21

As administration of first dose of anti-Covid jabs have outperformed that of second doses, theCentre asked eight north eastern states along withUttarakhandand Jammu and Kashmir to focus on ramping up coverage of the second dose, particularly in the population above 60 years of age.

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In these states, the coverage of both doses of the vaccine is unsatisfactory in the elderly population above 60 years of age that is most vulnerable to SARS-CoV2 infection as well as fatality due to it, the health secretaryRajesh Bhushanunderlined during a meeting with these states to review the vaccination status.

The Centre advised states to earmark doses, days and target the completion of the vaccination exercise for people above 60 years of age as the vulnerability of these people to Covid-19 makes this exercise of prime importance.

Meanwhile, the states and union territories were also asked to quickly saturate the first dose coverage among the 18-plus population.

A total of 68.33 crore doses of Covid-vaccines were administered till Saturday. Nearly 56% of the 94 crore adult population has received at least one dose of the vaccines, whereas around 17% of adults of age 18 years and above have got both doses.

The Centre asked states to closely monitor the stock from state-level stores to cold chain points, check rational distribution and restrict vaccine wastage to below 2%. States have been asked to update data on eVIN (electronic vaccine intelligence network) on a daily basis.
Bhushan chaired a review meeting with representatives from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and the northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh,Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

North Central Railway flags off first Kisan Rail from Agra to Assam

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In a major boost to farmers of western UP, North Central Railway (NCR) flagged off its first Kisan train from Yamuna bridge railway station underAgradivision recently.

The Kisan Rail service was started in August 2020 as an initiative to increase farmers incomes by transporting perishable agri-products. Its aim is also to expand farmers reach to markets at far off places.

By using the Kisan Rail, farmers will have to effectively pay 50% less charges than normal parcel rates. The scheme is a government of India initiative in which 50% subsidy on transportation is given to farmers at the time of booking of their perishable produce, including fruits, vegetables and dairy products.

Transfer of Fresh Water in Brahmani River

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Environmentalists have expressed concern about the massive transfer of fresh water from the Brahmani River basin, which may pose a serious threat to Orissa’s famous mangrove vegetation. From the Brahmani river, the steel & power plants, the Talcher-Angul coal mines, Kalinganagar steel and power hub are drawing massive portions of fresh water.

Highlights:

For Odisha state, the Brahmani is a major seasonal river . The Brahmani River is formed by the joining of the South Coel River and the Sankh River
It forms a large delta with the Baitarani River and then merges into the Bay of Bengal at Dhamra.
Bhitarkanika-a reported Ramsar wetland-covers an area of more than 195 square kilometers and is home to 62 mangrove species.
The fresh water from the Brahmani River Basin and the Kharasrota River flows proportionally to keep the salinity of the coastal waters at a low level.

Birth Anniversary of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi commemorated the freedom fighter V. O. Chidambaram Pillai on the 150th anniversary of his birth.

About V. O. Chidambaram Pillai:

He was Born on September 5, 1872, Pillai is popularly acknowledged as Kappalottiya Tamizhan or The Tamil Helmsman

His most memorable thing is that he braved huge difficulties, Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, to challenge the British monopoly in maritime trade.

He and Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) launched the first domestic Indian shipping service between Tuticorin and Colombo to compete with British ships.

Pillai’s ambitions -although services are limited to Tuticorin and Colombo, Swadeshi’s goal is to “popularize the art of navigation” in the “Oriental countries”, hire “Asian”, open a shipyard, and do everything in its power to revitalize the Indian maritime tradition .

Tuticorin Port Trust, one of Indias 13 primary ports, is named after him.

Play on V. O. Chidambaram Pillai: Desabhaktar Chidambaranar

Film on his life: Kappalottiya Tamizhan

Nipah Virus Reported in Kerala

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After more than three years, Kerala reported a case of zoonotic Nipah virus infection.

About Nipah Virus:

The first outbreaks of the Nipah virus amongst humans was mentioned from Malaysia (1998) and Singapore (1999).

It is a zoonotic virus, that means it has been transmitted from animals to human beings.

Fruit bats, often recognized as flying foxes, are regarded to be a natural reservoir of the virus. As we all know, fruit bats spread the virus to other animals such as pigs, dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.

Humans get contaminated usually via direct contact with these animals. The virus can additionally be passed on through food contaminated through saliva or urine of these contaminated animals or directly from person-to-person.

