What is a Tropical Cyclone ? How does it originate ? What is the difference between Tropical Cyclone and a temperate cyclone? Remedial measures.

 Why is it in the news?

1.Cyclone Remal killed 16 people, snapped power links to millions in India and Bangladesh. Strong gales and heavy rain brought by the cyclone Remal lashed the coastline of India and Bangladesh on Monday 27/05/2024, killing 16 people and cutting electricity supply to millions of people in both the countries. The cyclone is blowing at the speed of 135 km/hr and crossed the area around the southern port of Mongla in Bangladesh and adjoining Sagar island in West Bengal, making landfall on Sunday at about 9 pm. 

2.Rain flooded roads in the capital Dhaka, flooded the coastal areas in the Sunderbans. The storm has been blowing since last night. Around 1 million people (8 lakh in Bangladesh and around 2 lakh in India)  were shifted to shelter places.

3.The storm is expected to move Northeast and gradually weaken further into a deep depression by afternoon, bringing more rain to states in the north east region. 

4.At least 15000 houses were damaged in West Bengal. NDRF teams have been deployed in various parts of various districts of WB and rescue operations are underway. Both the central and state governments are taking necessary actions to save the lives of people by sending them into shelter places. 

Introduction

1.Tropical cyclones are characterised by destructive winds, storm surges and exceptional levels of rainfall leading to flooding in coastal areas. Winds go up to 200 km/hour. Rainfall takes place 50 cm per day for several  consecutive days. Strong winds blow anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere while in the southern hemisphere, the wind blows in the clockwise direction. The damages on account of tropical cyclones are not only limited to coastal areas but they also spread to the interior areas. 

2.India is one of the worst cyclone affected areas of the world. About 8% of the total land area is vulnerable to tropical cyclones. On an average 5-6 tropical cyclones are formed in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea every year. However the eastern coast of India is more prone to tropical cyclones and around 80% of the total tropical cyclones strike the eastern coast of India. 

3.There are two important periods for the occurrence of tropical cyclones- May to June and the second period is between September to December. 

4.Principle dangers from the cyclones are strong winds, torrential rain and high tidal waves called storm surges. 

Kinds of cyclone 

1.Three types of cyclones are- one is tropical cyclone, second is severe cyclone and third is super cyclone. When the storm of a cyclone blows at a speed of less than 74 miles/hr it is called a tropical cyclone. When it gets intense and the speed is between 75 to 120 miles/hr then it is called a severe cyclone. When the speed increases for more than 120 miles/hr then it becomes a super cyclone. 

4. How do the cyclones originate? 

Cyclone is a general term used by meteorologists to describe any rotating, organised cloud that originates over water. 

3.Tropical cyclones are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move over the coastal areas bringing about large scale destruction caused by violent winds, very heavy rainfall and storm surges that are tidal waves causing floods in the coastal areas. They are known as cyclones in the Indian ocean, Hurricanes in the Atlantic and NorthEast Pacific, Typhoons in the South China sea and Western Pacific and Willy Willies in the Western Australia. Cyclones are usually clockwise and hurricanes are counter clockwise. 

4.When the atmospheric pressure is low over a large water body that is still and the temperature of the water is more than 27 degree C. They form into a cyclone. The density of air in our atmosphere differs from one place to another place. They are not the same everywhere. When there is low atmospheric pressure on a large water body on the earth surface, they turn into cyclones. This process of thin air circulating, strengthening and developing into cyclonic  formation is  called cyclogenesis. When the atmospheric pressure is low and the warm air rises to fill the gaps and cold air goes down as they have moisture in it. The warm air becomes more warm and it rises rapidly. Thus, creating more gaps so the surrounding air rushes in to fill the place. This filling air travels at greater speed and from longer distances. When they reach the area, instead of filling the gap they start circulating thus creating a spiral. After that any air travelling to fill the gap has to join the spiral because the air cannot pass through the spiral directly. Usually tropical cyclones range from 100 kms to 2000 kms in diameter. When a large amount of air is rushing to fill the gap, they form huge cyclones and the spiral structures become larger and larger, penetrating the clouds and thus creating thunderstorms. The tropical cyclones can grow up to the height of 10 kms and they last three to seven days depending upon the speed of the storm, how far it is from the land and how big it is. Cyclones usually fade away or die when they cross the land area. There is a misconception that buildings and other interruptions on the land surfaces act as a barrier and stop the cyclone. But that is not true. When the cyclonic storm crosses the land surface, the main source of the cyclone, that is the warm water, is taken away. Cyclones work with moist warm air. So when it crosses a cold water surface or land surface., they die.  

