The month of November-December doesn’t just bring the season of festivals-it also marks the start of a frightening ‘pollution season’ for much for northern India, especially the National Capital Region. And this year promises to be no different.
October is the month when farmers in Punjab and Haryana complete their paddy harvest and prepare the fields for the winter crop. The stubble, which is the short part of the stalk attached to the root, is left in the field after the previous crop is removed. Removing the stubble is a lot of work, so farmers just burn it down. Seeding machines that remove the stubble and plant the new crop are available-this would solve the stubble burning problem. These machines also use the stubble to cover the soil after seeding, which helps to keep the soil moist, which is good for the next crop. However these machines are expensive and farmers in Haryana and Punjab don’t want to buy them. Burning stubble also damages the soil but farmers are not seeing this as a problem. Unless the government finds a way to convince farmers and make it worth their while to stop burning the old crop, the pollution problems won’t go away. This period coincides with a change in wind direction-winds start to blow from the north-west, bringing the smoke and soot of the stubble burning to areas like Delhi.
To add to this problem, the several million vehicles on Delhi roads release petrol and diesel fumes into the air. The cool weather doesn’t help either as the cold air, being heavy, doesn’t rise and keeps the pollution particles trapped near the ground. As a result, the air we breathe is full of pollution.
99 and counting...
Roger Federer won his 99th career ATP tour on Sunday beating Marius Copil in two sets in the Swiss Indoors event. Just one short of his 100th title, Federer won the Swiss Indoors title for the 9th time, playing in his hometown Basel on the courts when he was once a ball boy. The win also closes the gap with Jimmy Connors who leads the board with 109 ATP tournament wins. The ATP or Association of Tennis Professionals is the body that runs men’s tennis tournaments worldwide.
ISS SUPPLY CHAIN CUT AFTER ROCKET FAILURE
A rocket failure minutes after launch forced a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to make an emergency landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan in Central Asia last month. The Russian and American astronauts on board were safely rescued. United States astronaut Nick Hague and Russian Aexei Ovchinin were on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) when the accident happened. When the rocket failed, the astronaut’s capsule automatically detached and fell to Earth at a sharp angle. The astronauts were bumped around quite a bit and felt heavy gravitational forces as their capsule fell to earth.
Russia has stopped all manned spaceflights until the rocket failure is investigated. This decision affects the ISS, which is a permanently orbiting research spacecraft that houses astronauts from different nations on board. Currently the Soyuz rockets are the only way to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. However, there is no immediate emergency as the ISS has sufficient supplies of food, water and other supplies to last those on board until next summer.
Congress wants an apology from PM Modi on Demonitisation
The Congress today demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country on Thursday, the second anniversary of the demonetisation announcement, for unilaterally attempting a "Tughlaqi" experiment that ended up “wrecking the economy and causing its people untold hardships”.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari also declared that party supporters will hold protests across the country on November 8 to condemn what he described as an exercise comparable to Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq's ill-advised monetary reforms in the 14th century. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders will participate in the rallies too, he added.
PM Modi had made the controversial announcement during a televised speech delivered at 8:15 pm on November 8, 2016, scrapping existing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes with immediate effect. He said the objective of the exercise was to curtail black money and reduce the part played by counterfeit currency in funding terrorism and other illegal activities.
Mr Tewari, however, asserted that the exercise achieved little other than heighten the people's woes and pull down a rising economy. "None of the objectives cited for taking almost Rs. 16.99 lakh crore out of circulation were achieved... today, there is more cash in circulation than there was on November 8, 2016. So, under these circumstances, we demand that the Prime Minister stand up and apologise to the people of this country for wrecking the Indian economy through this Tughlaqi decree," he said. The Modi government's demonetisation initiative removed a substantial amount of currency from circulation, leading to serpentine queues in front of the banks and ATMs. It also hit the stock market, reduced industrial output, and made the going hard for the cash-dependent agricultural sector.
