Reading Comprehension || RC PRACTICE SET - 1 || CAT 2021 || 6 April

Houseboats owe their origin to the British officers and travellers visiting the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the 19th century. Some people maintain that since state law did not allow outsiders to buy land in Kashmir, the visiting Britishers built these floating homes.

In his research, scholar Abrar Maqbool Shah notes that the design of today’s houseboats varies significantly from the ones developed in the 19th century. “Initially, it used to be in the form of a doonga (mini houseboat), much narrow and short in length than the present-day houseboats,” writes Shah in his paper “A Case Study of Houseboat Tourism Industry in Kashmir”. “The doongas were large wooden boats with a roofed room and a kitchen but without any toilet facilities.”

Over time, the shaky structures began to be transformed into sophisticated boarding facilities for travellers with all modern facilities. “Since the concept was creative and useful, it got an overwhelming response through a massive imitation thereby promoting a huge growth and finally evolving into an industry of today…” Shah notes.

Houseboats are moored in four river bodies in Srinagar city, said Abdul Hamid Wangnoo, the president of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association. “A houseboat is a first major attraction for a tourist in Kashmir,” he said. “It’s an icon of Kashmir.”

But over the decade, houseboats have struggled to stay viable. In 2010, Wangnoo said, there were around 1,500 houseboats in Kashmir. Now, the number has dwindled to three figures.

In 1982, Jammu and Kashmir government banned the registration of new houseboats in order to control their number. Damaged or old houseboats could be repaired only after following a procedure set by the government.

But in 2012, even the repairs and reconstruction work on damaged houseboats was banned by the Jammu and Kashmir government. “In 2009, Jammu and Kashmir High Court issued directions that no repair or reconstruction work of houseboats should be allowed,” said Dunno, the spokesperson of the association of houseboat owners.

The government’s decision had come in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s monitoring of efforts to conserve various water-bodies in Kashmir. In March 2009, the court had castigated the government failing to prevent the deterioration of rivers and lakes in Kashmir. It took over custody of four lakes, including Dal Lake.

source: https://scroll.in/article/982675/in-kashmir-the-security-lockdown-and-covid-19-have-sunk-the-tourist-sector-and-many-houseboats

Houseboats owe their origin to the British officers and travellers visiting the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the 19th century. Some people maintain that since state law did not allow outsiders to buy land in Kashmir, the visiting Britishers built these floating homes.

In his research, scholar Abrar Maqbool Shah notes that the design of today’s houseboats varies significantly from the ones developed in the 19th century. “Initially, it used to be in the form of a doonga (mini houseboat), much narrow and short in length than the present-day houseboats,” writes Shah in his paper “A Case Study of Houseboat Tourism Industry in Kashmir”. “The doongas were large wooden boats with a roofed room and a kitchen but without any toilet facilities.”

Over time, the shaky structures began to be transformed into sophisticated boarding facilities for travellers with all modern facilities. “Since the concept was creative and useful, it got an overwhelming response through a massive imitation thereby promoting a huge growth and finally evolving into an industry of today…” Shah notes.

Houseboats are moored in four river bodies in Srinagar city, said Abdul Hamid Wangnoo, the president of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association. “A houseboat is a first major attraction for a tourist in Kashmir,” he said. “It’s an icon of Kashmir.”

But over the decade, houseboats have struggled to stay viable. In 2010, Wangnoo said, there were around 1,500 houseboats in Kashmir. Now, the number has dwindled to three figures.

In 1982, Jammu and Kashmir government banned the registration of new houseboats in order to control their number. Damaged or old houseboats could be repaired only after following a procedure set by the government.

But in 2012, even the repairs and reconstruction work on damaged houseboats was banned by the Jammu and Kashmir government. “In 2009, Jammu and Kashmir High Court issued directions that no repair or reconstruction work of houseboats should be allowed,” said Dunno, the spokesperson of the association of houseboat owners.

