-Down to Earth Zero funds to Bengal, Lakshadweep this year, Centre admits in Parliament; activists ask to use pre-existing mechanisms to handle graft Millions of workers employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have not received wages for months. Workers from West Bengal are especially affected, with 13.2 million people unpaid for seven months. Bengal is the only state that received no funds under the 100-day work scheme in...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Kharif 2022: Area under paddy dips by 13% as July ends -Shagun
-Down to Earth The primary reason for the reduced sown area is the failure of the monsoon in the month of June and of its smooth progression in July in most parts of the country There is 13.27 per cent less area under paddy in 2022, compared to last year, even as the sowing of paddy was completed by the end of July in most parts of the country. Paddy is one...
More »Should a drought in Bihar be declared? Experts say yes, govt says wait -Zumbish
-Down to Earth Following central guidelines on declaring drought, good rainfall on Aug 4-5 predicted, say govt officials Bihar, like most states in north, east and central India, has suffered due to a whimsical monsoon 2022. Rainfall has been scanty as well as erratic. Farmers have already shown signs of despair, as Down to Earth reported earlier. So is this agrarian state in the grips of a drought? Scanty or erratic rains in...
More »Change in rainfall patterns is behind regular floods in Rajasthan -Anil Ashwani Sharma
-Down to Earth Number of ‘heavy rain’ days have gone up in recent years, finds IMD analysis Climate change might be behind the change in rainfall pattern in recent years, leading to regular floods. The rainfall pattern in the state has changed over the last decade, with a greater number of ‘heavy rain’ days. Days receiving more than 65 millimetres of rainfall are called ‘heavy rainfall’ days. Western, eastern and southern districts of the...
More »Monsoon 2022: Erratic rains may delay Odisha Kharif crops -Hrusikesh Mohanty
-Down to Earth Dry June led to late paddy transplantation; More than half of targetted acreage lie uncultivated A dry June followed by a rainy July might delay Kharif crops in Odisha this monsoon. Farmers in several districts, mainly the western and coastal areas, have yet to start paddy transplantation due to erratic rainfall. Through July 23, paddy was sown in 1.27 million hectares out of 3.5 million hectares planned by...
More »