1. Bird Flu confirmed in Ducks
Tags: State News
The Alappuzha district was put on alert, after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed at Kunnumma South (ward 10) in Thakazhy grama panchayat.
Highlights:
- The Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) sent samples of dead birds to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Disease (NIHSAD), Bhopal for analyses, which tested positive for avian influenza.
- The presence of H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks.
- Between 8,000 and 10,000 ducks were culled within a 1-km radius of the hotspot.
- Earlier this year, avian flu caused by the H5N8 strain of the Influenza A virus was detected from six places in Kuttanad at Nedumudi, Thakazhy, Pallippad, Karuvatta, and Kainakary in Alappuzha district and Neendoor in Kottayam district.
Bird Flu Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus that can infect poultry such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl Avian influenza (AI) viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, In rare cases, it can affect humans. There are lots of different strains of bird flu virus. Most of them don't infect humans. |
National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD)-ICAR The National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research is a premier institute of India for research on exotic and emerging pathogens of animals.
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2. Kerala Moves Supreme Court against Water Release by Tamil Nadu
Tags: State News
The Kerala Government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Tamil Nadu not to release a huge quantity of water in the early hours from the 126 year old Mullaperiyar dam, saying it causes heavy damage to the people living downstream of the dam.
The two judges’ bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and C.T. Ravikumar will hear the plea.
For more details on Mullaperiyar dam kindly refer to 1 December 2021 post.
3. Nagaland Government cancel Hornbill festival
Tags: State News
Nagaland Government has cancelled the famous annual “Hornbill festival “ as a respect to the 14 villagers mistakenly killed by the army during an anti-insurgent operation in the Mon district of Nagaland on 4 December .
Chief Minister of Nagaland : Neiphiu Rio
Governor : Jagdhish Mukhi
Hornbill festival The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 to 10 December, in Nagaland to commemorate the founding of the State of Nagaland on 1 December 1963. Nagaland was created after the partition of Assam. To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year in the first week of December. The first festival was held in 2000. The festival is named after the Indian hornbill bird , which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state's tribes. |
4. KVIC Rolls Out Project RE-HAB in Assam to Prevent Elephant – Human Conflicts Using Tiny Bees
Tags: State News
Following the success of its innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now replicated the project in Assam.
Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passageways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories. The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further. It is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals. It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees.
- Elephants also fear that the bee swarms can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. The collective buzz of the bees is annoying to elephants that force them to return.
5. State News
Tags: State News
Kerala
1. Norovirus Cases in Thrissur
Norovirus cases have been reported for the first time in India from Kerala.
Norovirus:
Norovirus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines. This is called acute gastroenteritis.
2. Kerala accuses Tamilnadu of causing flood
Kerala government has accused Tamil Nadu of releasing 5000 cusecs of water to the Periyar River from Mullaperiyar reservoir, without any sufficient warning to Kerala, causing flood in Vallakadavu, Vandiperiyar, Chappathu and Upputhara.area of Kerala.
Rajasthan
3. “Back to work” scheme of Rajasthan Government for women:
The Congress government of Rajasthan has come up with a unique scheme to provide regular employment to women who have had to quit their earlier jobs due to personal/family issues.
Delhi
4. Role of Stubble burning in Delhi Pollution
As per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) data, the average contribution of stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh to Delhi’s PM 2.5 level in November was 14.6%.
Telangana
5. Padma Shri awardee ‘Sirivennela’ Seetharama Sastry passed away.
Veteran Telugu film lyricist 'Sirivennela' Sitarama Sastry (66), a recipient of the Padma Shri and numerous other awards, died due to lung cancer-related complications on November 30.
Uttrakhand
6. Uttarakhand government frees the temples from government control
The Uttarakhand Government took back the The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019 that sought to extend control over 51 temples in Uttarakhand and have been opposed tooth and nail by their seers and managements.
6. PM inaugrated Vyasi Hydroelectric Project
Tags: State News
- The Prime Minister inaugurated the 120 MW Vyasi Hydroelectric Project, built over Yamuna river at the cost of over 1,700 crore rupees.
- Located in Dehradun district, the Vyasi power project is a run-of-the-river scheme on the Yamuna.
- It is is operated by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited
7. Uttarakhand government frees the temples from government control
Tags: State News
The Uttarakhand Government took back the The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019 that sought to extend control over 51 temples in Uttarakhand and have been opposed tooth and nail by their seers and managements.
About Char-Dham
Char Dham means four religious places. Char Dham is located in Garhwal Himalayas range of Uttarakhand. It is a circuit of hindu religious pilgrimage
It includes :
Badrinath :
It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The head priest, or Rawal, is traditionally a Nambudri Brahmin chosen from Kerala. It is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand
Kedarnath
It is dedicated to Lord Shiva .It is located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand .
