INDIA

LABOUR LOG: Under-Construction Work Sites, Sewers Becoming  ARE Death Traps

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ARYAN FASCISM MAKES THIS DALIT WORK

Over 30 contractual labourers lost their lives in various work sites in the past week.

India has an abysmal record in poor working conditions, poor wages and worker deaths at workplace, more so in what is called the informal or unorganised sector, especially on construction sites, in mines or while cleaning sewage. Most of these workers are migrant contractual workers or daily wagers, who are deprived of social security and other benefits. NewsClick has collated some of these stories of protests and deaths in the world of labour in the past one week.

Mumbai: 3 Die in Sewer Tragedy in Malad West

Three labourers died as they fell into the chamber of a 15 feet underground sewer drain that they were contracted to clean, according to reports. The incident took place on March 21 in Ambujwadi in Walad West, when two workers died. The third succumbed to injuries on March 23.

According to the PTI, the labourers were contracted to clean the sewer drain when they fell into the chamber below a public toilet that is maintained by a contractor. Subsequently, the locals who were at the scene pulled them out and sent them to a nearby hospital.

The deceased were identified as Surak Kevat, 18, Bikas Kevat, 20 and Ramlagan Kevat, 45. All three were from the same family.

Meanwhile, the BMC has sent a notice to Jay Durga Seva Society, who had the cleaning contract.  "Since the BMC has appointed your organisation, So, it's your responsibility to maintain the said public toilet. The incident of two deaths due to failing in the septic tank is serious in nature. It is observed that your organization is responsible for this negligence. So u need to clarify in next 24 hours as to why police should not initiate action against you," said the notice.

Haryana: Rewari Factory Blast Toll Reaches 11

Three more workers died on March 23, 2024, taking the death toll to 11 in a blast in a dust collector in an auto spare parts factory, Lifelong Pvt Ltd, in Rewari on March 16. The deceased workers were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi. A total of 38 workers were injured in the blast.

The three who are the latest to die were identified as Devesh from Bahraich, Manoj from Gonda and Ghanshyam from Hardoi.

 Even though the workers have alleged management negligence as the dust collector had not been cleaned for months, no arrests have been made so far, said a report in the Times of India. This is despite an FIR being lodged the day after the blast.

Incidentally, the FIR has named just one contractor, Shivam. When asked by ToI about arrests, the SHO of Dharuhera, Jagdeesh Chand said the complainant had named actions against the contractors and company officials but had named only one Shivam. “We need more time to investigate and include names in the FIR,” he added.

Bihar: 1 Worker Dies as Bridge Slabs Fall

On March 22, one worker died and eight others injured when huge slabs on an under-construction bridge in Bihar’s Supaul over River Kosi collapsed over them.

The 10.5 km bridge is being built as part of the Centre’s ambitious Bharatmala Project, and is a joint venture between Gammon Engineers and Contractors Private Limited and Transrail Lighting Limited, according to Indian Express.

Delhi: 2 Jean Cutting Outlet Workers Die in Building Collapse

Two workers died and one was trapped under the debris of a building that collapsed in Welcome area’s Kabir Nagar in Northeast Delhi on March 21. They were working in a jean cutting unit on the ground floor, while the second floor was vacant, according to a NDTV report.

The dead workers have been identified as Arshad, 30, and Tauhid, 20. Rehan, 22, was injured. The owner was named as one Shahid.

Bengal: 11 Die as Under-Construction Building Collapses

An under-construction five-floor apartment in Garden Reach area of Kolkata collapsed on March 18, leaving 11 workers dead, including two women. The building’s promoter Mohammed Wassi and the land owner have been arrested. The building was ”illegal”, as it did not have the required permission. A probe has been ordered.

Uttarakhand: Labourer Dies While Laying Sewer Line

On March 18, one labourer died and another was injured as they were buried under the debris while laying a sewer line in Mussoorie. The deceased was identified as Mangal Tharu, 24, and the injured as Bhim Bahadur, 60. Both hailed from Nepal.

Both the workers were hired by a contractor working for Peyjal Nigam to dig deep, when a huge stone fell over them, said a report in Times of India.

