Research findings need to be translated for better reach: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
Nagpur: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said research findings in English should be translated into various Indian languages to increase their reach, and the government should work towards it. Naidu was speaking at an international symposium organised by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Maharashtra's Nagpur city.
Addressing scientists at the event, the vice president said there was a need to translate science and research findings into Indian languages.
"People will not be able to understand your research, if it is only confined to English. In India, we have more than 760 languages and people will appreciate it better if it is told to them in their own language," he said.
Naidu said that is why wherever he goes, he tells people to know, promote and propagate their mother language. "There is nothing wrong in knowing English, but before going to English, you should learn your mother tongue.
"Mother tongue is like your 'eyesight' other languages are your spectacles. This applies to all nations, everybody should feel proud of their mother tongue," Naidu said.
He further said it is not possible for everyone to learn every language.
Hence, it is the government's duty to see that all the research findings, teachings and preachings are translated into various Indian languages, he said. Naidu also raised concern over the air and water pollution in cities.
"We cannot think of building a safe, secure, healthy and prosperous future when our cities, the engines of growth, are choking in noxious fumes, and when our water and soil are polluted," he said.
The Air Quality Index reports in most of the major cities frequently register the air quality as 'poor' or 'severe', he noted. Quoting the Centre for Science and Environment's State of India's Environment (SoE) Report, 2019, the vice president said air pollution is responsible for 12.5 per cent of all deaths in India.
"The numbers are, indeed, alarming and a cause for great concern," he said.
Naidu informed that the government has started the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), a time-bound strategy to tackle rising air pollution. The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan, starting this year. The programme's main aim is 20 to 30 per cent reduction of particulate matter concentration in the air by 2024, he said.
The World Economic Forum has found that the cost of environmental degradation in India is estimated to be Rs 3.75 trillion a year, he said.
The ultimate aim of all innovation and scientific breakthroughs must be towards betterment of human lives, alleviation of suffering and promotion of stability, peace and harmony, Naidu told the scientists.
"Let us love and live with nature," he added.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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