Bihar

• 04 May 2022

Construction of Virat Ramayana temple begins in Bihar

Why In News?

• On the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on May 3, 2022, the construction work of Virat Temple was launched by Acharya Kishore Kunal at Kaithawalia in Kesaria block of East Champaran.

Key Point

• The Virat Ramayana temple will be constructed based on the concept of tower of temples. It will have 15 peaks, with the highest peak being 270 feet high.
• The Shivlinga will be installed in front of the temple. Behind it, an idol with a posture to worship Lord Ram and on the right side will be installed in the inclined posture of Hanumanji.
• In front of these idols, a temple of Mother Sita like Ashoka Vatika will be built at a distance of 200 feet.
• The bhoomipujan of the temple was performed on June 21, 2012. The world's largest Shivalinga will be installed here, which will be constructed from the black granite of Kanyakumari.

Bird census statistics released in Bihar

Why In News?

• Recently, the data of unplanned bird census has been released by the Government of Bihar for the first time in the State.

Key Point

• The census, launched in February 2022, has been conducted by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of Bihar in collaboration with the Wetland International Institute.
• According to this calculation, 202 species of birds have been found in a total of 68 reservoirs of the state. The total number of these birds is 45,173.
• Out of these, 80 species are of aquatic birds, including Leser Whistling Duck, Asian Open Build Stroke, Little Cormorant and Common Coot Garhwal etc.
• As per the calculation, the distribution of aquatic birds is as follows:
  • Gogabil Lake (4973) > Indrapuri Barrage (2641) > Naga-Nakti Dam (2430)
  • Despite this, the situation in magadh division of the state in terms of the number of birds is very worrisome, for example, only 3 birds have been found in The Kulmahadev Dam, while 24 birds have been found in Sita Dam.