Nepal river floods Uttar Pradesh wildlife park

October 8th, 2009 KATHMANDU - As the flood toll in Nepal rose beyond 50 people and thousands were marooned in the western region, the UN Thursday said it was sending a special envoy to announce a disaster reduction plan. Margareta Wahlstrm, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, will arrive in Kathmandu Tuesday for a three-day visit, accompanied by senior officials from the World Bank, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations Development Programme, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

September 14th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Samajwadi Party MP from Rampur and actress Jayaprada was left in tears when her bullock cart got stuck in a river in her constituency. Jaya shrieked and cried out for help as her cart collapsed near the bank of the river.

August 20th, 2009 LUCKNOW - At least seven people, including three children, have been killed in floods in Uttar Pradesh triggered by heavy rains and the release of a huge amount of water from barrages in Nepal, officials said Thursday. While the casualties were reported from Bahraich and Lakhimpur districts in the last two days, floods have also inundated villages in Shrawasti, Sitapur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Kushinagar and Maharajganj districts.

August 17th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Two men allegedly involved in smuggling of counterfeit currency notes into the country from Nepal were arrested in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Monday. Pramod Singh and Babadeen, both in their mid 20s, have confessed that they collected the consignment of fake currency notes -- supplied from Pakistan -- in Nepal.

August 5th, 2009 SUSTA - The presence of illegal settlers is threatening wildlife in the Susta region of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve as forest staff don't patrol the area because of a territorial dispute between India and Nepal, say officials and conservationists. "The (Susta) area is actively used by criminals for timber and cane smuggling; wildlife poaching takes place across the Madanpur range.

July 31st, 2009 KATHMANDU - At least nine people were killed and four injured after landslides hit three districts in western Nepal, officials said Friday. The landslides followed heavy monsoonal rains since Thursday night.

July 24th, 2009 LUCKNOW - The district magistrate of Lakhimpur-Kheri in Uttar Pradesh has decided to impose entertainment tax, which is normally applicable for amusement parks, on the Dudhwa National Park, officials said here Friday. In a letter sent to the national park's director last week, the district magistrate not only sought to know the revenue earned by the park over the past four years but also raised a demand for payment of 30 percent of that amount as entertainment tax.

July 16th, 2009 KATHMANDU - After marauding elephant herds created bad blood between Nepal's border villages and India, now big cats are threatening to strain ties between the two neighbours. Nepal's lawmakers are concerned about reports that India's Uttar Pradesh state, which borders part of Nepal in the south, is planning a tiger reserve along the open border.

July 14th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Within 48 hours of Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal visiting Nepal to inspect the repaired embankment of the Kosi river that had created havoc in both countries last year, India gave Nepal NRs.131.6 million (about $1.6 million) to fight floods. Alok K. Sinha, deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, Tuesday handed over a cheque of NRs.131.6 million to Umakant Jha, secretary at Nepal's irrigation ministry, as India's contribution for the construction of embankments along the Lalbakeya and Bagmati rivers.

June 27th, 2009 LUCKNOW - At least seven labourers involved in sand mining near an Uttar Pradesh river were killed when the river bank caved in Saturday, police said. The tragedy occured in the Metiuala village in Bijnor district, about 350 km from here, "where a group of labourers was carrying out sand mining along the Ratnam river", Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar told IANS.

June 10th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Two women from Nepal were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district with about 25 kg of opium worth Rs.5 million, police said Wednesday. The women were nabbed Tuesday evening.

March 2nd, 2009 LUCKNOW - A man-eating tiger, which had killed five people and created panic in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur-Kheri district, was Sunday tranquilised near Dudhwa National Park, a forest department official said. 'This is a major success for us as we could avoid its killing even though it appeared to have turned into a confirmed man-eater,' state's Chief Wildlife Conservator B.K.

February 15th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Three people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district for smuggling skins of wild animals. They are part of a racket operating out of Nepal, police alleged Monday.

February 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A young tiger, who strayed out of his home in the woods of Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit region three months ago and killed a villager, continues to elude wildlife officials. Even tranquilising experts from the Kanha National park in Madhya Pradesh failed to trap the feline.

January 27th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Three Nepali women, promised lucrative jobs in Delhi, were rescued by the police in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. Three men bringing them to the national capital have also been arrested, the police said Wednesday.