Pantoka is a beehive of activity. The spirit of protest in this small hamlet on the India-Nepal border is not a simple case of topical environmental awakening; it is a desperate struggle for life in which more than 1 lakh lives are at stake. Today, the first day of June, the citizens of Bihar's Raxaul sub-division in East Champaran district will stage a massive blockade on National Highway 28A, shutting off...
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Delhi Chokes on Winter Smog by Ranjit Devraj
Winter in the Indian capital is a season of mists, minus the mellow fruitfulness. The air becomes charged with toxic emissions and particles that cannot disperse due to a meteorological phenomenon called "atmospheric inversion". According to B.P. Yadav, scientist with the meteorological department, atmospheric inversion is caused by a warming of the upper layers of the atmosphere, trapping colder air on the surface and, with it, vehicular and industrial emissions. "The immediate...
More »Jharkhand: The fire in the earth's belly by Dr Nitish Priyadarshi
Unfettered coal mining is causing unchecked underground fires that threaten human habitation and the environment, writes geologist Dr Nitish Priyadarshi. The haunting inscription that marks the gates of hell in Dante's Inferno could well be true for Jharkhand. For, the underground fires that have been raging in the coalfields of this state over several years are now beginning to engulf its thickly inhabited areas as well. An underground mine fire that has...
More »UN praise for India's pollution monitoring system for Commonwealth Games by Richa Sharma
A pollution monitoring system developed by Indian scientists has come in for praise from the United Nations as an important step to ensure clean air during the Commonwealth Games. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a specialised agency of the UN, said the System of Air Pollution Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) will serve as an example within India, South Asia and globally. Aimed at managing air quality, it has been developed by the...
More »No curb on number of rickshaws: HC by Utkarsh Anand
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ruled that there could be no curb on the number of licences issued to cycle-rickshaw pullers as it would be against their right to earn livelihood and also hamper the “invaluable” linkage provided by rickshaws. The Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah and comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and S Muralidhar also took exception to the by-law authorising the police, the Municipal...
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