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Dec 2004
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UK warns against travel to Tsunami-hit areas

     London: The British Foreign Office has advised against travel to Tsunami-affected parts of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. Britain was celebrating Christmas and Boxing Day in chilly weather as news of the tragedy trickled in. At least 10,000 Britons were said to be holidaying in the affected area. Many of them were stranded in south and east Asia while there were reports of tourists being swept away as they sunbathed in Phuket, Thailand.
- Dec 28, 2004

Wild elephants create havoc in Chhatisgarh villages (Go to Top)

     Jashpur (Chattisgarh): Several villagers in the Jashpur district of Chhatisgarh were rendered homeless when wild elephants created havoc and caused widespread damage recently. Only rubble remained after a dozen wild elephants created havoc, and the villagers had to abandon their homes in fear of their lives. The terror stricken villagers are now taking shelter in nearby villages, with some of them staying in open lands and others living in a cluttered room. Silimanti, an angry villager, said the forest department had done nothing to help them tackle the situation and that they are having a tough time. "Wild elephants damaged my house and we are living in open lands with our children. We have to take shelter in nearby villages. No forest department has given suggestions to us till now," Silimanti said. But, the forest officials said that such incidents were common and that they were taking precautionary measures. "There are no private organisations there. They are our men, our District Forest Officer (DFO) and our villagers who look after things. There is no danger. Sometimes, elephants come from the forests in Orissa. We try to scare them away and there is no such danger as such," said Ganesh Ram Bhagat, forest and environment officer of central Chhatisgarh. Villagers are now staying awake through the night to guard their homes from these marauding pachyderms.
- Dec 28, 2004

Cold wave grips north India, Amritsar the coldest (Go to Top)

     New Delhi/ Chandigarh: Severe cold waves swept through northern parts of the country today, even as mercury continued to drop. Dense fog threw life out of gear leading to frequent traffic jams in early morning and evenings. The minimum temperature came down by 2 degrees in the Capital and stood at 7.7 degrees Celcius, sources in the Meteorological Department said. The minimum temperature in Chandigarh too plunged by two degrees to record 6 degree celsius while Ambala was colder at 5.6 C, the Metmen said. Amritsar was recorded as the coldest zone in the plains as temperature plummeted four degrees below normal to settle at 1.3 C. Ludhiana also had a cold night at 4 C while Patiala braved the chill at 6.4 C. Srinagar recorded a bone chilling low temperature at -4.3 C, two degrees below normal, while Jammu recorded 6.5 degree Celcius. Himachal Pradesh also continued to reel under intense cold and temperature dropped to 2.1 degree Celcius in Shimla. Bhuntar and Sundernagar had a frezzing zero degree celsius.
-Dec 26, 2004

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