Tripura CM says oxygen levels will ‘automatically’ rise in water bodies if ducks swim in them
Agartala : Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said he wants to distribute ducks among villagers in the state because he believes they will boost the rural economy. But the chief minister also claims ducks provide additional benefits: he says they recycle water, and their swimming increases oxygen levels in water bodies.
Deb was addressing an inaugural event of a traditional boat race at Rudrasagar, an artificial lake around water palace Neermahal, when he made the statement. The chief minister told the audience that he planned to distribute 50,000 ducklings to fishermen who lived near the lake. The chief minister said that white ducklings would also be distributed to villagers across Tripura, especially at tourist destinations near waterbodies, to enhance natural beauty and boost the rural economy. Then, Deb explained why it was beneficial to have ducks.
“When ducks swim in water, oxygen level automatically increases in the waterbody. It (oxygen) gets recycled. Fish in the water will get more oxygen. They also benefit from the bird droppings. Thus, pisciculture will benefit and fishes will grow faster, that too in a completely organic way”, Deb said.
Mihir Lal Roy of the Tripura Juktibad Vikas Mancha, said the chief minister’s comments on oxygen levels rising due to ducks swimming was “loose talk” and didn’t have any scientific basis. The Tripura Juktibad Vikas Mancha is an organization that works for the propagation of scientific thought, and has been operational in the state since 2010.
Roy said integrated animal rearing is good and helps boost production. However, Deb’s theories on oxygen levels in water bodies was baseless, he said.
“I am not sure why he has made these comments. We expect sound knowledge from a chief minister. It is true that waterbodies get aerated if there is movement in the water. But there is no scientific evidence that swimming ducks can do the job”, Roy said.
Tripura Pradesh Congress Tapas Dey criticized the chief minister’s comments and said a serious policy suggestion, which involves livelihood of thousands of people, should be made on the basis of sound and proper scientific evidence.
CPM state secretary Bijan Dhar declined to comment on the issue. “I am not aware how few ducks will release oxygen in a large lake like Rudrasagar. I shall not comment on it,” he said.
Deb also claimed previous CPM government damaged village culture
In his speech, the Tripura chief minister said he wants every family to rear four to five ducks. Rearing ducks will help meet all the protein and vitamin requirements of children in the family, he said.
Deb claimed the rearing of ducks and poultry was a part of the old village culture, which was damaged during the 25 years of CPM-led Left Front rule. He defended his comments saying the CPM leaders would forced people to attend their rallies, which were held frequently.
The CM also told landless villagers not to worry about not having land for duck rearing.
“You don’t need to have land for rearing ducks. The government will distribute white ducklings to you. Rear them in Rudrasagar. It will be a great attraction to see thousands of white ducks swimming in the lake”, he said.
Earlier this year, Deb made a series of gaffes. The Tripura chief minister claimed that ancient Indians had access to the internet and artificial satellites in the age of the Mahabharata. He claimed Gautam Buddha walked over the sea to Japan and former Miss World Diana Hayden was unworthy of being a beauty pageant winner.
courtesy : indianexpress.com
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Everyone should have faith in Shubman, he will win games at World T20: Abhishek
Dharamsala (PTI): Having played alongside Shubman Gill since the age of 12, Abhishek Sharma knows that it is just a matter of time before his currently off-colour best buddy starts winning T20I matches for India, including games in the upcoming T20 World Cup next year.
Gill's selection in the Indian T20I playing eleven has been questioned after a settled Sanju Samson was benched. The vice-captain in the format has managed only 291 runs in 15 innings at a strike-rate of 137.3.
He struck only four sixes in those games and on Sunday against South Africa in the third T20I here, Gill scored a painstaking run-a-ball 28, which didn't matter much since Abhishek (35 off 18 balls) had given the team a rousing start in a chase of a paltry target of 118.
"I'll tell you one thing straight away, that trust me, these two guys are going to win matches in World Cup (in February-March) and in this series as well," Abhishek replied when asked about Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav's poor run of form in the ongoing five-match series which India leads 2-1 right now.
When it came to Gill, his closest friend of more than a decade, Abhishek was predictably protective.
"Because I've been playing with them since so long, especially with Shubman, so I know which match he can win, which conditions, irrespective of the team, whoever it is," he said.
"So I have a lot of faith in him from the beginning, and I hope everyone will see him very soon and everyone will have faith in him," added the world's No.1 T20 batter.
Once Abhishek got out at a team score of 60, India needed more than 10 overs to score the remaining runs with both Gill and Surya not able to bat freely.
"There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers, and as I was batting, I knew that if I gave a good start here, the match could get over in the Powerplay, and that's what happened.
"...that was the plan for the rest of the batters, that they would just knock out or finish the match, so it was a very simple plan after that," Abhishek explained the rationale behind taking it easy after a blistering start.
Abhishek said he had to keep in mind that in cold December evenings in this part of the country, the pacers would get movement both in the air and off the surface.
"Conditions of course, I mean, as a batter you have to keep those things in mind that the ball is swinging a bit or it's seaming a bit, so I tried to play a few shots which is suitable for those wickets and pitches, so that's the plan always."
