-The Hindustan Times I remember her face but not her name. She was one of the 30 people I met one winter afternoon in 2009 at Basaguda village in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Bijapur district. A thin, tall woman, she stood at the edge of the group, listening attentively to her neighbour who was narrating an incident of an armed attack on the village that had left them homeless for months. When my...

-The Hindustan Times Can a bank be held liable if a customer is robbed inside the bank premises, but before he has deposited cash with the cashier? The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has delivered conflicting verdicts. In a recent judgment NCDRC ruled that a bank's security guard is under no obligation to provide security to account holders, and therefore, the bank cannot be forced to compensate a customer whose money...

-The Hindustan Times     Burning of agricultural waste in Punjab in India and Pakistan in the last one week may be the reason behind the thick smog that has engulfed entire northern India, according to new satellite images released by Nasa. Latest photographs released by US satellite agency showed hundreds of fire hot-spots (in red) across Punjab in India and Pakistan on October 27 and on November 5 confirming local pollution is not...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: A grey smog cover descended on Delhi, with residents of the Capital complaining of breathing problems on Tuesday. Experts said this was the season’s first severe smog spell, which may recur with the onset of winter. While a section of scientists blamed the gloom on pollution triggered by Diwali crackers, Delhi Pollution Control Committee chief Sandeep Mishra took a different stand. “Diwali pollution got cleared by Monday noon. We...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: The sting of dengue has turned more lethal this year with at least 15 persons falling prey to the bite of the aedes mosquito, compared to just four in 2012. Moreover, October recorded the highest number of dengue cases -- 2,442 - for the same month's reading in the past six years in the national capital. However, out of the 15 casualties, only six are confirmed dengue...