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‘Leprosy is still a stigma in India’

June 26, 2014
|
Grassroots - Law
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk
Gandhiji giving massage,to a leper patient, the Sanskrit scholar Parchure Shastri, at Sevagram Ashram in 1940. Source: Wikimedia Commons

How can access to education and good healthcare change somebody's life is evident from Suresh Dhongde's success. At one point of time he was staring at possibility of a life wasted. Today, the 35-year-old is a proud recipient of the national award for being a role model in overcoming leprosy. Not only is he helping other leprosy-affected people join mainstream, but also trying to break well-entrenched stereotypes related to the disease. He is fighting against several laws and rules which discriminate against leprosy patients.

 

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'Chennai is not water-starved any more'

June 10, 2016
|
Environment
|
By: 
P V Durga
Dr Raghavan at the Rain Centre.

It's not without reason that the Third World War is predicted to be triggered by water scarcity. The numbers themselves give us enough reason to be worried- by 2025, 60 per cent of India is expected to be living in towns and cities. Bore wells are getting deeper, urban areas brimming with population, and some already suffer from water shortage. However, success stories of humble organisations like the Rain Centre in Chennai let the results speak for themselves, and keep hope alive. Chennai owes the success of its rainwater harvesting to Dr. Raghavan, and the work done through his Rain Center. 

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'Tawaifs were highly educated women erased from social scene by new morality'

October 30, 2015
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk
Rasoolan Bai was a courtesan famous for her thumri.

Courtesans contributed to music and literary scene of an era when most women were in purdah. 'The Other Song' is a film that examines how we stigmatised these performers resulting in annihilation of their profession which could not meet the new moral standards of independent India.  Their whole existence was termed immoral both by the British colonialists and also ironically by the nationalists who themselves were English educated and probably inspired by Colonial ideas.We talk to the film maker Saba Dewan on what she went through while projecting such a difficult subject on screen 

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'Uniqueness value of forest is irreplaceable'

October 2, 2019
|
Environment
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk
Valuation of ecosystem is gaining ground.

A recent study by IIFM found that 10 select tiger reserves of the country provide economic benefits worth Rs 5.96 trillion. Globally, efforts are being made to assess the benefits of conservation on economy and various methods and formulas have been devised to evaluate these aspects. Critics, however, believe that ecosystem valuation can lead to commodification of nature and its sale to the highest bidder. We talk to Dr Madhu Verma, lead researcher of IIFM study and an expert in field of ecosystem valuation.

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'We have got hope installed'

March 12, 2012
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk

For a city full of shopping malls, big glass offices and stylish cars, Bengaluru easily represents India's best place for the upwardly mobile. No wonder the divide between haves and have nots also plays out more intensely here with the additional emphasis on

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'हमने पानी का स्वभाव ही बदल दिया'

January 25, 2016
|
Environment
|
By: 
Vandana Gupta
वाराणसी में गंगा नदी. स्त्रोत: इंडिया वाटर पोर्टल

नदी का विज्ञानं क्या है और बढ़ते जल प्रदूषण , बाढ़ और सूखे के संदर्भ में यह कहाँ बैठता है? बता रहें हैं प्रसिद्ध पर्यावरणविद् और लेखक अनुपम मिश्र। यह व्यख्यान उन्होंने 28 नवंबर, 2015 को नई दिल्ली में जल नीति विशेषज्ञ स्व: रामास्वामी आर अय्यर की स्मृति में दिया । ‘सबको पानी’ के नारों से ले कर बड़ी वाटर वर्क्स की योजनाओं तक, अनुपम जी पानी से जुड़े सभी सामाजिक और राजनीतिक आयामों को छूते हुए नदी के अविरल स्वभाव को चित्रित करते हैं 

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12% Indian land prone to landslides as climate change increases the risks

October 18, 2020
|
Environment
|
By: 
Manu Moudgil
Landslide during Uttarakhand disaster 2013. Diariocritico de Venezuela/Flickr

Besides heavy rainfall, human activities such as construction of roads, buildings and railways, mining and quarrying, and hydropower projects damage hilly slopes and impact natural drainage by removing soil and vegetation, loosening soil and gravel and making the hills more susceptible to landslides. In India, 420,000 sq km, or 12.6% of the total land, is landslide prone. Last year, 264 people died in landslides and over 65% of these fatalities happened in the Himalayas and the Western Ghats

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A Generation in Peril. How Climate Crisis is Impacting Childhood

January 11, 2021
|
Environment - Governance - Grassroots
|
By: 
Satyaki Baidya

The impact of climate crisis on people across the world is highly disproportionate but no other group is as vulnerable as children in low income families of developing countries. Children are not emotionally and physically capable of understanding the dangers during extreme weather events and are dependent on adults for their survival. They are more susceptible to water and vector borne diseases, malnutrition and they are forced into labour due to economic challenges induced by climate crisis. 

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A Rosetta Stone to environmental law

October 28, 2016
|
Environment - Law
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk
Diversion of forest land is one of the biggest concerns for villagers dependent on forests.

This document is a valuable resource that comprises important legal changes and events of last three years with reference to previous laws. Written by well known practitioner Kanchi Kohli, the e-book lists down steps that can be taken to secure people’s rights over land, forests, water and biodiversity. And all this is explained through instances where common men and women explore the nitty gritties of environmental laws. So, we have Sarita tai worried about construction of railway line through a forest and Kavita who is intrigued by a company official asking for her village land to do compensatory afforestation for a distant project 

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A school that doesn't teach

November 21, 2013
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
India Water Portal
There's no imparting of education. Girls learn what they practice. Source: Surendra Bansal

Constant giggles, playful pulling of plaits and teasing is common in girls' schools. Though the Baba Aya Singh Riarki College in Gurdaspur is different in many ways, it is filled with similar scenes. This school is an exceptional experiment in education for rural girls of Gurdaspur and Amritsar. It dates back to 1934 when a social worker called Baba Aya Singh established a small ‘putri pathshala’ (girls’ school). He also set up the SKD High School in 1939. Since then it has pioneered women education and empowerment in the state.

