Archives for June 2023

BENGALURU: Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80 per cent of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a report.

The report Tuesday from Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned that flash floods and avalanches would grow more likely in coming years and that the availability of freshwater would be affected for nearly 2 billion people who live downstream of 12 rivers that originate in the mountains.

Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges are an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and another 1.65 billion downstream.https://32a34dc62d13e6647f611614dffb8ade.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

“The people living in these mountains who have contributed next to nothing to global warming are at high risk due to climate change,” said Amina Maharjan, a migration specialist and one of the report’s authors.

“Current adaptation efforts are wholly insufficient, and we are extremely concerned that without greater support, these communities will be unable to cope.”

Various earlier reports have found that the cryosphere — regions on Earth covered by snow and ice — are among the worst affected by climate change. Recent research found that Mount Everest’s glaciers, for example, have lost 2,000 years of ice in just the past 30 years.

“We map out for the first time the linkages between cryosphere change with water, ecosystems and society in this mountain region,” Maharjan said.

Among the key findings from Tuesday’s report are that the Himalayan glaciers disappeared 65 per cent faster since 2010 than in the previous decade and reducing snow cover due to global warming will result in reduced fresh water for people living downstream.

The study found that 200 glacier lakes across these mountains are deemed dangerous, and the region could see a significant spike in glacial lake outburst floods by the end of the century.

The study found that communities in the mountain regions are being affected by climate change far more than in many other parts of the world. It says changes to the glaciers, snow and permafrost of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region driven by global warming are “unprecedented and largely irreversible.”

The effects of climate change are already felt by Himalayan communities sometimes acutely. Earlier this year the Indian mountain town of Joshimath began sinking and residents had to be relocated within days.

“Once the ice melts in these regions, it’s very difficult to put it back to its frozen form,” said Pam Pearson, director of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, who was not involved with the report. She added, “It’s like a big ship in the ocean. Once the ice starts going, it’s very hard to stop. So, with glaciers, especially the big glaciers in the Himalayas, once they start losing mass, that’s going to continue for a really long time before it can stabilize.”

Pearson said it is extremely important for Earth’s snow, permafrost and ice to limit warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius agreed to at the 2015 Paris climate conference.

“I get the sense that most policymakers don’t take the goal seriously but, in the cryosphere, irreversible changes are already happening,” she said.

CHITRADURGA:  Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy has created a flutter in political circles by alleging that religious conversion of the oppressed sections is being done by giving them biryani.

He told the media that the Karnataka government is repealing The Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, popularly known as the ‘Anti-Conversion Bill’, and that Andhra Pradesh has registered 90 per cent religious conversions, Telangana 30 per cent, and the Madiga community is specially targeted.

He also said that conversions are taking place in Chitradurga for just a biryani, and it is the poor who are constantly targeted. Perpetrators use poverty to further their cause and convert people. If this continues, it will be difficult for them to survive, Narayanaswamy addedl

“Conversion is being done by targeting the oppressed, who will not get any identity. Because of this problem, the then BJP-led state government enacted the Anti-Conversion Bill, but the Congress government withdrew it. Let them do whatever they want,” he said angrily.

On the Union government planning to bring in Uniform Civil Code, the minister said it was welcomed by Muslims too. “It was Ambedkar’s desire that the Constitution should be supreme and be respected, and the state government withdrawing the Anti-Conversion Bill is against the wishes of Dr Ambedkar,” he added.
Narayanaswamy joined the bandwagon of BJP leaders pressuring the Congress government to implement the guarantees it made during elections. 

“The Congress, which came to power on guarantees of free rice, power, Gruha Lakshmi and others, shouldn’t give evasive replies that the Centre has not given rice. The Centre distributes rice on the basis of production and stock available, but I don’t know on what basis the state government is making allegations on the distribution of rice, he added.

Ever since the state government introduced Shakti Yojana, there has been a rise in quarrels and accidents, and bus drivers and conductors say there is no infrastructure at pilgrim centres to provide them shelter. But the government is unconcerned about the status of the bus and condition of SRTCs operating in Karnataka, he alleged.

The scheme was introduced without knowing the repercussions, he said and questioned why people of the country have remained poor even after ‘Gareebi Hatao’ was introduced by Congress. 

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States on Tuesday to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress, with military and technological ties on the agenda as his hosts seek a regional counter to China.

The leader of the world’s most populous nation will also receive all the pomp of a state dinner at the White House on Thursday — only Biden’s third since his inauguration.

Hailed by New Delhi as a “historic” chance to “expand and consolidate” ties, the visit comes at a time of rising concerns on human rights and democratic backsliding under the Hindu nationalist leader

But Washington is seeking to boost ties with a potential regional ally to counter an increasingly assertive China. Analysts expect landmark announcements in clean energy and strategic technology, including a deal to jointly produce fighter jet engines.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on a visit to New Delhi earlier this month, announced an “ambitious new roadmap for defence industrial cooperation” with India.

