Hope runs dry as groundwater sources in Punjab drop to alarming levels
On the morning of February 21, 2018, Manvir Singh, 32, a farmer from Andana village in Sangrur district of Punjab, left early from home for his farm. When Manju, his…
To find out monkey fever’s next destination, scientists follow the ticks that carry it
Since it was first detected in a small village in the Karnataka Western Ghats in 1957, the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or monkey fever has affected over 9000 people across…
Mental well-being takes a hit post cyclone Fani
As Fani-struck Odisha rebuilds itself brick by brick, affected communities in temporary shelters are trying to move on, a month after the extremely severe cyclone hit the state. But for…
[Commentary] Back to the Future: Lessons from Cyclone Fani
On May 3, the coastal state of Odisha in eastern India witnessed Fani, an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ and the first major cyclone of the 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone…
[Commentary] In Kerala there was nothing “golden” about this missed opportunity
The city of Chennai and the surrounding areas went through major floods in November-December 2015. The entire state of Kerala went through a similar event in August 2018. Both the…
To parade or not: An elephantine problem at Thrissur Pooram
He is the most loved as well as feared among the 521 captive elephants, presently under private ownership in Kerala. So, it was with bated breath that Thrissur, the state’s…
No country for regulation – of genetically engineered crops
India’s seed market hides a sea of illegality, which keeps rearing its ugly head every once in a while. The discovery of genetically modified (GM) brinjal in a Haryana farmer’s…
Demand for FRA implementation in the Sundarbans echoes in 2019 general elections
The implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the Indian Sundarbans, a demand reiterated by a section of fisher and forest-dependent communities in the 2019 national elections, has been hindered…
Punjab farmers’ widows respond to apathy by standing in elections
In the agrarian state of Punjab, an average of two farmers have committed suicide every day, over the last 18 years, an estimate based on multiple reports. These statistics should…
Pepsico vs farmers: Plant varieties cannot be patented, emphasise legal experts
Food giant PepsiCo India, last week, formally withdrew cases it had filed against nine potato farmers in Gujarat. The multinational corporation was seeking Rs. 1.05 crores (Rs. 10.5 million) from…
