Counterview

By Rajiv Shah Close on the heels of top international environmental NGO Greenpeace reportedly identified six coal-fired power plants and industrial clusters as India’s “worst nitrogen oxides (NOx) hotspots” on the basis of data from Tropomi, a Dutch satellite instrument, the NGO has now found, on the basis of data obtained from NASA, that India houses 13 of the world’s top 40 anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitting hotspots, resulting from coal combustion.

A farmers' protest against limestone mining in Bhavnagar district By  A  Representative Farmers’ rights leader Sagar Rabari of the Khedut Ekta Manch (KEM), in a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has wondered how could the Government of India grant environment clearance (EC) to the UltraTech company for mining limestone in Bhavnagar district by taking away the livelihood of 25,000 people. As against this, the company, he claimed, would be employing just 30 people. UltraTech’s EC has been approved for excavating limestone in Talaja and Mahuva talukas of Bhavnagar district in Gujarat despite protests by people, Rabari said, adding, this was done without verifying the details the government was provided. According to Rabari, a right to information (RTI) plea suggests has there are several Asiatic lions, as also other rare wildlife species, living in the area. Asserting that wildlife would therefore get disturbed, he added, minin...

By  A  Representative Gujarat’s 22 civil rights activists, in a letter to the Chief Justice of India, protesting against the three-week-long clampdown in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), have said this has create an undeclared state of emergency in Kashmir. The decision to write the letter was taken following a recent meeting of the Movement for Secular Democracy in Ahmedabad. Claiming that about 4,000 persons have been arrested amidsgt a huge military presence – there is one military man for almost five civilians – the letter says, this is alarming because, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), endangers “sexual violence against women” and “violation of human rights” in J&K. Protesting against the “continuing restrictions on phones and internet, disrupting publications of newspapers and curbing the freedom of press as a form of collective punishment”, the letter says, this has crippled the daily life and economic activity of Kashmir. “Appalled” by the way in which “...

By  A  Representative A well-attended meeting held at Nimaknagar in the presence of Dhangadhra MLA Purushottam Sabariya, and with the participation of agariyas, farmers, fisherfolk, maldharis and charcoal makers, has expressed deep concern over the probable impact the proposed Rann Sarovar project in the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK). The meeting was organized by the Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch (AHRM), and was presided over by its secretary, Harinesh Pandya, who said that there was a need to recognise the contribution of the community in conserving wildlife and ecosystem of LRK. Speaking on the occasion, Sabariya assured people that he would convey to their concerns to the authorities on what would happen to 150 villages of five districts surrounding LRK in case the project was undertaken. Fisherfolk representatives expressed their apprehensions about the future of prawn fishing of LRK, valuing a business of Rs 300 crore during just four months of monsoon. Prawns from LRK are of e...

By Siraj Dutta Hundreds of ration cardholders of 11 villages from across West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand have protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office against the denial of their Public Distribution System (PDS) foodgrains for “many months” over the past two years. Following the protest dharna, a list of demands was forwarded to the district administration, stating, pending grains of all the villages from 2016 onward should be immediately distributed to the cardholders.

By  A  Representative The Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI), a US-based body claiming to represent India's minority communities, including Dalits and Adivasis, living in America, has raised the alarm that the international wing of the RSS has penetrates government offices across America, citing how the "US affiliate of Indian paramilitary" has been busy hosting "events with police, fire, elected officials".

Kashmiri Pandits celebrate Govt of India move on J&K By Nava Thakuria* It was an amazing interaction with a senior journalist based in Jammu, organized through video-conference at a time when the entire Kashmir Valley is under strict internet censorship, allegedly as a precautionary measure taken by the Government of India following the revocation of Article 370 and 35A, and also the reorganization of the extreme northern State.

Counterview Desk One of the world's topmost human rights organisations, Amnesty International, has called upon the Government of India to immediately release all political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and put an end to the deliberate silencing of voices in the region, pointing out that human rights violations risk in the state is going unreported because of communication blockade.

By  A  Representative In Drass sector, a town in the Kargil District, a meeting was held by the locals to discuss the current situation of the Jammu and Kashmir state and its regions in light of the recent abrogation of Article 370, 35A and bifurcation of the state. A meeting attended by members of various religious communities in Drass, a town in Kargil district, including Sunni, Shia, Ahle Hadith, Noorbakshia, along with members of political parties National Conference, Indian National Congress, People Democratic Party, and Bhartiya Janata Party has reportedly protested against the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. A statement made public by senior human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi said that local elected representatives of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Kargil) also attended the meeting, where a decision was taken to form a coordination committee of Drass to work out how to move forward at a time when there was con...

By A Representative Narmada Bachao Andolan (NDA) leader Medha Patkar has begun fast, alongside 24 women associated with the top the anti-dam organization at Chhota Badda village in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, against the alleged refusal of the Gujarat government to close open Sardar Sarovar dam’s gates in order to keep the reservoir level low, less than 130 metres. Blaming the Government of India’s and Gujarat government’s “adamancy”, in a statement, NBA said, the water levels in the dam’s reservoir have reached 133 metres, turning hundreds of villages and farms into islands. Even at 130 metres, temples, buildings, shops had begun being submerged. Pointing out that World Bank apprehensions, when it withdrew from the project in 1993, that the dam would lead to unprecedented submergence, are providing to be true, the statement said, the villages which are most affected are situated in Barwani, Dhar, Khargone and Alirajpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, in a letter to Mad...