Symptoms consist of acute encephalitis and respiratory illnesses

Karnataka: Ballari will continue to hold financial powers over Vijayanagara till 2023-24

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Despite having been carved out ofBallaridistrict,Vijayanagarawill continue to function in association with its parent district for the next three years, as the state government on Monday decided that funds allocated for undivided Ballari district will be persisted with.
Taking stock of the new district formation, chief ministerBasavaraj Bommaiappears to have taken a decision to persist with the action plan which was already in place for undivided Ballari till 2023-24 fiscal as any changes to the development plan would have an adverse impact on both the districts.

CM Bommai said he will be asking the housing department to provide land of 83 acres for the new offices to be constructed and asked the officials to not waste land.
With regard to personnel, Bommai has asked the officials to partially draw the services from Ballari district and the rest to be started afresh.

The government has also decided to allocate funds for the new infrastructure in two phases.

Defying KRMB, Telangana continues power generation at Srisailam

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Sticking to its contention that Srisailam project was conceived for hydel power generation in the united Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana government has been generating electricity from its units at the project. This, despiteKrishna River Management Board(KRMB) direction to stop hydel power generation from Srisailam following complaints by Andhra Pradesh.

Chief ministerK Chandrasekhar Raohad on several occasions said Telangana would generate power at Srisailam to meet the states requirements.

The Telangana government has been arguing that Srisailam project was meant for hydel power generation. The Telangana irrigation officials even walked out from the meeting and said they would not attend the meeting if the Board wants to hold another meeting on hydel power. The government also said it has no objection if AP generates hydel power from its units at Srisailam.

Interestingly, the Telangana government broke its earlier hydel power record by continuously generating and utilising 2,085 million units (MU) in the past five months i.e., April to September 5 against just 1,193 MU for the same period in 2020. Of this, 880 MUs were from Srisailam and another 879 MUs from Nagarjunasagar units.

Andhra Pradesh: Authorities gear up to avert crisis at Somasila project gates in Nellore

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he irrigation authorities atSomasilaproject inNelloredistrict are on their toes as flood level is increasing in thereservoir.

The authorities had a tough time last year in lifting crest gates during floods. Although they averted a crisis at the eleventh hour by managing to lift the gates, the recent incident of a crest gate washing away atPulichintalaproject due to heavyfloodsis worrying the administration.

The water level at Somasila project has already touched 68 tmc ft against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 72 tmc ft. Heavy rains in upstream areas are leading to increase in water level at the project.

Goa: International law university to be set up in Dharbandora, says revenue minister Jennifer Monserrate

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he state government has identified land in Dharbandora taluka, near theSanjivanisugar factory, for setting up of the India International University of Legal Education and Research ofBar Council of IndiaTrust.

The Bar Council of India has sought 2 lakh sqm of land for setting up of the university and the land demarcation process is under way.

Earlier, the state cabinet had granted its nod to the bill. There is a provision by which the India International University of Legal Education and Research may also establish centres in other parts of India, and abroad.

At present, there are two law colleges in Goa, both affiliated to theGoa University.
The state, so far, has no law university orNational Law School(NLS).
The government had promulgated an ordinance regarding the new university.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray assures relief to farmers as per 2019 policy: Raju Shetti

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Chief ministerUddhav Thackeray assured the delegation led bySwabhimani Shetkari SanghtanaleaderRaju Shettithat a gazette notifyingcompensationto thefarmersas per the relief extended after the 2019 floods will soon be issued.

After the five-day protest by villagers along the Panchaganga river concluded on Sunday at Narsinhawadi, Thackeray invited Shetti for discussions.
The discussion was held at theCMs office for over an hour.

Shetti demanded that the farmers affected by floods in Panchaganga and Krishna rivers in July should be compensated as per the 2019 policy. Thackeray had earlier made an oral announcement that the compensation will be granted as per 2019 policy, but there was no official gazette notification issued regarding the same.

Shetti also demanded that the funds available with district collector to implementMahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) should be utilised for employing the daily wage workers to remove the damaged crops from the fields. For farmers to remove the damaged crops and level the fields around Rs 10,000 per acre will be required which is not available with them. In Kolhapur, Sangli, the funds forMNREGAremains unutilised, said Shetti.