The Observer: Volume 22, Edition 24

Child marriages are less about force, more about false promises

By Yukta Mudgal

InBengaluru, many girls below 18 years of age get married due to allurement by older men, lack of awareness and emotional support from parents

Child marriage is prohibited under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

Valli (31), a social worker at Marga, an NGO in Koramangala, said parenting plays the most important role in preventing child marriages

“I got married when I was just 17 years old because my father wanted me to get married to a 32year-old man who was rich I grew up seeing my father beat my mother I started thinking of living my life on my own terms and got married early But in the eighth year of my marriage, my husband started drinking and hitting me. ”

She is worried about her children because they are also growing up amid domestic violence

Valli narrated the story of 16year-old girl Kavya (name changed), who ran away from her home to marry a man who lured her with a promise of a good life

Awareness on TB is lac king among residents

Bandri, a taluk in Sandur, Bellary with a population of 8,400 has seen an increase in TB cases Currently there are a total of 150 active cases of which 105 are from Bandri, reports Yashaswini Sri

The taluk has seen a slight dip in cases to 61 in 2020, the stigma of not being treated remains unchanged Access to healthcare and connectivity continues to be a problem for the suffering residents Health officials list various reasons for their failure to control the disease from spreading One of the main reasons that contribute to the spread is the lack of awareness among the residents Full report on Page 2

Child

After two years of marriage, the man started beating her Kavya left him and now she begs in one of the lanes of Rajendra Nagar slum near Koramangala

Valli shared a story of a 15year-old girl Sofie (name changed), who married a 27year-old man At 18, she is a mother of two Her husband

rarely comes to the house and has an extra-marital affair

Rajendra Nagar resident Pooja (name changed) said crying: “I got into an affair with Sanju (name changed) when I was in the tenth grade When my mother found out about the relationship, she beat me and that very moment I decided that I should leave my house and marry him ”

Pooja, now 19, has a one-yearold daughter with Sanju She suffers domestic abuse by her husband “While cleaning toilets in hospitals, I cry profusely and regret marrying him ”

She is weak and feels pain while breastfeeding her child

Hasina Begum (name changed) of Hombegowda slum near Lalbagh said her teenage daughter got into a relationship with a boy and now she is pregnant Hasina wants her to study or get married but her daughter is reluctant.

The Observer noted Hasina’s daughter has a very thin body, pale face, lips almost purple and darkness under eyes signs of malnourishment yukta m@iijnm org

51 child marriage cases registered in 2022, P4

Many skeptical of Youth Policy, label it a vote-bank gambit

By Hamsaveni N

The Karnataka Youth Policy 2022 (KYP-2022) remains on paper as the government lags in its implementation

Youths suspect KYP to be a vote bank trick as assembly elections are due in May

After a long wait, Karnataka

Youth Policy 2022 was approved

The last time such a policy was approved was in 2012 According to the draft of KYP-2022, it will enable holistic development of youth and empower them KYP will be operational till 2030

Sathish Rao, a youth and traf-

fic volunteer, informed The Observer about his expectations from the recent policy He said that : “I am hoping that this youth policy will help us but its implementation has always been a big question It is common for political parties to make such promises All we have to do is to wait and watch how this policy will work ”

The Observer, while interacting with the youths, found that a majority of them are unaware about the KYP hamsaveni n@iiijnm org Policy lacks new ideas for youth development, P 4

India being heard by the world on terror: Prez

Today, the world understands the tough stand taken against terrorism by India This is the reason why today India's being heard seriously by the world on the issue of terrorism, said President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday.

ANI

Peshawar suicide attack toll rises to 90

The toll in suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar has gone up to 90, with over 100 people wounded, Geo News reported citing Radio Pakistan A rescue operation is under way to retrieve bodies from the rubble ANI Vizag to be AP’s capital; announces Jagan Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday announced Visakhapatnam will be the state's new capital “Here I am to invite you to Visakhapatnam, which will be our capital in the days to come I will also be shifting to Visakhapatnam in the months to come," Reddy said at a meeting of the International Diplomatic Alliance in Delhi.

