The disagreements over what needs to be done on floodplains allows for illegal takeover by land mafia till nothing is left, observes Sunita Narain
'A lot of unauthorised encroachments have taken place in our forest area.' 'The landslides are partly because of such encroachments.' 'The other factor is deforestation.' 'Protection of forest resources is not on the agenda of any government.' 'The damage caused by the rain in Kerala is a man-made factor.'
Growing and harvesting trees for productive and economic uses are once again dead in the water, says Sunita Narain.
The situation is now under control in the area, which is on the border between the Kolasib district of Mizoram and Cachar district of Assam.
The apex court posted the matter for further hearing on July 10.
Dalit votes could play a decisive role in 28-30 constituencies in the 230-member assembly.
'The Kerala saga also requires a reappraisal of Nehru himself. 'The real Nehru is to be found somewhere between the syrupy panegyrics on him and the demonisation of him that is currently happening,' says Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar.
Mar Remegiose Inchananiyil, the Bishop of the Thamarassery diocese in Kozhikode, Kerala, told a public meeting that there would be another 'Jallianwala Bagh' in the foothills of the Western Ghats if the K Kasturirangan committee report is implemented. He spoke to Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the plight of the farmers and why he has taken up the issue.
Munaf Patel joins Kandy Tuskers in LPL; Sarfaraz pulls out, Malinga unsure
In a statement that expressed the unrelenting stand of the Samajwadi Party government over the IAS officer's suspension, UP minister Ahmed Hasan in the presence of Yadav and his cabinet colleagues said the issue was being "highlighted unnecessarily".
For both India and China, the most likely option -- and the most challenging -- appears to be a freezing of the status quo.
Protests marked by stray incidents of stone pelting erupted during a bandh in Kolar district of Karnataka over the death of an IAS officer who allegedly committed suicide, even as police said they were probing his death from "every angle".
In the run-up to the polls, a survey has revealed that better employment opportunities is the single most important issue for citizens and that the government has fared below average in this aspect.
Extreme rainfall that occurred in Tamil Nadu is "highly localised" and is part of the natural variability of the monsoon system and its attribution to global warming is "not established", the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday.
Explaining his vision for the region, Modi cited the example of Kutch district of Gujarat.
'I have seen so many cows roaming the streets of Mumbai. When people from foreign countries see cows roaming on our streets, it is not good.'
'Anyone familiar with Modi's track record will know he never forgets a slight, a betrayal,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
'Was he afraid that his answers during cross-examination would land him in trouble under the new ruling dispensation?'
'It doesn't look as if any sensible, worldly wise, person is in charge in China.' 'If at all anybody is in charge, it can only be a bunch of bumpkins of whom Xi has become a puppet,' observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
Last week's slum fire at Bandra east highlights the stark difference between the two sides of the neighbourhood's railway station. But Piyush Goyal can change it, says Anil Singh.
'If Mr Modi continues growing as a Hindu Hriday Samrat, better that it is done by restoring ancient temples than demolishing medieval mosques,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The frequency of very heavy downpours seems to have increased.
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
'The Supreme Court should take it up with the government and send a message that high court judges are not pawns in the transfer games.'
'We have instructed all our officials to take complaints of water shortage seriously and attend to it immediately.'
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
'Infrastructure plays the same role for the nation as arteries play in a human body.'
Diplomats agree that amid stormy relations with China and Pakistan, Modi has posted impressive foreign policy successes, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Do you know firemen who risk their lives every day earn salaries equivalent to clerks?Last week's tragedy where three Mumbai firemen died fighting a fire must wake up the city's rulers, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
It was Nehru who instilled a democratic culture in our country by his regard for democracy, she said.
If the judiciary loses this fight, it will suffer irreparable damage and all of us citizens will be the losers.
Seeking to woo Muslims as well as upper castes, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday promised quota in police and other government jobs for minority community, release of "innocent" youths jailed on terror charges and constitution of an upper caste commission in its manifesto brimming with sops.
The former Congress president said Jawaharlal Nehru, as India's first prime minister, "consolidated democracy and entrenched the basic values of India's polity -- values to which we are still proud to lay claim."
The NIT Sringar has agreed to many of students's demands but did not reply to another major demand that the HRD minister or the PM should hoist the tricolour at the campus.
'Pakistan has employed force to curb Baloch aspirations and rights. There have been charades of giving rights and concessions and packages, but all of them are hollow and meaningless and not even worth the paper these are written on.' 'Pakistan is appeasing China for the investments which will benefit them. The economic corridor with China will not only deprive the Baloch of their land and resources, but will turn them into a minority because of the influx of outsiders.' 'The Balochs want to be masters, not slaves and hired labour in their own land.'
Just like China wants Trump to lose the US presidential poll, it may want Modi to lose the Lok Sabha polls. So months before the 2024 elections, China may take possession of an important area, say one of the Char Dhams, warns Sanjeev Nayyar.
'When Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse called Hema Malini to Mantralaya and handed over a plot to set up a dance academy I felt there is some problem in it.'
'As of now there are no mining activities,' but 'who knows the future?'
Sreehari Nair reviews Ayyappanum Koshiyum.
The UP government is also planning to free up its own land from illegal encroachment to set up these new cow- shelters in "safe locations" and with full facility for fodder and water.
