Arch of world’s highest rail bridge on Chenab completed

Indian engineers created history by completing the arch of the world’s highest railway bridge on Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir, which is 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in France. The completion of the blast proof arch now paves the way for expediting the direct rail link to the Valley from the rest of India.

Officials said this was the most challenging project the railways had ever undertaken and the most critical portion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, whose construction started in August 2004.

Speaking to reporters at Kauri in J&K, general manger of Northern Railway, Ashutosh Gangal, said what currently takes 12 hours by road (Katra-Banihal), will take half the time after completion of the bridge. He said the bridge is likely to be completed in a year and the entire rail link would be completed in two and a half years.

Gangal said the arch consists of steel boxes in which concrete will be filled to improve stability while the stay cables which are presently holding the arch will be removed as it has become self-supporting after the installation of the last piece.

He further said the overall weight of the arch is 10,619 metric tonnes and the arch work was done by overhead cable cranes for the first time by the Indian Railways.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the achievement by Indian engineers and tweeted, “The capability and trust of the countrymen is setting an example for the world. This feat of construction not only showcases the growing prowess of India in the field of modern engineering and technology but also is an example of changing work culture marked by the ethos of ‘sankalp se siddhi’.”

The work on the rail link had started 17 years back and along the way missed several deadlines.

The bridge is being projected as an engineering marvel for several unique features including its strength which can withstand wind speeds of up to 266 kmph and earthquake forces of highest intensity zone-V in India.

Besides this the bridge has also been designed for blast load in consultation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation. This is the first such design in the country that can remain operational at a restricted speed of 30 kmph after removal of one pier or trestle, the railway ministry said.

It is also for the first time that the Indian Railways used phased array ultrasonic machines and established a NABL-accredited lab at the site for weld testing.

India to induct heavy-duty armed naval choppers

India will soon be sending a team to the US for induction of the MH-60 “Romeo” multi-mission helicopters, which will be a significant capability jump for the Navy in detecting and destroying enemy submarines prowling in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Navy will this year get at least three of the 24 heavy-duty helicopters, equipped with multi-mode radars and night-vision devices as well as armed with Hellfire missiles, MK-54 torpedoes and precision-kill rockets, under the Rs 15,157 crore ($2.13 billion) contract inked with the US in February 2020. The 140-warship Navy is currently grappling with just a handful of old antisubmarine warfare helicopters like Kamov-28s and Sea Kings when the presence of Chinese nuclear and diesel-electric submarines is only going to increase in IOR.

“All the 24 MH-60R helicopters, which will operate from frontline warships including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, will be inducted by end-2023 or so. It will somewhat plug the critical operational gap on this front. The team of pilots and technicians for training and induction of the MH-60Rs will be going to the US in May-June,” said a defence ministry source.

ASW choppers typically fly ahead of warships to “dunk” their sonars into deep waters, “ping” for enemy submarines, and then fire missiles, torpedoes and depth charges to clear the path for the fleet during hostilities. They can also undertake antiship strikes, over the horizon network-centric operations and electronic warfare missions. Manufactured by Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin, the MH-60Rs will be the d type of iconic US helicopters to be inducted by Indian armed forces.

Somewhere in Ahmedabad....

It may not be a Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic design, but it imbibes its intricacies — a system of triangular forms linked together in such a way that it distributes stress and weight in the most economical way. That’s the Sabarmati Riverfront foot overbridge, which is now nearing completion. The project began around March 2018 and was to be completed in 18 months.

“We lost time due to the pandemic. But we are hopeful that a significant portion of the work will be over by middle of this year,” says a senior official of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited.

The pedestrian bridge is constructed between the flower garden on the western side and the exhibition centre on the eastern front of riverfront. “Each of these steel pipes have to be first set and welded in a triangular shapes such that there is equal weight distribution. The joints are an engineering marvel,” says the SRFDCL official supervising the construction of the pedestrian bridge. “The bridge will connect both the lower and upper promenades of the riverfront on both the banks of the riverfront,” the official added.