Earlier this year, the Reserve Bank of India admitted that as much as 99.3% of the scrapped currency had come back -- spurring the opposition to dub the demonetisation initiative as a "money-laundering" scam. However, an RTI activist today said the central bank refused to reveal the cost incurred on scrapping banned currency notes worth Rs. 15,31,073 crore. The central government has staunchly defended the move, stating that it encouraged digital transactions and helped bring people closer to the banking system.
The comparison with Muhammad bin Tughlaq pertains to the Delhi ruler's disastrous decision in 1330 AD to mint brass and copper coins with monetary values similar to that of traditional gold and silver currency. However, miscreants took advantage of the absence of any security feature to mint counterfeit coins. The economy was eventually flooded with fake currency, disrupting trade and forcing the administration to rethink its decision.
WHY ARE THE LIONS OF GIR DYING?
Over two dozen Asiatic Lions living in the Gir National Park in Gujarat have been found suffering from a virus that has killed 23 of them in recent weeks.
The lions have been infected with the Canine Distemper Virus (CSV) and it is likely that the virus has jumped from dogs to lions. The virus spreads through the air, which is why so many lions have been affected in a short time. To protect against the virus a vaccine is needed and the officials at Gir have begun the process of vaccination.
Experts however say that the lions living outside the sanctuary won’t get the vaccinations. They also point out that the risk of diseases like CDV is the reason that some lions should be shifted to other states. The Asiatic Lion is only found in one place in the world-and that’s at Gir in Gujarat. Around 600 lions live in the 850square-mile expanse of the Gir sanctuary.
In 2013, the Supreme Court had ordered that some lions be moved to other sanctuaries in other states. The idea was to prevent the lions from being wiped out in an epidemic. Since they live so closely packed together, there is a real risk that an epidemic could wipe out the entire world population of Asiatic Lions. However, the state of Gujarat wants to be the exclusive preserve of lions, and is resisting this move.
Another one for the record books!
Virat Kohli now has another world record to his credit. On Saturday he smashed a century in the third India-West Indies One Day International (ODI), making it his third consecutive century in three matches. Although it wasn’t enough to see India through to victory, Kohli has joined a select band of cricketers who have scored three centuries in a row.
The others are Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar and Babar Azam of Pakistan, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock of South Africa, New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, Jonny Bairstow of England and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara. Sangakkara is the only one to do it four times in a row.
The new record comes days after Kohli became the fastest player to reach 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He reached this milestone in just 205 innings, faster than Sachin Tendulkar who got there in 259 innings. Kohli is now the 13th batsman to reach 10,000 ODI runs and the fifth Indian to do so, after Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni.
60% of animals wiped out since 1970: WWF
Human activity and actions have wiped out 60% of vertebrates including mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, says a report from The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The report, which has been prepared by 59 scientists from across the world, says that species extinction has reached an emergency flashpoint that threatens life as we know it on our planet.
This shocking decline is shown in the Living Planet Index, produced for WWF by the Zoological Society of London, which uses data on 16,704 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, representing more than 4,000 species, to track the decline of wildlife. Between 1970 and 2014, the latest data available, populations fell by an average of 60%.
The biggest cause of wildlife losses is the destruction of natural habitats, much of it to create farmland. Killing for food is the next biggest cause-300 mammal species are being eaten into extinctionwhile the oceans are massively overfished. Chemical pollution of land and sea is another major factor.
“The Living Planet report clearly demonstrates that human activities are destroying nature at an unacceptable rate, threatening the wellbeing of current and future generations”, says Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF.
THE RAILWAY COMES TO LADAKH
Indian Railways is planning to construct Ladakh’s first railway line, connecting Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. Once constructed, this will be the world’s highest railway line operating at over 5000 metres above sea level. Leh is a region within the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
The 465 kilometre line will connect Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu and other important towns of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir en route. The terrain will be a tough one to build in as it will cut through the Himalayas and the route will have 74 tunnels!
Since the train will operate at a very high altitude, passengers will travel in special pressurized coaches, similar to aircrafts. Aircraft cabins are pressurized because the air is very thin at the height planes fly. To prevent problems, the cabins of many aircraft are adjusted to near sea-level pressure, which makes breathing almost the same as at sea level. The coaches on the Leh route will also keep air inside the cabins well supplied with oxygen. The final study for the project will be completed next year, after which the construction will begin.
