-The Tribune Faridkot: The Ministry of Rural Development has communicated to the state that no funds would be released under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme till it fully utilised the first installment With two months left for the financial year to end, none of the 146 blocks in Punjab have fully utilised the MGNREGA funds. Until there is full utilisation of the first installment, which is 60...

-The Tribune Call follows traces of uranium in Bathinda and adjoining districts Bathinda: Various non-government organisations (NGOs) have demanded a ban on the use of groundwater for drinking and irrigation purposes as it contains a high concentration of uranium. It was in 1995 when researchers of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, discovered the presence of uranium in groundwater. The uranium concentration up to 15 ppb has been declared permissible by WHO but the...

-The Tribune BARC reports toxic metals in fertilisers as firms avoid costly decontamination process Bathinda (Punjab): The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has found high uranium content in diammonium phosphate and single superphosphate fertilisers that do not undergo the costlier decontamination process during production. The conclusion was reached after testing of soil and fertiliser samples. The Environmental Assessment Division of BARC sent a report on samples of DAP (diammonium phosphate) and single superphosphate...

-The Third Pole Villagers in India's Greater Noida district could be the latest victims of groundwater contamination with reports of increased cancer cases spurring investigations and concern about the situation elsewhere in the country The perils of groundwater contamination were again in the spotlight recently when media reports about drinking water causing cancer surfaced from five villages in an industrial belt on the outskirts of the Indian capital New Delhi. As medical experts...

-The Times of India BATHINDA (Punjab): Activists of farmers' body BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and farm labourers' outfit Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union went to the office of Bathinda deputy commissioner and submitted the list of 99 peasants, who had committed suicide in the district in 18 months between April 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. Families of suicide victims also assembled at Bathinda district administrative complex on Monday and sought a compensation...