Current Events

Current Events
Compiled By Sarasij Majumder, 1971 Civil Engineering

Indian Army Rescues 172 People Struck in Avalanche
Our Indian Army carried out a remarkable rescue operation on the 15th of January 2023, after a strong avalanche struck the workshop area of Megha Engineering and Industry Limited near Sarbal village in Sonamarg in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganserbal district. These workers were engaged in the ongoing construction of the Zozila tunnel. All 172 workers of the company stranded in the avalanched were finally rescued.

Notably, two avalanches hit the area. The second one was so strong that the workshop area with 172 workers was completely cut off from the main location of MEIL. Project Manager approached the Indian Army for assistance, and our Army immediately mobilised troops from their Army Camp Gund, overcoming the challenges of all the snow-covered route and reached the site the same night, providing the reassurance to the stranded people.

Due to inclement weather, the rescue operation was planned for Sunday morning. The rescue operation was launched under Commandant, Assam Rifles Battalion at Wusan. Avalanche rescue teams with specialist equipment, Army Dogs and medical gear were deployed. “After deliberate efforts the team was able to rescue all the 172 workers stranded in the avalanche to safety. Immediate medical assistance was administered to the injured by the Medical Officer of Wusan Assam Rifles Battalion at the site.” the Defence PRO Srinagar added.

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell train in India

The heritage routes of Indian Railways are Matheran Hill Railway, Kangra Valley, Bilmora Waghai, Marwar-Devgarh Madriya, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, as well as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.According to various local media reports, the railways is currently developing a prototype of hydrogen fuel-based train at the Northern Railway workshop. This will be trialed on the Sonipat-Jind section in the state of Haryana.
The new hydrogen-powered trains will be modelled on the lines of its German and Chinese counterparts.
The trains have a range of 600km on a single tank, and a maximum speed of 160 km/ph.
Germany was the first country to launch hydrogen-driven trains, which can run for 1,000km at a speed of 140kmph.
The train was under trial in Germany since 2018.
China recently introduced hydrogen-powered trains, said to be the first of its type in Asia.
Last month, plans to launch domestically manufactured hydrogen-driven trains in India were unveiled.
These new trains, named Vande Metro, will replace the existing trains made in the 1950s and 1960s.
China Becomes First Country in Asia to Launch Hydrogen Powered Train January 4, 2023.

Joshimath is sinking?

Nearly 700 houses in Joshimath developed cracks in last 6 weeks. The first case crack in a house was reported in October 2021 when cracks developed in around 14-15 houses. However, on January 4, 2023, when the situation continued to worsen, the Chamoli district administration for the first time issued a bulletin on the Joshimath crisis according to which, the number of houses having cracks stood at 561. Now over 800 buildings, including houses and hotels have developed cracks. As per the latest bulletin on Tuesday, the number of houses in the unsafe zone (inhabitable) stood at 167. It was 86 on January 10.

Authorities tried to raze down “unsafe” declared hotels – Malari Inn and Mount View on January 10 after the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) declared them unsafe. However, their attempts failed as protests erupted over the compensation before any structure is demolished and their loss of livelihood. Protestors also demanded the closure of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) projects in the area, which according to them is the cause of land subsidence.
Meanwhile, two more hotels have begun tilting towards each other due to land subsidence. Cracks have also widened in hotel Comet and Snow Crest hotel.

According to the officials, not just residential houses and hotels, government-owned structures too have been affected by land subsidence. “The CBRI has declared the PWD inspection as unsafe and its demolition will begin on Wednesday,” an official said.
Meanwhile, Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana said that the administration has identified 615 rooms in 83 places as temporary relief camps for residents under the Joshimath town area where 2,190 affected people can be accommodated while 491 rooms of 20 buildings have been selected as temporary relief camps in Pipalkoti outside the municipal area where 2,205 people can be accommodated.

VIROVORE
Viruses, often thought to be predators that feed and kill their hosts, are nutrition for another group of microscopic, often unicellular organisms, called protists. Scientists have now identified an actual species of protist— Halteria, a ciliate that was observed consuming viruses in samples of pond water.
It was only two years ago that scientists found viral genes in the genomes of marine protists, indicating that protists likely ingested viral matter. But direct consumption was not observed, until now.

These virus-eating species of protists — which are their own kingdom on the tree of life and are not an animal, plant, or fungi — are now classified as virovores.
Given that viruses as a part of larger matter ingested by other organisms make up very small mass and caloric intake, they were thought to be unimportant as a food or a source of nutrients for these organisms. But the new findings change our understanding of the role viruses play in the food chain at a microscopic level.