Asia’s finest grassland in Kutch gets new lease of life

Banni, one of the finest grasslands of Asia, ravaged by the menacing ‘gaando baval’ (prosopis juliflora), increasing salinity and climate change over the years, is set to regain its lost glory.

The Gujarat Ecological and Education Research Foundation has successfully implemented a pilot project to rejuvenate the grassland spread across 2,500 sqkm area and also help resuscitate livelihood of the Kutchi cattle breeders. Around 600 hectare (ha) land in arid Kutch has been rejuvenated and blossoming with grass now!

The foundation started work under the National Fund for Climate Change project in 2018 and has so far created a seed bank of 38 native species over the period of last two years with the help of local cattle breeders. According to various researches, the grassland productivity has dipped to a mere 620 kg in 2009 from the 4,000 kg per hectare yield in 1960. The area under the grassland too got reduced to 63,000 ha in 2009 from 1.42 lakh ha in 1989, according to the report. A study finds that the major threat to the pastoral economy is also from uncontrolled livestock grazing and if the current condition continues, the area under grassland is feared to decrease by 23,000 ha land by 2030. The result is destruction of many indigenous species of grass. The GEER Foundation has started re-cultivation of native species of grass.

Director of GEER Foundation, RD Kamboj said, “We came up with the idea of creating a seed bank where we could provide native grass seeds to the entire banni region. Under this project, plantation has been done in 600 ha in nine villages of Banni. We collected 6.69 lakh kg of grass, of which 3.46 lakh kg was collected by the villagers.”

Wildfire guts 1.3k hectare forest cover in Uttarakhand

With wildfires continuing to wreak havoc in Uttarakhand, the blaze reached the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday and gutted around 500 trees. This has raised a major concern among forest officials as the sanctuary houses rare, near extinct animals like the Alpine musk deer, Himalayan tahr (bovines found in Himalayas), Himalayan griffon (a vulture native to the Himalayas), Himalayan black bear (a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas) and snow leopards as well as trees like oak, birch and rhododendron. As per data provided by the forest department, a total of 9,550 trees have been gutted till now in the fires which began in October last year and forest ecosystems spread over 1,359.8 hectares have been adversely affected.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Sunday directed use of two IAF choppers to help in dousing the flames as well as National Disaster Response Force personnel to be deployed in the hill state. The state government had written to the defence ministry on Saturday citing “a worsening situation of forest fires” and had asked for two IAF helicopters, one each to be stationed in Garhwal and Kumaon.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday tweeted about the Uttarakhand forest fires, saying “The central government has issued an order for immediate deployment of two choppers and NDRF teams in Uttarakhand to arrest the fire and curb destruction of life and property”. Chief minister Tirath Rawat had spoken with the home minister earlier in the day, apprising him of the forest fire situation in the state. “While one chopper would be stationed at Tehri - to cover areas under Garhwal region - the second one would operate from Almora and Nainital and cover the Kumaon region,” the CM said. The CM also held a meeting with senior officials from affected districts as well as police and disaster management departments. Officials have been asked to distribute kits of torches and firefighting equipment at the block level, so villagers can also be roped in to fight forest fires. Four human and seven animal deaths have been officially recorded till now due to the forest fires.

Head of forest force Rajeev Bhartari said, “IAF helicopters were the need of the hour as our teams cannot reach remote areas. Our entire workforce is using the latest equipment and acting on war footing, leaving no stone unturned to douse the flames. We are co-ordinating with other departments and if needed, will seek support of more expert personnel.” Leaves of all forest staff have been cancelled for the next two months and 10 senior IFS officers have been tasked with reviewing the wildfire situation in as many hill districts, he added.

Divisional forest officer of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary mit Kanwar meanwhile said that he believed the fires were due to human intervention.

Maharashtra shuts eateries, malls, curbs travel

The rapid spread of Covid-19 finally forced the Uddhav Thackeray government to announce lockdown-like restrictions across the state from 8pm on Monday. On weekends, a complete lockdown will be imposed.

