-The Hindu The densely populated slums on the hilly slopes of the Mumbai suburbs are sitting on deathtraps as the recent disaster in Chembur demonstrated. Alok Deshpande reports on the tragedy that took lives and swept away houses, once again highlighting the need for a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the ever-expanding city Subhash Ghashing, 21, took out his mobile phone and logged on to play an online warfare game at around...

-The Hindu Landslides kill 49 in Raigad; rescue efforts hampered. At least 60 persons have lost their lives in landslides triggered by intense rain in western Maharashtra and the coastal Konkan region as monsoon fury continued unabated over the region on Friday. While the entire State, including the normally arid Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, have been receiving particularly heavy showers over the last 72 hours, the situation remained particularly grim in the Mahad...

-The Hindu Konkan coast has seen 29% more rain than normal while central and northeast India have seen a deficit Rainfall amid the monsoon’s revival since the second week of July has seen significant variation across the country. Several parts of the western Konkan coast and the southern peninsula were seeing instances of extreme rainfall. According to the India Meteorological Department data on the regional distribution, the ‘South Peninsula’ has seen 29% more...

-IndiaSpend.com Women farmers are taking the lead in reviving the cultivation of native varieties of millets that are resilient to drought, salinity, extreme heat, pests and diseases; need less water than paddy; and are richer in nutrition. Nestled in the remote forested hills of Odisha's Malkangiri district, Bondaghati is home to the Bonda tribe, one of the 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) in the state. Some 12,321 Bonda people lived in...

-Down to Earth Bihar usually gets heavy rains in July and August; floods in June are an unusual occurrence, experts said Several villages have been flooded after 3-4 days of early monsoon rains in the catchment areas of the Gandak and Burhi Gandak rivers in Nepal and north Bihar. Affected districts include West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj and Muzaffarpur. Other rivers including the Bagmati, Koshi, Kamla Balan, Bhuthi Balan and Ghaghara are also...