Composition of the cyclone 

1.Tropical cyclone is composed of an eye which is a region of calm with subsiding air. Around the eye is the eyewall where there is a strong spiralling assent  of air to greater height reaching the tropopause. The wind reaches maximum velocity in this region, torrential rain occurs here. Along the eyewall, rain bends radiate and trans of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds may drift into the outer region. The diameter of the storm over the Bay of Bengal, Arabian in the Indian ocean is between 600-1200 kms. The cyclones create storm surges and they inundate the coastal lowlands. 

Difference between tropical cyclone and temperate cyclone

1.Tropical cyclones are formed between 5 degree latitude to 30 degree latitude in the north and south of the latitude. . Cyclones formed around 20 degree latitude on either side of the hemisphere are very severe. 

2. Temperate cyclones are formed between 30 degree to 60 degree north and south of the latitude. 

3.The temperate (extra tropicals) cyclones have a clear frontal system which is not present in the tropical cyclones. 

4.temperate cyclone covers a larger area and can originate over a land and a sea. Whereas the tropical cyclones originate only over the warm seas and on reaching land, they peter out. 

5.The temperate cyclones affect a much larger area as compared to tropical cyclones. 

6.The wind velocity in a tropical cyclone is much higher and it is more destructive than a temperate cyclone. 

7.The temperate cyclones move from west to east but tropical cyclones move from east to west. 

Remedial measures

1.Construction of cyclones shelters.

2.Engineered structures instead of thatched houses.

3.Flood management.

4.Evacuation

5.Coastal shelterbelts like by planting strong rooted trees, avoidance of construction of houses near the coastal belts. 

6.Cyclone warning system.

7.Cyclone tracking

8.Cyclone detection radars, satellites. 

Post disaster rehabilitation measures

1.Evacuation

2.search and rescue operations

3.Providing drinking water

4.Provision of food packets

5.Debris clearance.

6.Reopening of roads.

7.Reestablishment of communication networks in remote areas

8.Medical assistance.

9.Provision for temporary fooding and lodging

10.Disaster assessment

11.Reallocation of budget to rehabilitate the affected people so that they can earn livelihood.

Discretionary powers of the Governor of a state

 

Why is it in the news ?

1.Kerala High Court quashed Governor’s nomination to university senate.

2.The four students nominated by the Governor to the university senate were set aside by the Kerala High Court. 

3. Those students who were forwarded from the Kerala University to Rajbhawan were not nominated by the Governor but the Governor instead nominated four students in the senate of Kerala University and they were alleged to be aligned with Sangh Parivar. Students who did not find a nomination from the Governor in spite of the recommendation from the Kerala University, filed a petition in the Kerala High Court. 

4.The court said that no single factor of the nominated students is shown superior to those of the petitioners. The Court directed the Governor to make a fresh nomination to the senate of  the Kerala University within six weeks. 

5.The court observed that there is no unbridled power vested with the Governor while making  the nomination to the university senate in his capacity as the chancellor of the university. If the nomination made is contrary to the requirement of the statute or if the relevant factors were not considered or if irrelevant factors were considered in making the decisions, the nomination will have to be interfered with by the constitutional courts. 

6.The court held that any arbitrary use of power violates not only the rule of equality enshrined in article 14 of the constitution but also the rule of non-discrimination under article 16. 

7.The Court held that even in the exercise of the discretionary power, the requirements of reasonableness, rationality, impartiality, fairness and equity are inherent to such exercise and can never be according to any private opinion. 

What is the discretionary power of the Governor of a state?

1.Ours is a parliamentary form of Government whereby the Governor of a state is the nominal executive while the real power is vested in the council of ministers headed by the chief minister. 

2.Both the President of India and the Governor of a state are the nominal head of the state. By the 42nd amendment act, the President is bound to accept the advice of the council of ministers. But no such provisions have been made with respect to the Governor. 

3. According to article 163 of our constitution, there shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister as the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is required to exercise his functions in his discretion. Thus, unlike the President of India who has been reduced to be the nominal head of the union government, the Governor of a state is vested with discretionary power also. When the Governor  acts at his discretion, he is not bound to accept the advice of his council of ministers. 

4.The Governor has discretionary power in following cases -

• Reservation of a bill for the consideration of the President of India under article 200.

• Recommendation of the imposition of the President’s rule in the state under article 356. 

• When appointed as administrator of an adjoining union territory under article 239 (1).

