Month: July 2019

UPSC: Pattern change over the years

Source: telanganatoday.com

Sriram, an aspirant for the Civil Services who successfully qualified for selection to the Indian Police Service (IPS) by securing the 150th rank in the merit list, was shocked when he did not find his number in the list of qualified aspirants at the prelims in the following year. After having prepared for the examination for three years he had cleared all the hurdles and secured a position in the IPS. He had appeared at the examination again to improve his rank and join the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). However, he could not clear even the first hurdle.

There are many other aspirants who share the same feelings. The Civil Services examination is conducted in three stages i.e. Preliminary, Main and Interview. The Preliminary examination, which is the first stage, is an objective type paper with multiple choice questions.

Aspirants often underestimate the importance of the Preliminary, and qualifying in it is taken for granted. However, the sheer magnitude of the competition where only 11,000 candidates qualify out of the five lakh who appear indicates the nature of the Preliminary. Also with negative marking in place the difference between success and failure could be a mere 0.33 per cent.

The Preliminary was introduced to `keep non-serious aspirants out and reduce the number of aspirants to a manageable number’ on the recommendations of the Kothari Committee in 1979. When it was introduced, it comprised an optional paper for 300 marks and a General Studies paper for 150 marks. The Satish Chandra Committee of 1989, appointed to review the examination, upheld the pattern but recommended negative marking to reduce the ‘chance element’ negative marking was introduced in 2007. The Alagh Committee of 2000, suggested a revised format for the Preliminary with an optional paper for 300 marks and a CSAT paper for 200 marks. The Second Administrative Reforms committee recommended common papers at the Preliminary. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) appointed the Khanna Committee in 2009, which recommended a revised format of the Preliminary with two papers i.e. CSAT and General Studies Paper. This was implemented from 2011. This pattern of equal weightage to aptitude and general studies gave an unfair advantage to urban students and there were wide spread protests all over India mainly from the Hindi speaking areas.

The government responded to the protests by making the Aptitude paper which had questions on quantitative aptitude and English comprehension as a qualifying paper. Aspirants who had suffered due to the CSAT model were compensated by increasing the age limit and the number of attempts by two years. Also, all aspirants of the year 2011 were given another attempt.

With all these changes, the Preliminary today has two papers i.e. the General Studies paper with 100 questions from various areas and the aptitude paper with 80 questions. While an aspirant has to score minimum qualifying mark of 67/200 in the aptitude paper, his/her success is determined by the marks scored in the General Studies paper.

It is this change that has resulted in a lack of `cause’ and `effect’ relationship. The UPSC has the unenviable task of reducing the number of aspirants out of the marks scored in the General Studies paper which has only 100 questions. Towards this aim it has been making the questions as unpredictable as possible. Such an uncertain exam is grossly unfair and dampens the spirit of the aspirant.

The Preliminary has become a jealous gatekeeper and many prospective aspirants are likely to move away from the examination. Such an exam in the long run is going to affect the quality of administration. Students have been protesting in Delhi for the last five years and demanding compensation in the form of at least an extra attempt. One of the demands has been to change the format of preliminary to reduce the uncertainty.

From 1979 to 2010, there were no protests as the exam had a cause and effect relationship. If you work hard and you were sure you would pass the examination – The uncertainty began with the changes and has reached a peak after 2015.

The UPSC has realised that it is time to make changes. It is reported that the vision document released by UPSC has recommended to the government that the CSAT paper should be deleted from the scheme of examination.

While it is not known whether an alternative paper has been recommended, it would be ideal if another paper on General Studies is introduced with diverse areas and predictability with reference to the number of questions from each area.

This paper could also have 100 questions and could replace CSAT. This will lead to the much needed uncertainty reduction and encourage qualified and meritorious youth to choose a career in the Civil Services, instead of opting for the private sector.

Abki baar 65 paar: Jharkhand CM on forthcoming assembly elections

Source: indiatoday.in

Raghubar Das, who is on the verge of becoming the first chief minister to complete a five-year term in once politically-volatile Jharkhand, has set the BJP’s target for the assembly polls due later this year – “Abki baar 65 paar”.

In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP had won 42 of the 81 seats. The BJP and its allies clinched 12 of the 14 seats in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“Abki baar painsath (65) paar (This time we will cross 65 seats). There is not an iota of doubt in people giving an absolute mandate to us. We will win by a thumping majority as the message of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narenda Modi has percolated down to the masses,” Jharkhand Chief Minister Das told PTI in an interview.

