-The Times of India Activist Aruna Roy has sought UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's intervention to end the fast undertaken by fellow activist MedhaPatkar in Mumbai to protest the demolition of slums. "I want to reiterate the urgency of this matter, given both the democratic imperative and in light of Medha's failing health and thus request your immediate personal intervention in this matter," Roy said in a letter to Sonia. According to Roy, Union...

-The Hindu   Mumbai: Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken on Tuesday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, asking him to stop demolition of the houses of slum dwellers, after a delegation of the National Alliance of People's Movements headed by Medha Patkar met him in New Delhi. He asked Mr. Chavan to see that the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) was implemented with much more enthusiasm and in...

-The Hindu They vow to stay put in Delhi till their demands are met Reeling under price rise and dipping returns for their produce, thousands of farmers from all over the country poured into the capital on Monday to start a mahapanchayat, demanding, among other things, a farmers’ income commission to guarantee a minimum livelihood income. Opposing diversion of farmland for other purposes, they wanted the government to impose a moratorium on land...

-National Alliance of People’s Movements A historic mobilization of more than 1 lakh farmers, farm workers and agrarian masses belonging to a wide variety of social movements from across India descended upon New Delhi today. Protestors at the 'Kisan Khet Mazdoor Mahapanchayat'  came to show their collective commitment towards getting the government’s attention to reverse the grave agrarian crisis caused by liberalization reforms supporting foreign investors, corporations; reforms that support elite...

-The Business Standard For some people, travelling by train to their village 1,400 km away is a journey through hell. These are people who travel unreserved. Their suffering is all the more traumatic for being symbolic of the apathy of those who run the trains and the country. Saraswati Mondal, an illiterate domestic worker in Delhi, going to Murshidabad by Kalka Mail goes to New Delhi station, walks into a crowd of...