15.01.22

Assam, Meghalaya to settle 6 border disputes

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The chief ministers of Assam andMeghalaya in principle reached a settlement on the half-a-century border dispute between the two states in six of the 12 areas.
The two governments will sign the final MoU by end of this month after securing Consent from the opposition and organisations in their respective states.

The boundary differences between the two states at 12 points along the 885-km-long inter-state border have existed since the birth of Meghalaya in 1972. A few months back, Sarma and Conrad decided to take up the six least complicated disputed sites.

Assam Govt prohibits non-vaccinated people from entering public places

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The Assam Government has restricted the entry of non-vaccinated people from entering government premises, public places and private establishments.

Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma urged the people to get vaccinated with both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by January 15. It was also announced that those who are not vaccinated with both doses shall not be allowed to enter offices and a pay cut will also be imposed on them.

Accordingly, a notification has been issued by the District Administration, wherein it has been mentioned that no unvaccinated person shall be allowed entry into government premises and any other public place other than hospitals without valid vaccination certificates, with effect from January 15.

Similarly, the entry of non-vaccinated people has been prohibited on hotels, malls and other private establishments violation of which will attract a hefty penalty. The business establishments are further directed to adhere to the rules imposed by the administration.

Tamil Nadu govt to install Mullaperiyar dam builder Col John Pennycuicks statue in UKs Camberley

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A statue of British engineer Col JohnPennycuick, who built Mullaperiyar dam for the water-starved districts of south Nadu, will be installed by the State Government in a park inCamberleyin the UK, chief minister M K Stalin said on Saturday. The over century old dam located in Idukki district of Kerala is owned, operated and maintained by theTamil Nadugovernment.

In a statement, the chief minister said that he was immensely happy to make the announcement on January 15, the birthday of Pennycuick. The Tamil diaspora in London had made efforts to install the statue in Pennycuicks hometown and got permission from St Peters Church as per British laws.

The state government had been making persistent efforts to raise the water storage level of the dam to 152 feet in Madras High Court, Supreme Court, Central Water Commission and other high-level bodies.

Odisha Police academy ranks best in country

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Odishas Biju Patnaik State Police Academy (BPSPA) has won the Union Home ministrys trophy for the Best Police Training Institution in the Gazetted Officers category for 2020-21.
The academy will get Rs 20 lakh aid from the Centre for the national-level recognition. The recognition encourages us to strive for further excellence. Over the past some years, many qualitative improvements has been brought in the police training, saidArun Sarangi, additional DG and director of BPSPA.

The award is given in the three categories of Central Police Organisations, State Police Organisations at theNational Level and State Police Organizationsat the Zonal Level.PSPAhad won the zonal-level trophy in the east zone for 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.

Kumbalangi: First sanitary-napkin-free panchayat

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Kumbalangi village in Cochin is all set to become Indias first sanitary-napkin-free panchayat.

The village has previously won acclaim as Indias first model tourism village.

This move is a part of Avalkayi initiative, which is being implemented in the Ernakulam parliamentary constituency, in association with Thingal Scheme of HLL Management Academys and Indian Oil Corporation.

Avalkayi Initiative

Under this initiative, menstrual cups will be distributed to Women aged 18 and above in Kumbalangi village. 5000 menstrual cups will be distributed under it.

Model Village

In the same event, Governor will also declare Kumbalangi village as a model village. The model village project is implemented as a part of Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (PM-SAGY). A new tourist information center will also be set up in the village.

Kumbalangi is an island village, located in the outskirts of Kochi city of Kerala. It is a major tourist attraction and is famous for the Chinese fishing nets. It is situated amidst backwaters, about 12 km from the city center. The village is also the first eco-tourism village in India. The village is having an area of 16 km2 and is located about 15 km from Ernakulam Junction RAILWAY station. Cochin International Airport is around 40 kms from it.