“Due to the solid foundation of development works, a BJP worker remains ever ready for elections. Whether in Jharkhand or other parts in the country, people have seen and accepted the politics of development under Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

Claiming that the opposition ‘mahagathbandhan’ will come a cropper in the ensuing polls, Das said people of the state including the exploited, the downtrodden, the poor and the Dalits have seen development work and have “outrightly rejected the ‘power-hungry’ coalition formed with selfish ulterior motives”.

The ‘mahagathbandhan’ managed to bag just two Lok Sabha seats this year — JMM and Congress bagging one seat each — while the rest of the alliance Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) failed to win any.

“Jharkhand citizens have shown the mirror to ‘mahagathbandhan’ in the Lok Sabha elections. They were stumped by NDA’s politics of development. This time too they will be given a befitting reply,” Das said.

He is set to become the first ever chief minister of Jharkhand to complete a full-term after its bifurcation from Bihar on November 15, 2000.

“I have complete faith that the double engine government (at the Centre and state) has taken people to the path of development. Now development is reaching to villagers in far-flung areas. Basic necessities like electricity and water have reached inaccessible areas. Youths are getting employment,” he claimed.

Each sector whether infrastructure, agriculture, women empowerment or skill development among the youth, is progressing fast, he said.

Elaborating on the welfare schemes, Das said his government has launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Sukanya Yojna’ under which girls from 26 lakh poor families will be benefited.

He said girls belonging to families whose annual income is up to Rs 72,000 will benefit from the scheme six times since birth till they attain the age of 18.

Likewise he said, there are several schemes benefiting hundreds of the poor in the state, adding his government has coined a slogan for girls: “Pehle padhai, fir vidai” (Education first, marriage later).

“For the welfare of farmers, we have started ‘Mukhyamantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana’ where farmers with an acre of land will get Rs 5,000 and farmers having five acres will get Rs 25,000.

“There would be 35 lakh beneficiaries and the scheme will entail and expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore,” he said.

Jharkhand to pay Rs10-cr as ‘performance guarantee’ to anti-pollution body

Source: hindustantimes.com

Following the direction of National Green Tribual (NGT), the state government is set to pay Rs10 crore as performance guarantee to the central pollution control board (CPCB) with assurance of lowering down biochemical oxygen demand below 3mg/litre in seven rivers’ stretches in three years, officials said.

The NGT recently asked the state government to deposit the said amount to the central pollution board as performance guarantee so that the issue could be dealt with serious efforts in a time bound manner.

“Jharkhand is not alone. The performance guarantee was asked from all states having polluted river. The NGT has fixed the rate of guarantee on the basis of pollution level in rivers. Since Jharkhand has seven stretches of seven rivers, the state was asked to pay Rs 10 crore as performance guarantee,” said Jharkhand state pollution control board (JSPCB) chairman AK Rastogi. Rastogi, however, claims Jharkhand stands at four in the river pollution category, which means pollution level is less in rivers of the state.

The stretches of seven rivers Garga, Sankh, Subarnarekha, Damodaro, Jumar, Konar and Nalkari – would go under rejuvenation drive in next three years. The JSPCB has submitted its action plan to the CPCB suggesting ways to reduce pollution level in the stretches.

According to the action plan report, highest BOD level at 8.4mg/litre was found at 10-km stretch of Sankh river, while 6.2mg/litre was recorded at eight kilometre stretch of Garga river along Telmuchu. BOD level at 3.4mg/litre to 10mg/litre was found at 120-km stretch of Subarnarekha river, while 3.9mg/litre BOD found at on 12-km stretch of Damodar near Phusro, Bhandaridah and Dhanbad. Similarly, the BOD level from 3.3mg/litre to 3.8 mg/litre was found on stretches of Jumar, Konar and Nalkari. “We have been given three-year timeline to bring down the BOD level from the stretches below 3mg/litre,” said JSPCB member secretary Rajiv Lochan Bakshi.

Experts say BOD causes a serious threat to the aquatic life due to the depletion of dissolved oxygen. They blame large-scale mining operations in the state for river pollution.

A JSPCB official said about 130 million litres of industrial effluents and 65 million litres of untreated domestic water are released to Damodar drainage system.