A state government notification issued late on Sunday said all shops except essential services would remain shut till the end of the month, leaving people only Monday to buy non-essential goods this month. Restaurants will be allowed to operate only takeaway and home delivery services during the day hours. Night curfew will be on every day from 8pm to 7am.

Gatherings of five or more persons will be prohibited during the daytime — 7am to 8pm — on weekdays. No religious, social, cultural or political functions of any kind will be allowed. The state decided it would conduct board exams, but all schools, colleges and private tuition classes would remain closed.

Vaccinations will continue all days of the week, including weekends.

The notification gave an exemption from the restrictions to essential services like hospitals, diagnostic centres, pharmacies and other health services, grocery, vegetable and food stores, trains, public buses, taxis and autorickshaws, all public services by local authorities, goods transportation and agriculture-related services, e-commerce and accredited media. Banking, insurance, telecommunication and mediclaim offices will also be exempted.

Private vehicles, including private buses can ply as usual from 7am to 8pm from Monday to Friday, and in emergencies or on essential service duty from 8pm to 7am on weekdays and 8pm on Friday to 7am on Monday.

The government said essential services should ensure social distancing between customers on their premises. “Malls, restaurants and bars will remain closed, but takeaway service will remain in operation,” minister Nawab Malik said after a cabinet meeting. “Government and semi-government offices will run with 50% capacity while private offices will have to go for ‘work from home’.”

Public transport will operate at 50 % capacity. Autos and taxis will be allowed two passengers. There will be no standing passengers allowed on buses and local trains.

Gymnasiums, salons and beauty parlours will remain shut. Only restaurants and bars inside hotels and which are an integral part of the hotel will remain open. On weekends, only home delivery services will be allowed between 7am and 8pm — no person may visit any restaurant or bar.

In districts where elections are to be held, permission may be granted by the district collector for any political gathering subject to certain conditions.

Red Terror : Toll rises to 22

Police recovered bullet-riddled bodies of 20 jawans in the jungles of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, raising to 22 the number of security personnel killed in a fierce gun-battle with Naxals the previous day - the biggest massacre in more than a year that also left 30 injured. Police also recovered the bodies of three jawans killed in the encounter, an official said, adding that a search operation is on in the forest.

The dead include personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force, its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and the District Reserve Guard, the official said. It was not clear how many were from which unit.

Eighteen jawans were missing after five security personnel were killed on Saturday in the fierce gun battle with Naxals in a forest along the border between Bijapur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh, police had said.

“On Sunday, bodies of 17 missing personnel were recovered during a search operation,” the official said. Some weapons of the security forces were missing, he added.

In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as a Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.

The operation was launched from five places : Tarrem, Usoor and Pamed (in Bijapur), and Minpa and Narsapuram (in Sukma), the official said. When the patrolling team dispatched from Tarrem was advancing through the forest near Jonaguda, around 500 km from the state capital Raipur, it was ambushed by cadres of PLGA (Peoples’ Liberation Guerilla Army) battalion of Maoists and a gunbattle ensued, he said.

Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operation) OP Pal on Saturday said some jawans, both from the police and paramilitary, were reported missing after the encounter, adding efforts were on to trace them. Pal had claimed that the Maoists suffered a huge loss in the gunfight. Only the body of a woman Naxal could be recovered from the spot amid heavy exchange of fire.

The attack comes close on the heels of the March 23 incident when five DRG personnel were killed as the Maoists blew up a bus carrying the security personnel with an IED in Narayanpur district of the state.

On March 21 last year, 17 security personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Minpa area of Sukma district. On April 9, 2019, BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle with an IED in Dantewada district. On April 24, 2017, 25 CRPF personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Burkapal area of Sukma district. In March 2017, 12 CRPF jawans were killed in a Maoist attack in Sukma district. In November 2016, two CRPF jawans were injured in a pressure bomb blast triggered by Naxals in the dense forest of Sukma district. In March 2016, a powerful landmine blast struck a truck filled with paramilitary soldiers in Raipur district, killing seven policemen.

Union home minister Amit Shah condoled the death of the security personnel and said their valour will never be forgotten. The government will continue its fight against the enemies of peace and progress, he added.