Atmabodhanand ended fast after "significant" civil society pressure on govt

By A Representative
Welcoming the Government of India move which led Swami Atmabodhanand to break his 194-day fast at Matri Sadan, Haridwar, for cleaning up Ganga, senior activist Chandra Vikash, who campaigned for the cause, has regretted that this was made possible only after “significant pressure” from civil society groups on the government to “relent on its criminal negligence” for the cause.
Calling Ganga a “most valuable natural resource”, he said, despite this, the government tried to “to cover up by a canard of lies and disinformation to cloud the public opinion on how it had cleaned up the Ganga.”
Vikash added, Nitin Gadkari, the minister in charge of Ganga rejuvenation, has now “climbed down from his vague proclamations of having cleaned up 80% to 70% and most recently 30% when the truth is that the mother river is even more polluted and being wrecked by dams and other encroachments even in areas where the previous Manmohan Singh government had declared eco-sensitive zone.”
“This entire operation involved large number of people who could influence and prevail upon the government's callous intransigence”, he added.
Thus, in April, Vikash said, he met and requested Sri Sri Ravishankar to visit Matri Sadan in Haridwar, following an earlier letter to the President of India, followed by an interview with Sant Atmabodhanand with getting veteran journalist Dr Vedpratap Vaidik, who is well-acquainted with both Gadkari and the President, the Ganga padayatra led by Sandeep Pandey, the protest at Jantar Mantar by Dr Vijay Verma and Supreme Court Advocate PS Sharda, and arranging the United Nations team to visit Matri Sadan.

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

Counterview

Search This Blog