Reportage
Citing air pollution, open letter to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urges cycle-ban to be revoked in Kolkata
The letter was a part of the #BringBackCycles campaign which has been launched by a Kolkata-based non-profit organisation named SwitchON Foundation. Details here.
Gaon Connection
World’s Indigenous Peoples Day: Tribal villages in Panna, Madhya Pradesh turn into islands in the monsoon
Even as we celebrate the World’s Indigenous Peoples day today, there are several adivasi villages in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh that lack even basic amenities. For four months of the monsoons, the inhabitants of these villages are marooned and the only way to reach the outside world is walking through slushy bogs, swollen streams and deep forests, till they reach a roadhead.
Arun Singh
The lucrative business of mushrooms that can be used in chocolates, cookies and pickles
Mushrooms are high in nutrients and take no more than 20 days to be harvested, thus making them more attractive than other crops. The horticultural department in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, is training the youth in mushroom cultivation and allied businesses.
Gaon Connection
35 needles, black sesame dye and a prayer for the tiger god — the Baiga tribe’s godna art
On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, read about the Baiga tribe women from Chhattisgarh who mandatorily have to get their bodies tattooed. The ritual is performed in the forest by senior women from the community and involves appeasing the ‘tiger god’.
Gaon Connection
IPCC’s new report warns of increased precipitation and intense heatwaves in India; severe rise in rainfall over south India
As per the AR6 Working Group I report released today on August 9, the increase in rainfall will be more severe over southern parts of India. Rainfall over the southwest coast could increase by around 20%, relative to 1850-1900. If the planet warms by 4°C, India could see about a 40% increase in precipitation annually.
Nidhi Jamwal
An integrated farming model promises monthly earning of Rs 25,000 from an acre of land
The agriculture department of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh has developed an integrated farming system to raise the incomes of small and marginal farmers. By adopting poultry and fish farming, along with cultivating crops, farmers can earn up to Rs 25,000 per month from an acre of land.
Mohit Shukla
Explained: India approves Johnson & Johnson’s single dose COVID19 vaccine — its efficacy, past controversies
Johnson and Johnson’s COVID19 vaccine, named as Janssen, has become the fourth COVID19 vaccine, and the first single-dose vaccine, to be allowed emergency use authorisation in India. How effective is it, what controversies has it faced in the past, details here.
Gaon Connection
From peasants to princesses and every one in between, the Indian handloom sari has clothed them all
It is National Handloom Day today, and a good time to acknowledge the contribution of the thousands of weavers who bring us exquisite fabrics that are inextricably embedded with our culture. Wrap yourself in history and lore as Gaon Connection takes you on a journey, the whole six yards.
Pankaja Srinivasan
To address human-elephant conflict, Chhattisgarh forest dept plans to feed paddy to wild elephants
The Chhattisgarh government has proposed a ‘novel’ initiative to feed wild elephants with all the ‘surplus’ rice it has stored in its godowns, in the hope it will reduce human-elephant encounters. Wildlife experts unhappy at the proposed change in diet.
Praphull Thakur
Kachchh villagers on vigil to save Sangnara forest from a windmill project
A tropical thorn forest in Kachchh district of Gujarat is under threat from windmills being erected by cutting down hundreds of trees, complain villagers. For the past two months, villagers are on a vigil to stop entry of equipment for the wind energy project. Yesterday, August 6, they launched a major protest to save their forest.