-The Times of India NAGPUR: A third-generation farmer from a village in the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra has found mention in the state revenue minister's address to the legislative council as an example for other farmers to emulate if they want to ward off penury and disaster. Sanjay Gandate, 31, now cultivates pearls in his 900sqm freshwater pond and leads the charge of innovation in the belt that is battling low-agricultural...

-Hindustan Times The Chennai floods have thrown up some fundamental flaws in our system of urban planning. Across India, city after city has experienced floods, while some others live with the fear of impending disasters. In Mumbai, flooding was caused by wrong developments at the Bandra estuary and negligence along the Mithi river, and in Uttarakhand the disaster was caused by unplanned regional development and the unholy nexus between the land...

-GovernanceNow.com A survey in drought-hit Bundelkhand paints a startling picture of farmers in distress Bundelkhand, the land of famous warriors Alha and Udal, is entrapped in an unending battle. But unlike 1857, today there is no ‘harbola’ to tell the stories of sacrifices. Then, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote, “Bundele harbolon ke munh hamne suni kahani thi, khoob ladi mardani voh to Jhansi wali rani thi (from the mouths of storytellers of...

-Civil Society Online Bhubaneswar: Laxman Goud, a 35-year-old farmer in Thakurpalli village in Komna block of Nuapada district of Odisha, used to lead a very simple life. He was a devoted follower of Mahima Dharma, a subaltern religion practised by underprivileged castes in Odisha. One morning, he took his life in desperation. He couldn’t repay Rs 19,000 he had borrowed from a local moneylender at 36 per cent interest. Goud had invested...

-The Times of India Chandrapur: The paddy fields around Bormala, a village with population of over 1,500 in a far corner of Saoli tehsil, lay barren as none of the farmers has dared to take the crop this year due to lack of rain. Having only what is left of last year's yield to eat and no work in their fields, most of the men and women go to neighbouring Gadchiroli...