The flood situation continued to be grim in the state with 29 districts and more than 25 lakh people badly affected by it.

LUCKNOW: The quality of forest areas in Uttar Pradesh is on the wane. A survey taken up by forest officials on a 10,000 hectare area of reserve forest land in the state has acted as an eye-opener on how fast the deterioration is setting in.

environment cess: The Delhi government has decided to levy an environment cess on diesel fuel at the rate of 25 paisa per litre. The revenue from the cess will be used to create a fund to