Three tribal farmers of Raigadh, Chhattisgarh including Shantaram had unlawfully lost their lands to Navdurga Pvt. Ltd., a sponge iron company. Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, these lands that belong to the tribal farmers cannot be acquired for industrial purposes. However,...
Naima Khatun, a widow from rural Jharkhand used to survive on a meagre meal of salt and rice, all thanks to her widow pension of Rs. 400. “I used to work for other people in exchange for food but after getting the pension, life was easier,” recalls Naima, as she...
Home Guard, Mukesh Jadhav, was one of the first victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, as he guarded the station. He was shot in the chest by a terrorist, but in spite of being mortally wounded, he walked to the police station between the...
Laxmibai explains the appalling work done by government-approved contractors in of Batiyagarh Ward 19, Madhya Pradesh. “The toilets are incomplete since 2015. One pit is made while the other yet remains incomplete,” tells an angry Laxmibai. Due to the incomplete work, Laxmibai has to dispose of the waste of her...
Md Sagir was beaten to death in by the Narpatganj Primary School headmaster Hardev Ram in Bihar’s Araria district in February because he demanded a proper mid-day meal for his daughter. His children witnessed their father’s gruesome end as Hardev beat Sagir together with teachers Mastaan, Shambhu and the school...
The 8,000 people of Malda district in West Bengal, have their daily life and local economy disrupted by Behula river’s toxic waters. The lifeline of villages like Jalangi and Molpur, Behula has been dying a slow, poisonous death due to the paper mills at its banks. “The waters are so polluted,...
Atya Devji Padvi, a Narmada ousted farmer from Taloda district of Maharashtra, had been demanding his rightful land from Maharashtra government for more than 20 years but had given up hopes of ever owning a land once again. But Chetan Salve, the community’s correspondent is also an activist with the Narmada Bachao...
Savita from Nashik has to pay Rs. 20 for a kilogram of wheat from her locality’s ration shop, eight times the ongoing government price of Rs. 3 per a kg of wheat, approximately. Just like Savita, 200 more families, belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, from Bhimwadi, Nashik...