101Reporters.com

22/10/2024

Four decades ago, villagers of Chalkari gave up their lands for coal mining that never took off. Now, as India moves towards green energy, Chalkari finds itself in a fix again as there is no special plan under the "Just Transition" project for regions where mining did not even start.

Vishal Kumar (41) clearly remembers the hype and hope over CCL jobs while growing up. “Almost every teenager felt that two acres of land could get them a job in CCL. In fact, this was the reason most of the children had formal education,” he says.

Manohar Nayak (50) had just passed 12th board exam when the DR&RD Project idea came up. “My name was present on the list of 450 candidates who were offered jobs in 1993. But then, there was a delay in hiring.”

Hopes for jobs were crushed and compensation was nowhere to be found under the rubble. A CCL official, on the condition of anonymity, says that compensation was provided only for 748.8 acres of land out of over 6400 acres.

Girbala Devi (45), a homemaker, is among the many villagers awaiting compensation and the job promised. “If the job had been provided, would we be living like this?”

Village head Akleshwar Thakur tells 101Reporters that despite numerous discussions and memorandums to the CCL general manager, and chairman and managing director, requesting basic services, the village received nothing but assurances.

For a deeper dive, read the full story by Bharat Nayak

18/10/2024

This weekend we're celebrating 9 years of 101Reporters! Join us for a special celebratory AMA where we'll discuss training and capacity building opportunities for journalists reporting from the grassroots. We'd love to hear your opinions and feedback back too!

This meeting is open for our network members.

If you want to be a part of our network? Sign up to 101reporters.com and you can start pitching stories

15/10/2024

This International Day for Rural Women, were celebrating positive success stories around rural women covered by our reporters from the grassroots of India

Head over to 101reporters.com to read the full stories

14/10/2024

Chalkari, the land of unrequited promises and unjust transition

Four decades have passed since the villagers gave up their lands for coal mining that never took off. Now, when India moves towards green energy, Chalkari finds itself in a fix again as there is no special plan under Just Transition project for regions where mining did not start

Read the full story by Bharat Nayak to know more

10/10/2024

We are hosting an informal, off the record discussion with reporters from Punjab covering the panchayat elections in the state. We will touch upon various issues with the current polls, trends in campaigning and candidates, the problems with nominations/unanimous elections , and how rural citizens are engaging with process given their experience and understanding of the powers of the panchayat

It's open to all so feel free to invite your journalist friends and colleagues!

10/10/2024

Watch out for a story from Jharkhand where Rahul Singh explores the rural sand crisis during the annual monsoon ban on lifting sand

Photo from a sand stockyard at Bakaspur panchayat, Karra block, Kunti...

09/10/2024

Seeking for story pitches that explore the preparedness of panchayats in Kerala when it comes to disaster management and relief measures

Got a pitch for us? Reach out to [email protected]

05/10/2024

For this Saturday's special AMA, we will be discussing research in Criminal Justice System and the impact of new laws with speakers from

This session is open for our network members

Want to be a part of 101network? Sign up to 101reporters.com

03/10/2024

Here's a quick glimpse at special gram sabhas held across the country. For those who attended Gram Sabhas, there's a scope for you to do stories on the minutes of gram sabha meetings, were GPDPs introduced, how are panchayats of the village better equipped to look after the administration and well being of the people, how they are often deprived of funds and power to do so

Interested reporters (even if you did not attend a sabha but interested), do reach out to us to understand how you can contribute

Thanks to the reporters from our network for sharing these images from the grassroots!

01/10/2024

There's a lot happening at the grassroots in Punjab as it's the Panchayat Poll season

Here are a few ideas you can pitch and get published with 101reporters

Interested reporters, do reach out to us

25/09/2024

Fast food is the new cool trend in Hanumangarh as villagers are more interested in noodles, burgers, chow mein and such food items, which are easily available in village stalls these days

“When everything is changing, how can our food survive? The era of grandmothers is over in our village. Even in my house, Chinese food, Maggi, burgers and other such items are commonly eaten. Fast food has become mandatory when guests come home as it is readily available,” tells Manju Gupta (53), resident of Dabli Rathan

Fast food has become an easier alternative in some ways
- Quick to serve when guests arrive
- Can be ordered from the stalls easily when one doesn't have time to have a meal while working
- And fast food stalls are even cheaper than traditional foods

Fast food vendor Sagar Majoka (28) says the business is proving to be profitable. “I sell chow mein, burgers, pav bhaji, noodles, Maggi etc. The average daily income is Rs 1,000. About 70 to 80 customers come every day. I started this work a year ago, due to which my family's livelihood is improving,” he says.