The JSPCB suggested hordes of measures in its action plan to reduce the pollution in rivers.

The measures suggested for industries are setting up effluent treatment plants, adaption of zero liquid discharge concept by industries, tailing ponds management plans such as dewatering and drying, water recovery and re-use and discharge legislation compliance.

Pollution abatement measures at domestic source suggested under the action plan included sewerage systems to capture raw sewage flowing into the rivers though open drains and diverting them for treatment and setting up sewage treatment plants for treating diverted sewage.

Long road to zero power-cut dream in Jharkhand

Source: telegraphindia.com

Chief minister Raghubar Das’s zero power-cut dream by July 31 looks likely to come to nought.

Das during a review meeting on July 5 had asked Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (JBVNL) to ensure regular power supply across the state by July 31, which looks unlikely, given the slow pace of underground cabling work.

A reliable JVBNL source said only 400km had been covered so far against the targeted 1,000km for laying 33KV wires underground. In the case of laying 11KV wires, the situation is more dismal. Again, only 400km had been covered while the target is 5,000KV.

“Underground cabling under R-APDRP (restructured accelerated power development and report programme) which is being done in 30

cities including Ranchi, Bundu, Khunti and 27 others, is a must for zero power cuts, but work is slow on the ground and the onset of monsoon, like it or not, is hampering the speed,” the JVBNL source said.

General manager of JVBNL Sanjay Kumar said they were making every effort to quickly lay cables.

“After summer, power supply automatically becomes normal as load reduces. During summer, we get lower voltage power from the grid, now we are getting proper voltage. When power is supplied at proper voltage, heating of wires reduces and so does disconnection of power, unlike in summer,” GM Kumar said. Asked why power cuts are a daily occurrence in monsoon, GM Kumar blamed branches falling on overhead wires.

“During rainy season many time tree falls on the wire and thus power get disrupted. Though we cut branches leaning on wire, sometimes it happens,” GM Kumar said.

Asked whether it was possible to fulfil the chief minister’s dream of zero power cuts, GM Kumar said: “Zero power cut is an ideal situation. We can talk about power supply for more than 23 hours but as far as zero power cut is concerned it is not easy.”

Energy secretary Vandana Dadel, when contacted for her comments, said “work was being done as per the CM’s guidelines” but did not elaborate.

At a high-powered meeting attended by additional chief secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi, principal secretary to CM Sunil Kumar Barnwal, energy secretary Vandana Dadel, chief conservator of forests Sanjay Kumar, JBVNL Rahul Purwar and DCs of districts where transmission projects are on, CM Das on July 5 had expressed grave concerns about Jharkhand’s existing power scenario, including irregular power supply, undeclared power cuts and delays in completion of power transmission projects. He had asked officials to complete pending transmission projects fast.

“We have accepted the challenge and given power connection to all houses but are facing problem in supplying power 24/7. Now it is one of our top priorities,” Das had said, asking officials not to “get stuck in files” and dispose forest clearances for transmission projects.

He had asked officials not to cut power without prior information and rectify technical problems without delay.

Heavy Rainfall in Bihar; Rivers Pose Flood Threat to Many Districts

Source: weather.com

Ever since the monsoon swept the Bihar on June 22, the state has witnessed good rainfall. Bihar has received 333 mm of rainfall this season from June 1 to July 12— 9% more than normal for this time of the year. On Friday, the monsoon fury continued as many parts of the state were lashed with very heavy rainfall and thunderstorm.

The downpour is triggered by the monsoon trough—an extended region of low atmospheric pressure— that persists from east to west of Indo-Gangetic plain. This well-marked low-pressure has moved northwards since Thursday and a branch of it runs from northwest Bihar to northeast Bay of Bengal across Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal causing widespread rainfall throughout the region.

The Weather Channel met team has forecast the surface low-pressure to persist for the next 5 days leading to very heavy rain and thunderstorms across the region. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rains with extremely heavy falls at isolated places across Bihar. The very heavy rainfall is very likely to continue in the state till Monday.

Water levels in all major rivers of north Bihar are rising due to the incessant rainfall in Bihar and Nepal. The Times of India reported that the river Gandak poses a flood threat to Muzzafarnagar and Champaran. The sorrow of Bihar, Kosi river, as well as other rivers like Karcha and Bagmati, are also likely to swell due to heavy rains. The authorities have been monitoring the situation.