Odisha: Labourer Crushed to Death in Jajpur

One labourer died and two others were seriously injured in a stone crushing unit on March 18, in Rahadpur of Jajpur district.

The incident took place when the trio was opening the wheels of a crusher machine, and one of them apparently came under the wheels and died on the spot, while two others sustained serious injuries, said a report in New Indian Express.

Angry villagers blocked the roads, alleging that the stone crushing unit was illegal.

“No stone crusher unit in Rahadpur and other areas has no objection certificate (NOC) to operate. Local labourers don’t get work at these stone crushing units. The owners of stone crushing units are bringing labourers from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh to work here,” a villager was quoted as saying.

Maharashtra: MNC Employee Kills Self due to ‘Work Pressure’

On March 17, Saurabh Kumar Ladda, 25, an MNC employee from Pune, allegedly jumped from the ninth floor of his apartment in Wadala. He used to live in a flat with his roommates.

According to media reports, Ladda  had graduated in chemical engineering from IIT and did his MBA from IIM. After working as an intern with a multinational company for some time, he was hired a year ago and was working on a project in Ahmedabad,” a report in the Indian Express said.

The report quoted a police officer as saying that several chats found on his phone indicated pressure at work.

UP: Resort Roof Collapses, 2 Workers Killed in Bahraich

On March 16, two labourers died and nine were injured when the roof of an under-construction resort collapsed over them.  Six workers were injured.

The Laser Resort, where the incident happened, is situated along the Bahraich-Sitapur highway

A case has been registered against the resort owner and the contractor, said reports.

India’s MIRV Missile: Deterrence or Higher Risk?

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Possession of MIRV missiles is a double-edged sword. It may prov\ide greater deterrence, but may also drive up the risks of nuclear conflict.

Image Courtesy: X/@DRDO_India

D Raghunandan | 18 Mar 2024

On March 11, 2024 India successfully conducted its first test of a new Agni-V missile with Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology, together termed the “Divyastra (celestial weapon) Mission.”

To those unfamiliar with the arcane world and terminology of nuclear weapons and missiles for their delivery, an MIRV missile carries on a single rocket several warheads, each of which can be programmed to travel in different directions at varying speeds to strike at multiple targets several hundreds of kilometres apart. This hugely increases the damage inflicted by a single MIRV missile, and makes it more difficult for adversaries to track and shoot down the warheads.

As expected, there was a loud media chorus of chest-thumping nationalist pride at this display of technological and military prowess. However, as may have happened a decade or more ago, there has been little informed discussion on the costs and benefits of this shift in India’s strategic capability and perhaps also in its nuclear doctrine.

In technology terms, India now joins a handful of countries, namely the US, Russia, the UK, France and China, who have MIRV technology. With this, India has taken a giant leap forward as regards several technologies and systems, such as smaller warheads, advanced sensors and guidance systems, and commensurate programming, tracking and control systems. These represent significant advances with both military and civilian applications.

India is, however, yet to produce and operationally induct MIRV missiles into its nuclear arsenal on different platforms. The other countries named have both land- and submarine-based MIRV missile systems. India faces major challenges in operationalising and deploying MIRV missiles.

In strategic terms, however, the gains are not so obvious. There is good evidence and considerable discussion in strategic circles to suggest that possession of MIRV missiles is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, MIRVs seemingly bestow greater deterrence. On the other hand, they push rivals to adopt more aggressive nuclear postures so as to counter this advantage. MIRVs may, therefore, also drive up the risks of nuclear conflict and increase security threats.

THE TECHNOLOGY                    

Few details are available in the public domain about the MIRV missile or what the test revealed. However, in the absence of definitive information from DRDO, a broad idea of different aspects may be put together from different sources.

The first thing to note is that we do not know the range of the missile, nor the number of warheads or their weight that the MIRV missile is designed to carry.

The main missile is the Agni-V, the proven latest generation missile in the Agni series. The missile is three-stage. The maiden user trial of the 50-tonne Agni-V with a single 1.5 tonne warhead in operational configuration was conducted in 2021. The Agni-V has since entered service and has been inducted under the Strategic Forces Command.

