Reportage
Jagatsinghpur, Odisha: Men escape the village fearing arrest; the fight is far from over, say women
Activists demand judicial enquiry into the ‘police atrocities’ on January 14 when villagers protesting against the proposed steel plant in Dhinkia were baton charged. Meanwhile, police are trying to nab the villagers who clashed with the officials. JSW, the steel plant giant, has promised development and employment in the region.
Ashis Senapati
Uttarakhand Elections 2022: Climate change-induced extreme events not a poll agenda for political parties
From Chamoli landslide to Kedarnath floods, Uttarakhand has witnessed umpteen disasters in recent times that have wreaked havoc on its population. Yet none of the major political parties – BJP, Congress and AAP – have raised environment protection as an election issue. Experts warn that climate proofing of infrastructure, investments, and policies in the Himalayan state is crucial.
Sarah Khan
‘No road, no vote’: Elections come, elections go, but these villages in UP yet to get a road
Poll-bound Uttar Pradesh has a road network of over 300,000 km. But that means nothing to over 40,000 predominantly tribal residents of 13 villages in Matwar gram panchayat of Mirzapur who do not have a motorable road. The lack of roads adversely impacts the villagers as they struggle to access education, health facilities, markets and employment avenues. Now, they have threatened to boycott the upcoming assembly elections unless their gram panchayat gets a tar road.
Brijendra Dubey
Their fields cut off by dam’s water, farmers in UP’s Lalitpur demand govt to make way or buy their land
Although the Bhavani dam project will provide irrigation facilities to thousands of farmers in and around Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region, hundreds of cultivators in Jarawali village complain that the project has cut off access to their agricultural fields. Read on to know more.
Arvind Singh Parmar
‘Collarwali’, ‘Supermom’, ‘Queen of Pench’ – Here’s how forest officials, vets and villagers remember T-15 tigress
T-15 was popularly known as ‘Collarwali’ as she was the first tiger to be radio collared in the Pench Tiger Reserve in 2008 where she birthed 29 cubs. Her contribution to making Madhya Pradesh the top state with the highest tiger population in the country is immense and unparalleled, say the forest officials.
Arun Singh
A qawwali to quit alcohol
Stories can change lives, teach valuable lessons and of course entertain. And when they are set to music, they can be transforming, as this qawwali written by the famous storyteller Neelesh Misra shows.
Gaon Connection
Odisha: Protest against proposed steel plant in Jagatsinghpur turns violent, 40 villagers injured in police action
Paddy and betel farmers of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang villages in Jagatsinghpur district declare they will not give their land for the construction of a steel plant. However, the state administration claims the land in question has already been acquired after due procedure and compensation. More details here.
Ashis Senapati
Migration causing lower voter turnout in Uttarakhand, situation to worsen due to COVID19: Report
An analysis by a non-profit organisation shows that migration of population from Uttarakhand to other states is contributing to a low voter turnout in the elections. The situation is worse in the hill districts which, according to the analysis, are witnessing higher incidence of migration than the districts in the plains.
Gaon Connection
More than 70% surveyed rural household in Andhra consume iodised salt: Survey
A survey to assess the iodine nutrition status in Andhra Pradesh has found that 71.9 per cent households in the southern state are consuming iodised salt. However, consumption of traditional crystal salt is exposing the rural and tribal people to iodine deficiency as the disease prevalence is higher in such populations.
Gaon Connection
‘At 350 deaths, Maharashtra reports the highest toll due to extreme weather events in 2021’
2021 was the fifth warmest year on record since 1901, as per the India Meteorological Department. The Met department also stated that in addition to the five tropical cyclones that formed in 2021, the year was marred with extreme weather events like extremely heavy rainfall leading to floods, landslides, lightning, thunderstorms, and droughts which took lives of 1,750 people across the country.