News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand news

  • Dehradun diary

    Express News Service

    Govt to grant Rs 50K to those clearing UPSC prelimsUttarakhand state government has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to those clearing the preliminary examinations of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, the Combined Defence Services (CDS) and the National Defence Academy. The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.  “The decision is with an aim to support aspirants who are unable to avail better resources and coaching needed for further preparation,” cabinet minister and state government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said

    52% rise in road accidents sparks worryUttarakhand has seen a 52% rise in road accidents in the first six months of 2021, according to the data with the state police department. There were 659 accidents between January 1 and June 30. During the same period last year there were 432 accidents. Districts of Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar and Dehradun have seen the biggest increases in the number of accidents. By contrast, hills districts of Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Chamoli have registered a drop in the number of road accidents. District-wise, Haridwar reported the highest number of accidents during the period – 173.  Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun recorded 172 and 152 accidents. Police sources said measures are being taken to reduce the number of accidents. 

    Indian part of NASA team that detected energy from dead star  Dr Shashi Bhushan Pandey, an astronomer from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences was part of a NASA team that detected a very short, powerful burst of high-energy radiation caused by the death of a star five billion years ago.  “This has helped to resolve the long-standing issues related to gamma-ray bursts. Also, this study triggers to re-analyse all such known events to constrain number densities better,” Dr Pandey said. The burst detected was by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on August 26.

    Four-point plan to reduce human-animal conflict   With a human-animal conflict raging in Uttarakhand, the state’s forest department has come up with four-point formula to tackle the issue.  This includes management of garbage disposal to deter dogs which act as easy prey for predators such as leopard, installation of solar lighting and fencing, management of lantana—a kind of invasive weed that acts as shelter for predatory animals—and to build enough toilets in the area to prevent people from venturing out to attend the nature’s call and therby become easy preys

    Vineet UpadhyayOur correspondent in [email protected]

  • Dehradun diary: All that’s happening in ‘Land of the Gods’

    Express News Service
    Heavy penalty for noise pollution

    The government of Uttarakhand has decided to impose heavy penalty on noise pollution under the Union government’s Noise Pollution Regulation Control Act, 2000. According to the new set of guidelines, if an individual is responsible for noise that goes beyond the specified decibel, he/she will be fined Rs 1,000.

    For the second violation, the penalty will increase to Rs 2,500. For the third time, it will be Rs 5,000. At religious places, if the noise exceeds the specified decibel, the first-time penalty will be Rs 5,000. Second and third violations will invite a fine of Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively

    India home to 4 species from 42 mn years ago: Research

    Studies conducted at IIT-Roorkee have found that India was home to at least four different animal species, including some very primitive ones that lived about 42 million years ago, and five another species that thrived about 20 million years ago. The studies were conducted by a team led by Professor Sunil Bajpai, his students and his collaborators. They examined the fossilized remains of sea cows found in the Kutch region of Gujarat.

    “Ongoing studies show that the actual diversity could be even higher and India was a major centre of evolution and diversification in the past, not only for sea cows but also for other associated mammals such as whales,” said Bajpai, who is the Head of Earth Sciences Department at IIT-Roorkee.  

    State takes delivery of 15,000 vials of drug used to treat black fungus

    Uttarakhand took delivery of 15,000 vials of Amphotericin-B – the drug used to treat black fungus infection – last week. The state had begun the production of the drug on May 24. The vials were delivered on Thursday, according to sources.

    As of Sunday, 192 cases of the black fungus infection were reported in the state. While 13 people have been cured of the infection, as many as 15 have succumbed to it. Uttarakhand has imposed a strict Covid curfew till June 1.

    Snow leopard spotted in low-altitude area

    For the first time, a snow leopard was spotted in the Valley of Flowers National Park at an altitude of 11,400 feet in the Garhwal Himalayas. Last month, the elusive big cat was spotted in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

    Images from surveillance cameras confirmed the presence of the species in the low-altitude areas. Usually, the snow leopard is found above the tree line at an altitude of 18,000 feet. At present, according to estimates, Uttarakhand has around 86 snow leopards.

    Last November, the state government started a first-of-its-kind survey over a 12,800-square-km-area covering 10 forest divisions where the species is found. Despite delays caused by the pandemic, the results are expected in November.