Jaffna erupts over land acquisition by Sri Lankan government

People in the former war-torn Northern Province of Sri Lanka are out on the streets, protesting the government move to forcibly acquire 6,381 acres (one acre equals 0.4 ha) of private land in Valikaman area in the Jaffna penisula. Government claimed that the land is being acquired for public purpose, but activists and citizens see the move as a ploy to change the demographic composition of the region by bringing in settlers from outside in the run up to the elections scheduled later this year.  

India still scores low in human development in UNDP report

Over the past three decades, India has made good progress on the human development index (HDI), says the Human Development Report 2013, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). However, India’s rank out of 187 countries is no better than last year’s. With a HDI value of 0.554 and a rank of 136 among 187 countries, which it shares with Equatorial Guinea, India is placed in the “medium development” category. There has been steady improvement in its HDI value, which was 0.345 in 1980.

Beyond a flailing state

Blog Intro:  Health ministry cannot provide basic services, the finance ministry cannot collect taxes and the chaos of governance worsens Recently, I heard Dulitha Nandanie Fernando, emeritus professor of community medicine at the University of Colombo, speak about how Sri Lanka had managed to orient the country’s health system towards women.

Letters - October 15, 2012

Home remedy For waste Waste management is a problem in all urban centers of the country (‘Stench in my backyard’, September 1-15, 2012). We need to understand that there’s no other way to manage waste except segregating it at the source, that is our homes.

Renal emergency

P G Jayasingha sat on his bed with a bloated stomach. Both his kidneys had failed and he was unable to pass urine. He could not drink water despite being thirsty. His arms and legs would constantly ache and his eyesight had failed him. That was in February when Down To Earth visited him.

On foot and pedal

Concrete invasion

Sri Lanka’s largest city was once dotted with freshwater marshes. The picturesque beauty of the wetland areas, say elders, was breathtaking. Not any more. The marshes have been filled to construct buildings. The remaining ones are highly polluted and taken over with invasive plant species.

Secretive tribunals, hidden damages

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) appears to have generated the most number of investor-state treaties and shows that rich countries are as much at risk as developing countries. Would you agree?  Interviewee:  Gus Van Harten

India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable

Would it be correct to say that all countries are at risk from BITs and FTAs although the treaties are targeted at developing countries? Interviewee:  Nathalie Bernas...

Short circuit

STRAIT FORWARD A 150-year-old dream acquires shape