Daily Prelims Notes 23 October 2022

October 23, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

23 October 2022

Table Of Contents

1. India’s maritime history runs deep

Subject:History

Context:Recently, the Prime Minister has reviewed the construction of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) site at Gujarat’s Lothal.

Concept:

About NMHC

The project began in March 2022, and is being developed at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.
It will have several innovative features such as Lothal mini-recreation, which will recreate Harappan architecture and lifestyle through immersive technology.
It has four theme parks – Memorial theme park, Maritime and Navy theme park, Climate theme park, and Adventure and Amusement theme park.
It will act as a center for learning and understanding India’s maritime history.
The NMHC is being developed with the aim of displaying India’s diverse maritime heritage and also help Lothal emerge as a world-class international touristdestination.

About Lothal Site

Lothal was one of the southernmost sites of the Indus Valley civilization (IVC), located in the Bhāl region of what is now the state of Gujarat.
The port city is believed to have been built in 2,200 BC.
Lothal was a thriving trade center in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and ornaments reaching West Asia and Africa.
Lothal had the world’s earliest known dock, which connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra.
Archaeologist SR Rao led the team which discovered a number of Harappan sites at the time, including the port city of Lothal.
Excavation work was carried out in Lothal between February 1955 and May 1960.

Archaeological findings and features

The 4,600-year-old city was mathematically planned.
It had a grid pattern with proper streets crossing at right angles and drainage systems.
The emphasis on cleanliness can be judged from the discovery of toilets and lota-like jars which shows our fixation with washing up goes back all the way to the Harappan Civilisation.
The city was divided into two parts: the upper town and the lower town.
The remains of the brick walls there suggest wide streets, drains and bathing platforms.
The Lothal bead-makers were highly skilled as hundreds of carnelian beads in various stages of production and tools and raw materials were recovered.

Identification of Dockyard:

The National Institute of Oceanography in Goa discovered marine microfossils and salt, gypsum crystals at the site, indicating that sea water once filled the structure and it was definitely a dockyard.
In later excavations, ASI unearthed a mound, a township, a marketplace, and the dock.
Dating back over 4600 years, the dockyard in Lothal is the oldest man-madedockyard,builtof burntbricks, roughly 240 m long, 37 m wide and 4 m deep, with a warehouse located next to it.
Adjacent to the excavated areas stands the archaeological site museum, where some of the most prominent collections of Indus-era antiquities in India are displayed.

Heritage Value of Lothal

Lothal was nominated in April 2014 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.
The excavated site of Lothal is the only port-town of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

About Dholavira

It is one of the most remarkable and well-preserved(No encroachment till now) urban settlements in South Asia.
It was discovered in 1968 by archaeologist Jagat Pati Joshi.
After Mohen-jo-Daro, Ganweriwala and Harappa in Pakistan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana of India, Dholavira is the fifth largest metropolis of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC).
IVC flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, what today is Pakistan and Western India.
It was basically an urban civilization and the people lived in well-planned and well-built towns, which were also the centers for trade.
The site contains ruins of an ancient IVC/Harappan city.
It comprises two parts: a walled city and a cemetery to the west of the city.
The walled city consists of a fortified Castle with attached fortified Bailey and Ceremonial Ground, and a fortified MiddleTown and a Lower Town.
A series of reservoirs are found to the east and south of the Citadel.

Location:

The ancient city of Dholavira is an archaeological site at Kachchh District, in the state of Gujarat, which dates from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.
Dholavira’s location is on the Tropic of Cancer.
It is located on Khadir bet island in the Kachchh Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kachchh.
Unlike other Harappan antecedent towns normally located near to rivers and perennial sources of water, the location of Dholavira in the island of Khadir bet.
This was strategic to harness different mineral and raw material sources (copper, shell, agate-carnelian, steatite, lead, banded limestone, among others).
It also facilitated internal as well as external trade to the Magan (modern Oman peninsula) and Mesopotamian regions.

Archeological Findings:

Artifacts that were found here include terracotta pottery, beads, gold and copper ornaments, seals, fish hooks, animal figurines, tools, urns, and some imported vessels.
Remains of a copper smelter indicate Harappans, who lived in Dholavira, knew metallurgy.
It is believed that traders of Dholavira used to source copper ore from present-day Rajasthan and Oman and UAE and exported finished products.
It was also a hub of manufacturing jewellery made of shells and semi-precious stones, like agate and used to export timber.
10 large stone inscriptions, carved in Indus Valley script, perhaps the world’s earliest sign board.
Near the ancient city is a fossil park where wood fossils are preserved.
Unlike graves at other IVC sites, no mortal remains of humans have been discovered at Dholavira.

