#Jharkhand traffic enforcement

[townpostin]

Auto Drivers Face Fines for Illegal Stops in Jamshedpur

New enforcement targets no-parking violations to reduce traffic congestion Jamshedpur authorities announce fines for auto drivers illegally stopping in no-parking zones to combat traffic issues. JAMSHEDPUR – Jamshedpur officials have implemented a new measure to fine auto drivers who pick up or drop off passengers in no-parking areas. The enforcement action aims to alleviate traffic congestion at…

[marseducation]

*Samyukta Kisan Morcha Press Release*

312th day, 04th October 2021

*Protests organised all over India as citizens express their anger at BJP leaders' impunity and violence, after the massacre of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh yesterday - Memorandum addressed to President of India submitted - An independent journalist also killed in Lakhimpur Kheri's incidents yesterday - SKM appeals to all citizens to maintain peace and order*

*Agreement reached between protesting farmers and the administration, which paved the way for final rites of martyred farmers - Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh's BJP government puts in place numerous undemocratic and authoritarian measures to prevent swelling support to the protesting farmers, and to protect the culprits - SKM condemns the undemocratic behaviour of Yogi government strongly*

*Samyukt Kisan Morcha clarifies once again that it has never approached Supreme Court or other Courts on matters related to the current agitation or the 3 farm laws - SKM believes that the matter with regard to the 3 laws is that of Constitutionality but also about ramifications on farm livelihoods which is in the ambit of the Union Government to resolve*

*PM Modi attacking Opposition political parties will not resolve the farmers' agitation - SKM reminds Mr Narendra Modi and BJP of their stand in the past, and asks for fulfillment of farmers' rightful demands without any further delay*

On Samyukt Kisan Morcha's call last night, asking for protests from 10am to 1pm today all over the country to press for four key demands, protests have been organised at DC/DM offices and other locations in many places. Reports have come in from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and other states about these protests. There was also a silent protest march organised at Singhu Border also. Citizens who participated in these protests questioned the impunity and violence with which BJP leaders are operating, and their anti-farmer attitude and behaviour. They demanded immediate dismissal of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, immediate arrest of the Minister's son and his accomplices, a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, and also the resignation of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar. Reports indicate that FIRs have been lodged against Ashish Mishra Teni and 15 others. However, no arrests have been made. SKM has appealed to all citizens to maintain peace and non-violence, as is the norm of the farmers' struggle, and asked protestors not to fall into the trap being laid by BJP to derail the movement by violence and communal politics being brought in.

There were spontaneous protests in response to the unfortunate developments in Lakhimpur Kheri from last night itself when candlelight marches and rallies were taken out in some locations like Ambala, Kurukshetra, Chandigarh and other places. In Puranpur and other locations, highways were jammed by protesting farmers. Thousands of farmers poured into Tikunia today, at the site of the violent incidents, where the bodies of the martyrs were kept, and negotiations held with the administration.

Today, an agreement was reached between SKM leaders along with local protesting farmers and families of the deceased, and the state administration, which paved the way for the final rites to be performed of the martyred farmers, after postmortem is performed. The bodies of the four farmers had been kept in an overnight vigil by hundreds of farmers and their families in Tikunia's college ground. The Government will give 45 lakh rupees each and a government job each to the families of the farmers who were killed yesterday. The injured will be given 10 lakh rupees each. FIR has been registered against Ashish Mishra Teni and 15 others under Sections 302, 120B and other charges, and the government said that it will arrest all the accused within a week. A case has been registered against Minister Ajay Mishra Teni also, under Sections like 120B. The Government has also agreed to get a retired High Court judge to probe the matter. The demand with regard to Ajay Mishra Teni's dismissal from the Union Government is pending, of course.

Eye witness accounts reveal how the murderous attack seems to be pre-planned, facilitated by the UP police. It is reported that Police removed barricades to allow the vehicles of the Minister's son, who himself was driving the Thar vehicle, to mow down protestors indiscriminately, and the farmers retaliated thereafter. The Police protected Ashish Mishra Teni in escaping from the scene, and it is reported that he fired as he escaped. The specific targeting of SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk was narrated in eye witness accounts.

