Punjab: Gulzar Singh Ranike, a minister in the Punjab state government, resigned on Sunday in the wake of allegations that he misappropriated public funds, The Times of India reported. Mr. Ranike and an associate were accused of transferring 25 million rupees, about $ 460,000, from funds intended for a border area development program.
Uttarakhand: The death toll from landslides in Rudraprayag district last week rose to 50 on Tuesday, according to an ANI report. Five villages were affected; 20 people were reported missing and 500 were said to be homeless.
Assam: Since India gained its independence, the country's chief mapping agency, the Survey of India, has never published a map of Assam, The Assam Tribune reported, citing a reply to a Right to Information Act request. An agency official said a combined map of Assam with the other northeastern states Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram is available, dating from 1984.
Uttar Pradesh: Heavy rainfall has claimed the lives of 18 people in separate incidents across the state this week, according to a Press Trust of India report on the NDTV Web site.
Gujarat: In Surat, an attempt to create a “communally harmonious†Ganesh idol for the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, which celebrates the Hindu god's birthday, went awry, The Indian Express reported. Hindu activists objected to the statue of the Virgin Mary holding an infant Ganesh as well as a cross. The cross was replaced with an Indian flag; the statue now “looks like Mother India with Lord Ganesha in her arms,†an activist told the newspaper.
Maharashtra: Farmers are benefiting from the India Meteorological Department's text messaging service, The Daily Bhaskar reported. The system sends them agricultural advisories based on weather forecasts; more than 400,000 farmers in Maharashtra are registered, the report said.
Karnataka: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cubic feet per second of water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu at the border every day from Sept. 21 to Oct. 15. Both states found the ruling “unacceptable,'' The Hindu reported.
