Day: August 12, 2019

HEAVY RAINS IN BAG FOR RANCHI, HAZARIBAGH, JAMUI FOR THE NEXT TWO TO THREE DAYS

Source: skymetweather.com

The weather over the eastern states of Bihar and Jharkhand was running consistently warm and humid with a cloudy sky. Though, scattered places have received light to moderate rains in the last 24 hours.

As on August 10, the state of Bihar is running rain deficit by 7%, while Jharkhand is rain deficient by 36%. Presently, a Cyclonic Circulation lies over northern parts of Bay of Bengal. An upper air Trough is extending from North Bihar to this system across Jharkhand. While, the eastern end of Axis of Monsoon Trough is also running across Central parts of Jharkhand.

This Cyclonic Circulation over North Bay of Bengal will be intensifying into a Low-Pressure Area during the next 24 to 36 hours and will be moving Northwestwards.

Under all these weather conditions, the rainfall over the states of Bihar and Jharkhand will increase during the next two to three days.

Hence, light to moderate rains are likely at many places over these states. Places like Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Jamui, etc may receive heavy showers. Though, Northeast parts of Bihar will experience light rains at scattered places.

There will be relief from the ongoing warm weather in the states as temperatures will be decreasing in the upcoming days as soon as the rains take over. Also, these rains will turn out useful for the ongoing paddy crops.

Vice President Naidu launches state DBT scheme for farmers in Jharkhand

Source: dailyexcelsior.com

RANCHI, Aug 10: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday launched the Jharkhand Government’s ‘Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana’ under which money would be directly transferred into the bank accounts of farmers in the state.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries having farm land of less than one acre to five acres, will get Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 in their bank accounts.
As soon as Naidu launched the scheme, money was transferred into the bank accounts of farmers, and some them showed their mobile phones with the money transfer message to the vice-president.

“I saw the happiness in the face of the farmers who showed me the message on their mobile phones. I congratulate the government and the farmers on the occasion,” Naidu said.

He said the Centre has taken a pledge to double the income of farmers by 2022 and in that endeavour, the government is continuously increasing minimum support price (MSP) for 23 farm produce.

Calling for conservation of rainwater in view of depletion of ground water, Naidu said conservation of rainwater should be made people’s movement and hoped that farmers would use traditional method to help conserve ground water.

Praising the Centre and the state government’s efforts in protecting the interests of “annadata” (food providers), Naidu stressed on the importance of developing village and recalled the efforts made by him when he was the Union Rural Development minister.

“You need to have a structural change in the agricultural sector, and it should be the top priority,” he said.

According to an official statement, under the Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana, approximately 35 lakh farmers will be benefited and by September/October and Rs 3,000 crore would be sent in the accounts of the beneficiaries.

The launching ceremony was also held in other 23 districts, apart from Ranchi.

Under the scheme, Rs 5,000 is given to those farmers having one acre or less agricultural land, Rs 10,000 to those having two acres, Rs 15,000 for having three acres, Rs 20,000 for having four acres and Rs 25,000 for having five acres of agricultural land. This is scheme apart from the benefits the farmers are getting under Centre’s PM-Kisan Yojana. (PTI)

Eid-el-Kabir: Buhari urges Muslims to avoid violent extremism

Source: pulse.ng

The President said extremism is giving Islam a wrong name. 

He said this on Saturday, August 10, 2019, while felicitating with muslims.

He said, “Islam is a religion of peace and we should avoid violent extremist ideas that give Islam a wrong name because our conduct leaves more lasting impressions than what we say by word of mouth.

“Violent extremism is the greatest challenge facing Islam today and the only way we can neutralise its evil influence is to distance ourselves from the activities and teachings of those who preach indiscriminate violence against innocent people. This flies in the face of the teachings of Islam.”

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, Buhari also advised parents to “protect their children from the deadly exposure to violent extremists who manipulate and exploit those children for their own evil agenda.’’

He also said that the extreme idea of Boko Haram became a major force because Muslim societies failed to act on time to stop the style of preaching by extremists.

He said, “Boko Haram became a deadly force and a major security scourge because Muslim societies were indifferent from the beginning to the activities of extremist preachers who manipulate innocent and gullible followers.”

