Fighting the flood threat, North Indians may find it hard to believe that cumulative monsoon rainfall for the country is five per cent below the Long Period Average. It’s largely because the rain gods have not been particularly kind to the northeastern region. Most states in this region have received less than their usual share of rainfall this season, with Orissa and Jharkhand bearing the maximum brunt with 55% and 47%...

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...

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...

The implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 has created controversy in West bengal. The gram sabha, the basic unit in the process of forest rights recognition, has been replaced by the gram sansad, denoting the village level constituency under the panchayati raj system. This has been followed by contiguous arrangements as well as initiatives which are inconsistent with the Act....

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...