Forest department launched Project ‘Vanikaran’ in Kerala

Forest department launched Project ‘Vanikaran’ in Kerala

• The Forest department in association with Noolpuzha grama panchayat has launched the ‘Vanikaran’ (afforestation) project to root out invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, and restore natural forests. 
• The project was being executed on 30 hectares of forestland under the SulthanBathery forest range of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, where exotic invasive plants, including Senna spectabilis, Eupatorium, Mikania micrantha, and Lantana camara, were posing a serious threat to the local species of trees.
• As many as 87 workers of Kadambakkad, Golur and Kalichira tribal hamlets had planted 3,000 bamboo seedlings and 1,000 fruit plant saplings on 3.5 hectares of forestland so far.
• The department had proposed the expansion of the project to 200 hectares in SulthanBathery, Kurichyad, and Muthanga forest ranges under the sanctuary in the coming years, she said. The panchayat was able to provide 2,756 working days to tribal families under the project.

Meghalaya health department awarded for Best Practice in Tuberculosis ACSM

• The Meghalaya government, which has adopted a ‘Jan Andolan’ (people’s movement) against Tuberculosis received an award for best practices in controlling the disease that affects 2.6 million people in India every year. 
• The award for Best Practice in Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) in Tuberculosis control was presented to representatives of the health department at a national workshop, aimed at ending TB infections, in the national capital.
• The state registered 4,189 TB cases in 2021 while in the first quarter of 2022, around 1,075 patients have been enrolled for treatment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put a national target to eliminate the disease that affects over 26 lakh Indians each year by 2025, five years ahead of WHO’s Sustainable Development Goals. TB affects about 2.6 million people in India every year.

UP govt installs 5,000 CCTVs across cities for safety

• The Uttar Pradesh government has installed about 5,000 CCTVs in 16 cities with a view to ensure people’s safety. Every intersection, major roads, expressways, railways, and metro stations are covered under these cameras. 
• The exercise has been undertaken to achieve the government's goal of creating safe and smart cities through an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). The Centre – which finds mention in almost every speech of the Chief Minister at ‘Prabudhjan Sammelan’ (intellectual meets) which have been held across several districts of the state – does not only seek to monitor and regulate traffic but also keep a vigil on other activities on the streets through these CCTVs. 
• "Our cities are now getting smart as well as safe. Now a criminal or an anti-social element, who harasses our sisters and daughters at one intersection and commits robbery at another, will be caught instantly by the police at the next intersection," the CM has been saying in these meetings. 
• The scheme is a joint venture between the Central and state government. The Centre has helped UP install CCTVs in several cities including Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Aligarh, Bareilly, Jhansi, Saharanpur, and Moradabad.