-TheWire.in Corruption, poor quality construction materials and the specious implementation of schemes combined with the Centre’s flawed MSP policies have rendered the attempt to transform the region useless. Chitrakoot/ Banda: On a freezing night in early January, as anchors on television and radio jubilated in the new year and extolled the many ‘achievements’ of the incumbent government, Madhav Prasad, a 55-year-old farmer in Bundelkhand, lay anxious on a cot in his hut.  The...

-The Hindu The Government’s objection to the methodology of the Global Hunger Index is not based on facts The Global Hunger Report (GHR) has once again made headlines in India for the country’s poor ranking in terms of the Global Hunger Index (GHI). The report ranks India at 101 out of 116 countries, with the country falling in the category of having a ‘serious’ hunger SITuation. The ranks are not comparable across...

-The Tribune Kurukshetra: Shortage of DAP has triggered panic among farmers. They have started looking for fertiliser for the wheat-sowing season, but DAP is not easily available. Meanwhile, long queues were witnessed in Shahabad where the farmers had gathered to procure DAP. The farmers alleged that an artificial shortage was being created and private players were minting money by selling the fertiliser at exorbitant rates. Sanjeev, a farmer from Alampur village, said: “Farmers...

-The Tribune Along with better forecasts, we need better monitoring and reporting of actual rainfall, water levels in rivers and incidents of landslides. More timely and location-specific forecasts that would enable the disaster management authorities to take the necessary advance actions would help. Such emergency action plans would follow only if there is a functional, accountable and participatory disaster management mechanism in place. This month’s flood disasters in two states distant from...

-Newslaundry.com From a media blackout to carrying government handouts, Bangladeshi media’s coverage of the recent communal violence is a reflection of declining press freedom. A little after 2am on October 13, the eighth day of Durga Puja, a man walked into the puja venue at Nanuardighi in Cumilla, Bangladesh. The main idol was curtained off for the night, but near it was an idol of Hanuman. The man placed a book near...