Deccan Herald

We were better off with J&K state: Wangchuk

Magsaysay Award winner Sonam

Wangchuk, who on Monday completed a five-day fast to safeguard the “glaciers, mountains, land and people” of Ladakh said that seeing the current situation in Ladakh, he thinks Ladakhis were better off as part of the pre-2019 Jammu and Kashmir state He started his five-day climate fasting on January 26, on the republic day

Indian Express

US will end Covid-19 emergency after 3 yrs

US President Joe Biden's administration on Monday said it will end the Covid-19 emergency declarations on May 11, nearly three years after the United States imposed sweeping pandemic measures to curb the spread of the illness The Covid-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were put in place in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump Biden has repeatedly extended the measures, which allow millions of Americans to receive free tests, vaccines and treatments Reuters

Good content can be made if art is devoid of politics, religion and misconception: say authors | P3

marriage is prohibited under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 yet girls are married off at an early age | Credit: Yukta Mudgal

‘Not the age of marriage but the mindset of people should change'

Siruguppa of Ballari chokes on polluted air from rice mills

By Vindhya Pabolu

Therehas been an increase in asthma and TB cases in Siruguppa taluk, Ballari district, due to air pollution caused by rice mills

There are a total of 74 rice mills in Siruguppa which are located in the heart of the taluk Rice mills emit gases that contain chemicals such as methane and other organic gases that are harmful to the environment and human health as well

People who live near the mills informed The Observer it has been really difficult for them for the past five years Slowly, they developed breathing problems but they weren’t aware of the reason They have become used to the polluted air As a result, they have trouble breathing.

Out of the afflicted 10 people, seven said they were facing problems but they aren’t aware what is causing the issue

Anusha, a receptionist at Vyshnavi Grand Hotel said: “Just go to the road where all rice mills were located and observe It makes us hard to breath The gases released were not bearable after some point I used to take that route but I won’t choose it now The roads are terrible and addition to that pollution makes it hard to breathe and the dust

makes me keep rubbing my eyes

This is nothing new to us We have got habituated to this ”

Balaraja, resident of Siruguppa, shared: “Most of my friends and neighbours have developed breathing problems but we don’t know the reason Maybe the factories are one of the reasons There are a lot of rice mills in Siruguppa and one can see the

amount of gases from the rice mills if we pass that way ”

At present, Siruguppa has an air quality index of 122 8 8 times higher than the WHO's annual air quality guidelines The pollutants present in the air are PM2 5 with a concentration of 44 2 cubic metres

Raghavendra Chagi, secretary and cashier of the Siruguppa Rice

Millers’ Association, denied this.

“I think the reason might be different; that’s not true. We visit the mills daily but we are fine ”

Asked about safety measures, he replied: “We give the workers masks and gloves considering their safety But the workers never wear those They say the masks make them feel suffocated and it gets difficult for them to work So they wear masks just in front of us ”

Dr Earnan, chief medical officer, Siruguppa taluk, said there have been a lot of TB cases, but the number of people who are taking treatment has also increased We did our best in creating awareness among people But when it comes to asthma, it’s different Every week, we see 5-10 people coming to the hospital with breathing problems. People are unaware of their disease They don’t take medications completely and it slowly develops into asthma and tuberculosis… It has become a common problem over the years We have now stopped studying data ”

According to data provided by Dr Earnan, the number of cases registered in the taluk continued to increase till 2019 (544) There has been a decrease in the number of cases The present count is 441 vindhya p@iijnm org

Stigma around tuberculosis haunts village of Bandri in Sandur taluk

By Yashaswini Sri

Thevillage of Bandri, Sandur taluk, with a population of 8,400, has seen an increase in TB cases However, many still don’t prefer to get treated because of the stigma to the disease

Bharat Kumar, a doctor at the Bandri PHC, said bacteria that cause tuberculosis spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes Most infected people do not have symptoms “The major challenge we face working in PHCs is the lack of awareness

We do everything we can to educate our patients about the gravity of TB and make sure they get the treatment Most of them discontinue in the middle of the course Some patients are alcoholics; some are just too embarrassed or scared to complete their treatment properly.”