He, however, assured Nigerians that his administration was working hard to bring an end to Boko Haram terrorism, kidnappings and banditry.

In Jharkhand, BJP poised to gain by default as Opposition is in disarray

Source: business-standard.com

From all appearances, the Jharkhand Assembly polls later this year look like a cinch for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). If the Lok Sabha election outcome is a hot lead — the National Democratic Alliance won 12 of the 14 seats and secured a vote share of 55.29 per cent— the BJP and its partners, the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), can stage an encore in this neck of the woods that seldom gives a winner an absolute majority in the legislature.

Jharkhand has an Opposition that a ruling party would dream of. In this case, the BJP and the AJSU (the LJP does not have a legislator) governed for five years after winning the 2014 elections with a bare majority. “It is the most conducive Opposition a party in power can hope for. Even if people search for an alternative, they can’t find one. The BJP gains by default,” a Ranchi-based veteran political observer said.

The BJP’s Jayant Sinha, Hazaribagh MP and a former central minister, remarked: “The Opposition alliance doesn’t have a leader, an ideology, a common minimum programme or the skills to work together. People saw through this hotchpotch combine.” The “combine” comprised the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) or JVMP, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Recent developments support the observations on the Opposition’s plight. Jharkhand Pradesh Congress chief Ajoy Kumar quit his post on Friday, accusing some colleagues of indulging in corrupt practices and promoting their own interests over the party’s and said “worst criminals look better” than them. A few days ago, Kumar was roughed up allegedly by allegiants of his rivals in the party, Subodh Kant Sahay, former Union minister, and Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu, Rajya Sabha MP.

The RJD split vertically, which gave birth to the RJD (Democratic), led by Gautam Sagar Rana. The JVMP, helmed by former BJP chief minister Babulal Marandi, suffered a setback after its MLA and Marandi lieutenant, Pradip Yadav, was jailed on an attempted rape charge. The JMM, the mainspring of the Opposition grouping, hit a rough patch after its patriarch Shibu Soren was defeated in the Dumka Lok Sabha seat, his fief, for a third time and his son and heir apparent, Hemant, led the coalition to a defeat in the last state polls.

With a spring in its step, the BJP encapsulated its target in the “Mission 65 plus” slogan, based on the fact that in the parliamentary polls, it led in 63 of the 81 Assembly constituencies. In 2014, the BJP and the AJSU together won 40 seats. Shivpujan Pathak, the BJP’s state media minder, claimed: “The ambience hasn’t changed. Our biggest achievement is we offered Jharkhand its first stable government lasting five years. Before 2014, there were instability and Maoist attacks. Under our government, there is inclusive development, fuelled by a double engine because we have a government at the Centre too.”

According to Sinha, the “double engine-driven growth” was a force multiplier in at least three sectors. Under the Ujjwala Yojana, a targeted scheme to provide cooking gas connections to BPL households, the Jharkhand government distributed free burners, with the first costless cylinder; it plans to hand a second cylinder shortly so that women do not revert to the “chulha” if the wait for a refill gets long and uncertain. Second, the Ayushman Bharat Health Protection scheme was universalised to cover any person having a ration card. “In effect, two-thirds of Jharkhand’s population are covered,” said Sinha. Third, the Rs 6,000 annual minimum income support to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was enhanced by the state government — additional Rs 5,000 per acre to farmer who owned less than an acre, not as a loan or an amount to be redeemed. The scheme was projected to benefit nearly 2.3 million small and marginal farmers who already received interest-free loans and a crop insurance cover.

However, even BJP sources conceded there were “challenges” to face and loopholes to plug. The Santhal Pargana region, accounting for 18 Assembly seats, is on the BJP’s radar because of concerns that tribal voters may turn to the JMM and the Congress for succour. “Our government is backward caste-driven,” a senior BJP leader said. Chief Minister Raghubar Das is from the backward caste Vaish community.

Memories of 2016 still anger tribals. That year, Das amended the Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts to permit the acquisition of tribal-owned land for “development”. These Acts proscribed the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal people and favoured community ownership. After huge protests, the government withdrew the amendments in 2017.

