International Day of Action For Rivers is Designated on 14th March:
On March 14, observe International River Action Day to raise awareness about the importance of rivers in the face of climate change.
Highlights:
♦ On this day, groups and individuals all over the world join together to protest disruptive water infrastructure schemes, as well as the health and long-term management of watersheds.
♦ Previously, the day was recognised as "International Dam Day" in honour of rivers, water, and life. Some schemes to protect rivers or oppose dam building have also been launched in India. One of them is the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
♦ The "International Day of Action on Dams and Rivers, Water and Life" was passed by participants at the First International Conference of Dam Influencers in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 1997.
♦ Representatives from 20 countries met in Brazil on March 14 to declare the International Day of Action as the "Day of Action Against Large Dams."
♦ The main goal of organising this day is to raise a united front against disruptive water development projects, restore the basin`s health, and demand equitable and sustainable river management.
Theme 2021: Rights of Rivers.
Ordnance Factory Day is on 18th March:
The 220th Ordnance Factory will celebrate its 50th anniversary on March 18, 2021. Every year on March 18th, India celebrates Ordnance Factory Day. In 1801 Kolkata built the first ordnance factory. In the world, there are 41 ordnance factories.
History:
♦ The ordnance factory`s history is inextricably connected to British rule in India. The Ordnance Factory Committee, which still governs the country`s ordnance factories, was organised in Williamsburg, Calcutta, in 1775.
♦ There were 18 ordnance factories in India prior to independence. The Ordnance Factory`s Board of Directors was formed in 1979.
♦ The Ministry of Defense manages the Ordnance Factory Commission. It is the world`s largest and oldest defence organisation. The board of directors has long been referred to as the nation`s fourth branch of defence. It is the world`s 37th largest arms producer.
♦ Small arms, rockets, rocket launchers, chemicals, explosives, landmines, bombs, anti-tank warfare, and other weapons are all produced by the commission.
♦ In 2017-18, the board of directors representing the Indian government made a profit of US$2 billion.
###World Poetry Day is on 21st March:
Every year on March 21, the country celebrates World Poetry Day.
Highlights:
♦ The decision to designate March 21 as "World Poetry Day" was made at a UNESCO meeting in Paris in 1999. Poetry Day`s primary goal is to promote linguistic diversity through poetry and to give endangered languages a chance to be heard in the community. The day also promotes poetry recitation and poetry teaching as an oral tradition. At the 30th General Assembly in Paris in 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared March 21 as World Poetry Day for the first time.
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