Letters

Two ‘tiger widows’ in the Sundarbans granted Rs 5 lakh each by Calcutta High Court, kindling hopes for others

About 30 fisherfolk or honey gatherers fall prey to tigers annually in the Sundarbans as per unofficial estimates; the kin of most are not …

The anatomy of congestion

Travel today is relatively faster, and people across the world are travelling more than ever before. But at a giant cost: urban roads are choked …

CALCUTTA Let sleeping dogs lie

A unique case of state government taking the lead but slowing down in the face of opposition from trade unions

The ups and downs of a science city

During the Raj, science flourished in Calcutta. But the city's fortunes changed drastically because of warped policies

Poetry born of struggle

Whether the revolutionary passion of his early verse, or the more mellow vision of his later work, Jnanpith award-winner Subhas Mukhopadhyay's …

A city derailed

The Calcutta tramcar system, perhaps the only eco-friendly feature in the city's ruined landscape, is heading towards extinction

Red alert in the east

Real estate developers and government agencies are devouring the wetlands in communist-ruled Calcutta

Jeevika 2003: About common people

What do people do when their livelihoods are threatened? How do they deal with a world that pushes them to the margins? Such issues were raised …

Muckraking

Calcutta comes up with the "most efficient and ecologically benign method" of re-using municipal waste and sewage

At a tangent

In the melee over moving Kolkata's tanneries to a new site, the initiative to tackle pollution has been nearly lost sight of. The Supreme Court …

Kolkata's desi soft drink

The US beverage giants shell out billions to pop out punch-lines, and repackage Shah Rukh Khan to counter the repackaged Aamir Khan and vice-versa.…

Cricket emission levels and smokescreens

A new study shows it is not just English cricketers who are manipulatin4data for their benefit - the ministry of environment, too, is playing a …

All gold and hellish litter

Beyond all that glittering in the congested streets of Calcutta's sex districts, is defiled environment and morbid health conditions

Zooming in on three prize-winners

A look at this year's award-winning documentaries: an educational film on the Silent Valley, a campaign film on the Tehri dam project and a third …

"People who own cars make life unpleasant"

John Whitelegg of the School of Built Environment at Liverpool's John Moores University spoke to Anish Gupta about Calcutta's transport …

"We lack information on the effects of pollution"

JUSTICE BHAGWATI PRASAD BANERJEE of the green bench of the Calcutta high court stirred more than a hornet's nest in April 1996, when he passed an …

The efficient way of looking at waste disposal

Urban waste will cease to be a problem if it is treated as a resource rather than refuse from consumption, which requires disposal.

Smoke laws first enacted in city of joy

Because of its political importance in the British empire, Calcutta was one of the first cities to regulate smoke emissions. But legislation …

Are some humans more equal?

A recent study suggests that poor nations will have to do with more arsenic in water. A rebuttal by the arsenic and medical group, School of …

150 years of Calcutta Tramways: This icon is the future solution for the city which wants to write its requiem

All opposition against trams and public transport will fall flat if car users pay the true cost of owning and using a vehicle  

Hesitancy, logistical challenges behind low turnout at vaccination camps in West Bengal

State is vaccinating health workers beyond the online list generated by Co-WIN app to attain target

When homemakers unite

Housewives in Kolkata move the court against the irresponsible and negligent functioning of factories in their area

Tale of two Roses: How one discovered another, 125 years ago

How rosarian MS Viraraghavan and his wife Girija introduced Richard Rose, a water rose named after the man who discovered it in the 19th century&…

In reverse gear

The Mashelkar Committee's interim report on the country's auto fuel policy proves to be a major setback for the CNG campaign