Uttarakhand

• 26 Jun 2023

Sal seeds will bring prosperity to Uttarakhand, a new chapter in Forest Produce

Why in News?

On June 25, 2023, Manoj Chandran, Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand Forest Department, said that for the first time in the state, work is being done on a plan to collect and sell Sal seeds in the market as a pilot project. In this way, a new chapter of forest produce has been added in the forest-dominated state of Uttarakhand.

Key Points:

• Sal forests spread over an area of about 5,000 square kilometres in the state will become a new source of income for the villagers and the forest department. The Dhami government's emphasis in the state is on increasing income from forests.
• For this, apart from eco-tourism, instructions have been given to the officers on behalf of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on how prosperity can be brought from different types of produce obtained from forests. In this series, the Forest Department has started work for the first time on this scheme to generate income from the seeds of the year.
• According to an estimate, about 45 lakh quintals of Sal seeds are produced in Uttarakhand. Although all the seeds will not be collected in this scheme, for this the seeds fallen on the fire line and roadside will be collected. Accordingly, lakhs of quintals of seeds will be collected.
• Sal seeds have been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine to treat gallstones, leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, skin diseases, stomach disorders, ulcers, wounds, diarrhoea and weakness. Apart from this, sal seeds are also used in making chocolate.
• Valuable edible oil is extracted from sal seeds. The seed contains 19.20% oil. The oil is also used as a substitute for butter and in confectionery & foods. The remaining oilseed contains 10.12% protein. It is used as feed for poultry.
• Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are such states in the country, where sal seeds are collected on a large scale through small forest produce cooperative societies as major forest produce. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Sal seeds is also released every year in these states.

Uttarakhand Multi-Hazard Early Warning System

Why in News?

According to the information received from the media on June 24, 2023, a siren system will be installed at 250 places in the first phase of this pilot project named Uttarakhand Multi-Hazard Early Warning System to prevent disasters in Uttarakhand.

Key Points:

• An approval of Rs 118 crore has been received in the first phase for this project to be set up in Uttarakhand.
• It is known that the project has been approved in the High Powered Committee (HPC) meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary SS Sandhu.
• The World Bank is funding this project. Now global tenders will be invited for this at the international level.
• After the implementation of this project, Uttarakhand will be the second state after Kerala, which is going to adopt this system. Kerala has spent around Rs 80 crore on this project.
• Under the Early Warning Siren System, this system will be installed on mobile towers located at sensitive places in the state. New towers will be installed where there are no mobile towers.
• After this, alerts received from organizations like Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and Center Water Commission will be conveyed to the people through sirens. In calamities like floods, landslides, earthquakes, heavy rains, and avalanches, people will be able to reach safe places in time to protect their lives and property.
• In case of any disaster, the siren system can be operated from three levels. Firstly, where the siren system will be installed, there will also be a mini control room.
• Second, it can be triggered (pressing the button) from the control room set up at the district level and thirdly, the siren system can also be activated from the control room set up at the state level.
• A siren system has been installed on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh by THDC (Tehri Hydro Development Corporation), but it works only when water is released from the dam. The Multi-Hazard Early Warning System will issue warning sirens in case of any type of disaster.
• The special feature of the Uttarakhand Multi-Hazard Early Warning System is that it will broadcast different types of sounds in different disasters. For this, the general public will be told in advance what kind of sound the siren will broadcast. With this people will be able to know what kind of danger they are in.
• A list of mobile towers has been sought from the districts for the installation of the siren system. The project has already been approved by HPC and World Bank. In the first phase, the number of sirens will be increased to 250 and then to 1000 in the next phase.