The missile was believed to have a range of 5,000-5,500 km, just enough to qualify as a long-range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). However, this has never been confirmed and the Agni-V’s range continues to be classified.

Subsequent information from retired top-ranking DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) scientists associated with the missile development puts the range at closer to 7,000 km, especially after several modifications such as use of composite materials to lower the missile weight and a lower weight warhead.

Researchers in other countries have said DRDO is downplaying the range so as to allay international concerns, and that actual range may even be 8,000 km, sufficient to reach all parts of the neighbourhood.

The MIRV Agni-V is a three-stage missile with a modified nose-cone to accommodate multiple warheads. The missile also carries indigenously developed advanced sensors and guidance systems for greater accuracy of warhead delivery. DRDO scientists have revealed that single-digit accuracy, meaning a strike under less than 10 metres from the designated target point, had been achieved. The test last week was conducted over a range of 3,500 m as per the NOTAM or Notice to Airmen which countries are obliged to issue when conducting a missile test. DRDO is currently compiling the test data from various tracking ships and other stations. It is believed DRDO does not plan to conduct any further tests.

CHALLENGES OF MIRV WEAPONISATION

The Agni-V, which had already transitioned from a rail-launcher to a road-based launcher, now uses a canister-launch system. This gives greater mobility and flexibility, and enables safely storing the missile and warheads for many years inside the canister, which releases the missile through an explosive charge, all steps being completed within a few minutes.  This aspect of land-based delivery systems probably requires little or no modification.

However, there is no information yet in the public domain as to whether it is planned to also equip India’s nuclear-capable submarines with MIRV missiles.

It is known that India intends to operationalise the full triad of nuclear platforms i.e., land, air and sea-based. Submarine-based MIRV missiles would pose an even greater threat to adversaries, since they add another layer to the difficulty in tracking and targeting missiles fired from under water.  

The range of the MIRVs would be affected by how many warheads are mounted in the MIRV missiles and how much the add-on weight is.

This is related to the extent of miniaturisation of the nuclear warheads. Clearly, some degree of miniaturisation has already been achieved, since a MIRV nose-cone must be able to accommodate several warheads. This has hardly been discussed so far in the MIRV context.

A more problematic issue is the additional fissile material, chiefly plutonium, which would be required for the new MIRV missiles. India is already constrained by a shortage of plutonium from its BARC Dhruva reactor and a small quantity of waste plutonium from its power plants, especially after India placed 14 nuclear reactors using imported fuel out of its total 22 reactors under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspection and safeguards as part of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Decision regarding IAEA safeguards for the four additional sets of approved reactors at Kaiga (Karnataka), Gorakhpur (Haryana), Chutka (MP) and Banswara (Rajasthan) is yet to be taken. This may call for plutonium from India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor near Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), where core loading has recently commenced in preparation for commercial operations, only the second in the world after Russia.          

DETERRENCE OR HIGHER RISK?                  

All this sounds good, viewed purely in technological terms as national achievements. But we are talking about nuclear weapons here. The international history of development of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, right from the first nuclear bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima thinking it would bring them unchallenged superpower status, teaches us that there is no absolute security guaranteed by possession of nuclear weapons and ever-improving delivery systems.

In the case of MIRVs, some analysts believe it will raise India’s deterrent capability. India already has a no first-use policy, meaning India depends on the threat of inflicting disproportionate damage on an adversary in the event of a pre-emptive strike by the latter. MIRV missiles striking multiple targets simultaneously provide that.

However, other analysts believe that our western neighbour, which depends on a first-strike deterrence to offset its comparative weakness in conventional forces, would now be even more driven towards a pre-emptive strike, especially against MIRV facilities, thus increasing the risk of a nuclear exchange.  This is termed the “use it, or lose it” calculus meaning that a country with limited nuclear arsenal, sensing danger of losing even that, would prefer to use it rather than see it destroyed.

In the case of India’s already far more powerful northern neighbour, India’s MIRVs now pose a greater threat than before, driving that neighbour to deploy even greater counter-measures, further increasing threat levels for India. In both cases, security risks increase, not decrease.

