Maharashtra possibly has among the worst track records when it comes to learning a thing or two from a crisis. In the midst of its fourth drought since 2000, the government has set in motion a slew of time-tested measures with what bureaucrats say is an unprecedented liberal hand. But there is little or no thought yet on why one of India’s most developed states repeatedly seeks drought relief dole.

With no new polio cases being reported for more than a year, India’s experience of containing the dreaded virus is now being replicated in Pakistan. Following the example of its India chapter, the Pakistani arm of Rotary International has adopted several strategies that have proved to be winners in India. In 2011, 198 polio cases were reported in Pakistan and this year 16 cases have been reported so far, and that too excluding the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Pointing out that higher fertiliser subsidy on urea has led to unbalanced fertiliser usage in parts of the country, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday sought the support from MPs to incentivise the subsidy towards balanced fertiliser usage. “Initially, the government focussed on enhancing fertiliser usage. As a result, agricultural productivity was increased by 50 per cent with the help of fertilisers during the first Green Revolution. But now we find that the increased fertiliser usage is not witnessing commensurate productivity increase.

The third and final report on the death of a rhinoceros at the Delhi Zoo has confirmed that anthrax infection was not the cause of death. The National Centre of Disease Control report of tests conducted on blood samples of a male one-horned rhino that died on April 28 reached the Zoo authorities on Monday.

“The third report has come negative for anthrax. Everything has become normal again at the zoo and the barricades that restricted visitors’ entry to the rhino enclosure have been removed,” said R A Khan, curator of National Zoological Park, on Tuesday.

The green bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on Jaiprakash Associates Limited for setting up a mega cement plant with means the court described as deceitful, besides a captive, thermal power plant without clearance. The court has allowed the 1.75-million-tonne cement plant to stay but ordered dismantling of the 60MW power plant.

Baramati: In a region where farmers either work in the fields or breed cows, milk production is the indicator for the impact of the drought on the latter section. Many dairy farmers in Baramati’s so-called dry zone have sold their cows in the absence of enough water to feed them but, because of the complexity of the equations involved, supply does not reflect whatever effect that has had on production.

Baramati is divided 40:60 between the green zone of agriculture and the dry zone where water is always short and where dairy farming is the primary source of livelihood.

After scripting a success story in tiger conservation at home in the past few years, India is now planning to revive a two-year-old offer to help save the big cat in the world’s largest tiger reserve in Myanmar, which is suffering from dwindling tiger numbers. The political reform in the South Asian country during the past few months, giving democratic forces a chance, has made Indian officials optimistic that the offer for collaboration — practically locked in the cold storage by Myanmar in the past — can be refreshed through diplomatic channels.

The CBI probing into the death of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh has ruled out ‘pre-planning’ by the mining mafia. Singh (30) was killed while trying to stop a tractor carrying illegally mined stones near Morena in Madhya Pradesh on March 7. The CBI, which recently sought the custody of arrested tractor driver Manoj Gurjar, took him to the place of the incident and videographed the chase route followed by Singh on that night.

Environmental activists Monday threatened to take to the streets if the government did not come out with “concrete measures” to save the “dying” Ganga by May 20. “So many protests have taken place over the issue before but little has come of it... we have decided to launch a mass campaign from Varanasi from May 21 if the government does not come up with a concrete programme by May 20,” said Magsaysay winner “Waterman” Rajendra Singh.

Announcing the “Ganga Ganga Mukti Sangram”, Singh accused the Centre of ignoring the plight of the river.

Cutting across political lines, Lok Sabha members on Monday joined hands to demand immediate intervention by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to save the Ganga and make it pollution-free at the earliest. Initiating the debate, SP member Rewati Raman Singh demanded dismantling of all man-made dams on the Ganga. “I demand that the Prime Minister should intervene to save the Ganga which is not just a river but our lifeline and part of our culture,” he said.