With rain and hailstorms lashing several parts of the districts and damaging standing rabi crops, the district authorities have announced a special girdawari of the affected villages in the district. Over 50 villages of the district are reported to have been affected by the unseasonal downpour and hail assault.

The district authorities today claimed that a special survey had been ordered to send a detailed report on the losses to the state government. Representatives of the BKU have asked the state government to carry out such surveys in all districts, as unusual heavy rain and hailstorms had been reported during the past fortnight.

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to extend its previous order on opening 18 mining leases in Karnataka to also allow extraction of iron ore in all category 'A' and category 'B' mines.

"The CEC is of the view that by and large substantial progress has been made on reclamation and rehabilitation works in 'A' and 'B' category of mines… perhaps the time has come to extend the order on all mines in both categories," senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing as amicus curiae, told a Forest Bench led by Justice Aftab Alam.

Anti-nuclear activists kicked off a global campaign Tuesday to urge governments to force makers of nuclear reactors to shoulder some of the cost of accidents.

Kochi: Steps have been taken to provide compensation to endosulfan victims as recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the state government has informed the high court. The government’s submission was in response to a November 28, 2012, directive of the high court.

The state said in an affidavit that it was not against implementing all the recommendations of the NHRC on the compensation issue. The government’s priority has been the health and security of the people, which led to the decision to ban endosulfan, N Nandakumar, secretary of health and family welfare department, said in the affidavit.

The second phase of the indefinite hunger strike launched in Kasaragod seeking comprehensive rehabilitation package for hundreds of Endosulfan victims in the district entered the third day on Wednesday.

Subhash Cheemeni and P. Krishnan, ‘Endosulfan Peedhitha Janakeeya Munnani’ activists, are on indefinite hunger strike from February 18. Veteran journalist B. R. P. Bhaskar inaugurated the agitation on Monday.

Oustees and the NTPC, which is executing the 800-MW Kol Dam project, are on a collision course. Oustees continued to paralyse work for the eighth consecutive day today.

They stuck to their demands of a permanent job for a member of each family or Rs 25 lakh as compensation and free electricity and treatment at the NTPC dispensary, but the NPTC termed their demands as unjustified.

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Monday announced 314 villages of four districts, Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Nuapada, as drought-hit for poor rainfall during rainy season in 2012 leading to 50% crop loss.

Revenue minister S N Patro told the assembly that the declaration was made based on the crop-cutting experiment report received from collectors of these districts. He said the affected farmers of the areas would be eligible to get compensation as per the relief code.

PUNE: Over six lakh people living in eastern parts of Pimpri Chinchwad are likely to benefit as the work on a decade-old water pipeline project from Nigdi to Krishnanagar approaches completion. The work was delayed due to land acquisition problems.

The water supply department had laid pipes from Sector 23 in Nigdi to the sump in Krishnanagar and further till Bhosari more than a decade back. However, the work in Triveninagar was pending for the last three to four years due to difficulties in acquiring land.

Victims’ forum relaunches hunger strike after six months

The laxity of the government in providing relief and rehabilitation to hapless endosulfan victims in the district is forcing them to relaunch the indefinite hunger strike after six months, senior journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar has said. He was inaugurating the relay hunger strike spearheaded by the Endosulfan Peeditha Janakeeya Munnani (EPJM) on the new bus station premises here on Monday.

Iron ore mining is set to resume on a full scale in Karnataka with the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommending that all lessees under A and B categories be permitted to restart mining operations.

The panel, in its recommendations to the apex court, has said that all the leases under category A can be permitted to excavate ore. The apex court, on September 3, 2012, had permitted resumption of mining for 18 of the 45 leases in category A. With CEC’s latest recommendations, the remaining 27 will resume operations.