It has been linked to a likely announcement, expected at this week’s summit, of a long-discussed multibillion-dollar plan to co-produce jet engines in India.

New Delhi has been trying to become less dependent on Russian military hardware by diversifying imports and boosting domestic production.

With many countries wooing Modi, Washington hopes its co-production and technology offers will help secure a key market.

WATCH | Ambassador PS Raghavan talks about Modi’s state visit

Ashok Malik, India head of The Asia Group advisory firm, said US-India ties were defined by “pragmatism and deep alignment at the government level”, with “very strong” economic and business links.

India is important as “a growing power” in a region “where China is becoming unusually assertive”, New Delhi-based Malik told AFP.

After a deadly clash with China along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020, India rapidly expanded its Washington ties and is already part of the Quad grouping alongside Australia, the United States and Japan.

‘Contrasting personalities’

India’s huge market and potential as an alternative to China-dependent supply chains make it attractive, but its ties with Moscow remain an irritant for Washington.

New Delhi has not condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and has ratcheted up its oil imports from Russia.

Donald Camp, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that while the United States will push India for “some further action” on Russia, it “has not seemed to be a huge impediment in the development of the (US-India) relationship over the last year or so.”

Modi will also meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who on Sunday visited Beijing on the highest-level trip by a US official in nearly five years.

Kicking off his US trip on Wednesday with a mass yoga demonstration at the UN headquarters in New York, Modi will also meet top US CEOs to make a fresh investment pitch before India’s national elections next year.

Samir Saran, president of New Delhi-based think tank the Observer Research Foundation, said that “despite the very contrasting personalities of the two leaders”, the Biden-Modi summit was expected to result in tighter ties.

An initiative on emerging technologies announced by the two countries last year “has the potential to shape this century’s geopolitics and technology landscapes”, Saran told AFP.

Saran said he expected the “two democracies to collaborate in securing global technology infrastructure, set governance standards, and counter techno-authoritarianism” in fields such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

GUWAHATI: The flood situation in Assam was serious on Tuesday with nearly 31,000 people still reeling under the deluge across 10 districts of the state, an official said.ADVERTISING

The India Meteorological Department has issued a ‘Red Alert’ and predicted ‘very heavy’ to ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall across several districts of Assam over the next five days.

In a ‘Special Weather Bulletin’, IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati issued a ‘Red Alert’ for 24 hours from Monday, followed by ‘Orange Alerts’ for the subsequent two days and ‘Yellow Alert’ for Thursday.

‘Red Alert’ signifies taking immediate action, while ‘Orange Alert’ implies being prepared for action and ‘Yellow Alert’ stands for watch and be updated.

According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 30,700 people are hit due to floods in Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts.

Lakhimpur district is the worst hit with over 22,000 people affected, followed by Dibrugarh with more than 3,800 people and Kokrajhar with almost 1,800 persons, it added.

The administration has been running 25 relief distribution centres in seven districts, but no relief camp is operating as of now. At present, 444 villages are under water and 4,741.23 hectares of crop areas have been damaged across Assam, ASDMA said.

Massive erosions have been witnessed in Biswanath, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, South Salmara, Tamulpur and Udalguri, the ASDMA said.

Places in Dima Hasao, Kamrup Metropolitan and Karimganj have reported incidents of landslides due to heavy rainfall.

Embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure have been damaged by flood waters in Sonitpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Baksa, Chirang, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Karimganj and Udalguri.

Urban flooding inundated many places across Cachar, Darrang, Jorhat, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kokrajhar and Nalbari districts.

Brahmaputra’s tributary Kopili at Kampur is flowing above the danger mark, the report said.

BENGALURU: The AAP-ruled Punjab has come forward to supply rice required for Karnataka’s free rice scheme, Anna Bhagya, the party’s state unit has said.

The AAP’s Karnataka unit said the Punjab government, led by Bhagwant Mann was willing to help Karnataka by providing the rice required to implement the scheme, which offers 10 kg of food grain to each member of a family living below the poverty line.

In a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, AAP Karnataka convener Prithvi Reddy said, “The AAP government of Punjab is ready to provide the rice required for the implementation of Anna Bhagya scheme in Karnataka.” He stated that he had a detailed discussion on the issue with Punjab Chief Minister Mann

”Mann reacted positively and has in-principle agreed to supply rice in the state from Punjab,” Reddy claimed.

The AAP strongly believes that irrespective of political differences, all parties must support initiatives that are meant to help the people of our country, he said.

Reddy also took a dig at the BJP government at the Centre for allegedly declining to provide extra rice to Karnataka.

“It is both surprising and sad to note that the BJP-led central government has refused to provide extra rice to our state for the fulfilment of the new Anna Bhagya scheme proposed by your government,” the AAP state chief said in his letter.

Slamming the Centre, Reddy said the alleged refusal to provide the extra rice not only exposes the ‘anti-poor attitude’ of the BJP government but also their ”step-motherly” treatment to non-BJP ruled states”.

