Day: October 14, 2019

Angry With Waterlogging in Patna after Heavy Rain, People Surround Deputy CM Sushil Modi’s House

Source: news18.com

Patna: Irked over the problems of waterlogging and accumulation of trash in some areas of the city, a group of people on Sunday gheraoed Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi’s residence here.

The state capital was pounded by heavy rain late last month leading to waterlogging in areas such as Rajendra Nagar, Kankar Bagh and Pataliputra Colony. Even after a fortnight, water has not fully receded in some low-lying localities and garbage has not been cleared in some pockets.

“Around 50-60 people took out a march to Sushil Modi’s house (in Rajendra Nagar area) and returned after some time,” said City Superintendent of Police (Central) Vinay Tiwari.

On September 30, Modi and his family members were rescued by an SDRF team from his flooded residence in Rajendra Nagar. However, they returned later to the house.

The BJP leader, however, was not present during the protest, official sources said adding that security has been beefed up at Modi’s residence. Modi could not be contacted for his comment despite several attempts.

Angry people, carrying placards, shouted anti-Modi slogans and demanded action against officials who failed to flush out water fully in Rajendra Nagar area, making their lives difficult.

“He (Modi) left us in the lurch and fled to a safe place,” one of the protesters said.

A heap of garbage has piled up in the area and it has become quite difficult to live, another protester said. Another demanded an enquiry by Enforcement Directorate and CBI into the assets of all local BJP MLAs and ward councillors. They were also seeking compensation for the damage done to their properties in three days of incessant rain.

After demonstrating there for around 30 minutes, they reached the Patna Municipal Corporation office and protested there.

The state capital was pounded by 342.5 millimetres of rainfall between September 27 and 30, as against the state average of 255 millimetres.

Another group of people also blocked Bailey Road near Saguna More and burnt tyres to protest against the continued waterlogging in some areas. They also shouted anti-government slogans.

“Local people had blocked Bailey road near Saguna More at around 8 am for around half-an-hour. We got the blockade lifted after pacifying them,” a police officer said.

2013 Bihar Blasts Suspect “Chemical Ali”, Of Banned Group SIMI, Arrested

Source: ndtv.com

RAIPUR: 

Suspected SIMI operative Azharuddin alias Azhar alias Chemical Ali, wanted in connection with the 2013 Bodhgaya and Patna bomb blasts, was arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police from Hyderabad airport after he landed from Saudi Arabia, an officer said on Saturday.

Ali (32), a native of Raipur, has been wanted since the last six years after he was named as an accused in connection with the Bihar blasts, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arif Sheikh told reporters.

“Acting on a specific input, he was arrested by a joint team of Chhattisgarh Police and its Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) wing from Hyderabad airport on Friday after he landed (in a flight) from Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Ali is suspected to have given shelter to terrorists involved in the Bodhgaya and Patna blasts.

“In December 2013, Raipur Police had busted a module of the banned outfit (Students Islamic Movement of India) in the state capital and over a period of time arrested 17 people, including SIMI sleeper cell head Umer Siddiqui, in connection with the Bodhgaya and Patna blasts,” the SSP said.

Another accused, identified as Azhar (believed to be Ali), who had allegedly given shelter to terrorists involved in theses blasts, had managed to give police a slip and subsequently fled the country, he said.

“After getting information that Azhar alias Ali had moved to Saudi Arabia on a fake passport and has been working there as a driver cum assistant at a super market, the state police were keeping an eye on him,” the officer revealed.

A special team of police and ATS personnel was constituted after they received input on Ali’s arrival at Hyderabad airport where he was arrested.

A passport, two driving licenses, a boarding pass and a voter ID card were recovered from Ali, he said.

Ali will be produced in local court, the SSP said, adding that police will seek a two-day remand for Ali.

“Ali’s interrogation is likely to reveal crucial details like if he had had any support base in Hyderabad,” the police officer added.

The world-renowned Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya was rocked by a series of blasts on July 7, 2013. Though there were no casualties, several people, including some monks, were injured.

Five Indian Mujahideen (IM) militants, convicted by a special NIA court in the 2013 Bodh Gaya blasts case, were sentenced to life imprisonment by an NIA court in 2018.

Chakardharpur to become new district by February: Jharkhand CM

Source: avenuemail.in

Jamshedpur, Oct. 13: During his whirlwind tour to different parts of Kolhan, Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Sunday promised to make Chakardharpur a different district by February, 2020. Addressing the Kolhan leg of Johar Jan Ashirwad Yatra at Chakardharpur, Das said that if voted to power the State Government will carve Charkardharpur as the new district.

Taking a dig at the regional parties, Das said that Jharkhand could not become a separate state in 1993 because of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. It was the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who kept the promise made to Jharkhand and gave a separate statehood status. “Keeping this in mind, I promise that voted to power Chakardharpur will be made a separate district by February 2020.

Targeting the Soren family, Das said that guruji and his son has served as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister but they worked to sell Kolhan’s mineral wealth to other states and countries. They did nothing for the development of the State.

