Ban on junk food in plastic bags

TAKING a strong stance on the adverse effects of plastic on health and the environment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered a statewide ban on the sale of junk food in non-biodegradable packets. The ban, effective from April 1, will not cover essential items such as edible oil and milk.

Himalayan destruction

THE Himalayas are virtually under bombardment—of dams. They would have the highest dam density in the world, with over a thousand water reservoirs dotting the mountain range in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan, over the next few years. These projects would have serious ecological and social impacts and would spell disaster for the biodiversity of the region. All this for the much-sought-after hydroelectricity, officially dubbed cleaner and cheaper.

Call of the phantom

Letters - October 31, 2012

Truly biomess

Fire in the mountain

Rising mercury has taken its toll not just in the plains but also in the Himalayan mountains. A longer-than-usual summer and absence of moisture led to proliferation of forest fires. A common sight across Himachal Pradesh this summer was forests, especially chir pine forests in the lower and middle Himalayas, covered with uncontrollable flames by night and smoke by day.

Northern power grid on the blink

THE government is still clueless about what caused the massive grid failures—first on July 30 and then again the next day, plunging half of the country’s population into darkness. It has initiated several investigations, including one by the Intelligence Bureau and another by the National Technical Research Organisation, to look into the possibilities of sabotage or cyber attacks. The blackouts were the worst in a decade.

Reservoirs losing capacity

HEAVY rainfall leading to flash floods in Himalayan rivers in July-end devastated three states—Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It claimed 34 human lives and damaged property extensively. It also brought into focus the precarious condition of more than a dozen dams in the region.

Organic Universe

It is a universe of its own—an expanding universe that has its own producers and consumers, its entrepreneurs, its markets, its passionate aficionados of scientists and evangelists. It is a universe that is governed by a different set of regulations and plays strictly by the rules, for the most part.

Path lab in a tablet

How did the idea about Swasthya Slate occur to you? Interviewee:  Kanav Kahol

Letters - April 30, 2012

Give coffee a chance