The calculus of nuclear deterrence means that every new advance by one power brings a further counter from an adversarial power. Deterrence only keeps shifting to more advanced weapons on all sides, and hence to higher levels of risk, till finally the aptly-named Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD comes into play. That is why global non-proliferation measures have failed so far, in the face of some countries wanting monopoly nuclear weapons status, driving others to also seek possession of this currency of power. The only answer is full global nuclear disarmament.

The writer is with the Delhi Science Forum and All India People’s Science Network. The views are personal.

 

INDIA

Assam: Anti-CAA Protests Erupt, United Opposition Forum Call for ‘Complete Strike’ Today

Assam Police detains activists from Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samiti, and Raijor Dal in Sivasagar district.

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s notification of CAA 2019 (Citizenship Amendment Act) rules on Monday night, four years after passage of the Bill in Parliament, has led to widespread protests in Assam, with security being beefed up across the state.

A total of 16 Opposition parties, under the umbrella of the United Opposition Forum-Assam (UOFA), have called for a complete strike on March 12, Tuesday.

In Sivasagar, the Assam Police detained activists from Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samiti, and Raijor Dal who were protesting against CAA on Tuesday.

In a statement, UOFA said Assam “cannot accept the load of illegal foreigners as it wholeheartedly favours implementation of the Assam Accord, which says all foreigners coming to the state on or after March 25, 1971, will be detected, deleted from electoral rolls and steps would be taken to deport them.

"We will not accept the CAA at any cost as it will destroy the Assamese community. It will finish our language, literature, culture and identity," according to a UOFA statement, as cited in Assam Tribune.

According to reports, the Centre’s announcement led to a strong reaction in the North-Eastern state with the Opposition parties as well as various organisations, such as the All Assam Students Union (AASU), staging protests in Guwahati. In fact, AASU even burnt copies of CAA in various places across the state.

AASU, which had led a six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants in 1979, said it would fight the legislation in and outside court, according to the Assam Tribune.

AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya told PTI: ''We will continue with our non-violent, peaceful, democratic movement against the CAA. Alongside, we will also continue our legal fight."

Debabrata Saikia , Congress leader of the Opposition in the Assam assembly termed the notification of CAA as "unfortunate".

 “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP had been saying since 2016 that all illegal foreigners will have to leave Assam, they betrayed the people of the state and brought in the CAA,'' Saikia told PTI.

Akhil Gogi, president of The Raijor Dal, told PTI: "The process to legitimise 15-20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus illegally living in Assam has begun. There is no other way but to come out on the street and protest against this unconstitutional act.''

He said a section of the people were scared that if the CAA is implemented, it would endanger their identity and livelihood.

"Assam's long struggle against illegal immigration has been nullified with just this one act. This act will also open the doors for 1.7 crore Hindus living in Bangladesh to cross over to Assam," Gogoi added.

BJP senior spokesperson Rupam Goswami told PTI: "There was a misinformation campaign by the Opposition that crores of Hindus from Bangladesh would enter Assam after the law was passed by Parliament, but nothing of that sort has happened''.

AIUDF legislator Ashraful Hussain told the news agency that the BJP had implemented CAA before the Lok Sabha polls as it was ''greedy for Bangladeshi Hindu votes''.

"We favour Indian citizenship for anyone coming to Assam before March 25, 1971, and it should not be based on any religion or community'', he added.

Assam's AAP president Bhaben Choudhury told PTI that this ''day will be marked as the 'black day' in Assam's history and BJP will be remembered as a traitor for imposing the communal and anti-community CAA''.

CPI(M) Assam State Secretary Suprakash Talukdar questioned the Ministry of Home Affairs, which  had said in Parliament, that the government had no plans to introduce the law till it was sub-judice.

Meanwhile, the Assam Police has warned people against organising any strike, after the Opposition gave a call for “Sarbatmak Hartal” (complete strike), and said any damage to property would invite legal action.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DGP Assam said, legal action would be taken if there is any “damage to public/private property including Railway and National Highway properties or injury to any citizen caused”.

