The rather banal Amartya Sen-Jagdish Bhagwati debate that is being played out in the Indian media misses out what is, in many ways, the crucial third agent (beyond the state and the market), in whose name development is carried out: people organised as communities and collectives. Ashish Kothari and Aseem Shrivastava are the authors of … Read more
Once an ornamental plant, Lantana Camara has today become the worst weeds in the world. Presently Lantana camara of family Verbinaceae has become a serious problem for tropical countries, where it has invaded millions of hectares of land. It is reported that Lantana was introduced in India in 1809 (Culcutta Botanical Garden), as an ornamental … Read more
Five police officers of Uttarakhand were given awards by the President of India for their exemplary services. These include President’s Special Police Medal to Jaswant Singh, additional superintendent of police-Pauri for his 38 years of exemplary service in police department at various positions in UP and Uttarakhand. The other police officers include Deepam Seth-DIG … Read more
Tea Garden in Uttarakhand Garhwal and the Chowfin family; While the tea plant was growing wild in the jungles of Assam in north east India and used by the local tribal’s, its commercial production started only in the late 1830s, by the East India Company. It was Robert Bruce and his brother Charles, an employee … Read more
Not much done on Pre-Disaster Management in India. Had we learnt from foreign countries on how to tackle disaster, the massive destruction in Uttarakhand could have been reduced considerable. We have not done much work on Pre-Disaster Management as done in many foreign countries. विदेशों से सीखते तो नहीं होती यह तबाही कात्यायनी उप्रेती बादल फटना… … Read more
The census of 2001 has once again brought into focus the issue of Gender equity in India. The problem that has come into sharp notice is the girl child and their declining numbers. While the alarm bells were ringing for some of the relatively prosperous states such as Punjab and Haryana, the other northern states … Read more
What Caused the Dams to Collapse in the Himalayas? The recent himalayan dams collapse and sustain damage has raised concerns over the stability and safety of these structures. The tragic incident, thought to be triggered by a combination of heavy rainfall and weak infrastructure, resulted in devastating flooding and loss of life. Investigations are underway … Read more
Eco-Sensitive zone The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, issued a notification recently declaring 41 km area on either side of the Bhagirathi river in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, as eco-sensitive zone India. The notification has declared a vast stretch of land from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi town on either side of the … Read more
In the Land of Gods, Ghats and Ganges BY D.K. Upreti A nexus of politicians-bureaucrats-forest contractors-builder and mining mafia along with a merciless ‘development’ in the name of promotion of tourism has left Uttarakhand as a lump of loose land mass without any compact organic growth. The trailers of the massive tragedy witnessed during this … Read more