Gangotri
It is in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand . It is on the bank of river Bhagirathi.
It is believed that goddess Ganga descended from heaven to this place.
The Ganga river at its origin is called Bhagirathi which originates from gomukh in the Gangotri glacier. It merges with Alaknanda river at Devprayag and then it is called Ganga .
Yamunotri
It is located in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
It is the source of Yamuna river and a seat of goddess Yamuna.
8. Role of Stubble burning in Delhi Pollution
Tags: State News
As per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) data, the average contribution of stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh to Delhi’s PM 2.5 level in November was 14.6%,. The highest contribution of stubble burning to PM2.5 in Delhi for a day was 58% in 2018, 43% in 2019, and 46% in 2020.
The number of effective fire counts in OctoberNovember (the stubble burning season) according to SAFAR data is around 77,000, the highest in four years.
Stubble Burning
Stubble Burning is the process of setting fire to the straw stubble that remains after grains like paddy and wheat are harvested. It is often preferred by farmers because it’s cheaper and easier than other methods, helps to combat pests and also reduces soil nitrogen tie-up. But on the negative side it releases harmful particulate matter and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing severe AQI(Air Quality Index) deterioration in Delhi every winter during October –November.
Major pollutants in Delhi Ozone (O3): Also referred to as ground-level ozone. This is a colorless gas that forms above the earth's surface and is created by a chemical reaction when two primary pollutants (volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)) react in sunlight and stagnant air. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5): Particulate matter is a mixture of solid and liquid droplets suspended in air and are distinguished by their size. When the skies are hazy, it means there is a high concentration of particulate matter (PM) in the air. The PM is categorised as PM10 and PM 2.5. PM10 particles are less than or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter. Whereas, PM2.5 particles are less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter. 95% of emissions from diesel, petrol, and natural gas combustion, open waste burning, biomass burning, coal combustion, falls under PM2.5. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): Another dangerous air pollutant is a mixture of gases called nitrogen oxides. These groups of gases are odorless and react in the air to form particulate matter (PM) and ozone. Vehicles, power plants and fuel burning are the major source of nitrogen oxides. Carbon monoxide (CO): This gas is highly toxic while at the same time being odorless and colourless. This gas constitutes one of the major outdoor pollutants. The burning of fossil fuels like diesel and petrol caused the emission of this gas. Sulphur dioxide (SO2): The highly reactive gas called sulphur dioxide is released due to the burning of diesel in vehicles. The Sulphur dioxide then reacts with air to form particulate matter and also lead to smog. |
SAFAR(System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) Under the scheme “Metropolitan Advisories for Cities for Sports, Tourism (Metropolitan Air Quality and Weather Services), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India, has introduced a major national initiative, "System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research" known as "SAFAR" for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance for the first time in India. It is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with partner institutions namely India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). |
9. “Back to work” scheme of Rajasthan Government for women
Tags: State News
The Congress government ofRajasthan has come up with a unique scheme to provide regular employment to women who have had to quit their earlier jobs due to personal/family issues.
Key Highlights
- A unique Employment scheme was announced by Rajasthan Chief Minister Mr. Ashok Gehlot.
- Name of the Scheme: “Back to Work”.
- Aim: “To provide employment to 15,000 women in next three years”.
- Priority will be given to the women who are divorcees, widows and victims to the violence.
- Skill training programs will be organised by Rajasthan Corporate Limited to make women employable.
- “Work from Home” opportunity will be provided to the women who are not able to go to a regular workplace.
Rajasthan
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10. Kerala accuses Tamilnadu of causing flood
Tags: State News
Kerala government has accused Tamil Nadu of releasing 5000 cusecs of water to the Periyar River from Mullaperiyar reservoir, without any sufficient warning to Kerala, causing flood in Vallakadavu, Vandiperiyar, Chappathu and Upputhara area of Kerala.
The Mullaperiyar dam is built on river Periyar and is located in the Idukki district of Kerala but is controlled by Tamilnadu. In october 1886 an agreement was signed between the Maharaja of Travancore and British India on behalf of Madras Presidency for a 999 year lease of the dam to the Madras Presidency.
After Independence Travancore's part of the treaty was inherited by Kerala and Madras Presidency part was inherited by Tamilnadu.
Additional Information regarding Mullaperiyar Dam Period of Construction – 1887-1895 Main reason behind Construction - To provide water to the arid rain shadow region of Tamil Nadu especially the districts of Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram. Protected wildlife areas around the dam – Periyar National Park
Type of Dam – Masonry Gravity Dam (Gravity dams use their weight and the force of gravity to support the reservoir and remain stable) River: It is on the Periyar river. |