Sowmaya (name changed) talked about her life after she was diagnosed with TB “My life has turned upside down ever since I came to know about this My inlaws immediately separated me from my husband and children I was isolated in the initial stages of diagnosis I got the treatment for a while, but then my family advised me not to continue it be-

cause I was a disgrace in our community But the ASHA workers in our village were adamant and made sure that I completed the treatment in time ”

Currently, there are 150 active cases in Sandur taluk, out of which 105 active cases are from Bandri In 2019, the village saw 85 active cases However, the

numbers dipped to 61 in 2020 In 2021, Bandri saw an increase with 85 patients suffering from Tuberculosis Yogeshwari S, an ASHA worker, said: “We try to educate our patients by telling them about the cons of not taking treatment for TB We follow the DOTS programme The response to it has

Metro authorities must be accountable for accidents

The government must have a system to avoid accidents because of Metro construction Structures crushing people points to gross negligence on the part of the Metro authorities. Why isn't the construction site audited? Do they even conduct safety audits of the construction site? Safety guidelines, if they have any, must be adhered to, and if they are not being followed, officials must be held accountable

Suryash Kumar

Indian hockey team’s performance upsetting

The Indian hockey team's performance in the recently concluded Hockey World Cup was disappointing Despite having a talented roster and high expectations, the team was unable to deliver when it mattered most While it's always tough to lose in a major tournament, the Indian team needs to take a hard look at their preparation and performance and make the necessary changes to improve in the future Agnidev Bhattacharya

Why no updates on Joshimath crisis?

It’s been days, but updates on the Joshimath crisis are not being issued Updated data on the number of families displaced is missing There are predictions that many other cities and towns in Uttarakhand can meet the same fate as that of Joshimath because of ongoing constructions Sadly, the government has also backed the NTPC project instead of ordering an investigation

Yukta Mudgal

Irregular distribution of wealth is unfair

been lukewarm ”

Kushal Raj, taluk health officer, Sandur taluk, explained: “Mining is one of the reasons why TB cases are high in mining villages But the main reason why we are not able to control the cases is because of the stigma attached to this disease People are ashamed to be diagnosed with TB “There are only five PHCs and one taluk hospital This is another reason why TB-affected people are not able to access the treatment ”

Central TB division of India states that Stigma around TB tends to be latent and manifests when someone is known to have the disease Women reported more TB stigma related to reduced prospects of getting married and for those married fear of separation, divorce and isolation

A report in the Indian Express said that according to a note shared by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in 2021, 247 people had died due to TB in nine months in Ballari district While 3,407 persons were infected, 1,170 had recovered; another 1,789 persons were undergoing treatment in various health facilities across Ballari yashaswini s@iijnm org

Oxfam International released a report which highlighted the unequal distribution of wealth The report mentioned that 63 per cent of the wealth was distributed among 1 per cent of the population Various political parties are talking about this matter but it is all for their own ulterior motive No one recognizes the fury of middle-class people

Siddhi Chauhan

Water supply issue must be rectified

Water supply is an issue in Kumbalgodu The residents get water only in the morning We have to store the water for the whole day and wait for the next morning to get more The authorities need to do something to fix this We do not have any other resource to depend on other than this Chandrakala

AP Government should be held responsible

A lot of money has been spent on making Amravati the capital of AP Now the CM has suddenly announced that Vizag is going to be the capital city It is the tax payers ’ money that is being wasted They need to consider the farmers who gave up their land to make Amravati the capital Padmaja P

At present, Siruguppa has an air quality index of 122 8 8 times higher than the WHO's annual air quality guidelines | Credit: Vindhya P

Flat allottees from Kenchanapura told to go back, come on Feb 8

Reason: Their deeds could not be printed

By Hamsaveni N.

called us if the papers were not ready. We have been waiting for this house since 2018 I paid Rs 1 lakh a year ago ”

People

from Kenchanapura under the Yeshwantpur assembly constituency did not receive allotment deeds during the inauguration of flats in Devagere on Tuesday They felt betrayed as authorities refused to give them the deeds due to some printing issues

CM Basavaraj Bommai inaugurated 5,000 houses in 14 locations through a Zoom call in Yelahanka One of the locations was Devagere. The allotment deeds were to be allotted under Chief Minister’s One Lakh Housing Scheme

Mahaboob Basha, a beneficiary of the scheme from Kenchanapura, said: “We have been fooled today Most of us are daily-wages labourers and have lost a day's work and money I got a call from the Housing Board yesterday and I was asked to come to Devagere today and collect an allotment deed We are here since the morning, and now at noon we are told that the deed papers are not printed What kind of a reason is

