-Economic and Political Weekly Sustained and focused efforts have to be made by the Tamil Nadu state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to the drought affected people of the state. S Rajendran (myrajendran@gmail.com) is with the Department of Economics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Due to the failure of the north-east monsoon in December 2013, Tamil Nadu is witnessing drought like conditions this year, leading to poor agricultural productivity, rural distress,...
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India over-reporting green cover, study finds -Jayashree Nandi
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: On World Environment Day, this could be worrying news for the new environment minister. A study by forest researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) has concluded that India could be grossly "over-reporting" its forest cover. The researchers say that the existing forest cover, in reality, may be what the Forest Survey of India had reported back in 1997. This is because, they say,...
More »Water conservation measures in Western Ghats pay off -J Arockiaraj
-The Times of India MADURAI: The percolation pond at Mottanuthu at the foothill of Western Ghats of Elumalai town panchayat now abounds with water. Earlier, locals had no way to store rain water. The mango orchards nearby were vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. Not anymore. The efforts of the District Watershed Development Agency (DWDA) in Madurai to conserve water have paid off. Madurai district was offered Rs 172 lakh grant by...
More »Mizoram: bamboozled by land use policy-TR Shankar Raman
-The Hindu Forest cover loss has occurred at a period when area under jhum cultivation is declining, suggesting that the land use policy has been counterproductive to forests Two spectacular bamboo dances, one celebrated, the other reviled, enliven the mountains of Mizoram. In the colourful Cheraw, Mizo girls dance as boys clap bamboo culms at their feet during the annual Chapchar Kut festival. The festival itself is linked to the other dance:...
More »Survey bares tea garden ill health
-The Telegraph A survey by the state labour department has shown that of 273 tea estates in north Bengal, 107 don't have hospitals. Of the hospitals in the 166 tea gardens, there is no nurse in 116 hospitals, and there are MBBS doctors only in 74. The state of health care in tea gardens has been highlighted in a report prepared by the joint labour commissioner's office in Siliguri. The survey was taken...
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