Reports through the day indicated that the Uttar Pradesh government tried numerous undemocratic ways of preventing various people going to Lakhimpur Kheri, whether it was social activists, or political leaders. Sec.144 was imposed, and internet services were suspended. UP Government went to the extent of disallowing certain people from arriving into, and leaving from particular airports, and had also written to Punjab government, asking that no person from Punjab should be allowed to enter Lakhimpur Kheri. At the time of release of this press note, reports indicate SKM leaders like Gurnam Singh Chaduni and Buta Singh Burjgill were being prevented from reaching Lakhimpur Kheri by the UP Police. In fact, it is reported that Gurnam Singh Chaduni has been arrested in Meerut. The prevention of leaders of the Opposition, including the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and two sitting Chief Ministers (of Punjab and Chattisgarh), and disallowing the landing of a Deputy Chief Minister clearly shows that the UP Government has something to hide, and is protecting the culprits. Such draconian measures are unprecedented and raise numerous valid questions. SKM condemns all these undemocratic measures of Uttar Pradesh BJP government.

Samyukt Kisan Morcha clarifies once again that it has never approached the Supreme Court or any other Court for resolution of the core issues of the farmers' agitation - about the 3 anti-farmer central laws or MSP statutory guarantee. SKM has always believed that the three central laws which reflect the anti-farmer policy directions adopted by the Union Government have to be repealed by the government itself. Towards this, SKM has also written to the President and the Prime Minister asking for dialogue to be resumed and demands to be fulfilled. SKM did not approach the Court even on the constitutionality matter - while it is important that state government's constitutional authority over agriculture has to be restored and strengthened, it is equally important to realise that the issues with the farm laws are not just about constitutionality, or lack thereof. It is about the implications of the farm laws on farmers and the death blow to their fragile livelihoods. While the laws might have been suspended from implementation for now, SKM realises that the Stay can be lifted any day. Therefore, the movement has insisted on a full repeal of the laws. When it came to organising a Kisan Sansad at Jantar Mantar too, SKM did not have to knock on the doors of any court, and fulfilled fully the conditions with which it obtained Delhi Police's permission and cooperation for organising the same. Therefore, there is no question of the farmers' movement entering the Courts and seeking justice, and protesting at the same time. The petitioner in this case has got nothing to do with SKM. On the matter of blocking the highways, it is reported that the Supreme Court has issued notice to 43 leaders. Samyukt Kisan Morcha has always maintained that farmers did not put up any barricades or blockades on the roads. It was the Haryana, UP and Delhi Police which did so. Farmers have in fact kept the roads clear for traffic on both sides at the morcha sites. Public inconvenience if any is being caused by the police which has barricaded the highways. Farmers have also maintained that the agitation can be resolved, if the Union Government does not behave in this egoistic, adamant and unjustifiable manner. The resolution is clearly in the hands of the Modi Government which has not been able to give any convincing evidence as to why it will not repeal the anti-farmer laws, or why it will not enact a legislation for guaranteeing remunerative MSP for all produce and farmers.

Reports indicate that Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi criticised opposition political parties sharply in an interview, alleging that the opposition parties are indulging in political deceit and moral dishonesty when they oppose the farm laws. He has reportedly said that parties who promised certain reforms in their election promises and even their manifestos, have taken a u-turn later on and did not have the boldness to carry through their promises. Samyukt Kisan Morcha would like to remind the Prime Minister that these so-called "reforms" are not beneficial for farmers, irrespective of which party is proposing these. These "reforms" are meant to facilitate the business of agri-corporations at the expenses of millions of farmers in the country. Farmers did not ask for such reforms. Moreover, SKM would like to remind Mr Modi and BJP that what the farmers are demanding today is very much in line with promises made by the BJP itself, and perspectives supported by Mr Modi and BJP in the past. It was in 2011 when Mr Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and as the Chairperson of a Working Group that he recommended that MSP enforcement should be mandated through statutory provisions, in the "Report of the Working Group on Consumer Affairs" of the Government of India. Further, earlier to this, it was in 2002 that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government obtained a report of its "High Level Committee on Long Term Grain Policy" that recommended that CACP should go strictly on the basis of C2 cost of production. The Committee also recommended that MSP should have statutory status. This Committee was asked to set out principles and guidelines for long term grain policy by the then BJP government. It is also well known that Mr Narendra Modi and BJP canvassed for the party's election campaign in 2014 on the MSP plank, promising improvements for farmers. In 2018, the Modi government in fact made a commitment on the floor of the Parliament that MSP will be made a reality for all farmers. None of this materialised. It is high time that BJP looked into its own political dishonesty in making direct promises to farmers and reneging on them. More importantly, it is important that farmers demands be met in the current agitation, since the implications of not doing so are a matter of life and death of millions of anna daatas of the country.

