Twenty five years after the beginning of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the movement buzzes with inputs from activists and students. But, dogged by many limitations, is there a positive end in sight?An increased and meaningful interface between tribals and non-tribals came about...The air enveloping the ghats at Koteshwar is heavy with spirituality. Devotees, tourists and other visitors throng the place every day to pray at the several temples around the...

James Cameron, director of sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, finds himself embroiled in the controversy surrounding Lavasa, India's first “private hill city” that has been in the news for alleged environmental law violations. Mr. Cameron, who is slated to speak at the big-ticket ‘Innovation and Knowledge' (INK) conference being held in association with Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) between December 9 and 12 at Lavasa, has been urged to boycott the event. In a...

The ambitious Polavaram project, the multi-purpose project proposed across the Godavari for making optimum utilisation of water going waste into the sea, is mired in problems. The much-talked about project, aimed at stabilising the century-old Krishna delta and irrigating over 7 lakh acres in the upland areas of East and West Godavari districts, is dogged by uncertainty since it became a bone of contention between different regions and faced with litigation....

In 25 years, the Narmada Bachao Andolan has introduced an alternative development discourse in India. ON the full moon night in October, hundreds of people from all over India gathered at Bhilgaon, one of the many Tribal Villages in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, in the foothills of the Satpura mountain range and on the banks of the river Narmada. The place resounded with jingles, revolutionary folk songs and strains of...

An inter-state tussle triggered by a national issue has brought to light how amnesia has afflicted the Orissa government. Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik had demanded three days ago that a public hearing should be held in villages that will be affected by the proposed Polavaram hydel project in neighbouring Andhra. Documents available with The Telegraph suggest that the same Naveen government had a year ago rejected a request by Andhra to...