-PTI Pawar says sugarcane planting has not yet begun in Maharashtra due to the second consecutive year of poor rains Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said sugar output is likely to decline for the second straight year to 24 million tonnes (MT) in the year starting October 2013 due to an expected lower sugarcane crop in Maharashtra. In 2011-12 (September-October), the country had produced 26 MT of sugar. However, the output for...
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EGoM Releases Relief Package of Rs 2,892 Cr for 7 States
-Outlook The Centre today decided to release a relief package of more than Rs 2,892 crore for seven states, including Maharashtra, to help them tackle the impact of droughts, floods and landslides faced last year. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on drought, headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Briefing the media, Pawar said: "There were number of proposals from various states demanding central assistance...
More »Extreme weather kills thousands of Ladakh’s pashmina goats -Atul Thakur & M Saleem Pandit
-The Times of India Last year's unusually dry summer and this winter's unprecedented snowfall, the worst in nearly 50 years, in Ladakh's Changtang area has claimed over 18,000 "pashmina" goats, the source of one of the finest varieties of wool that has put the region on the world map. Changtang is a high altitude plateau in southeastern Ladakh, inhabited by Changpa (Champa) nomads, and known for its harsh and semi-arid weather with...
More »When water flows like money-P Sainath
-The Hindu If drought is making many in Osmanabad struggle for survival, it is also boosting a 24-hour trade that thrives on scarcity Bharat Raut spends around Rs.800 a month on petrol — just to fetch water that belongs to him. So do a lot of others in Takwiki village in Osmanabad district in Marathwada. Almost every household in Takwiki (and other villages) has one member locked into a single task each...
More »Farmers spending a fortune on borewells in parched Marathwada-Shoumojit Banerjee
-The Hindu As Marathwada’s groundwater table plummets to 500 ft, farmers here, as in other districts, are freely violating the law in a frantic bid to strike water. Mahadeo Mule has invested Rs. 1 lakh during the past five months to save his crops and livestock, drilling at five different points on his land, despite already having a borewell. He has also spent close to Rs. 35,000 on water from private...
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