• Under the Sixth schedule the Governor of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are empowered to settle the dispute between the Government of Assam Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and autonomous tribal district councils with respect to the sharing of the royalties that accrue from the lease of mining rights.

• The decision taken by the Governor with regard to the amount payable to the district council is final and the court cannot interfere with. 

Situational discretion 

1.When no party gets a clear cut majority in the general election of the state assembly, the Governor can appoint a leader as the chief minister who is likely to prove his majority on the floor of the House.  

2.When the chief minister suddenly dies and the party in power is not in the position to elect a leader as the successor, the Governor can appoint a leader as the chief minister.

3.When the council of ministers has lost the majority in the state assembly, the Governor is empowered to dismiss the chief minister and the council of ministers. 

4.The governor can dissolve a state assembly when the council of ministers has lost its majority on the floor of the House and no other party is in the position to form the alternate government. 

Constitutional discretionary power

1.The Governor has certain special responsibilities to discharge according to the directives issued by the President of India under article 371 (A) to (J). These are : 

• Establishment of separate development boards for Vidarbha and Marathwada. 

•  Establishment of separate development boards for Saurashtra and Kutch.

• With respect to law and order in the state of Nagaland.

• With respect to the administration of the tribal areas of Assam.

• With regard to the administration of hill areas of Manipur State.

• Social and economic advancement of the different sections of the population of Sikkim. 

• Law and order of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Establishment of separate development boards for Hyderabad and Karnataka region.  

Misuse of discretionary power 

1.In 1967, the West Bengal Governor Dharmaveer dismissed the chief minister Ajay Mukherjee on the plea that Ajay Mukherjee did not convene the legislative assembly at an early date. 

2.The U.P. Governor B. Gopala Reddy dismissed the chief minister Charan Singh in 1970 even though the chief minister was ready to convene the session of assembly to prove majority. 

3.The Governor of Haryana B.N. Chakravarty allowed the chief minister Rao Birendra Singh and Bansilal to continue for a long time without proving majority in the House. 

4.Andhra Pradesh Governor Ram Lal dismissed the chief minister N.T. Ramarao even though the chief minister was prepared to prove his majority in the House. 

5.Recently, Tamil Nadu Governor Mr. Ravi reserved the NEET bill for the consideration of the President of India because he was completely against the exemption of Tamil Nadu students from national eligibility cum entrance test. 

6.More than 100 times, the President’s rules were imposed upon states for one reason or another. After the installation of Janata Party government at the centre in 1977, nine Congress ruled states were put under President’s rule. Assemblies were dissolved and elections were held on the ground that Congress had lost the mandates of the people. Similarly, in 1980, when the Congress came back to power at the centre, President’s rule was imposed upon Janata Party Governments in nine states and assemblies were dissolved. Fresh elections in those states were ordered.  In 1993, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, the BJP ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh were imposed under the President’s rule. Thus, we see that the discretionary power of the Governor has been misused several times on the dictates of the union government.

The real position of the Governor 

1.The constitution vests enormous power with the Governor of a state but in actual practice these powers are to be exercised by him only on the advice of the council of ministers. In addition he has been bestowed with discretionary powers in certain situations but these discretionary powers are subject to the judicial review by the Supreme Court and the High Courts. By different judgements, the Supreme Court and the High Courts curtailed the discretionary powers of the Governor. For example, in S.R. Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court held that the test of majority would be done only on the floor of the House. Recently, the Supreme Court ordered the Kerala Governor to give assent to  the pending five bills passed by the state assembly. 

2.To conclude - The Governor is not only the head of the state but he is also the representative of the central government in the state. In order to strengthen the power of the union government, the provision was made to appoint a nominated Governor who continues in his office during the pleasure of the President of India. So, in the case of a Governor, there is no fixed tenure. He has to act on the dictates of the union government.  His position has been modelled like the Canadian Governor of a state.

Can same sex marriage be legalised in India?

 

Why is it in the news?

1. A supreme court bench led by chief justice DY Chandrachud issued notices to the centre and the attorney general of India seeking their response to two petition filed to allow solemnization of same sex marriage under the special marriage act,1954

2. One of the petitions argued that recognition of same sex marriage was only a sequel of Navtej Singh Johar judgement of 2018 decriminalising homosexuality and the Puttuswami judgement 2017 affirming the right to privacy as fundamental rights

3. The petition also argued that SMA was ultrawires to the constitution because it discriminate between same sex marriage and opposite sex marriage 

4. The petition states that the act denies same sex couples both legal rights and social recognition because only after the marriage becomes legal, couples can be guaranteed right of wages, gratuity, adoption, surrogacy, succession, inheritance and taxation.