Addressing a public meeting at Goilkera, Raghubar Das said that JMM has forgotten the martyrs. BJP has worked to honour the sons of the soil.

Das announced that on the demand of youths Goilkera-Gudri road will be constructed. For 14 years, development was disrupted in the State due to political instability. But after 2014 there has been a stable and strong government.

Das said that his Government has brought the State on the path of development during his five tenure of Chief Minister of Jharkhand. He went on to add that the people of Jharkhand will vote on the basis of his performance and he is confident to win in the elections.

The Chief Minister noted that the party’s vision is making Jharkhand a developed state. “We are promoting agriculture and industry together. We want to build basic infrastructure in the state apart from improved health-care facilities,” said Das.

The Chief Minister said that the state was making steady progress in making it one of the vibrant states in the field of industrial development. “Jharkhand government has framed policies to provide technical education and skill development. We have to just ensure that these policies are implemented. The need is to bridge the skill gap between the industry and the skill provider,” he said.

“We will ensure that mineral-abundant Jharkhand develops as number one state of the country,” he said. Das said the government is working efficiently in bringing speedy development, providing basic amenities and improving policing. He also said that ensuring corruption free governance has been his foremost priority.

Coach blames Jharkhand’s poor show on inexperience

Source: telegraphindia.com

he stellar 6.16m long jump by Priyanka Kerketta on Saturday proved to be Jharkhand’s lone medal, as the four-day 59th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi wrapped up on Sunday with Railways as overall champs.

Jharkhand state coach for the national games, Arvind Kumar, blamed the age of the Jharkhand contingent for the poor show. “Of the 24-member team, 22 athletes were in the Under-19 category. The team lacked the experience that their counterparts from other states had,” he told this paper from the venue.

Congratulating Priyanka, the 21-year-old Mandar girl, he said Jharkhand could have won another medal had ace 100m hurdle Sapna Kumari not suffered an injury.

But, the national meet had action aplenty on its last day. As on Friday, Sunday belonged to Odisha’s star sprinter Dutee Chand. Dutee, 23, who created a new national 100m sprint record at 11.22 seconds on Friday, was in her element on Sunday in the 200m sprint. She stormed to the finish at 23.17 seconds, leaving behind Archana Suseendran of Tamil Nadu and Chandralekha Anandhan of the Railways.

Abhinav Panwar of Delhi raced to gold in the men’s 200m (21.37 seconds), ahead of Karre Ashok from Services and M. Manikanda Arumugam M. of the Railways.

Chitra Palakeez Unnikrish of Railways grabbed the women’s 800m gold by breasting the tape in 2.04.59 seconds, breezing past teammate Shipra Sarkar and Pramila Yadav of Uttar Pradesh. Among men, Md Afzal P. of Services clocked 1:50.88 seconds in the 800m race to win it over teammate Ankesh Chaudhary and Tamil Nadu’s Mujamil Ameet.

Rekha Singh of Delhi topped the women’s hammer throw with a 56.38m hurl, as did Taranveer Singh Bains of Services in men’s with a 68.49m hurl. Women’s high jump saw Rubina Yadav of the Railways leap 1.76m. In the men’s long jump, Sreeshankar M. of Kerala won gold with a 7.93m leap.

‘Happy and proud’: R Praggnanandhaa’s sister Vaishali says he deserved to win gold in Chess Championship

source: dnaindia.com

After the 14-year-old R Praggnanandhaa won gold in the under-18 open category in the World Youth Chess Championship, his sister Vaishali said the whole family is ‘happy and proud’ of her brother’s achievement.

“We are very happy and proud. I saw the video. It was very emotional, we felt very happy. It was all his hard work. He deserves it,” Vaishali told ANI.

Praggnanandhaa achieved the feat in Mumbai on Saturday. He scored an impressive and unbeaten 9/11 and he ended with a performance rating over 2700.

Praggnanandhaa also got praised by Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.

“Congrats!! Very proud of you!! In our next session in Chennai, you have some nice games to show me !!” Viswanathan Anand tweeted.

Vaishali said it was a ‘really nice’ gesture of Anand as she said: “It was really nice of him. He tweeted about his achievement and it was very nice.”

Vaishali further stated that she is lucky to have a brother like Praggnanandhaa.

“He is 14-year-old and has won the U-18 world championship, it is really great. I am really lucky to have him as a brother,” she said.

Nudge to get IIT seal on Ranchi’s Kantatoli flyover

Source: telegraphindia.com

he state urban development department will seek the cabinet’s approval to engage IIT-Bombay for vetting the Kantatoli flyover project and sanction Rs 17 lakh as fee to the tech institute.

The project is being undertaken by Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Juidco).

In 2016, the state government had directed the department to get the project vetted by an IIT, but it could not be done because the original design of the flyover was changed several times.

“The project has been approved by the Central Design Organisation. However, we want to remain on the safe side by removing flaws in the design and construction, if there are any, by getting the project audited by a third party. As the design and layout of the project was changed several times, it was not possible to hire any agency to vet the project till we have a final design,” a Juidco official said.