Distinct Features of the Dholavira Site:

Cascading series of water reservoirs.
Outer fortification.
Two multi-purpose grounds, one of which was used for festivities and other as a marketplace.
Nine gates with unique designs.
Funerary architecture featuring tumulus — hemispherical structures like the Buddhist Stupas.
Multi-layered defensive mechanisms, extensive use of stone in construction and special burial structures.

Heritage Value of Dholavira

Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat is India’s 40th world heritage site.
It is the first site of Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) in India to be included on the coveted list.

2. Bhoota Kola

Subject :Art and Culture

Context : Bengaluru police book actor Chetan Kumar over Bhoota Kola remarks.

Concept :

About Bhoota Kola

Bhoota means ‘spirit’ and Kola means ‘play’ in Tulu.
It is basically a spirit worship ritual celebrated by Tulu-speaking people in Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka and some districts of Kerala.
Kola is also called ‘nema’ which means ceremony, which goes on from dusk to dawn.
The Kola is performed by professionals who belong to the lower castes of society
The performer of the Daiva or Bhoota usually wears a skirt of tender palm leaves which is easily flammable and helps them to perform acts with fire.
The performer displays an aggressive outlook, dances fiercely and performs multiple rituals.
This performer is feared and respected in the community and is believed to give answers to people’s problems on behalf of the spirit.
Drums and music give company to the dancing and pooja rituals.
By praying together during Bhootada Kola, the community seeks God’s blessing, prosperity and riddance of various problems the community is challenged with.
Bhootada Kola is said to have some influence from Yakshagana, a more popular and widely performed folk dance in coastal Karnataka.
Some of the Bhootada Kola rituals also involve walking on a bed of hot coal.

Popular Bhootas:

Panjurli, Bobbarya, Pilipoota, Kalkuda, Kalburti, Pilichamundi, KotiChennayaare some of the popular gods (Bhootas) worshipped as part of Bhootada Kola

3. Breathing life into a dead river

Subject :Geography

Context-

A small river that stopped flowing 70 years ago in Odisha’s Cuttack district is set to be rejuvenated.
This is the first serious attempt to restore a river to its original shape in Odisha by the state government following the direction National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Sukapaika river-

The Sukapaika river originated from another river, the Mahanadi, near Ayatpur village.
It flowed 27.5 km before meeting the Mahanadi again at Bankala.
In the process, it drains a large landmass comprising over 425 villages.
However, the river is undergoing sudden barrenness.

Why it dried up?

In the 1950s, the State’s water resource engineers had closed the Sukapaika river mouth enabling the development of the Taladanda Canal System of the State.
This led to the river mostly drying up.
Subsequently, in 1957, two major projects — Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur district and Naraj barrage at Cuttack — were built upstream on the Mahanadi, ostensibly to control floods in it.
However, the embankment on the Sukapiaka was not removed.
This left the distributary totally dependent on rainwater. The neglect has hit the 0.5 million people residing in the villages over the next half a century.
The riverbed has suffered erosion and it is full of hyacinth.

Consequences-

Agricultural encroachments sprung up on the riverbanks.
The water table isn’t getting recharged by the Sukapaika river.
Agriculture was hit and the river channel turned into garbage ground.

Rejuvenation plan-

NGT’s Eastern Bench directed the State government to make budgetary provisions for the river’s complete rejuvenation by March 2023.
The government has set a target to complete the renovation within 18 months with a fund allocation of ₹49.67 crores.

4. New species of genus Allmania spotted

Subject : Environment

Context-

A rather frail-looking plant spotted on the granite hillocks of Palakkad has been identified as a new species of the genus Allmania.
Named Allmania multiflora, the species is quite special from both the botanical and conservation points of view.