The Champaran-Varanasi Lokneeti Satyagraha Padayatra that started in Champaran on Gandhi Jayanti, is on its third day of journey. After spending the night at Kotwa last night, the yatra will reach Rampur Khajuriya tonight, after passing through Belwa. The yatra is receiving a very positive response throughout its route with locals extending their support and hospitality.

*Issued by -*

Balbir Singh Rajewal, Dr Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Hannan Mollah, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Shivkumar Sharma 'Kakkaji', Yudhvir Singh, Yogendra Yadav

*Samyukta Kisan Morcha*

Email: samyuktkisanmorcha@gmail.com

[cctvgurukripa-blog]

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[vsplusonline]

Back at work: Sections of stranded labourers returned to work in infrastructure projects

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/back-at-work-sections-of-stranded-labourers-returned-to-work-in-infrastructure-projects/

Back at work: Sections of stranded labourers returned to work in infrastructure projects

Machines are whirring again in a few projects in railways, road and steel, among others. A few thousand workers are back at work. A section of labourers, who had been stranded in states across India, were surveyed for their skills and then mobilised and dispatched to project sites within those states. The process began after the government gave its nod to restart core sector activities, albeit with conditions, from April 20 — four weeks after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interstate movement of citizens has been barred and some states have enforced stringent measures even on interdistrict travel — for example, from a contaminated red zone to a virus-free green district and vice-versa. This is prompting local administrations to either transport labourers to work sites or instruct contractors to employ only those who are stationed near the sites.

While talking to ET Magazine, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant argues that this could well be the best time to fast-track linear projects. Linear projects are those that cover long stretches such as highways, pipelines, railways. “This is the time to speed up linear projects. State governments should come forward and help. There’s no traffic, no hindrance.

Migrant workers who are camping in states should be engaged. In some instances, workers are residing near project sites,” Kant says.

Workers resume duty under strict guidelines at NMDC’s steel plant in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh.

By April 21, the most prominent greenfield linear railway project, the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), resumed work at 25 sites in 19 districts, from Anand in Gujarat to Sasaram in Bihar. Anurag Sachan, MD of DFC Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL), the government-run company executing the `81,000 crore project, wrote letters to six chief secretaries to secure permission. The project passes through 62 districts, and the permission for work during the lockdown has to come from each of the district magistrates.

“We are focusing on limited work such as earthwork, building of bridges and track-lining, which require minimum movement of labourers,” says Sachan.

On March 25, the day the lockdown began, as many as 22,289 DFC workers, technicians and engineers were stuck in 373 camps. Some of them are now resuming work in the places where they are stationed, adds Sachan. The Railways are also taking up brownfield linear projects which in normal circumstances would have resulted in the halting or diversion of passenger trains.

In several states, districts have conducted a skill mapping of labourers stranded in relief camps, identifying their expertise and sending them to factories or road construction sites. In Chhattisgarh, 6,300 migrant workers were stranded in relief camps due to the lockdown. Another 32,000 labourers were stuck in industrial locations such as Korba and Bhilai. “After undertaking a skill mapping, we ask the stranded workers if they are willing to resume work. If the answer is positive, we do a health check-up and facilitate their journey to the sites. About 4,000 workers have resumed work in NMDC’s Nagarnar steel plant,” says state labour secretary, Sonmoni Borah.

Workers resume duty under strict guidelines at NMDC’s steel plant in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh.

Allowed from Day 1 of the lockdown — about 12,000 workers have been on duty, down from the usual 18,000, mainly because of social distancing norms, he adds. Chhattisgarh has had 36 Covid-19 cases with no death, as on Saturday morning.

The restarting of work in infrastructure projects varies from state to state. In Telangana, for example, there has been no major road or railway construction, after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the lockdown would be in force in the state till May 7 — four days after the nationwide lockdown ends and that, too, with no partial relaxation from April 20.

