-Hindustan Times Farmer unions have been telling farmers to burn the straw until the government doles out some funds per acre for expenses that go into managing it by other means. Patiala: Seeking government aid to handle farm residue before following the ban on burning of paddy straw, farmer unions’ representatives collectively set fire to it in a 25-acre field at Shajju Bhatt village in Nabha to send across a message...

-Livemint.com The government should put greater emphasis on behaviour change than construction of toilets In 2014, more than half of India’s population still practised open defecation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi set his government the goal of making the country open defecation-free in five years, by the 150th anniversary of M.K. Gandhi’s birthday in 2019, by launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA). Three years later, we are more than halfway into that period,...

-The Hindu Business Line Abuse of antibiotics, poor waste management main reasons: CSE study New Delhi: The unfettered use of antibiotics to keep chicks healthy in poultry farms has led to a proliferation in bacteria, which are resistant to the best of drugs used for fighting infections, according to a new study. An analysis carried out by the New Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the soil in and around...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recently ordered closure of many polluting units in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere, but such a 'drastic' step could soon be the last resort if the government finally legislates a proposed law which imposes heavy fines on violators instead of shutting them down altogether. The proposed law provides for an increase in the existing penalty from Rs 1 lakh to...

-The Indian Express According to a report prepared by CPCB in March last year, the cities of Varanasi and Faridabad are the most polluted in winters, with the air quality index regularly showing the severely polluted warning sign. Delhi is at number three, as per the report. Delhi’s air quality has suffered more in the first two weeks of August as compared to the same time last year, data collated by the...