July 20, 2019 - meraapnabihar

Medicine-garden push in Ranchi

Source: telegraphindia.com

Ranchi Municipal Corporation is working on a proposal to grow medicinal plants at selected spaces in all 53 wards of the state capital.

The suggestion, deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya said on Friday, had come from a city doctor.

“Surgeon Suresh Agrawal, who is also working in the field of ayurveda, had formally submitted a proposal to promote planting of medicinal plants for residents to get natural home remedies. A few days ago he had made a presentation before the RMC and the idea was found worth implementing,” Vijayvargiya said.

“Initially, we have decided to dedicate a portion of each ward office premises for planting and in the next phase selected medicinal plants will be planted at parks,” he said.

The deputy mayor said that the next meeting will be convened very soon to work out the plan.

“Agrawal has assured all support; we will also invite experts of the forest department and Birsa Agricultural University to execute the project. They can identify different kinds of medicinal plants and how to grow these. We will also be able to preserve those medicinal plants which are on verge of extinction,” Vijayvargiya said.

Nakshatra Van in front of the Raj Bhavan and the Bio Diversity Park in Tupudana are the only parks in Ranchi with some rare plants of medicinal value. Agrawal, 67, said for the past one year he was meeting ward councillors requesting them to promote medicinal plants.

“I am a surgeon and run my private clinic. But for the past two-and-half decades I am simultaneously involved in clinical and ayurveda research. I have identified four medicinal plants, Amrita, Harsinghar, Sedwar and Vasak, which can cure 15 types of diseases. Amrita increases immunity and has been declared as the national medicinal plant. The other three plants are quite useful in body and joint pain, cough, fever, hair fall, bleeding, and irregular menstrual cycle. I also grow these plants at my clinic and prescribe to patients and the results are quite encouraging. Sedwar is a typical Jharkhandi plant which I use to cure pain,” said Agrawal.

Jharkhand death: Kin point to lack of food, govt officials cite illness

Source: indianexpress.com

Jhingur Bhuyia, 42, died in Dorhagara village of Kanhachatta block of Jharkhand on Tuesday night. He left behind two children aged six and one, and wife Rubi Devi, who attributed his death to illness and lack of food.

Rubi Devi said her husband, who used to work as a daily wage labourer, was paralysed for a year, and the family did not have any income or a ration card. Her husband’s death, she said, was due to “his prolonged illness and lack of food at home, due to which he could not be fed well.”

She said she had borrowed Rs 100 from her neighbours to buy milk for her husband.

Denying that Bhuyia’s death was caused by hunger, Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Singh told reporters, “Prima facie, the death was due to illness.”

According to Singh: “Two months ago, Bhuyia had a paralytic attack on his face and could not eat solid food. The family had a ration card in his mother’s and sister-in-law’s name and his family got their share. There was a request by Bhuyia’s wife to add their names in the ration card, which has now been done. Our investigation says there was no food scarcity at home. This is not a case of death due to hunger.”

SDO Deepu Kumar, part of the inquiry team, told The Indian Express that the “actual cause of death” will be known after the post-mortem report. He added, “It is a baseless claim that the family did not have a ration card.” Bhuyia’s mother Maso Budhni (now deceased) had an Antyodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) card and his sister-in-law Basanti Devi has a ration card.

Rubi Devi said, “These cards are not in our name, and are being used by my brother-in-law who lives separately. They used to give me around 5-6 kg rice, which we could use for a few days. For the rest of the month, we had to often depend on other villagers.”

AAY households constitute the poorest of the poor and are entitled to 35 kg foodgrain a month.

Rubi Devi said she received her Aadhaar card a few months ago, but could not get a ration card from the local PDS dealer despite going to his shop several times. The PDS dealer could not be contacted. “Before his death, it was a struggle, I had to ask everyone for food. Many people helped…,” Rubi Devi said, sitting outside her kuccha house. “Our food comprised rice and potatoes. Rarely did we have pulses.”

