Practice Government Exam Questions: Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

20 February 2017

The Nitish Kumar government has held the Farakka barrage in West Bengal responsible for heavy floods in Bihar and asked the Centre to decommission it to de-silt the heavily loaded upstream of the Ganga river.
The State has made the recommendation, observing that the dam is the “genesis of severe” flood consequences and responsible for “alarming” silt increase in the river’s upstream.
The Nitish dispensation has made the demand before an experts’ committee formed by the Centre to work out guidelines for de-silting the nGanga following last year’s devastating floods.
The Farakka barrage was constructed in the early 60s with the main purpose of helping flush out sediment deposition from the Kolkata Port, besides addressing drinking water requirement in West Bengal.
Such a move, the State has said, will further help in restoration of deltas and its eco-system which is also getting adversely affected due to this barrage.
To buttress its point, the State government has referred to Kolkata Port Trust’s data, which suggests that silt dredging at the port has increased from 6.40 million cubic metres annually from pre-Farakka days to four times.

Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang resigned against the backdrop of widespread protests in the State against the government decision to reserve 33 per cent of the seats in urban local bodies for women.
Neiphiu Rio, former Chief Minister and the only MP from the State, appears to be a front-runner for the Chief Minister’s post.
A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said Mr. Zeliang was stepping down and a consensus leader would be chosen on Monday morning at the Naga People’s Front (NPF) Legislature Party meeting.

Around 3,50,000 children are trapped in western Mosul, Save the Children warned as Iraqi forces launched a fresh offensive on jihadists defending the strategic city.
Iraqi forces and their allies, including the U.S. and U.K., must do everything in their power to protect children and their families from harm, and avoid civilian buildings like schools and hospitals as they push deeper into the city.
Escape is not an option for most families, who risk summary execution by fighters from the Islamic State but they are also running out of food, water and medicine.