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Afforestation, invasive species make Gaddi pastoralists more vulnerable

September 30, 2021
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk

Beginning in the 1990s, the forest department shifted away from commercial production toward a greater emphasis on joint-forest management, which resulted in a shift toward an array of broad-leaved (but still not palatable) species being planted, especially in lower altitudes. However, Gaddis were largely left out of many joint forest management schemes mainly because of their migratory practice and were consulted in a “token fashion” for compensatory afforestation for hydroelectric projects in high altitudes. 

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Anupam Mishra: The Gandhian I know

December 27, 2016
|
Environment
|
By: 
Manu Moudgil
Image Source: TED talks

Going by his fame, I had imagined somebody with people running around him, at least a couple of computers on display and cell phones caroling frequently. But here was a man working without a cellphone or a computer, surrounded by letters people wrote to him. A couple of wooden almirahs adorned with old postcards and images of famous personalities from Gandhi ji to Sunita Narain, stood in his room. Gandhi Marg, the bi-monthly periodical Anupam ji brought out, was another extension of his personality. It does exceptionally well to make Gandhian philosophy relevant for today’s world. 

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Barter by the beel

March 29, 2014
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
Usha Dewani
Eatables laid out for exchange at Jon beel mela

This was my first time here. I had heard of this festival, perhaps the only existing one in India, where barter takes place at such a scale. Jon Beel mela in Jon Beel, Jagiroad Assam- a historic festival where people from the hills and plains come together for a unique exchange of goods and agricultural produce near a moon-shaped wetland. A place of extremes, of new and old, rustic and modern. The annual three-day festival has been celebrated since the 15th century at the end of Magh Bihu.First held under the aegis of the King of the erstwhile Gova kingdom, 

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Biodiversity in danger, is anyone listening?

August 10, 2011
|
Environment
|
By: 
Manu Moudgil

August 12, 2011: The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) decides to take legal action against multinational seed firm Monsanto for accessing local varieties of eggplant and using it to develop genetically modified bt brinjal. Though the action may appear 

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Birds across India are going down, thanks to cities

April 12, 2020
|
Environment
|
By: 
Shreeti Shubham
Peacock is one bird species which is increasing. Source: Shiv's fotografia/Wikimedia Commons

Birds are declining significantly with 52 percent of species showing clear declines over the past decades, said a new report State of India’s birds 2020. The report analysed 867 bird species from over 10 million observations collected by over 15,500 birdwatchers across the country. It also identified 101 species with high conservation needs. The take-home message is that urbanisation is the biggest culprit behind avian decline. Most of our common birds like house sparrows and bulbuls are declining

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Camel milk inspires hope for herders

November 7, 2020
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
Manu Moudgil
Fresh camel milk in Kutch region of Gujarat. Photo from Sahjeevan.

India’s camel population has declined by 37 percent over the last seven years because it’s no longer needed for transport or farming. Camel milk, found to be a healthier option for people with diabetes and those with food allergies, can be the source of sustenance for camel rearers. Several small dairies and Amul are selling camel milk and its products to city clientele, but low awareness, lack of bulk milk coolers and shrinking pastures for grazing are the limitations that need to be addressed for this dairy segment to flourish

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Cashing in on the climate change debate

February 14, 2012
|
Environment
|
By: 
Soumya Dutta

At the confluence of Subarnarekha river in Orissa, the average fish catch has fallen by 20-30 per cent over the past few years while input cost to run a power boat and maintain a good net has risen. In 2008 winter, standing crops in 16 districts in Rajasthan were damaged

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Censuring the collapse

May 12, 2012
|
Environment
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk

Image 1: More  than  30  bulldozers  and  100  JCBs  ply incessantly on a hill in Murbad tehsil of Maharashtra, excavating a huge foundation and simultaneously levelling the land to build a dam for which forest clearance has not been sanctioned yet. The project 

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Chennai gets another chance at waste management

July 11, 2016
|
Environment
|
By: 
P V Durga
A scene outside the ever-crowded Kottur Market in Chennai. Source: India Water Portal

The Chennai floods of December 2015 had little to do with nature’s fury and more about city’s flawed urban planning and decades of improper garbage management. Chennai generates between 4,500- 4,800 tonnes of waste every day, and about 1.8 million tonnes a year. However, the city seems to be learning its lessons pretty quickly, and the effort of some responsible citizens has culminated into the Plastic Waste Rules 2016, and the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. These rules have, for the first time, recognised the informal sector as a big player in waste management. 

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Covid 19: Pastoralism under shadows of fear

September 23, 2020
|
Grassroots
|
By: 
GOI Monitor Desk
Herders faced hardships during lockdown. Pic: Anu Verma and Biren Nayak

Nomadic herders, whose livelihood depends on livestock, travel in search of pasture land. There are communities whose journeys start every year and pass through traditional routes through different regions. They stop at fixed places where people accept them and allow their herds to camp on their farms in exchange of manure. The lockdown disturbed everything. They had to divert routes and spend more time and energy working out where they could move

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Rich Indians Pollute 7 Times More Than Poor

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