Barrages spur protests

In August, western Odisha was shut down 13 times to protest the state government’s decision to build three barrages on the Mahanadi river. They are meant to dam surplus water downstream of the Hirakud reservoir to generate 320 MW power, and, as recently announced, to irrigate farms.

A monsoon warning

As I write this my city Delhi is drowning. It started raining early this morning and within a few hours the city has come to a standstill. The television is showing scenes of traffic snarled up for hours, roads waterlogged and people and vehicles sunk deep in water and muck.

Pollution board raps Vedanta

Company increases effluent outlets instead of plugging them

Political symptoms

Few states illustrate the socio-economic faultlines of India like Orissa--rich in natural resources but with half its population living below the poverty line. The old economy of fishers and farmers faces a new economy of extraction, dominated by the mining industry. Pitched battles have clear political overtones. As the state goes to the polls, Ashutosh Mishra visited a few zones of conflict Hirakud farmers v industry

The right level

Orissa's floods made worse by full tank at Hirakud dam

Muscle power

with the Orissa government going full steam with its industrialization drive, business houses are flexing their muscles--many a time with impunity. In Sambalpur district, farmers have found to their dismay that a unit of Rathi steel has been taking water from the power channel of the Hirakud dam, without the required permits.