<p>When leopards are found in human-dominated landscapes, conflicts may arise due to attacks on people or livestock loss or when people retaliate following real and perceived threats. In the plantation
In Bihar's flood-prone villages, a cycle of misery is perpetuated - report by Bharat Dogra In a month's time the monsoon will arrive. And I am reminded of my visit to East Champaran district of Bihar four months after last year's "exceptionally destructive" floods. As person after person narrated his/her misery to me, it was clear that the government's relief was inadequate and acute distress did not recede with the flood waters; it lingered for months in the form of gnawing hunger, disease and deprivation. In fact, it is a cycle of misery that repeats year after year.
Labour pangs for farmers seem to be far from over. First it was the overall shortage of manual labour and now early rains are becoming a cause of worry for farmers. An early monsoon is good news for farmers, but the need to transplant paddy as soon as possible has only hiked labour expenses. A rough estimate says in the last couple of days alone, the labour expenses have gone up by 30 per cent. Beginning June 10, about 20 per cent of paddy cultivation in Punjab has been completed, says government data.
This year's theme for the day is "Plant more fruit-bearing saplings, have improved health, nutrition and money." President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed have issued separate messages on the occasion. In his message, Iajuddin stressed the need for ensuring nutrition apart from achieving food security to protect people's health.
Bangladesh Army have undertaken a massive programme to make the National Tree Plantation Campaign 2008 a success, says an ISPR press release. Quarter Master General of Bangladesh Army Lt Gen Md Jahangir Alam Choudhury formally inaugurated the tree plantation campaign of Bangladesh Army by planting a palm sapling beside Army Central Mosque yesterday. Senior army officers were present on the occasion. Later he offered munajat along with other officers seeking success of the campaign.
JAGIROAD - The Jagiroad branch of Assam Science Society observed the World Environment Day on June 5 in the premises of Jagiroad College with a daylong programme, which began with the plantation of saplings in the college campus. An open quiz competition was also organised on the occasion where all the students from local schools and colleges took part.
Way foundation, an NGO working for the integral development of youth, organised a plantation programme at Maina Khaong MV School, Gorchuk on the occasion of the World Environment Day on 5th June. The programme was followed by an Art Competition. A hundred students participated in the same NGO member Prativa Barua spoke on the necessity of conserving forests.
Amritsar: border belt, 62,313 hectare-metre water saved this year Paddy plantation that draws most of the underground water in this season had been zero per cent in the entire border belt of the state. With the government officials, especially of the Agriculture Department, strictly implementing the ban on planting paddy before June 10, and farmers also being cooperative, the sowing was nil till yesterday unlike last year, when till date over 70 per cent of the paddy was planted.
To boost agriculture production and to raise the socio economic conditions of the rural people of Reasi district who are mainly dependant on agriculture and allied services, the government has earmarked an allocation of Rs. 294.60 lakh for the current financial year under agriculture and allied services sector for Reasi district. It was disclosed by the District Development Commissioner, Reasi Sanjeev Verma in a meeting held here at Reasi the other day.
Farmers in Eastern Uttar Pradesh are increasingly choosing costlier mechanical ways of farming over less-expensive manual ways. Why? "Mechanical harvesting is easy and less time taking. At main harvesting time it's become very tough to get the labourers at right time. And if the harvesting process will get late it can harm our crops due to hailstorm and heavy rains. Due to these factors big and even small and marginal farmers are also moving towards mechanical harvesting" said a farmer living in eastern part of UP, Gyan Chand.
The crop diversification policy of the Haryana government seems to be bearing fruit at last. The area under cotton crop in the state is going to increase to 5.25 lakh hectares from the 4.83 lakh hectares last year, said sources in the Haryana Agriculture Department. Both the desi variety and the BT cotton is going to be sown over a larger area this year. Cotton is generally grown in Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad and Bhiwani districts. May is the sowing season for BT cotton. Having found general acceptability among the people, BT cotton had become more popular with the farmers now.