Originally, the total length of the flyover was around 900 metres. Later, the layout was changed and the length of the flyover was revised to 1,250 metres.

Secretary of urban development department Ajoy Kumar Singh said: “We had sought quotations from IITs. IIT-Bombay quoted Rs 17 lakh as vetting fee. Now this matter will be taken up with the

cabinet for approval so that the fund is allocated and the tech institute is roped in on nomination basis.”

Cost escalation is another issue that has impeded the execution of the project, which is going on at a tardy pace.

Initially, the project cost was estimated at Rs 192 crore. Currently, it stands at Rs 257 crore.

In August, the urban development department moved a proposal seeking the finance department’s approval for the revised budget.The estimate committee of finance department examined the proposal and forwarded it to empowered committee.

The empowered panel formed a committee headed by an official of the rank of engineer-in-chief of road construction department.

“That committee has given its report, which we are going to place before the finance department. I am hopeful that the entire process will be completed soon. After that, the proposal will be placed before the cabinet for its approval,” Singh said.

Murshidabad triple murder: Protest held by members of various Hindu outfits in Ranchi

Source: indiatoday.in

Various members of Hindu organisations, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), protested in Ranchi, Jharkhand on Sunday against the triple murder of a family in Murshidabad.

According to sources, at least 100 people joined the protest to show solidarity to the RS-associated family that was allegedly murdered in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on October 10.

The agitators recreated the murder scene by performing a play, said sources.

The state police found the bodies of Bondhu Gopal Pal, a 35-year-old primary school teacher, his wife beauty, and, son which were found lying in a pool of blood at their residence in Jiaganj area of Murshidabad.

The incident came to light after the neighbours did not see the family members at the Vijayadashami celebrations in the area.

Videos and graphic photos the dead family members did rounds on social media platforms too.

The triple Murshidabad case invoked sharp reactions against Kolkata police and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Farmers from Bengal reap Jharkhand Durga Puja harvest

Source: telegraphindia.com

Deepak Jana belongs to a family of farmers in Contai of Bengal’s East Midnapore district but he is more interested in working as a pandal decorator because it pays the 30-year-old more than what he earns from farming and also gives him the pleasure of being an ace craftsman.

Most artisans from East and West Midnapore earn Rs 300 to Rs 400 per eight hours of work in giving shape to Durga Puja pandals in Jamshedpur and other parts of Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar. More than 2,000 workers from the two Bengal districts come to the steel city during the festive season.

According to members of Jamshedpur Durga Puja Kendriya Samiti, there are about 50 big-budget Puja committees known for spending huge amounts on pandal decoration. In the steel city, almost all high-budget, well-known pandals are made by Midnapore-based tent houses and decorators; most of them are farmers who swap their profession in search of creative satisfaction and some quick money in the festive season. Competition among the committees has led for demand for the best decorators from the twin districts, considered hubs of decorators in general and pandal makers in particular.

“Most of the workers who come work under contractors are farmers,” said Deepak, who has done the pandal for Central Sarbajanin Durga Puja in Sonari as a part of Basanti Decorators from Contai. “My family grows vegetables and pulses in Contai but I travel for pandal making because it is good money and also I love the creative part. Once the deal is finalised between the puja committee and the decorator, they hire us for the work. I went to Odisha last year. I think what committees like is the skill that we possess but that comes with practice.”

Sabyasachi Jana, the concept designer of Parbati Decorators from Mecheda, East Midnapore, is the lead designer of the Durga Puja of the Jairam Youth Sporting Club in Adityapur that has this year showcased how manmade pollution is the cause of humankind’s own devastation. The Telegraph had reported on Friday how the pandal has attracted eyeballs and criticism in equal measure because it is made up of a million plastic bags.

“We have over 1,200 tent houses in East Midnapore only who are always busy in work across the eastern part of the country,” Sabyasachi said. “Most of the workers are farmers but due to low income, a huge number of people have turned to this profession which makes you skilled and gives you easy money in a couple of months.”

Most pandal decorators have teams that include masons, carpenters, electricians and painters to take care of various facets of pandal making such as building the structure, covering it with cloth, artwork, painting, and lighting. Most pandal makers are self-taught or learn the skills by working as apprentices for others.

But why not Jharkhand-based decorators?

“There are a couple of reasons,” said Arun Singh, secretary of Jamshedpur Durga Puja Kendriya Samiti. “First, you don’t find craftsmen of that calibre in Jharkhand. Second, we have found a lack of professionalism here and thus committees have to depend on an alternative way which is better even if it is some times expensive. This is not just the case of decorators but also with dhakis who come from Bengal.”

There is some work that does go to local decorators. For instance, the Utkal Durga Puja Committee in Kadma, which has India’s Moon mission as its theme, divided the work between a local decorator and one from Contai.

“The primary ply work was done by 20 craftsmen from Contai because they are the ones who can do it best,” said Siphon Mohanty, vice president of Utkal Durga Puja Committee, Kadma. “They are skilled and are known for their work. It is not only Jamshedpur but these decorators from Midnapore cater to the entire Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha too. Some even go to Calcutta because of their work.”