90% of Dakshina Kannada schools lack child protection policy document: Panel

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TheChild Rights Masotsava Committeehas observed that 90% of the schools inDakshina Kannadado not have a child protection policy document. The Karnataka State Child Rights Policy-2016 has even prescribed a template for child protection policy for schools.

With the increasing numbers of crimes against children, especially sexual abuse and cyber crime, having a child protection policy document is the need of the hour, and the committee will insist that the administration make it mandatory.

Telangana government now eyeing housing board land for auctions

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Scouting for the best bet for next round of land auctions, the government is now eyeing theTelangana Housing Board(THB) land in the city. The State Government has reportedly identified about 540 acres belonging to the housing board in Kukatpally, Pocharam, Raviryal and left-over plots in various locations in the city such as Vengal Rao Nagar.
The state government is learnt to have asked the housing board to hand over certain land parcels owned by it to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) for holding auctions.

The THB will hand over 32 acres belonging to it in Kukatpally to the HMDA for development of bigger plots each about one acres to one and half acres, mainly for commercial and mixed-purpose development. The auction will take place only after layout development.

The government has already instructed theRajiv Swagruha Corporationto sell the left-over areas at Pocharam and is also planning to sell some left-over plots in villages which it is also developing as IT hub in the eastern part of the city.

Goas forest quality is third-best in country after Uttarakhand and Kerala

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After Kerala and Uttarakhand, Goa has the third highest per hectare growing stock in forest in the country, as per the India State of the Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 of the Forest Survey of India.
Growing stock refers to the volume of all living trees in a particular forested area, and higher per hectare growing stock indicates a highly-sustainable and productive forest.

Higher per hectare growing stock also shows the forest is providing good ecosystem service in acting as a .
It is also a forest of higher economic value. The volume of living trees in Goasforestsper hectare is almost double the national figure.

The ISFR 2021 report has indicated that by 2030, 671 sq km or nearly 30% of Goas forest and tree cover are likely to experience high severity impact of Climate-change”>Climate Change. This means temperatures are expected to rise by 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius in the state, while there will be variation of 20 to 26% in the rainfall pattern.

AP Mahila Police Wing

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The Andhra Pradesh recently notified rules for the Mahila Police Wing. Also, it has created a separate Women police cadre.

The uniform of the new women police is Khaki colour. The wing comprises of inspectors, sub inspectors, senior mahila police, assistant sub inspectors, mahila police personnel. Also, the women police will wear a special separate emblem called the Mahila Police Emblem. They will also wear a beret cap.

90% of the posts are to be recruited by the police recruitment board. 5% from eligible villages and 5% from Home guards.

The inspectors and sub inspectors of the mahila wing will report to DSP and ACP respectively. DSP is Deputy Superintendent of Police and ACP is Assistant Commissioner of Police.

In 2009, the Home Ministry had set a target to achieve 33% of women police force in the country. According to the Status of Policing in India report, 2019, only 7.28% of the police force are women. Women inclusion is less in police forces. Most of the women police officers are limited to in house tasks such as filing FIRs, maintaining registers, etc. Only make police officers are engaged in patrolling, investigation and other law and order duties.

Wildlife census begins in five districts including Kolhapur

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The wildlife census has begun in five districts Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara,RatnagiriandSindhudurg with a focus on increasing the Population of prey-based animals that will eventually lead to rise in population of big cats like tigers and leopards.
Over 300 beat forest guards along with local volunteers have been assigned with the task to carry out the exercise from Saturday and it is expected to be completed in next few days.
The beat forest guards equipped with GPS-enabled mobile application are walking in forests and recording every animal species and geotagging them. At the end of the exercise, the data from each of the forest guards will be compiled and uploaded online.

Increasing the population of the wild animals is the basic aim of the census. With the help ofWildlife Institute Dehradun, the initiative to enclose 16 hectare from Chandoli reserve forest is being carried out. The animals on which the tigers survive will be put in this enclosure and breeding will be carried out.