-Pratirodh.com The streets of the obscure town of Pandharkawda in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra have come to life. Hundreds of villagers crowd them for the weekly haat to buy their supplies of vegetables, spices, pulses and tobacco, while farmers throng shops selling seeds, pesticides, manure and farm commodities. Dressed in bright cotton sarees, women haggle with vendors. Even doctors, especially dentists, are having a busy day with long queues of patients...

-The Times of India If you are worried about trees facing a hostile environment in the city, here is some more grim news. Many old trees across the city are struggling to survive as their roots are being choked by concrete. One such stretch is on Press Enclave Road where a number of Alstonia or Saptaparni trees are getting choked with concrete and cement tiles as part of Delhi government's pavement...

-The Economic Times The government will roll out a United Nations-assisted livelihood security programme in 10 Naxal-infested districts in a bid to tackle the growing influence of Maoist rebels. The rural development ministry, which has been spearheading the developmental approach to this Left-wing menace, has in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme worked out a five-year plan to make markets work for the poor, ensure that state governments are more responsive...

-Agence-France Presse Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that the country's public health system had "collapsed" in a blunt assessment of his government's failure to extend a social safety net for the poor. Mr Ramesh, known as a maverick with often outspoken views, stressed that 70 per cent of spending on health was out of people's own pockets, making it the single most important reason for indebtedness in rural areas. "We all...

-Reuters OSLO: Valuable mangrove forests that protect coastlines, sustain sealife and help slow climate change are being wrecked by the spread of shrimp and fish farms, a UN-backed study showed on Wednesday. About a fifth of mangroves worldwide have been lost since 1980, mostly because of clearance to make way for the farms which often get choked with waste, antibiotics and fertilizers, according to the study. Intact mangroves were almost always more valuable...