Uttarakhand

• 04 Jun 2022

Chief Minister Dhami Won by a Record Margin of Votes in Assembly By-Election

Why in News?

• On June 3, 2022, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami won the results of the by-election to Champawat seat in Uttarakhand with a record 92% of the votes.

Key Points

• A total of 62,898 votes were polled in the may 31 by-election to champawat assembly seat.
• Out of this, 58,258 votes went to Chief Minister Dhami, while 3233 votes went to Congress candidate Nirmala Gahtori.
• It is worth mentioning that Dhami's victory is the biggest ever victory in terms of vote percentage and vote difference in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections and by-elections.
• It is also worth noting that in the Assembly elections held in February 2022, the BHARATIYA Janata Party had won 47 out of 70 seats, but Chief Minister Dhami lost from his Khatima assembly seat.

India's first Liquid Mirror Telescope set up in Nainital

Why in News?

• On June 2, 2022, the director of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Science (ARIES), Nainital, Prof. Dipankar Banerjee told that with the help of the four-meter diameter Liquid Mirror Telescope installed in Devasthal, Aries will help in uncovering the big mysteries of space.

Key Points

• Besides India it is a joint project of four other countries - Belgium, Canada, Poland and Uzbekistan.
• Under the project which started in 2017, this telescope has been built at a cost of Rs. 50 crore.
• In its first phase of testing, clear images of the NGC–4274 galaxy 95 thousand light-years away have been obtained, as well as clear pictures of the stars of its own Milky Way galaxy.