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- A committee formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has discovered that the water in the Ghaggar River exceeds the allowed biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels by two to three times, rendering it unsuitable for outdoor bathing.
- About the Ghaggar River:
- The Ghaggar River is a seasonal river that flows through both India and Pakistan.
- It only carries water during the monsoon season.
- Course: The river begins in the Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh, flowing through Haryana and Rajasthan, eventually vanishing into the Thar Desert.
- This seasonal river supplies water to two irrigation canals in Rajasthan.
- The river continues as the Hakra in Pakistan, and the two rivers are collectively known as the Ghaggar-Hakra River.
- Historical Significance:
- Many historians associate the Ghaggar River with the Vedic Saraswati River.
- Numerous sites from the Indus Valley Civilization have been uncovered along the river's banks.
- These discoveries suggest that the ancient settlements were established by the resourceful Vedic Aryans.
- It is believed that the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers once flowed into the Ghaggar-Hakra riverbed.
- Tributaries:
- The major tributaries of the Ghaggar include the Kaushalya River, Markanda, Sarsuti, Tangri, and Chautang.
- A 2-year-old tigress was recently discovered dead in the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Mandla district.
- About Kanha Tiger Reserve:
- Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha National Park, is situated in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh.
- It is the largest national park in the state.
- The park is located within the Maikal hills, a series of plateaus to the east of the ancient Satpura range in central India.
- Kanha National Park was established on June 1, 1955, and was designated as Kanha Tiger Reserve in 1973.
- The reserve covers an area of 940 sq.km.
- Habitat:
- Kanha is marked by forested, gently undulating land, hills with varying slopes, plateaus, and valleys.
- The park is believed by some to have inspired the setting of Rudyard Kipling's famous novel The Jungle Book.
- This region is home to several ancient tribal communities, such as the Gond and Baiga, who still reside here.
- It was the first tiger reserve in India to introduce an official mascot, "Bhoorsingh the Barasingha".
- Flora:
- Kanha is primarily covered by moist Sal and mixed deciduous forests, with species like Bamboo, Tendu, Sal, Jamun, Arjun, and Lendia.
- Fauna:
- The park is home to a significant population of Royal Bengal tigers, leopards, sloth bears, and Indian wild dogs.
Kanha Tiger Reserve is internationally renowned for saving the Barasingha, the state animal of Madhya Pradesh, from near extinction. It is also the only place in the world where the last known population of this deer species is found.
- Amid the growing presence of Russian activities in the Arctic, a nuclear-powered icebreaker called "50 Let Pobedy" (also known as 50 Years of Victory) was damaged after colliding with a cargo vessel in the Kara Sea.
- About the Kara Sea:
- The Kara Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Siberia, Russia.
- It spans an area of 880,000 sq.km.
- The sea is named after the Kara River.
- It lies between Franz Josef Land in the northwest, the Novaya Zemlya islands in the west, and the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago in the east.
- The Kara Strait and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago separate it from the Barents Sea to the west.
- To the east, the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago divides the Kara Sea from the Laptev Sea.
- In the north, the Kara Sea is linked to the Arctic Basin.
- Known as one of the coldest seas in the world, the Kara Sea is ice-covered from September to May.
- The sea is fed by various rivers, including the Kara, Ob, Pyasina, and Yenisei.
- Notable islands in the Kara Sea include Bely, Dikson, Kamennyye, Oleni, and Taymyr.
- The largest island group in the Kara Sea is the Nordenskiold Archipelago, which comprises more than 90 islands and five major island subgroups.