The BJP sought to assuage tribal people’s sentiments by resorting to symbolism. It kicked off 2019 with a 15-day campaign to collect soil from the villages of pre-Independence martyrs and build a statue of tribal legend Birsa Munda on the old jail campus in Ranchi. BJP President Amit Shah visited Munda’s village, Ulihatu, to felicitate his descendants.

Will the gestures help? A central leader’s answer was: “Jharkhand’s demography is diverse. The BJP has to portray itself as an inclusive entity and not a sectional one.”

Sri Lanka and Cambodia to promote Theravada Buddhism – President

Source: dailynews.lk

Sri Lanka and Cambodia should work together to spread the teachings of Theravada Buddhism throughout the world, President Maithripala Sirisena has said in Phnom Penh.

The President made these comments while attending a religious ceremony at Wat Langka Preah Kosomaram in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Saturday.

In order to achieve this objective measures will be taken to strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries, he added.

Accordingly, the establishment of a Sri Lankan Mission in Cambodia will be expedited and two consuls will be appointed for both the countries to coordinate the activities, President Sirisena further said.

Buddhism is the historical foundation of the relations between Sri Lanka and Cambodia and while strengthening economic and trade relations, our two countries should work in unison towards the noble mission of preserving Theravada Buddhism, the President said.

The King, Prime Minister and the government of Cambodia have already pledged their support for this endeavor and the process will be taken forward with the assistance of Maha Sanga of the two countries. Discussions on the expansion of investment and trade activities between Sri Lanka and Cambodia have been successfully concluded said the President adding that an invitation was extended to the Cambodian Prime Minister to visit Sri Lanka at the earliest opportunity.

The President also participated in the veneration of sacred relics brought to Cambodia at the request of the Chief Incumbent of Lanka Preah Kosomaram, the Most Venerable Samdech Preah Maha Ariyavamsa Dr. Sao Chanthol, who had requested the President for a sprout of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree and sacred relics of the Buddha to be venerated by the Cambodian people.

On the advice of the Most Venerable Omalpe Sobhitha Thero, steps were taken to bring sacred relics that reposed at the Sri Bodhiraja Dharmayathanaya temple in Embilipitiya and a sprout of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to Cambodia in coordination with the visit of the President.

The President observed religious rituals at Lanka Preah Kosomaram temple and paid floral tribute to the sacred relics. The Maha Sanga in Cambodia, the Deputy Prime Minister Samdech Chaufea Veang Kong Som OI and a large number of clergy and laity attended this event.

Crimes against women on the rise in Bihar, MLA says incidents can’t be brought to zero

Source: zeenews.india.com

Recent weeks have seen a spurt in the rate of crimes against women in the state of Bihar which has put the glaring spotlight on the police and political machinery here. While opposition parties have upped the pressure on the government, BJP MLA Arun Sinha said that such crimes can be reduced but cannot be eliminated completely.

The political uproar in Bihar comes in the backdrop of rise in crimes against women with three incidents in the recent past adding fuel to fire. In a state where the crime graph has been steadily on the rise, incidents against women too have been reported. In one incident, three men allegedly raped a minor girl and then tried to kill her in Chapra. While cops arrested two of the accused, the third managed to flee. The minor is in a critical condition at PMCH Hospital.

In a separate incident, the body of a 16-year-old girl was recovered in a mutilated condition in Nalanda’s Baellor village. Cops say that the head was beaten with bricks in an attempt to conceal the identity of the victim who may have been raped before she was killed.

In the third gruesome incident. a minor girl was kept inside a hotel room for four days and repeatedly raped in Muffasil district of the state.

These three incidents, in particular, have inflamed political tensions with Congress spokesperson Rajesh Rathore saying that girls and women are not safe under the government of CM Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi. “There are Nirbhaya-like incidents happening in Bihar everyday and the government is silent,” he said. RJD’s Mrityunjay Tiwari also echoed similar thoughts and said that the message of good governance is false.

In the government’s defence, JDU’s Rajeev Ranjan admitted that the recent crimes against women have been shocking. BJP’s Sinha, however, courted controversy while mounting a counter. “Such crimes can be brought down but cannot be eliminated completely,” he said. Sinha also appealed to people to come out and report such crimes.

