-The Hindu Agriculture Insurance Company looks at technology-aided assessment methods Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Limited, the public sector organisation engaged in providing insurance cover for various crops, is in discussions with various commodity boards for exclusive crop-specific insurance schemes. A senior official of the Agriculture Insurance Company said that one of the goals of the company was to speed up settlement of insurance claims by farmers and the company was exploring...

-The New Indian Express More than eight decades after the Temple Entry Proclamation, the untouchables' cannot take the 18-step stairway to the temple or directly drop money in the offertory plate! SWARGA (Kasaragod): Shri Jatadhari 'Devasthanam' (abode of god) is nestled in the middle of arecanut plantations of Brahmins. There is no motorable road to reach the centuries-old place of worship and devotees have to walk around 200m along the perennial Badiyar...

-The Tribune Along with better forecasts, we need better monitoring and reporting of actual rainfall, water levels in rivers and incidents of landslides. More timely and location-specific forecasts that would enable the disaster management authorities to take the necessary advance actions would help. Such emergency action plans would follow only if there is a functional, accountable and participatory disaster management mechanism in place. This month’s flood disasters in two states distant from...

-The Hindu Did Kerala and Uttarakhand receive incessant rain in October due to climate change? The story so far: Even as the southwest monsoon began to retreat from the subcontinent, Kerala and Uttarakhand received record rainfall in October. In both these States and others, over the last few years, there have been variations in the pattern and intensity of rainfall. Kerala had seen a severe spell in 2018, which caused havoc. This...

-The Hindu Business Line The 2016 report had flagged the disastrous impact of unchecked illegal constructions; but it was never tabled in the Assembly Early warnings of a 2016 draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) Kerala office about the disastrous implications of the environmental degradation due to unchecked and illegal construction activities in the State seem to have been buried, with the report inexplicably not getting tabled in the...