-Sunday Pioneer A cluster of villages engaged in weaving the exquisite Benarasi sarees is in the midst of a serious health crisis. More than 1 lakh people from this once prosperous region have fallen prey to aggressive tuberculosis. Poor living conditions, working in dark rooms and constant inhalation of minute silk threads have weakened the lungs of these artisans. With an average monthly income of not more than Rs3,000, it is...
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E-rickshaws Soon on Kolkata Streets
-Outlook Kolkata: Providing a cheaper and eco-friendly alternative to auto-rickshaws, new e-rickshaws which runs on electric batteries was launched here today. Categorised in between a pedal rickshaw and an auto-rickshaw, the battery-operated e-rickshaws can run upto a speed of 25 km per hour and can accommodate around 4-5 passengers. "It is a zero emission vehicle and while running the engine produces no sound," Zafar Faridi, CEO of Dianzi rickshaw, told reporters after the...
More »Cycle ban in Kolkata: activists petition high court -Sayantan Bera
-Down to Earth Police and transport department ignored months of protests by users of non-motorised transport After months of protests against an unprecedented embargo on cycles and other forms of non-motorised transport, activists in Kolkata have filed a public interest petition before the Calcutta High Court. The petition was filed on January 18 by non-profit Switch On along with Prasant Purkait, a user who delivers pest control services on a humble bicycle....
More »Polio-Free: It took 2 mn footsoldiers and 35 yrs for India to win the battle -Pritha Chatterjee and Santosh Singh
-The Indian Express It was once thought impossible, but a 35-year-fight has won India its biggest public health success story. Raxaul: It was once thought impossible, but two million footsoldiers and a 35-year-fight have won India its biggest public health success story. Pritha Chatterjee & Santosh Singh on how the battle was won and the biggest challenges ahead. It's one of the busiest spots along the porous India-Nepal border. At about 1.30 pm...
More »Living on a thin edge -Devinder Sharma
-Deccan Herald In the past seven years around 3.2 crore farmers have abandoned farming and taken up menial jobs in the cities. At a time when change is the buzzword on the political landscape, when cities are changing, and the villages are no longer what they used to be; when incomes are rising for an educated few, and when the bottom of the pyramid - those below the poverty line -- are...
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