The government’s decision had come in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s monitoring of efforts to conserve various water-bodies in Kashmir. In March 2009, the court had castigated the government failing to prevent the deterioration of rivers and lakes in Kashmir. It took over custody of four lakes, including Dal Lake.

source: https://scroll.in/article/982675/in-kashmir-the-security-lockdown-and-covid-19-have-sunk-the-tourist-sector-and-many-houseboats

Houseboats owe their origin to the British officers and travellers visiting the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the 19th century. Some people maintain that since state law did not allow outsiders to buy land in Kashmir, the visiting Britishers built these floating homes.

In his research, scholar Abrar Maqbool Shah notes that the design of today’s houseboats varies significantly from the ones developed in the 19th century. “Initially, it used to be in the form of a doonga (mini houseboat), much narrow and short in length than the present-day houseboats,” writes Shah in his paper “A Case Study of Houseboat Tourism Industry in Kashmir”. “The doongas were large wooden boats with a roofed room and a kitchen but without any toilet facilities.”

Over time, the shaky structures began to be transformed into sophisticated boarding facilities for travellers with all modern facilities. “Since the concept was creative and useful, it got an overwhelming response through a massive imitation thereby promoting a huge growth and finally evolving into an industry of today…” Shah notes.

Houseboats are moored in four river bodies in Srinagar city, said Abdul Hamid Wangnoo, the president of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association. “A houseboat is a first major attraction for a tourist in Kashmir,” he said. “It’s an icon of Kashmir.”

But over the decade, houseboats have struggled to stay viable. In 2010, Wangnoo said, there were around 1,500 houseboats in Kashmir. Now, the number has dwindled to three figures.

In 1982, Jammu and Kashmir government banned the registration of new houseboats in order to control their number. Damaged or old houseboats could be repaired only after following a procedure set by the government.

But in 2012, even the repairs and reconstruction work on damaged houseboats was banned by the Jammu and Kashmir government. “In 2009, Jammu and Kashmir High Court issued directions that no repair or reconstruction work of houseboats should be allowed,” said Dunno, the spokesperson of the association of houseboat owners.

The government’s decision had come in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s monitoring of efforts to conserve various water-bodies in Kashmir. In March 2009, the court had castigated the government failing to prevent the deterioration of rivers and lakes in Kashmir. It took over custody of four lakes, including Dal Lake.

source: https://scroll.in/article/982675/in-kashmir-the-security-lockdown-and-covid-19-have-sunk-the-tourist-sector-and-many-houseboats

Water is not just conditional to life, but is also a conduit to the biggest contemporary threat to life — climate change. Whether it is the planet’s changing wind patterns due to warming or the increasing extreme weather events, the climate emergency has disrupted the water cycle. It unfolds before us when we hear about water-related events like floods and droughts.
This is how Indians experienced the impacts of climate change on the water sector last year. Close to 200 districts in the country experienced both flood and drought in the same season.

For a few days, it rained exceptionally high, but for a longer period, these districts endured water scarcity. More rain would have meant better storage for irrigation and drinking water. But it never happened as the rainwater drained off without giving the opportunity to percolate into the ground.
So, despite a more than normal monsoon and an extended winter rainy season, the already water-stressed regions of India continue to suffer acute water scarcity. Like any other impacts of climate emergency, the disruption of water cycle will invariably impact those areas that are already water stressed.

At the global level, some 3.6 billion people across the world live in areas that witness water scarcity for at least a month in a year. By 2050, this number would rise to 5.7 billion. With every 10°C rise in global temperature, 7 percent of the world’s population will experience a 20 percent decline in water resources. Going by IPCC reports, if the world limits warming to 1.5°C, instead of 2°C as agreed in the Paris Agreement, the proportion of people exposed to water stress due to climate change would reduce by 50 per cent.

A simulation has found that climate change will bring about a fundamental change in the country’s most important water supplier: The monsoon. It showed that India’s river basins are going to witness large-scale changes in water availability and made a recommendation for adaptation which involves a complete overhaul of our water infrastructure. Its expanse could be gauged from the fact that millions of our small water harvesting structures need to be retrofitted to endure the extreme weather events.
The strategy to adapt to this crisis needs to protect the worst affected victims — the poor and the marginalised. As they say, “Water is to adaptation what energy is to mitigation”.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/water-climate-emergency-a-fluid-future-69827

Water is not just conditional to life, but is also a conduit to the biggest contemporary threat to life — climate change. Whether it is the planet’s changing wind patterns due to warming or the increasing extreme weather events, the climate emergency has disrupted the water cycle. It unfolds before us when we hear about water-related events like floods and droughts.
This is how Indians experienced the impacts of climate change on the water sector last year. Close to 200 districts in the country experienced both flood and drought in the same season.

