Endosulfan, the pesticide which is widely believed to be responsible for thousands of deaths, diseases and devastation, was able to save its own life largely because of India’s questionable efforts at global forums. The controversial pesticide has been in news for a long time because of its harmful effects on humans, wild life and the environment. Obviously the $100 million industry is going out of the way to defend the...

The polluting cement plant will harm the ecosystem: expert body ‘It is considered a valuable common property resource by the locals' In a victory for the farmers of Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, the Environment Ministry has decided that the site of Nirma Industries' proposed cement plant there is a wetland and an environmentally sensitive area. The plant will have to be relocated, the Ministry told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The Ministry accepted the...

What is Endosulfan? Endosulfan is a pesticide which was introduced in the 1950s and soon became a leading chemical to fight a broad spectrum of insects. The out-of-patent pesticide is marketed under several names across the world. The most common of these names is Thiodane. It is used in paddy, cotton, vegetables, fruits, cashew, tea, coffee and a wide range of other crops. Because of its effectiveness against termites, it is...

A member of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council today said the delay in enacting the food security law amounted to “corruption”. “The food security bill is delayed. This is corruption,” Aruna Roy said at a seminar here, strongly pitching for legal guarantees on food security to every citizen in the country. The draft bill finalised by the NAC seeks to provide subsidised grain to up to 75 per cent of the...

A fortnight ago, Moin was beaten to death by his uncle who was the owner of the factory where the 10-year-old worked. Very few would have cared but for television, which brought the horrific images of his battered body into middle-class living rooms. But it’s doubtful if anybody would remember Moin’s tragedy once the TV cameras shift elsewhere. This has happened many times. Just a year ago, an engineer couple was...