Distressed over the crop losses in the recent rains, seven more farmers died of shock in the state in the last 24 hours. While three farmers died in Guntur district, West Godavari, Krishna, Prakasam and Nalgonda districts accounted one death each. Thota Apparao died of shock at Rentapadu in Sattenpalle mandal, while Mukteshwar Rao died of cardiac arrest at Attota in Kollipara in Guntur. Hanumantha Rao collapsed in his field on...

Large scale child labour persists in India, mostly in the agricultural sector and the informal economy despite initiatives by the government and instances of commercial sexual exploitation of minors are oft reported, a US report on the issue said on Wednesday. According to the India section of the annual report of the Department of Labor, children are exploited in the worst forms of child labour with a majority working in agriculture,...

Carry red chilli spray to feel safe in Delhi, a doctor and her 28 friends are telling women.Through camps in colleges and neighbourhoods, the group has over the past fortnight been spreading awareness about the use of chilli powder as a weapon of self-defence.“Carry a pack of red chillies in the bag and blind an assailant,” said Seema Malik, a doctor who has launched the Mirchi Jhonk campaign, possibly inspired...

Tamil Nadu: The north-east monsoon, 50 per cent in excess in the State, claims over 200 lives and destroys crops and infrastructure.A SERIES of weather systems, including a cyclone that missed Chennai narrowly, saw the skies open up over Tamil Nadu between November 4 and December 5, the period when the north-east monsoon is most active. Most of the 561 mm of rainfall that the State received between October 1...

Social exclusion of children belonging to marginalised groups and barriers to children's access to their rights-based entitlements were highlighted as crucial issues confronting the society at a workshop on children's rights here recently. Activists said children being forced to work as labourers was an “abysmal failure” of all institutions.The day-long workshop was organised jointly by Save the Children, Prayatna, Society for All Round Developemnt (SARD), Consumer Unity and Trust Society...