Rajasthan Current Affairs: July 2019

Status of Tiger in India Report 2018 – Rajasthan

Prime Minister Modi released the results of the fourth cycle of All India Tiger Estimation – 2018 on the occasion of Global Tiger Day-2019.

• Out of the five landscapes, Rajasthan has been categorised under the Central India Landscape and Eastern-Ghats covering eight states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan).
• With 69 tigers, Rajasthan stands 9th position in the predatory feline population across the country.
• In Central India Landscape and Eastern-Ghats (among 8 states)– Rajasthan stands 3rd in tiger population.

Read Summary Post on Tigers in India 2018 Report

4th Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves in India 2018

The Prime Minister also released report of the 4th cycle of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEETR) on the 29th of July. The report assesses the tiger conservation efforts through globally accepted management effectiveness framework. As per report,

• Rajasthan has three tiger reserves –  Ranthambore, Sariska & Mukundara Hills.

Individual Scores:

• Download:  Complete Report PDF

Illegal Mining in Aravali’s

The Aravali Hills are believed to date back 350 million years, making them even older than the Himalayas. They stretch for some 800 kilometers (430 miles) from Delhi across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana.

Aravali’s Help in Environment

• They act as a barrier to the spread of the Thar Desert, play an important role in the recharge of groundwater and are home to a vast array of biodiversity including many forests and 20 wildlife sanctuaries.
• The Aravalis have lots of cracks and fissures, and these cracks and fissures serve as a groundwater recharge area.
• The hills are also as a barrier to increased pollution in Delhi.
• The Aravalis are home to a vast array of biodiversity including many forests and 20 wildlife sanctuaries.

However, in recent times, they are under threat.

A 2018 report by the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to determine the current state of the Aravalis, found that 31 out of the 128 hills located in Rajasthan have vanished in last 50 years due to illegal quarrying.

A 2017 report published by Indian Audits and Accounts Department detected 7,959 cases of silicosis — a lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust — in Rajasthan between January 2015 and February 2017, with 449 deaths across five districts in the state. The report additionally noted 2,548 mining sites where workers were prone to develop silicosis.

Expansion of Thar Desert

On June 17,Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) shared a report to mark the World Day to Combat Desertification.

• The report reveals that the spurt in economic activities in the desert districts has shattered the fragile landscape, impacting its residents directly.
• The report made the astonishing claim that 14.88-million-hectare land in 12 western Rajasthan districts suffered from different kinds of land degradation contributing to desertification.
• The report has studied the features of desertification: wind erosion / deposition, water erosion, salinity/ alkalinity, waterlogging and vegetation degradation to conclude that the situation may take decades to reverse the damage.
• The biggest reason contributing to desertification turned out to be water erosion.
• What made the situation worse is human-induced activities like fast urbanization, deforestation, mining, indiscriminate use of groundwater, rise in livestock population and the hot summers leading to evaporation. This has accelerated desertification.
• The destruction of vegetative cover due to overgrazing, felling of trees, etc. have accelerated the removal of sediments from the catchment areas of waterbodies as well as loosening of farm soil, which has speed up desertification.

Project Misaal: District Hospital Rankings

According to the June month’s ranking issued by the health department. The rankings are issued under the project Misaal, which is health department’s initiative to instil sense of competitiveness into the officials.

• In ranking of districts is concerned, Sikar has secured top place for the 13th time in monthly rankings issued by health department.
• The BKD hospital in Jhunjhunu is the best district hospital.
• The district hospital in Dungarpur has placed at the last place in the list, which is 27.

World Nature Conservation Day

World Nature Conservation Day is celebrated on July 28.  Rajasthan’s 10 Conservation Reserves (CR) meant to protect wildlife and trees.

 Conservation Reserves in Rajasthan

Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign in Rajasthan

• Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign was launched in Rajasthan from July 22, 2019.
• The health department is planning to vaccinate 2.25 crore children in the state in five to six weeks.
• MR vaccine was included in routine immunisation in Rajasthan from January 2019 and has been launched as a campaign to eradicate MR with more than 95% coverage.

Why Measles Rubella Vaccination necessary

As per Dr SK Garg from state health department, Measles results in pneumonia and diarrhoea, which is the major contributor in under-5 mortality. Similarly, if pregnant woman is affected with Rubella then it can result in abortion, still birth and even if she delivers, the baby could be blind, deaf or suffer from some disability.

Makrana Marble gets Heritage Stone Tag

International Union of Geological Science has listed Makrana marble as Global Heritage Stone Resource. The designation signifies international recognition of those natural stone resources that have achieved widespread utilisation in human culture.

What makes Makrana Marble Unique

Makrana marble holds a unique place owing to its visual appeal and homogenous monomineralic attributes. Its crystalline, compact and interlocking texture renders it less porous and enhances its durability. Makrana Marble is perhaps the best available marble in the world having 95-98% calcium carbonate with almost negligible amount of iron content. These qualities have made the Makrana marble an ideal material for monuments and buildings.

Reason behind name Makrana

Taj Mahal was probably the first monument in which marble from Makrana was used. It is believed that for construction of Taj Mahal, artisans came from the Mekran city of Iran and thus the place derived its name as Makrana.

Monuments made from Makrana Marble

• Taj Mahal, Victoria Memorial of Kolkata, Red Fort (both Delhi and Agra), Humayun’s Tomb, Akbar’s Tomb in India.
• Monuments outside the country like Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi and Moti Masjid, Lahore.

Places in NEWS

Baran

• Baran has become the first district in the state where e-signed copies of revenue courts’ decisions are made available online and applicants can obtain these at any time.
• The e-signed copies of the decisions of all revenue courts will now be available on the RCMS portal and the applicant can access the copy at any time.

Person in NEWS

Mahendra Goyal and Farzand Ali

The Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi recommended appointment of two advocates as judges of the Rajasthan High Court. The advocates are Mahendra Goyal and Farzand Ali.