“Legal action under appropriate provisions of law including the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 will be initiated against you and the total cost of damage to public and private properties will be recovered from you and your Organization,” it added.

INDIA

Ladakh: Over 80 Civil Society Groups, Individuals Pledge Solidarity with Demand for Statehood

The interests and aspirations of the people of the region, and the environment they depend on, need to be honoured and fulfilled, the joint statement read.

Image Courtesy: Twitter/@Wangchuk66

Newsclick Report | 23 Mar 2024

Over 80 civil society organisations have issued a joint statement in solidarity with the ongoing protest and hunger strike in Ladakh to demand full statehood and constitutional safeguards to protect the “land, culture, environment and the economic interests” of the region.

The statement issued by the Vikalp Sangam (Alternatives India) said: “We express solidarity with all those fasting in the frigid conditions of Ladakh, including Sonam Wangchuk and many others; we have expressed our solidarity through actions across India over the last few days.”

Wangchuk, a Magsaysay award winning climate and peace activist, along with others has been on fast since March 6, after talks with the Union Home Ministry on March 4 failed to make any headway.

Signatories to the statement include, Ladakh Arts & Media Organisation, The Himalaya Collective, Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, Rythu Swarajya Vedika, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, National Federation of Dalit Women, Forest Rights Coalition JK, Centre for Pastoralism among others.

“We express shock about the way in which these demands that people/citizens of Ladakh have been making for many years, is systematically sidelined, with the central government dragging its feet and then finally rejecting them outright. This is despite the party in power having made a promise to grant 6th Schedule status to Ladakh when it was converted into a Union Territory in 2019,” read the statement.

There have been massive protests in Ladakh, including a complete shutdown in Leh, including during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Jammu & Kashmir for the first time after abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the bifurcation of the state into two Union territories.

Before announcing his fast in front of huge crowd, Wangchuk had said: “I am Sonam Wangchuk reaching out to the people of the world from Indian Himalayas, a place called Leh, Ladakh, at 3,500 metres, 11,500 feet,” Wangchuk told the massive gathering in Leh, adding “Today on the sixth of March, I will be sitting on a fast unto death, which will happen in stages of 21 days each, extended as necessary. It is 21 days because this happens to be the longest fast that Mahatma Gandhi kept during the Independence movement of India. I want to follow the same peaceful path that Mahatma Gandhi followed, where we inflict pain on ourselves, not on anybody else.”

The Kargil Democratic Alliance and the Leh Apex Body, which were formed after 2019, have also called for solidarity with the protesters and have held strikes and shutdowns.

As support for the protesting people garners wider support, the joint statement condemned the “attempted silencing of voices or intimidation and repression tactics trying to block students and youth from attending the ongoing mass fast or other peaceful means of protest, and the placing of CCTV surveillance of the fasting site to keep track of people visiting and participating in the fast. “

Urging the Union government to agree to the demands of the people of Ladakh, the statement said “The people of Ladakh have put their lives in danger during all the wars in the region and stood like a bulwark against unfriendly neighbours. Thus, the interests and aspirations of the people of the region, and the environment they depend on, need to be honoured and fulfilled.”

Reminding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre of its promise for adequate constitutional safeguards, the statement said there is “genuine fear that UT status without constitutional safeguards in Ladakh’s governance, could result in the kind of extractive modern unsustainable development that has impacted the rest of India. Unregulated growth in tourism, influx of businesses and large corporate houses, mining interests, could destroy the fine balance that the people of Ladakhi have achieved while pursuing their livelihoods as well as exacerbate the glacial loss that is already a huge concern, threatening to impact livelihoods of not just the people of Ladakh but of millions of Indians who depend on its waters. Corporate giants have already begun exploring the area for business opportunities (including in tourism) and prospecting for minerals and other natural resources. “

INDIA

Madhya Pradesh: The Rise and Fall of an Organic Farming Village in Khandwa

aon in Khandwa district adopted organic practices in the aftermath of a severe drought, but things fell apart quite fast when climate change and pest attacks made cultivation difficult.



