30th International kite festival in Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi and Karnataka

30th International kite festivals are being held in Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi and Karnataka. The festivals are organized by the State governments in association with India Tourism. Thirty-five international teams and five national teams are participating in the festivals.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 5 January 2017.

Kozhikode is sending two teams - One India Kite Team and Incredible India Women’s Kite Team. They will take part in all the four festivals being. The tentative schedule is - Gujarat from January 8 to 13, the Telangana International Kite Festival to be held in Hyderabad on January 14 and 15, the Delhi International Kite Festival from January 16 to 17, and the Belgaum International Kite Festival from January 18 to 22.
The teams will be seen in both national and international categories in events like kite making workshops, kite flying competitions, exhibition of huge kites and competition of sports and stunt kites.
Incidentally, the trump card of One India Kite Team for the year is ‘NASA A.B. Plus’ - this is a Sports Power Kite and it has been made locally by a gentleman and is based on a technology that has been developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America. The kite is just 1,500 grams in weight and the technology is usually used by NASA to control aircraft as they alight on ships. It is believed to be the first time that this technology is used for kites in India.


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Rajasthan has managed to snatch Great Indian Bustard (GIB) breeding site from Rajasthan. There was stiff opposition from the Rajasthan government and, as a result, the central government has removed Gujarat from the list of places that have breeding centers for the dwindling GIB population.
As per an informal census carried out by the state forest department, there are just six bustards left in Gujarat and the population of GIB has dropped to less than 300 in the country.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 5 December 2016.

The dwindling numbers of GIB and the fact that bustard is the state bird of Rajasthan could have been reasons that tilted the scales in favour of the neighboring state. Earlier, Gujarat was had been identified as a breeding centre but due to the opposition, Centre selected Rajasthan.
The central government has said that Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has taken up an initiative on GIB conservation and breeding in Rajasthan and has sanctioned Rs 33.85 crore for five years for the program. It has, however, allocated Rs 14 lakh for conservation of GIB in Gujarat.


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Manipur snatches Guinness World Record from Gujrat by distributing maximum number of hearing aids

Till now, the Guinness World Record for distribution of maximum number of hearing aids was held by Gujarat and it has now been broken by Manipur. Earlier, Gujarat had set a record on September 17, 2016, distributing 1,700 hearing aids and, Imphal has now, in a grand hearing aid distribution ceremony, distributed a total of 6,464 hearing aids.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 6 November 2016.

Manipur Chief Minister was all praises for the State Health Department and said the full credit should go to the ground level workers. Speaking on the occasion, Union Social Welfare Minister said that the new record will reintroduce Manipur and India to the world. He promised all help from the Centre and added that the Centre has provided Rs. 4.4 crore to Manipur for the event.


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Prime Minister Modi is angry because 70 to 80% of so-called cow-protectors are anti-social elements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking at a townhall-style event in Delhi expressed his anger against so-called protectors of cows. He said he was "very angry" with criminals in bovine protectors' clothing. He also equated them with "badshahs" who cunningly hid behind cows to tie the hands of "rajas" in the battlefield. He has asked state governments to draw up dossiers on them.
His words have come very late in the day. He spoke on the subject nearly a year after a man was lynched near Delhi on the mere suspicion of having consumed beef. Subsequently, four Dalits were brutally flogged by so-called cow protectors in Gujarat.
Of course, the Prime Minister did not make any specific reference to either of these incidents of atrocity.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 7 August 2016.

The Prime Minister said that there are people who indulge in anti-social and criminal activities at night and disguise themselves as cow protectors by day.... he wants the state governments to collect the history of such people and prepare dossiers on them because 70 to 80 per cent of them are anti-social elements.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad national secretary and spokesperson, Surendra Jain, responding to Modi's comments have said that - the percentage of anti-social elements mentioned by Modi is disputable.
The timing of Prime Minister's anger is significant because of the revelations on the latest atrocities on cows in Rajasthan where more than 1500 cows died within last two months - the matter has earned condemnation from all quarters.


