-The Indian Express There are about 44,000 villages in the state and it is an uphill task for the agency to monitor the ground water table for nearly double the number of wells. Pune: THE MAHARASHTRA government has roped in about 30,000 Jal Surakshaks to monitor the Groundwater situation even at micro -levels, including panchayats and blocks. The water care-takers, hired by the Ground Water Survey and Development Agency (GSDA), at...

-Down to Earth It is estimated that saving one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world Agriculture, along with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihood in India. About 82 per cent of the country’s farmers are small and marginal, having holdings less than one hectare. Over the years, irrigation potential has increased largely due to increased...

-The Hindu Business Line Thiruvananthapuram: J Cherian, an MBA in biotech from Scotland, who took to farming on his ancestral property in central Kerala, watches in despair as a merciless March sun beats down on his young plants. “This is unlike anything that I've seen in my eight years in the fields,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders. The administration seemed to concur, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declaring that artificial...

-The Hindu Indiscriminate digging of farm ponds has accelerated Groundwater extraction The Maharashtra government’s flagship Jalyukt Shivar Yojana has been touted as a drought-proofing scheme, but a field study conducted by South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) gives a different picture. The organisation carried out the study at Hiwargaon-Pawasa, a backwater village with a population of 1,500, in Ahmadnagar district’s Sangamner Taluk. The research presents a microcosmic example of how...

-The Hindu Rise in cancer cases in Punjab can be attributed to indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals after the Green Revolution Bathinda: Lying on a bench at the Bathinda railway station, sexagenarian Gurjant Singh waits to board the Abohar-Jodhpur passenger train. He, however, is not the only one waiting. As the train chugs into the platform, people rush to claim their seats. Those who are unsuccessful settle down on the floor. Soon, the...