Mohammad Asif Siddiqui | 22 Mar 2024

Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh: Olfactory discomfort is at its peak as the strong, sickening odour of pesticides and the earthy smell of cow dung waft through Malgaon in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Not a single farm in this village with 447 houses and 2,488 residents is fully organic, but that was not the case over 20 years ago.

At that time, the family of Deepak Patel (37) was among the first to switch to organic practices by building three Nadep structures at their farm and another three on the premises of their house using their own resources. The family dumped organic waste in these earthen structures throughout the year to make compost.

“Our farm was fully organic for only four years. Due to climate change and rising pest attacks, we were forced to switch to pesticides,” Deepak tells 101Reporters, while acknowledging that organic farming is the best option, provided farmers get better prices for their produce. He wants to move away from chemical-based farming, so 40% of the total pesticides used in his farm are organic now.

Temikala-based Jagannath Kanade (75) has been a farmer for the last 60 years. He says predicting even the next day’s weather is a difficult task these days. “It sometimes looks like summer, then suddenly it rains or fog spreads. All these have increased pest attacks in crops. We have no option but to resort to pesticides to keep them in check.”

According to Kanade, farmers now spend three times more money on their crops than earlier because chemical-based farming is very expensive. In fact, more money is being spent on fertilisers and pesticides than seeds, ultimately taking away soil fertility.

Even the weather forecast app is not to their aid. Durgaram Patel (35) says farmers used to get weather information on the app, but there was a problem. “The app would be showing a clear weather, but it will be raining outside. Tell me how can we decide anything in such a situation,” he asks.

Durgaram’s fields used to deliver 20 sacks of wheat earlier. But in the last five years, he has been getting only five to seven sacks. “If this situation prevails, farmers will have to find other means to earn their livelihood,” he warns.

Farmers are fully aware that the continuous application of pesticides will make their land barren in future, but they say they do not have an option. “We have harmed ourselves by leaving organic farming. Going back to organic methods is difficult now. Farmers are trying to include some organic practices, like using 20% organic inputs. A complete switch is not easy, but it will be required to save our land,” says Kamlesh Patel (36), a farmer from Temikala.

Malgaon farmer Hukumchand Patel (57) tells 101Reporters that the village did only organic farming from 2000 to 2005. “People from far and wide used to come here to learn about organic farming. I also followed organic farming during that period and got good results. Later, production decreased and the weather did not cooperate. Since the village is situated at a higher altitude, there was a water shortage. We filled this deficiency with pesticides. Within no time the situation changed and chemical-based farming increased in the entire village,” he recalls.

Rajesh Gupta, the then chief executive officer of district panchayat, had taken special interest in developing Malgaon as an organic village and Torani as a water village. Late Hukumchand Patel was the first farmer to initiate organic farming in the village. He also informed other villagers about its long-term benefits and inspired them to do the same. Patel started using the waste from his fields and house to make organic fertiliser by layering it with cow dung.

In 2002, when Malgaon was a fully organic village, works to conserve water were initiated. Rainwater and nutrients flowing from flat land were stored in 7,000 water pits around the village fields. When these pits overflowed, the excess water was diverted towards the village wells. To ensure water efficiency during irrigation, drip irrigation and sprinkler methods were adopted.

Earlier, even a good rainfall could not save the place from water shortage due to the high altitude and rocky ground. At that time, 505 hectares were under cultivation. There were 275 irrigable wells, but only 20 held adequate water. The severe drought between 1998 and 2000 made farmers aware of the need to change their farming practices. They understood the special role of humus and compost in retaining soil moisture, which made them turn to organic farming.

Big farmers of the village set up biogas plants in their homes and gave connections to their neighbours and relatives. Five big and 12 small biogas plants were built in the village in 2002. In 2012, another 218 biogas plants were built by people of the village at subsidised rates. Considering the decrease in cattle population in the village, household toilets were also connected to the plant.

Close to 10 tonnes of organic fertilisers could be obtained from cow dung biogas, 8.9 tonnes from Nadep and 10.12 tonnes from vermicompost. To ensure composting in Nadep structures, 25 collection centres were set up in the village with panchayat help. Due to these efforts, Malgaon received the Nirmal Gram Puraskar in 2009.