The 24-hour rainfall accumulation in Patna till Friday morning was 25 mm. The temperatures in the city stayed 2°C below normal between 25°C and 31°C. Generally cloudy sky with intermittent rain is forecast in Patna till next Tuesday. More rains are likely to follow in the next week. The 24-hour rainfall was very high at 152 mm in Farbesgang and 130 mm Chapra.

Gurugramwale: 87 years later, this snack corner is still going strong

Source: hindustantimes.com

It is good fortune to chance upon an old but thriving place, especially when it is tucked away in a hyperactive metropolis where everyone is so obsessed with the new that it becomes tough for establishments to survive for too long.

Bihari Bhujiya Wala is a landmark shop in Gurugram’s Sadar Bazaar that makes several salty and sweet savouries. These namkeens, bhujiyas, mathris and biscuits are available in various permutations and combinations of fried fritters, nuts, pulses and spices. The shop is like a huge warehouse crammed with snacks piled up into soaring mounds, like heaps of gold coins that you would imagine in the treasure cave in Ali Baba’s story. BBW, as the shop is referred to by locals, is one of the oldest surviving shops in the Millennium City. It was founded in 1932. “My grandfather Lala Bihari Lal established it,” says Raju Goyal, perched in a little air-conditioned glass-walled alcove tucked away in one corner of the store. Although it has only one outlet, the shop has the air of a professionally run retail chain. Expect no muggy claustrophobia of a typical bazaar store.

No flies, no filth; and the staff are looking smart in red shirts.

A clerk behind the counter talks of having more than 100 types of products. The claim seems believable.

There are two kinds of namak pare (plain, masala), two versions of tosha (cheeni, gur) three types of aloo bhujiya (pudina, mirchi, plain)… the list can fill up the entire page. Between us, you can have a filling breakfast just by tasting all the finger-food on sale. And don’t forget to take a sneak peek at the owner’s small cabin. It has the black-andwhite portrait of the late Lala Bihari Lal, BBW’s founder.

The shop is open daily from 9am to 9pm.

Bihar deaths: The Great Indian Survey Trick

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

Basic health and nutrition services — and not just more data — will help save children’s lives in Bihar

Every time there is a major calamity, look out for those in search of the dumb villain. In Maharashtra, state water resources minister Tanaji Sawant blames crabs for the recent breach in the Tiware Dam in Ratnagiri. In Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, fingers were pointed at the litchi when over 150 children died of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) last month.

Crabs can’t deny the charges; nor can litchis.

The exact causes of the neurological illness are still unclear but the litchi was not the sole culprit in the AES outbreak. Many other factors, notably a dysfunctional healthcare system, a creaky Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and extreme heat conspired against the undernourished children who had gorged on litchis fallen from trees and then gone to bed without a meal.

Almost half of Bihar’s children (48.3 per cent) are stunted or too short for their age, indicating that they have been undernourished for some time, according to the latest National Family Health Survey. A toxin in the litchi triggered reactions among children who were already malnourished, leading to hypoglycaemic encephalopathy.

Bihar has witnessed many outbreaks of AES. This time, a public interest litigation (PIL) suit by two advocates, Manohar Pratap and Sanpreet Singh Ajmani, has brought the matter to the Supreme Court (SC). Both the Centre and the Bihar government are defending themselves with masses of data and new proposals.

The Centre gave the SC a list of measures it would take to address the problem. This includes providing funds for a 100-bed paediatric intensive care unit in Muzaffarpur’s Sri Krishna Medical College.

In its affidavit, the Bihar government catalogued the steps it has taken to address the recurring AES problem in the state, and the proposed measures. It has commissioned a socioeconomic survey of the affected families in the AES-hit areas. It says this would help find a long-term solution to halt the disease.

But is more data — or yet another survey — Bihar’s pressing need?

“Credible data is certainly needed. But, currently, the biggest challenge is not the availability of data. There are already numerous government surveys as well as programme data such as Health Management Information System and others. The biggest challenge is in acting on the data,” says Sulakshana Nandi, national joint convener of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (Peoples’ Health Movement, India).

The elephant in the room, say Nandi and other health advocates, is the lack of commitment on the part of many state governments in improving healthcare governance and health provisioning in the public sector.

