On April 25 2015, a massive earthquake in Ghorka, Nepal, followed by another devastating one on May 12, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 21,000. More than 600,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Two years later, the paved alleys are still lined by the skeletons of homes once filled with families. Children carefully side-step piles of broken brick on their way to school. According to data available, barely 5 per cent of the destroyed houses have been rebuilt, according to the National Reconstruction Authority. That 800,000 families still do not have their houses rebuilt is simply a disaster.
Gadgil and the report prepared by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) headed by him are back in news after over two dozen people lost their lives in landslides and flash floods in the past few days in the hilly regions of Western Ghats in central Kerala districts of Kottayam and Idukki.
The earthquake has threatened the existence of one of the seven UNESCO-listed world heritage sites of Kathmandu.
What happened in India in the week gone by? Here's the top stories that captured India's attention in the week gone by.
The permanent system, in development, is expected to be operational by July 2006.
Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said on Sunday that sources in Palmyra had confirmed that the Arch of Triumph, a jewel in the exquisite collection of ruins in the city, had been blown up.
UNESCO's officer-in-charge in New Delhi presented the certificate to the Chairman of Railway Board, which has been preserving the monument, at a ceremony in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Rathika Ramaswamy's love affair with wildlife photography began in 2003, when she took pictures of birds at the Bharatpur bird sanctuary. That love affair -- captured in her lens -- bloomed! And how!
13 rhinos, 188 hog deer, four elephants, two swamp deer, four wild boars, two buffaloes, one Royal Bengal Tiger and one Porcupine have died in the floods.
Indian centre-back Sandesh Jhingan feels he will be "tested to the limit" while enhancing his game outside his comfort zone at Croatian league Prva HNL.
The explosions on July 7, 2013, were carried out with an intention to kill domestic and foreign pilgrims, especially Buddhists in order to create terror at a place of worship.
Switzerland has some of the world's most remarkable transport infrastructure.
The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, a rich biodiversity in Himachal Pradesh and home to several rare and threatened species of flora and fauna, was on Monday approved for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Share the name of your favourite book and tell us why you like it.
The spectacular and culturally significant places will take your breath away.
Hours after the Syrian troops recaptured Palmyra from the clutches of Islamic State, photographs emerged showing the damage the terrorist group has inflicted on the ancient city.
India will achieve universal primary education in 2050, universal lower secondary education in 2060 and universal upper secondary education in 2085.
The honour acknowledges the potential of India as a book reading nation and underlines its growing importance in making the Asia Pacific region a book reading society.
Anita Aikara/Rediff.com shares her pics from Ahmedabad, which is the first Indian city to get a UNESCO heritage tag.
Listing out the ones that need the most urgent attention.
Rediff readers share the importance of the heritage site.
The World Book Day is as good a day as any other to find out how well-read you are. Take this quiz and find out for yourself.
With rhino poachers giving sleepless nights to forest guards manning the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), the Assam government has armed the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel with 200 SLRs (Self-loading rifle) besides dispatching additional force to the wildlife protection area that is recognised as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
Earning the coveted UNESCO tag would not only have ramped up revenues through enhanced tourism but also helped in keeping monuments and heritage buildings in Delhi free of encroachment, say experts.
The vision document was submitted after an angry apex court on July 11 lashed out the state government for its apathy towards the 17th century Mughal era monument
An unmanned aircraft on Monday hovered over for about 30 minutes over the Kaziranga National Park in Assam after state Forest Minister Rakibul Hussain inaugurated the test flight, ushering in an era of hi-tech anti-poaching measures at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jayanthi Natarajan has announced that the central government would provide an un-manned remote-controlled aircraft and an electronic surveillance system for protecting the rhino and other wildlife in Kaziranga National Park in Assam that recently witnessed a spurt in killing of flood-hit rhinos by poachers on the prowl.
'Melania Trump asked about the mud-pack treatment and was amazed when she got to know the details of the process'
The search engine giant celebrates Earth Day 2013 with a doodle.
The fate of the UNESCO world heritage site of Palmyra seems to be tragically sealed as the Islamic State militia gained control of the Syrian city.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday visited the ancient city of Taxila, terming it an "emotive" and "overpowering" experience, and the centuries-old Katasraj temples in Pakistan's Punjab province that have recently been restored.
In the wake of a spurt in the killing of the one-horned rhinoceros in the famed Kaziranga National Park and other places in Assam, the state government has transferred the divisional forest officer of the park Dibyadhar Gogoi.
Another rhino was killed by poachers at Kaziranga National Park in Assam on Saturday with the toll rising to seven at the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Disale announced that he will be sharing 50 per cent of his prize money with his fellow finalists to support their "incredible work".
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
Centre's proposal to UNESCO to confer heritage status on the 105-year-old Matheran toy train railway is mired in controversy with the descendants of its founder Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy moving the Bombay high court to rename the railway after him.
An Afghan women's rights campaigner and a Palestinian peace activist have been named winners of a United Nations award on tolerance and non-violence instituted in memory of Mahatma Gandhi.
When you ride the Nilgiri toy train you roll past old-world charm towns. It's a historical journey on a heritage train that never leaves on time and changes engines midway
In another report on violence faced by educational institutions globally, UNESCO has cited various examples of Naxal violence including destruction of 11 schools in Jharkhand and nine schools in Bihar between January and July 2009.
