Prez Droupadi Murmu Laid foundation Stone of SJVN’s 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project
Prez Droupadi Murmu Laid foundation
Stone of SJVN’s 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project
Why IN News
President Droupadi
Murmu laid the foundation stone of state-owned energy firm SJVN's 1,000 MV
Bikaner Solar Power Project.
Key Points
President Droupadi
Murmu laid the foundation stone of state-owned energy firm SJVN’s 1,000 MV
Bikaner Solar Power Project. The event was done virtually by the President of
India in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The project is being implemented by SJVN Limited
through its owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL).
The solar power
project is being developed on 500 acres near the village of Banderwala,
district Bikaner of Rajasthan. It is one of the highest solar yield areas in
India.
The development cost
of the Bikaner Solar Power Project is 5492 crore and viability gap funding
support of 44.72 lacks per megawatt.
The project is
scheduled to be commissioned by March 2024.
After commissioning
the project will generate 2454.55 million units in the first year and
approximately 56838 MU would be generated on a cumulative basis over 25 years.
The maximum usage
charges have been fixed at Rs 2.57 per unit.
This will help in
providing cheaper electricity to the consumer.
Rajasthan Governor
Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also attended the event.
Commissioning of this
project will help the government to achieve the renewable target of 500 GW by
2030.
Usage of domestically
manufactured Solar Photovoltaic cells and modules shall give a push to the Make
in India drive.
The project will also
lead to a reduction in Carbon emissions of 27,85,077 tonnes.
Odisha: First-Ever Coal Gasification Based Talcher Fertilizer Plant to be
Odisha: First-Ever Coal Gasification Based Talcher
Fertilizer Plant to be Ready in 2024
Why IN News
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
announced that India's first-ever coal gasification-based Talcher Fertilizer
Plant in Odisha will be ready by October 2024.
Key Points
Union Health and
Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya
announced that India’s first-ever coal gasification-based Talcher Fertilizer
Plant in Odisha will be ready to be dedicated to the nation by October 2024.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited the site on the second day and noted
that the work in the plant in Talcher is in progress.
Along with Union
Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Dr. Mansukh
Mandaviya, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was also present during
the occasion.
Under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, five out of four urea plants
have become functional.
The urea plants at
Talcher which uses Coal Gasification Technology to produce urea will be ready
by the end of this year.
The plant when in
operation, will help to reduce dependency on urea import.
Mr. Dharmendra
Pradhan noted that the urea plant being constructed at a cost of about 17,000
crore rupees will benefit the farmers across the country besides generating
local employment and boosting the local economy.
Coal India Ltd, the
Gas Authority of India Ltd, and the National Fertilizer Corporation are
supporting the setting up of the Talcher Fertilizer Plant with the coal
gasification technology which will address the self-reliance in Urea.
The use of coal,
which is abundantly available in India, in alternative usages like in the
gasification technology to produce urea will also reduce the carbon footprints
on the environment.
Joshimath Land Subsidence
Joshimath Land Subsidence
Why in News
Due to land
subsidence, Joshimath - a key transit point for tourists travelling to
Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib - developed cracks, causing panic and protests
among the local population.
Key Points
Joshimath has been
declared a landslide-subsidence zone and over 60 families living in
uninhabitable houses in the sinking town have been evacuated to temporary
relief centres.
Location of Joshimath- Joshimath is a hilly town located on
the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in Chamoli district of
Uttarakhand.
The city serves as a
tourist town as it acts as an overnight rest stop for people visiting
Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib, among other important
religious and tourist locations in the state.
Joshimath is also of
great strategic importance to the Indian armed forces and is home to one of the
Army's most important cantonments.
The town (fall in
high-risk seismic Zone-V) is traversed by running streams with a high gradient
from Vishnuprayag, a confluence of the Dhauliganga and the Alaknanda rivers.
It is home to one of
the four cardinal maths or monasteries established by Adi Shankara - Sringeri
in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha and Joshimath near Badrinath in
Uttarakhand.
Reasson for the sinking of Joshimath
Site of an Ancient
landslide: According to the 1976 Mishra Committee report, Joshimath lies on a
deposit of sand and stone, it's not on the main rock. It lies on an ancient
landslide. The report added that undercutting by river currents of Alaknanda
and Dhauliganga are also playing their part in bringing landslides.
The committee had
recommended that restrictions be placed on heavy construction work, blasting or
digging to remove boulders for road repairs and other construction, felling of
trees.
Geography: Scattered
rocks in the area are covered with old landslide debris comprising boulders,
gneissic rocks, and loose soil, with a low bearing capacity.
These gneissic rocks
are highly weathered and have a low cohesive value with a tendency of high pore
pressure when saturated with water, especially during monsoons.
