Drought looms large as Jharkhand receives scanty rainfall

September 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the monsoon set to withdraw in north-west India in mid-September, a draft report by the agriculture ministry has said the Aila cyclone that hit West Bengal and other east Indian states in May disturbed the normal monsoon pattern just after it set in and "discharged the system completely." Aila tore through 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts May 25-26, leaving a trail of destruction with houses levelled, trees uprooted, power cables snapped and 138 lives lost. Around 6.1 million people were affected.

August 22nd, 2009 PATNA - An 11-member central team visiting the drought-hit parts of Bihar for the past three days has found the situation in the affected areas to be grim, the team's leader said Saturday. R.K. Tiwari, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry who led the team, said the situation was bad due to the poor monsoon.

August 18th, 2009 HYDERABAD - With the southwest monsoon triggering heavy rains in parts of Andhra Pradesh and reviving hopes of the farmers, the Congress government is reluctant to declare the state drought hit. Minister for Revenue and Relief D.

August 15th, 2009 PATNA - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hoisted the national flag on Independence Day Saturday and promised adequate relief to people affected by drought, better infrastructure in the state and more measures to curb corruption. Speaking at the Gandhi Maidan here, Nitish Kumar expressed concern for the millions hit by drought this year due to scanty rainfall in the state.

August 12th, 2009 PATNA - The meteorological department here Wednesday predicted widespread rainfall in Bihar in the next 48 hours. Thousands of drought-stricken farmers will get succour if the prediction proves correct.

August 2nd, 2009 RANCHI - The Jharkhand Government has declared the entire State as drought-hit due to inadequate rainfall that it has received in the last two months. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Advisory Council of the Governor, which was chaired by G Krishnan, adviser to Governor K.

July 29th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand Wednesday declared seven more districts as drought hit after scanty rainfall affected paddy crop in the state. Earlier, four of Jharkhand's 24 districts were declared drought hit.

July 28th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Uttar Pradesh received heavy rainfall within 24 hours of the state government's declaration that 47 of its 70 districts were "drought-hit". "It is a delayed monsoon", said a senior official at the state meteorological department, as 57 cm of rain fell Monday.

July 25th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A dry spell has led the Uttar Pradesh government to declare 20 of the state's 70 districts as "drought-hit" while nearly three dozen more will be added to the list if the monsoon continues to remain elusive, an official said Saturday. "While we have identified 20 districts - largely in eastern and central Uttar Pradesh - as drought-hit, we will be compelled to bring several other districts in the list if rains continue to elude us over the next few days," a government spokesperson told IANS.

July 24th, 2009 LUCKNOW - With rainfall in Uttar Pradesh nearly 58 percent below average so far this monsoon, the spectre of drought looms large over parts of the state. According to the agriculture department, the yield of paddy is expected to drop by 35-40 percent.

July 15th, 2009 GUWAHATI - The Assam government has declared more than half of the state as drought-hit, saying agriculture was badly hit due to scanty monsoon rains, officials said Wednesday. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi late Tuesday.

July 13th, 2009 PATNA - The Bihar government Monday set up a crisis management group to suggest measures to tackle the drought-like situation in the state, officials said. The decision to set up the group, headed by the state's chief secretary, was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here Monday, an official in the chief minister's office said.

July 7th, 2009 RANCHI - Jharkhand Tuesday declared four of its 24 districts as drought hit, an official said. The four districts which have been declared as drought hit are Palamau, Chatra, Latehar and Garhwa.

June 28th, 2009 RANCHI - With ground water levels sinking and many parts of the state having been declared drought affected, Jharkhand is seriously thinking of ways to save water, including making rain water harvesting mandatory for high-rise buildings. Taking the lead is state capital Ranchi.

June 27th, 2009 IMPHAL - The Manipur government Saturday declared the state as drought-hit, saying agriculture was badly hit due to scanty monsoon rains, officials said. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.