For a deeper dive in this fast food trend, read the full story by

24/09/2024

Are you a rural reporter who wants to deepen our understanding of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and local governance? Here's your chance to report on the inner workings of your panchayat...
We have all the theories and tools; now let's find the people who have the answers...

18/09/2024

Heartiest congratulations to Vignesh A for winning the third prize under Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting. His award winning story from Tamil Nadu, published with 101Reporters, highlights the struggles of the buffalo farmers producing the famous Uthukuli butter, which is fast disappearing

Check out the link here: https://101rpt.in/uthukulibutter

16/09/2024

Nepali migrant workers in apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh face the heat of climate change

Workdays in the orchards have come down to 70-90 days against the earlier 120-150 days, making orchard workers shift to construction labour and other similar work

Read the full story by

14/09/2024

This Saturday we are going to explore the business side of starting your own publishing platforms with three enthusiastic journalists from our network

This meeting is open for our network members only.

Wanna be a part of 101? Head over to our website and click on "join us"

10/09/2024

Here's a gist of what unfolded across rural India during the monsoons this year

Head over to 101reporters.com to read the full stories!

05/09/2024

For National Nutrition Week, we're recalling stories highlighting the importance of nutrition among the rural populace covered by our reporters

Head over to 101reporters.com to read the full versions!

02/09/2024

Discoms feel the heat as Rajasthan power problem peaks

Monsoon rains save the state from a deepening power crisis every year, but a lasting solution to the issue can come up only when generation, transmission and distribution systems are improved

Read the two-parter series on power crisis in Rajasthan by Amarpal Singh Verma

29/08/2024

Floods, erosion and the miserable existence in Danapur Diara

Pounding waters have eroded Diara's land and displaced people from 15 villages so far, while fear of more villages submerging looms large

Read the full story by Amarjeet Sharma

28/08/2024

Only two more days to go!

Apply here - https://t.co/4jSQuXUEzR

Launching NCNF Media Fellowship on Agroecology. The applications are now open!

Please note, the last date to apply is 31st August 2024

20/08/2024

Better route planning need of the hour for Odisha's LAccMI buses

People of tribal Rayagada seek extension of bus routes to cover schools, hospitals and places of cultural significance

Read the full story by Suresh Kumar Mohapatra

18/08/2024

As floods sweep the Gangetic plains of western Uttar Pradesh, thousands of cattle face hunger and disease.

With grazing lands under water and fodder stocks washed away or destroyed, cattle farmers spend more to feed their cattle even as earnings are suspended.

Read the complete report by Ramji Mishra as he travels around Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Hardoi and Sitapur - https://101rpt.in/cattlefarmersfloods

17/08/2024

Launching NCNF Media Fellowship on Agroecology. The applications are now open!

Please note, the last date to apply is 31st August 2024

16/08/2024

If you are interested in reporting about agriculture in general, and agroecology/natural farming in particular, do apply for this fellowship which will be officially launched during our AMA at 11 am tomorrow. During the online meeting, we will get to meet the fellowship coordinators and better understand the scope and structure of the fellowship and learn how they plan to administer these eight grants of Rs 40,000 each. In addition to the grant to cover the stories, the selected fellows will also receive expert guidance during the course of the fellowship and help in reporting the stories. You can also be part of a community of journalists committed to writing about the shifting trends in agriculture in the shadow of climate change.

Join us tomorrow in welcoming the fellowship coordinators from the National Coalition for Natural Farming at the launch of their inaugural Media Fellowship for Agroecology.

https://meet.google.com/uog-xtsw-sjk - The meeting is open for those outside the 101Reporters network as well. So feel free to share with your colleagues.

15/08/2024

Bishram Mankirdia and a few other men from Dengam Mankirdia Sahi village in Khunta block of Mayurbhanj were returning home from Similipal reserve forest recently when a forest guard stopped them on their way. They have been accused of starting fires and killing animals in the forest under the name of collecting siali bark.

However Sairam Mankirdia (35) explains, "For generations, we have been making ropes from siali bark and selling them at haat [a local market]. This is our livelihood. We have not learnt any other skill."

Mankirdias, one of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in Odisha, are mostly scattered in and around Similipal in Mayurbhanj district. Their livelihood, culture, tradition and identity are dependent on the forest. However, they were barred from entering the forest after UNESCO included it in its list of World Network of Biosphere Reserves in May 2009.

“Villagers stopped collecting siali bark due to the constant harassment and threats from forest staff,” said Sura Mankirdia (33) of hill block colony, adding that they have now replaced siali bark with plastic ropes. But business isn't the same with plastic ropes. The demand is less as other plastic ropes are also available in the market.

Due to this changing livelihood pattern, youth have started shifting to farm or construction labour, or are migrating to other places.

To know more about the livelihood patterns of Mankirdias, read the full story by Rakhi Ghosh