Sudhir Kumar is Varanasi based senior staff correspondent.He covers all developments, politics, education--primary, secondary and higher -- crime, offbeat, tribes and human angle stories
Articles by Sudhir Kumar
UP teachers click selfies, prove attendance after parents complain
Teachers at 140 government-run primary and upper primary schools in Naugarh area of Chandauli have been reporting for work on time after the district administration launched “attendance-with-selfie” drive.
Updated on Apr 04, 2017 02:01 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Muslim woman pitches for harmony, translating Ramcharitmanas in Urdu
Coming from a weaver’s family, Najneen Ansari is already done with the translation of Durga Chalisa, Hanuman Chalisa, Shiv Chalisa and Sri Ram Arti.
Published on Apr 01, 2017 04:23 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
Selfie moment for G-20 delegates at Banaras ghats
The meeting of G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) began here on Tuesday.
Published on Mar 29, 2017 12:54 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
Modi’s Varanasi, Adityanath’s Gorakhpur unaffected by Uttar Pradesh meat crisis
In Gorakhpur, home to Yogi Adityanath for the past 20 years, meat sellers said there was no effect of the crackdown on their business
Updated on Apr 07, 2017 06:58 PM IST
Lucknow, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar and Abdul Jadid
Ghats lead a ‘paanful’ existence in Varanasi
The Varanasi Nagar Nigam imposed a blanket ban on gutkha, paan, tobacco spittle at the ghats around six months ago.
Updated on Mar 30, 2017 07:30 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
Digest this: Non-veg turtles to help in Ganga cleaning!
The Forest department is planning to release around 500 non-vegetarian turtles in the river once they come of age.
Published on Mar 27, 2017 01:01 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
G20 officials to meet in Varanasi on March 28-29
India will host the third meeting of the G20 Framework Working Group (FWG) in Varanasi from March 28 to discuss challenges before the global economy and their possible solutions.
Published on Mar 23, 2017 11:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali to perform at Varanasi’s Sankatmochan temple again
Noted rabab player Ustad Gulfam Ahmad of Afghanistan, bhajan exponent Anup Jalota, Pt Vishwanath, ghazal singers Ahmad Hussain Mohammad Hussain, flautist Ronu Majumdar and vocalist Suresh Wadekar will be among the performers at the six-day Sankatmochan Sangeet Samaroh to be held between April 15 and 20.
Updated on Mar 22, 2017 07:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Aditya Nath’s breakfast platter includes papaya, whey, boiled grams
Yogi, as chief minister Aditya Nath is known by his followers, likes satvik food and lives a strictly disciplined life. His followers are well aware of his taste.
Updated on Mar 21, 2017 10:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Gorakhpur/Varanasi | Abdul Jadid/Sudhir Kumar
MSY’s removal from national president’s post sank SP in east UP
The Samajwadi Party paid heavily in the assembly polls for its internal feud which turned most of its long time supporters against it in its stronghold of eastern UP.
Published on Mar 13, 2017 08:28 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Hot debate in Kashi: Modi or Akhilesh?
Different political parties’ supporters indulged in chats at tea stalls and countered one another with their logic.
Published on Mar 10, 2017 01:17 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
UP election: After high-voltage campaign, Modi’s Varanasi records 63.63% turnout
Varanasi recorded a 63.63% turnout in the last phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls on Wednesday, an increase from the 57.92% votes that were cast in the district in 2012.
Updated on Mar 09, 2017 12:29 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Month-long polls end with final rounds in UP, Manipur
People in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Manipur voted on Wednesday, ending the month-long assembly elections in five states on a high note.
Updated on Mar 08, 2017 10:36 PM IST
Pankaj Jaiswal, Sudhir Kumar, Utpal Parashar and Sobhapati Samom, Lucknow/varanasi/imphal
UP polls: Amid voting for last phase, it’s business as usual at Varanasi ghats
In Varanasi, long queues were seen outside polling booths set up at schools in lanes along the ghats. Voters exercised the franchise enthusiastically, but got back to business soon.
Updated on Mar 08, 2017 07:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Assembly elections highlights: 86% overall turnout in Manipur, all eyes on Varanasi in UP
The results for the five states --- UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur --- will be announced on Saturday (March 11).