For a few days, it rained exceptionally high, but for a longer period, these districts endured water scarcity. More rain would have meant better storage for irrigation and drinking water. But it never happened as the rainwater drained off without giving the opportunity to percolate into the ground.
So, despite a more than normal monsoon and an extended winter rainy season, the already water-stressed regions of India continue to suffer acute water scarcity. Like any other impacts of climate emergency, the disruption of water cycle will invariably impact those areas that are already water stressed.
At the global level, some 3.6 billion people across the world live in areas that witness water scarcity for at least a month in a year. By 2050, this number would rise to 5.7 billion. With every 10°C rise in global temperature, 7 percent of the world’s population will experience a 20 percent decline in water resources. Going by IPCC reports, if the world limits warming to 1.5°C, instead of 2°C as agreed in the Paris Agreement, the proportion of people exposed to water stress due to climate change would reduce by 50 per cent.
A simulation has found that climate change will bring about a fundamental change in the country’s most important water supplier: The monsoon. It showed that India’s river basins are going to witness large-scale changes in water availability and made a recommendation for adaptation which involves a complete overhaul of our water infrastructure. Its expanse could be gauged from the fact that millions of our small water harvesting structures need to be retrofitted to endure the extreme weather events.
The strategy to adapt to this crisis needs to protect the worst affected victims — the poor and the marginalised. As they say, “Water is to adaptation what energy is to mitigation”.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/water-climate-emergency-a-fluid-future-69827

Water is not just conditional to life, but is also a conduit to the biggest contemporary threat to life — climate change. Whether it is the planet’s changing wind patterns due to warming or the increasing extreme weather events, the climate emergency has disrupted the water cycle. It unfolds before us when we hear about water-related events like floods and droughts.
This is how Indians experienced the impacts of climate change on the water sector last year. Close to 200 districts in the country experienced both flood and drought in the same season.

For a few days, it rained exceptionally high, but for a longer period, these districts endured water scarcity. More rain would have meant better storage for irrigation and drinking water. But it never happened as the rainwater drained off without giving the opportunity to percolate into the ground.
So, despite a more than normal monsoon and an extended winter rainy season, the already water-stressed regions of India continue to suffer acute water scarcity. Like any other impacts of climate emergency, the disruption of water cycle will invariably impact those areas that are already water stressed.
At the global level, some 3.6 billion people across the world live in areas that witness water scarcity for at least a month in a year. By 2050, this number would rise to 5.7 billion. With every 10°C rise in global temperature, 7 percent of the world’s population will experience a 20 percent decline in water resources. Going by IPCC reports, if the world limits warming to 1.5°C, instead of 2°C as agreed in the Paris Agreement, the proportion of people exposed to water stress due to climate change would reduce by 50 per cent.
A simulation has found that climate change will bring about a fundamental change in the country’s most important water supplier: The monsoon. It showed that India’s river basins are going to witness large-scale changes in water availability and made a recommendation for adaptation which involves a complete overhaul of our water infrastructure. Its expanse could be gauged from the fact that millions of our small water harvesting structures need to be retrofitted to endure the extreme weather events.
The strategy to adapt to this crisis needs to protect the worst affected victims — the poor and the marginalised. As they say, “Water is to adaptation what energy is to mitigation”.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/water-climate-emergency-a-fluid-future-69827

Nearly 100 million Americans had voted before November 3, the official election day in the US – nearly two-third by mail ballots and the rest in person. In addition to delaying the counting, such ‘early voting might have a significant impact on the election.

In countries where it is allowed, early voting has been effective at relieving congestion at polling stations on election day, something that is especially helpful in this pandemic era.

