The RTI application spilled out mind-boggling inconsistencies “THIS is our NREGS [National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme] farm pond [water harvesting structure],” says 24-year-old Dhanpati with a flourish. Puzzled by his rhetorical declaration, I ask him: “Where is it?” “It is this. You are standing on it,” he says with a wry smile. The farm pond, one of the agricultural revival measures planned by the Central government under the scheme, has not been dug at...
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Farmer's suicide not related to drought: Minister by Ananya Dutta
West Bengal Minister for Agriculture Naren Dey on Monday denied that the suicide by a farmer in Bardhaman district recently was related to drought, even as another such incident was reported from a neighbouring village. “The reason for the suicide is not known. In the first case we found out that the person had committed suicide because of family problems. The police will conduct investigations in this case as well to...
More »Drought-Hit Jharkhand, Boon for Some Farmers
Over 90 Kilometres south-east of capital Ranchi towards the Chandil dam are 48 villages residing 50,000 people for whom the prevailing drought has turned out to be a boon.The dam is an ambitious World Bank project meant to irrigate fields in Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. These villages are declared 'to-be submerged villages'. In order to store water up to 180 meters above sea level to fight drought, the state Irrigation...
More »Floods man-made, says report by Sushil Manav
Government apathy and “land grabbing” on the Ghaggar basin by builders with the alleged collusion of bureaucrats, politicians and engineers are responsible for the recent floods in Punjab and Haryana. A report of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) - “An analysis of flood disaster in the Ghaggar basin in July 2010” - suggests that the floods could be a wake up call for the affected states...
More »‘Save cultivated crops'
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, now on a tour of the State's drought-hit areas, has said that the prime task before the government was to save whatever crop had been sown in the 11 districts where cultivation had been badly affected by the errant monsoon. Protecting livelihoods was also very important, he said. “Our first task now is to save whatever crop has already been cultivated by the farmers in...
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