Sikkim rail project: Is it development or disaster waiting to happen?
Bishnu Rai gets emotional every time he tries to speak about his home. Especially since he’s on the verge of losing it. Thirty-one-year old Rai lives on a hilltop in…
Articles by Gurvinder Singh
Freelance journalist based in Calcutta, India.
Can climate-resilient clones save Darjeeling tea?
Like many tea drinkers across the country who can’t imagine life without their favourite cuppa, Debasree Majumder’s day starts and ends with her staple Darjeeling tea. “I have four cups…
The Ajodhya hills are alive with the sound of resistance
The picturesque Ajodhya hills of Purulia district in West Bengal are turning into a backdrop for a power struggle. Quite literally. Ajodhya hills, located in the easternmost part of the…
As Kolkata’s groundwater level depletes, consequences go beyond water shortage
The weather is sultry and the temperature is scorching at Raipur locality in Jadavpur, off south Kolkata. The furnace-like conditions have forced residents to stay indoors. But Meena Nag is…
Firewood ignites political cauldron in Manipur
Hatjalhing Lhanghal resides in Khochijang village of Manipur, around 60 kilometers from the state capital Imphal. Khochijang is a remote village in Tuibuong block of Churchandrapur district, surrounded by mountains…
Manipur’s recent plastic ban appears in election discussions
Forty-year-old Thoi has been selling different varieties of rice inside the historic Ima Keithel all-women market in Imphal, the capital city of India’s north-east state of Manipur, for the past…
There are Sarus cranes in my paddy field: changing community perceptions to conserve an endangered bird
Basant Singh is a happy man nowadays. He always carries a pair of binoculars with him and never misses an opportunity to spot a Sarus crane (Antigone antigone) idling in…
Gharials of Gandak: A population back from the brink faces development pressures
Lalsa Yadav gushes with a big smile on his face every time he spots a gharial in the river Gandak, that flows through West Champaran district of Bihar, bordering Nepal.…
Mining devours Saranda, the largest sal forest in Asia
Krishna Birhor often complains of fever and bouts of vomiting. The 22-year-old depends on herbs from the forest to cure his illness. But he rues that it is just a…
Sentimental value alone can’t save Mizoram’s dying river
This is the second article in a two-part series on the role of environment in the upcoming elections in Mizoram. Part One examines the issue of land use for agriculture, especially…