There have been 605 rape cases which have been reported in Bihar between January and May of 2019. The maximum number of these have been in Patna – 41.

In 2018, 1475 cases of rape were reported across Bihar while 1195 cases in 2017 and 1008 cases were reported in 2016.

Bihar police drive to stop mob violence

Source: thehindu.com

The Bihar police have launched a massive drive on social media and are conducting awareness programmes appealing to people to stay away from mob violence which has taken eight lives in the past two-weeks, mostly in Patna district. Over two dozen cases have reportedly been triggered by rumours of child lifting in past one month.

On Saturday, a man was beaten to death by a violent mob in Mohammadpur village under the Naubatpur police station in Patna district. The lynching took place on rumour that the man was a child lifter.

“As many as 43 people have been named and 150 are unidentified in the FIR…we have arrested 23 of those involved in the incident,” the officer-in-charge of the Naubatpur police station, Samrat Deepak Kumar, said.

He added that the local police have been appealing to people, while making announcement on loudspeakers, not to believe in such rumours.

Earlier, on August 3, two such incidents of mob violence took place in Rupaspur and Dhanarua villages.

Alarmed with the rising trends of mob violence over child-lifting rumours, the police headquarters has instructed all district police superintendents to launch a drive against such incidents and make people aware through social media and public interaction not to believe rumours.

‘Don’t believe rumours’

Patna Senior Superintended of Police Garima Mallik held public meetings in different locations in the capital and appealed to the people not to fall prey to such rumours. The Patna District Magistrate, Kumar Ravi, too has expressed concern over such incidents and asked people to remain vigilant about such rumour mongering.

In most of the incidents, the victims have been from weaker section of society. Apart from Patna, such incidents of mob lynching have also been reported from Kaimur and East Champaran districts. In Patna district, incidents of mob lynching were mainly reported from Sadisopur, Neora, Maner, Rupaspur, Fatuha and Naubatpur.

“Special drives have been launched to sensitise people against such rumours…special patrolling of police personnel too have been initiated in such rumour-prone areas”, State Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey told media persons on Saturday.

In 2018 as many as 19 incidents of mob lynching were reported from the State while in 2017 and 2016 the number of such incidents were 13 and 7 respectively.

Mobile firm told to pay Rs 6,000 as compensation

Source: .tribuneindia.com

District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum president GK Dhir and its member Jyotsna Thathai has ordered a mobile company to repair the defective mobile of aggrieved consumer within 30 days without any charges.

The forum has also ordered Coolpad Communications Private Limited, New Mumbai, Maharashtra, and its authorised service centre Cell Tech India, Surya Arcade Complex, National Road, Bhai Chowk, Ludhiana, to pay Rs3,000 for mental pain, agony, harassment and Rs3,000 for litigation expenses to the aggrieved consumer.

The orders came on a complaint moved by Akshansh Chopra, Phase-1, Dugri, Ludhiana. The complainant submitted before the forum that he purchased a mobile Coolpad Note 3 Plus (Gold) in September 2016 for Rs8,999. There was a technical fault in the set, after which the father of complainant along with his friend Vijay Goyal, visited the registered service centre on March 23, 2017.

The complainant’s father gave the copy of the bill to Vaishali, the attendant on the desk. Thereafter, Vaishali disclosed that some charges have to be paid for the mobile and when the complainant’s father asked for the estimate, she demanded Rs50 for the preparation of the estimate itself.

It was alleged that the demand was illegal, being against the terms and conditions of the warranty. It was claimed that the mobile set became non-functional and the same was handed over to Hari Om Telecom for repair, who gave the report regarding the mobile set being dead on March 25, 2017.

The mobile company or its authroised centre did not help them. So, a legal notice was served, but in vain. After appreciating the evidence on record, the forum found that there was no expert opinion on record that the mobile phone was not repairable. So, it would be in the fitness to pass the order for the repair of the mobile.

No one appeared before the forum from the Mobile company or the authorised centre and they were proceeded ex-parte.

Ranchi cops rescue 10-year-old girl from sack

Source: telegraphindia.com

10-year-old homeless girl was dramatically rescued from a sack by Ranchi police near Albert Ekka Chowk on Sunday afternoon, with the youth carrying the gunny bag later confessing that he had kidnapped her with the intention to rape her.

