Patna, Dec. 6: The Bihar government has rushed a two-member fact-finding team to Ludhiana in Punjab where migrant labourers from the state clashed with police and local people over the administration’s alleged failure to provide security to workers. “The team, comprising a joint labour commissioner and deputy labour commissioner, was sent to Ludhiana last evening to find out facts about the incident and talk to the Punjab government officials on the...

In a year of sparse rains and spiralling food prices, with hundreds of districts being officially declared as drought-hit, a rally by activists in the capital demands a Food Entitlements Act.  Perhaps the most vocal demands at the rally were those aimed at a complete revamp of the Public Distribution System (PDS), starting with universal — instead of targeted — coverage. Over 5,000 grassroots activists, agricultural workers, farmers, lawyers, doctors and...

CITIES MAKE one simple promise to newcomers: Sacrifice yourself to me and your children shall prosper. This promise drew Ahmed Raza, a small-time wrestler from an Uttar Pradesh village and millions like him to the capital of newly-independent India. Raza kept his part of the bargain, yet half a century later, his daughter was pushed out of the city her father helped build, the only home she has known. “I...

Nearly 37,000 expatriate Keralites have already lost their jobs due to recession. How do you plan to combat the effect of the latest Dubai crisis on Gulf NRIs? This is not going to be on any scale as with Kuwait during the Gulf War. But nevertheless, it is a matter of serious concern. It is better to be prepared than underprepared. We are planning two schemes. One, we are constituting...

Is drought being used as an excuse to delay the national Food Security Act? An informal network of organizations and individuals involved in the Right to Food Campaign believe so. The campaign groups are demanding that a national consultative process on an improved draft bill must be started immediately so that the proposed Food Security Act could be passed as soon as possible. The campaigners also demand that exports of...