-The Hindu Business Line One man with a backpack is determined to introduce the children of Kalagachia, West Bengal, to the joys of reading The conductor calls out “Mallikpur brickfield!” as the bus grinds to a halt. Across the road a tall chimney is visible — part of the brick-making outfit that this place is named after. A narrow sand-and-gravel path snakes from the road, through paddy fields, towards a village. The...
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West Bengal flood situation grim, Mamata monitors situation at control room
-PTI KOLKATA: Flood situation in south Bengal districts remained grim on Monday after fresh water was released from different barrages, compounding the woes of over 37 lakh people in 12 affected districts. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who stayed at state secretariat Nabanna overnight to personally monitor the flood situation, would visit Habra and Ashoknagar areas of North 24 Parganas to monitor the relief and rescue operations there. "Flood situation in the...
More »Taste, cost and climate change prompt return of folk rice
-PTI KOLKATA: Having lost the race to high- yielding varieties after the green revolution, a number of indigenous varieties of rice are now making a comeback due to their aroma, taste, low input cost and resilience to climate change. "More and more consumers are asking for the folk varieties these days as the taste is better. Farmers are also showing lot of interest in these varieties, which they had once forgotten," MC...
More »Integrated Farming: The Only Way to Survive a Rising Sea -Manipadma Jena
-IPS News SUNDARBANS, India- When the gentle clucking grows louder, 50-year-old Sukomal Mandal calls out to his wife, who is busy grinding ingredients for a fish curry. She gets up to thrust leafy green stalks through the netting of a coop and two-dozen shiny hens rush forward for lunch. In the Sundarbans, where the sea is slowly swallowing up the land, Mandal's half-hectare farm is an oasis of prosperity. The elderly couple resides...
More »Call for ‘mission mode’ to tackle arsenic contamination
-The Hindu Expressing serious concern over the extent of arsenic contamination in groundwater that has affected nearly 70 million people in 86 districts across 10 States, a Parliamentary panel led by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has favoured "mission mode'' approach by the Centre to deal with the problem. Dr. Joshi tabled the first report of the Committee on Estimates on ‘Occurrence of High Arsenic Content in Ground Water' in...
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