• 01 Aug 2024

Kedarnath Cloudburst

Why in News?

Recently, A cloudburst in Kedarnath caused significant damage, leading to a sharp rise in the Mandakini River's water level in Sonprayag.

• Emergency services have been placed on high alert as authorities are concerned that between 150 to 200 pilgrims may be stranded in Kedarnath.

Key Points

• The cloudburst triggered a landslide along the Kedarnath walking path, damaging about 30 meters of the route, leading to its temporary closure for safety reasons.
  • Heavy rainfall in Haridwar caused widespread flooding. Areas like Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal, and Jwalapur have been severely affected.
• The Regional Meteorological Center has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall across seven districts in Uttarakhand.

The Mandakini River

• It is a tributary of the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand.
• The river runs for approximately 81 kilometers between the Rudraprayag and Sonprayag areas and emerges from the Chorabari Glacier.
• The Mandakini merges with river Songanga at Sonprayag and flows past the Madhyamaheshwar temple at Ukhimath.
• At the end of its course it drains into the Alaknanda, which flows into the Ganges.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Passes 'Love Jihad' Law

Why in News?

Recently, The Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, providing for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment to the offenders convicted under certain circumstances.

Key Points

• The law contains stringent provisions with regard to fraudulent or forced conversions.
• It provides for 20 years’ imprisonment or life sentence if it was found that conversion had taken place under threat, promise of marriage or conspiracy. It was placed in the category of most serious crime under the Bill.
  • The bill allows any person to register an First Information Report (FIR) in cases related to religious conversion, not only parents, victims, or siblings.
• These cases would not be heard by any court below the sessions court. Bill has also made the crime non-bailable.
  • Anyone wishing to convert of their own volition for the purpose of marriage must submit an application to the concerned district magistrate two months in advance.

State Anti-Conversion Laws

• Odisha (1967): First State to enact a law restricting religious conversions, prohibiting forceful conversions and fraudulent means.
• Madhya Pradesh (1968): Introduced the Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam, requiring notification to the District Magistrate for any conversion activities under penalty of law.
• Arunachal Pradesh (1978), Gujarat (2003), Chhattisgarh (2000 and 2006), Rajasthan (2006 and 2008), Himachal Pradesh (2006 and 2019), Tamil Nadu (2002-2004), Jharkhand (2017), Uttarakhand (2018), Uttar Pradesh (2021), and Haryana (2022).
  • These states have enacted laws prohibiting various forms of religious conversions, with enhanced penalties for conversions involving SCs, STs, minors, and women.
• Centre’s Stand:The Union Ministry of Home Affairs stated in an affidavit to the Supreme Court that the right to religion does not include the right to convert others, especially through fraudulent or coercive means.
  • They referred to the Supreme Court's interpretation of Article 25 and emphasised that fraudulent conversion affects an individual's freedom of conscience and can disrupt public order.
  • The Centre has not clarified if it will introduce a special law on religious conversions as requested in the petition.

Uttar Pradesh to Set Up Logistics Clusters

Why in News?

Recently, The Uttar Pradesh government has initiated the establishment of 33 Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Clusters (IMLCs) along expressways in 30 districts.

Key Points

• IMLCs will be established along five major expressways: Ganga, Bundelkhand, Agra-Lucknow, Gorakhpur Link, and Purvanchal.
  • Additional land will be allocated for the defence corridor in Agra and Aligarh along the Agra-Lucknow expressway. Industrial corridors will be developed as IMLCs in Firozabad, Etawah, and Kannauj.
• Environmental and forest clearances are required for all scheduled projects, Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select a consulting agency.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA)

• It is an authority set up in 2007 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to develop expressway projects in the state.
• The headquarters of UPEIDA is located at Paryatan Bhawan in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.

Rajasthan Schools to Commemorate Article 370 Abrogation

Why in News?

Recently, The Rajasthan Secondary Education Department has announced the celebration of Vir Savarkar Jayanti and abrogation of Article 370 in the ongoing academic year.

Key Points

• Vir Savarkar Jayanti will be celebrated in schools on 28^th May and Swarna Mukut Mastak Diwas will be celebrated on 5^th August to celebrate the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir.
• Other notable dates include Subhash Chandra Bose Diwas, also referred to as Desh Prem Diwas, on 23^rd January, Matr Pitr Diwas on 14th February and Surya Namaskar Diwas on 4^th February.

