-The Wire Science The camel is known popularly as the ship of the desert. But for all their resilience in the austere environs of the Thar desert, their numbers have plummeted in recent years. According to the 20th livestock census, released in 2019, there are some 2.5 lakh camels, down from the 4 lakh counted during the previous census in 2012. And this decline has environmentalists, policymakers and camel herders worried. Rajasthan...

-The Hindu Business Line A low turnout at the famous Puskhar fair highlights the declining interest in the once-popular profession of camel herding The Pushkar Fair, held annually in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, is known as one of the world’s largest cattle fairs. It also celebrates the age-old traditions of the pastoralist camel-herding Raika tribe. On November 4-12, more than 1,000 of the community’s camel herders arrived with their livestock at the fair. They...

-Financial Express From camelccino to camel milk chocolate, there’s no dearth of delicacies on offer. Camel milk is in the news. And hailing its virtue is none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a gathering of farmers in Anand, Gujarat, in October, Modi narrated how he was ridiculed for describing camel milk as nutritious once. It was during his stint as chief minister of Gujarat that he had tried promoting camel...

-TheWire.in/ India Water Portal Nanduwali in east Rajasthan started flowing again when the villagers decided to work with nature and not against it. The river is now lifeline to those settled on her banks. Gajanand Sharma is excited about the monsoon this year. He is building an anicut on the small stream that runs through his farm. “After the rain, the land will be filled with water and then I will sow...