Voluntary Citizen or Civil Society Sector

Q: Odisha is not much known for farmers' suicide the way we hear it in Vidarbha, Andhra Pradesh etc. But of late such cases are being reported in the media. What's the reason?

A: When you look at the issue of farmers' suicide, it's an indication of the crisis that exists in the agriculture sector. This is linked to monoculture and intensive or industrial farming model that have been implemented in the country. Vidharbha for instance has been in the news on the issue of farmers' suicide mainly because there is one NGO namely Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti which regularly compiles the figures of farmers suicide and feeds to the media. Unfortunately there are no such NGOs elsewhere to do a similar job. So therefore we do not get the real picture of farmers distress in other areas where conditions are equally bad. If suppose this NGO also stops compiling suicide figures, our impression about Vidharbha as a suicide belt of India will also disappear. In other words, not only in Vidharbha, agriculture across the country is in a terrible crisis.

The Sitaram Jindal Foundation formerly known as S.J. Jindal Trust, set up in 1969 is a charitable organisation engaged in promoting education, healthcare & rural development. The foundation believes in serving humanity without consideration of caste, creed, religion or gender. It has no political, religious or commercial affiliation. The foundation has set up several schools, colleges, hospitals and has awarded scholarships to more than 1 lakh students.

Established in 1932, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts, collectively form one of the largest private sector philanthropic organisations with an annual disbursement of Rs. 300+ crores. The Trusts offer individual assistance to students and to poor patients, make financial contributions to Institutions and provide financial support to over 600 NGOs in the country.

To administer their grant making and management activities, the Trusts are looking for a suitable professional for the position of Program Associate - Civil Society, Human Rights and Governance.

Sanskriti Pratishthan has established the coveted Sanskriti awards and fellowships for young talent in different fields.

The Prabha Dutt Fellowship in Journalism encourages young women who wish to investigate and research on any topic of contemporary relevance. This fellowship will be given every year. The fellow may work on a book or monograph for subsequent publication within the given time frame.

The purpose of the Fellowship is to encourage young mid career women journalists to develop their potential by pursuing meaningful projects without having to work under the pressures of short deadlines. The Fellowship carries a grant of Rs 1,00,000 including travel expenses.The work can be executed in Hindi, English or any regional language.

Date of Incident: 6 June 2011 at around 7 A.M
Place of Incident: Yaipha Leikai, Lamphelpat, Under Lamshang Assembly Constituency, Imphal West District, Manipur, India
Victims/Community Affected: 15 Households, 81 persons belonging to the Meitei People of Manipur

The displaced victims are mostly women, children and elderly people

Event Description:

On 6 June 2011, at least fifteen (15) houses of Yaipha Leikai village, Lamphelpat Wetland near Employment Exchange, Imphal West District, Manipur in India’s North East had been destroyed by Manipur Police from the Lamphel Police Station under the orders of the Government of Manipur on 6 June 2011 as a means to evict the villagers to make way for the Government plan for building the National Institute of Technology (NIT) complex and a water body at Lamphelpat wetlands.

Prior to the eviction, an order issued by the Sub Divisional Officer, Lamphel, Imphal West on 3 June 2011 was served to the villagers of Yaipha Leikai only on Sunday, the 5 June, 2011 around 10 a.m in the morning asking them to dismantle their houses the same day before 5 in the evening. The villagers were completely taken by surprise as most of the senior household occupants were off to work in Lamphelpat Wetlands for fishing and many went out to earn as daily labourers. The eviction drive was carried out on 6 June 2011, the next day from around 7 a.m in the morning. The eviction process was overseen by State Works minister K Ranjit, PDA chairman Kh Loken among other officials of different departments and police officials of Lamphel Police Station, Imphal West District. The eviction was carried out by using earthmovers and other heavy machineries despite the angst of the residents, who have resided in the area for more than four decade.

With an annual rainfall of more than 1200 mm, this region has truly pristine and under-developed ground water resources. The water related issues are more complex in the hilly areas. Some of the most concerning issues that affect the current water scenario in the Eastern Ghats are pollution of water sources (springs & streams) leading to poor health, illiteracy and ignorance resulting in improper hygiene and sanitation practices. The burden on women and children is also high since they have to walk a long distance to the springs/streams for fetching water.

Amity School of Rural Management, one of the leading institutions of Amity University, Uttar Pradesh distinguishes itself as a management institute with a mandate of developing rural management professionals. The school is committed to create rural entrepreneurs and rural managers for a strong conceptual and analytical framework on rural development issues.

Over 4,000 families in India face serious risk from threats of leaks from Vedanta's red mud pond as the rainy season begins in June. Levels within the pond have already risen, amidst reports of two leaks in the last two months, threatening the communities' safety, health and livelihoods.

On 5 April and 16 May 2011, following heavy rain, local communities in Orissa state reported leakages from the 28-hectare red mud pond, owned and operated by Vedanta Aluminium, through its walls, polluting local streams and creating anxiety among the communities at the downstream villages of Lanjigarh, Bundel and Basantpada.