The controversy around the Jagannath temple Heritage Corridor Project

(GS-I: Salient features of art form, literature, architecture)

In News:

The ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI) on May 17 said that a sculpture of a lion, which possibly dates back to the Ganga dynasty, was found during excavation for the controversial heritage corridor project around the 12thcentury Jagannath Temple in Puri,Odisha.

Details:

This is the third such lion sculpture found during the excavation work.

It was constructed in the 12th century by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty.

Jagannath Puri temple is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama’, the god of death has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath.

It was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).

There are four gates to the temple

• Eastern ‘Singhadwara’(main gate with two crouching lions)
• Southern ‘Ashwadwara
• Western ‘Vyaghra Dwara
• Northern ‘Hastidwara’.

There is a carving of each form at each gate.

In front of the entrance stands the Aruna stambha or sun pillar, which was originally at the Sun Temple in Konark.

Jagannath temple Heritage Corridor Project:

The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the Jagannath temple for visitors and tourists.

The project will include:

• Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) building redevelopment
• a 600-capacity Srimandir reception center
• Jagannath cultural center
• Badadanda heritage streetscape
• beachfront development
• Puri lake
• Musa river revival plan, etc.

Launch of 150 e-buses triggers battle for credit

(GS-III: Government policies and interventions, Environmental pollution and degradation)

In News:

Delhi Chief Minister flags off 150 electric buses.

Electric Vehicles (EVs):

An EV operates on an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine and has a battery instead of a fuel tank.

EVs have low running costs as they have fewer moving parts and are also environmentally friendly.

In India, the fuel cost for an EV is approximately 80 paisa per kilometer. Contrast this with the cost of petrol which is today more than Rs 100 per litre in Indian cities, or Rs 7-8 per kilometer to operate a petrol-based vehicle.

FAME India Scheme:

It is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.

The Department of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises is the monitoring authority.

It encourages electric vehicles by providing subsidies.

The FAME India Scheme is aimed at incentivizing all vehicle

Two phases of the scheme:

Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on 31st March, 2019

Phase II: started from April, 2019, was supposed to be completed by 31st March, 2022. The government has extended the FAME II scheme for 2 years. Now, this scheme will be applicable till 31st March 2024.

It covers Hybrid & Electric technologies like Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, Plug in Hybrid & Battery Electric Vehicles.

It has four focus Areas:

• Technology development
• Demand Creation
• Pilot Projects
• Charging Infrastructure

Prime Minister of India is set to visit Chennai On May 26

(GS-III: Infrastructure(energy, ports, roads, airports, railways etc))

In News:

The PM is set to lay the foundation stone for include the Rs 1,400 crore multi-modal logistics park in Chennai, the Rs 5,850 crore 21-km four-lane double-decker elevated road connecting Chennai Port to Maduravoyal (NH-4), and the Rs 14,870 crore Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway project.

Details:

The Prime Minister would dedicate to the nation four railway projects implemented at a cost of over ₹2,900crore.

They are:

75 km long Madurai Theni (Railway Gauge Conversion Project)

30km long third railway line between Tambaram-Chengalpattu

115km long Ennore-Chengalpattu section

271km long Tiruvallur-Bengaluru section of a natural gas pipeline

Indian Railways:

It is the world’s fourth largest rail network in the world. Railways in India

The Indian railways employ more than 1.3 million people.

It transports more than 90% of the coal that provides 50% of the country’s power requirement.

100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways infrastructure sector.

As per data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, for railways and associated sectors, the FDI inflows stood at $1.23 billion (April 2000 – March 2021).

Government initiatives:

Rising passenger & freight traffic

Increasing urbanization, rising incomes (both rural and urban), growing industrialization across the country along with private sector participation

Increasing freight traffic

Growing industrialization across the country

Dedicated freight corridor(Six high-capacity, high-speed dedicated freight corridors)

Diamond Quadrilateral network of high-speed rail

Connecting major metros and growth centers of the country

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC):

It is a high speed and high capacity railway corridor that is exclusively meant for the transportation of freight, or in other words, goods and commodities.

It involves integration of better infrastructure and state of the art technology.

It consists of two arms:

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC):

Starts at Sahnewal (Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal.

The EDFC route has coal mines, thermal power plants and industrial cities.

The EDFC route covers Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal

It is being funded majorly by the World Bank.

The 351-km-long ‘New Bhaupur-New Khurja section’ will decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and double the speed of freight trains from 25 kmph to 75 kmph.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC):

It is around 1,500-km WDFC from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai, touching all major ports along the way.

It covers Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

It is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Connecting Link for Eastern and Western Arm: It is under construction between Dadri and Khurja.

MultiModal Logistics Parks (MMLPs):

The development of MMLPs at strategic locations is envisaged as a key policy measure to rationalize cost of logistics in India and improve its competitiveness.

MMLPs serve five key functions:

• Freight aggregation and distribution
• Multimodal freight transport, integrated storage and warehousing
• Information technology support
• Value-added services.