Panama Canal: Troubled waters
The 82-km-long strategic waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans is in the spotlight after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to retake its control
Emboldened by his victory in the U.S. presidential polls, Donald Trump has drummed up his rhetoric of belligerence by announcing plans to annex Canada and Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal. While the U.S. has not historically shied away from coveting the two northern territories, threatening to renege on a deal that ceded Washington’s control of the canal to Panama has been strictly the brainchild of the President-elect.
Panama Canal is an 82-km-long strategic waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It helps ships do away with the need to go around the South American tip of Cape Horn, saving 13,000 km and days of journey. Consequently, the canal facilitates the passage of over 14,000 ships a year.
Ken-Betwa project: Bringing rivers closer
The massive river link project, envisaged in 1995, has finally kicked off, with hopes that it will provide drinking water to millions and concerns over environmental damage
On December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho to lay the foundation stone for various development projects. Among them was the ambitious Ken-Betwa river linking project that plans to transfer excess water from the Ken river basin to the Betwa river basin in the Bundelkhand region that covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
As the Prime Minister flagged off work on the project, the Congress and a section of environmentalists raised concerns regarding its potential impact on environment, local ecology and wildlife as a large part of the project falls inside the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh.