Wanted: rule of law

It is simple, true and bitter. Maharashtra’s irrigation sector is going from bad to worse. First an irrigation scam and now a drought.

Mirage of a river

It is claimed to be an exemplary project. It has won two awards for excellence in innovativeness and urban planning; one from the Prime Minister’s Office. Narendra Modi, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, recently hailed it as his big achievement. He pitted the restoration of the river Sabarmati in Ahmedabad against the poor record of the Delhi government in looking after the Yamuna, the capital’s lifeline river. The media has showered praise on the project. Claims apart, what are the facts on the ground?

India’s power mess

Over the past several months, the power situation in the country has reached dire straits. Media reports that blackouts lasting 10 hours a day are forcing small-scale industries to either shut down or operate partially; textile mills in Tamil Nadu and the manufacturing sector in Andhra Pradesh are examples. Operating heavy machineries for long hours on diesel is prohibitively expensive apart from being highly polluting.

Will there be gas at the end of it?

If the United States has its way, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will never happen. But with Iran claiming that it has completed the construction of 900 kilometres of the 1,150 km pipeline on its territory, the first ever gas flow by pipeline into South Asia looks to be a little more than possible.

Before the last trumpet

It is that time of the year again when the streets of Kerala echo with clinking of chains. Massive caparisoned tuskers, some carrying idols, rush from one festival to the other.

A violent forest

After three hours of slow but steady cruise through meandering river channels, the research boat finally reached its first halt for the day. By the time I disembarked, the tide had receded, laying bare the mudflat. I ploughed through the knee-deep muck for about 15 metres before I could reach the relatively hard ground.

Tuberculosis control in India: towards universal access

Travellers on an eco-friendly road

The bus rapid transit (BRT) system is often held as an affordable and sustainable public transport option in rapidly urbanising cities of capital-deficit developing countries like India. However, it seems to be going the way of other worthwhile projects that become “holy cows”. We hesitate to evaluate BRT critically for fears of playing into the hands of the Metro lobby.

On a wing and a prayer

In 1993, when South African photojournalist Kevin Carter clicked a vulture stalking a dying child in Sudan many expressed outrage. After all in most parts of the world, vultures are reviled. Carter was censured for having done nothing to help the dying child. In spite of the outrage, the photographer went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for the picture in 1994.

A year in the life of a law

Electrical and electronic goods have made their presence ubiquitous. Right from the morning toast to the laptop during the day and the television in the evening, their presence cuts across time, space and socio-economic strata. It is a testimony to the spread of electronic goods that the snake charmer in the stereotypical image of the Indian society has a mobile phone.