About the new plant species-

An annual herb that grows to a height of about 60 cm, Allmania multiflora is only the second species of this genus identified so far anywhere.
The discovery has come 188 years after the genus and the first species were described by botanists.
The first species,Allmanianodiflora, was originally published under the genus Celosia as Celosia nodiflora in 1753.
Specimens found in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) were first described as Allmanianodiflora in 1834.
Found at heights ranging between 1,000 to 1,250 metres, Allmania multiflora is an annual herb, erect, with branches arising from the base.
The stem is redto violet at the base and green above.
Shorter tepals and wider gynoecium (parts of the flower), shorter bracts and the diameter of the seeds are among the characteristics that distinguish it from Allmanianodiflora.
Flowering and fruiting occur from May to September.

Threats-

The species faced a number of threats
Its population is quite small.
It could be accidentally exploited by local people as a vegetable along with amaranths.
Its habitat, granite hillocks, too faces various forms of threats today.

5. Asian elephants at risk as they roam outside protected areas

Subject : Environment

Context-

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) spend most of their time outside protected areas, putting them on a dangerous collision course with people.
Researchers put tracking collars on 102 elephants and found that the animals tend to wander out of nature reserves where forests have become very dense to nosh on grasses, bamboo, palms and fastgrowing trees in clearer areas.
The finding has important implications for the long-term survival of the animals.

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

About:

There are three subspecies of Asian elephants which are the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.
The Indian subspecies have the widest range and account for most of the remaining elephants on the continent.
The elephant herd is led by the oldest and largest female member (known as the matriarch). This herd includes the daughters of the matriarch and their offspring.
Elephants have the longest-known gestational (pregnancy) period of all mammals, lasting up to 680 days (22 months).
Females between 14 – 45 years may give birth to calves approximately every four years with the mean interbirth intervals increasing to five years by age 52 and six years by age 60.
Global Population: Estimated 20,000 to 40,000.

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List: Endangered.
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
CITES Appendix I

African Elephants:

There are two subspecies of African elephants, the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant.
Global Population: Around 4,00,000.
Earlier in July 2020, Botswana (Africa) witnessed the death of hundreds of elephants.

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List Status:
African Savanna Elephant: Endangered.
African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
CITES: Appendix II

Threats:

Escalation of poaching.
Habitat loss.
Human-elephant conflict.
Mistreatment in captivity.
Abuse due to elephant tourism.
Rampant mining, Corridor destruction.

Human-Animal conflict-

It refers to struggles that arise when the presence or behaviour of wildlife poses actual or perceived direct, recurring threats to human interests or needs, often leading to disagreements between groups of people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife.

Causes of conflict:

Habitat loss
Growth of the population of wild animals
Changing cropping patterns that attract wild animals to farmlands
Movement of wild animals from forests area to human-dominated landscapes for food and fodder
Movement of human beings to forests for illegal collection of forest produce
Habitat degradation due to the growth of invasive alien species, etc.

Dismal situation- Loss of both animal and Human:

222 elephants were killed by electrocution across the country between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Further, 29 tigers were killed by poaching between 2019 and 2021, while 197 tiger deaths are under scrutiny.
Among human casualties of conflict with animals, elephants killed 1,579 humans in three years — 585 in 2019-20, 461 in 2020-21, and 533 in 2021-22.
Odisha topped the number of deaths with 332, followed by Jharkhand with 291, and West Bengal with 240.
Whereas, Tigers killed 125 humans in reserves between 2019 and 2021.
Maharashtra accounted for nearly half of these deaths, at 61.

6. Lockdown increased exposure to indoor air pollution

Subject :Environment

Context-

During the COVID-19 lockdown, many countries observed historic improvements in ambient air quality.
A study shows that despite the historic improvements in ambient air quality, PM2.5 exposures increased for 65% of Indians and a third of the global population during the lockdown, largely attributed to biomass cooking activity.

Indoor air pollution-

The term “indoor air pollution” refers to the dirt, dust, and gases that enter buildings and contaminate the air within.
It refers to the physical, chemical, and biological properties of air in a home, institution, or commercial facility’s indoor environment.

Sources of Indoor air pollution-

Indoor Air Pollution – Types

Rural-
- Rural communities, where households still use conventional energy sources like firewood, charcoal, and cow dung for heating and cooking, are those where interior pollution poses the biggest concern.
- The four most dangerous contaminants in the smoke from biofuels are formaldehyde, polycyclic organic matter, carbon monoxide, and particulates, however many hundreds of different chemical agents have been found.
Urban-
Exposure to indoor air pollution has grown in urban areas for a number of reasons, including-
- Construction of buildings with tighter seals;
- Decreased ventilation;
- Using synthetic materials for construction and furnishings;
- The use of chemical products, insecticides, and household care items.
- Indoor air pollution might start inside the building or be brought in from the outside.
- Several other pollutants, besides lead, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide, have an impact on the quality of the air.

