NEWS 29-05-2017. NEWS FOR 30-MAY (TUESDAY) 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's longest Dhola-Sadiyariver bridge in Assamon 26 May 2017. This three-lane bridge has been built over river Lohit, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, that links Dhola to Sadiya in Assam. The total length of the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge project, including the approach roads on each side, is 28.50 km. The length of the bridge itself is 9.15 Km. It will ensure 24X7 connectivity between upper Assam and Eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge will reduce the distance from Rupai on NH- 37 in Assam to Meka/Roing on NH-52 in Arunachal Pradesh by 165 KM. 2. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on 23 May 2017 came up with new regulations that ban the sale of all kinds of cattle for slaughter across India. The rules were issued under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It requires anyone purchasing cattle to provide an undertaking that the animals are bought for agricultural purposes and not slaughter. The definition of cattle includes bulls, bullocks, cows, buffalos, calves, camels. etc. The new rules will be implemented in the next three months. 3. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General said that India has shown a strong commitment to multilateralism through its engagement in peacekeeping. He made this statement at a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on International Day of UN Peacekeepers on 24 May 2017. India is the second-largest troop contributor to peacekeeping missions. Currently, India has deployed over 7600 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations. These personnel are deployed in different countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara. 4. India’s first underwater rail tunnel, got completed on 23 May 2017, ahead of the scheduled time. It has been constructed under the Hooghly river for establishing metro link between Howrah and Kolkata. The entire project is 16.6 km long, out of which 10.8 km runs under the ground & 502 metres is under the water. The project connects Howrah to the west and Salt Lake to the east. The total project cost is around Rs 5000 crore. The final commissioning of the project is expected by December 2019. 5. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has said that the Indian Army is facing a "dirty war" in Jammu and Kashmir which must be fought through "innovative" ways. He strongly defended the use of a Kashmiri as a 'human shield' by a young officer Maj Gogoi. Gen Rawat said the main objective of awarding COAS commendation to Major Leetul Gogoi was to boost the morale of young officers of the force who are operating in a very difficult environment in the militancy- infested state. He mentioned that proxy war is a dirty war which has to be fought with innovations. Maj Gogoi, who had tied a man to an armyjeep and used him as a human shield from stone throwers last month was criticised byhuman rights activists, Kashmiri groups and by a few retired army generals. < < Back