The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR) in its latest report has identified arsenic hotspots across the country, most notably in the states of Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Please consult chart-3 to get an idea about the geographical spread of arsenic hotspots in India. On the basis of arsenic concentration in the range 0.01-0.05 mg per litre...

-The Indian Express BJP is attempting to use citizenship issue to woo Namasudra community in Bengal. It is generally believed that unlike other states of India, caste and religion don’t play a significant role in West Bengal’s electoral politics. Academic literature often articulates this as West Bengal’s “exceptionalism”. As a result of the electoral decline of the Left Front and some limited attempts by the Trinamool Congress at community-based mobilisation, the...

-The Hindu Business Line After failed efforts to placate angry farmers, the Centre and various States have launched income-support schemes. BusinessLine reports Let’s rewind to mid-2017, when onion farmers in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, took to the streets. The protests spread like wildfire to Madhya Pradesh. In northern Karnataka, pulses growers were up in arms against crashing prices. Minimum support prices were not holding up. Flustered governments began to trot out loan waivers as...

-Firstpost.com Gaighata (North 24 Parganas): West Bengal accounts for 1.04 crore out of India’s 1.48 crore population harmed by arsenic. At present, 20 percent of the state’s population is vulnerable to arsenic-related ailments like skin cancer, and heart and lung diseases. Out of 12 affected districts in West Bengal, the most seriously affected areas are in North 24-Parganas (21 blocks), South 24-Parganas (12 blocks), Nadia (17 blocks), Hooghly (21 blocks), Malda...

-IndiaWaterPortal.org Calculating water availability and crop budgeting can prevent over-extraction of groundwater and mounting farm debt. At 42 years, Bhagwat Ghagare seems young. But he is old enough to have seen his village prosper and decline many times. Farming had traditionally been small and distress migration rampant at Kumbharwadi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Between 1998 and 2002, a non-profit organisation, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), initiated a work related to rainwater harvesting...