Updated on Mar 08, 2017 08:32 PM IST
HIndustan Times, Varanasi/Imphal | Sudhir Kumar, Rahul Karmakar and Sobhapati Samom
Assembly elections: 40 constituencies in UP, 22 in Manipur vote in final phase
Bringing down the curtain on a staggered election process, 40 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh and 22 in Manipur will vote on Wednesday in the last and final phase of polling.
Updated on Mar 07, 2017 08:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi/Imphal | Sudhir Kumar and Sobhapati Samom
Twin villages in Uttar Pradesh adopted by PM Modi seek more attention
In 2014, the Prime Minister took Jayapur and Nagepur under his fold, pushing the areas in Varanasi into the spotlight, but not all hopes have come to fruition.
Updated on Mar 07, 2017 07:10 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Modi wraps up campaigning in UP, cautions voters to beware of bua, bhateeja
The PM says the time has come to free Uttar Pradesh from the misrules of the SP, the BSP and the Congress
Updated on Mar 06, 2017 07:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
12 years on, Ramnagar bridge yet to see light of the day
People saw a ray of hope after the Samajwadi Party returned to power in 2012 under Akhilesh Yadav. Construction work resumed but its pace could not be maintained due to lack of funds.
Published on Mar 06, 2017 01:26 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
UP elections: BJP pins hope on Modi’s back-to-back road shows
Battling internal resentment, the BJP is banking on PM Narendra Modi’s two successive road shows to win the in the Varanasi region in the last phase of UP assembly polls.
Updated on Mar 06, 2017 11:06 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi:
132 crorepatis, 115 ‘tainted’ candidates in fray for last phase of UP polls
As many as 132 crorepatis are in the fray for the seventh and last phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled on March 8, while 115 candidates have criminal cases against them.
Updated on Mar 06, 2017 08:14 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Highlights | Have a vision for developing Purvanchal, Modi says in Varanasi
With the heat rising for the final phase of UP assembly polls, scheduled on March 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his hectic campaign trail to woo voters in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.
Updated on Mar 05, 2017 09:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
Narendra Modi attacks rivals over surgical strike and OROP, holds roadshow in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the BJP government delivered on its promise of implementing OROP; criticises those who are “politicising” matters of national security
Updated on Mar 04, 2017 10:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Varanasi | Sudhir Kumar
This village in Azamgarh awaits removal of decade-old ‘terror hub’ stigma
Four of the terrorists involved in the Batla House encounter in Delhi in 2008 were allegedly from Sanjarpur. Three successive elections saw politicians visiting the village and promising to remove the terror taint which haunts the villagers. However, villagers are now tired of hollow promises and want a fair probe.
Published on Mar 04, 2017 03:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Sanjarpur (azamgarh)
Liquor ban not on parties’ agenda, villagers uncork unhappiness
Licensed liquor shops in Ballia area are a favourite destination for tipplers from Bihar where liquor is banned. Villages in Ballia could do with a liquor ban since many men here splurge their earnings on alcohol. Some feel a liquor ban should have topped the political list of poll promises.
Published on Mar 04, 2017 02:02 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Ballia
Highlights: In Varanasi, Modi, Mayawati and Akhilesh are confident of winning UP
Varanasi region will go to polls in the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh election on March 8.
Updated on Mar 04, 2017 09:35 PM IST
TB Road: This highway in eastern UP reflects unequal development in the state
Uttar Pradesh is a land of stark contrasts ad the warts and scabs of its eastern districts come into sharp focus as the region gears up for polling in the last phase on March 8.
Updated on Mar 01, 2017 12:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Tadi Ghat-Bara Road (Ghazipur) | Sudhir Kumar
UP election: Electricity a distant dream in villages near Sonbhadra’s power hub
Sonbhadra district residents, who bank on kerosene lamps for light, say politicians don’t keep their word.
Updated on Feb 28, 2017 02:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Sonbhadra | Sudhir Kumar
Amid poll heat, union ministers relish Kashi’s special jalebi, kachori
They are camping in the Prime Minister’s constituency to campaign for elections scheduled on March 8
Published on Feb 27, 2017 03:25 PM IST
Varanasi, Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi
UP election: Traffic jams, lack of toilets plague ‘heart of Kashi’
Varanasi is as famous for traffic jams and lack of toilets as it is for the myriad ghats, lanes and temples that dot its colourful expanse. However, not everybody in the Varanasi South constituency is willing to accept them as minor inconveniences that form part of the city’s identity as India’s most popular pilgrim destination.
Updated on Feb 25, 2017 11:21 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Sudhir Kumar, Varanasi