Want to help citizens of rural India in COVID pandemic? Here’s a verified directory of rural initiatives
The Rural Response Tracker is a volunteer-led effort with verified details of various rural initiatives on medical supplies, food, livelihoods, vaccination, mental health and funeral services clubbed both state-wise and category-wise.
Nidhi Jamwal
A tweet opens a Pandora’s box of how rural India is coping with the COVID19 second wave
Rural India is floundering, with innumerable cases of fever and cold, classic COVID-19 symptoms. Villagers find themselves without testing facilities, medical help and vaccines. Hear what they have to say…
Nidhi Jamwal
Can rural Indians afford Rs 400-600 per dose of vaccine? Gaon Connection Survey had recently tried to find out
Last December, Gaon Connection released findings of its survey conducted across 16 states and 1 union territory. 36% rural respondents said they would not pay for the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those willing to pay for it, around two-thirds said they would like to pay less than Rs 500 for two doses of the vaccine. Details here.
Nidhi Jamwal
Nepal’s forest fires under control, but peak wildfire season has just begun
Since last November, Nepal has recorded over 2,700 wildfire incidents in 73 of its 77 districts. High levels of air pollution forced authorities to shut all educational institutions. Recent rains have extinguished a large number of fires, but the threat of more wildfire remains.
Nidhi Jamwal
Floods account for almost half the deaths in India due to extreme weather events in the past 50 years
In the past two decades, freak weather events such as floods, tropical cyclones, heat waves, cold waves and lightning have risen. Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Kerala and Maharashtra have the highest mortality, shows a recent Union ministry of earth sciences study.
Nidhi Jamwal
Malkangiri Model: Mic, mosquito nets and mass awareness to fight malaria
Trained ASHA workers go from door to door in Odisha’s Malkangiri, a hotbed of malaria, monitoring use of treated mosquito nets and checking villagers for fever. Last June, the Malaria-free Malkangiri Campaign was launched by converging 14 line departments. Malaria cases have since seen a decline.
Nidhi Jamwal
Uttarakhand: The Himalayan state is besieged by extreme floods and increased droughts
A recent analysis by think tank CEEW India shows a four-fold increase in extreme flood events and two-fold increase in droughts in the past five decades in Uttarakhand. More than 69% of its districts are vulnerable to droughts. Over 50,000 hectares of forest cover have been lost in the last 20 years.
Nidhi Jamwal
Chhattisgarh govt revives Bodhghat dam project; Bastar’s tribal communities launch strong protests
After four decades in cold storage, the 300 MW Bodhghat dam project has been revived by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. The project is expected to irrigate close to 400,000 hectares of farmland. It will also displace over 40 villages and submerge more than 5,000 hectares of forests.
Nidhi Jamwal
Uttarakhand Disaster: Glacier burst may not be the cause, but the Hindu Kush Himalayan region’s glaciers, which support over 1.3 billion people, are under threat
Union home minister Amit Shah told the Rajya Sabha today that a landslide led to the flash floods in Chamoli. Meanwhile, scientists are trying to ascertain the exact cause. Worryingly, a number of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region are receding. Ten of Asia’s largest rivers originate in the region sustaining over a billion people.
Nidhi Jamwal
Uttarakhand Disaster: Over 300 km from Joshimath in Chamoli, ripples of alarm in Himachal’s Lahaul and Spiti
Massive flash floods, possibly due to a glacier burst or a landslide, in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand have sent shock waves in Tandi and Gaushal panchayats in Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Villagers are holding meetings and passing gram sabha resolutions to oppose the proposed hydropower projects in their region.