As north India battles the cold, Maharashtra is facing a crisis of another sort. There is a severe water crisis in Marathawada, which is forcing entire villages to migrate in search of water and jobs. ...
06:40 AM, Jan 02, 2013
Oslo: The Indian monsoon is likely to fail more often in the next 200 years threatening food supplies, unless governments agree how to limit climate change, a study showed on Tuesday. The monsoon rains could collapse about every fifth year between 2150 and 2200 with continued global warming, blamed mainly on human burning of fossil fuels, and related shifts in tropical air flows, it said. "Monsoon failure becomes much more...
08:59 AM, Nov 06, 2012
Bangalore: Fourteen MLAs, who went on a state-sponsored tour of 18 countries at a time when their state, Karnataka, was reeling under severe drought-like conditions, have returned. They maintain that their trip, that cost the government approximately Rs 4 crore, was in the interests of the state. The MLAs reportedly continued their tour despite repeated requests from Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to return. ...
04:47 PM, Sep 15, 2012
New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday said it will allocate over Rs 800 crore for drinking water, extend the limit of the rural job plan by an additional 50 days and relax crop loans for farmers to mitigate the impact of drought in affected areas. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar noted that overall rain deficiency in the country was 8 per cent and said: "We can expect reduction in production...
01:49 AM, Sep 13, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday announced various relief measures for drought-hit areas of the country that includes increasing the number of guaranteed work days under MGNREGA to 150 days from 100 days and reducing interest rates on rescheduled crop loans to 7 per cent for this fiscal. Announcing these measures, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the government expects fall in production of coarse cereals and pulses in Kharif (summer)...
07:36 PM, Sep 12, 2012
Bangalore: It's the local variation of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Or politicians enjoying themselves while people suffer. At a time when Karnataka has been hit by its worst drought in 40 years, affecting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across its rural hinterland, several legislators from the three main parties, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), are on a...
04:54 PM, Sep 04, 2012
Mysore: Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappas visits to drought-hit areas of Mysore and Chamrajanagar districts seems to be more a show of strength than a study tour. The overwhelming response en route to the villages is giving sleepless nights to Congressmen in old Mysore region. The large gatherings will also send a strong message to the BJP high command, which forced Yeddyurappa to step down after cases were filed...
12:44 PM, Aug 31, 2012
Bangalore: If there was any doubt that the South American study tour by Karnataka legislators would be a junket, it was erased on Wednesday when they boarded a Jetlite flight to Mumbai. Nine of them were accompanied by their wives; one even took his daughter along. It also emerged that the trip will cost you more: 13 legislators are making the trip, and not 12 as reported earlier. The cost...
12:29 PM, Aug 31, 2012
New Delhi: As North India received widespread and heavy rains over the last two days, normal life was brought to a standstill at many places with Rajasthan being the worst hit. The Army had to be called in for rescue and relief work as many districts in Rajasthan received unusually high amount of rainfall leading to the death of 33 people. Delhi and negihbouring areas also received heavy rainfall in...
07:34 AM, Aug 25, 2012
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday declared 122 talukas in the state as drought-hit and would demand a financial package from the Centre to mitigate the hardships of farmers. Talukas, which have received less than 50 per cent rainfall and where sowing is also less than 50 per cent, have been selected as drought-hit. The criteria for those talukas from the perennially drought-prone areas has been increased to 50 per...
08:39 PM, Aug 22, 2012
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday declared 123 talukas in the state as drought-hit. The decision was taken during a meeting of the state Cabinet in Mumbai, which was chaired by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, an official said. The state's relief and rehabilitation department identified the talukas based on norms for the Drought Prone Area Programme. The norms on rainfall and crop sowing percentage were relaxed in some cases due...
03:39 PM, Aug 22, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Saturday said banks are fully prepared to help farmers in mitigating the impact of drought in some areas, including re-scheduling of loans. After reviewing performance of public sector banks, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said agriculture credit is likely to cross Rs 6 lakh crore this fiscal against the target of Rs 5.75 lakh crore. Besides, he said, 11.5 Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), which are debit...
04:26 AM, Aug 19, 2012
Mysore: The upcoming plea by the Tamil Nadu government in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking release of 25.373 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water from Karnataka, the shortfall based on the distress water sharing formula, has come as a shock to the drought-hit farmers. The riparian states demand for water from Cauvery would not go well as the reservoirs are yet to be filled up in Cauvery basin...
11:00 AM, Aug 13, 2012
New Delhi: With drought-like conditions staring Haryana, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will be visiting the foodgrain producing state on Friday to take stock of the situation. Haryana and Punjab have so far experienced deficient monsoon. Pawar will hold a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the state government is expected to ask the Centre for compensation. Haryana had last week sought a special package from the...
08:48 AM, Aug 10, 2012
Patna: Expressing fear over inadequate rainfall, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said the prospect of drought loomed in several districts of the state. "There is a fear of a drought-like situation in several parts of the state as 179 of its total 534 blocks have received less than 250 mm rainfall this monsoon," he said in a statement in the legislative council. There has been 33 per cent...
07:42 PM, Aug 08, 2012
Bangalore: The Karnataka government has sought a Central assistance of Rs 11,489 crore on drought relief works, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday. As per the suggestion of Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Jairam Ramesh, who wanted the government to submit two memorandum at the recently held meeting in Bangalore on drought issues, the state has demanded Rs 7,672 crore to take up such works on the short-term and...
06:19 PM, Aug 08, 2012
Ahmedabad: Gujarat government on Tuesday declared 14 districts and 152 talukas of the state as "scarcity hit" due to deficient rains and announced a stimulus package with fodder subsidies and out-of-turn power connections among other measures. A state-empowered committee to tackle a drought-like situation, which met today under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala, announced some of the relief measures to tackle the fallout of deficient monsoon. Districts which...
12:07 AM, Aug 08, 2012
New Delhi: The monsoon session of Parliament opening on Wednesday promises to kick up a lot of heat and dust as the Opposition parties are planning to raise issues like communal violence in Assam, rising prices, economy and drought. Seeking to corner the government, the BJP has announced plans to raise on the very first day the issue of Assam clashes which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the a...
03:58 PM, Aug 07, 2012
Bangalore: They will not be deterred by public criticism or government declarations of austerity in a time of drought. About 100 legislators, accompanied by 15 officials, are going ahead with study tours to Russia, the Scandinavian countries and South America. The bill could exceed Rs 8 crore. The necessary formalities have been completed, Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah told Express. According to official sources, the state government has given the...
12:52 PM, Aug 07, 2012
Bangalore: The monsoon that played traunt for more than a year is in full vigour in western Karnataka reviving the lost hopes of people. The Malnad belt of the state " from Belgaum district to Kodagu " and coastal areas received heavy rains on Monday resulting increased inflow into reservoirs. Incessant rains wreaked havoc in parts of Mudigere taluk, resulting in landslides on Charmadi Ghat, thereby disrupting the vehicular movements...
12:38 PM, Aug 07, 2012