“For instance, a district official is not ignorant about the status of health facilities in the district, but to what extent are they acting on it, or are empowered to act on it? States with strong public health systems such as Kerala have managed to deal with such crises, while in those with a weak public health system, it is the poor and the most vulnerable who suffer the most,” Nandi adds.

Since 2012, a standard operating procedure (SOP) has been in place to deal with AES cases in the state. The SOP, revised last year, lists the steps to be taken — such as tap water sponging, correctly positioning the patient and infusion of adequate glucose — at various levels to manage AES.

The government says in its affidavit that 6,656 copies of a booklet have been distributed to medical college hospitals, district hospitals and primary health centres to spread awareness on AES, and a soft copy of the SOP has been uploaded on the web page of the state health department.

It also points out that of the 12,206 sanctioned posts for medical doctors in the state, including contractual ones, only 5,205, or 43 per cent, are filled. There is also an acute shortage of nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives and laboratory technicians.

The state government says that it has provided gadgets such as infantometers (height-measuring device) and weighing scales to frontline workers to monitor children. Smartphones have been provided for data transmission.

But of the 1,14,718 anganwadi (childcare) centres that are sanctioned, only 99,795 are functional, according to the Bihar government affidavit. ICDS, a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by state governments and union territories, covers anganwadi services. It has the potential to be a nutrition/food safety net for poor families.

But “ICDS is failing the poorest quintile. Our diagnosis is that this is largely because many of the poorest mothers and children in India live in states such as Bihar where ICDS is in particularly poor shape. Despite improvements over time, in 2016, just about 40 per cent of Bihar’s children had received ICDS services,” says Purnima Menon, senior research fellow at the global think tank, International Food Policy Research Institute.

Menon believes the POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission), launched last year, has a huge role to play here. “What is urgently needed is that the national efforts around POSHAN Abhiyaan push hard for Bihar to get the basics right in the context of their ICDS services — infrastructure, human resources, provision of food, other ICDS programme services — to all target beneficiaries,” she says. “If the basics are working, then the programme can do more in a crisis period. But if the basics are not in place, it’s going to be very difficult to respond in a crisis.”

Amazing facts about Ranchi’s technology assertiveness and needs in various domains

Source: crn.in

Jharkhand, one of India’s newest states, emerged from the Southern portion of Bihar in the year 2000. Although new, Jharkhand is one of the states which is prospering and has avenues for more progress. Its capital city Ranchi is a knowledge hub of Eastern India and is ever-evolving. CRN India, with its Explore Bharat initiative, finds out the technology requirement in the city.

The Ranchi IT market is driven by around 80-100 channel partners.

“There is a big push for technology adoption from the government. A major project in the city is that where all the street lights have a centralised server that can be controlled from one location. Also, the public distribution system – also called Ration Distribution System – is being digitised as it is linked with Aadhaar, to stop fraudulent distribution of commodities. This practice enables transparency by automating the ration shops,” says Shyam Anurag, Proprietor, Shree Shyam Infotech.

The manufacturing vertical is also embracing technology for its growth. Investments in digital technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics among others, is being highly considered in manufacturing and other sectors. “The Ranchi market is ripe for technology enablement. Several projects are happening in several verticals including the government and corporate space,” says Naveen Kumar, Director, Peripherals Engineers.

“Technology is the requirement of the hour and it has rightly engulfed almost all verticals which include the police department, schools, healthcare, hospitality, etc,” says Sushil Kumar, Past President, Jharkhand Computer Traders Association (JCTA).

Breaking down the technology requirement, Sushil Kumar informs, “In schools, we can see CCTV being installed and there are computers and projectors for students. There are data centers coming up for smart cities. Additionally, when the health department enabled calling facility to number 108 for free ambulance, this brought about the need for data centers. Also, when the police department enabled emergency calling numbers, 100 and 112, data center is what they needed.”

Sushil Kumar further informs that two to three hospitals are coming up in Jharkhand for which the IT budget is about Rs 100 crores. Also, tenders are being floated for five to six star hotels in the state. Thus, when hotels and resorts come up, even the basic IT requirements like Wi-Fi and security will bring a lot of traction for storage.

The IT channel partners in the city reveal that there is still not much awareness about the benefits of cloud and they are not sure about its RoI. There is, however, a high demand from several establishments for small servers in Ranchi.

Bihar constrained by low per capita income, needs special status: Nitish

Source: thehindu.com

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on July 12 told the assembly that his government felt hamstrung when it came to hiking the amount paid to beneficiaries of welfare schemes, a reason why he has been pressing for the special category status.

Mr. Kumar also insisted that the State’s per capita income was “significantly lower” than the national average.

“You talk about Haryana and Tamil Nadu. While comparing the amount paid (to beneficiaries of social welfare schemes) there, please also look at their per capita income vis–vis ours,” he said.

“As a matter of fact, Bihar’s per capita income stands at less than Rs 40,000, which is significantly lower than the national average. This is the primary reason why we seek special status,” Mr. Kumar added, while responding to a calling attention motion introduced by a host of opposition leaders, including veteran Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui.

The motion had sought to draw the government’s attention towards the fact that the amount paid under welfare schemes in Bihar was far less than that doled out by the states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

For a pension scheme, the amount paid to beneficiaries in the state stood at ₹400 per month, while in Tamil Nadu and Telangana it was ₹1000, in Haryana it was ₹1800 and in Andhra Pradesh ₹2000, it said.

Demand for special status for Bihar arose with the creation of Jharkhand in 2000, which deprived the state of its mineral-rich, relatively more industrialized and urbanized southern districts.

It grew stronger in 2005 with ascendance to power of Mr. Kumar, who has often made the “special status’ issue a poll plank. After the 14th Finance Commission did away with the provision, the Chief Minister has, on many occasions, urged the Centre to make necessary amendments so that Bihar could get its due.

“You (Siddiqui) have served as the state finance minister. I wish you had taken our financial situation into account before raising your question. You are comparing Bihar with states where the per capita income is higher than the national average,” Mr. Kumar said, turning towards the RJD leader.

“Moreover, please do keep in mind that Bihar is the first state in the country to have introduced its own universal pension scheme – Mukhyamantri Vriddhajan Pension Yojana,” he added.

Unlike other programmes, the pension scheme does not exclude those above the poverty line, he asserted.

“All men and women, not drawing any other pension, shall be eligible to receive the benefit. This would put an annual burden of Rs 1800 crore and even though we need funds for development works, we are committed to implementing the scheme,” Mr. Kumar said.

Talking to reporters outside the assembly, Mr. Siddiqui, however, appeared dissatisfied with the CM’s reply.

“I am glad that the chief minister took seriously the issue raised by me. But his emphasis on the state’s financial situation leaves the basic question raised in our motion unanswered. The state’s budget this year stood at about Rs 2.05 lakh crore. This is a significant rise in comparison with what the size of budget was a few years ago,” he claimed.

“There has not been a commensurate rise in the welfare benefits being extended to the vulnerable sections of the society. So, we had sought to know whether these matters were not high on the government’s list of priorities,” Mr. Siddiqui added.

Weather plays truant in Bihar: Rain or shine it’s Sec 144 Weather plays truant in Bihar: Rain or shine it’s Sec 144

Source: indiatoday.in

t was only one month ago that the administration was forced to impose Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in many parts of Bihar including Gaya, Begusarai and Darbhanga. The reason, as you may think, was not violence or a security threat. The restriction was imposed due to the heatwave. Now a month later, the administration has imposed Section 144 again – this time in Motihari, due to heavy rains.

The prohibitory orders were imposed on Friday. The administration has also asked all the schools to remain shut for two days. This is the first time that Section 144 has been imposed because of rain.

Earlier in June, Section 144 was imposed in six districts of the state — Gaya, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Madhubani and Sitamarhi. People were ordered not to step out of their houses between 11 am to 4 pm. The severe heatwave had claimed over 100 lives in Bihar in one month.

Monsoon has hit several states and India received 28 per cent more rainfall than the 50-year average in the week to July 10, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed. Parts of northern and eastern India received heavy showers, while in the northeastern state of Assam three persons were killed in rain and flood-related incidents and over 2 lakh people across 11 districts have been affected by the deluge.

Incessant rainfall for the past five days has triggered flash floods and landslides in several places in Meghalaya, causing damage to infrastructure and crippling normal life. Heavy rains had also slowed down Mumbai city.

Meanwhile, New Delhi had overcast conditions and the weather department has predicted only very light rains during the next two to three days.

The India Meteorological Department has said the states such as Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar are likely to witness heavy rainfall on Friday.