11.05.23

Meghalaya to get new zoo by Aug 15

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Meghalayachief minister Conrad K Sangma on Sunday said the under-construction Meghalaya Zoological Park at Umtrew in Ri Bhoi district will be ready to be opened to the public by Independence Day.

The announcement came a day afterhis visit to the site on Saturday to review the progress of work.

Once ready, the zoo is expected to attract more tourists, both domestic and overseas. The first modern zoo in the state is coming up on approximately 72 hectares of land at an estimated cost of Rs 35 crore.


AFSPA likely to be fully lifted from Assam by yr-end: CM

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Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarmaon Monday said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is likely to be completely withdrawn from the state by the year-end as the situation in the state is constantly improving.
The controversial act is in force in eight districts-Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, bordering Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and one sub-division, Lakhipur of Cachar district bordering Manipur. The state government had withdrawn the act from 23 districts and one sub-division from April 1 last year.

On November 27, 1990, the entire state was declared disturbed area and was brought under AFSPA. Since then, it has been extended seven times. In September 2017, the Centre delegated the power toAssamas well as Manipur to impose or withdraw AFSPA from their respective states.
Elsewhere in the region, AFSPA is no longer in force in Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram. Barring three districts, the act is not in force in Arunachal Pradesh and in areas under 15 police stations each in Manipur and Nagaland.

Odisha govt lifts ban on purchase of new vehicles

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The state government has decided to resume the purchase of new vehicles for ministers and bureaucrats, lifting a ban that had come into force in February 2020 as part of its austerity measures. As per the government decision, only hybrid and electric vehicles (EV)s will be allowed to be bought.

Economic slowdown and drop in revenue receipt from various resources had prompted the government to impose a complete ban on purchase of new vehicles for government officials except for judges ofOrissahigh court and in cases like emergency requirements (health and security purposes).

TN to offer short-course therapy to avert spread of TB among close contacts

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The state launched a programme to offer free short-course therapy for the prevention oftuberculosisamong close contacts of patients with the bacterial infection.

The two drugs, which must be taken once a week for three months, reduce the risk of disease and help officials reduce the monitoring period from 180 days with conventional therapy although it costs ten times more than the conventional therapy.

The programme was launched by health minister Ma Subramanian while releasing the state’s strategic plan 2.0 for the elimination of tuberculosis by 2025. The infectious disease that most often affects the lungs is caused by a type of bacteria. It spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit.

So far, the state offered a drug that a patient relative must have every day for six months. Volunteers and healthcare workers found it tough to monitor them, and the high dropouts made preventive therapy ineffective.

KERI to conduct model studies

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The Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) has selected the Kerala Engineering Research Institute (KERI), Peechi, to conduct physical and mathematical model studies of Banasurasagar Dam located in Wayanad.

The studies are aimed at evolving systems to ensure that Kerala will get the stipulated quantity of water from the Cauvery river, as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) Award.

The sharing of waters of the interstate river, Cauvery was an issue of conflict between the co-basin states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry. The CWDT constituted in 1956 to adjudicate the disputes between the co-basin states, had delivered its final order on February 5, 2007.

T to reclaim unused land to fuel industrial growth

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With a huge demand for land for setting up new industries in the state, especially in Hyderabad Metropolitan Region (HMR), and land acquisition turning out to be a major problem, the Telangana government has decided to resume unutilised government land from various industries and institutions.

Sources in the government said about 1,800 acres of such unutilised land, which was allotted between 2004 and 2014, has been identified and notices slapped on the managements. Sources said some of them have already approached the courts on being served notices.

Officials said over 2,000 acres of land was allotted to various industries especially in the erstwhile Rangareddy district such as Raviryala,Maheshwaram,Ibrahimpatnam, Serilingampally and Shamirpet areas for setting up industries. The land extent was between 10 acres and 250 acres. While some have closed down their operations due to various reasons, some have utilised only a small portion of the land.

TheTelangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation(TSIIC) is the nodal agency for developing new industrial parks and allot the land to the new industries. Currently,TSIIChas a land bank of 1.50 lakh acres. Since the government is focusing on development of sector-wise industrial parks like food processing, automotive, aerospace and defence, textile and leather, and industrial policies of the government, there is a huge demand for the land. In the past nine years, land allotments were made to 2,980 units across the state.

Railways’ 1 Station 1 Product a hit in Andhra Pradesh

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The One Station One Product outlets have turned out to be a hit across 72 railway stations within the jurisdiction of South Central Railway covering the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Within AP, 35 railway stations are selling unique products in their areas.

One Station One Product scheme had been introduced by the Ministry of Railways with a mission to promote local/indigenous products, with the railway station becoming the market for promoting the products famous around the areas of the station, particularly the arts and crafts of people belonging to marginalised sections.

In Andhra Pradesh, 35 stations are promoting such products, including Vijayawada, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Ongole, Gudivada, Tirupati, Guntur and Guntakal. Some of the products include handlooms by local weavers, such as traditional Kalamkari sarees, jute products, imitation jewellery, wooden handicrafts, Girijan products and local delicacies, like pickles, masala powders, papads, shell paintings and rice art.

Andhra Pradesh is renowned for Kalamkari, which are hand-painted cotton textiles of two distinctive styles Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam. Their theme is largely mythological. Making a Kalamkari product involves as many as 15 steps. Eight railway stations in AP have been dedicated to Kalamkari and other handloom sarees and textiles. They help local weavers sell their products directly to people, thereby benefitting both sellers and buyers.

AP is also known for its various handicrafts, particularly wood carvings, ranging from dolls and other figurines. Six One Station One Product (OSOP) outlets market these, including wooden cutlery and Etikoppaka lacquerware toys.

Goa enrolment in higher edu 33.8%, govt eyes 50% by 2035

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Even as the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in institutes of higher education has touched 33.8%, the state government has set out to take it to 50% by 2035.

From 2016 to 2021, the male student’s average GER was around 28.8, while for girls, it was 34.2.

Education secretary Prasad Lolayekar told TOI that the state’s target is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), which mandates that enrolment in higher education should touch 50% by 2035.

Unesco defines GER as the “total enrolment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year”.

‘Set up panel to probe rise in missing women cases’

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The home department must set up a committee to investigate the increasing incidents of missing women inMaharashtra, said chairperson of the state commission for womenRupali Chakankar.

Since January 2022, the commission has been writi-ng to various agencies, including the national women’s commission, women and child welfare department and home department, about the missing women. Chakankar said the home department has been directed to submit a report on the progress made in tracing these women every fortnight to the commission. “There is a significant number of women in the 16-35 age group who have gone missing and there are now reports of trafficking too. Around 82 women from Pimpri-Chinchwad, who had gone abroad, have no contact with their families. Between January 1 and 31, around 3,594 women have gone missing,” she said.

4,360 acres in Haryana municipal areas illegally occupied, HC told

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Taking note of the status report showing that 4,360 acres of land is under unauthorized encroachment inHaryanamunicipal areas, the Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered that a copy of the report be sent to the Haryana chief secretary for appropriate action and for proceeding appropriately against those officials/employees who have committed lapses.

In Sohna area of Gurgaon, 1896.55 acres is under encroachment, while the figure in Kalka under Panchkula MC limits is 486 acres. There is illegal encroachment over 145.75 acres in Jhajjar’s Beri, 243.48 acres at Pehowa, 622.5 acres at Shahabad and 149.9 acres at Thanesar, district of Kurukshetra. It is also seen that nearly 230 acres of land is under encroachment inBhiwani’s Bawani Khera and the cases for clearing it are allegedly pending since 2016. There is encroachment over 24.62 acres of land inAmbalaCity and 90.6 acres of land in Ambala Sadar.
While more than 115 acres of land in Ambala is illegally occupied, no officer has been transferred to the post tasked with clearing squatters.