Pantoka is a beehive of activity. The spirit of protest in this small hamlet on the India-Nepal border is not a simple case of topical environmental awakening; it is a desperate struggle for life in which more than 1 lakh lives are at stake. Today, the first day of June, the citizens of Bihar's Raxaul sub-division in East Champaran district will stage a massive blockade on National Highway 28A, shutting off...

Leprosy has officially been eliminated in India, yet 130,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Richard Cookson and Seyi Rhodes report on the plight of the patients shunned by society Narsappa was just 10 years old when he was told he had leprosy, but the news changed the course of his life forever. People in his Indian village immediately began to shun him and told his parents that he had to...

Trade unions and labour rights activists blame the high suicide rate in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, on the practices of the garment industry. TIRUPUR has carved out a niche for itself in the world of garments. Its phenomenal growth in the highly competitive global scenario, particularly in the past two decades, has been made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit of its manufacturers and exporters and the sweat and labour of thousands of...

Regular helpings of fruit are a dietary given, but increasing use of harmful chemicals for artificially ripening has often left buyers helpless. The Union health ministry has now stepped in, deciding to punish guilty vendors with up to six months in jail and fine of Rs 1,000. Vendors often resort to use of chemicals such as calcium carbide to ripen fruits, specially mangoes, bananas, papayas, apples and plums before time....

Coca Cola rejects findings; Pepsico says its plants meet Pollution Control Board norms  Cadmium and lead detected in samples from Ghaziabad Chromium can cause skin rashes, upset stomach, respiratory problems and cancer Your daily dose of cola could be poisoning the lives of communities living near soft drink manufacturing plants, according to a study by Hazards Centre. The NGO found high levels of toxic chromium and other pollutants in the soil and water...