Bodies taken away by sweepers, cut into pieces and disposed of in jute bags The bodies of widows who die in government-run shelter homes in Vrindavan are taken away by sweepers at night, cut into pieces, put into jute bags and disposed of as the institutions do not have any provision for a decent funeral. This, too, is done only after the inmates give money to the sweeper! This shocking fact has...

-The Hindu   Has addressed issues of sex selection, infant-maternal mortality, child health A Dalit woman sarpanch elected to an unreserved seat in Bikaner district of Rajasthan has successfully brought gender issues to the mainstream development discourse with the help of a Jaipur-based advocacy group. She has addressed the crucial subjects of sex selection, infant and maternal mortality and reproductive and child health by focusing on gender fostering. Tara Devi, elected as Sarpanch of...

-The Hindu The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the Principal Secretary, Primary Education Department, to be present in court on January 10 as it was not satisfied with the reply given by the government counsel regarding the action-taken report that was to be submitted to the court on providing toilets and Drinking water facility in all government schools in the State. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice...

-The United Nations   The internationally stated goal of improving access to safe Drinking water across the globe is likely to be achieved well ahead of the 2015 deadline, but large numbers of people in the world’s least developed regions will still not benefit, according to a United Nations report released today. Reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe Drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 is one...

The 25 per cent admission quota for children from poor families in Right to Education Act (RTE) has thr­own up an avoidable headache for budget private schools in underprivileged areas. Managements of such sch­o­ols say the regulation is not required as far as they are conc­erned. Budget private schools are low-cost private schools providing education to children from slums and rural areas. “We welcome the RTE Act; I think it should have happened...