In a slugfest over the transportation of stranded migrants to West Bengal, railway officials on Saturday said there was no proposal on record so far with the national transporter to run any more 'Shramik Special' trains to the state. The Indian Railways reaction came minutes after the TMC said they have already planned to run eight trains to ferry migrants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana. The railway said they did not even have the proposal yet for the train, which the TMC claimed has been scheduled from Hyderabad to Malda on Saturday at 3 pm. The Indian Railways has so far run only two trains to West Bengal, one from Rajasthan and the other from Kerala. According to the guidelines issued by the railways for these trains, the proposal has to be received from both the states along with the number of passengers for these trains to run. The officials said the railways has 47 planned for Saturday so far, none of them were bound for West Bengal. The TMC on Saturday accused

Police on Saturday rescued the three-year-old child who was kidnapped from near his house in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, an official said. The child was missing since Friday morning after he went to play outside his house in Parasuram Colony in Raya area. In the early hours on Saturday, police found the child at a temple in Tabaka village which is around 10-km away from Raya, said SSP Gaurav Grover. The six teams formed to investigate the case were in the area since Friday afternoon, he said. The child's father, who is a lekhpal' (revenue official), said due to sincere efforts of police and checkposts at various places the kidnappers had to release his son. Meanwhile, the search for the kidnappers is on, an official said.

: The number of active COVID-19 cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours ending 9 am. The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by three to 44 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin. Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai city tested posted for coronavirus. It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu and several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine, sources here said. Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62. The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases. In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two

The Indian Railways has operated 302 Shramik Special' trains since May 1 and ferried home more than 3 lakh migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said. The national transporter has planned to operate 47 trains on Saturday, out of which 34 trains have already departed, they said. Every Shramik Special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats. The railways, however, is allowing only 54 people in a coach to maintain social distancing norms by not allotting the middle berth to any passenger. While the railways has not yet announced the cost incurred on the special services, officials indicate the national transporter has spent around Rs 80 lakh per service. The government had earlier stated that the cost of the services has been shared on 85:15 ratio with states. Since the beginning of running the Shramik Special trains, Gujarat remained one of the top originating stations followed by Kerala. Among the receiving ...

A 25-year-old man was thrashed and left unconscious with serious injuries on suspicious of being a coronavirus carrier' in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. The incident took place on Friday evening outside a chemist shop in the Shivpuri locality of Aligarh. Police have booked six people in this regard. Abdul Samad fell unconscious after the accused attacked him, alleging that he was a coronavirus carrier', police said on Saturday. He was rushed to Malkhan Singh District Hospital by members of his family who arrived at the spot after people raised an alarm. According to the victim's father Laiqur Rehman, Samad was feeling dizzy after his Ramzan fast on Friday night. He had gone to a chemist shop in the neighbourhood to purchase some medicine where he was accosted by some people, who abused and beat him up without any provocation. Had not the family rushed him to the hospital, the injuries could have been fatal, the father claimed. Samad is now out of danger and has been referred to Jawaharlal .

Four policemen, including an assistant sub inspector, were injured when a group of men attacked them in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan on Friday night. The incident occurred in Chhoti Sadri area near the house of the state Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana with the BJP alleging that Anjana too slapped a policeman, a charge denied by the minister. A former up-sarpanch Kanhaiya Lal had a spat with some youths in Kesunda village over some petty issue. After some time, the youths caught Kanhaiya Lal and thrashed him, police said. On information, a team of four policemen, led by ASI Shishupal Singh, rushed to the spot where the members from Kanhaiya Lal hit them. The policemen got injured. The ASI has received critical injuries, Chhoti Sadri police station's SHO Ravindra Pratap Singh said. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday alleging that the minister, Udai Lal Anjana slapped a police constable after which the mob present .

Nearly 3,000 patients were provided assistance for treatment and medicines by the Srinagar district administration in Jammu and Kashmir through its helpline amid teh coronavirus-driven lockdown, officials said. The IVRS-based call centre was inaugurated by Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on April 17 and it replaced a series of helpline numbers launched in March aimed at attending to health emergencies on priority during the lockdown. A dedicated fleet of 10 vehicles and a team of 12 professionals have been deputed on the job round-the-clock for attending to issues related to health emergencies, demands related to dialysis, chemotherapy, diabetes and other such ailments, the officials said. Apart from the IVRS call centre, they said four mobile numbers have also been made available. Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary empanelled 13 dialysis centres across the city for providing dialysis services, the expenses of which are borne by the district administration. Most ..