Meanwhile, in Assam, the government has given its nod to repair embankments of the Brahmaputra as the yearly flood is just around the corner. “We have identified floodhit districts such as Lakhimpur, Dhemaji and Majuli for repair of embankments. We are emphasising on local workforce to minimise the movement of labourers,” says Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna. These districts fall outside the Covid-19 contamination clusters in the state. Assam has reported 36 Covid-19 cases with one death.

In Jammu and Kashmir, which has seen 454 Covid-19 cases, the guidelines on partial relaxation issued by the chief secretary on April 18 have made it amply clear that the government will not allow inter-district movement with a few exceptions like medical emergencies. Yet, the Railways’ Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project received a conditional go-ahead from the local administration.

Reasi district magistrate, in a letter dated April 20, permitted transportation of materials as well as resumption of work in 13 sites, including the construction of the Chenab bridge which, once completed, is set to be the tallest railway bridge in the world. The permission categorically mentions contact details of contractors, and ambulance drivers in case of an emergency.

Work on highways has also started. A spokesperson of the National Highways Authority of India says his office received reports of work having resumed in nine out of ten ongoing projects in Jharkhand, and five out of seven in Himachal Pradesh, as on midday, April 23. In the Nagpur division in Maharashtra, work has resumed in 27 out of 34 highway projects, with shortage of labourers being reported in three places, he adds. Although work has resumed in select core sector projects, non-availability of cement and steel could pose a problem.

The data available with the Railways shows it moved only 0.18 MMTs (million metric tonnes) of cement in the first 28 days of the lockdown beginning March 25, mainly due to the fall in demand and problems in unloading. When compared with the Railways’ February data (for 29 days), it is a staggering drop of 98%. Similarly, the movement of finished steel is down by two-thirds in the same period.

Resumption of infra projects could propel demand for cement, steel and labour, thus giving a dose of vitality, albeit small, to the economy

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[bigyack-com]

Coronavirus Lockdown, Special Shramik Trains For Migrants: Special Trains For Migrants, Students, 5 More From Kerala Today: 10 Points

Coronavirus Lockdown: Special trains are being run by Railways to return migrants to their homes (File)New Delhi: Six "shramik (worker) special" trains, carrying migrants, students and others stranded by the coronavirus lockdown, departed from Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on Friday. The trains, bound for Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were organised on request from the respective states, Railways said in a statement. More such trains will be run in the coming days, after the government permitted travel of stranded migrants, providing they do not display COVID-19 symptoms. In its order the government initially only allowed travel only by road, but states pointed to challenges in transporting lakhs of people across hundreds of kilometres in buses, particularly with social distancing a concern. As a result, "special" trains were allowed, with strict rules to be followed regarding disinfection of coaches, screening of passengers and maintaining social distance during travel.

Here are the top 10 points in this big story:

Each "shramik" train will carry between 1,000 and 1,200 people to ensure social distancing during travel. All passengers will be screened for coronavirus symptoms prior to boarding; only asymptomatic people will be allowed to travel, the Railways stressed. "It will be mandatory for every passenger to wear a face mask," Railways also said, adding that all passengers would be screened on arrival as well and those showing symptoms would be quarantined.All meals and drinking water will be provided by government at point of origin, the Railways also said. In its statement the national transporter stressed these were "special trains for people nominated and identified by state governments" and "nobody should come to stations looking for trains". Only those passengers brought to the station by the state government will be allowed to board, the Railways said. Students have been told to bring identity cards and texts from district magistrates will also be accepted as tickets; forwarded messages will not.Five more trains will run from Kerala today - two from Kochi and one from state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The departing station of the other two have yet to be decided. The train from Thiruvananthapuram is expected to leave at 2 pm and will run to Hatia in Jharkhand. Visuals from news agency ANI show police officers drawing circles outside the station to encourage people to follow social distancing.On Friday Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had earlier expressed concern over allowing interstate movement during the lockdown, met his ministers to review preparations for the influx of migrants. The state expects around 10 lakh people to arrive and all of them will be quarantined for 21 days instead of 14, he said. The Chief Minister also said migrants would be given skill-training to help them settle and find jobs.The first "special" train departed from Telangana's Lingampally district at 4.30 am on Friday. Bound for Hatia, it carried 1,200 migrants from Hyderabad and reached its destination later in the day. Five other trains were run on Friday -  from Maharashtra's Nashik to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, from Aluva in Kerala to Odisha's Bhubaneswar and from Jaipur and Kota in Rajasthan to Bihar's Patna and Hatia.The two trains that left Rajasthan at around 9 pm on Friday were carrying Jharkhand students stranded in Kota (a popular coaching hub for competitive exams) and Jaipur. According to news agency PTI, Railway officials and others were seen applauding as the train carrying over 1,000 students pulled away from the station in Kota. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren confirmed the departure and thanked Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for his help.The train carrying migrants from Maharashtra's Nashik arrived in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal on Friday night. Over 350 people were on that train and will be taken, via buses, to hometowns and villages after being screened for infection. The state government has spoken to the centre about shifting around one lakh people from Madhya Pradesh scattered around the country; around 35,000 have already been brought back.Lakhs of migrant workers and others had been left stranded - without jobs, money, food or shelter - in states far from their own after the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25. The centre had said migrants would be looked after, but the reality indicated otherwise, with reports of hunger coming in from various corners of the country.As reports of the migrant exodus grew and people began dying on enforced treks home in searing heat - this morning a migrant labourer from UP died while trying to cycle home from Madhya Pradesh's Barwani - the government came under severe criticism from the opposition, with the Congress leading the charge. Party MP Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra repeatedly called on the government to help migrants return home. In March the government had hit back at its critics, calling the lockdown "pre-emptive, pro-active and graded".The nationwide lockdown, imposed in March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break the chain of transmission of the coronavirus, has been extended by two weeks, the Home Ministry said on Friday. The lockdown, which has already been extended once, had been due to end on May 3. During this time all rail, road and air traffic, except for special trains and cargo operations, remains banned.With inputs from PTI, ANI Read the full article

[vaishcurrentaffairs-blog]

Current affairs September 06th

1. 1.51 lakh people killed in road accidents last year

Indian roads were more fatal in 2016 as the number of deaths in road accidents rose over 3% to 1.51 lakh compared to the previous year.

However, the total road accidents declined 4.1% to 4.81 lakh that resulted in injuries to 4.95 lakh persons, according to the government’s ‛Road Accidents in India 2016’ report.

Around 46% people killed on Indian roads belonged to the age group of 18-35 years.

The report showed that around 37% road accidents took place on traffic junctions during 2016.

Two-wheeler riders were the most vulnerable road users with their percentage share in fatalities at 34.8% followed by four-wheeler drivers at 17.9%

The report showed that 19.3% of 52,500 two-wheeler riders killed in road accidents in 2016 were not wearing helmets.

A total of 55,942 hit and run cases were reported that accounted for 11.6% road accidents and 15.2% fatalities in 2016.

2. Powerful Hurricane Irma hits first Caribbean islands

The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean.

The Category 5 storm had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

3. 5 September: Teacher’s Day

Teacher’s Day was celebrated on 5 September 2017 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Former President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Teacher’s day was created in 1962 to mark the birth anniversary of the second president of India Dr S Radhakrishnan, who was also an academician and teacher.

About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and statesman.

• He was the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India from 1962 to 1967.

• He was one of India’s most distinguished twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy.

• His philosophy was grounded in Advaita Vedanta, reinterpreting this tradition for a contemporary understanding.

• He was awarded several high awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1954, and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.

The World Teachers’ Day

The World Teachers’ day that was created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Every year, 5 October is celebrated as the World Teachers’ Day. A different theme is selected for every year to celebrate and honour the teachers of the world.

4. inter-ministerial task force for speedy implementation of the Centre’s Namami Gange mission.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has announced the formation of an inter-ministerial task force for speedy implementation of the Centre’s Namami Gange mission.

Along with this, the Minister announced that the Water Resources Ministry would come out with a detailed schedule on achieving various targets under the mission in a time-bound and transparent manner within a week.

The task force is expected to comprise ministers and officials from water resources, urban development, drinking water and sanitation and rural development among others.

5. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launches two new contraceptives.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched two new contraceptives-

an injectable contraceptive MPA under the ‘Antara’ programme

a contraceptive pill ‘Chhaya’

These contraceptives have been launched in 10 states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha and Goa. 

The Antara and Chhaya contraceptives are presently available for free in Medical Colleges and District Hospitals. 

These contraceptives are safe and highly effective.

