http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/archive/8801 en_GB http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160543/1/8801 Lack of jobs and unpaid debts have led to a spate of suicides among traditional goldsmiths in southern India. The mechanised jewellery making industry has ruined practitioners of this traditional craft, leading to hundreds of thousands living in penury. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160310/1/8801 As May 1st commemorates the late 19th century workers’ protests for rights, it becomes vital to take a look at occupational safety and health of workers today, vital to the dignity of work. More than 2 million people die every year from work-related accidents, deaths or diseases globally, says the latest ILO report. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160062/1/8801 Shreekrishna Kalamb, a poet-farmer in Vidarbha region of western India, ended his life on March 24. His death and those of 250 others, who have committed suicide since January, are symbolic of an agrarian crisis that the country is reeling under for past many years. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160011/1/8801 Centre for Science and Environment releases a two year study on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as it becomes pan-Indian from April 1. NREGA can regenerate the village economy through productive assets on water conservation and afforestation and just wages for the people, says CSE. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159052/1/8801 Two villages in Maharashtra in western India tell of two different tales of survival. While one village is lush green with abundant water and yielding fields, the other in Vidarbha’s cotton belt has rising debts, shrinking incomes and desperate homes.