-Down to Earth Most of the victims were targeted for “causing health issues or crop failure” Witch-hunts are still highly prevalent in 12 of Odisha’s 30 districts — especially Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam — a new report has claimed. Most victims of such superstitious practices were targeted for “causing health issues or crop failure”. Around 27 per cent cases were triggered by health issues in children, 43.5 per cent by...

-The Telegraph In November, Bengal topped among all states by providing water supply connections to 2.40 lakh destinations in a month Bolpur( Birbhum): The Bengal government has set a target to supply piped water to around 5.77 lakh households in Bengal’s 10,729 remote rural hamlets facing water shortage within March next year. Sources said the state public health engineering (PHE) department recently held a statewide survey to identify remote hamlets located in forested...

After the release of the second phase data of the National Family Health Survey Fifth Round (NFHS-5), media commentators and experts have written that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for India has gone down just below the replacement-level fertility. The TFR for the entire nation was 2.2 in 2015-16, which decreased to 2.0 in 2019-21.   According to the United Nations, the replacement-level fertility is reached when the TFR of a...

-The Telegraph There are some 40 large units in South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore, catering to the livelihood of around one lakh fishermen and traders Tamluk (East Midnapore), Bolpur (Birbhum): Around one lakh fishermen and businessmen involved in the trade of dry fish in the coastal districts of South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore are staring at huge losses owing to the untimely December downpour triggered by Cyclone Jawad, prompting the state government...

-The Telegraph The study, conducted throughout Bengal in September this year, found that the total number of children suffering from malnutrition stood at 6.70 lakh A recent survey by the women and child development department has revealed that the number of children suffering from malnutrition has increased twofold during the closure of ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) centres following Covid-19, prompting the Bengal government to take urgent measures to ensure food supply...