Roadmap for an effective environmental regime

A two-day conference on environmental compliance and enforcement that concluded recently in Kolkata gave me a rare chance to listen to environmental regulators from around the world—the US, Sweden, Kenya, Australia and Norway.  The choice of the city for the international conference seemed very appropriate. B K Dutta, chairperson of West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), who welcomed the delegates, informed that Kolkata was the first city ever to have an environmental law—the Smoke Nuisance law—as far back as in 1906. 

Everybody loves waterbody

Fish and a philosophy

Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata get a green spin

Kolkata among world's most flood-prone coastal cities: study

‘Modern buildings cannot breathe’

Kolkata to host parallel AIDS conference after US denies entry to sex workers

Hurt at being denied visa by the US to attend the International AIDS conference, sex worker groups from 27 countries have decided to hold a parallel conference in Kolkata. The group includes 70 members from India. The 19th International AIDS conference is slated to be held between July 22 and July 27 in Washington DC.

20 years down the line what ails the urban local bodies

On June 1, the 74th Amendment of the Indian Constitution which paved way for the formation of urban local bodies completes 20 years. These elected bodies were supposed to improve urban infrastructure and services. Down To Earth examines how well these bodies have fared.

Kolkata evicts ecological refugees

Mahadev Mandal came with his family to Kolkata after the Aila super-cyclone hit Sundarbans in 2009. He works as a rickshaw-puller and is one among the 200 families in the squatter colony

E-waste toxins in mum’s milk

TILL NOW, it was believed that pesticides like widely banned DDT were contaminating breast milk. Now, a group of researchers has found another threat. It has detected high levels of industrial chemicals in breast milk in women from various parts of the country.