< Daily Current Affairs & Important Editorials

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Mullaperiyar Dam

GS- I >> Geography>> Mapping

Context: The Supreme Court directed the Survey of India to examine whether a mega car park envisaged by Kerala near the Mullaperiyar dam area enters the property covered by the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement of October 1886.

About Mullaperiyar Dam:

• The river and the dam are so called because the dam is located after the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers.
• The dam is 155 ft high and 1200 ft long. Its construction began in 1887 and was completed in 1895.
• The first dam, which was built by the British Corps of Royal Engineers, was washed away by floods. Thereafter, a second stonework dam was built in 1895.
• The dam’s purpose was to divert the waters of the west-flowing River Periyar eastward to the arid rain shadow regions of the Theni, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu.
• The Periyar Tiger Reserve covers the area inclusive of and around an artificial lake, created because of the construction of the Mullaperiyar Dam.
• The dam was built to meet the water requirements of the temple town of Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
• Hence, though the dam is situated in Kerala, it is operated by the Tamil Nadu Government. It was according to a 999-year lease agreement (Periyar Lake Lease Agreement) made during British rule that the operational rights were handed over to Tamil Nadu.
• The Periyar Lease Agreement granted permission to Tamil Nadu to divert water from the Mullaperiyar river basin in Kerala to Theni to irrigate five arid districts.
• As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu was given exclusive right and liberty to use the land at the confluence of the Periyar and Mullayar, in addition to 100 acres for constructing the dam.
• The agreement also gave the right to the neighboring state to use water from the dam for irrigation purposes.

Additional information about Mullaperiyar Dam:

• It was according to a 999-year lease agreement (Periyar Lake Lease Agreement) made during British rule that the operational rights were handed over to Tamil Nadu.
• The Periyar Lease Agreement granted permission to Tamil Nadu to divert water from the Mullaperiyar river basin in Kerala to Theni to irrigate five arid districts.
• As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu was given exclusive right and liberty to use the land at the confluence of the Periyar and Mullayar, in addition to 100 acres for constructing the dam.

Source: www.thehindu.com

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

GS- I >> Geography>> Mapping

Context: From December, Malaysia has allowed visa free entry for Indians for stay up to 30 days.

About Malaysia:

Political boundaries:

• Thailand and Brunei (north), Singapore (south), Indonesia (southwest).
• Malaysia consists of two non- contiguous regions i.e., peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) located in Malay Peninsula bordering South China Sea in the east.
• Malaysia Timur (East Malaysia) located on the Island of Borneo.
• It borders South China Sea in the northwest, the Sulu Sea in the northeast, and the Celebes Sea in the southeast.

Geographical features:

• Major rivers: Pahang, Sarawak, Rajang, Kinabatangan.
• Highest point: Mt Kinabalu (4100m).

Source: www.thehindu.com

Rat Hole Mining

GS- I >> Geography>> Resources

Context: Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: A mountain moved, 41 rescued by Rat Hole Mining

About Rat Hole Mining:

• Rat Hole Mining involves digging of narrow pits dug into the ground, typically just large enough for one person to descend and extract coal.
• It is mostly prevalent in Meghalaya because of thinness of coal found there.
• Once the pits are dug, miners descend using ropes or bamboo ladders to reach the coal seams.
• The coal is then manually extracted using primitive tools such as pickaxes, shovels, and baskets.

However, rat hole mining has various issues like:

• Soil erosion: Excavation of rat hole causes the removal of vegetation.
• Water pollution: Contaminate water sources with pollutants and runoff from exposed mining areas.
• Poor ventilation: Cases have been reported of miners succumbing to death.
• Involvement of children: Underage labour in rat-hole mining is a prevalent issue.

Source: indianexpress.com

International Space Station

GS- III >> Science & Technology>> Space

Context: AstroSat has successfully detected its 600th Gamma-ray Burst (GRB).

Context: NASA will train an Indian astronaut for a mission to the ISS by the end of 2024.

About International Space Station (ISS):

• ISS is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) and the single largest man-made structure in low Earth orbit.
• Launched in 1998, it is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies viz. NASA (United States); Roscosmos (Russia); JAXA (Japan); ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada)
• The ownership and use of the space station are established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements.
• It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits per day, hosting a maximum of seven astronauts.
• It serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields.
• NASA intends to keep operating the ISS until the end of 2030, after which the ISS would crash into Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA).

Source: indianexpress.com

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

GS- III >> Environment>> Commission

In Context: The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries is organizing the 19th Working Party on Data Collection and Statistics (WPDCS19) of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).

About Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC):

• It is an intergovernmental organisation mandated to sustainably manage highly migratory (tuna and tuna-like) fisheries resources in the Indian Ocean.
• The Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission was adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations at the 105th Session in Rome on 25 November 1993. 
• The objective of the IOTC is to promote cooperation amongst contracting members to ensure through appropriate management, the sustainable use of fishery resources.
• The Indian Ocean is the second largest tuna fishery in the world.
• The IOTC currently has 31 contracting parties who are members of the IOTC and two Cooperating non-Contracting Parties, Liberia and Senegal.
• Membership of the IOTC is open to:
• Indian Ocean coastal countries, or regional economic integration organisations, that are members of the UN countries that are members of UN special organizations countries that fish for tuna in the Indian Ocean.
• India is a member of this organization.
• Headquarters: Victoria, Seychelle

About Tuna fish:

• Tunas are elongated, robust, and streamlined fishes; they have a rounded body that tapers to a slender tail base and a forked or crescent-shaped tail. They are related to mackerels and are placed with them in the family Scombridae.

Source: pib.gov.in