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Boost to religious tourism - 2.3-Km permanent bridge planned from Beyt Dwarka to Okha mainland

The island of Beyt Dwarka is of religious significance because it is believed to have been the place of Lord Krishna and relics of temples have been found in the nearby seabed. It is located near Okha port and is, at preset, inaccessible by road. The only mode of transportation for pilgrims is the ferry service that is operated by Gujarat Maritime Board but it is not available after sundown.
Hence, the government plans to build a 2.3km permanent bridge between Okha in Gujarat and Beyt Island. It is believed to be the seat of Lord Krishna's kingdom and palace and is visited by 20-30 lakh pilgrims every year.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 17 July 2016.

The Gujarat government had decided to connect the island of Beyt Dwarka with the mainland by building a bridge at a cost of around Rs 350 crore. The highways ministry had given in-principle approval to convert the existing state highway connecting Okha into a national highway and a joint plan is now being worked out to improve connectivity between Beyt Dwarka and the mainland.
Besides promoting pilgrimage and tourism, the proposed bridge will also cater to the population of about 10,000 people who live on Beyt Island. The bridge's alignment will take ito consideration the existing eco-sensitive zone, marine national park and marine sanctuaries. The bridge would be cable-stayed and designs are being worked out to make it a "signature" bridge in view of the importance from the point of view of religious tourism.


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Gujarat is one of the states that have given preference to cellphones rather than toilets inside the house. As per a survey, it is revealed that far more people in Gujarat have access to a cellphone than to a toilet. These are the findings of the Sample Registration System-Baseline Survey (SRS) 2014 - 98.3% of the people in the state have mobile connections and only 69.8% have toilets in their homes.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 24 June 2016.

As per the April 2016 figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the state of Gujarat has 6.18 crore mobile connections, against the population of 6.04 crore as determined by the 2011 census. And, among the 6.18 crore cellphone users, 23% have internet facilities. Mobile phones have penetrated areas where even landlines have not. Even an Adivasi in a remote area finds a cellphone to be a good means to communicate.
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It is a generally accepted notion that the state of Gujarat is vegetarian. However, two out of every five persons there are non-vegetarians. This is the result of Sample Registration System (SRS) baseline survey 2014 published by the Registrar General of India. It reveals that 61.80% population of the state is vegetarian while 39.05% is non-vegetarian.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 June 2016.

Because Gujarat is widely seen as a vegetarian state, the global pizza chain Pizza Hut had made its entry into the state with first vegetarian restaurant in the world. Other global brands like Subway, KFC and McDonalds are not just experimenting with vegetarian food but also offering Jain food.
Incidentally, Gujarat has more people eating non-vegetarian food than in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan!!
As per the SRS survey, 71% population in India is non-vegetarian while 28.85% is vegetarian. Highest number of poultry, meat and fish eaters are in Telangana where 98.7% population is non-vegetarian followed by West Bengal (98.55%), Odisha (97.35%) and Kerala (97%).
Gujarat has the longest 1,600-Km coastline and the population consists of 15% tribal, 7% Dalits, 50% OBS and 12% minorities like Muslims, Christians and Parsis are non-vegetarians. Hence this trend.


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Leopards in search of food on the prowl in streets of Gujarat

Leopards in Gujarat have taken to the streets in search of food and are coming exceedingly close to human settlements. A pre-census estimation by the forest department has indicated a 50% rise in leopard count in revenue areas, namely human settlements near cities and big towns of Gujarat.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 12 May 2016.

As per the leopard census of 2011, there were 1,160 big cats in the state out of which 290 or a quarter were spotted in revenue areas. The pre-census estimates ahead of Census 2016 that is to take place between May 20-22 has pegged a 50% rise. A rough estimate is a count of between 1,350 and 1,400 and, out of these, 450-odd are believed to be living outside forest areas closer to human habitat.
Areas like Amreli in Saurashtra and Narmada and Bharuch in south Gujarat have much greater leopard density in revenue areas. This growth in revenue areas could translate into increase in incidents of man-animal conflict in future. At present, there is an average of one leopard attack once in three days in the state. In 2015-16, 12 persons were killed and 107 attacked by leopards.
In the opinion of a National Board of Wildlife member and expert on big cats, leopards are moving out of sanctuaries in search of food and territory. Gir forest has a rich prey base of deer, rabbits, cheetal and other small animals. However, the negligible ungulate population in other sanctuaries is forcing these leopards to move closer to human habitats in search of prey, especially dogs.


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