Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Greens come to rescue of Olive ridley turtles

 News

• Overcoming the challenges posed by the August deluge, heatwave and other impediments, environmentalists and local people have incubated and released 226 hatchlings of endangered Olive ridley turtle to sea at Thottappally coast.
• The last of the hatchlings of the current nesting season were let into sea.

Beyond News

• The Thottappally coast is one of the prime locations for egg-laying turtles.
• The floods and sea erosion had eroded around seven acres of the coast that used to be the main nesting sites of Olive ridleys.
• Other than the damage caused by the floods, the presence of stray dogs and mineral sand-mining at the Thottappally harbour also prevented turtles from nesting in the area.
• Although a proposal for a permanent hatchery has been submitted to the government, the project is yet to get the nod.
• Other than the mineral sand-mining at the Thottappally harbour, the move to extract mineral sand from the Thottappally estuary will further adversely impact the nesting of turtles, the environmentalists warned.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India, Australia keen to maintain peace in Indo-Pacific region: naval official

News

• Both India and Australia has a role to play in the Indo-Pacific region in maintaining peace and keeping the waters secure for safe movement of ships, and the ongoing third joint naval exercise AUSINDEX-19, is step towards firming that relationship and cause, said Rear Admiral, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet.

Beyond News

• Both the countries share common views when in comes to safety and security and negating any form of threat be it terrorism, piracy or marine pollution.
• First harbour phase that began on April 2 end on April 6, which will be followed by a sea phase from April 7 to 11 and a second harbour phase from 7 to 11.
• About 2,000 men, women and officers are participating in the joint exercise, which include ships from the Australian Navy such as HMAS Canberra, an Amphibious Assault Ship; HMAS New Castle and HMAS Paramatta, both frigates; HMAS Collins, a conventional submarine and HMAS Success, a replenishment tanker.
• From the Indian side INS Ranvijay, a multi-role destroyer, INS Sahyadri, a multi-role stealth frigate, INS Kora, a missile corvette, INS Kiltan, an ASW corvette and INS Sindhukirti, a conventional submarine, is taking part.
• This apart the airborne force will include MRH-90 and MH-60R helicopters from the Australian side and Seaking Mk 42B and Chetak, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers and P8I ASW aircraft, from the Indian side.
• This is the first time at HMAS Canberra is taking part and a submarine to submarine, which is a complex and challenging exercise will be part of the joint exercise, said Rear Admiral Mead.

Platform to champion the cause of clean air launched

News

• In a bid to keep a check on the air quality in Bengaluru, ‘Healthy Air Coalition Bengaluru’, a platform led by experts and individuals from the health sector, along with environmentalists, affected individuals and concerned citizens, was launched.

Beyond News

• The initiative will see 40 air quality monitoring devices installed in 15 locations across the city, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office and public healthcare and maternity centres operational under the BBMP.
• Bengaluru is the first major Indian city to join the global BreatheLife campaign, a collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
• Access to data is key to understanding air quality, and the availability of data on a centralised platform open to the public is the need of the hour.
• The policy design and interventions on air pollution need to be geared towards reducing exposure level of individuals and safeguarding the health of citizens. With the help of the installed network of air quality devices, they hope to understand and analyse the risk of exposure to air pollution in the city.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Japan probe blasts asteroid to make crater

News

• A Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusa2, launched an explosive device at an asteroid, aiming to blast a crater in the surface and scoop up material that could shed light on how the solar system evolved.

Beyond News

• The mission was risky as the spacecraft had to immediately move away so as to avoid getting hit by flying shards from the blast.
• Hayabusa2 successfully released the so-called “small carry-on impactor” a cone-shaped device capped with a copper bottom as scheduled, as the probe hovered just 500 metres above the asteroid Ryugu.
• The impactor was programmed to explode 40 minutes later, propelling the copper bottom towards Ryugu, where it should gouge a crater into the surface of the asteroid that spins 300 million kilometres from Earth.
• Hayabusa2 moved smartly away from the area to avoid being damaged by debris from the explosion or colliding with Ryugu.

Man-made forest fires threaten ‘neelakurinji’ plants

News

• Forest fires, caused by Kalhatti residents, in the hillocks where the mass blooming of the iconic ‘neelakurinji’ (Strobilanthes kunthianus) was observed last year, could threaten the plants’ continued presence along the Kalhatti slopes, horticulturalists and environmentalists fear.

Beyond News

• The kurinji plants, which flowered gregariously across many parts of the Nilgiris last year, bloomed also along the Kalhatti slopes after a 12-year-gap.
• The mass blooming of the plants led to thousands of visitors flocking to the two hillocks along the Kalhatti slopes where the mass flowering was observed.
• However, this year, farmers cultivating the areas surrounding the locations where the flowers bloomed, have started forest fires which have completely burnt down all the plants in the two hillocks where the plants were observed.
• There is concern among conservationists that the fires, started to allow the regeneration of grass to serve as fodder for cattle after the rains, could lead to the disappearance of another important location where the Strobilanthes plants bloom.
• There was a chance that the fires themselves could potentially kill the next sprouting and blooming cycle of the ‘neelakurinji’ along the Kalhatti slopes.
• Artificial fires, started in declared forest areas, can be used to clear lands that can later be used for agriculture, grazing or for constructing structures. Such activities could pose a threat to the survival of the plants in that particular region.

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