Dibrugarh: Over a hundred birds died of suspected pesticide poisoning in a tea estate at Moran in Dibrugarh today. Forest officials said samples of the dead birds would be sent to the forensic laboratory for tests to ascertain the cause. Today’s deaths at Tiloijan tea estate comes close on the heels of migratory birds dying inside Kaziranga National Park on Thursday. Tea workers and people living in and around the...

There has been uproar in southern India's Andhra Pradesh assembly in protest against the government's decision to create a new state. Lawmakers have shouted slogans against the decision to carve out a new state of Telangana in its north. An estimated 35 million people will live in the new state, Telangana. Separately, a four-day strike called by a regional political party demanding a separate state has begun in India's tea-producing Darjeeling...

The Assembly elections saw the culture of “coverage packages” explode across Maharashtra. In many cases, a candidate just had to pay for almost any coverage at all.  C. Ram Pandit can now resume his weekly column. Dr. Pandit (name changed) had long been writing for a well-known Indian language newspaper in Maharashtra. On the last day for the withdrawal of nominations to the recent State Assembly elections, he found himself...

Darjeeling, Oct. 14: The European Union has asked for public opinions on Darjeeling Tea, a step towards granting patent to the brew growing in the Darjeeling hills after its producers requested GI protection of the commodity. Six months have been given to file objections before a decision can be taken to grant Geographical Indicator status to Darjeeling Tea. This is the first time a non-European has approached the EU for...

Fairness in land acquisition is difficult to achieve A market’s charm, leaving out cases of distress sale, lies in the fact that it ensures for individuals the right to refuse unacceptable transactions. This observation, though pedestrian, has implications for the controversies surrounding the use of agricultural land for industrial growth in Bengal. Indeed, many — the present author included — have argued in favour of land acquisition through markets, for...