Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
A clean and green way to reduce acid rain has been developed by Chang Yul Cha of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The process cuts sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from coal-fired smokestacks using char and microwaves (Science, Vol 257 No 5076). The gases are absorbed as they pass …
SPICES have drawn intrepid merchants to Indian shores through history, but falling international prices and uncertain demand abroad are worrying Indian growers, who supply about one-third of the world's spice trade. Official figures at the second spice congress in Goa recently show Indian spice exports dropped from 1.12 lakh tonnes …
SCIENCE may have conquered smallpox, but as far as AIDS is concerned, education may be a better weapon. According to WHO estimates, there are 10 million people infected with the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide. Two-thirds of the infected persons live in developing countries, of which three million are …
There has been a gradual decline in the natural vegetation around Madras. The reduction and fragmentation of the mainly tropical, dry, evergreen forest, also called scrub jungle, has led to the extinction of bird species, particularly those that are habitat-specific. Studies showed more migratory birds were found where new trees …
FOREST officials in Himachal Pradesh are apprehensive about the environmental costs of a recent court judgement allowing a private forest owner to fell trees to make way for apple orchards. The forest department, fearing a deluge of applications for orchards, has challenged the September 30 Himachal Pradesh high court decision …
THAILAND, Zaire and Switzerland have shown the effectiveness of applying health education principles and behaviour change strategies in the fight against AIDS, according to James Mullally of the WHO/Global AIDS Programme. The "all condom policy" in Thailand's sex industry successfully got brothels and prostitutes to persuade clients to use condoms. …
CIPLA, India's fourth-largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, will soon market an indigenously developed AZT (azido deoxythymidine) based drug under the brand name Zidovir that will substantially reduce the cost of AIDS treatment. AZT, developed in the US in the 1960s as an anti-cancer drug, was found effective in delaying the onset of …
THE SUPREME Court recently ordered that one lakh people be paid interim relief of Rs 200 per month. The total amount these victims will get as interim relief of Rs 7,200 for which they need a pass book issued by the State Gas Relief Department. Touts operating in collusion with …
ON OCTOBER 16, 1992, the Supreme Court directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make Rs 1,482 crore available to Madhya Pradesh gas relief commissioner K Shankaranarayan for doling out to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak. But for the victims, who have waited three years since …
Allegations that the US$ 470 million settlement with Union Carbide was a sell-out gains credibility in light of the fact that Exxon paid as much as US$ 1.125 billion for an oil spill off the coast of Alaska that killed several thousand birds and fishes there. Obviously, human beings in …
A SQUABBLE over foreign exchange is holding up India's first bid to commercially harness energy from the ocean. The government has agreed, in principle, to allow Sea Solar Power Corp -- a private US firm -- to set up a 100 mw plant off the Tamil Nadu coast using ocean …
How did your family survive after the gas leak? I had two shops and six tailors working for me. These were unaffected by the gas leak and helped us rebuild our lives afterwards. But recently, the BJP government demolished one of my shops and forced us to close the other. …
THE HUMBLE tur or arhar dal, a traditional food crop in arid areas, is now being grown as a cash crop by farmers attracted by its high market value. Seed companies are thus showing a keen interest in a new hybrid of the dal, also known as pigeon pea (Cajanus …
THIS REMARKABLE book transcends the crucial limitations of both Marxist social theory and conventional anthropology by consciously avoiding "economism" and "culturism". While recognising "the independent transformative power of capitalism", Ram places "culture and sexuality at the centre of capitalist transformation and the new division of labour between men and women". …
THE PRODUCTS of my research are men, women and children, fully trained to demonstrate the potential power of Mother Earth to retain and use every drop of rain as it falls and where it falls. They are common people but they have a strange power. And, I am determined to …
THE International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is located very picturesquely amidst emerald green paddy fields against a backdrop of hills in Los Banos, Philippines. The institute has generated many controversies and has even been accused of stealing germplasm from rice-growing countries. Hybrid rice varieties developed at IRRI in the 1960s …
GUJJARS are up in arms because they resent being thrown out of their homes by the proposed Rajaji National Park in Uttar Pradesh. In coastal Orissa, Chilika fisherfolk are protesting the allocation by the government of a slice of their environment to the House of Tata. What binds these disparate …
THERE was this jeepney driver in the Philippines who, along with an exceptionally devout pastor, knocked on heaven's door for entry. St Peter went through their credentials and bestowed a heavenly smile on the driver, allowing him to pass through the pearly gates. But, to the pastor, St Peter said, …
IF LIVING proof is needed of how institutions created by human beings for their welfare really work, one has only to go to Bhopal, where thousands succumbed in a deadly MIC gas leak on the night of December 2-3 in 1984. Eight years later, apathy, arrogance and greed still prevail …
LARGE-SCALE manufacture, transportation and application of chemical fertilisers are energy-intensive processes, which is why the hike in oil prices has made them more expensive. Moreover, the vast quantities of waste generated by the industrial and domestic sectors have led to extensive land and water pollution. The collective impact of these …