Later, addressing reporters he flayed the Congress for coming to power in Karnataka without any prior preparations.

He also charged the Siddaramaiah-led dispensation with completely ‘copying’ the programmes of the AAP and announcing many hasty guarantees for vote bank politics.

While five kg rice was already being given by the Centre, the state government wants to provide an additional five kg from its resources, according to a senior state government official.

The Union government Discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments.

According to an order issued by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), The sale of wheat and rice under the OMSS (domestic) for state governments is discontinued. However, the sale of rice under the OMSS will be continued for northeastern states, hilly states and states facing law and order situations, and natural calamities at an existing rate of Rs 3,400 per quintal, it said.

The move comes amid the slow progress of the monsoon and rising prices of rice and wheat. Rice prices have increased by up to 10 per cent in the last year at the mandi level and by 8 per cent in the last month, as per official data.

According to Siddaramaiah, the state needed 2.28 lakh metric tonnes of rice. On June 12, the FCI had agreed to provide the required quantity of rice but two days later it backtracked, he alleged.

Karnataka has approached the National Consumer Cooperative Federation, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, and Central Warehousing Corporation to procure rice.

Junagadh: One person died apparently after being hit by a stone, while at least five police personnel were injured in Gujarat’s Junagadh city after a group of people hurled stones and torched a vehicle to oppose the civic body’s plan to raze a dargah to clear “encroachment”, officials said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday night near Majevadi Darwaja in the city, during which the police lobbed tear gas shells and baton-charged the protesters to control the situation, and later rounded up 174 people, they said.

The exact reason behind the civilian’s death would be known after the post-mortem, but the police suspect that he died after being hit by a stone hurled by the mob.

“On June 14, the Junagadh Municipal Corporation issued a notice to a mosque near Majevadi Darwaja to produce documents regarding the ownership of land. Agitated over the notice, around 500-600 people gathered near the religious structure and blocked roads on Friday night,” Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said.

Deputy SP of Junagadh and other staff, who were present at the site, tried to convince them. After nearly an hour-long deliberations aimed at finding a peaceful resolution of the matter and clearing the protesters’ road blockade, some stones were thrown at the police staff around 10.15 pm, he said.

Shouting slogans, some people, agitated over the notice to the dargah, charged towards the police personnel and tried to attack them, he added.

Police lobbed tear gas shells and baton-charged to disperse the unruly crowd. Junagadh DySP, three sub-inspectors and two other police personnel were injured in the incident, but all of them are out of danger, he said, adding that a mob also set a vehicle on fire.

“A civilian died and it appears that stone-pelting was the cause of his death. But we are waiting for a post-mortem report to know the exact cause. Police teams rounded up 174 people in a combing operation,” Vasamsetty said.

Police personnel are deployed in the area to avoid any further untoward incident and efforts to nab all those involved in the clash are being taken, he said.

Kota: A 21-year-old medical education aspirant from Bihar allegedly committed suicide here after failing to get desired marks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in two successive attempts, officials said on Saturday.

Roshan (21), a resident of Samastipur district, was found dead Thursday evening by his brother Suman who also prepares for competitive exams in Kota but resides separately, they said.

Police said no suicide note has been recovered from Roshan’s room in Mahaveer Nagar Police station area, but they believe he hanged himself from the ceiling fan apparently because he failed to qualify NEET UG with good marks even at his second attempt.

The NEET results were announced earlier this week.

Roshan and his brother Suman had been preparing for the entrance exam and living at separate locations in Mahaveer Nagar area, circle officer of the area DSP Harshraj Singh told.

Roshan had gone to his uncles’ place in Delhi and returned to Kota on Thursday morning after which he spoke to his mother, Singh said.

Later in the day, when his parents called, Roshan did not respond after which they asked Suman to go to his PG and check.

When Suman reached there, he found his brother’s body hanging from the ceiling fan in his room on the 3rd floor of the building, the CO said.

He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead, the officer added.

Roshan had been preparing for the NEET UG for two years in Kota, and he scored 400 marks out of 720 in this edition of the NEET UG, the officer said.

Police said they have lodged a case under section 174 of CrPC (enquire and report on suicide) to probe the incident. They said his family reached Kota Friday afternoon and the body was handed over to them after postmortem.

This is the 12th case student suicide in Kota in the past six months. At least 15 students took to the extreme step in 2022.

Morena (MP): Three persons were killed and more than 10 others injured, two of them critically, after a Delhi-bound passenger bus collided with a stationary dumper truck in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred late Friday night near Baba Devpuri under Saraychhola police station limits, an official said.

“A sleeper coach bus going to Delhi from Gwalior when collided with a stationary truck. Three persons were killed and more than 10 others suffered injuries in the accident. Two of them were critically injured and taken to Gwalior for treatment,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Shailendra Singh Chouhan said.