YK MYK MODI GOVT'S WAR AGAINST TWITTER TURNING BIZARRE OPINION Rs. 5 RANCHI FRIDAY, 12 FEB, 2021 PG-12, YEAR—10, ISSUE—278 (RNI NO: JHAENG / 2012 / 44137) WEATHER TODAY MAX 27 C MIN 12 C AUS OPEN: SOFIA KENIN BOWS OUT IN 2ND ROUND SPORTS Morning India Lac cultivation to get agriculture status: CM SANJAY SAHAY Sky will be clear. AT A GLANCE MAMATA WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP IMPLEMENTATION OF CAA: AMIT SHAH THAKURNAGAR: Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be able to stop implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Addressing a public rally here, Amit Shah said he had promised that he would come to give a tough answer to those spreading disinformation about CAA. "As soon as vaccination drive will conclude and we become Corona-free, the work of providing citizenship will be undertaken. This is a law formed by the Parliament and she won't be able to stop it, more so because she will be voted out of power in the upcoming elections," he said. U’KHAND FLOODS CMYK 08 UTTARAKHAND www.sanmarglive.com FLOOD Morning India FRIDAY, RANCHI, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 ing, and every effort should be made to collect, analyse and he latest tragedy interpret field observations of in Uttarakhand dam performance during earthresulting in quakes". around 170 peoSeized of this danger, the ple missing defigovernment's Uttarakhand nitely requires Vision 2030, is eyeing green introspection on power for the State. The vision the development has set broad goalposts of of the hill State. The damage of meeting 15 per cent energy four hydropower stations, demand from renewable including the NTPC-owned sources instead of present 3.2 Tapovan Vishnugad, the private per cent and importantly save project of Rishi Ganga, Pipal 25 per cent energy consumpKoti of state-owned THDC, and tion to meet Government of Jaypee Groups Vishnuprayag India's commitment to meet 40 has brought construction of big per cent of energy requiredams into sharp focus. ments from renewable energy. Uttarakhand's main source For the former, the microof development is hydel power. hydel, solar, co-gen, biomass The potential of the former is will be tapped. To meet the to a tune of 20236 MW. second target, there will be Highlighting this, a World Bank replacement of CFLs and incanreport has termed it as the descent lamps with LED bulbs, state's most important strategic switchover to energy-efficient assets. Obviously, the State and devices, installing of solar its residents, deem it fit to tap energy heating systems in govthis potential not just for their ernment offices, schools, colbetterment but also for the leges, hostels, housing comlarger good of the nation as plexes, hotels and hospitals and they cater to energy needs of industries requiring hot water residences and for processing; industries in other and implementaAccording to the States and mega tion of energy Indian metrological cities. conservation department, the But given its building codes Bureau of Indian rather fragile among others. Standards cateecology, are big The way forgorises Uttarakhand dams in ward for as a V seismic zone, Uttarakhand susUttarakhand is the most active tainable? Small Hydro zone. The Indian According to Power (SHP) projplate, a part of the the Indian metroects. Projects up Indo-Australian logical departto 25 MW station plate, colliding with ment, the Bureau capacities are catthe Eurasian plate, of Indian egorised as SHP, has created several Standards cateand these provide fault lines, making gorises clean energy. the region earthUttarakhand as a Besides requiring quake prone. V seismic zone, minimal submerthe most active gence, rehabilitazone. The Indian plate, a part tion and minimal impact to of the Indo-Australian plate, environment they accrue other colliding with the Eurasian advantages like promoting local plate, has created several fault industries in remote areas and lines, making the region earthassisting self-employment. quake prone. The region with several That said, new technology is rivers and canals spells being consistently developed to tremendous potential which is overcome this hazard. A posienhanced by the availability of tion paper by the International ice fed and rain fed rivers and Water Power & Dam natural incline in the state. Construction, states that "techSHPs can play a critical role in nology is available for building national energy scenario and, dams and appurtenant strucin particular, for remote and tures that can safely resist the inaccessible areas. For exameffects of strong ground shakple, the remote area of ing. Storage dams that have Badrinath, power supply is been designed properly to through an SHP. resist static loads prove to also The state needs to take a have significant inherent resist- close at sustainable livelihoods ance to earthquake action. aspect too, to enhance social Many small storage dams have and human development which suffered damage during strong is equitable while conserving earthquakes. However, no large natural resources and environdams have failed due to earthment. The emphasis will need quake shaking". to move to horticulture, susYet, the paper adds that tainable tourism and opting for "there are still uncertainties MSME. This coupled with SHP about the behaviour of dams and information technology will under very strong ground shak- spur growth. S RAVI T CAN WE AFFORD BIG DAMS? COMMUNITY GROUPS CONCERNED OVER THRUST ON LARGE DAMS SHIMLA: Community organisations, which are facing human-induced climate change impacts in Himachal Pradesh, claimed on Tuesday that the government of India's policy of promoting mega hydropower projects in the Himalayas is at manifold risk of earthquake-triggered landslides. The risk of constructing dams in the Himalayan region came to the fore following the devastating floods in Uttarakhand in 2013, and again after the deluge that wreaked havoc in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Sunday. "We express our collective rage at the inaction by the government at multiple levels and its repeated thrust on large dams in the Himalayas," said a statement by 12 community groups, largely based in Himachal's high mountains that share similar topography to that of Uttarakhand. "No amount of monetary compensation can placate the anguish of those who have suffered irreparable losses. The lack of accountability and intent of all institutions, agencies and political representatives involved stands amply exposed," it added. Saying that the 2013 Uttarakhand disaster was an expensive and tragic lesson, the community organisations said that the Ravi Chopra Committee and scientific assessments made clear the role of hydropower and mindless construction in exacerbating the impact of the Kedarnath flashfloods. "But we learnt nothing from it. No amount of evidence presented to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the state departments, the Central Water Commission and to the courts has led to a reconsideration or review of the hydropower policy of the government of India or the state governments," they pointed out. "Lack of adequate and thorough scientific planning and shoddy impact assessment studies are approved by expert appraisal committees with members who are clearly in support of the projects. "The Asian Development Bank, which has funded the expansion of NTPC projects in the Dhauliganga river, approved an environmental impact assessment report of Tapovan Vishnugad that didn't have a single mention of the threat of flood or glacial lakes, avalanches. International financing agencies are thus also complicit in this negligence," the statement said. Once clearances are granted, non-compliance of environmental norms and social accountability laws is rampant. "No safety monitoring is undertaken and the lives of the workers and the people of the affected villages are constantly at stake. Have we ever heard of an environment clearance of a dam being cancelled because of non-compliance? Diminishing space for democratic public participation in decision making processes has further worsened the situation in the past few years. "What is worse is that the Central government, despite the obvious hazards associated with large hydropower projects, had in 2019 classified projects above 25 MW as 'renewable' which will be able to avail subsidies and the power produced by these will be subject to obligatory purchase norms," it said. HIMALAYAN GLACIERS SENSITIVE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, RAPIDLY SHRINKING NEW DELHI: Himalayan glaciers are highly sensitive to climate change and are rapidly shrinking, posing a big threat to the populations that rely on them, according to scientific explanations. Besides the ecosystem services that the glaciers provide, their melting increases the risk of runoffs and floods as recently seen with the Uttarakhand glacier disaster that claimed 26 lives and 197 people still reported missing with rescue operations underway. The science behind what is currently happening in the Himalayas was forecasted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2019 report that say glaciers would retreat in the upcoming years, causing landslides and floods. Himalayan glaciers play an important role in South Asia, providing drinking water and water resources for agriculture, hydropower and biodiversity. Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are a crucial water supply for the 240 million people who live in the region, including 86 million Indians, roughly the equivalent of the country's five biggest cities combined. Another comprehensive report two years ago, the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment, coordinated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) notes that eastern Himalaya glaciers have tended to shrink faster than those in central and western Himalaya. Glacier slipped from 5,600m may have caused disaster: Experts NEW DELHI: There was a hanging glacier that slipped with rock and ice falling from 5,600 metres altitude owing to gravitational pull and this caused disaster in Uttarakhand, as per preliminary observations of experts. This explanation by scientists comes days after Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament that initial inquiry has revealed that a landslide triggered a snow avalanche covering approximately 14 square km area and caused a flash flood in the Rishiganga river downstream in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. The scientists, however, say it is difficult to comment right now if climate change has been directly responsible for the February 7 catastrophic that washed away two upcoming hydropower stations, claiming at least 34 dead and 200 missing who are feared dead. Explaining what caused the flash flood, Mohd. Farooq Azam, who is an Assistant Professor at IIT Indore, told IANS in an interview that the Nanda Devi glacier did not burst. "There is no terminology in science like 'glacier burst'. But we believe that there was a hanging glacier which slipped with rock and ice falling from 5,600 metres altitude," he said. "To understand if the incident was climate change driven or not, we need to understand how glaciers grow. They have a pattern of snow and melt in winter and summer seasons respectively. This is the normal phenomenon. Now this was a hanging glacier. It is possible that the glacier also collected mass and debris over a period of time. "We cannot say with confidence right now if climate change had a role to play, but it is possi- ITBP troops help in constructing the Jhula bridge across disconnected villages, in Chamoli on Thursday. ANI ble that the strength of the mass was weakened due to climate driven factors," he explained. Azam said a team of scientists are at the site in Chamoli district trying to understand what caused this disaster. "It is early February so tem- peratures in the area are low and not much melting would be happening right now which could've led to this. "So far the only explanation is that a hanging glacier cracked due to gravitational pull