However, with cattle rearing decreasing further and people switching back to chemical fertilisers for agriculture, the biogas structures have faded away. Biogas plants have remained buried under cow dung and garbage, while not a single Nadep structure can be seen here. Now farmers collect cow dung in the open and convert it into manure. Today, only two biogas plants are operational in the village.

As per an estimate, 806 quintals of urea, 407 quintals of super phosphate, 125 quintals of potash and 446 quintals of diammonium phosphate (DAP) are annually used in Malgaon. Pesticides to kill caterpillars and other insects are also used.

“The time for caution has passed, now we should start saving what is left. High amounts of pesticides are sprayed in the fields of Khandwa. This indiscriminate use works as a tool to spoil the weather,” Dr Saurabh Gupta, meteorologist, Bhagwantrao Mandloi Agricultural College, Khandwa, tells 101Reporters.

Dr Satish Parsai, an entomologist at the same college, warns that pests have become so powerful that it is difficult to kill them even with pesticides. Hence, traditional methods are more suited.

“If farmers are still not alert and do not return to old methods, the future of agriculture will be even more challenging.”

Malgaon Sewa Sahkari Samiti distributes the government-approved urea, DAP and potash to farmers. In view of the deteriorating health of fields and soil, the government has launched nano fertiliser in the market. The society provides this also to most farmers.

“Over 500 hectares are irrigated in the village. As many as 105 farmers are registered with the samiti, which distributes 320 bags of urea, 400 bags of DAP, 150 bags of phosphate and 70 bags of potash to them. The remaining farmers in the village have to buy fertilisers from the market at a price that is four times higher,” says Krishnakant Sohni, a clerk at the cooperative society.

Mohammad Asif Siddiqui is a Madhya Pradesh-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.

Press Club of India Condemns Manhandling of Photojournalists by Delhi Police

Two photojournalists were injured as police personal roughed them up during an AAP protest in Central Delhi.

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Working News Cameraman's Association

Newsclick Report | 26 Mar 2024

Newsclick Report

New Delhi: The Press Club of India (PCI) has condemned the manhandling by Delhi Police of several photojournalists covering the protests by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protests against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind. The incidents happened near the Patel Chowk Metro station in Central Delhi.

Several video grabs and photographs of the incident went viral through the day of the roughing up of journalists who were merely carrying out their professional duties.

A statement released by the PCI has demanded a high-level enquiry by a retired judge into the highhandedness of Delhi Police. Two photojournalists were injured in the action.

Read the full statement below:

 

Press Statement

The Press Club of India condemns the assault on photojournalists by Delhi police. The Working News Cameraman's Association has released photographs which showed unruly senior police officers holding some photojournalists by their throats and threatening others with dire consequences.

This happened while the photojournalists were covering the public protests by the Aam Aadmi Party workers against the arrest of their leader, Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi Chief Minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. Supporters of Mr. Kejriwal have been on the streets of Delhi demanding his release for the last six days.

It is the job of reporters and photojournalists to cover political protests. As such, photojournalists who were assaulted by Delhi Police were merely doing their job. From the pictures it’s clear that senior police officers grabbed the throat of Mr. Arun Thakur from the India Today group—who has been in the profession for more than two decades—in the most threatening manner.

Another photojournalist, Salman Ali of Hindustan, fractured his elbow in the melee triggered by Delhi Police. Any form of assault on journalists and photojournalists is totally unacceptable.

We would also like to remind the top brass of Delhi Police that Freedom of Press is a fundamental right, which the Supreme Court has underlined on a number of occasions in most emphatic terms. As recently as March 12, 2024, a Supreme Court bench of Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stated: “Now, the time has come to enlighten and educate our police machinery on the concept of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the extent of reasonable restraint on their free speech and expression.”

From the behaviour of Delhi Police this morning, it seems even the words of caution by the highest court of the land have fallen on insensitive ears.

The Press Club of India demands a high-level enquiry by a retired judge into the highhandedness of Delhi police so that the aggrieved photojournalists get justice and are able to do their professional work without facing police brutality.