-The Times of India AURANGABAD: At a time when all of Marathwada is reeling under a drought-like situation, Akola Dev, a small village with a population of 3,000 in the Jafrabad taluka of Jalna district has set an example by introducing efficient water conservation methods in its periphery. All the villagers have joined hands to implement water conservation methods, thereby enabling them to sustain on last year's rainfall. Moreover, the farmers in...

-Down to Earth Going by current trends, the target for reducing infant mortality and improving other human development indices seem near impossible to achieve Less that 500 days are left for nations to achieve the targets set under the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); there are eight such goals which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education. The countdown for the deadline...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre is likely to set up a specialized agency to chart the resettlement and rehabilitation plan for families displaced by land acquisition. The agency, tentatively called the 'R&R Board', will take care of all cases of acquisition as against the present system of the district collector appointing an 'administrator' in every district to work out the R&R plan where land is taken over. Though still...

-The Week Manorama Online Broken hearts float down the Bhakra Main Line canal. Broken by the endless struggle with the land, with the weather, with the creditor. Broken by broken promises, broken by the honour they lost, broken enough to kill themselves. And, at the sluice gate at Khanauri village they slow down, looking up with unseeing eyes. And, from the bridge across the canal, the beating hearts they broke look...

-The Business Standard Monsoon revival saves standing crop but fails to fill drinking water wells, triggering acute shortage in some areas Jhunjhunu/Nawalgarh: Just opposite the highway leading to the Jhunjhunu district headquarters lies the hamlet of Pratappura. It is indistinguishable from the thousands of small dwellings that dot the countryside, but for the chasm between the upper and lower castes in this Jat-dominated area. The divide has widened after the sole source...