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November 18, 2019

 

Topic: Water pollution.

 

News:-

  • Groundwater quality in Punjab is extremely poor, suggests a study.
  • The report was conducted by the Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department.
  • The physicist Hardev Singh Virk had conducted the research into the groundwater.
  • The findings have revealed that the concentration of heavy metals in the groundwater of Punjab is beyond permissible limits.

 

The findings are:-

  • South Punjab ( Malwa) has a high concentration of Uranium in its groundwater.
  • Majha area has a high concentration of Arsenic.
  • And the Doaba region has a high concentration of Selenium.

 

Permissible limits for these contaminants are:-

Arsenic – 0.01 mg /litre

Selenium- 0.01mg/litre.

Uranium-  300 ppb.

 

  • High Arsenic content is associated with cancer risk.
  • High Selenium content is associated with High blood pressure, nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, chills etc.
  • Uranium has a high bearing on kidneys and if the concentration goes beyond 100 parts per billion, radioactivity can become a concern.

 

Districts of Punjab with a high concentration of these pollutants are:-

Jalandhar – high Selenium concentration.

Amritsar- high Arsenic content.

Fazilka-. High Uranium content.

 

The solutions to deal with such problems could be:-

  •  Reverse Osmosis could be used for reducing the content of Uranium to 60 ppb.
  •  Amrit Technology could be used to tackle the Arsenic issue.
  • Besides, Canal water should be provided for drinking purposes.
  • Also, the growing of Paddy should be discouraged to arrest the depletion of Groundwater.
(Source:- The Tribune news)

 

Topic: Social justice and Empowerment.

 

News:- National Disability day award this year has three illustrious  Punjab candidates.

 

The three prominent personalities are:-

 

 Yashveer Goyal:-

  • He is a specially-abled sportsperson. He is also an expert in the Information technology field.
  • The award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will be awarded to yashveer under the hearing impairment category.
  • He had won  Bronze earlier in Punjab state deaf Badminton championship. Also, he had won an award in the Global Information Technology Challenge for Youths, which was held in Vietnam.

 

 Mallika Handa:-

  •  She is the first Indian to win a gold in the International Deaf and Dumb Chess Championship.
  • She will be awarded the prize in the Disability category.

 

 Mangal Singh Bhandal : –

  • He is a social activist suffering from a locomotor disability.
  • He is a senior lecturer in a government college.
  • He has been working for the rehabilitation of the abandoned children.
  • He will be given the award in the category of best employee/ self – employed with Disabilities.
(Source:- The Tribune news)

 

Topic: Social justice

 

News:-

  • The cases of atrocities on Dalits touch the mark of 2000 every year.
  • Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission has compiled the data regarding the atrocities on Dalits.
  • The report has highlighted that between 2004 and 2019, around 22000 cases of atrocities have surfaced.

 

The issues with the atrocities:-

  • The POLICE, in general, does not register an FIR, so that the record of that station does not get worse.
  • The dominant upper castes usually crush any such case, which can become an issue.
  • Underreporting due to lack of confidence and the poor governance system is also an issue.
(Source:- The Tribune news)

 

 

Topic: Environmental education.

 

News:- WWF – India to come up with a unique school program to promote sustainable development.

 

The theme of the project:-

  •  Building a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
  • The program has been initiated by World Wildlife Fund – India and the Punjab Forest Department.
  • The ” water school ” project would be centred around the Beas river and Harike wetland.

 

The Program:-

  • The students are encouraged to explore the wetlands
  • Observe the unique flora and fauna and respect the integrity of the environment.
  • The awareness regarding the use and sustainable management of water resources is also being spread.
  • Endangered species like Indus river Dolphin, Gharials, Testudines turtle etc were also observed by the students.

 

 

This project was started in 2018.

  • In this, the aim is to train about 30 teachers and 500 students.
  • It is being undertaken in  10 schools.
  • Also, the motivated students would be picked up for undertaking various studies associated with wetlands, endangered species etc.
  •  DCB bank is also involved in this project.
(Source:- The Tribune news)

 

Topic: Governance.

 

News:- Amritsar BRTS receives the national award.

  • Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry have awarded the prize of Best Urban Mass Transit Project to the Amritsar Bus Rapid Transport System ( BRTS ).
(Source:- The Tribune news)

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