Posts by Neena Bhandari

Hungry sands no more

0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender
Aladini Sanwera of Hamir Nada village , near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, grows enough on her land to feed her family thanks to water brought by the Indira Gandhi Canal Project. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Mohangarh, (Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan, India), 29.03.2012 (The Hindu Businessline): Not long ago, the remote communities in Jaisalmer district eked out a living from a single annual crop of millet (bajra), dependent on the mercy of rain gods. The 48 degree centigrade heat of the harsh summer sun, frequent sandstorms and no water posed a major challenge for survival. Droughts and the spectre of camel and livestock bones strewn on the sand dunes was a common phenomenon. But the advent of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGNP) in the mid-1980s transformed the landscape and its inhabitants.

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Nukes Are Illegal – But Still Around

0 Comments read Nuclear Disarmament
Junko Morimoto. Photo Credit: ICAN Australia

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 11.03.2012 (InDepth News Analysis -IDN): Junko Morimoto was 13 years old when the United States of America dropped the first atomic bomb on her hometown of Hiroshima. She was only 1700 metres away from the hypocentre and if it weren’t for a stomach bug that confined her to home, she would have been amongst the 360 students who died at her city center school on August 6, 1945.

Morimoto has an inoperable brain tumour affecting her balance. Nearly seven decades after the nuclear bombs exploded, Japanese people are still living each day with the terrible aftermath of the radiation on the environment and their health, with genetic damage passing to future generations.

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The sour tale of Indian mango exports to Australia

1 Comment read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 11.03.2012 (Business Standard): Australia finally gave a green signal to imports of mangoes from India this year, but the king of fruits didn’t make it to the market shelves. The initial 1.267 tonnes of mangoes were found to be rotten or over ripe on arrival in Australia and had to be destroyed, resulting in the two importers incurring losses of nearly A$100,000.

New South Wales-based Karma Krop imported 1.3 million tonnes (mt) of mangoes from Bravima Traders Pvt Ltd and Victoria-based Mals Exim Pty Ltd imported 400 kg for sampling from Pujitha Enterprises Imports & Exports, after the successful culmination of the pest risk analysis carried out by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

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