-The Hindu Thousands of acres of uncultivable forested hills in Haryana, Gurgaon and Faridabad face the same prospect Gurgaon: Two decades ago when Sunil’s parents sold off 25 acres of their family’s share of land in the Mangar forests of Faridabad, they and other villagers thought the buyers were fools to buy it up because they were assured that they could continue to use it for grazing cattle and firewood. Today, 25-year-old...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Government pushes banks to go rural, but will it pay?-Swati Pandey and Rajendra Jadhav
-Reuters RANCHHODPURA, India (Reuters) - Working out of a tiny rented room furnished with a wooden table, small biometric authentication machine and shelf stacked with passbooks, Ganesh Dangi is a one-man bank for a village of 650 people in northwestern Rajasthan. A business correspondent, or local representative, for State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) in Ranchhodpura village, 40 km (25 miles) east of Udaipur, Dangi is racing to sign up villagers...
More »New UN environment studies show rising mercury threat to people in developing countries
-The United Nations Communities in developing countries are facing increasing health and environmental risks linked to exposure to mercury, according to new studies by the United Nations environmental agency. Produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the studies note how parts of Africa, Asia and South America could see increasing emissions of mercury into the environment, due mainly to the use of the toxic element in small-scale gold mining, and through the...
More »Cold Wave Coupled With Fog Cripples North India
-Outlook Seven more persons fell prey to biting cold wave in UP where death toll due to the harsh weather touched 69 today, while most other parts of North India also shivered and fog disrupted rail and air traffic. The National capital had a gloomy weather as the fog returned after four days, and the maximum temperature was recorded at 17 degree Celsius, a drop of four notches. The minimum was recorded...
More »Protect RTI activists, Karnataka HC tells government
-DNA The high court on Wednesday directed the state government to quickly formulate rules and regulations to ensure the safety of RTI activists. RTI activist Lingaraju, 40, was killed by three unidentified people in front of his house in Chamarajpet. The high court had taken a suo motu public interest litigation based on newspaper reports. A memo was filed by the state government contending that the it had no objections to constitute...
More »