Umroi, Jan 25 : Voting has begun for the assembly by-election at Bhadohi reserve segment in Sant Ravidas Nagar in Uttar Pradesh this morning.

The polling will decide the fate of sixteen contestants. The main contenders are from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP_.

Three hundred sixty five polling booths have been set up for three lakhs forty five thousand voters to cast their votes. One hundred fifty three polling booths have been identified as sensitive.

Dabai (UP), Feb 23 : Villagers of Dabai in Uttar Pradesh erupted into celebration as the documentary ''Smile Pinky'', which is based on the life of a girl from their village, bagged an Oscar for best short documentary film on Monday.

Nirmala Devi, mother of the film''s protagonist Pinky Sonkar, was proud that her daughter who was always teased because of cuts on her lips, managed to create ripples in the hearts of the jury at the 81st Academy Awards.

Agra, Feb 22 : The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has embarked on a conservation plan to restore the beauty of Taj Mahal.

Cracks had become visible on the walls of the monument raising concerns over the structural safety.

Experts said that due to the low water level in the Yamuna river the water-borne foundation of the Taj was drying up. They also said that lack of Yamuna water is leading to cracks in the stones and the pollution level in Agra affected the monument the most.

Dabai (UP), Feb 22 : Residents of Dabai village in Uttar Pradesh''s Ahura District have been praying for the success of the documentary ''Smile Pinky'' at the Oscars, since it is based on the life of a girl with a lip deformity in their village.

"Pinky has gone to America. The documentary has got a nomination for the Oscars. We are praying to God that this film wins an award and brings glory to our country and our village," said Pradeep Kumar, a villager.

Lucknow, Feb 21 : Sushma Verma, a student of St. Meera's Inter College at Kanpur road here, entered the Limca Book of Records for being the youngest student to pass high school examination at the age of seven years, three months and 28 days.

Sushma broke the record of Bihar's Tathagat Tulsi, who passed the class 10th at the age of nine.

The little girl completed her early education at home and enrolled at the Inter College as a class ninth student two years back.

Japan's Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation has already included her in its list of child prodigies.

Hanuman Ganj, Feb 21 : Dacoits in western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh have claimed that some politicians are sending them feelers for help in the forthcoming elections.

Rudal Yadav, a dacoit, said some politicians had requested him for help.

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have declared a reward of Rupees 50, 000 and Rupees 10,000 respectively on Yadav.

He refused to divulge the name of the politicians, but said he controls elections in Hanuman Ganj and Khadda districts of Uttar Pradesh.