Seven more Jharkhand districts declared drought hit

September 9th, 2009 HYDERABAD - Andhra Pradesh was Wednesday declared drought-hit - a move that will enable the state to avail of central government funds and take up relief works in affected areas. Acting Chief Minister K.

September 7th, 2009 RANCHI - A month after all the districts of Jharkhand were declared drought affected, many parts of the state are facing the threat of floods, an official said here Monday. Due to cyclonic depression formed over Jharkhand, the state has received more than 300 mm of rain in the last one week.

August 31st, 2009 RANCHI - The Jharkhand government's plans to seek help of the Catholic Church for distributing food grains in the drought-hit state have drawn flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Jharkhand Governor K.

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 20th, 2009 PATNA - Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Thursday asked the Bihar government to open "janata hotels" in rural areas to provide cheap food to poor people in view of the drought. Last week, 26 of the state's 38 districts were declared drought-hit.

August 20th, 2009 RANCHI - Faced with a drought-like situation in all 24 districts of the state, the Jharkhand government has opened around 150 outlets to sell essential food items at fair price, an official said Thursday. The outlets known as Suvidha Stores is a joint venture of the Jharkhand State Agricultural Marketing Board (JSAMB) and the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI).

August 17th, 2009 RANCHI - Authorities in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand State, which has been declared a drought hit State, have issued orders for water rationing to ensure adequate water supply till next monsoons. There has been less than 50 per cent of rainfall this year in Jharkhand.

August 14th, 2009 RANCHI - It has been raining in Jharkhand in the last 36 hours, but that is unlikely to end the drought situation, an official of the Met Department said here Friday. The rainfall occurred when a central team was visiting Jharkhand to assess the drought situation in the state.

August 4th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Dry weather conditions in Uttar Pradesh, where 58 of the total 71 districts have been declared drought-hit, are hampering a sapling plantation drive of the state government, say officials. The initiative was jointly launched by the state forest department, the public works department and various civic agencies July 1 with a goal to make the state greener.

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.

August 2nd, 2009 RANCHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded a special package from the central government Sunday, a day after Jharkhand was declared drought-hit. All districts of Jharkhand have been declared as drought-affected areas.

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 23rd, 2009 RANCHI - Beautiful invitation cards, a feast for nearly 500 guests, a car for the groom and chanting of Sanskrit verses -- although all the usual customs were observed, this was an Indian wedding with a difference. Those tying the knot at the special event in Jharkhand's Chatra district were frogs.

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 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.