5. The petitioners emphasised that SMA ought to apply to a marriage between any two persons regardless of their gender identity and their sexual orientation. So, the petitioners wanted to make 1954 SMA act gender neutral

6. So, SC transferred the various pending cases from various HCs to itself.

What is the government stand

1. However, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said that as per the law marriage was permissible between a biological man and a biological woman

2. The acceptance of the institution of the marriage between two individual of the same gender is neither recognised nor accepted in any uncodified personal law or any codified statutory laws

What is the status of same sex marriages in other countries

1. A total of 32 countries around the world have legalised same sex marriages. 

2. In US, the SC pronounced same sex marriage legal in 2015. Now, senate has also sanctioned same sex marriage legal

3. In 34 countries, definition of marriage has been fixed in their constitution that prevent marriage between couples of the same sex

Public opinion in India

1. According to a 2015 poll, 29% of Indian supported same sex marriages 

2. According to 2019 poll by Mood of the Nation, 24% of Indian agrees with the same sex marriages while 62% disagrees 

Marriage is the bedrock of family in India

1. In India, Hindu marriage is a matter of religious duties. It is a sacrament. 

2. Marriage is not a social contract 

3. Marriage leads to a good conjugal life with the purpose to procreate children and a duty towards the society

4. Among Hindus marriage is a union of two persons of different sexes to reciprocate their passion for sexual urge and aims at biological, emotional, social and spritual fulfilment

5. The marriage in Hindu must satisfy two conditions -  gotra exogamy and sapinda exogamy even Hindu marriage act of 1955 bars marriages within 5 generation on the paternal side and three generation on the mother side but it permits marriage of cross cousin which is customary particularly in South India

6. The aim of Hindu marriage is to procreate children, to fulfil religious duties and enjoyment of sex

7. Among Muslims, marriage is a contract and its object is to promote normal family life 

8. Islam discourages celibacy 

9. Among Muslims marriage can be solemnised only after the proposal (Iajab) forwarded by bridegroom to bride and acceptance of the proposal (Qubul) by bride 

10. Muslim marriage is based upon the doctrine of equality 

11. Preference is given to parallel cousins and cross cousins 

Conclusion

1. Although there are several countries which have legalised same sex marriage yet in our country where institution of marriage is rooted in our cultural ethos, any legalisation of same sex marriage would jeopardise the institution of marriage 

2. Same sex marriage may lead to disease particularly HIV 

3. India is still a developing country. It must not emulate advanced countries of the world. It must evolve in its own way.

How effective is a police tracking dog ?

 

1. Tracking dog is used for detection of crime which is committed by unknown person

2. Explosive and mine identification 

3. Detection of human waste materials

4. Search and rescue missions 

5. Locating drugs

6. Finding dead body

7. Distinguishing between different forms of narcotics 

8. To disperse crowd in Australia 

Success rate of dog squad 

1. Age

2. Sex (male dogs are more effective in determining a trail than a female dogs)

3. The personality of dog

4. Its repo with dig handler

5. After the incident, the dog squad should be pressed into service as soon as possible. Delay will reduced success rate

6. If after the incident, it rained in and around the scene of crime then dog squad become not so effective in tracking  the culprit

7. If a big river or rivulet come in between the tracking route, dog squad fails to track further and fails to achieve the target

How does the dog track?

1. It is believed that the feet secrete more scent from an individual. These scent spread into air and also on ground 

2. The footprint left by suspect on vegetation, mud, soil get scent left by the suspect

3. The tracks scent often a mixture of both the air scent and the ground scent being left by the suspect

4. Dogs are able to determine a track scent by identifying the a combination of human odour and environmental odours released by an individual

What are popular police dog breeds?

1. German shepherd

2. Bloodhounds 

3. Belgian malinois 

4. Labrador

5. Doberman

6. Beagle

Training

1. Dog handler has to undergo required police training for 1 to 2 years and thereafter he is trained for dog handling

2. A dog is trained for more than 1 year

3. A dog must pass basic obedience training course before he can be consider for police department

4. After experience and achievement police dog is also ranked

Evidentiary value of dog tracking 

1. Dog tracking of a criminal is relevant fact under section 8 of evidence act

2.  But it is weak evidence and to get the culprit punished, there must be supportive evidence to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt

Conclusion

1. It has been found that tracking by dog has success rate of more than 70% provided that it should be used immediately after the incident.