-The Hindu Confining it to just the Ministry of Rural Development would be the most retrograde step in democratic decentralisation in over a quarter century. If, as The Hindu’s exclusive on Wednesday indicates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to close down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it would confirm one’s worst fears about his government’s hypocritical approach to grass-roots democracy for grass-roots development. This was a lacuna that was evident in the ‘Gujarat...
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Areas under minor millets cultivation shrinking in Orissa -Akshaya Kumar Sahoo
-The Asian Age Bhubaneswar: Traditionally-cultivated minor millets are the major sources of sustenance for lakhs of tribals and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers living in southern and western parts of Orissa. Over 170 varieties of millets are cultivated in the hilly and forested areas in the state. Some of the prominent minor millets largely cultivated in Orissa include sorghum (jawari) spiked millet (Bajra) and finger millet (Ragi/Mandika), among others. The nutritional value of the minor...
More »Infant mortality down in Attappady -KA Shaji
-The Hindu Malnutrition-related deaths fall from 58 in 2013 to 14 last year, as per Health dept. figures Palakkad (Kerala): Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comparison of the tribal situation in Attappady with the human development indices of Somalia has brought back national attention to the tribal belt, official figures confirm that infant mortality and neonatal deaths are coming down in the region. Though half a dozen infant deaths have been reported...
More »Somalia remark: Food for thought -Viju B
-The Times of India It would be fair to the impoverished tribals of Attapadi if both chief minister Oommen Chandy and CM-in-waiting Pinarayi Vijayan get their acts right before politicizing the tribal issue and blaming Prime Minster Narendra Modi for 'insulting the people of Kerala.' A detailed study done by research scholars of Chittur College, Palakkad - analyzing the livelihood status of tribes in Attapadi block revealed that the Human Development...
More »This tribal farmer preserves 40 indigenous paddy seeds and incurs Rs 30,000 loss every year -Rajesh Pandathil and O P Raveendran
-FirstPost.com “Should break their legs,” rages 66-year-old Cheruvayal Raman (fondly called Ramettan). He had bought some sardines from the market. The minute they were immersed in water to wash, all of them dissolved. “It seems they were called Oman sardines. They were full of chemicals and preservatives,” he says. Ramettan indeed has the right to be angry because he has been toiling for the last 56 years to preserve traditional methods of...
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