-The Times of India   VISAKHAPATNAM: The deadly duo of scorching heat and poll fever is taking its toll on the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the three north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam. According to the reports, while nearly 400 NREGS workers have fallen sick in the last two weeks due to their punishing double duty under extreme weather conditions -- NREGS works...

-The New Indian Express   PARALAKHEMUNDI: Miliara, a nondescript tribal dominated village in Gumma block of Gajapati, wears a deserted look. Home to 62 families, many of them have shifted to other parts of the State to escape the cruel summer. And those who have stayed back are having to struggle with water crisis, the biggest problem in the village. Villagers here earn their livelihood from tamarind and cashewnut plantation. But no the yield...

-The Hindu   Whatever be the crop, farmers need guidance at the right time for harvesting a good yield. Right from availability of good seedlings, pest management strategies, regular visits to the plantation sites by experts and sourcing a good market for the produce are not only a farmer's tasks but also involve the experts dealing in the particular area. "The job becomes more challenging when one has to work among tribals and...

-Human Rights Watch New Delhi: School authorities in India persistently discriminate against children from marginalized communities, denying them their right to education, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Four years after an ambitious education law went into effect in India guaranteeing free schooling to every child ages 6 to 14, almost every child is enrolled, yet nearly half are likely to drop out before completing their elementary education. The...

-Down to Earth   Tribal voters refused to allow polling officers to put ink mark on their finger nail, fearing reprisal by Maoists In the dense forests of Saranda in Jharkhand, residents say two things rarely touch the ground-one, sunlight and, two, government development schemes. The forest had been a hotbed of Maoist activities and a large number of panchayats in Manoharpur block around the dense forest never voted in the past...