IN a country with over 5,701 large dams, 619 of them having crossed the age of 50 years, dam safety is a matter of great concern to our nation and addressing it is crucial for the lives and livelihoods of our people. So, any legislation which attempts to provide for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams is bound to attract some attention.The Dam Safety Act 2021, passed in the winter session of the Parliament in 2021, and received presidential assent on December 13, 2021, gives us reasons to worry.

AT least 50 anxious people gathered near the village pond in Chotahi village, Samastipur district of Bihar. They had gathered to save their houses which were declared illegal as the area was developed as a green belt by the state government of Bihar under the project ‘Jal Jeevan Haryali’.Soon they will be forced to leave their houses; most of which are kutcha built with earthen mud and clay. They have spent decades in these dwellings. Almost all of them are agricultural workers belonging to schedules castes and economically deprived.This is not an isolated case.

IN the current context, we see the state mutating itself into a form that exerts greater control on the civilian population through surveillance infrastructure & mechanisms, which by the day is becoming a necessary condition to suit itself to serve the interests and needs of the big capital, paving the way for maximisation of profits for the market forces. The Aadhaar project is the lynchpin to crackdown on welfare measures and a necessary condition to carry forward the devastating reforms in the neo-liberal phase.

THE central government is set to introduce a bill to raise the marriageable age for women to 21 years. Given its majority in parliament, this bill will probably become law. Yet there are so many important issues that require deeper consideration that the better course would be for the government to refer the bill to the relevant standing committee, instead of pushing it through.A woman is considered an adult at the age of 18. All laws that apply to adult citizens, including criminal laws, will apply to a woman at the age of 18. She is held responsible for the actions she takes.

THE place is Kothattai village in Cuddalore district. We have to travel a bit to reach the village from the main road and further walk over an uneven area to arrive at the Irula tribe's hutment. About 20 families are settled there. During the first wave of Covid, some relief work was done in their area and surroundings by the CPI(M) Parangipettai taluk committee. Soon after that, taluk committee secretary Ramesh Babu received a call from Ranjita belonging to the tribe.