-PTI Heavy rains and floods have so far claimed 31 lives in Madhya Pradesh prompting the state government to allocate Rs 12.47 crore additional funds for flood-affected 23 districts. Eight persons lost their lives in Hoshangabad district, followed by Bhopal where six people were killed due to rains and floods, an official release said here today. Three deaths each were reported from Ujjain and Dewas districts, two each in Damoh, Betul and Chhindwara,...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today banned tourism in the core areas of India’s tiger reserves till further orders, fuelling fears among tour operators and some conservationists that people would lose the chance to watch the animals in the wild, local economies would bleed and poaching would increase. The court, responding to a petition by a non-government environment organisation, acknowledged concerns expressed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority that tourism may be...

Perennial Jamni river will be linked to nearby lakes to assist in irrigation The Madhya Pradesh government claims to have launched the country's first ever river-lake linking project in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region. The Harpura irrigation and river-lake link project, launched in the Tikamgarh district, will be implemented under the Centre's Rs.7266 crore Bundelkhand package. It will link the perennial Jamni river to the nearby lakes and water bodies built during the...

-The Times of India A woman tehsildar had a narrow escape from being mowed down by an earth extractor machine in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district on Tuesday when she tried to stop illegal mining. The incident comes barely a month after an IPS Officer Narendra Kumar was crushed to death by the mining mafia in Morena. Acting on a tip-off on largescale illegal mining in the district, the tehsildar, Meena Pal, rushed...

Non-urea fertilizer prices were freed in April 2010, but GSFCL, DFPCL, RCF still got gas at regulated prices The fertilizer ministry is considering asking three non-urea fertilizer makers to return part of the gains they have made since April 2010 on account of gas supplied to them at regulated prices while they were allowed to sell their products at market prices. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF), Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals...