Current Affairs Today PDF-2 march 2023
1- India’s first cable stayed rail bridge nearing completion
- The total length of the Anji Khad Bridge is 473.25metres.
- It has a single pylon, standing at a height of 331 meters above the river bed. The pylon had to be constructed in a vertical slope using micropiles of 40- meter dept hall around the circumference of 20 meters well foundation.
- It has the support of 96 cablesandhasbeendesignedtohandleheavy storms of strongwinds.
- It will have an integrated monitoring system by means of numerous sensors installed at various locations on the bridge.
- This bridge is being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL).
It is a National project undertaken by the Indian Railways for construction of a 272 km long broad-gauge railway line through the Himalayas, with the aim of connecting the Kashmir region with the rest of the country.
The project comprises three ‘legs’– a 25 km length going northwest from Udhampur to Katra in Reasi district, the site of the renowned Vaishno Devi temple, a 111 km track rising north east from Katra to Banihal in Ramban district, and finally, a 136 kmstretch from Banihal to Baramulla, going north and the north west, with Anantnagand Srinagar along the way.
Fact
- Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel- India’s longest escape tunnel, which is 12.89 km long constructed on the 111 km under-construction Banihal-Katrarailway line in Jammu and Kashmir was completed by the Indian Railways. The longest tunnel is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project.
- The Jhelum River is the only major Himalayan river which flows through the Kashmir valley. The Indus, Tawi, Ravi and Chenab are the major rivers flowing through the state.
2- 47-year-old super tanker capsizes in Red Sea
In 2015, Yemen abandoned a super tanker vessel carrying one million barrels of oil in the Red Sea. Now after 8 years, the United Nations i.e. The UN has said that this vessel will either explode or sink at any time.
Saafer was created in 1976 by Hitachi Jason, a Japanese company. This vessel is 362 meters long and weighs 4 lakh 6 thousand 640 tons. In the year 1988, a company in Yemen converted it into a storage ship vessel and started keeping oil in it.
In 2015, a civil war broke out in Yemen between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government. After which the coastal area of Yemen came under the control of Huthi rebels. As soon as the area was captured, the rebels first banned all local and international organizations from entering the area. The Huthi rebels did not even allow the UN to repair the SAFER which was deteriorating due to lack
- In the ranking of oil reserves the Yemen stands on 29th place.
- Yemen has reserves of oil, gas, cobalt, copper, gold, ironore, nickel, and zinc, and industrial minerals suchas lime stone and gypsum.
- Last year donors gave $2.2bn of the $4.27bn sought, UN data shows. The US, Yemen’s top donor, pledged more than $444m for this year’s humanitarian response, bringing its total contribution since the start of Yemen’s war to $5.4bn.
- In February 2023, The United Nations has called for $4.3bn in humanitarian aid for Yemen, where an eight-year war has left millions of people in urgent need of assistance.
3- AFSPA extended to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland
Who are the insurgents in these states?
The prevalence of insurgencies in the Northeast—from the Naga insurgency that dates back to the 1940s, to the Mizo uprising in the 1960s, radical Left groups in Manipurin the1970s, and the ULFA (UnitedLiberationFrontofAsom) inAssaminthe1980s—may arguably have necessitated the imposition of the AFSPA. The Army was sent because the civil administration had failed to control the situation.
- The Left Front government in Tripura successfully negotiated with the insurgency and got the AFSPA removed in 2015.
- Stable Northeast is extremely important, especially at a time when Myanmar, in areas bordering India, has turned restive. This, of course, requires the government to make judicious choices.
- Recently, on 14 March 2023 the Manipur government had withdrawn from the ongoing
- The Union government has extended the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. At the same time, the AFSPA has been removed from several areas in Northeast India.
- TheCentreiftedtheArmedForces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 from more police station limits in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
Provision
- Under Section 3, of AFSPA act the Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as disturbed area.
- An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
- Section 4 gives the Army powers to search premises and make arrests without warrants, to use force even the extent of causing death, destroy arms/ammunition dumps, fortifications/shelters/hideouts and to stop, search an dseizeany vehicle.
- Section 6 stipulates that arrested persons and these seized property are to be made over to the police with the least delay.
- Section 7 offers protection of persons acting in good faith in their official capacity.
Related Post
