Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Artefacts of ‘pre-Iron Age’ found in Odisha

News:

• Archaeological Survey of India, which has been excavating a mound at Jalalpur village of Odisha’s Cuttack district, has now come across stone and bone tools believed to be of early Iron Age.

Beyond News:

• The discovery includes faunal remains, carbonised grains and stone and bone tools of early iron age to prehistoric period.
• Yellow and dark grey colour soil noticed during the excavation signifies the rural settlement flourished in different eras. Circular wall, semi-circular wall, crescent shape wall and mud platforms of different size and shape have been discovered.
• Recently, teeth of three types of sharks, stone tools were unearthed from the site.
• Among the artefacts retrieved from the site include red ware, red slipped ware, grey and black wares, pots of different shapes, bowls, bowl-on-stand, ring based bowls, miniature pots, storage jars, pots .
• Similarly, important antiquities retrieved from the site are polished stone axes and adzes, bone points, terracotta sling balls, terracotta wheel, beads of carnelian, and sand stone, hopscotch, barbed bone point, bone drill, bone arrow-head, bone spear-head, stylus and needle made of antler, bone borer cum side scraper and bone spatula.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

‘Levels of pollutants increased during odd-even’

News:

The fortnight-long odd even policy (OEP) to check pollution in Delhi may have been counterproductive and may have exposed people to elevated levels  as much as 60%  of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a key component of emissions from vehicles said to aggravate respiratory ailments.

Beyond News

• Based on whether cars bore odd-or-even-numbered licence plates, the Delhi-government policy restricted passenger cars from plying between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. between January 1 and January 15, 2016, on Delhi roads in a bid to cut down pollution from vehicles during winter.
• The report states that the stretch sees nearly 35,000 petrol and diesel vehicles ply at peak traffic hours.
• Pollutant concentrations spiked in the morning and afternoon but didn’t show a significant change during the night, the authors note.
• Statistics from the transport ministry shows that Delhi has the highest number of personal vehicles in India, with a total registered fleet of 2.9 million cars and 6.1 million two-wheeler motor vehicles, which alone contributed to 93% of total registered vehicles (about 9.7 million).
•  Sources of pollution in Delhi have blamed road dust and the burning of biomass, with vehicular emissions said to be the third major source of pollution.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Ranganathittu to be pitched as a potential Ramsar wetland site

News

• The renowned islets of Ranganathittu on the banks of the river Cauvery in Srirangapatna will be pitched to be recognised as a Ramsar wetland site of international importance.

Beyond News

• India is a signatory to the Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, which was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971.
• The convention provides a framework for conservation of wetlands and their resources. There are currently 26 sites in India recognised as Ramsar wetland sites of international importance, but none of them are in Karnataka.
• Deputy Conservator of Forests toldthat Ranganathittu has the potential to be recognised as a Ramsar wetland site as it meets some of the criteria pertaining to local flora, fauna and ecology.
• According to the framework of the convention, a water body should meet any one of the seven criteria spelt out by it to be declared a wetland of international importance.
• The official said the sanctuary supports more than 1% of the world population of spot-billed pelicans as against a global population of nearly 17,000, Ranganathittu supports about 1,000 of them.

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