1 What country has the highest life expectancy?

this? The government always plays with the poor These people should have at least told us in the morning that if we will not be getting deed papers We would have gone back home We wasted an entire day coming here "

Sathish T V , executive engineer, Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation, said: “While we were printing allotment deeds yesterday, we couldn't print deeds for Kenchanapura beneficiaries as

there was an issue in the printer

The beneficiaries can collect their deed papers on February 8 from Cauvery Bhavan ”

An elderly woman shared: “My handicapped son accompanied me to this inauguration function I was so happy that finally we would get our allotment deed, but now I am totally disappointed We travelled all the way to Devagere from Kenchanapura This is really bad They should have

Speaking at the inauguration, Bommai said: “The current land laws are unfriendly for the middle class and the lower middle class So we are working on land laws which will be more favourable for people to buy and sell land in the state ”

Thathpurasha T, another beneficiary who was allotted a flat in Devagere, said: “The process for this housing started in 2018 After waiting so long, I finally I saw my flat My family is very happy we are finally owning a house We are told that the house will be ready in few more months and we can move in by this year end.”

BPL citizens who have lived in the city for at least five years and earn an annual income of up to Rs 87,000 are eligible for the houses Devagere, Kenchanapura, Kooguru, Doddanagamangala, Bidarahalli, Agarahara Palya, Pillahalli, Ganigarahalli, Chikkanahalli Kammanahalli, Lingapura, Goolimangala and Bethanagere were some of the places where the new flats were inaugurated and allotment deeds issued by the government move fpr the welfare of BPL citizens hamsaveni n@iijnm org

AlUla is a place of extraordinary history and cultural heritage At the end of 2022, the site officially opened its doors to visitors and, in doing so, unveiled a more than 200,000-year-old piece of Arabian history

Located in the heart of Saudi Arabia’s northwestern desert, much of it is still undiscovered too It is estimated that less than 5 percent of the site has been excavated

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Hegra is famous for its elaborate monumental tombs carved into stark red sandstone cliffs; AlUla Old Town is a labyrinth of now abandoned mud brick houses strewn with the earthy hues of the desert

There’s ancient rock art and restaurants from to-name chefs – including Maraya, set up by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, and located on top of the largest mirrored building

Source: Condenast Traveller

Quiz Art should be free of pol interference:Aut

2 Where would you be if you were standing on the Spanish Steps?

3 Who was the Ancient Greek God of the Sun?

4 What country drinks the most coffee per capita?

5 What European country experienced the highest rate of population decline from 2015 - 2020?

6 In which century did Portuguese merchants land in Goa?

7 Which state is also known as the “fruit bowl” of India?

8 Which is India’s largest biosphere reserve?

9 Which state has the title of ‘Scotland of the East’ in India?

10 What was the newspaper started by Annie Besant called?

Answers on page 4

Around the city

Sufiyaan - Konya Turkish Sufi music - February 5 sunday at Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre Silver Oak Plantation, Anjanadri Layout, Konanakunte

Samyog - Art Science GalleryFebruary 4 and 5 at Yuvapatha

4th Block, Jayanagar, Salaam Souk - The Road to Samarkand - February 10 - 12 at Shankaraa foundation, Doddakalsandra Main Road, Bengaluru

By Siddhi Chauhan

Art,

a channel earlier used as a way of expression, is now muzzled by politics

Leonardo da Vinci called art

“The queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world” But the present scenario is contrary

In 2015, more than 40 Indian writers returned their literary awards in protest against the murder of Dr Malleshappa Kalburgi He had offended a powerful group, which led to his murder In a similar incident in 2015, Govind Pansare, a CPI functionary, author and lawyer, was shot dead in Pune

Mohua Chinnappa, author and podcaster of The Mohua Show said: “Political interruption is never healthy for any piece of art Art should be devoid of politics and religion Artists must be given freedom; we are yet to see that in India ”

Asked about the challenges that contemporary writers face, she said: “Misinterpretation of a piece of art is not something

new I always believe that the minute there is a conversation around art, something worthwhile is ruined and any sort of conversation or counter-argument will only hurt the art world in the future ”

Moyeen VN, a Bengaluru-based author, informed The Observer: " Interruptions can be both good and bad… Artists should be supported, because without freedom of speech, originality will be lost in the art creted and the readers will end up reading a similar kind of work over and over "

Asked about how misconceptions about a work affect the reader's behaviour Moyeen said: “Readers should not believe in misconceptions as it will be like believing in someone telling you not to enter inside your house because a bomb has been planted there… Even if someone says that a book is controversial, a person should at least have a look at the book in order to find out what is wrong with it Only then will you be able to understand the difference between right and wrong otherwise you will consider every

misconception to be true. Without testing the water, you can never tell if it is cold, right?"

