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News at 9: New Zealand to soon become a dark sky nation, West Bengal to launch the state’s first lion safari and more

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News at 9: New Zealand to soon become a dark sky nation, West Bengal to launch the state’s first lion safari and more
News at 9: New Zealand to soon become a dark sky nation, West Bengal to launch the state’s first lion safari and more

New Zealand to soon become a dark sky nation, West Bengal to soon launch the state’s first lion safari, Manali-Leh highway closed due to heavy snowfall and more in top stories of the day.

New Zealand to soon become a dark sky nation

As per the latest developments, New Zealand is aiming to become the second Dark Sky Nation in the world. As per the reports, although light pollution affects 80 percent of the globe, New Zealand will be putting in all efforts to reduce it further and preserve its pristine view of the night sky.

Reportedly there are only 115 dark sky parks, 16 dark sky sanctuaries, and 20 dark sky reserves in the world. And till date, there is only one dark sky nation in the world, Niue, which is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, and was certified in 2020. Now, although New Zealand’s aim to become a certified dark sky nation is an unprecedented goal for a country, the indigenous Māori people of the country are leading the initiative to achieve this feat by spreading awareness about the ecological and cultural importance of dark sky preservation.

West Bengal to soon launch the state’s first lion safari

If all goes as planned, West Bengal will soon be home to the state’s first lion safari.

North Bengal already has a tiger safari, and now West Bengal tourism is planning to launch a lion safari here, which would be the state’s first lion safari. The North Bengal Wild Animals Park at Siliguri in north Bengal was launched in 2016 and the park now boasts of a tiger safari with around 11 tigers and a herbivore safari. The tiger safari spreads over 20 hectares. Revealing more about this, a senior official said that they will approach the central zoo authority and once they get the permission, they will be bringing in the lions from other zoos on animal exchange programs.

Manali-Leh highway closed due to heavy snowfall

As per the latest reports, fresh snowfall recently has hampered traffic movement in the entire Lahaul and Spiti district. If reports are to go by, these regions have been witnessing heavy snowfall since Wednesday, which has led to blocking of the linked roads of the district.

Also, the Manali-Leh highway via Atal tunnel was closed beyond Solang valley towards Lahaul side due to heavy snow near Atal tunnel. Reports suggest that the road leading to Spiti valley from the Manali side was blocked due to heavy snowfall at Kunzum pass on this highway. The Border Roads Organization are working tirelessly machinery has been put in place on Manali-Leh highway via Atal tunnel to ensure road connectivity between Manali and Lahaul.

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