1. Dry spell in Karnataka decreases sowing coverage of paddy, ragi, tur dal, green gram, cotton
With Karnataka receiving 25% deficit rainfall during southwest monsoon as on August 24, various standing crops are facing the threat of withering, according to Minister for Agriculture N Cheluvarayaswamy. The State received 487 mm of rainfall against the normal 654 mm of rainfall from June 1 to August 24, 2023, while more than 100 taluks received less than normal rainfall during this monsoon, staring at drought-like conditions.
The total sown area as on August 24, was 64.84 lakh hectares against the target of 83.35 lakh hectares, accounting for 79% coverage. Crops in 196 gram panchayats have been lost owing to weak monsoon, and a total of 16.23 lakh farmers have registered for crop insurance covering 15.31 lakh hectares.
2. KIA gets elevated walkway for passengers and visitors at Bengaluru airport
A new elevated walkway for the convenience of passengers and visitors has been opened at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The new walkway connects Terminal 1 to P4 parking.
The 420-metre walkway is designed to deliver a seamless experience to pedestrians who are walking either towards Terminal 1 or towards P4 parking. The walkway features travelators (moving walkways), elevators and escalators.
3. Five years on, parallel railway overbridge between Udupi and Manipal on NH 169A remains a non-starter
Those travelling between temple town Udupi and education hub Manipal and beyond on National Highway 169A will continue to endure the inconvenience of traffic gridlock at Indrali, as construction of a parallel railway overbridge on the Mangaluru-Mumbai railway line has not been carried out for the last five years.
Part of the Malpe-Tirthahalli NH 169A widening project, the proposal for the 12 metre-wide and 58 metre-long single-span parallel RoB is being tossed between the National Highways wing of the State Public Works Department, Union Road Transport Ministry and the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL). Bureaucratic delays and red tapism have delayed approvals for design change, cost escalation and other matters.
4. NCBS to collaborate with a host of organisations for forest research and conservation
The National Centre for Biological Sciences — Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCBS-TIFR) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Research and Training Organisation of Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and a host of other organisations, on August 24 as a step towards building a partnership forest education, research and conservation.
Through these MoUs, the institutes intend to take a multidisciplinary approach towards education, research, and training in the field of forest genomics and the study of ecosystem to ensure conservation, especially of different species of trees.