In order to check the effect of misconception on a reader's mind, The Observer asked some of the readers about their opinion about controversial books

Akash A K , an avid reader, shared: “I have read many such books This is why I believe that a book or a piece of art should be given an open audience because even if the idea is controversial or unpopular, it needs an understanding in order to counter it Also, I think the interpretation should be left to the reader even if there's a threat of being misunderstood or misinterpreted, and only after reading, should a book be judged ”

Indrani R, another book reader, shared: “I read a controversial book by Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World…. After reading it, I realised that any creation in any form of art should not be allowed to be judged by a nodal authority because there is a possibility of it being misjudged due to biases ”

In 2015, the Supreme Court scrapped Section 66A of the Information Technology Act 324 cases were filed under sedition law between 2014 - 2019 Read the full story on www.theweeklyobserver in

‘Misinterpretation of art is not something new’

Readers

say that nodal authorities should not judge creation, as bias may lead to it being misjudged |

Credit: Arsha B S

BPL citizens living in the city from past five years and earn an annual income of up to Rs 87,000 are eligible for houses | Credit: Hamsaveni N

With no fixed price for jasmine flowers, farmers incur losses

They want govt to set minimum support price

By Arsha B. S.

Did you know?

are making profit Manjula, a distributor and seller, said: “I take the flowers from Ramanagara I have been selling these flowers for eight years now ” She said that she sells one yard of the flower for Rs 350 I make about Rs 3,000 on an average selling these flowers every day ”

The current skin you’re in will be gone in a month our skin sheds 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells each day In fact, over 100 of those cells probably flaked off while you were reading this sentence However, it rejuvenates just as quickly as it deteriorates Regular exfoliation twice a week helps get rid of lingering skin cells to make room for a fresh layer

Quote of the week

Jasmine

farmers in Kampli taluk are incurring losses while the distributors and sellers are raking in profit Owing to a lack of fixed price, farmers are now looking for options other than jasmine farming

Harish Singh, a farmer, informed The Observer: “Some days the price per kg will be Rs 100 and some days it goes up to Rs 500 In both cases we have to pay the salaries for the workers who pluck the flowers and take care of other expenses also When the prices go down so much, it becomes harder for us to earn anything ”

The farmers get the market price of the flowers every day in their WhatsApp group The prices are updated every day On festival days, the prices go up, but for most part of the year, the farmers barely get any profit

The Observer noticed that there is too much pesticides sprayed on the plants Basavaraj, another farmer, said: “We have to spray pesticides and use chemicals because it helps us in getting more yield We have to harvest the buds every day The distributors

won’t take it if we send flowers instead of buds ”

The Observer asked whether they make any profit, he said:

“The market prices vary every day Even if the prices are too low, we can’t refuse to send the flowers because they will get ruined We can’t store the flowers like other crops So even if it is Rs 20 per kg or Rs 200 per kg, we have to send the flowers to the distributors We hardly make any profit It is like

‘KYP an election trick to get votes'

Continued from page 1

walking on fire every day ”

Most of the flowers from Kampli are sent to Bengaluru, Gangavathi, Hospet and other places As there are no machines to pluck the flowers, the farmers have to hire people to do so

“To minimise the cost of paying salaries to the workers, my family members also help in plucking the flowers,” Harish added While the farmers are in distress, the distributors and sellers

The Observer found that Intercropping is not possible in jasmine fields as the plants need sunlight in abundance

Jasmine farms are very few in Ballari district which is evident from the fact that multiple farmers have quit jasmine farming as they face losses

The farmers complain they do not get any incentives and ask for government intervention to set a minimum price for the crop