Article 370 of the Constitution of India

• About: On October 17, 1949, Article 370 was added to the Indian constitution, as a 'temporary provision', which exempted Jammu & Kashmir, permitting it to draft its own Constitution and restricting the Indian Parliament's legislative powers in the state.
  • It was introduced into the draft constitution by N Gopalaswami Ayyangar as Article 306 A.
  • Under Article 370: The Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir was empowered to recommend which articles of the Indian Constitution should apply to the state,
  • The J&K Constituent Assembly was dissolved after it drafted the state's constitution. Clause 3 of the article 370 gives the President of India the power to amend its provisions and scope.
• Article 35A stems from Article 370 and was introduced through a Presidential Order in 1954, on the recommendation of the J&K Constituent Assembly.
  • Article 35A empowers the Jammu & Kashmir legislature to define the permanent residents of the state, and their special rights and privileges.
• On 5^th August 2019, President of India in the exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution had issued the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019. Through this, the Government of India has made modifications in Article 370 itself (not revoked it).

Black Panther in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

Why in News?

Recently, a rare black panther has been sighted in the Achanakmar tiger reserve (ATR) in Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• The presence of the black panther in ATR was confirmed during the tiger census in 2022.
• The fourth phase of survey for the tiger count in the ATR has indicated the presence of ten tigers in the reserve forest, seven females and three males.

Black Panther

• About:
  • Leopards (Panthera Pardus) are either light colored (pale yellow to deep gold or tawny) with black rosettes or with black fur.
  • The melanistic leopards, which are either all-black or very dark in coloration, are known as black panthers. It is a color variant of spotted Indian leopards, reported from densely forested areas of south India.
  • Black coat coloration is attributed to the expression of recessive alleles in leopards and dominant alleles in jaguars. In each species, a certain combination of alleles stimulates the production of large amounts of the dark pigment melanin (Melanism) in the animal’s fur and skin.
    • The appearance of a black coat may be influenced by other factors, such as the angle of incident light and the animal’s life stage.
• Habitat:
  • They are mainly in Southwestern China, Burma, Nepal, Southern India, Indonesia, and the southern part of Malaysia.
  • In India they can be spotted in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra etc.
• Threats:
  • Habitat loss.
  • Collision with vehicles.
  • Diseases.
  • Human encroachment.
  • Poaching.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

• It is situated in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. Established in 1975 and was declared a tiger reserve in 2009.
• It is part of the huge Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve.
• It has a corridor connecting Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and plays a critical role in the dispersal of tigers among these reserves.
• River:
  • The Maniyari River flows right from the centre of this reserve, which is the forest's lifeline.
• Tribe:
  • It is home to the Baigas, a forest-dwelling tribal community classified as a “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)”.
  • In 626 hectares of the core area of the reserve, there are 25 forest villages, with approximately 75% of the population belonging to the Baiga tribe.
• Vegetation:
  • Tropical moist deciduous vegetation covers the majority of the area.
• Flora:
  • Sal, bija, saja, haldu, teak, tinsa, dhawara, lendia, khamar, and bamboo bloom along with other 600 species of medicinal plants.
• Fauna:
  • It includes the tiger, leopard, bison, flying squirrel, Indian giant squirrel, chinkara, wild dog, hyena, sambar, chital, and over 150 species of birds.

Capacity Building Workshop in Madhya Pradesh

Why in News?

Recently, a State Capacity-Building workshop was conducted for the Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) of the Government of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal.

Key Points

• This programme was conducted by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Home Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and MP-CERT, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh.
• The workshop was intended to raise awareness, build capacities, and enable government departments to create a cyber-resilient ecosystem.
  • It provides holistic information and knowledge about cybersecurity to help government departments maintain their cyber hygiene, safety, and security, facilitating the Digital India programme.

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD)

• It was created in 2009 under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology to support the implementation of e-Governance projects and provide technical and advisory support to Central and State Ministries/Departments.
• NeGD manages several national public digital platforms such as DigiLocker, UMANG, Rapid Assessment System, OpenForge, API Setu, Poshan Tracker, Academic Bank of Credits, National Academic Depositories, National AI Portal, MyScheme, India Stack Global, and Meri Pehchaan.