Category: Jharkhand

BJP kicks off preparations for Jharkhand Assembly polls

Source: newsd.in

Ranchi, July 29 (IANS) Speculations are rife that Jharkhand polls, due early 2020, may take place along with Haryana and Maharashtra by the end of the year. The ruling BJP has not officially said anything but has begun its preparations, ensuring benefits of schemes reach people and launching a membership drive.

The tenure of Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies are ending on November 2 and 11, respectively and that of Jharkhand on January 5, 2020. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP favouring simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, the party may set an example by holding Assembly polls together.

The party, however, says that no decision has been taken on holding Assembly polls, along with the two other states. “There is no information of advancing the Assembly poll in the state,” BJP leader Ravi Bhatt told IANS.

Asked about the timing of polls, state BJP spokesman Shivapujan Pathak told IANS that the “party has started poll preparations. It is up to the party’s central leaders to decide whether polls will be held on schedule time or advanced”.

“Our membership drive is going at large scale…. We have set target of 25 lakh new members in the state,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raghubar Das has swung into action, with the state government fixing September 30 for distributing free gas cylinders to the remaining 14 lakh families.

Jharkhand, which has already distributed free gas cylinders to 29 lakh families, has also announced to refill the cylinder at free of cost.

The state is focusing to cover all its people under the Ayushman Bharat and other social schemes.

The Chief Minister has directed the officials to complete major state and centre sponsored schemes by August 31 and September 30, respectively.

Government sources also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to make two to three visits to the state in August and September to launch agriculture-related schemes and inaugurate the multi-modal terminal on the Ganga in Sahebganj district.

On the International Day of Yoga, Modi had chosen Ranchi to attend the programme, which was attended by more than 35,000 people.

The BJP is enthused by the Lok Sabha poll outcome, where it won 12 of the state’s 14 Lok Sabha seats, defeating the grand alliance of the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. While the Congress and the JMM managed to win one seat each, JMM President and former Chief Minister Shibu Soren lost his traditional Dumka seat.

Meanwhile, the membership drive is carried out on an intensive level, especially among the rural areas. BJP Working President J.P. Nadda had also recently visited the state to participate in membership drive campaign and discuss poll preparations with local leaders.

BJP national Vice President Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is in charge of the membership campaign in Jharkhand, has also visited the state twice.

Even, the opposition parties have started their poll preparations. Not deterred by the Lok Sabha defeat, the grand alliance is again gearing to fight the Assembly polls together.

“We are ready to face the Assembly poll. Let BJP manipulate the poll dates. The assembly poll will be different from Lok Sabha. In the 2014 Assembly polls, despite the ‘Modi magic’ and the divided opposition, the BJP did not get a majority on its own,” JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told IANS.

The BJP had won 37 seats in the 81-member Assembly and came to power with the help of ally, the All Jharkhand Students Union.

Amit Khare: Doordarshan to be used for promotion of Jharkhand tourism

Source: ddinews.gov.in

The Central Government has hastened the process to make Jharkhand a national tourist place. In this regard, Ministry of Information & broadcasting, Secretary, Amit Khare met officials in Chatra, Jharkhand and also reviewed the plans.

Religious tourist destinations of Chatra will be connected to Sanatan, Jain and Buddhist circuits to make people in and around the country aware about it.

Temple of Bhadrakali in Chatra is the centre of faith for people across the country. Central government is trying to bring Bhadrakali temple in the forefront of tourism.

Ministry of Information Secretary Amit Khare inspected the process of renovation at the temple which will cost 500 crore rupees.

Amit Khare said that government will use the medium of Doordarshan to create awareness and also promote the religious tourist destinations of Jharkhand.

The steps taken by central govt in this respect, will not only boost tourism but also generate employment opportunities in the state.

On his one day visit to Chatra, Ministry of Information & broadcasting, Secretary Amit Khare also offered prayers at the Bhadrakali temple with District Deputy Commissioner and other officers.

Jharkhand: Farmer ‘kills self’, family blames govt dues

Source: indianexpress.com

A 40-year-old farmer from Jharkhand has allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well he got constructed under the Mahatma National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) after government authorities did not clear dues for building materials.

The incident took place in Patratu village of Chanho block in Ranchi. Family members of Lakhan Mahato said he got a dug well constructed in 2018 on his farmland at a cost of Rs 3.54 lakh. Lakhan, they said, received around Rs 2 lakh from the government and paid the rest of the amount from his own pocket. Despite several trips to the block office, he had failed to get the dues cleared and was in stress, said his family members.

Ranchi SP (Rural) Ashutosh Shekhar said, “It appears to be a case of suicide. We are waiting for the post-mortem report for more details. There does not seem to be any foul play.” Block Development Officer Santosh Kumar said, “The death seems like an accident as he was an alcoholic. Why would he commit suicide? He also had money in his account and enough means to sustain himself. The post-mortem report may help in knowing the cause of death.”

Kumar added, “Lakhan got his work done recently and the voucher was submitted only on July 25. So there is no question of not paying him money.”

The NREGA website shows as pending the material cost of cement and bricks to the tune of Rs 1.22 lakh which Lakhan paid.

Lakhan’s family members said the well was constructed last year and only the parapet was raised recently. His wife, Bimla Devi, 35, said Lakhan had taken loans ranging from Rs 30,000-50,000 from relatives for the construction of the well and remained worried about the repayment.

