Liberalisation of agricultural trade has worsened food security of South Asia, a study says. The report by Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre (MHHDC), an Islamabad-based research organisation also found that farm trade liberalisation increased the number of hungry people by 28.8 million. Private research organisation, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), organised launching of the report, 'Human Development in South Asia - 2009: Trade and Human Development' in Dhaka on Thursday. The...
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For whom the bell tolls by Moushumi Basu
It is imperative that the committee constituted to look into charges of corruption in the Commonwealth Games should also include violations of labour laws within its purview. One of the more blatant and visible scams of the recently concluded Commonwealth Games relates to how the thousands of workers who worked on the games construction sites were denied minimum wages, safety equipment, housing and other benefits constitutionally due to them. In an interview...
More »Coal mining in Meghalaya: Child labourers in the ‘rat-holes’ by Anjuman Ara Begum
“Inside the mine everything is very fragile. Even the falling of a small rock can cause death sometimes. People from outside cannot imagine what the hell is inside the mine!” These are the words of 16-year old Muzzammal Haque who works in a coal mine in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. He is yet another example of the bonded child labour in the various coal mines in the Jaintia Hills on...
More »India malaria deaths hugely underestimated, says report by Ania Lichtarowicz
The number of people dying from malaria in India has been hugely underestimated, according to new research. The data, published in the Lancet, suggests there are 13 times more malaria deaths in India than the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. The authors conclude that more than 200,000 deaths per year are caused by malaria. The WHO said the estimate produced by this study appears too high. The research was funded by the US National...
More »NREGA wages fight gathers steam by Anindo Dey
Seventy-year-old Dau Singh is dancing to the tune of a parody music being belted out in the background by a group of people sitting on the pavement. The song urges people to write letters to their brethren and come there to join the fight. "Come on mazdoors, get into the act to get what you deserve," urges the song. The venue is the Statue Circle in Jaipur, where hundreds of...
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