The Supreme Court's environment panel, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), on Friday concurred with the Karnataka Lokayukta to report rampant illegal iron ore mining in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts and recommended a complete ban on private mining. Submitting the CEC's report to a bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar, amicus curiae A D N Rao said the adverse impact on environment in these two...

-The Indian Express   The issue of fertiliser shortage took an ugly turn on Sunday when a farmer, Manjit Bhoi (35) of Talab village under Dhankauda block allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide as he could not afford urea to save his crop. It was only on Friday that farmers under the banner of Sambalpur Zilla Krushak Surakhya Sangathan had gheraoed Agriculture Deputy Director Ashok Kumar Mohanty demanding measures to prevent black...

Garhwali villagers resist new central farming plans, stick by age-old ways attuned to nature Jardhargaon is a sprawling cluster of villages tucked away in the Himalayan folds in Tehri district of Garhwal. A panoramic view of pine- and sal-covered mountains, green and freshly showered, surrounds us, as little streams spout out of boulders at every turn of the winding hill roads and clouds hang like a dark cover overhead. But...

Hard To Ignore...     * Farmers of East Godavari and West Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh have declared a crop holiday this kharif season     * No paddy will be sown across 1.5 lakh acres in the two districts     * Farmers are demanding better minimum support price and subsidies on inputs     * They say the rising cost of inputs causes farmers to lose Rs 10,000-15,000 per acre     * If the farmers stick...

-The Hindu   Universalisation of secondary education in 12th Plan Education without textbooks. This is what the government is contemplating for pre-school children. “We would like to move forward, hopefully, in the next few years to bring pre-school education on the formal education agenda without formally teaching children between four and six years,'' HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Replying to a question on the steps taken to extend the purview...