February 3, 2020

 

Topic: Biodiversity.

 

News:- Threats to the biodiversity of Kanji wetland.

• The wetland is spread across 1.83 square kilometres.
• It is the smallest and the most neglected Ramsar site in the state.

 

According to a research conducted by a forestry student Bageshwar Singh, the wetland is threatened by 16 invasive species of plants.

 

In his research paper for Forest Research Institute of Dehradun,  Bageshwar asserts that –

• Out of 109 species of vascular plants observed in the study area, 16 are included in the list of invasive alien species.
•  Bio invasion, which is invasion and expansion by an alien exotic species at the cost of the native ones, is a great cause of species extinction.
• As per the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992,  invasion of the alien species is the second-worst cause of loss of biodiversity in the world.

 

The invasive species in Kanji wetland are:-

• Alligator weed.
• Galinsoga.
• Common Cocklebur.
• Oriental false Hawksbeard.
• Congress grass.
• Goatweed.
• Link coffee senna.
• Subabool.
• Mesquite/ Vilayati kikar.
• Caesar weed.
• Broomweed.
• Common wireweed.
• Creeping woodsorrel.
• Water Hyacinth.
• Big sage.
• Aak.

 

About Kanji Wetland:-

• It is a man-made lake constructed in 1870.
•  It was made by constructing the headworks across the perennial Bien River, a tributary of the Beas River to provide irrigation facilities to the hinterland.
•  It was declared a Ramsar site in 2002.
• This year, this wetland saw a marginal rise in the number of migratory birds arrived in the wetland.

(Source:-The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Education and Infrastructure.

 

News:- The enrolment of students in polytechnic college drops.

• The drop in the enrolment has seen a decline of 48% since 2017.
• Private polytechnic colleges have seen a decline of 60 % since 2017 whereas the government ones have seen a fall of 10 %.
• Out of 226 polytechnic colleges in the state, only 28 are the state ones.

 

The reasons for such a fall are:-

• Lack of industry-driven courses.
• The poor performance of the teaching staff.
• Strictness on the front of the attendance and anti-copying measures.
• Polytechnic courses run by private Universities are also attracting various students of this discipline.
• The misappropriation and misuse of funds for building the infrastructure of the colleges and hostels are also a great issue.
• Illogical deployment of teaching staff has also come to light as teachers have been appointed for the courses not approved by the All India Council of Technical Education ( AICTE).
• Also, Private Colleges have been barred from visiting government schools for awareness.
• Also, a rising wave of migration to foreign countries is a concern.

(Source:-The Tribune)

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