NAGAPATTINAM: For the first time in a hundred years, dalits of Chettipulam village stepped inside the local Shiva temple on Tuesday, in a historic moment brought about by government and political intervention. Escorted by revenue and police officers, nearly 70 dalits of the village situated near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district entered the century-old Kamatchi Amman Sametha Ekambareswarar Temple at around 11 am and offered prayers for 25 minutes. Dressed in...

The right to information act (RTI) which is hailed as a great leap forward in the direction of transparency in governance is under serious threat. The UPA government that showcased the historical act as one of its achievements in the last Lok Sabha elections now seems to be bowing down to the system’s high and mighty by proposing amendments which seem designed to take the sting out of the people’s...

Ranchi, Sept. 21: As many as 21 families belonging to endangered tribes of Jharkhand haven’t been able to locate land given to them by the government 15 years ago, exposing the sham perpetuated by successive state governments professing their concern for the primitive tribes. This reality stared at the face of Ranchi deputy commissioner K.K. Soan and accompanying officials yesterday when they were visiting Basu Kocha and Jorebore villages of...

Ranchi, Sept. 12: Governor K. Sankaranarayanan has revealed that as much as Rs 1,000 crore had lapsed from funds meant for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 2008-09 in Jharkhand, prompting the Centre’s think-tank behind the job scheme to dub the state’s implementation record as “poor”. Calling the finding “unfortunate”, the governor today said the state could not afford to lose funds allocated for the welfare of the people....

The distribution of iron fortified rice is part of the Government of India's push to combat anaemia and it will become a near mandatory programme for the poor, for whom this rice will be inescapable i.e., PDS, ICDS, school meals, etc.  The fact-finding visit was organised by Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj) and the Right To Food Campaign (RTFC) between June 13th to 15th 2022, and included a...