-PTI Most of the dead were migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Fifty-seven people were injured AMRitsar: The railways were not informed about the trackside Dussehra event, nor was permission sought from the civic body, officials said a day after a train mowed down 59 revellers during a Ravan Dahan near AMRitsar. Residents of the area, Joda Phatak, asserted that the event, which involves the burning of Ravan’s effigy, had been going...

-The Times of India THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Kerala): Of late, stories about social media have been not very encouraging, as it was increasingly turning out to be a platform spewing venom. But, during last week’s flood, it turned out to be a lifesaver for hundreds - literally. A group of social media enthusiasts, who have already been connected through Facebook harnessed the immense potential of the platform. An active volunteer group of 6,000 was...

-Firstpost.com Farmers across India are sceptical about the promised benefits of the minimum support price (MSP) promised by the government for their kharif crop. In a press release, the government announced that the MSP would be set at 50 percent over the cost of production and vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. As AMRinder Singh Punia, a farmer and general secretary of the Punjab Agricultural University Kisan Club, points out, “Government...

-Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan and Right to Food Campaign, dated 1st August, 2018 Three minor girls Mansi (8), Shikha (4) and Parul (2) died on July 24, 2018 in Mandawali, East Delhi and the post mortem reports listed starvation as the cause of the deaths. Members of the Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA)- Anjali Bhardwaj and AMRita Johri along with Harsh Mander (former special commissioner to the Supreme...

-The Hindu The RTI Act Amendment Bill must be junked The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, has empowered millions of Indians to question governments and hold public functionaries accountable. Of the nearly six million RTI applications filed every year in the country, a large proportion are by the poorest and the most marginalised who seek information about their basic rights and entitlements, like rations, pensions and health facilities. The use of...