Two weeks after buying its first corporate bond, the Bank of England has already spent over 10% of the funds allocated to its 18 month asset-buying program.

A coastal tourism development project in Andhra Pradesh threatens the natural environment, puts livelihoods at risk, and quite possibly flouts the laws on several counts. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Kerala's biodiversity board has asked Chief Minister V S Achutanandan to reject single window clearance for the 'High Tech City' project at the exhilarating Valanthakad island in the backwaters outside Kochi. P N Venugopal reports.

India is at a turning point and needs a holistic education system to meet the requirements and expectations of various existing and emerging sectors. Unless there is a revamp, our youngsters have a bleak future, says Ramesh Menon

Poornima Dasharathi travels back in time to bring alive the adventures, sights and sounds in the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, as recounted in the memoirs of two English prisoners of war.

Darryl D'Monte talks about his recent participation in a discussion on Nayantara Sahgal's book on Nehru, which delves into Nehruvian policies, his cherished dreams, his lasting legacy and its importance in today's time.

New Delhi's two months time for feedback on its draft Coastal Management Zone notification expired on 8 July. Activists say the proposed law will make way for beach-front villas and water-front recreation parks and do little to protect the rights of fisherfolk and the environment. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

With Tamilnadu being a high-ranking state in the Educational Development Index in the country, one would expect children in government-run schools in metros like Chennai to be ahead of their counterparts elsewhere. Wrong. Krithika Ramalingam did a reality check.

Stem rust, the worst of the three rusts that afflict wheat plants, has made a comeback. Wheat crops in Africa have been at its mercy and the fungus has already broken into the middle-east. India is directly in its path, scientists predict. Sudhirendar Sharma has more.

The National Food Security Act proposes to lower ration prices, but also reduce the quantity of grain that is given to each family. Devinder Sharma suggests a Zero Hunger programme instead.

Any discussion of GM crops must take place within the larger framework of the indispensable need to promote biodiversity and set up agricultural policies linked to this need, writes Sujatha Byravan.

A note on Tehri Dam case heard in Supreme Court by Vimal Bhai of the Matu People's organisation.

The Ishrat Jahan case has again hit the headlines with former home minister P Chidambaram being accused of rewriting an affidavit to prove the 19-year-old’s innocence. Ramesh Menon presents a recap and investigates where things stand now.

Shripad Dharmadhikary critically examines the proposed push for hydro power projects in the recently released Draft National Energy Policy for public comments by NITI Aayog.

Under pressure from RTI campaigners, the department in charge of short-listing the candidates for appointment as Central Information Commissioners itself becomes more transparent.

The current version of Nike's controversial Vaporfly sneakers won’t be banned in competition, track and field’s world governing body ruled on Friday. That's likely to fuel further debate about whether the high-end racing shoes offer an unfair advantage. We took a look at the tech inside the shoes to see what all the fuss is about. Photo/Video: Alexander Hotz/WSJ

President Trump outlined new federal guidelines on April 17 to reopen the country, saying governors should take a "phased and deliberate approach" to restart their state economies. Photo: William Volcov/Zuma Press

A recent Kerala government proposal for sand mining in Kerala's Alappuzha district has come under scrutiny from several quarters. Sreedevi Jacob reports.

Lagging its northern European neighbours in environmentalism, France is seeking to reposition its strengths in nuclear energy and hydroelectricity, and aid agency is using its grants to help other countries reduce their carbon footprints. Darryl D'Monte reports.

"Women, Media and Transformations" was the leitmotif of a festival of documentary and short films for South Asian women filmmakers that concluded in Calcutta earlier this month. Shoma Chatterji was there and writes that the films offered a wide spectrum of subjects from ethnographic investigation to introspective, abstract journeys.

Several newly elected panchayat presidents and and council members attended a unique ceremony in Lalpur, U.P., in late September. Watched by the District Magistrate, they took an oath of 'office and transparency' as opposed to the customary oath of 'office and secrecy'. Sandeep Pandey writes about a new beginning.

Surendranath C reports on a power project proposal that threatens to put the Kerala biodiversity hotspot at risk.