and the weight of accumulated mass, which resulted in this avalanche. "However, there is no doubt that global warming is impacting the local climate of the region. The Himalayas are experiencing warmer winters, erratic and extreme rain and snow, more than ever before. These changes are leaving their imprint on the region," said the glaciologist. "But the mystery which scientists are looking for answers for, is what is the source of the water we saw in videos on February 7. Some water will be generated from the heat energy of the fall, but that does not justify the quantum that hit Raini village." This disaster is a grim reminder of the 2013 flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand that claimed the lives of thousands of people and animals. Of course, the effects of such an event can be mitigated by some early warning systems, Azam told IANS. "When there is a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) or flash flood, the only solution is that is an early warning system which can warn communities and authorities to prepare to evacuate people living in these areas. "Secondly, exposed glacier lakes have a potential to burst and lead to such disasters. But it is possible to pump out water from these lakes. This has been done in Peru and Nepal, where water levels in such glacier lakes are reduced to safe zones to mitigate disaster risks." On the need to review the pol- icy on 'water grab' dams that put fragile Himalayan ecology in peril, he replied, "Yes, although not 100 per cent sure how climate change effects are being taken into account when environmental impact assessments are done on these dams and other infrastructure projects." "Natural disasters or climate change induced disasters can harm these infrastructures, so there needs to be better planning for such projects and a review of the present situation of all dams. This lesson should be learnt after this tragedy," he said. Observing climate change is increasing, Mandira Shreshtha, programme coordinator, HI-RISK Initiative with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said: "It is evident that climate change is increasing the occurrence of extreme events in the region." CMYK PAGE 8 CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 1,08,72,664 TOTAL DEATH: 155,416 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 107,957,657 TOTAL DEATH: 2,367,471 RANCHI: Chief Minister (CM) Hemant Soren on Thursday announced that government would give the status of agriculture to lac production, adding the minimum support prices (MSP) for its products would also be fixed. While speaking here at the Kisan Mela held at Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums (IINRG), the CM pointed out that despite a fall in lac production Jharkhand is the leading state in the production of lac in the country. He said that the state was producing 20,000 tonnes of lac while exploiting only 15 percent of the potential. The CM said that the government has resolved to make farmers self-reliant, adding several programmes are being implemented in this regard. He mentioned that the state government has started the Mukhyamantri Pashudhan Yojna recently, adding the scheme for a waiver of agriculture loans has also been started. He said that 500 new godowns and 224 food processing units would be constructed across the state in order to conserve and promote agriculture products. Terming the farmers as the backbone of the country, Soren said that the state government was concerned over their problems, adding the community is being marginal- CM Hemant Soren at Kisan Mela in Ranchi on Thursday. ized even as others are achieving new heights. He stated that this year the state government has purchased 30 percent more paddy than the target. He said that the state also has a rich reserve of mineral and forest products but their development is not taking place due to a lack of proper conservation, production and market. He said that there is a rising demand for natural products, adding lac and forest produces would be in demand under the circumstances. During the visit, the CM planted a tree and also inquired Neeraj Sinha new DGP of State RAJ KUMAR RANCHI: 1987 batch IPS officer, Neeraj Sinha, has become new director general of police (DGP) in the state. He has been transferred from his present position of DG (JAP) with the additional charge of DG (ACB). A notification to this effect was issued by the home department on Thursday. With this, acting DGP M.V.Rao, who is also a 1987 batch IPS officer, has been shifted to the position of DG (home guard and fire services). An official at the state police headquarters said the development was expected as 1986 batch IPS officer K.N.Choubey had been earlier transferred before completion of his tenure. "Controversy started after M.V. Rao was appointed as acting director general of state police. It took a new turn in August last year after Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) did not accept the request of Jharkhand government to prepare a fresh panel for appointment to the post of DGP," the official said. The government had sent a request on July 21 last year for the preparation of panel for selection for appointment to the post of DGP of the state stating that Choubey, who was appointed as DGP of Jharkhand from the panel prepared after empanelment committee meeting (ECM) held on May 16, 2019 has been transferred to the post of OSD (police modernization), vide notification dated March 16, 2016. UPSC refused the request on August 6 and requested the state government to comply with the directive of the apex court order. According to the Supreme Court rules, the director general of police of the state shall be selected by the state government from amongst the three senior most officers of the department who has been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force. And, once he has been selected for the job, he should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation. about various lac products. He visited different stalls set up by the government and private institutions. The experts informed the CM that lac production has wide scope in the state, adding farmers, particularly women could become selfdependent by producing lacs through self-help groups. