Restoration of Bala Hissar
The restoration work of ancient fortress Bala Hissar in Afghanistan’s Kabul, which received financial aid from the Government of India in August, has started.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/26874-restoration-of-bala-hissar.html
#Restoration #BalaHissar #AKTC #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses
The restoration work of ancient fortress Bala Hissar in Afghanistan’s Kabul, which received financial aid from the Government of India in August, has started.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/26874-restoration-of-bala-hissar.html
#Restoration #BalaHissar #AKTC #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses
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Restoration of Bala Hissar | KSG India | Khan Study Group | Best IAS Coaching Preparation Institute Online
The restoration work of ancient fortress Bala Hissar in Afghanistan’s Kabul, which received financial aid from the Government of India in August, has started. The fortress is being converted into
Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall
Today's Headlines - 28 August 2023
Indore named best city in Smart Cities Mission
GS Paper - 2 (Infrastructure)
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry named Indore the best city and Madhya Pradesh the best state in the Smart Cities Mission in its India Smart Cities Awards 2022. Surat and Agra were named second and third best among cities and Tamil Nadu second in states, with the third prize being shared by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. A total of 66 winners in different categories were announced; the awards would be presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in Indore on 27 September 2023.
More about the News
The cities were selected based on their ranking in terms of progress of projects, project outcomes and presentations submitted for the awards.
Indore has topped the cleanliness rankings under the Swachh Bharat Mission, being named the cleanest city for the past six years in a row.
Madhya Pradesh, too, won the tag of the cleanest state in the Swachh Survekshan 2022. In the Smart Cities awards, Indore had shared the first place with Surat last time.
In the Smart Cities Awards 2022, Coimbatore’s project of model roads, restoration and renovation of lakes was ranked the best in the category of built environment, while Jabalpur won the award for its incubation centre in the economy category.
Chandigarh’s public bike sharing and e-governance services won in the mobility and governance categories, respectively. Chandigarh also won the overall award in the Union Territory category.
Flashback
Under the Smart Cities Mission, which was launched in 2015, the 100 selected cities have completed 76% of the proposed projects worth Rs.1.10 lakh crore, while the remaining projects worth Rs.60,095 crore “will be completed by 30 June 2024, a ministry statement said.
Earlier this year, the mission’s deadline was extended from June 30 to next year to allow all 100 cities to complete their projects.
Most notable milestone achieved in the mission has been the Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC), which is operational in all 100 Smart Cities.
These ICCCs work as the brain and nervous system for city operations, using technology for urban management.
The urban services have significantly improved in diverse fields like crime tracking, safety and security of citizens, transport management, solid waste management, water supply, disaster management etc.
#upsc #news #headline #indore #smartcities #mission #infrastructure #unionhousing #urbanaffairsministry #indore #madhyapradesh #awards2022 #surat #agra #secondandthird #tamilnadu #winners #categories #Droupadimurmu #news #swachhbharatmission #cleanlinessranking #restoration #lakes #economy #chandigarh #mobility #unionterritory #ICCC #brain #nervoussystem #urbanservices #soildmanagement #watersupply #disastermanagement #transport
Indore named best city in Smart Cities Mission
GS Paper - 2 (Infrastructure)
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry named Indore the best city and Madhya Pradesh the best state in the Smart Cities Mission in its India Smart Cities Awards 2022. Surat and Agra were named second and third best among cities and Tamil Nadu second in states, with the third prize being shared by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. A total of 66 winners in different categories were announced; the awards would be presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in Indore on 27 September 2023.
More about the News
The cities were selected based on their ranking in terms of progress of projects, project outcomes and presentations submitted for the awards.
Indore has topped the cleanliness rankings under the Swachh Bharat Mission, being named the cleanest city for the past six years in a row.
Madhya Pradesh, too, won the tag of the cleanest state in the Swachh Survekshan 2022. In the Smart Cities awards, Indore had shared the first place with Surat last time.
In the Smart Cities Awards 2022, Coimbatore’s project of model roads, restoration and renovation of lakes was ranked the best in the category of built environment, while Jabalpur won the award for its incubation centre in the economy category.
Chandigarh’s public bike sharing and e-governance services won in the mobility and governance categories, respectively. Chandigarh also won the overall award in the Union Territory category.
Flashback
Under the Smart Cities Mission, which was launched in 2015, the 100 selected cities have completed 76% of the proposed projects worth Rs.1.10 lakh crore, while the remaining projects worth Rs.60,095 crore “will be completed by 30 June 2024, a ministry statement said.
Earlier this year, the mission’s deadline was extended from June 30 to next year to allow all 100 cities to complete their projects.
Most notable milestone achieved in the mission has been the Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC), which is operational in all 100 Smart Cities.
These ICCCs work as the brain and nervous system for city operations, using technology for urban management.
The urban services have significantly improved in diverse fields like crime tracking, safety and security of citizens, transport management, solid waste management, water supply, disaster management etc.
#upsc #news #headline #indore #smartcities #mission #infrastructure #unionhousing #urbanaffairsministry #indore #madhyapradesh #awards2022 #surat #agra #secondandthird #tamilnadu #winners #categories #Droupadimurmu #news #swachhbharatmission #cleanlinessranking #restoration #lakes #economy #chandigarh #mobility #unionterritory #ICCC #brain #nervoussystem #urbanservices #soildmanagement #watersupply #disastermanagement #transport