Encroachment of Phalguni riverbed has almost doubled in 9 months
The Hindu
The Hindu first reported the issue in December 2020
The encroachment of Phalguni (Gurupura) riverbed at Bangrakulur to the west of Kulur bridge has expanded from about two acres in December 2020 to over four acres as the Dakshina Kannada district administration and the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) are yet to act on violation of all norms related to environment protection and maintenance of public places.
The Hindu had on December 16, 2020 of the riverbed with people dumping building debris and plastic waste. Following a local resident raising a fresh alarm, The Hindu visited the spot on September 16 to take a look at the alleged encroachment.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.