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between IINRG and the ICICI for promoting lac cultivation. The progressive farmers were also honoured by the CM. Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh and officials were present on the occasion. LAC DISENGAGEMENT: NOTHING CONCEDED IN TALKS: RAJNATH NEW DELHI: In a major development in the 10-month long military standoff on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, India and China have reached an agreement to disengage their troops from the northern and southern banks of the contentious Pangong lake where the Chinese troops would move back to east of the Finger 8 while the Indian side would go to its Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Thursday in Rajya Sabha while asserting that the country has not "conceded" anything in the process. In a statement in Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that as per the agreement reached between the two sides, both countries will cease their forward deployments on the Pangong Lake in a "coordinated, phased and verified" manner where they would restore the situation to the April 2020 status. 17 STATES, UTS REPORT NO COVID DEATH IN LAST 24 HRS, SAYS GOVT NEW DELHI: The ministry informed that 17 states and UTs including Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Daman & Diu, have not reported any Covid death in the last 24 hours. India as on Thursday, has reported 12,923 new infections and 108 more deaths from novel coronavirus. The case tally has mounted to 1,08,71,294 while the Covid19 death toll in the country has increased to 1,55,360, the data by the Health Ministry showed. Meanwhile, the country has recorded 1,42,562 active cases of the Covid-19 disease. The union ministry said that the total positive cases in the country now comprise merely 1.31 per cent of the total cases. "India's active cases per million population (104) is amongst the lowest in the world," the ministry added. However, 11,764 new recoveries were also regis- THE MINISTRY SAID THAT THE NATIONAL RECOVERY RATE (97.26 PER CENT) CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF THE HIGHEST GLOBALLY. tered in the same period which is 97.26 per cent of the total cases reported so far including deaths. The ministry said that the national recovery rate (97.26 per cent) continues to be one of the highest globally. The total recovered cases are 1,05,73,372. The gap between active cases and recovered cases is continuously increasing and stands at 1,04,30,810. Meanwhile, the ministry also informed that 83.20 per cent of the newly recovered cases against Covid-19 are recorded in 6 states. "Kerala has contributed the highest number to the newly recovered cases (5,745), followed by Maharashtra (2,421) and Gujarat (495)," it added. MORE ON PG 5 2 CRPF jawans injured in encounter with Maoists SURESH PRASAD NIKHAR BOKARO: In an encounter with Naxals in Lugupahari, two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were injured on Wednesday night. The police, however, managed to seize arms and ammunition from the spot, said Bokaro SP Chandan Kumar Jha. The skirmish took place in the forest near Lugupahari forest area near Tutijharna under Gomia block in Bokaro district, about 50 km from here, when a joint team of CRPF battalion and District police (DP), SAT and Jharkhand Jaguar was out on an operation, Jha said. He said the patrolling team, comprising around 50 personnel had launched the operation on Wednesday night in the interiors of Gomia and Jageshwar Bihar police station areas. On Wednesday night around 9 to 9:30 pm, when security forces were advancing through Lugupahari, a group of Naxals opened fire on them, leading to a gunfight. He said Naxals fled when security forces retaliated. "While one CRPF jawan identified as Satendra Singh was injured seriously in the incident, Vishnu Singh got a minor injury," he said. Reinforcement has been rushed soon after the incident to the spot and efforts are on to evacuate both the injured personnel, while Satendra Singh was shifted to Medica hospital, Ranchi for his better treatment. According to SDPO, Bermo, Satish Chandra Jha, one CRPF jawan has been shot in the stomach and the other in the chest. At the same time, several Naxalites have also been reported injured. The injured Naxalites have escaped leaving their weapons. According to the police officials, a massive search operation is underway to get hold of the Naxals. "After the search operation, we found traces of bloodstains at the spot of the encounter. We suspect that during the encounter some of the rebels who were trying to flee might have sustained injuries," said the SP. The security forces recovered a madein-Belgium rifle, 15 cartridges with magazines. Air fare cap expanded, lower band increased by 10% NEW DELHI: To give more pricing flexibility to the airlines, the Centre has expanded the airfare cap, sources said on Thursday. Accordingly, the lower fare band has been increased by 10 per cent, while the upper cap has been raised by 30 per cent. Notably, the move comes after consistent rise in domestic passenger numbers. At present, the applicability time period of fare bands within which the airlines have to operate is till Feb 24, 2021. These fare bands came into force with effect from May 21, 2020. Recently, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Parliament said the fixed minimum and maximum air fare structure for the domestic sector will be removed once passenger traffic reaches per-Covid levels. Under the fare structure, air routes are divided into seven sections based on travel time. Each section has its minimum and maximum fares. Accordingly, Delhi-Mumbai ticket price has been fixed at Rs 3,500-Rs 10,000. Currently, the airlines can operate up to 80 per cent of their preCovid capacity.