She added, “We have a small piece of land, but due to lack of water, the produce is limited to one season. We will harvest corn in a few months. This is divided between the three brothers, and we don’t get much.”

She also said she was never offered any job under MGNREGA. The MGNREGA website states that Bhuyia had a job card made in his and his wife’s name in 2007, but does not have any work details.

When contacted, the panchayat’s Mukhiya Rajwanti Devi said the family never approached her for any job or problems. “The family should have told us so that I could have gone to higher officials,” she said.

According to the family members, Bhuiya was treated at an “ayurvedic centre” in Bishnugarh, more than 100 km away. Villagers said they did not trust the public health centres (PHC) as the doctors are usually not available. Less than 2 km from the village at Kanhachatti block area, an additional PHC is run with three Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM). There is no doctor. ANM Sulekha Kumari said, “Doctors rarely visit this centre, few people come to us. Deliveries happen quite often, but we face problems because of water scarcity. We get water in buckets from neighbouring area for deliveries.”

On this, DC Singh said he would have to check, “It is a fact that there is shortage of doctors and vacancy of 130 doctors in Chatra,” he said. An additional PHC covers population of 20-30,000 and acts as a referral unit for health-sub centres.

7 Children Among Eight Killed After Being Struck By Lightning In Bihar

Source: ndtv.com

NAWADA, BIHAR:

Eight people, seven of them children aged 15 years or below, were killed and eight others were injured after lightning struck them in Bihar’s Nawada on Friday afternoon, an official said.

According to Sub Divisional Officer, Sadar, Nawada, Anu Kumar, the children were residents of Dhanpur Musahari village falling under Kalichak police station area and had taken shelter under a tree while it was raining.

The people who died have been identified as Ramesh Manjhi, 26, Chhotu Manjhi, Ganesh Manjhi and Monu Manjhi (all 15 years old), Nitish Manjhi, 12, Pravesh Kumar, 10, Chhotu Manjhi, 8 and Muni Lal Manjhi, 5, Mr Kumar said.

In addition, eight others were injured and seven of them were being treated at the Sadar hospital while the condition of another was stated to be critical and he has been admitted to Pavapuri in the adjoining Nalanda district, the official said.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar issued a statement expressing grief over the tragedy and announcing an ex-gratia of Rs. four lakh to the family of the people who lost their lives.

He also issued instructions for proper medical assistance to those who have sustained injuries, a release issued by the Chief Ministers office said.

Former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi issued a statement expressing grief and demanding that the ex-gratia amount be raised to Rs. 20 lakh each.

Kyoto Animation: A home of art ruined in arson attack, leaves many devastated

Source: nationalheraldindia.com

Kyoto is a city in Japan with many Buddhist temples and historical structures. Today, it is in the news for an arson attack on one of its most significant cultural centres – an animation studio.

The attack has killed 33 people, and Japan is in mourning. This studio – Kyoto Animation – is home to some very popular anime (hand-drawn or computer animations). One of them is currently playing on Netflix India – Violet Evergarden.

Another popular anime, ‘K-On’, is about musically inclined high-school girls and their trials (airs on Hulu).

In fact, Kyoto Animation is known for aesthetically presenting emotions about life and its various emotions. How good is their work? They have a tremendous fan following, and you will find tributes from fans all over the world. America, in fact, is undergoing an anime renaissance, with more fans attaching themselves to new releases. And as per a 2018 article, anime popularity is increasing in India. And among fans, many works of Kyoto Animation are favourites.

There’s another importance to this place – much of its staff is a full-time hire, unlike the industry trend that promotes part-time and contractual work (with little pay). Naturally, Kyoto Animation attracted some of the best talent in Japan, some of whom make great art.

And that’s what has been lost today. Good art and great stories.

Stories about friendships and dilemmas that centre around a sport (Free), science fiction stories that bring out human emotions (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya).

And a personal favourite – a story about bullying and forgiveness and love. This anime, titled ‘A Silent Voice’, is also in the form of a comic book. It was given to me by a student I taught for a term. She is an ardent fan and I reckon that the content of this anime, with its myriad emotions, resonates with her just as it does with me.

