Proposed asbestos project could lead to a ‘Turner & Newall' epidemic There is a spectre over the verdant fields of Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, hitherto suppressed by the clamour and euphoria of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's massive electoral mandate. Its cause is asbestos — the magic mineral, paradoxically known by its more sinister monikers of the “killer dust” and “the silent time-bomb.” In November last, the Kolkata-headquartered Balmukund Cement & Roofing Ltd. (BCRL) proposed...

Says the bank has also stopped refinancing farm loans Says no NABARD official has visited his office in a year Criticises Milma for deposits in a private bank Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran said here on Monday that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) had not been taking the initiative to hold discussions on implementing the Vaidyanathan committee report on cooperative sector reforms and had stopped refinancing farm loans in the...

A sea water farming project and a genetic garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam today The year 2010 marks the 80th anniversary of the Salt Satyagraha launched at Dandi by Mahatma Gandhi and at Vedaranyam by Rajaji to establish that sea water is a social resource. A Sea Water Farming project and a Genetic Garden of Halophytes are being launched at Vedaranyam on December 26, 2010 to initiate a...

If it was the inability to resettle 450 families that sealed the fate for Korean steelmaker Posco in Orissa, the failure to give jobs to another 500 families in and around the Vedanta project in Niyamgiri put paid to the aluminium major’s plans, said National Advisory Committee member NC Saxena, who wrote the report that resulted in cancellation of Vedanta’s project. On being asked about the contradictions between development and growth,...

Vinita Kamte, the wife of slain additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, has been declared the winner of National RTI Award 2010 in the ‘Best RTI Citizen’ category. Right to information activist Satish Shetty, who was murdered in Lonavla, would be honoured posthumously along with 10 RTI activists who were killed recently. The awards ceremony is slated to be held in January...