Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
Life in a cold desert is harsh and exacting. You need enormous amounts of energy for everything, but there are very few sources. Getting electricity to light up houses in Leh is no easy task. About two-thirds of the power supply in the summer comes from diesel generator sets (DG) …
It is widely accepted that panchayati raj is shaping up much better in Leh as compared to other districts of J&K.; The first real panchayat elections in the state were held only in May 2001. Even then, modalities of decentralisation of power to elected village representatives were not issued. After …
The most remarkable aspect of the developmental challenges in Leh district is the small margin for error. Resources are highly limited. Ladakh's ecology is fragile. Unbridled tourism will imperil the pastures of Changthang that support the pashmina goats and the Changpa nomads. The good news from Leh is that the …
What has been the impact of the Public Distribution System (PDS) on Ladakhi agriculture? The subsidy culture has definitely killed local agriculture in Ladakh. What international trade distortions are doing to Indian agriculturethe subsidy system is doing to Ladakhi agriculture. It is exactly the same as industrialised countries dumping their …
Padma Wangyal, 29, is quite an exception. His grandfather pioneered the cooperative societies movement in Ladakhi agriculture. In a region where the average landholding is a mere 1.38 hectares, Wangyal's family owns about 20 hectares. Wangyal attended school and college in Delhi. Like most young Ladakhis, he dreamt of joining …
In Ladakh, the rest of India is referred to as down . Because, at no point in Leh district would you be less than about three kilometres above the mean sea level. This vast barren district is more than 45,000 square kilometre (sq km); it is perhaps India's largest and …
There are worry lines all over the face of M K Bhojan, a small tea grower in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Tea prices have fallen cataclysmically in the last few years, affecting small farmers like Bhojan most acutely. In 1997-98, one kilogramme (kg) of green tea leaf fetched …
How do pests select which plants to attack in the field? By smelling odours plants emit, believe most entomologists. And an entire industry of pesticides has evolved around this principle, to ensure pests can't get that appetising whiff of the plant they want; insecticides are made to confuse them. But …
dupont scientists have discovered that soyabeans grown in space are similar to crops grown on the Earth. A 97-day long research, conducted on the International Space Station, was the first project during which a crop's growth cycle was completed in space
thai jasmine rice could soon suffer a similar fate as that of Indian basmati . The us is developing a new strain of the aromatic rice that is indigenous to Thailand. Under the research project, Chris Deren of the University of Florida, is altering original jasmine rice using gamma rays. …
it’s hard to picture paddy fields without water puddles. But by draining flooded rice fields for two days before the flowering stage, methane emissions can be reduced by as much as 56 per cent. Significantly, draining deprives me thane-producing micro organisms of the oxygen-starved conditions they thrive in. This is …
Imagine this is the India of the 1970s. The lush green of high-yielding rice and wheat varieties is spreading far and wide in the Indo-Gangetic belt. The much-awaited green revolution is on in full swing. Godowns in moffusil towns as well as cities are filled with sacks of imported pl-480 …
the Hemendra Kumar committee was set up in August 2002 by Union agriculture minister Ajit Singh to restore the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's (icar) lost "sense of purpose'. Unfortunately, the recent report submitted by the six-member panel appears to be anything but a roadmap for course correction. The document …
A recent seminar in Pakistan on the topic of integrated management of fruit flies, highlighted the issues of pests destroying fruit crops and the resulting indiscriminate use of pesticides for curbing the insects. The workshop was organised by the Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA) and the Pakistan Agriculture Research council. …
Organic crops contain more healthy compounds than their conventional counterparts, because they are not exposed to pesticides. Work by US-based University of California indicates that organic berries and corn contain up to 58 per cent more polyphenolics
The Centre for Science and Environment’s (cse) recent exposé has blown the lid off the industry’s tall claims on the purity of bottled water. Simultaneously, it has brought to the surface a much larger problem: contamination of groundwater by pesticides. On its part, the government seems to be in flip-flop …
Dhanpao village: Two patches of land adjacent to each other. Wheat is sown on both tracts. But while one yields numerous saplings, the other is barren. The reason: organic manure was used in the lush green field to grow ginger before wheat was planted. Lachiwala village: A mound of organic …
Scientists have come up with a home-grown genetically modified (gm) potato. This ubiquitous vegetable has now been fortified with proteins derived from an amaranth (Amaranthus) species through genetic modification. Amaranth is also an edible plant. While gm cotton and mustard did not quite get a warm welcome in India, the …