And while she is more comfortable in Marathi and is not usually outspoken, my other acquaintances who like Kyoto Animation are opposites – one is an English speaking elite and the other is an extroverted middle class man more comfortable in Internet cultures than any other culture.

Kyoto animation, truly, cuts across countries and cultures.

Human trafficking kingpin held in Ranchi’s Khunti

Source: hindustantimes.com

Jharkhand police made a big success by arresting human trafficking kingpin, Panna Lal Mahto, accused of buying and selling thousands of girls, in Khunti district, police claimed on Friday.

Mahato is accused of selling at least 5,000 Jharkhand children, mostly tribal girls, to employers in New Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.Police also seized several documents related to illegal land deals and trafficking from his possession.

He was arrested from Khunti Tola under Khunti police station on Thursday midnight, said deputy superintendent of police (headquarters), Jaideep Lakra. He said, “We got a tip-off that Mahto was at the house of one Pakhnu Ganjhu in Khunti tola. When we reached to raid the house, he tried to flee with his SUV car but we caught him.”

He said, “We recovered a yellow-coloured file containing details of exchange of money related to human trafficking, a blue-coloured diary related to land deals, a white SUV, cheque books and ATM cards of different banks, non-judicial stamps and other items from him.”

The child welfare committee (CWC), Khunti, had also lodged an FIR against him at anti- human trafficking unit (AHTU), Khunti. A CWC member in Khunti, Baidyanath Kumar, said they had lodged a case against Mahto in August 2018 for his involvement in trafficking of minor girl from a Khunti block. “The girl was trafficked to Delhi last year. She was rescued by Delhi police, who handed her over to Delhi CWC. The girl was, thereafter, brought to Khunti CWC where her statement was recorded,” he said.

“The girl in her statement said she was assaulted and sexually abused. On basis of her statement, police lodged an FIR against Mahto under sections 363, 370 (4),370 (A), 371, 374, 354 (A) and section-8 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” Kumar said.

Mahto was also arrested in the past. Mahto and his wife Sunita Kumari had been apprehended in October 2014 on charges of human trafficking from a hideout in Shakurpur area in New Delhi, when they had gone there to collect their belongings for fleeing to some unknown place.

Khunti police said he had been out of jail on bail since September 2016.

Police said he was also arrested in 2004 and 2006 for human trafficking and other cases. The accused has amassed huge wealth and properties in Ranchi, Delhi and Khunti from their illegal trafficking business, police said.

At least 10,000 children are trafficked every year from Jharkhand to different parts of the country, claim NGOs. A majority of the victims are pushed into domestic works, while some land in brothels, they say.

Mob kills three in Bihar on suspicion of cattle theft, three arrested

Source: in.reuters.com

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A mob on Friday beat to death three men suspected of trying to steal cattle in Bihar, police said, the latest in a spate of attacks that have provoked alarm among religious minorities.

In recent years angry mobs have lynched many people from marginalised groups in India, especially Muslims and the Dalits who occupy the lowest rung of the ancient caste system, often over suspicions of cow slaughter.

The three men were caught by some villagers early on Friday while trying to load cattle on a pickup truck, police official Har Kishore Rai said.

“They were trying to load a buffalo and a calf when some villagers woke up and took the three into their custody and beat them up,” he said, adding that the men had died.

Police have arrested three people from the village of Pithauri and have filed a case of murder against four more from the village, administrative official Lokesh Mishra told Reuters.

Police have filed a case of theft against the three men, and the villagers face a separate case of murder filed by the victims’ families, naming three accused people, although more names are likely to be added, Mishra said.

Hinduism, India’s dominant religion, considers cows sacred, and killing them is taboo.

Activists have tracked a rise in the number of mob lynchings in the last five years that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has been in power. Critics accuse it of not having done enough to rein in such violence.