Shoma A Chatterji writes on Samanway 7, a unique theatre festival showcasing performances conceived of and crafted exclusively by women, which evolved into a well-blended expression of feminist questions that have sustained through the ages.

An ancient matrilineal tribe of northeast India has a thriving culture and an increasing population, while a similarly ancient Dravidian matrilineal tribe is in danger of vanishing. Linda Chhakchhuak reports on what the Dravidian tribe can learn from the northeastern tribe to revive its culture and population.

The Jerdon's Courser is the latest endangered species to be caught in the path of unregulated development. Its habitat in wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh is threatened by illegal construction activity within the protected lands, and environmental activists have taken the matter to court. Kanchi Kohli reports.

A recent clubbing to death of a leopard was a reminder of the creature's vulnerability and frailty of its habitat. According to one estimate, India has lost atleast 3189 leopards during 1994 to 2008. Malini Shankar has more.

Wildlife experts across India stress the need for more stronger cases backed by scientific evidence and administrative efficiency, speedy trials and effective prosecution of the guilty. Bosky Khanna reports.

A fragile grassland ecosystem combined with skewed thrust on conservation of forest lands vis-a-vis the arid dry grasslands paints a bleak future for the Great Indian Bustard, whose numbers are fast dwindling. Malini Shankar reports.

P Sainath on the fault lines in Andhra that led to the ouster of the Chandrababu Naidu led Telugu Desam Party.

The ongoing agrarian crisis has had a telling impact, causing the lapse of insurance policies of farmers. P Sainath reports.

As farm suicides in Vidarbha cross the 500-mark in under a year, families are holding funerals and weddings at the same time. Sometimes, on the same day. In moving shows of solidarity, very poor villagers are pitching in to help conduct the marriages and funerals of down-and-out neighbours, writes P Sainath.

There were three 9/11s in history. The New York one of 2001. The neo-liberal one of Chile 1973, and the non-violent one of 1906 - Gandhiji's satyagraha in South Africa. The authors of all three tried to change the world, but only the Mahatma's Weapon of Mass Disobedience helped change the world for the better, writes P Sainath.

The government’s push to the amended land acquisition law overlooks provisions in other acts that address closely related issues such as food security and conservation of biodiversity, writes Shalini Bhutani.

The sulphur content of diesel in India is 350 particles per million, twenty times that of the United States. Diesel exhaust is far more hazardous than petrol exhaust. Yet, diesel cars in Indian cities are rising with the association of automobile manufacturers pushing hard for it. Darryl D'Monte has more.

The Indian capital with its chauvinistic society and sordid history of crimes against women is the last place that one would imagine women to be attracted to. Zumbish talks to women who live and work in Delhi to know their thoughts on the city.

Hailed for his stewardship of Titan Industries where he built a premium brand from scratch and won for it international renown, Xerxes Desai naturally has one of the keenest perspectives on Indian industry. But his equally deep insights into Indian society and development become apparent through this interaction with Christopher Lopaze.

The broad-based Community Based Functional Literacy Campaign launched by the State Resource Centre of Rayagada, Orissa aims to educate women and drop-out girls in three of the most backward districts of the state. Abhijit Mohanty summarises the key take-aways so far.

Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of certain tribal villages in Koraput district of southern Odisha that have successfully overcome the challenges posed by denudation and inadequate irrigation and have etched out a path towards food security and well-being.

More than the revocation of the AFSPA from a few areas, what is crucial is ending the culture of impunity and the pattern of lawlessness it has spawned. Freny Manecksha reports.

The atrocities inflicted upon women in the strife-ridden Valley and the fear and oppression under which they live continuously are poignantly depicted in Ocean of Tears, a documentary reviewed by Shoma A. Chatterji

Dramatic erosion of embankments, and continuous siltation threaten to wipe away a large island settlement on the Brahmaputra. Residents unhappy with the government's efforts to stem the erosion are now hoping the island's heritage and ecology will attract more attention. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Three million forest dwellers in Odisha are estimated to have been displaced since independence by various industrial and hydro-projects, among which the Upper Indiravati Hydro Project is one. Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of three tribal settlements uprooted by it.

Women of a small village in Uttar Pradesh are weaving not just colorful yarn but also communal harmony in their region. Swapna Majumdar reports.