Ratan K Pani

PAIKMAL: Lack of rain has left residents of predominantly tribal block Paikmal high and dry. With irrigation still a mirage, the tribals depend on sale of non-timber forest produce (NTFP), mahua in particular, six months a year to eke out a living. For the rest part of the year rainfed agriculture and migration sustain them.

Wild elephants, that lived in the Buttala, Kataragama and Wellawaya areas in the Pahala Uva region of the Monaragala district have come to the forests off Ambarangala, Koslanda, Makaldeniya, Puunaagala and Seeriyabedda in the Haldummulla Divisional Secretariat of the Badulla district, say the Haldummulla public.

Mumbai Bhiwandi constituency has problems ranging from infrastructure development of the urban area to solving the plight of the tribal people. The constituency has six assembly segments, Bhiwandi East, Bhiwandi West, Bhiwandi (rural), Shahpur, Kalyan West and Murbad. Prashant Rangnekar spoke to BJP candidate Jagannath Patil, a four-time MLA and former MP from Thane.

NEW DELHI: The number of people affected by climate-related crises over the next six years is projected to rise annually by 54 per cent to reach 375 million. This could overwhelm the humanitarian aid system, international agency Oxfam said on Wednesday.