In 1887, 18 years before they divided Bengal into two, the British laid down a railway line through the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra river system in Jorhat district. While the railway line connected British tea plantations in Tinsukia with those in Jorhat and Dibrugarh, it divided the sanctuary into two unequal compartments—one roughly 150 hectares (370 acres), the rest roughly 1,950 hectares (4,820 acres)...

India has more than 1.5 million schools and 260 million students. Think about a regular day in these schools before the pandemic. Imagine the amount of waste— food waste, plastic, paper, stationery—produced in these schools in a day. Now, add COVID-19 waste to it as schools across the country are reopening. Imagine all of this waste going to landfills. Alarming, isn’t it?

To burst or not to burst?’ is a question many young humans might be asking as the patakha (firecracker) season begins. Teachers and doctors tend to advice against firecrackers but there’s always a paan-chewing uncle or a macho friend who’ll bully you kids into becoming enthusiastic arsonists. It’s usually a tough choice to make. Some additional information is always a good help in firming up ones’ resolutions. Therefore, let's throw some light on the history, chemistry, and eco-friendliness of patakhas.

Carbon is a chemical element found widely in the universe. It is the basis of our life. But what about ‘blue carbon’?