Geography CA (March, April, May) UPSC 2020 Set – 1

Table of Contents

Topics to discuss

Which of the statement is correct regarding the BOBBLE?

Its objective is to examine the impact of various features such as ocean temperature, salinity and currents in Bay of Bengal
It is funded by Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Natural Environment Research Council of UK

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

BOBBLE

Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment (BOBBLE) is a project funded by Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Natural Environment Research Council of UK

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The objective of BOBBLE is to examine the impact of various features such as ocean temperature, salinity and currents in Bay of Bengal during the
BOBBLE tries to determine, quantify and model ocean-atmosphere interactions that drive variability in the South Asian monsoon.
The team carried out studies of oceanographic properties with on board
RV Sindhu Sadhana in the southern Bay of Bengal

RV Sindhu Sadhana

In 2012, a new multi-disciplinary oceanographic research vessel Sindhu Sadhana was acquired by CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO).
It will have capabilities to undertake basin scale observations and will enable Indian oceanographers to take up studies not only in the seas around India, but also in any part of the Indian Ocean.
It is aimed to serve as a stable platform allowing operation of sensible equipment and underway data acquisition.
Another research vessel of NIO is “Sindhu Sankalp”

CSIR-NIO

The National Institute of Oceanography, founded in 1966 as one of 37 constituent laboratories of the CSIR.
Headquartered in Goa, it has regional centers in Kochi, Mumbai and Vizag.
It is an autonomous research organization in India to undertake scientific research and studies of special oceanographic features of the Northern Indian Ocean

Need of BOBBLE

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) plays a fundamental role in controlling the weather systems that make up the South Asian summer monsoon system.
In particular, the southern BoB has cooler sea surface temperatures (SST) that influence ocean-atmosphere interaction and impact the monsoon.
To examine the impact of these features on the monsoon, the BoB Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE) was undertaken.

Q) Which of the statement is correct regarding the Styrene gas?

Styrene is an inorganic compound used in the manufacture of polymers.
Styrene is classified as a ‘hazardous and toxic chemical’ according to India’s Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Gas Leak at VIZAG

Styrene gas leaked from Vishakhapatnam based LG Polymers India Pvt Factory causing multiple deaths.

Styrene

Styrene is an organic compound used in the manufacture of polymers/plastic/resins.
It is manufactured in petrochemical refineries. It is a likely carcinogenic substance
It is actually a colourless liquid, and not a gas.
It can react with oxygen in the air to mutate into styrene dioxide which is more lethal.
According to India’s Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989, styrene is classified as a ‘hazardous and toxic chemical’
Styrene exists as a single molecule, but is unstable and has a high propensity for autopolymerisation
It means styrene tries to combine with itself to make long chains, especially at temperatures over 65°C.
This process is exothermic and can become uncontrollable.
For these reasons, styrene is always stored at relatively low temperatures (between 15°C and 20°C).

Impact of Styrene Gas

Acute (short-term) exposure to styrene in humans results in mucous membrane and eye irritation and gastrointestinal effects.
Chronic (long-term) exposure results in impacts on the central nervous system (CNS), leading to headaches, fatigue.
If the amount of styrene goes beyond 800 ppm, then the person exposed to it can go into a coma.

Principle of Strict Liability and Principle of Absolute liability

Context: NGT has invoked the principle of Strict Liability to impose a fine on the LG Polymers India for Vizag Gas leak which was being termed to be in contravention of the principle of Absolute Liability.
NGT later held that LG Polymers India has absolute liability for the loss of life caused by a gas leak at its factory in Visakhapatnam.
Doctrine of Absolute Liability: The concept was evolved in India after the case of M.C Mehta vs Union of India (1986), famously known as Oleum Gas Leak case.
According to the doctrine of absolute liability as defined by the Supreme Court, the enterprise owes an absolute and non-delegable duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to anyone on account of hazardous or inherently dangerous nature of the activity which it has
The rule of strict liability: Till the MC Mehta case, India also followed the concept of ‘strict liability’.
Under the “strict liability principle”, a party is not liable and need not pay compensation if a hazardous substance escapes his premises by accident or by an “act of God’” among other circumstances.

Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi Road tunnel

The government has cleared the construction of a ₹658 crore two-lane tunnel road in the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi corridor that would run parallel to the landslip-prone Thamarassery pass that links Kozhikode to

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The proposed tunnel road will be third longest in the country.
The longest tunnel road is Chenani-Nashri tunnel road (9.2 km long) on National Highway 44
Second longest tunnel road is Banihal-Qazigund tunnel (8.5 km long) in the PirPanjal range.
Kerala’s longest road tunnel is at Kuthiran between Thrissur and Palakkad at 962
The Konkan Railway Corporation will execute the project on a turnkey basis