The ‘Antara’ injectable is effective for three months and the ‘Chayya’ pill is effective for one week.

These contraceptives will help meet the changing needs of couples and help women plan and space their pregnancies.

The Ministry recently launched Family Planning Logistics Management Information System (FP-LMIS)to provide robust information on the demand and distribution of contraceptives to health facilities and ASHAs.

It also launched a central family planning initiative 'Mission Parivar Vikas'with an aim to improve the access to contraceptives.

The mission is being implemented in 146 high focus districts with the highest total fertility rates in the country. 

These districts are in the seven high Total Fertility Rates (TFR) states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam.

The main aim of this mission is to bring down the Total Fertility Rate to 2.1 by the year 2025.

6. BRICS Summit - 2017

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations on 4 September 2017 signed four documents that aim at improving and broadening cooperation mechanism and promoting industrial and technical upgradation to enhance economic complementarities inorder to boost trade ties among the BRICS nations.

The documnets signed includes-

1. BRICS Action Agenda on Economic and Trade Cooperation

2. BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation(2017-2020)

3. Strategic Framework of BRICS Customs Cooperation

4. Memorandum of Understanding between the BRICS Business Council and the New Development Bank on Strategic Cooperation

BRICS Summit 2017: Xiamen Declaration condemns Pak-based terror groups

BRICS action plan for innovation cooperation intends to facilitate innovation driven development for sustainable development.

Strategic frame work of BRICS custom cooperation is meant for mutual sharing of information recombination of customs control and mutual assistance in enforcement as guiding principles.

MoU between BRICS business council and New Development Bank on strategic cooperation is for economic and financial research activities in local markets, knowledge exchange financial institution cooperation and human resource development.

Five banks of BRICS nations sign agreement to establish credit lines.

7. Prakriti Khoj - An Environment awareness initiative

The Union Environment Ministry on 5 September 2017 launched an environment awareness initiative on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

Under the initiative, an online environmental quiz competition named Prakriti Khoj will be conducted at the national level.

The Prakriti Khoj will be an ideal medium to reach out to young minds through a fun-filled interactive learning mode to trigger their sensitivity towards environment protection and conservation.

This quiz will provide a unique platform for students to measure their awareness level regarding environmental issues.

About the quiz :-

The quiz is planned in two phases.

• For the first phase, it is envisaged that maximum number of children of schools under the National Green Corps (NGC) programme of the Ministry should get an opportunity to participate in this environmental quiz.

Three age groups is planned to be covered in Phase-I, which will be open only to Eco-clubs i.e. in the age-groups 8-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years.

After this, based on the feedback received from the participants, the second phase of the quiz will be open to students from all schools across the country in the year 2018.

The mode of quiz will be online through multiple choice questions.

Thematic areas like climate change, biodiversity, forest and wildlife, pollution, waste management, rivers and lakes, natural history, international conventions such as Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora etc. have been chosen for the quiz.

A separate web portal, www.ngc.nic.in, containing information on the quiz has been developed by Ministry.

Dates of the quiz will be updated on the Prakriti Khoj portal, as well as the Ministry’s website.

The students from Eco-clubs specially registered on the portal will be able to participate in the qualification round from 18 September 2017 onwards.

Quiz will be organized in school premises under the supervision of Principals/Eco-club Coordinators.

There will be cash prizes for the winners. In addition, all participants will receive an E-certificate of participation, duly signed by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

[townpostin]

Zonal IG Addresses Rising Crime Rates In Jamshedpur Meeting

Akhilesh Jha Expresses Concern Over Increase In Road Accidents And Thefts Police officials receive directives on crime reduction and traffic safety strategies. JAMSHEDPUR – Zonal IG Akhilesh Jha held a crucial meeting with district police officials on Thursday, addressing the city’s rising crime rates and road accident fatalities. "We’re concerned about the increase in crimes like robbery and…

[townpostin]

Drunk Driver Causes Accident in Jamshedpur's Sidhgora Area

Two-wheeler riders narrowly escape as speeding car crashes near Bima Road Local residents apprehend inebriated motorist, hand over to police. JAMSHEDPUR – A drunk driver caused a serious accident near the Bima Road drain in Sidgora police station area on Friday, colliding with two vehicles and narrowly avoiding tragedy. Eyewitnesses report that the car was speeding from Bima Road towards Agrico…