The Supreme Court last year recommended making mob lynching a separate offence. In July, opposition parties in Bihar demanded a separate law against mob lynching in the state, where they say the problem is growing.

No ease of business for this Jharkhand entrepreneur

Source: telegraphindia.com

A soft coke unit, whose foundation stone was laid by none other than chief minister Raghubar Das in December 2017 as a showpiece project borne out of the state’s first Global Investors’ Summit earlier in the year, is yet to have a power connection.

BL Soft Coke Industry, set up by Sastrinangar industrialist B.L. Agarwal at Kalyanpur, about 13km from here, by investing around Rs 65 lakh, has been running on power from diesel generator sets, leading to higher costs that has adversely impacted the SME’s bottomline.

Worst, a scrubber installed as per Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board guidelines to control emissions, hasn’t been functioning properly for want of a regular power connection.

“We had high hopes when we went to Bokaro in December 2017 during the state’s third ground breaking ceremony. Foundation stones were laid online of as many as 105 units with chief minister Raghubar Das presiding over the function amidst much fanfare. But till now, one of our basic requirements hasn’t been fulfilled,” said B.L Agarwal’s son, Gaurav, who runs the unit on behalf of his father.

Gaurav said they had approached officials of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (JBVNL) in Dhanbad more than 30 times ever since they had applied for an electricity connection on September 6, 2017. “But, we are yet to get a power connection. We are facing a lot of difficulties,” he said.

A year ago, Gaurav received a call from an official in the state government’s single window cell that is supposed to streamline permissions and clearances that entrepreneurs may require.

“I was asked if I was facing any difficulty. I told them about the delay in getting an electricity connection. But the issue is yet to be resolved,” he said.

Soft coke is a byproduct of coal with lesser ash content and moisture. BL Soft Coke Industry produces around 400 tonnes of soft coke per month for which it requires 30-40 litres of diesel to run generators and other factory equipment.

JBVNL junior engineer Chandan Kumar promised to resolve the issue in a day or two. “We have already completed all formalities for awarding a connection to BL Soft Coke Industry. There was an error in the company’s application form. Instead of applying for a 10HP (horse power) connection the factory applied for a 2KVA connection,” he said.

Gaurav admitted the error, but reasoned that it could not be the reason for such an inordinate delay. “The power connection could always have been given and the issue of load sorted out later. I can’t understand the reason for the delay when there is electricity in all the villages near my factory,” he said.

Jharkhand Industries and Trade Association general secretary Rajiv Sharma said the experience of BL Soft Coke shows how red tape is killing entrepreneurship. “JBVNL is earning a bad name for itself and for Jharkhand. The state government is framing policies for the convenience of businessmen with good intentions, but the benefit of the policies are not reaching the targeted people,” he rued.

Security beefed up at Patna’s Beur Jail after IB alert of possible jailbreak attempt by Maoists

Source: hindustantimes.com

Unprecedented security has been deployed at Patna’s famous Beur Jail since late Wednesday night after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) alerted the Bihar police about a possible jailbreak attempt by Maoists and terrorists, much like the 2005 Jehanabad jail break incident.

Police said at least 80 jawans of Bihar Military Police (BMP) and other personnel have additionally been deployed at the jail.

Senior police officers are camping in the jail and carrying out search operations. Director general of police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey and home secretary Amir Subhani also visited the jail and supervised the security arrangements.

In November 2005, hundreds of Maoists had stormed the Jehanabad jail and freed several of their top leaders. In all, 341 prisoners fled in that incident.

The Beur jail houses several Maoist leaders, hardened criminals and at least a dozen terrorists associated with banned outfits like Indian Mujahideen (IM), Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Officials said the search operations led to recovery of several cell phones and few other items not permitted inside the jail.

As per the IB alert, the accused in the Bodh Gaya and Gandhi Maidan terror blasts, along with other criminals lodged inside the jail, had planned to carry out a repeat of the Jehanabad incident or a major blast.

After inspecting the jail, the DGP instructed officials to intensify patrolling in the area. “We raided several wards and recovered some cell phones. We are alert and ready to tackle any eventuality,” he said.

