Author: Tarun Kanti Bose
Sariska’s herders fear livelihood loss with eviction
Nomadic pastoralists being evicted from Sariska Tiger Reserve to conserve tigers introduced from Ranthambore fear loss of livelihoods, and life in relocation settlements with poor amenities
Monkeys damage cashew plantations, cause fever outbreak
Fear of monkeys has gripped cashew farmers and migrant workers in Goa, as the simians have turned cashew plantations into a feeding ground, destroying the crop and transmitting a virus through ticks
Information helpline improves local governance in Nuh villages
An information center in Nuh district that lags in economic and social development has created awareness about government schemes and entitlements, and has empowered villagers to claim their rights
Musahars denied healthcare because they are considered untouchables
The despicable practice of untouchability in Varanasi district is keeping the musahar community from accessing state healthcare facilities, and the situation is changing too slowly despite grassroots activism
Musahars overcome fear, but face a long road ahead
Tired of being denied basic human rights and held to be untouchables, Musahars in some villages of Varanasi district are speaking up with help from community activists, but a decent livelihood is still far away
Hungry Padma drives people from their homes
With various factors contributing to unchecked erosion of the banks of Padma River, villages along its course in Jalangi have lost farmlands, forcing women and men to migrate to distant places in search of a livelihood
Rural women start bank for economic transformation
Started by women in Chhattisgarh villages from their personal savings, the Sakhi Mahila Bank has not only boosted rural women’s income but also their confidence and economic independence
Meo girls step into modern world through schooling
Breaking long-held taboos and gender biases, girls of conservative Meo Muslim community in Alwar have convinced their parents to put them into school, and the results are showing
Women artisans of Thar Desert overcome adversity through embroidery
Undeterred by displacement from Pakistan during the 1971 war and resettled in the unforgiving Thar Desert, women now living in Bikaner district have used their skills of traditional embroidery to earn a living with dignity
Jaisalsar in Bikaner banishes child marriage from its homes
The villages in the desert of Rajasthan are notorious for child brides but groups of girls are now banding together to defy and upturn a long held tradition to assure a new and better future for themselves
Majra in the Aravallis sets cleanliness standards in Rajasthan
Not content with just building toilets, the village in Neemrana block of Alwar district has started implementing a solid and liquid waste management plan that includes segregation of trash at source
Arsenic contamination in groundwater killing villagers in Ballia
High levels of arsenic in the water supply is afflicting many villages in eastern Uttar Pradesh but the government hasn’t been able to design and implement any program to contain the menace