Early voters cast their ballots without knowledge of events that may occur later in a campaign or just before the election day. Some believe that it is a travesty to let people cast their votes before they are able to listen to the candidates’ debates, be educated by advertisements or review the most recent unemployment data that could reflect poorly on the incumbent. Besides, the spirit of civic cohesiveness inherent in having voters turning out on a single day is damaged by early voting. With two-third votes already cast, the thrill of the Election Day is eventually relegated to the nostalgia bin. Finally, early voting might increase the already skyrocketing cost of political campaigns.

A 2019 article in 'Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy' considered four countries with different types of early voting: days-long advance voting in Canada, week-long advance voting in Finland, on-demand postal voting in Germany, and automatic postal voting in Switzerland. It was observed that early voting is unlikely to mobilise commonly underrepresented population groups, with the exception of the elderly, who are often quite likely to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

But this is not the case everywhere. For example, in a 2020 research paper in Applied Economics, with evidence from Ohio, Ethan Kaplan of the University of Maryland and Haishan Yuan of the University of Queensland found substantial positive impacts of early voting on turnout equal to 0.22 percentage points of additional turnout per additional early voting day. They also found greater impacts on women, Democrats, independents, and those of child-bearing and working age.

Curiously, about 1 in 5 of the early voters of this American election had not voted in their state in the previous election. Thus, early voting might generate an entirely different group of voters. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent thought that early voting “may end up transforming our politics to a far greater extent than any of us can yet imagine”.

Early voters are often inclined in terms of political allegiance. It was 56-44 in favour of the Democrats among the early voter in the 2020 US election. Early voters in Australia tend to lean towards the Liberal-National Coalition – while the coalition did 4% better in early voting than voting on election day in 2004, this gap rose to just over 5% by 2019.

Source: https://scroll.in/article/977597/would-indian-democracy-benefit-from-allowing-early-voting

Nearly 100 million Americans had voted before November 3, the official election day in the US – nearly two-third by mail ballots and the rest in person. In addition to delaying the counting, such ‘early voting might have a significant impact on the election.

In countries where it is allowed, early voting has been effective at relieving congestion at polling stations on election day, something that is especially helpful in this pandemic era.

Early voters cast their ballots without knowledge of events that may occur later in a campaign or just before the election day. Some believe that it is a travesty to let people cast their votes before they are able to listen to the candidates’ debates, be educated by advertisements or review the most recent unemployment data that could reflect poorly on the incumbent. Besides, the spirit of civic cohesiveness inherent in having voters turning out on a single day is damaged by early voting. With two-third votes already cast, the thrill of the Election Day is eventually relegated to the nostalgia bin. Finally, early voting might increase the already skyrocketing cost of political campaigns.

A 2019 article in 'Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy' considered four countries with different types of early voting: days-long advance voting in Canada, week-long advance voting in Finland, on-demand postal voting in Germany, and automatic postal voting in Switzerland. It was observed that early voting is unlikely to mobilise commonly underrepresented population groups, with the exception of the elderly, who are often quite likely to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

But this is not the case everywhere. For example, in a 2020 research paper in Applied Economics, with evidence from Ohio, Ethan Kaplan of the University of Maryland and Haishan Yuan of the University of Queensland found substantial positive impacts of early voting on turnout equal to 0.22 percentage points of additional turnout per additional early voting day. They also found greater impacts on women, Democrats, independents, and those of child-bearing and working age.

Curiously, about 1 in 5 of the early voters of this American election had not voted in their state in the previous election. Thus, early voting might generate an entirely different group of voters. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent thought that early voting “may end up transforming our politics to a far greater extent than any of us can yet imagine”.

Early voters are often inclined in terms of political allegiance. It was 56-44 in favour of the Democrats among the early voter in the 2020 US election. Early voters in Australia tend to lean towards the Liberal-National Coalition – while the coalition did 4% better in early voting than voting on election day in 2004, this gap rose to just over 5% by 2019.

Source: https://scroll.in/article/977597/would-indian-democracy-benefit-from-allowing-early-voting

Nearly 100 million Americans had voted before November 3, the official election day in the US – nearly two-third by mail ballots and the rest in person. In addition to delaying the counting, such ‘early voting might have a significant impact on the election.

