Month: February 2022

** Mahabharat’s ‘Bheem’ Praveen Sobti was India’s first and only hammer throw medallist in Commonwealth Games

He was a former BSF soldier and also won four medals, including two golds, in the Asian Games for India. And as they mourned his demise his former team-mates recalled the ‘caring, jolly man’ that Sobti was

** Indian-origin cop in short-list to be Scotland Yard chief

Neil Basu, an Indian-origin British police officer, is widely believed in political and media circles to be in a short-list of candidates who could become the next London Metropolitan Police Commissioner or chief of the hallowed Scotland Yard.

** Maharashtra’s first satellite tagged Olive Ridley turtle journeys 75 km south of the state coastline

Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and the Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous body under the state government, tagged two female adult Olive Ridley turtles with a satellite device to monitor their path on January 25.

** New species found, ZSI to push for its inclusion in Wildlife Protection Act

A group of scientists from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has discovered a new species of primate, White Cheeked Macaque, from Arunachal Pradesh.

The mammal was first discovered by Chinese scientists from South Eastern Tibet in 2015. Till now, its existence was not confirmed in India. White Cheeked Macaques are distinct from other macaques found in the region having white cheeks, long and thick hair on the neck area and a longer tail. An NGO named Aranyak has made its photographic capture from Anjaw in Arunachal Pradesh in 2015 which was barely 200 km aerial distance from where it was first spotted in China

Arunachal Pradesh

** Kerala’s first caravan park to come up at Wagamon

Plan to implement project before the onset of monsoon

With the first caravan park in the State coming up at Wagamon in the district, the tourism sector in Idukki is expected to get a boost. 

The authorities plan to launch caravan tourism under the Keravan Kerala project before the start of the monsoon and it will be implemented by the Tourism department with private partnership. The beautiful locations in the State, including hills, forests, backwaters and rivers can be experienced while travelling in the caravan.

** Telangana Governor flags off first all-women offshore sailing expedition

Expedition route is from Chennai to Vizag and back

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan flagged off the first-ever all-women Army officers’ offshore sailing expedition under the aegis of the Army Adventure Wing Southern Command Sailing Node and the EME Sailing Association in Chennai on Tuesday.

Major Mukta S. Gautam from the Corps of EME is leading the momentous expedition with the elite team comprising Majors Priya Semwal, Priya Das, Rashmil Sangwan, Arpita Dwivedi and Sanjana Mittal and Captains Jyoti Singh, Malvika Rawat, Shubham Solanki and Sonal Goyal.

** Kottayam MCH conducts its first liver transplant surgery

Surgical process lasts nearly 18 hours

In yet another milestone in organ transplantation at the government sector in Kerala, the Government Medical College, Kottayam, conducted its first liver transplant surgery on Monday.

In a surgical process lasting nearly 18 hours, a team of doctors at the hospital transplanted a part of the liver to 40-year-old Suneesh, a native of Velur in Thrissur. The organ was donated by Pravija, his wife. Hospital sources said both the donor and the receiver were recuperating after the surgery and the success of the transplant would be known on completion of the highest risk period.

** Mithali Raj stays at number 2 spot in ICC ODI women’s rankings

Raj made 59 off 73 balls in India’s 62-run defeat in the first ODI of the five-match series in Queenstown.

India skipper Mithali Raj maintained her second spot in the ICC Women’s ODI player rankings even as New Zealand batter Amy Satterthwaite moved up to number three after a splendid show in the series-opener against India.

** Isro successfully launches EOS-04, two other satellites Monday morning

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off at 05:59 am from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at the end of a 25-hour countdown, marking the space agency’s first mission launch in 2022.