-The Hindustan Times If you've somehow managed to wrench yourself away from witnessing the ever plunging new lows during the ongoing election campaigns, including name calling, mud (and ink) slinging and repeated exchanges of the same accusations between political rivals, you will surely have noticed the exuberance in the markets - the Sensex has touched a record high and the long-languishing rupee has strengthened to within striking distance of sub-Rs 60...
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Where the poor become kidnap fodder-Rahi Gaikwad
-The Hindu Maoists in Jamui use this tactic in dealings with contractors Jamui (Bihar): After the trucks were loaded with sand and the invoices prepared, Raju Yadav hung his boots for the day. As darkness spread over the Kiyul river, he settled down for a chat with his co-workers at a nearby shelter. "Suddenly, a group of 20 armed Maoists dressed in fatigues swooped down on us and took us hostage. They tied...
More »Jairam Ramesh brushes aside National Green Tribunal flak on clearance to 3 mines in Chhattisgarh
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A day after receiving flak from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh defended his decision, as then environment minister, to clear three cases of coal mining in Chhattisgarh. Ramesh said he acted on his "own assessment" which was well within his right as a minister. In a statement, Ramesh said, "While forest advisory committee (FAC) was carrying out its due diligence,...
More »Hill of death -Alok Gupta
-Down to Earth More than 200 people in 14 villages near Roro hill in Jharkhand are dying slowly because of an abandoned asbestos mine During a film shoot at the beautiful Roro hill in Jharkhand's Chaibasa district, the villain takes out his gun to kill a young man. The moment he shoots, onlooker Rango Deogam bursts into laughter and yells at the camera crew, "You are shooting a death scene on the...
More »India's rice warrior battles to build living seed bank as climate chaos looms-John Vidal
-The Guardian Rice conservationist Debal Deb grapples with 'mindless Indian elite' to reintroduce genetically diverse, drought-tolerant varieties Fifty years ago, every Indian village would probably have grown a dozen or more rice varieties that grew nowhere else. Passed down from generation to generation and family to family, there would have been a local variety for every soil and taste - rice that would grow well in droughts or deep floods, which had...
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