With around 60 per cent of world’s open defecation happening in India and manual scavenging still a dark ugly truth, India, according to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, presents a rather

Lucknow: At least 10 more children have died of encephalitis in the past 24 hours in UP’s Gorakhpur division, raising the toll in the state this season to 361.

Parts of North India received heavy rain which claimed 18 lives in Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours even as a cloudburst washed away many shops and vehicles in Himachal Pradesh.

Ten persons died in Gorakhpur followed by three each in Lakhimpur and Amethi and two in Basti in mishaps like wall collapse. Rain and thundershowers are likely at a few places in the next 24 hours, said the weatherman.

Proposal is for exclusive institutional education with boarding

The Uttar Pradesh government is awaiting clearance from the Centre for an ambitious project to rehabilitate children disabled by Japanese encephalitis (JE) and acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) that kill hundreds and handicap an equal number every monsoon season in eastern U.P. and the adjoining region. Brain fever affects the nervous system, resulting in mental retardation and hearing impairment.

The death toll due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in eastern Uttar Pradesh has now reached 154 with three children succumbing to the killer virus on Wednesday night.

The three children died at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur where they had been admitted for treatment. A total of 663 encephalitis patients were admitted to different government hospitals of Gorakhpur and Basti districts in 2012 of which 154 died, said additional director, health, of Gorakhpur division, Diwakar Prasad.

Stressing on the planned development of cities Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav directed officials to give priority to construction of integrated townships for weaker and lower income group people.

A blistering heat wave swept through North and East India on Tuesday claiming two lives in Uttar Pradesh. Delhi recorded a maximum of 43.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, and a minimum of 26.8 degrees Celsius. Two train passengers were found dead at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh where the temperature touched 42.7 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab and Haryana, the heat wave intensified further with maximum temperatures hovering in the range of 42-45 degrees Celsius.

LUCKNOW: The UP government on Monday cleared projects worth Rs 602 crore to check the dreaded Japanese encephalitis which has claimed more than 5,000 lives in the past seven years.