Increased exposure-

Rural women have the highest levels of air pollution exposure.
During the lockdown,workingage men and schoolgoing children observed the largest exposure increases.
Increased exposure is due to prevalence of biomassfueled cookstoves.
The study estimated that 65% of Indians had increased exposures during the lockdown, with average nationwide exposures increasing by 13%.
The indoor PM2.5 concentration for biomass user households is 220 times higher than their respective outdoor concentration in different Indian states.

Various indoor air pollutants–

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
- The primary sources of volatile organic compounds are perfumes, hairsprays, furniture polish, glues, air fresheners, moth repellents, and other goods.
Tobacco Smoke
Indoor Combustion
Biological pollutants
- including certain bacteria, fungi, parasites, pet hair, mites, and pollen from plants.
Radon
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Asbestos
Formaldehyde

Exposure across groups-

During baseline conditions, working age rural women have the highest PM2.5 exposures of any demographic, with average exposures of 175 ug m3, due mainly to exposure to biomass cooking related emissions.
During the lockdown, despite everyone being mandated to stay at home, we still found that workingage women continued to maintain the highest exposures (185 ugm3).
The other demographic groups that had the highest exposure were workingage men and schoolage children, whose average modeled exposures increased by 24% and 18% respectively.

Global scenario-

Global estimation shows that 35% of the global population will have observed increased exposures during the lockdown.
This occurred largely in developing economies (Africa, South East Asia) where biomass use is prevalent.

7. Oceans are warming twice as fast than the 1960s and it could get much worse

Subject : Geography

Context: The rate at which oceans are globally warming has doubled from the 1960s to the 2010s, a recent study has found. The top 2,000 metres of the global ocean has gained 351 zettajoules during 1958-2019. For context, a zettajoule is 10 to the power of 21 or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules.

Concept:

As humans emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it causes the Earth to warm. The vast majority of the heat ends up in the ocean (more than 90 per cent). So, to understand how fast the Earth’s climate is changing, we must look to the ocean and track ocean heat content change.
The rate of warming increased from 5 to 10 ZJ per year from the 1960s to the 2010s, it said.
The Atlantic Ocean is warming the fastest, reporting the largest area-averaged warming at 1.42 joule per square metre. The Southern Ocean is next, at 1.40 joule per square metre for the upper 2,000 m from 1958–2019.
The relentless increase in the ocean heat content has direct implications for the frequency, intensity and extent of marine heat waves (MHW) and other hotspots within the ocean.

Marine heat waves (MHW)

Marine heat waves (MHW) are periods of increased temperatures overseas and oceans for extended period of time impacting marine life.
Such heat waves are caused by an increase in the heat content of oceans, especially in the upper

What causes marine heat waves?

The most common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents which can build up areas of warm water and air-sea heat flux, or warming through the ocean surface from the atmosphere. Winds can enhance or suppress the warming in a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can change the likelihood of events occurring in certain regions.

Worldwide, they are one of the major results of human-induced global warming.

During an MHW, the average temperatures of the ocean surface (up to a depth of 300 feet) goes 5-7 degrees Celsius above normal.

Climate change and Marine Heat Wave:

Human-induced global warming and higher ocean heat content lead to more abundant, extensive and longer-lasting MHW. This has a huge impact on ocean ecosystems and marine life.

Impact of Marine Heat Waves:

The prolonged MHW in the northeast Pacific and Gulf of Alaska from 2014 and 2016, known as ‘the blob’ saw seabird die-offs, declines in forage fish populations, and the appearance of subtropical marine taxa (ocean sunfish, skipjack tuna) in the northern Gulf of Alaska.
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres, a dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between the summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Scientists estimated that the total mortality was around 1 million birds.
Ocean warming also has an effect on tropical cyclones and associated changing ocean surface currents can indirectly affect pathways of storms. In August 2017, the Gulf of Mexico became the warmest on record to that point in the summertime.
The Gulf of Mexico ocean heat loss during Harvey matched the latent heat released by Harvey rainfall and thereby fuelled the storm, said a May 9, 2018 study published in Earth’s Future. Ocean heat content was the highest on record just before the northern summer of 2017, supercharging Atlantic hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.