JACKFRUIT or kathal is India's most neglected fruit. Except in Panruti. This sleepy coastal taluk in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu is the heaven of jackfruit. It produces the best jackfruits in the country – fat, sweet and tasty. You can buy the fruit round the year. The biggest jackfruit in Panruti weighs over 70 kg which actually makes it a hot contender for the Guinness Book of Records. A Hawaiian jackfruit, at a mere 34 kg holds the title at present. By not staking a claim, Panruti is depriving itself of a world record title every year. Now this is one competition India could win hands down. But even if the record has not been bestowed on them, Panruti's farmers are not complaining. Hundreds of them are thriving by growing kathal. Plantations, starting from one acre to 10 and even 20, are aplenty. In these days of labour scarcity, Panruti jackfruit growers are gleeful. They don't need armies of labourers. Jackfruit is seen as a zero attention plant and harvest crop. Even so in Panruti, the jackfruit is pampered with manure and irrigation. The market is controlled by middlemen, yet farmers get a price not dreamed of! Panruti probably has the highest per capita consumption of jackfruit in India. Everyone here loves jackfruit. From sunrise to sunset you can see people carrying the palaa palam (as the jackfruit is locally called) on their heads, on bullock carts, two-wheelers, buses and cars. Also read : 
JOURNALIST P Sainath spends up to 250 days a
year in the field, documenting the plight of
India’s teeming rural masses. He knows better
than most why agriculture in this country has
slumped to such a low that 200,000 cultivators
have committed suicide in a decade and a bit. The event was chaired by India's solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam, who exhorted policy-makers to “disengage themselves from artificial urban constructs that are based entirely on monetary profits”. He added: “Everything is today driven by facile notions of comfort, prosperity and lopsided ethics of governance.” The hall was packed, the topic grim and the atmosphere understandably sombre. But Sainath chose sarcasm as his weapon. He started by sharing the “good news” that Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had just taken over as International Cricket Council (ICC) chief. “Mr Pawar's supporters tell me it is natural for him to assume ICC's top post because he has been involved with cricket administration for 35 years. In that period, agriculture in Maharashtra has gone from bad to worse,” Sainath reminded the audience. “Maharashtra has seen the largest number of suicides in the last 12 years but not a single minister from the state ever visited an affected family except when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh toured the worst-hit areas in 2006,” he added. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
ANU Aga is a believer in the social responsibilities
of businesses. Graceful and soft spoken,
she is a symbol of the best in corporate India.
Her appointment to the National Advisory
Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi is significant
at a time when companies find themselves
up against complex development challenges. It worries her that the benefits of the recent
economic growth in the country do not reach a
vast number of people. There is a view that growth figures do not accurately reflect the Indian reality. There is a big gap between the rich and the poor and it could be growing. How do you see this and what do you think industry’s response should be? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
For the first time, the Right to Information (RTI) law has been used to look for a man who was taken away by security forces and never came back home. On 13 December, 1990, Mohammad Ashraf Yatoo, a government employee was picked up along with four people by a party of the 80 Battalion Border Security Force (BSF) from Badipora village in Budgam, a district in Central Kashmir. The four people were released. But Yatoo never returned home. His family, his brothers leading the way, tried their best to trace him. Their efforts were in vain. The family lost their only breadwinner. On 2 July responding to an RTI application, Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), directed the BSF to furnish information on the disappearance of Mohammad Ashraf Yatoo. The CIC's decision in this case has assumed great significance in the Valley. Never before has a complaint pertaining to an enforced disappearance been received and heard by the Commission. The CIC's action has given new energy to members of the Yatoo family who had nearly called off their search in despair. It has also become a ray of hope for thousands of families in the Kashmir Valley who are desperate to know the whereabouts of their missing near and dear ones. So far Kashmiris had assumed that the RTI law was applicable only to development issues. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
Enveloped in dust and dirt, Bhondsi village is a picture of neglect. Ironically, it is locatedjust a stone's throw from India's Millennium City, Gurgaon, with its gleaming malls and offices. The contrast between city and village is stark. Children drop out of school to help their families earn some money. Parents don't have much choice. “It was a painful decision for me to withdraw my child from school. But my dwindling income forced me to. I have six members to feed in my family,” says Ramesh Kumar. But luck smiled at them. A voluntary organisation started a programme called Trilce ( The Rural Initiative towards Liberation through Community Empowerment) in the village. They persuaded Kumar to let his daughter sit for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exam and pass school. Trilce was started by Seema and Vijay Khandekar in 2007. They own a farm in Bhondsi. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We did a cover story on the virtues of the jackfruit exactly a year ago. The response was overwhelming. People heartily congratulated us on recognising a much ignored fruit. Others wrote in with jackfruit recipes. There were suggestions on growing jackfruit better etc, etc. We realised that jackfruit has a huge fan following but a hopelessly poor public image which is in no way related to its many values and the relish with which it is consumed across the country. This month, our cover story is about how the farmers of Panruti, in Tamil Nadu, have prospered hugely by cultivating jackfruit. There are plantations at Panruti where the most tasty and juicy jackfruit in India is grown. The message is simple: if we want our rural areas to generate livelihoods and do better, we need to recognise the uniqueness of our biodiversity and the opportunities that it offers. A limited vision of the farm sector has made it difficult for farmers to survive. Of course policy-makers and the babus in the scientific establishment are to blame, but we must also ask ourselves how often as a society we promote ideas and information which is relevant to our situation. Panruti's farmers deserve recognition so that others may learn from them and follow their example – perhaps with some other fruit or vegetable. A geographical indicator is in order for Panruti as it no doubt is for many more locations and regions across our rich and diverse country. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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LUNCH is about to begin at the Pardada Pardadi
Education Society (PPES) school in Anupshahr, a
village some 40 km from Bulandshahar in west
Uttar Pradesh (UP). Students on kitchen duty lay
out hundreds of steel plates in long, neat rows for
the midday meal. Read more...
