Picketers disrupt work, say: Adani Australian coal mine project would 'aggravate' drought

By A Representative
In a fifth picket in a row, and third at the site itself, work at Adani’s controversial Carmichael coalmine project was disrupted by a group of 20 people, who blocked access from the Adani work camp. The group cited Adani’s immense water usage at a time when much of the country is in extreme drought. The region’s drought situation has reportedly been declared critical, with fears that several places could run out of water by the end of the year.
Horticulturalist Hamish Fairbrother, from Townsville, noted Adani, a powerful Indian tycoon implementing the ambitious project, is beginning construction on a massive dam which will suck water from surrounding farms, towns, and native ecosystems.
“At a time when the country is experiencing history-changing weather conditions – when whole towns are running out of water, rivers are drying up and extreme fire threats being described as the new normal, the government is allowing Adani to use billions of litres of water in order to mine and wash coal. This is irresponsible and reprehensible”, he argued.
In June, the Federal Department of the Environment conceded in court that it did not take into consideration public submissions to Adani’s North Galilee Water Scheme. There were over 2,000 public submissions to the plan, which gives Adani permission to use 12.5 billion litres of water a year from the Suttor River. It is now in the process of reviewing that decision.
According to Fairbrother, “The government has already admitted it ignored the submissions of the public when it came to Adani’s immense water usage. The fact they are still supportive of this project in the face of an extreme drought and the threat of worse from climate breakdown is a betrayal of Australian people and the water that sustains us.
“Careful water management is a necessity for life on this dry continent. If our government will not protect this precious resource by rejecting the Carmichael mine, everyday people need to personally take strong action to stop it from being built.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Congo lithium mining: Mineral rush spearheaded by US, Europe, other major powers

By Layne Hartsell, Max Wilbert, Ntafakabirhi-Aganze Clovis Like oil in the twentieth century, lithium is the ‘white gold’ of the twenty-first. Demand for this key element is driving economic growth based on the ‘renewable’ energy provided by lithium-ion batteries. Such batteries are necessary for storing energy from solar photovoltaics in order to make that electricity readily available. A lightweight metal, lithium is generally processed into a white powder after being extracted from brines or salty water ponds and from underground deposits.

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