-The Times of India CHENNAI: Thirteen-year-old Ramesh, a Class 8 student, ran away from his home in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district after his mother died. "My father used to beat me often. Unable to bear the torture, I ran away and reached Chennai at midnight and stayed on pavements for a while," said Ramesh (name changed). Later, an activist took him to an orphanage in Chennai. But not many are as...

-The Business Standard Berhampur (Odisha): The expert team of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday visited different areas of the cyclone Phailin-hit Ganjam district in Odisha to assess the damage caused due to the calamity. Divided in groups, the 14-member team along with the government officers visited different areas including slum pockets in Berhampur, fishermen and coastal villages in Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda blocks. The team led by the...

-Economic and Political Weekly There is overwhelming evidence to show that capital-intensive metro rail systems serve only a small proportion of the total trips in cities in developing countries such as India. Public-private partnerships have not been very successful, and the Delhi Metro, which is considered to be the most successful project despite falling far short of its projected number of users, enjoys numerous tax benefits not offered to the bus...

-Outlook The case of the gutsy young Tehelka journalist, who has blown the cover on the sexual assault she faced from Tarun Tejpal, underlines the need to enforce the implementation of the Vishaka guidelines Listen. Can you hear it? That low growl on the horizon, coming closer, growing louder? It's the dam bursting its bounds. It's the quiet shriek of convivial silence being ripped apart. The silence around the normalizing of a...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: The lid is off a basic reason why generations of girls drop out of school, never discovering their potential. Schools, state-run or otherwise, may have a toilet, but if existing loos lack basics such as privacy or water, girls prefer to stay at home. Reason - they feel too unsafe and ashamed to answer nature's call or take care of personal hygiene during menstruation. A detailed research on life skills...