Only ‘green crackers’ to be sold in Delhi-NCR Diwali: SC
The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to modify its order on fireworks that only permits ‘green crackers’ to be sold in Delhi and National Capital Region during Diwali. The court also imposed a ban on the sale of already manufactured fireworks that are polluting, and said they can be sold in other parts of the country.
The direction from the apex court came after manufacturers of fireworks appealed for strict regulation, instead of an absolute ban. Defending themselves, the manufacturers argued that the fireworks weren’t to blame for the rise in air pollution and there were other factors, like wind and temperature, which also contributed to it. Manufacturers also said that they cannot be deprived of their right to do business based on statements that are not supported by facts.
On October 23, the Supreme Court granted permission to use and sell “greener” firecrackers which have low emissions and generate less noise. It has allowed fireworks with permissible sound limits to be sold in the market.
Later, the court modified its previous order on the time slots during which people can use fireworks this Diwali, and allowed states to set timings. However, the twohour limit will remain.
“Timing for bursting firecrackers in places like Tamil Nadu, Puducherry will be changed, but not exceed 2 hours a day,” the court said. In Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and other southern states, fireworks can be used from 4 am-5 am and from 9 pm-10 pm during festivals, the apex court said.
Crisis in Sri Lanka
The island nation of Sri Lanka was plunged into a crisis last week when it’s President, Maithripala Sirisena abruptly sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister, triggering political chaos in the island nation. The President then went on to suspend Sri Lanka’s parliament, which is made up of representatives elected by the island’s people, until midNovember. This was done to block Wickremesinghe who had called for an immediate meeting of parliament to prove that he controlled a majority of the representatives. These acts are worrisome for India as we share a better relationship with Ranil Wickremesinghe than with Rajapaksa who was PM until 2015. During his time, Rajapaksha unleashed the might of the Sri Lankan army to put down a rebellion of the Tamil people who live in the northern part of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksha is also seen as being close to China, which is India’s biggest rival in Asia.
India Exempted From ‘Certain’ US Sanctions Over Chabahar Port In Iran
The United States has exempted India from the imposition of certain sanctions for the development of the strategically-located Chabahar port in Iran, along with the construction of the railway line connecting it with Afghanistan.
The decision by the Trump administration, which a day earlier imposed the toughest ever sanctions on Iran and is very restrictive in giving exemptions, is a seen as a recognition by Washington of India's role in development of the port on the Gulf of Oman, which is of immense strategic importance for the development of wartorn Afghanistan.
“After extensive consideration, the Secretary (of State) has provided for an exception from imposition of certain sanctions under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012, with respect to the development of Chabahar port, construction of an associated railway and for shipment of non-sanctionable goods through the port for Afghanistan's use, as well as the country's continued imports of Iranian petroleum products," a State Department spokesperson told PTI.
The US had earlier imposed "the toughest ever" sanctions on a defiant Iran aimed at altering the Iranian regime's "behaviour". The sanctions cover Iran's banking and energy sectors and reinstate penalties for countries and companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere that do not halt Iranian oil imports.
However, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that eight countries — India, China, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey -- were temporarily allowed to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed "significant reduction" in oil purchase from the Persian Gulf country.
To a question on the fate of Chabahar port after the US reimposed all its sanctions on Iran, the spokesperson said, "This exception relates to reconstruction assistance and economic development for Afghanistan. These activities are vital for the ongoing support of Afghanistan's growth and humanitarian relief."
In May 2016, India, Iran and Afghanistan had inked a pact which entailed establishment of Transit and Transport Corridor among the three countries using Chabahar Port as one of the regional hubs for sea transportation in Iran, besides multi-modal transport of goods and passengers across the three nations.
Mike Pompeo's decision to give India exemption from imposition of certain sanctions for the development of the port is driven by the South Asian strategy, which was announced by President Donald Trump in August. It states that India has a major role in bringing peace and development in Afghanistan.
"The president's South Asia strategy underscores our ongoing support of Afghanistan's economic growth and development as well as our close partnership with India," the state department spokesperson said.