-Down to Earth The proposed 804 mega watt Jangi Thopan Powari hydroelectricity project over the Satluj threatens life, livelihood and ecology in the basin The people of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, are fighting another battle besides the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic — saving their rivers and forests threatened by a hydroelectric project. The residents of the valley have been protesting against the proposed 804 mega watt Jangi Thopan Powari hydroelectricity project (JTP HEP)...

-The Hindu In the pandemic, there aren’t enough buyers and government procurement is delayed For the second year running, forest dwellers across Odisha have been dePRIved of the right PRIce for the Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) gathered by them. With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting local economies across the country, the NTFP market in Odisha has also suffered due to the absence of adequate buyers this year. “Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced, forest...

-The Hindu The islanders have to be consulted before any change is imposed, they say A group of retired bureaucrats wrote an open letter to PRIme Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to express concern over what it termed were “disturbing developments” in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep “in the name of development”. Ninety-three former All India and Central services officers of the Constitutional Conduct Group wrote to Mr. Modi on the occasion of...

-The Hindu A takeaway from the pandemic is that India needs to revisit and refurbish its health infrastructure in the rural areas The two consecutive waves of COVID-19 and Mucormycosis have left us shattered. Multiple bruises have been caused to us. But during the second wave of the pandemic, it is our rural people who are struggling the most. They are struggling to get prompt and quality health care. The key role...

-ThePRInt.in A flawed procurement process has resulted in hospitals getting cheap ventilators, many of which are unusable, say doctors even in BJP-ruled states. Maharashtra was witnessing an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths when 150 ventilators arrived at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Aurangabad in the third week of APRIl. The Union health ministry had sent them. The hospital further distributed the machines to other district and PRIvate hospitals in...