DIG (central range, Patna), Rajesh Kumar, however, preferred to downplay the jailbreak threat. “We are carrying out routine raids and reviewing the security in the wake of attack on a constable at Danapur court by an undertrial prisoner recently. The objective to prevent repeat of such incidents,” he said.

Jail officials said that the accused in Bodh Gaya and Gandhi Maidan blasts lodged inside Beur jail had in October 2017 clashed with the jail security personnel and also raised anti-national slogans. Among other things, they had decried the quality of food served to them. Since then, they have been confined to their cells and not allowed to meet with others.

Statistics don’t lie: Why Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is miles ahead of other contenders

Source: dailyo.in

Though the Bihar Assembly polls are scheduled for 2020, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has already declared Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate. While it appeared a little hasty and ill-timed for a party that drew a blank in the Lok Sabha polls, many argued that RJD’s declaration was more for intra-party consumption, and not for the people of Bihar. However, RJD’s apparent taste for Bihar’s top job has prompted many backroom boys across political lines to take a closer look at the Lok Sabha poll results. This is obviously an attempt to find whether RJD’s desire carries any weight in Bihar and if the political pecking order in the state has any new entrant.

A fresh data analysis of votes has been pulled out to assess if the poll outcome also has some hidden meaning attached to it. While statistics are notorious for not telling the whole story, the data analysis of voting during the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar has really thrown up some surprising assessments. The biggest surprise first: The BJP, which bagged the maximum votes in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is not the biggest gainer if you compare performance of political parties during the last two elections held in Bihar.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP bagged 96,18,904 votes in Bihar. In the 2015 Assembly polls, the saffron tally was 93,08,015 votes. Clearly, despite their impressive showing in Bihar, having won all 17 seats contested in 2019, the BJP has gained just about 3.10 lakh votes from 2015. So, who is the biggest gainer in Bihar? The results of a data analysis — based on a comparison of the last two elections held in Bihar — are convincingly in favour of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) or JD(U). In 2015, Nitish’s party had bagged 64,17,041 votes. In 2019, its vote tally shot up to 89,02,719 votes. If you compare the two performances, it becomes clear that Nitish’s party has added more than 24.85 lakh voters in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

The JD(U)’s leap of 38.73% over its 2015 tally is staggering. If we compare the votes gained by the two ruling parties in Bihar (JD(U)’s 24.85 lakh votes to BJP’s 3.10 lakh), it becomes clear that the jump in Nitish’s vote tally is eight times more than that of the BJP. More surprises come to fore when the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s vote tally of 2019 is compared to the number of votes it polled in 2015. The RJD bagged 62,70,107 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls compared to 69,95,509 votes in the 2015 Assembly polls. So, the RJD has lost just 7.25 lakh votes in 2019 against its performance in 2015. The figure, however, also reveals a significant insight.

While the JD(U) has raised its vote tally by nearly 39% over its 2015 performance, its electoral gains have not come from the losses of its opponents. The majority of additional votes that Nitish’s party has gained in Bihar appear to have come from new voters. Incidentally, since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Bihar has topped the country’s tally when it comes to adding new voters to the electoral roll. The figure for new voters in Bihar was 61,33,940, whereas West Bengal with 55.02 lakh new voters and Rajasthan with 43.45 lakh new voters, were second and third, respectively.

“Assuming that about 60% of Bihar’s new voters actually voted in the Lok Sabha polls, the number comes up to 36 lakh. If we place this figure against the 24.85 lakh new votes that Nitish Kumar’s party has added to its kitty in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it seems that nearly 70% of the new voters have voted for JD(U),” says a senior IAS officer. “It is clear. While JD(U) has kept its support base intact, it has also added majority of the new voters in Bihar to its vote tally. The reasons are abundantly clear. The new voters, the youth of Bihar, are smart enough to identify the leader whom they can count on for vision and leadership,” says JD(U) spokesman Rajeev Ranjan Prasad. “They [Bihari youth] can differentiate between a run-of-the-mill politician and a statesman like Nitish Kumar”.