Officer in-charge of Kotwali police station S.N. Mandal, under whom the area falls, said accused Sajan Ansari, of Nizam Nagar near Hindpiri, had drugged and kidnapped the girl in order to rape her.

Speaking to this paper, he said the girl was sitting on the roadside near Albert Ekka Chowk around 12.30pm with her maternal grandmother. The accused went up to them and offered them food mixed with intoxicants.

“Both the girl and the elderly woman fell unconscious. Ansari then put the girl in a big gunny bag and started walking away from the place. Some bystanders suspected he was carrying an animal in the sack. They raised an alarm and informed the police. We found the girl inside the sack,” said Mandal.

He added that the accused was booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping any person from lawful guardianship) and 370 (trafficking) of the IPC. The man was also forwarded to Birsa Munda Central Jail.

“During questioning, he confessed that he wanted to rape her and so he kidnapped her. He admitted he could have murdered her also after the rape,” said Mandal.

Mandal added Ansari’s criminal background, if any, was being investigated.

That a girl could be bundled into a sack in broad daylight from Albert Ekka Chowk could be an indicator of how vulnerable children are in the capital. Albert Ekka Chowk in the heart of the capital always remains crowded. But being a rainy Sunday, this afternoon happened to be a tad deserted.

Later, the girl was taken to the police station and given food and water. She said she was the eldest of the two daughters of her widowed mother and they used to live near Sujata Chowk in a slum. But, after their makeshift home collapsed, the family is homeless. She said she studied only up to Class I.

Asked about Ansari, she said she didn’t know who he was. “He came to us and gave us food. We were hungry so we had it. I want to go to my mother and sister. I don’t know where they are,” the little girl said.

Bokaro gets double boost for economy

Source: telegraphindia.com

nion minister of petroleum and natural gas and steel Dharmendra Pradhan and chief minister Raghubar Das on Sunday jointly laid the foundation stone of two projects worth Rs 350 crore of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) in Bokaro, including a Rs 100-crore LPG bottling plant and a Rs 250-crore petroleum, oils and lubricants (POL) depot, during an event held at the Library Ground here.

Pradhan also promised to expand Bokaro Steel and bridge the “distance” between the steel major and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the industrial district.

The LPG bottling project, to come up on 20 acres provided by Jharkhand government to BPCL in a plot of the Bokaro Industrial Area Development Authority at Balidih, would be completed by September 2020. The POL depot, to come up on 77.5 acres at Radhanagar is likely to be ready by 2022.

Jharkhand’s existing 101 LPG distributors currently get supplies from Durgapur and Patna LPG plants. Once the Balidih bottling plant is ready, these distributors and 53 more will get supplies from here.

Right now, there are three supply depots of BPCL in Jharkhand — Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

Pradhan said: “The two projects will generate employment for 1,000 people.” He also announced investments worth Rs 10,000 crore in Jharkhand for the near future.

Pradhan spoke about the expansion of Bokaro Steel in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to increase India’s steel production from the existing 108MT to 300MT by 2030. BSL at present has a capacity of 5.6MT. Pradhan said BSL’s expansion would be carried out on the lines of Jamshedpur (Tata Steel and Tata Motors).

On problems being faced by MSMEs in Bokaro, he said his ministry had taken note of the issue. “I assure you that Bokaro Steel will have to walk along with local industries. Our officials have made enquiries about the distance between BSL and local industries. Major industries like BSL will have to give preference to products of local industries for the area’s development,” he said.

The Telegraph on July 19 and again on August 10 this year had highlighted the problems faced by over 250 MSMEs in Bokaro.

CM Das said that apart from these two projects, 47 investors who had signed MoUs at the global investor summit in Ranchi in 2017 would “invest Rs 4,303 crore on different projects in Bokaro”. “These will provide jobs to more than 20,000 people soon.”

Das added that under PM Ujjwala Yojana, they would distribute second LPG cylinders to 43 lakh women of the state before September 30. Before that, 13 lakh more women will get their first LPG cylinder. At present, 30 lakh women in Jharkhand have one cylinder.