The usual dusty small-town India greets us as a small group of people associated with the NGO Caring Friends travel over two-and-a-half days through Aurangabad and Jalna to understand the problems in the region and what help could be given. On the face of it, people seem to be going about their normal life. Where are the signs of distress that we had read in the media? Don't girls and women in many parts of rural India carry water over long distances? Aren't water tankers a common sight in many towns and cities, including Mumbai?
The feeling that all is normal is broken the moment we see the dried up, shrivelled fields of sweet lime (mausambi) and cotton planted on thousands of acres along the way. When we stop to speak to people, the consensus is that this year's drought is worse than the one in 1972. But there is one major difference: There is no shortage of food this time around. Although we hear stories of cattle perishing and migration out of villages in search of work, fodder prices have remained remarkably stable.
However, the price of one commodity has moved up: Water, usually considered to be available freely like air. One tanker of water (8,000 litres) now costs Rs 1,200-1,500, up from Rs 300-500 last year. Increasingly the tankers have to fetch water from places further away. We hear numerous stories about how ground water is depleting fast: In Sangli, some 20,000 bore wells were dug
11:08 PM, May 06, 2013
After attacking two offices of private company Indiabulls, Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) justified its violence, saying the party was just reflecting the anger and the anxiety of the common man in the face of the government's inability to deal with the drought. ...
07:33 AM, Mar 26, 2013
It's called a 'bamboolance' by locals - a makeshift ambulance in Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. For ailing villagers, it's the only mode to reach the nearest primary health centre which is a good 25 kilometers away. ...
08:57 AM, Feb 08, 2013
New Delhi: Former president Pratibha Patil has courted controversy yet again. This time, she is under the scanner for taking a range of expensive gifts she had received as President to her hometown Amravati. It is being seen as an aberration of sorts by Constitutional experts. Patil reportedly received more than 150 gifts during her tenure as President. These included a gift from US President Barack Obama and a gold-plated...
01:47 PM, Aug 02, 2012
Amravati: An embarrassed Congress legislator and President Pratibha Patil's son Raosaheb Shekhawat Tuesday said a "communication gap" resulted in Rs 1 crore cash being seized by Maharashtra Police only days before the polls to major municipal corporations in the state. "There was some communication gap as the state Congress could not inform when and how the money was being sent. I learnt (of it) only after the police seized the...
08:24 PM, Feb 21, 2012
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Shekhawat appeared before the police commissioner to record his statement in connection with a notice given to him by the Amravati district collector after Rs 1 crore of unaccounted cash was seized from a vehicle before last week's civic elections. Amravati MLA Shekhawat had claimed that the money was intended for legitimate election expenses to be distributed among the financially weak candidates. The...
01:05 PM, Feb 21, 2012
New Delhi: A farmer attempted suicide at Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's rally in Amravati on Saturday, sources said. Sources allege that Arun Devidas Sabhane, a farmer, consumed poison at Chavan's rally. Sabhane was rushed to the nearby the rural hospital immediately. According to reports the incident took place at Dhamangaon in Amravati district of Maharashtra. ...
03:57 PM, Dec 04, 2011
Amravati: South Indian actress Navneet Kaur and local MLA Ravi Rana exchanged wedding vows at a mass wedding ceremony in which 3611 other couples also tied the nuptial knot in this town in Vidarbha region on Wednesday. Ravi Rana chose to tie the knot to his actress bride at this mass marriage ceremony in Amravati, steering clear of normally opulent political weddings. When asked why he decided to get married...
07:24 PM, Feb 02, 2011
Sportsperson's family blames her coach, allege suicide. ...
05:43 PM, Nov 04, 2009
Rajendra Shekhawat has won from Amravati in the Maharashtra elections. ...
11:47 PM, Oct 23, 2009
Rajendra Shekhawat is now claiming his own identity as a Maharashtra MLA. ...
11:58 PM, Oct 22, 2009
Prez' son Rajendra Shekhawat has been gifted the ticket for Amravati. ...
08:36 PM, Oct 06, 2009
President Pratibha Patil's son will contest Maharashtra Assembly polls. ...
02:01 AM, Sep 24, 2009
The decision sets a precedent for others with dynastic ambitions. ...
12:27 AM, Sep 24, 2009
Cong leadership grappled with the task of choosing its candidate for Amravati. ...
06:33 PM, Sep 23, 2009
The pilot showed presence of mind or else it could have been disastrous. ...
08:31 AM, Sep 08, 2008
Colombo: Ajantha Mendis and Thisara Perera shared seven wickets as Sri Lanka won the third one-day international against the West Indies by 26 runs to clinch the series 2-0 on Sunday. West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and sent the hosts in to bat first at Sinhalese Sports Club. Sri Lanka made 277-9 in 50 overs with captain Kumar Sangakkara (75) and Mahela Jayawardene (44) sharing a 95-run...
10:09 AM, Dec 09, 2007
