Delhi's air is not fit to inhale. Experts argue that prolonged exposure to toxic air could lead to serious health hazards like heart and lung diseases, various types of cancer etc. But is it the case that the smog, which engulfed the entire National Capital Region (NCR) and many of the north Indian cities during October-November was entirely caused due to burning of firecrackers in Diwali or because of vehicular...

-Hindustan Times Sukhwant Singh, a farmer in Haryana’s Kurukshetra, had most of his 12 acres of agricultural land under paddy. After harvesting his crop, he set the paddy stubble on fire, burning it to the ground within a few hours. Singh and most other paddy growers in Punjab and Haryana, who are facing financial constraints due to falling productivity and dwindling returns, do not care about the ban on stubble burning put...

-NDTV In Wayanad, many farmers have started using sprinklers to irrigate his crops. Paddy cultivator KP John said he has been forced to adopt it due to scarcity of water for irrigation. State Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan declared Kerala a drought hit state on Monday in the Assembly. Most of the water reservoirs across the state have recorded a water deficit of 50 per cent. The South West monsoon has been deficit...

-Hindustan Times Chandigarh: ON FARM FRONT Food security of the nation continues to be in the hands of Punjab that contributes the maximum share of wheat to the central pool but its farmers need reforms, not sops, to find a way out of the debt trap. Haryana started at a disadvantage but is gaining ground though the state govt’s role leaves much to be desired. Punjab awaits another revolution The tumultuous trifurcation of Punjab...

-The Hindu Tiruchi: The farmers of Lalgudi block said absence of summer showers had brought down the growth of the green manure. There has been a growing awareness among farmers in raising green manure for enriching the fertility of the soil. A farmer of Peruvalanallur in Lalgudi block, V. Padmanabhan, a retired PWD Executive Engineer, said that he raised green manure — daincha — on 13 acres, for use in his paddy fields....