In countries where it is allowed, early voting has been effective at relieving congestion at polling stations on election day, something that is especially helpful in this pandemic era.

Early voters cast their ballots without knowledge of events that may occur later in a campaign or just before the election day. Some believe that it is a travesty to let people cast their votes before they are able to listen to the candidates’ debates, be educated by advertisements or review the most recent unemployment data that could reflect poorly on the incumbent. Besides, the spirit of civic cohesiveness inherent in having voters turning out on a single day is damaged by early voting. With two-third votes already cast, the thrill of the Election Day is eventually relegated to the nostalgia bin. Finally, early voting might increase the already skyrocketing cost of political campaigns.

A 2019 article in 'Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy' considered four countries with different types of early voting: days-long advance voting in Canada, week-long advance voting in Finland, on-demand postal voting in Germany, and automatic postal voting in Switzerland. It was observed that early voting is unlikely to mobilise commonly underrepresented population groups, with the exception of the elderly, who are often quite likely to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

But this is not the case everywhere. For example, in a 2020 research paper in Applied Economics, with evidence from Ohio, Ethan Kaplan of the University of Maryland and Haishan Yuan of the University of Queensland found substantial positive impacts of early voting on turnout equal to 0.22 percentage points of additional turnout per additional early voting day. They also found greater impacts on women, Democrats, independents, and those of child-bearing and working age.

Curiously, about 1 in 5 of the early voters of this American election had not voted in their state in the previous election. Thus, early voting might generate an entirely different group of voters. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent thought that early voting “may end up transforming our politics to a far greater extent than any of us can yet imagine”.

Early voters are often inclined in terms of political allegiance. It was 56-44 in favour of the Democrats among the early voter in the 2020 US election. Early voters in Australia tend to lean towards the Liberal-National Coalition – while the coalition did 4% better in early voting than voting on election day in 2004, this gap rose to just over 5% by 2019.

Source: https://scroll.in/article/977597/would-indian-democracy-benefit-from-allowing-early-voting

Nearly 100 million Americans had voted before November 3, the official election day in the US – nearly two-third by mail ballots and the rest in person. In addition to delaying the counting, such ‘early voting might have a significant impact on the election.

In countries where it is allowed, early voting has been effective at relieving congestion at polling stations on election day, something that is especially helpful in this pandemic era.

Early voters cast their ballots without knowledge of events that may occur later in a campaign or just before the election day. Some believe that it is a travesty to let people cast their votes before they are able to listen to the candidates’ debates, be educated by advertisements or review the most recent unemployment data that could reflect poorly on the incumbent. Besides, the spirit of civic cohesiveness inherent in having voters turning out on a single day is damaged by early voting. With two-third votes already cast, the thrill of the Election Day is eventually relegated to the nostalgia bin. Finally, early voting might increase the already skyrocketing cost of political campaigns.

A 2019 article in 'Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy' considered four countries with different types of early voting: days-long advance voting in Canada, week-long advance voting in Finland, on-demand postal voting in Germany, and automatic postal voting in Switzerland. It was observed that early voting is unlikely to mobilise commonly underrepresented population groups, with the exception of the elderly, who are often quite likely to take advantage of early voting opportunities.

But this is not the case everywhere. For example, in a 2020 research paper in Applied Economics, with evidence from Ohio, Ethan Kaplan of the University of Maryland and Haishan Yuan of the University of Queensland found substantial positive impacts of early voting on turnout equal to 0.22 percentage points of additional turnout per additional early voting day. They also found greater impacts on women, Democrats, independents, and those of child-bearing and working age.

Curiously, about 1 in 5 of the early voters of this American election had not voted in their state in the previous election. Thus, early voting might generate an entirely different group of voters. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent thought that early voting “may end up transforming our politics to a far greater extent than any of us can yet imagine”.

Early voters are often inclined in terms of political allegiance. It was 56-44 in favour of the Democrats among the early voter in the 2020 US election. Early voters in Australia tend to lean towards the Liberal-National Coalition – while the coalition did 4% better in early voting than voting on election day in 2004, this gap rose to just over 5% by 2019.

Source: https://scroll.in/article/977597/would-indian-democracy-benefit-from-allowing-early-voting