-The Indian Express Death toll mounts to 25; government describes situation in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts as "critical" Gopalpur/Srikakulam/Bhubaneswar: The death toll in calamity-ravaged Odisha on Monday mounted to 25 with four more persons perishing in several areas of the State in the aftermath of cyclone Phailin that triggered heavy rains and floods in some districts. The government described the situation in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts as "critical". Relief and rescue operations have been...

-The Hindustan Times Lakshmanpur Bathe: Lakshman Rajvanshi has a question for the Patna high court: "Did we murder our own families, including kids not even two months old?" A landless labourer from Lakshmanpur Bathe in Arwal district of Bihar, Rajvanshi was reacting to the court acquitting 26 upper caste persons accused of massacring 58 Dalits, including 27 women and 10 children, while he stood terror-struck behind a wall on December 1, 1997. Rajvanshi...

-Outlook The faecal matter hits the rotary blades, politically-but we're still staring at a sanitation disaster "Indians defecate everywhere. They defecate mostly besides the railway tracks. But they also defecate on the beaches; they defecate on the hills; they defecate on the River banks; they defecate on the streets; they never look for cover." -V.S. Naipaul An Area of Darkness, 1964 Not...

-The Times of India ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court has banned with immediate effect the immersion of idols in the Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad. While the order is applicable to Vijaya Dashmi on October 14 this year, the court has directed the state government to ensure its implementation across UP from next year. The court directed the Allahabad district administration to identify and develop other places for immersions. It also asked...

-The Hindu Most of the acquisitions by the Central government and public sector companies in the country's resource-rich State are under laws that bypass the new land Bill The UPA has claimed the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill 2013 passed by both Houses will reduce forcible acquisition and help tackle Naxalism in mineral-rich areas. But with Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition and Development (CBA)...