Tripura Current Affairs - October 2020
5 States to get Conservation Centres to protect vultures: Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025
In accordance with the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025 which was approved on October 5, 2020 by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the five states viz. Uttar Pradesh (UP), Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get vulture conservation and breeding centre each.
· Also, as a part of this plan there will be establishment of four rescue centres, in Pinjore (Haryana), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam) and Hyderabad (Telangana). Currently there is no dedicated rescue centre for treating vultures.
· The focus of this plan is to prevent the declining vulture population especially of the three Gyps species (a genus of Old World vultures native to India) viz. Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Slender- billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), and Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus).
· It should be noted that the previous action plan was formulated in 2006 for three years.
Key Points from Action Plan:
–A new veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) will be tested on vultures before their commercial release.
· NSAIDS often poisons cattle whose carcasses the birds prey on.
· Notably, vultures are also known as nature’s cleanup crew as they do the work of cleaning up after death by acting as natural carcass recyclers, helping to keep ecosystems healthy.
–This plan mooted a system of automatically removal of drug from veterinary use if it is found to be toxic to vultures, with the help of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
–There will be Conservation breeding of red-Headed vultures and Egyptian vultures and the establishment of at least one vulture-safe zone in each state.
–In order to get a more accurate estimate of vulture population, there will be Coordinated nation-wide vulture counting, involving forest departments, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), research institutes, non-profits and members of the public.
Vulture Multi-Species Action Plan:
Vulture Multi-species Action Plan (Vulture MsAP) was adopted at the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12) held in Manila, the Philippines in 2017.
· In 2020, the first strategy of Vulture MsAP plan was launched at CMS COP13 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat held on February 15-22, 2020.
Recent Related News:
i. On August 15, 2020, PM Narendra Modi announced the “Project Dolphin” for the conservation and protection of the Dolphins in the country. The Project Dolphin will involve conservation of Dolphins and the aquatic habitat through use of modern technology specially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities.
ii. On August 15, 2020, PM Narendra Modi announced “Project Lion” for the conservation of endangered Asiatic Lion involving habitat development by engaging modern technologies in management and addressing the issue of diseases in lion and its associated species through advanced world-class research and veterinary care. The project would also address the Human-Wildlife conflict.
About National Board for Wildlife (NBWL):
The NBWL is constituted by the Central Government under Section 5 A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA). It serves as an apex body to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
· It is chaired by India’s Prime Minister.
Nitin Gadkari: Feni Bridge connecting India & Bangladesh to be completed By December 2020
On 27th October 2020, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport &Highways announced that the 1.8 kilometer Feni Bridge, the Reinforced Cement Concrete(RCC) bridge over the river Feni which connects Sabrum in Tripura, India and Ramgarh in Chittagong, Bangladesh will be completed by December 2020.
The announcement was made over a virtual event organised for laying foundation stone for 9 national highway projects in Tripura.
About Feni Bridge:
i. The Feni Bridge is being constructed by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation
Ltd (NHIDCL), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) at a cost of Rs.129 crore.
ii. An integrated check post is proposed to be established near Sabrum in Tripura.
Benefits:
i. The Bridge will facilitate transportation of goods from Chattogram and Kolkata ports.
ii. It will also improve the connectivity to the international borders with Bangladesh.
iii. This will reduce the distance with the nearest port from 2200 kilometer(km) – Haldia to 70 km – Chittagong.
Background:
i. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Premier of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina jointly laid the foundation stone of the Feni Bridge in June 2015.
ii. The construction of the bridge began in 2017.
Other Initiative:
Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern REgion(DoNER) described Tripura as the gateway of “Act-East Policy” of the Government and stated that train service connecting Tripura and Bangladesh will commence soon.
This train service will mark a new chapter and create a new perspective of development of this region by providing entire region access to the seaports.
Recent Related News:
On July 31, 2020, as a part of the renovation of the Mahatma Gandhi Bridge/Setu over river Ganga in Bihar, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Nitin Jairam Gadkari virtually inaugurated its upstream carriageway. This means the two lanes are completed of the 4-lane bridge which is being renovated at a cost of Rs 1,742 crore. The online ceremony was presided over by Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar Nitish Kumar.
About Tripura:
Chief Minister– Biplab Kumar Deb
Governor– Ramesh Bais
Capital– Agartala
