More than 5,000 people at six villages in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila has become homeless in the last five days due to erosion by the River Darla. At least 120 dwelling houses, a mosque, a temple and a vast track of crop lands were eroded during the period. The erosion-hit villages are Badaitari, Mogholhat, Kurul, Megharam, Bongram and Itapota. The affected people have taken shelter on different roads, embankments and on the high lands. Many villagers are passing days with grave anxiety as the river is rapidly eroding houses and crop fields, local people said.

Residents of Maina, Cavrem, Pirla and adjoining villages of Quepem taluka on Saturday vehemently opposed the public hearing of two proposed mines and managed to get the public hearing of one proposed mine cancelled on technical grounds. The Goa Pollution Control Board (GPCB) had fixed three public hearings at the Chandreshwar temple hall at Cotta-Amona in Quepem taluka, to invite public opinion on the proposed renewal of mining leases at Maina and Pirla villages. The meetings were presided over by Additional Collector-II Y B Tavde and Assistant Env. Engineer (GSPCB) Sanjeev Joglekar.

Environmentalists and social activists led by G D Aggarwal are headed for Delhi to continue with their campaign against construction of power projects between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. After the Uttarakhand Government decided to halt work on the Pala Maneri and Bhiron Ghati projects, the campaigners are now targeting the 600-mw Lohari Nagpala project being executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation. Aggarwal's fast unto death entered its 10th day on Sunday when he left the Manikarnika ghats of Uttarkashi to shift base to Delhi.

Look out of the window the next time you travel by road or by train anywhere in India. Hit a human settlement, and you will see, heaps of plastic coloured garbage apart, pools of dirty black water and drains that go nowhere. They go nowhere because we have forgotten a basic fact: if there are humans, there will be excreta. Indeed, we have also forgotten another truth about the so-called modern world: if there is water use, there will be waste. Roughly 80 per cent of the water that reaches households flows out as waste.

No one cares as rivers turn toxic

The Faridpur town is under threat of erosion by the River Padma as the authorities concerned could not complete construction of the river protection dam before the current monsoon. The river is advancing fast, and it is now only 250 metres away from the district town, creating panic among the residences in the town and adjacent areas. In the last few days, several points of the newly built five-kilometre embankment in Vajondanga area under Alibad union of sadar upazila has been eroded by the river, sources at the Water Development Board, Faridpur said.

THE Goulburn River has been found to have the poorest health of any of the 23 rivers in the Murray-Darling basin

DDA bans concrete construction on Yamuna banks Some more good news: Away from the Yamuna riverfront, renovation work under way at the ancient Humayun's Tomb in Delhi on Wednesday. In a development that has come as a big relief to environmentalists and conservationists in the Capital, the Delhi Development Authority has decided not to allow any new proposal for concrete construction on the Yamuna banks in view of the upcoming 2010 Commonwealth Games in the city.

Residents of Shivsorem and Colomba in Rivona panchayat on Wednesday strongly opposed the renewal of a mining lease in the village. At a public hearing, organized by the Goa Pollution Control Board (GPCB) at Rivona VKSS Society, Rivona, residents feared that the mining activities would destroy the ecology in the village. Criticizing the environment assessment report submitted by the mining company, Gurudas Gaonkar of Shivsorem claimed that though Shivsorem ward has a population of 400 villagers located barely 25 metres from the mining pit, the ward was not shown in the report.

Efforts to save the Ganga got another fillip on Wednesday, with sadhus from Rishikesh and Haridwar, including yoga guru Baba Ramdev, joining the fight and declaring the formation of the Ganga Raksha Manch. Ramdev, while launching his nationwide movement to save the Ganga, warned: