Poor sanitation brings down enrollment of girls in schools

Dip in enrollment of female students due to poor sanitation in schools

According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, nearly 20% of Indian schools are devoid of toilet facilities for girls. Moreover, out of the schools that have toilets installed in their premises, only 92.64% are functional according to a report titled 'Elementary Education in India'. The dismal state of toilets has led to a drop in enrollment of girls in schools - 48.20% this year as against 48.36% last year.

Chorabari Lake, responsible for Uttarakhand floods 2013, is no more

Scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology see no possibility of conducting research at Chorabari Lake that had caused flash floods in Uttarakhand last year, as it no longer exists. According to these scientists, the lake will take a long time to form again but the state government can now identify and conduct research on other such lakes that exist near glaciers and are threatening. They have also suggested creating artificial outlets for such lakes in order to avoid their bursting.

Decline in Hilsa population owing to fall in river salinity

With the passing of years, the salinity in enstuarine rivers in West Bengal is fast diminishing, which has led to a decline in Hilsa population. The Hilsa fish that migrates from saline seawater to sweet river water needs to acclimatize itself to the change in levels of salinity through the middle zone called estuaries. According to experts, the drop in salinity is due to the Farakka barrage that pumps large volumes of water into the state rivers thereby diluting their salt content. 

No funds available for Ganga rejuvenation: Uma Bharti

The Water Resources Minister is seeking funds from industrial houses for rejuvenating the Ganga. She says that the Ministry has no funds to plan an integrated approach to clean up the Ganga. The Minister has also mentioned a focussed approach towards Ganga rejuvenation unlike the earlier failed plans that lacked coordination.

Mandovi river in Goa not suitable for sports and fishing: PCB

According to the State Pollution Control Board, the water of the Mandovi river is not suitable fot recreational bathing, water sports and fishing as it has high levels of bacterial contamination. However, the Goa Chief Minister has said that the report is misinterpreted and misdirected and the river is totally devoid of any contamination. He further mentioned that the earlier test results conducted during a monitoring programme have shown that the coliform levels were only marginally above the standards.

This is a weekly roundup of important news from June 23-29, 2014. Also read last week's policy matters updates.