A solar-powered water purification system named Naiade is making waves in rural India. It was launched in India in 2006 by Synergy International, a company based in New Delhi. The water purifier has been bought by 80 villages in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. Invented by Nedap, a Dutch company, Naiade is mobile and eco-friendly. It doesn't need any electricity since it runs on solar energy. Neither does the water purifier require dedicated water supply. Water can be simply poured from the top. Naiade can clean up to 2,500 litres in 10 hours which would meet the needs of about 1000 people. It uses ultraviolet (UV) technology and kills all harmful pathogens without the use of chemicals. “I think people are realising that paying a small sum of money for clean water is good for them because it improves their health. With that comes better productivity and a chance for them to improve their economic conditions and quality of life,” says MPS Puri, managing consultant of Synergy International and Nedap. Synergy works indirectly with NGOs and companies who undertake development projects in villages. It teaches trainers who then reach out to villagers, panchayats and grassroots NGOs which have safe water as their mandate. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A recent visit to the Bangalore Traffic Management Centre reinforced the benefits of appropriate use of technology. This centre acts as a control room and nerve centre getting a series of live feeds from over 180 traffic intersection cameras. GPS mounted on buses stream back congestion data and cell tower data that are translated into another data source of traffic congestion in the city. There are digital monitors and a series of workstations that look something out of a sci-fi movie set. Smart integration of these data streams and supervision by trained operators allow the following – spotting and online fining of traffic violators, changing traffic signal sequences, addressing congestion areas and more. In 2009-10, the Bangalore Traffic police collected Rs 38 crores of fines that more than pays back any investment in such a centre. This author is a strong advocate of using technology for greater citizen benefits. This article sets out some potential ways that we could harness the power of modern technology in police (traffic, crime) operations. Using SMS as an FIR against errant auto rickshaw drivers Context: A key condition of auto licensing is that the auto rickshaw drivers will not refuse passengers during their hours of plying. Consequently, if we use technology to monitor non-compliance, the RTO can warn or take action against erring autos. Similarly, citizens can be the ‘eyes and ears' of traffic violators (dangerous driving, parking) across the city. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In June this year, several civil society groups came together to send a series of letters to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Does that sound familiar? If yes, let me append the reasons. It will make this story sound even more like an “oh not again” one. The letters aimed at highlighting the blatant ‘conflict of interest' in the appointment of two new chairpersons to the reconstituted Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs) examining environmental clearances of river valley and hydroelectric projects as well as thermal power projects. The letters were sent to Jairam Ramesh, Union Environment Minister. The EACs under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006, play a very critical role especially at the fourth stage of environment clearance after the EIA report is finalised and the public hearing in close proximity to the project site, is completed. EACs are thematic and focus on sectors like mining, thermal power, river valley projects, industries and so on (list on http://envfor.nic.in). These committees are meant to assess a range of issues related to the proposed activity or project in a transparent manner and make categorical recommendations on whether to grant or reject a clearance to the MoEF. The reasons for their decision have to be stated only if a project is rejected. In June this year MoEF reconstituted two of these committees and its choice of chairpersons has come under substantial criticism. The ministry has yet again been questioned on ‘conflict of interest' on the appointments. ‘Yet again' are operational words and a look at recent history will reveal why. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Perched on a hillock at the edge of the picturesque Bhadra Reservoir, just four km from the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, the River Tern's Lodge gets its name from thousands of river terns which congregate and breed on an island nearby. Winding, narrow paths flanked by a canopy of bamboo lead to rustic cottages and log huts perched at varied levels. They blend beautifully with the green of the undisturbed countryside. The interiors have modern facilities and are smartly finished in wood and natural colours with en suite bathrooms. The view from the balcony is a sight to behold. Each cottage (named after a bird species) offers a stunning view of the lofty hilly ranges, spectacular sunsets and the reservoir. Sometimes the silence is overpowering, broken only by the sound of rustling winds and gentle waves lapping the surface of rocks lining the river banks. One can wake up here to the whoops, hoots and raucous calls of birds which reside in and around the lodge, a fine base for spotting a range of woodland and water birds. There is never a dull moment in this resort and we flitted from one activity to another in this dream destination. Bird-watching, bonfire, trekking, wildlife safaris, kayaking, canoeing and water trampoline are all part of the wilderness escapade. The best way undoubtedly to enjoy the sanctuary is to drift down the reservoir on a boat in the evening or morning when chances of viewing wildlife are bright.
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