-IPS News NAYAGARH (IPS): Kama Pradhan, a 35-year-old tribal woman, her eyes intent on the glowing screen of a hand-held GPS device, moves quickly between the trees. Ahead of her, a group of men hastens to clear away the brambles from stone pillars that stand at scattered intervals throughout this dense forest in the Nayagarh district of India’s eastern Odisha state. The heavy stone markers, laid down by the British 150 years...
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Facing uncertain rains, farmers dig in -Amita Bhaduri
-India Water Portal Bankura in West Bengal receives 1000 mm of rainfall a year, yet thousands of adivasi farmers in the area were faced with irrigation issues -- until 'happas' came to the rescue. Amulya Soren couldn’t get stable yields in the kharif (monsoon) paddy in his farm. A member of the Santhal tribe, he was the beneficiary of a surplus land redistribution programme in Hirbandh block of Bankura, West Bengal....
More »Iodine bindis for tribal women to fight deficiency -Shobita Dhar
-The Times of India An iodine patch, designed like a regular bindi, is expected to help one lakh tribal women in north-west Maharashtra battle iodine deficiency. Since these tribals don't consume iodized salt, they are usually deficiency in this nutrient. Last month, these iodine bindis were distributed free to tribal women in villages near Nashik and Ahmednagar. "Each woman got 30 bindis to last a month. When stuck on the forehead, it...
More »Lack of Clarity and Vision in New Mines and Minerals Act -EAS Sarma
-Economic and Political Weekly Much has been claimed on behalf of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act that has been enacted by Parliament, but the legislation has introduced a watered-down version of auctions, has many exceptions to legalise the old first-cum-firstserve approach, and ignores previous Supreme Court rulings on measures to ensure sustainable development. E A S Sarma (eassarma@gmail.com) is a former Union Power Secretary. With a brute majority in...
More »Progressing, stitch by stitch -Usha Rai
-The Hindu Rural women sew their way to empowerment, thanks to the Silai Schools. Saroj Namdev, 36, of Satlapur village, Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is a housewife and mother of three. She struggled to provide her children food and education on her husband's small income. Then he lost his job and the family was reduced to penury. This pushed her out of her cocooned existence to become an entrepreneur. Saroj,...
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