Mallikarjun Hanumantha, from MHR Foundation, a nonprofit organisation working for the betterment of farmers said: “These farmers need to be aware of the growing and marketing methods They should not only restrict themselves to farming, but also learn marketing techniques to make profit Farmers in the rural areas need to reach out for help The ones who do, often make profit ”

Minimum support prices are only provided for essential food crops listed by the government Currently there are no schemes that can help these farmers arsha s@iijnm org

Bengaluru received 51 cases in 2022

When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because my right is justice If you are stronger, you have to help the weaker boy or girl both in play and in the work Sarojini Naidu

Tweetcasm

SRK and Salman are doing movies

Virat and Rohit are scoring centuries

Kangana and Trump are back on Twitter Waiting for Himesh Reshamiya and Emraan Hashmi’s music album to heal the earth completely @sagarcasm

Quiz answers

Weather

Mallige,

a member of Karnataka Janashakthi, said: "We are not happy with the policy The policy doesn't have any modern ideas in order to set youths as global citizens

Bringing up the policy before elections is a clear vote-bank game because a majority of youths are not aware of the policy and they don't know what the policy has for their empowerment ”

Youth Congress leader Mohd Nalapad did not respond to queries from The Observer Thippeswamy KT, a member of Karnataka Youth Policy, said: “The implementation of the policy has not started yet. The KYP is approved in the cabinet and a government order is being issued to the youth department This is the right time to empower youth It is high time we address them I think the main element in this policy is that there should be a separate Directorate for Youth Empowerment and Youth Sports The government has taken a U-turn in bifurcating the Karnataka Youth Empowerment and Sports Department

Malesh, member of Karnataka Youth Congress said: “KYP initiative is an election trick to get the votes of youths Already there are a few Swami Vivekananda Sanghas at the gram panchayat level which promise loans for the youth My question is, on what basis do they give loans?”

Asked what initiatives the Congress has for youths if it is voted to power this year, he answered: “The manufacturing sector should grow in order to create more jobs The focus should be shifted towards filling the current vacancies at present ”

Janardhana Kesargadde, programme lead of the Youth Work Promotion and Youth Rights Advocacy, explained: “The survey for the KPY draft policy was ineffective as they have not covered different areas related to youth development In the policy draft, one of the main focus was to have youth empowerment bodies at the panchyat and taluk levels We just have an Assistant Director at the district level The current youth department majorly focuses on sports ” hamsaveni n@iijnm org

Continued from page 1

Nagamani,

nodal coordinator, Child Rights Trust, shared: “Early pregnancy leads to health complications We talk to the girls about post-pregnancy and relationship issues and solutions to get out of them We rescue many girls After rescuing the girls, we send them to the Child Welfare Committee Girls who are married off early lose their childhood and their chance to get an education ”

As per a Times of India report in 2021, the government introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act to raise the age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years

Nagamani said: “Even if the age at which girls get married changes, the mindsets and attitude of the society will not be changed We need to make our girls more aware about the laws and educate them first ”

CWC District Child Protection Officer Bharathi Devi refused to have a conversation with The Observer as she was attending an official function

Asha H K , Senior Assistant Director, Child Marriage Prohibi-

tion Cell, Directorate of Women and Child Development Department (DWCD), said: “Some girls are married off early because their parents feel their daughters are a burden Some cases happen because parents do not want to give a portion of their property to their daughters, but most cases are of girls deciding to get married due to allurement by men ”

Cases of child marriage have risen in Karnataka because migrants from Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Kerala have settled down in Bengaluru and marry their young daughters in the capital city Karnataka has 58,522 child marriage prohibition officers We have launched a programme called Video on Wheels which shows inspiring stories of women, ” Asha said

As per data shared by DWCD, Bengaluru received 51 complaints in 2021-2022

As per a Deccan Herald report, the BJP-led government in Assam, taking a cue from Karnataka, has decided to launch a crackdown against child marriage yukta m@iijnm org

Maximum Temperature: 27°C

Minimum Temperature: 17°C

Precipitation: 0%

Humidity: 45%

Wind: 18 km/h

Visibility: 16 km

Air quality: Poor

Cloud cover: 70%

Indoor humidity: 43%

Wind gusts: 33km/hr

Forecast: 28 / 17 °C

Multiple farmers have quit jasmine farming as they faced losses They complained they did not earn much | Credit: Arsha BS