Rains elude Uttar Pradesh again, farming hit further

October 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - With rains lashing various districts of Uttar Pradesh Sunday, the weatherman predicted more heavy showers in the next few days. "After creating havoc in Andhra and Karnataka, the low pressure area has moved towards this side of the country and the signs of heavy moisture incursion into the atmosphere will cause good rainfall," meteorological department director J.P.

September 16th, 2009 LUCKNOW - A bandit wanted in over a dozen criminal cases, including murder, was Wednesday arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot district, police said. Chukki Yadav, who carried a reward of Rs.35,000 for his capture, was caught by the Special Task Force after a shootout.

September 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After three days of continuous rain, the national capital got a breather Saturday morning, but a fine drizzle ensured high moisture levels and cool weather. Met officials said light rains could be expected later in the day.

September 6th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Women in the Campierganj district of Uttar Pradesh have formed small farming communes under which they are grow various crops and reap reasonable benefits to run their households effectively. Be it sowing, reaping or selling the crops in the local market, the women of Sarapta village are capable of handling it all by themselves.

September 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - The weatherman's prediction of heavy rains in Uttar Pradesh for three days beginning Friday has raised hopes among farmers that they can still grow something this kharif season. India's most populous state has been suffering a paucity of rainfall this monsoon, with the authorities declaring 58 of the 71 districts drought-hit.

July 30th, 2009 Indo-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW - People in Uttar Pradesh, where 47 of the 71 districts have been declared drought-hit, can expect some relief in the coming days as the met department has forecast widespread rains in most parts of the state. "The trough line passing from over the state is receiving constant moisture feed from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and would bring rains to the state in the coming days," said director of the state met department J.P.

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 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government would pay full attention to the farming sector this year as there is a serious drought situation in the country due to insufficient rains, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told parliament Monday. "In the last four years, we had good produce as there were enough rains.

July 10th, 2009 LUCKNOW - With a weak monsoon bringing in only scanty rainfall, most lakes, ponds and other water bodies used to irrigate vast areas in Uttar Pradesh are drying up fast, officials said Friday. Nearly 75 percent of the water in over 50 lakes that are under the supervision of the irrigation department have dried up and availability of water would decrease further if rains continue to elude Uttar Pradesh.

July 9th, 2009 LUCKNOW - It is not about colours, but cow dung and unseasonal Holi. Residents of a village in Uttar Pradesh daub cow dung on one another in this Holi that is believed to appease the rain gods.

June 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW - Celebrating its gains in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress in Uttar Pradesh will mark party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's birthday June 19 with community feasts, mainly in Dalit-dominated areas. June 19 will be celebrated as Samrasta Diwas (Harmony Day) in Uttar Pradesh.

March 20th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati released a list of candidates for 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. She also announced that the BSP's nationwide campaign would start from Saturday.

March 6th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Each of the 128,112 polling stations in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections will have at least one telecommunication facility to ensure prompt and direct connectivity with voting officials, India's poll panel chief here said Thursday. 'We have taken some special measures to curb cross-border movement of people, which in the past has been the cause of trouble during polling in areas along inter-state borders,' Chief Election Commissioner N.

January 12th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Twenty members of an inter-state gang, involved in manufacturing and supplying spurious country-made liquor, have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh, police said Tuesday. The men were arrested from the Narayanpur village of Ballia district, about 300 km from here, Monday late night.

December 26th, 2008 LUCKNOW - Five men were arrested and an inter-state gang dealing in weapons has been busted in Uttar Pradesh, police said Saturday. The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police detained the men in the early hours from the Chinhat locality of Lucknow.