India eyeing $250 billion maritime economy by 2024: Defence secretary

Obaid Siddiqui – Veteran broadcaster, academician, poet passes away

Veteran broadcaster, poet and academician Obaid Siddiqui passed away in a Ghaziabad hospital due to health related problems. Siddiqui, 63, was quite unwell due to multiple ailments and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, for the past one week where he breathed his last.

In 1957, Siddiqui received higher education from Aligarh Muslim University and joined the All India Radio at Srinagar station in 1988. He later moved to London to work with BBC Urdu service, where he stayed till 1996. In 2004, he joined Jamia Millia Islamia’s AJK Mass Communication Research Centre and later rose to become its director. Siddiqui, who also worked with NDTV, was also known as an Urdu poet.

Kannada scholar and activist, Chidananda Murthy passes away

Noted Kannada scholar, epigraphist and activist Chidananda Murthy passed away at age 88. He was ill for sometime and was being treated for age-related illness at a private hospital, where he breathed his last. Murthy was known for his work on Kannada inscriptions.

His work played a key role in deciding the antiquity of the Kannada, which helped get the language Classical Language status from the Union government in 2008. He was also a vocal Kannada activist, leading Kannada Shakti Kendra in 1970s and 1980s. Later, he became a champion of the Hindu Right-Wing cause. He was one of the key articulators of the argument against Tipu Sultan.

Babul Baruah, Veteran PTI journalist passes away at 80

Veteran PTI journalist Babul Baruah, who was associated with the premier news agency for nearly 40 years, has died following prolonged illness. He was 80. Suffering from kidney failure and cardiac problems for the last few years, Baruah passes away in Pune.

Baruah joined PTI in 1966 at its Guwahati bureau before he was transferred to Itanagar to establish the Arunachal Pradesh office. He served at PTI’s eastern region headquarters in Kolkata during the ’80s and was subsequently posted in Aizwal, covering Mizoram when the state was reeling under insurgency. Baruah also served at PTI’s Silchar office, and then at Shillong from where he retired in 2002.

Celebration of Harvest Festival and Lohri in North India

The festival of harvest, Lohri is being celebrated in North India especially in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Chandigarh. Lohri marks the end of the long nights of winter and welcomes the longer days of summer, as the Sun begins its journey to the Northern Hemisphere.

Lohri is celebrated with a bonfire. The festival is mostly associated with crop harvesting and happiness. It also encourages a sense of community and unity. Several young married couples also pray for a child during Lohri celebrations and those who get child also celebrate it with great fervour.

Another myth about the beginnings of the Lohri festival revolves around the story of Dulla Bhatti – a robber who reportedly saved girls from getting sold. Popcorns, peanuts, Rewari and Gajak are distributed to all neighbours, friends and relatives on the occasion.

Odisha: Population of ‘mugger’ crocodile increases

The number of muggers, an endangered crocodile species, in Ghodahada irrigation reservoir and adjoining waterbodies in Odisha’s Ganjam district has increased, much to the delight of wildlife activists and officials. The number of the crocodile species in and around the reservoir was counted at 65 in the three-day-long census that ended on Saturday. The census was conducted with the participation of around 50 persons who were divided into 20 teams.

While 44 muggers were found in the 5 sq km reservoir, 21 were counted in the nearby waterbodies, said Amlan Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of BerhampurLast year, the population of muggers in the area was at 58, which included 43 in the Ghodahada reservoir. The population of the muggers had remained stagnant in 2017 and 2016, while their number was 49 in 2015, official sources said.

Improvement in their habitat was stated to be the cause of the increase in the population, said the officer. The Mugger is one of the three crocodile species found in Odisha. The other crocodile species are gharial and salt- water crocodile or estuarine crocodile. Forest officials said no mugger was found dead in the area in the last three years. Ghodahada reservoir is considered as one of the potential habitats for the muggers in the state after Satakosia and Similipal.

Kaziranga National Park records 96 species of wetland birds

Kaziranga, home of the world’s most one-horned rhinos, has 96 species of wetland birds — one of the highest for wildlife preserves in India. Officials of the Kaziranga National Park and avian specialists conducted the second wetland bird count on January 9-10.

The teams counted a total of 19,225 birds belonging to 96 species under 80 families. The first waterfowl census in 2018 had yielded 10,412 birds covering 80 families from 21 families. Kaziranga, about 220 km east of Guwahati, has a total area (tiger reserve) of 1,030 sq km with a core area of 430 sq. km. It was established in 1908 and is a World Heritage Site since 1985.

The other species with sizeable numbers include gadwall, common coot, lesser whistling duck, Indian spot-billed duck, little cormorant, ferruginous duck, tufted duck, Eurasian wigeon, Asian openbill, northern lapwing, ruddy shelduck and spot-billed pelican.

Andhra Pradesh likely to have four Regional Capitals

Amid uncertainty over the future of Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh’s capital, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is planning to build four regional capitals. Rajya Sabha member T.G. Venkatesh claimed that YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government may prefer to develop capitals in four different regions to ensure the state’s all-round development.

The Chief Minister will be the ex-officio Vice-Chairman of the board, while at least one Member of Parliament, two members of the State legislature (elected), four other members from that zone (nominated by the state government) will be members of the Board. Each zone will have a full-time secretary, who will be nominated by the Government. A Principal Secretary rank officer will be considered for the post.

The four capitals are likely to be developed are Vizianagaram for the north-coastal Andhra zone; Kakinada for East and West Godavari districts; Guntur for the south coastal Andhra; and Kadapa for Rayalaseema. As Amaravati comes under Guntur district, whatever buildings constructed so far may be used for one of the capitals.