-Hindustan Times Hamirpur/ Jalaun/ Banda: The dangerous Sand Mafia stops at nothing. It kills, runs over men in uniform, kidnaps and, in Uttar Pradesh, even molests and rapes. Its impunity stems from the fact, as an HT investigation found, that complaints lodged with police often remain confined to files. Shivpal Singh, gram pradhan of Bansariya village, testifies to the mafia’s dominance. “In March 2014, the musclemen of a kingpin sexually assaulted two women...

-Outlook AP Initiates Economic Empowerment of Women Through Sand Mining Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched an initiative of entrusting sand mining to women self-help groups, which is essentially expected to curb the thriving Sand Mafia. The move will ensure economic empowerment of women as part of the government's 'Pedarikam pai gelupu' (victory over poverty) drive and make sand available at a reasonable price to customers. The income generated from sand mining and...

-The Hindustan Times   New Delhi: The Capital's pollution watchdog has asked Bisleri's packaged drinking water manufacturing plant in west Delhi to shut shop immediately. The reason: The plant has been drawing 3.31 lakh litres of groundwater every day without requisite approval. This quantity of water is sufficient to meet the daily requirements of 2,500 people. Illegal drawing of groundwater is a big menace. Census 2011 reveals that Delhi has about 4.5 lakh...

-Down to Earth Group has 1,750 farmers says pollution from industries has reduced them to poverty and political parties in power ignored their repeated pleas Ninety-five-year-old V Ammayappan is just back home from hospital after a kidney surgery. But this farmer from Melapalayam village in Tamil Nadu's Karur district is determined to cast his vote on April 24 when elections to Lok Sabha will be held in his state. He speaks with...

-The Hindustan Times India has driven the truck of development - loaded with tar, bricks, glass, concrete...the works - right through its most treasured and fragile green spaces in the last decade. While major cities like Delhi and Mumbai sacrificed green cover for real estate, the country's finest wildlife corridors have been ceded to indiscriminate industrialisation. In the absence of a clear policy to balance development and environment, the Aravallis in Gurgaon,...