Arctic rush driven by desire to control hydrocarbon deposits, shipping routes

In 1937, Ivan Papanin led an expedition that planted the Soviet flag on the North Pole. He was feted by Stalin and lionised as a Soviet hero. In early August this year, the Kremlin honoured Artur Chilingarov similarly after the deputy leader of the Russian Duma had led two mini-submarines to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean beneath the North Pole and planted the Russian flag there. Call it the sweepstakes of global warming. As ice caps

Kolkata tanners unhappy with new relocation site

Until a decade ago, Kim Li Loi, Canton and Hot Wok, restaurants in the Chinatown locality of eastern Kolkata's Tangra district, collectively served as a tannery among scores of others run by Chinese immigrants. But a December 19, 1996, Supreme Court order directed these and other inner city

Effluents from Bhilwara textile units flow unabated

The moniker 'textile city' is apt for Bhilwara. After all, it produces 75 per cent of the country's textile. But there is a dark side to its sheen. The industry's poor effluent management system has long poisoned the area's groundwater affecting agricultural lands and people's health.

Workers starving due to closure of tea estates in North Bengal

Meghalaya limestone quarries closed

French multinational Lafarge's limestone quarries in Meghalaya, which supply raw material to its cement plant across the border in Bangladesh have been shut down by the government. This comes nearly a year after an official of the Union Ministry of Environment and forests (moef) found that the mining lease area was forestland. The official had also found that environmental consultants and a local

Small doses of chemicals harm foetus

An international consortium of scientists recently emphasised on the irreversible harm that toxic chemicals can cause to foetuses and infants. The consensus was reached at the International Conference on Foetal Programming and Developmental Toxicity held in May at the north Atlantic Faroe Islands. Over 200 experts came out with the 'Faroes Statement', which warns of the debilitating effect of chemicals on a foetus' future growth and

Politics behind Maharashtra's milk strike

The milk producers agitation in Maharashtra remains unresolved. The state-wide milk bandh in the last week of June, demanding a price hike for buffalo milk, has brought to the fore a politically vexed milk cooperative system and an apathetic administration. Apart from western Maharashtra's Kolhapur and Sangli districts -- stronghold of the milk producers cooperatives -- the four-day bandh has hit the milk supply in Mumbai and Pune also.

Draft coastal management notification faces protests

Fisherfolks across India's 7,500 km long coastline are up in arms against the draft Coastal Zone Management Notification. The coastal communities say the notification does not acknowledge their traditional rights and can damage the coasts and the people. The draft, prepared by the Union

Property industry in trouble in Punjab

Property buyers in Punjab are in a fix, as are financiers and builders with housing construction projects in Panchkula and Mohali, satellite towns of Chandigarh. One of the most 'planned' cities in India with a rigid master plan, Chandigarh does not allow new private housing. This has driven a

Australia grows more sandalwood than India

While Western Australia has set up plantations of Indian sandalwood in a big way, in its homeland, India, sandalwood production is on its last leg. The government's strict control and apathy towards sandalwood plantation in the country is well known. That and massive smuggling are said to have led to a decline in sandalwood production in the country. Ill-treated at home