In Rajasthan's Karauli district, a decade ago, rampant drought and dwindling water sources forced many men into a life of dacoity, leaving their families in fear. However, the women of Karauli, tired of the despair, took matters into their own hands. They persuaded their husbands to give up their lives of crime and together they began reviving old water bodies and constructing new ones with the help of a local NGO. This community-led effort, which included building pokhars (water bodies) and reviving the Serni River, resulted in a remarkable transformation, bringing stability and hope to the region, and turning former dacoits into thriving farmers.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) in India has received over 7,600 complaints this year, with domestic violence, assault, and criminal intimidation being the most common grievances. Domestic violence accounted for nearly 20 percent of all complaints, followed by criminal intimidation and assault. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of complaints, representing over 50 percent of all nationwide complaints. Officials attribute the high number of complaints to increasing awareness among women about their rights and ways to reach out to authorities.
The head of the UN's climate science panel, Jim Skea, has expressed concern over the accelerating pace of climate impacts, saying scientists have been surprised by the speed of temperature rise. Skea attributed the worsening situation to inaction on climate change and highlighted the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also addressed concerns about the scientific messaging and the perception of imposed climate policies, emphasizing the importance of involving societies and people in climate change action.
The tribal communities, asserting their rights under the Forest Rights Act, are now planning to gather in Delhi to demand "justice" for their livelihoods and traditions that are closely linked to the forests.
After three cheetahs died in just over a month last year in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2023 called in experts from Reliance's wildlife facility in Gujarat to review health monitoring protocols, official records show.
The 'Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India' talks about bringing around 12-14 cheetahs each year from South Africa, Namibia, and other African countries for five years to establish a founder stock.
Cheetahs have coexisted with leopards and lions in Africa, but some officials in India consider the high leopard population in Kuno and Gandhi Sagar a problem as it would "reduce the prey biomass for cheetahs".
Due to the differences in circadian rhythms between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, some cheetahs developed thick winter coats during the Indian summer and monsoon last year, anticipating the African winter (June to September).
Currently, only one cheetah, named Pavan, is roaming free, with officials noting that he is difficult to spot and capture.
He said scientists have noticed a trend of very deep cloud systems developing over the southeast Arabian Sea, and added that sometimes, these systems intrude into the land, like in 2019.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, there were 135 women candidates while in the second phase, there were 100 women candidates, bringing the combined total for the first two phases to 235 women candidates.
In the Muslim community, views on this Lok Sabha election seem to vary, with some seeing it as crucial for India's pluralism while others feel neglected by political parties.
Adopted after nearly two weeks of hectic negotiations, the first Global Stocktake deal, being termed the UAE consensus, urges countries to accelerate efforts toward the phase-down of unabated coal power, which is a climb down after India and China strongly resisted the singling out of coal.
In the three decades since reservation of seats for women in panchayati raj institutions was introduced, the country saw women dismantling gender barriers to take the lead in the political field at the grassroots level and excel in it.
'At the moment, there are no challenges to the Cheetah Project. If there are any challenges in the future, these will be addressed as we go forward'
Younger cheetahs that are habituated to management vehicles and human presence are preferred candidates for relocation to India, international experts involved in Project Cheetah have told the government based on lessons learnt from the initial experience in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park.
The experts said that the thicker coats, high parasite load and moisture create a perfect recipe for dermatitis with fly strike on top of it compounding the infection and compromising the skin's integrity.
Mohan said bilaterally also, India is working with countries like the United States.
Vincent van der Merwe cautioned that the reintroduction project is going to see even higher mortalities in the next few months when cheetahs try to establish territories and come face to face with leopards and tigers in the Kuno National Park.
India will launch its own composite index next year to quantify the impact of heat on its population and generate impact-based heat wave alerts for specific locations, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
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