Construction
Activities: Increased construction, hydroelectric projects, and the widening of
the NH have made the slopes highly unstable in the last couple of decades.
Land Erosion: Due to
the running streams from Vishnuprayag and sliding along the natural streams are
the other reasons behind the city's fate.
Impact:
At least 66 families
have fled the town while 561 houses have reported cracks. A government official
said that over 3000 people have been affected so far.
Measures to save Joshimath
Experts recommend a
complete shutdown of development and hydroelectric projects in the region. But
the urgent need is to relocate the residents to a safer place and then
reimagine the town's planning to accommodate the new variables and the changing
geographical factors.
Drainage planning is
one of the biggest factors that needs to be studied and redeveloped. The city
is suffering from poor drainage and sewer management as more and more waste is
seeping into the soil, loosening it from within. The irrigation department has
been asked by the state government to look into the issue and create a new plan
for the drainage system.
Experts have also
suggested replantation in the region, especially at the vulnerable sites to
retain soil capacity. There is a need for a coordinated effort between the
government and civil bodies with the aid of military organizations like the
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to save Joshimath.
While the state
already has weather forecasting technology that can warn people of local
events, its coverage needs to be improved.
Weather forecasting
in Uttarakhand is done through satellites and Doppler weather radars
(instruments that use electromagnetic energy to find precipitation and
determine its location and intensity).
The state government
also needs to take scientific studies more seriously, which clearly spell out
the reasons for the current crisis. Only then will the state put an end to its
development frenzy.
Joshimath Land Subsidence
Why in News
Due to land
subsidence, Joshimath - a key transit point for tourists travelling to
Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib - developed cracks, causing panic and protests
among the local population.
Key Points
Joshimath has been
declared a landslide-subsidence zone and over 60 families living in
uninhabitable houses in the sinking town have been evacuated to temporary
relief centres.
Location of Joshimath- Joshimath is a hilly town located on
the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in Chamoli district of
Uttarakhand.
The city serves as a
tourist town as it acts as an overnight rest stop for people visiting
Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib, among other important
religious and tourist locations in the state.
Joshimath is also of
great strategic importance to the Indian armed forces and is home to one of the
Army's most important cantonments.
The town (fall in
high-risk seismic Zone-V) is traversed by running streams with a high gradient
from Vishnuprayag, a confluence of the Dhauliganga and the Alaknanda rivers.
It is home to one of
the four cardinal maths or monasteries established by Adi Shankara - Sringeri
in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha and Joshimath near Badrinath in
Uttarakhand.
Reasson for the sinking of Joshimath
Site of an Ancient
landslide: According to the 1976 Mishra Committee report, Joshimath lies on a
deposit of sand and stone, it's not on the main rock. It lies on an ancient
landslide. The report added that undercutting by river currents of Alaknanda
and Dhauliganga are also playing their part in bringing landslides.
The committee had
recommended that restrictions be placed on heavy construction work, blasting or
digging to remove boulders for road repairs and other construction, felling of
trees.
Geography: Scattered
rocks in the area are covered with old landslide debris comprising boulders,
gneissic rocks, and loose soil, with a low bearing capacity.
These gneissic rocks
are highly weathered and have a low cohesive value with a tendency of high pore
pressure when saturated with water, especially during monsoons.
Construction
Activities: Increased construction, hydroelectric projects, and the widening of
the NH have made the slopes highly unstable in the last couple of decades.
Land Erosion: Due to
the running streams from Vishnuprayag and sliding along the natural streams are
the other reasons behind the city's fate.
Impact:
At least 66 families
have fled the town while 561 houses have reported cracks. A government official
said that over 3000 people have been affected so far.
Measures to save Joshimath
Experts recommend a
complete shutdown of development and hydroelectric projects in the region. But
the urgent need is to relocate the residents to a safer place and then
reimagine the town's planning to accommodate the new variables and the changing
geographical factors.
Drainage planning is
one of the biggest factors that needs to be studied and redeveloped. The city
is suffering from poor drainage and sewer management as more and more waste is
seeping into the soil, loosening it from within. The irrigation department has
been asked by the state government to look into the issue and create a new plan
for the drainage system.
Experts have also
suggested replantation in the region, especially at the vulnerable sites to
retain soil capacity. There is a need for a coordinated effort between the
government and civil bodies with the aid of military organizations like the
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to save Joshimath.
While the state
already has weather forecasting technology that can warn people of local
events, its coverage needs to be improved.
Weather forecasting
in Uttarakhand is done through satellites and Doppler weather radars
(instruments that use electromagnetic energy to find precipitation and
determine its location and intensity).
The state government
also needs to take scientific studies more seriously, which clearly spell out
the reasons for the current crisis. Only then will the state put an end to its
development frenzy.