“This explains why majority of the new voters have voted for the chief minister’s party,” Prasad adds. The assumptions are well supported by Bihar’s electoral record as Nitish has, indeed, remained the fulcrum of Bihar politics since his party defeated Lalu Prasad’s RJD in the October 2005. From 2005 to 2019, Bihar has seen four Assembly and three Lok Sabha polls. Barring the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the winner always had Nitish by his side in six of those seven elections. Though Nitish always talks about pooling all sections together, JD(U) sources admit that around 30% extremely backward castes (EBCs), and 15 per cent Mahadalits (the most marginalised among the Scheduled Castes) form the nucleus of the JD(U)’s strength.

Together, these two social sections have over 150 castes, constituting nearly 45% voters in Bihar. If RJD’s solid support base among the Yadavs, the single-largest caste group in Bihar with 14% of the population, combined with a sizeable chunk of 16% Muslim votes, has failed to stop Nitish in successive state elections, it was largely because the Bihar CM had similar consolidation of EBCs and Mahadalits behind him. Now, it seems the new voters have also preferred Nitish over others.

Governors–sage or saboteur?: Question asked in Bihar echoes in Karnataka

Source: nationalheraldindia.com

Critically examine the role of Governor in the state politics of India, especially in the context of Bihar. Is he just a puppet?

This was the question––considered objectionable by some––asked in the General Studies-II exam of the Bihar Public Service Commission, which concluded on July 16. The GS-II exam was held on July 14.

The question sparked off controversy forcing the BPSC to issue a clarification and announcing that was blacklisting the question-setter. If the sources are to be believed the expert who had set the paper is a retired bureaucrat residing outside Bihar.

It all started after a Hindi daily Dainik Jagaran carried a report on July 15. The daily was more particular over the translation of the word puppet. As most of the examinees write their answers in Hindi the puppet was translated as ‘kathputli’. As the question was asked in the context of Bihar, according to sources, the Raj Bhavan at Patna too was upset over it. There was even demand for filing a case against the expert.

Soon other newspapers, including English, followed and it was alleged that the word ‘Kathputli’ was offensive. The Chairman of the BPSC, Shishir Sinha, himself a retired IAS officer, called on the Bihar Governor, Lalji Tandon, to explain the position of the Commission. However, sources in the BPSC said that he was actually summoned by the Governor.

Some sections saw in the question a political conspiracy. They held that since chief minister Nitish Kumar is unhappy after his party Janata Dal United failed to get due representation in the Narendra Modi cabinet, somebody in the Commission used this ploy against the Governor––actually an appointee of Centre.

So far as the question is concerned, most people felt there was nothing wrong in it. “Questions over the role of the Governor are asked in various Commission exams, including the UPSC,” one of the examinees told this correspondent.

Another candidate recalled that an invigilator in his room was very appreciative of the question as Governors are in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent years, be it in Bihar, Goa or Karnataka.

Mediapersons are themselves divided over the whole story carried by Jagaran and are of the view that a section of the Press had unnecessarily made a mountain out of molehill.

“This is a total non-issue and unnecessarily played up by the media. Such questions are often asked,” commented a political observer. However, Dainik Jagaran stoutly defended itself and strongly held that words like ‘Kathputli’ cannot be used for constitutional functionaries like the Governor.

When reminded by this correspondent that noted legal luminary, Soli Sorabjee wrote a book “The Governor: Sage or Saboteur”, he replied that anyone could write anything in a book but a derogatory term should not have been used in a Public Service Commission examination.

BPSC too in a notification clarified that apparently there was nothing wrong in the question. Only the word ‘Kathputli’ was misplaced. As the question was asked in the context of Bihar there was some misunderstanding on this issue and that everything had been sorted out.

If reports are to be believed, the Commission is likely to set up a committee to decide how to deal with the question as a large number of candidates chose to answer this particular question though they had other options.