Table of Contents

GS-3                  

• Indian Sludge finds ‘high potential’ for use as Fertilizer

Facts for Prelims

• Allegator Gar
• Cyclone Mocha
• Monlam Chenmo

Indian Sludge finds ‘high potential’ for use as Fertilizer

Context

A recent analysis found that sludge found in Indian sewage treatment plants (STP)has  high potential for use as fertilizer but required treatment before it could be used unrestrictedly in farms, or as a potential biofuel.

About Sludge:

• Sludge is a thick residue found in Sewage Treatment Plants set up to treat polluted water.
• They contain organic chemicals, but also heavy metals, industrial effluents, and bacterial contaminants.
• In India, sludge is not yet classified as Class A or B like in the US.

Government Initiative to Treat Sludge:

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga aims to establish treatment facilities and prevent pollution of the Ganga River.
• One of the measures under this initiative is \”Arth Ganga,\” which aims to monetize and reuse treated wastewater and sludge.
• The goal is to convert sludge into usable products like manure and bricks.

Findings:

• Most of the dried sludge analyzed falls into the Class B category.
• Nitrogen and phosphorus levels exceed India\’s fertilizer standards, while potassium levels are lower than recommended.
• Heavy metal contamination and pathogen levels surpass fertilizer standards.
• The calorific value of sludge is lower than Indian coal.

Recommendations for Improving Sludge Quality:

• Store sludge for at least three months to kill pathogens.
• Blend sludge with cattle manure, husk, or local soil to reduce heavy metal content.
• However, these measures still categorize sludge as Class B. To convert it into Class A, extensive treatment is required.

Challenges:

• India doesn\’t yet have standards classifying sludge as Class A or B.
• Sludge is often disposed of untreated, and during rains, it can make its way back into rivers and local water sources.

Suggestive Measures:

• Before standards were made, it was necessary to understand the characteristics of the sludge from these STPs.
• Private players could be incentivized to treat and dispose of sludge.
• To improve the quality of sludge, the report recommends storing it for at least three months to kill pathogens, blending it with cattle manure and husk or local soil to reduce heavy metal.

Alligator Gar

Context

The Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) recently discovered a rare type of fish known as a \”Alligator Gar\” for the first time in Srinagar’s Dal Lake.

About Allegator Gar

The Allegator Gar is a type of fish found in freshwater habitats in Central and North America. It is one of the largest freshwater fish, and its scientific name is Atractosteus spatula.

Physical Features:

• The fish has a crocodile-like head and sharp teeth.
• It can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds.
• The adults have two rows of large teeth on either side of the upper jaw.
• The coloration is generally brown or olive above and lighter underneath.

Distribution and History:

• The Allegator Gar is distributed in Central and North America.
• The fossil record shows that the Gar family has been around for over 100 million years.
• Gars are often referred to as \”primitive fishes\” because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors.

Conservation Status:

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed Allegator Gar as \”Least Concerned.\”
• It means that the population of this fish is stable and not under any immediate threat of extinction.

Euryhaline Organisms:

• Euryhaline organisms are those that can adapt to a wide range of water salinities.
• They can survive in freshwater, saltwater, or brackish water.
• Some euryhaline organisms migrate between freshwater and saltwater habitats during their life cycle.
• Examples of euryhaline organisms include salmon, eels, etc.

Cyclone Mocha

Context

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently issued a bulletin forecasting that cyclone Mocha is expected to intensify into a severe storm.

About Cyclone Mocha

• Cyclone Mocha is a tropical cyclone that formed over the southern Bay of Bengal.
• Its name was suggested by Yemen and named after the Red Sea port city that introduced coffee to the world.

How Tropical Cyclones Form:

• A tropical cyclone forms over warm ocean waters near the equator.
• Warm, moist air rises up from the ocean surface, creating an area of low pressure.
• The air from surrounding areas with higher pressure moves towards the low-pressure area.
• As the air rises and cools, the water in the air forms clouds.
• This complete system of clouds and wind spins and grows, along with the ocean’s heat.
• As the wind rotation speed increases, an eye gets formed in the middle.

Characteristics of a Tropical Cyclone:

• The center of a cyclone is calm and clear with very low air pressure.
• The average speed is 120 kmph.
• They have closed isobars which leads to greater velocity.
• They develop over oceans and seas only.
• They move from east to west under the influence of trade winds.
• They are seasonal in nature.

Classification of Cyclones:

• Cyclones are classified based on wind speed by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
• The classifications are Depression, Deep Depression, Cyclonic Storm, Severe Cyclonic Storm, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm, and Super Cyclonic Storm.

 

Monlam Chenmo

Context

The annual five-day-long ‘Monlam Chenmo’ Festival, began recently in Ladakh.

About Monlam Chenno

• Monlam Chenmo is a significant annual prayer festival of Ladakh that lasts for five days.
• Monlam Chenmo is a mass prayer camp conducted by Buddhist monks and nuns for world peace and happiness. It is a major annual prayer of the Sangha Community of Ladakh gathered at one platform.
• The festival falls on the 21st to 25th days of the third month of the Tibetan lunar calendar and has been held since 1991.

Discontinuation and Resuming:

The annual Mass Prayer was discontinued for three years due to Covid, but it is resuming this year. The event is being organised by the All Ladakh Gonpa Association.

Seva for Sangha:

Seva for Sangha is a special camp for the Sangha Community with the objective of helping them avail benefits of different government schemes. It is being led by the Member of Parliament for Ladakh Constituency Jamyang Tsering Namgyal in collaboration with the district administration Leh. This camp is being organised for the first time for the Sangha Community.

Benefits for Monks and Nuns:

Different government departments, including banks, will offer the benefits of about 20 schemes of the government to the monks and nuns during the camp. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has also joined hands with the organisers to set up medical camps during the camp