“On Friday morning, he woke up and left for his field. When he did not return till evening, we started looking for him. I was worried because he had been tense about the debt.”

On Saturday morning, she said, somebody found Lakhan’s belongings floating in the well and raised an alarm. “His body was found and pulled out. He died in the same well which he got constructed for irrigation. Authorities are terming his death an accident, which is completely false. I don’t know what was going on in his mind that he took such an extreme step,” she said. Bimla Devi said her husband did not have enmity with anyone in the village.

Lakhan’s 80-year-old mother said, “Who will take care of our family now…I don’t even receive my widow pension despite my son going to the block office several times to get the issue resolved…”

Lakhan’s 17-year-old son Suraj said that since the past one month, his father had made “at least 15 trips” to the block office. Birbal Mahato, a relative from whom Lakhan had borrowed money, said, “He had taken Rs 30,000 from me. I never pressured him to repay, but he remained tense over the repayment.”

Three other villagers, Bhim Yadav, Raju Mahato and Subham Mahato are among those who got their dug wells constructed. They said that they had taken loans from friends, under the Kisan Credit Card and sold their buffaloes to arrange for the money. “We haven’t been paid Rs 1.5 lakh each since the past one year,” they said.

BDO Kumar said that there has been a backlog of payment in the district as well as the state. “Ideally, a person should not pay from his own pocket, but due to lack of funds, payment for materials were delayed to the vendors. So, many people used money from their own pocket.”

Government nod for 30 bed ESIC hospital in Bokaro

Source: dailypioneer.com

Bokaro will soon get an Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital which will offer medicine at subsidised rates and provide out-patient and in-patient facilities at a nominal cost.

Establishment of an ESIC Hospital at Bokaro was a much awaited demand of the locals. Jharkhand Government has finally given its nod to erect the 30-bed hospital, the tender for which will be floated soon, informed an official.

“Over 70,000 workers and their families are associated with ESIC at Bokaro and they are not being able to avail the health benefits under the scheme as ESIC does not have its own hospital at Bokaro,” said SK Verma President of BMS.

“The move may help decongest private and government hospitals in the district. It will also reduce healthcare cost for millions by easing dependence on private-run medical facilities,” he said.

The Government has taken this decision on the initiative of Bermo MLA Yogeshwar Mahato Batul, who raised the issue in state assembly, claimed Ranjan Mahato an MLA supporter and party worker.

Meanwhile, run by labour ministry ESIC has over 150 hospitals and 1,500 dispensaries across the country which are catering to the healthcare need of industrial workers (who are subscribers of the corporation), said an official requesting anonymity.

The hospital will provide the out-patient facility to common people at just Rs 10 per visit, for in-patient treatment, it will charge one-fourth of what CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme) hospitals charges, he informed.

The ESI Act applies to organisations where 10 or more persons are employed and all employees drawing salary up to Rs 21,000.

Under the Act eligible employees contribute 1.75 percent of their salary (basic+ allowances) and employers contribute 4.75 percent to the ESI corpus every month. Now the Government had recently sought an amendment of the Draft Rules concerning ESI contribution. The Gazette Notification dated February, 15, 2019 proposes a reduction in both the employees’ and employers’ ESI contribution towards the scheme which would be 4 percent–for the employers and 1 percent–for employees.

“Recently ESIC has taken a decision to set up one super speciality hospital in each State,” said the official.

Enough evidence to show your ”Dadagiri”, SC tells ex-Jharkhand minister Sao

Source: outlookindia.com

New Delhi, Jul 26 The oral testimony of witnesses is enough “to show your Dadagiri (bullying tactics)”, the Supreme Court Friday told former Jharkhand minister Yogendra Sao, who has challenged his conviction and sentence in a 2011 extortion case.

The top court said this while agreeing to hear Sao”s plea challenging the April 26 order of Jharkhand High Court which dismissed his appeal against the conviction and two-and-a-half year sentence in the case.

A bench of Justices A M Sapre and Indu Malhotra issued notice and sought response from the Jharkhand government on the plea.

Senior advocate Rakesh Khanna, appearing for Sao, said the magisterial court did not have privilege to see entire call detail records (CDR) which included the period of alleged crime.

“Allegation is that I made a phone call and asked for money but the complete CDR was not filed. The CDR, which was filed before the trial court was till the month of March while the alleged occurrence of crime had taken place on April 24, 2011 and August 25, 2011,” he said.

Khanna said the trial court relied upon the testimony of prosecution witnesses and the informant who was an interested party.

“The oral testimony is enough to show your Dadagiri (bullying tactic). We cannot re-appreciate the whole evidence. There are concurrent findings against you by two courts,” the bench observed.

The top court, however, said that it will examine the matter and sought response from the state government in two weeks.

On April 26, the Jharkhand High Court had refused to interfere with trial court”s January 28, 2015 order convicting and sentencing Sao for two-and-a-half year rigorous imprisonment.

Sao was booked by the police on the charges of extortion on a complaint from a manager of Ramgarh Sponge Iron Private Limited and a case was registered against him on August 25, 2011.

The manager of the company has alleged that Sao threatened him on phone and demanded Rs 5 lakh.

Sao was then an MLA of Congress party and a member of the Committee of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on Pollution Control.

Sao is lodged in jail after the apex court on April 12 ordered him to surrender before a court in Ranchi in cases related to rioting and inciting of violence.

The apex court had on April 4, trashed Sao”s plea seeking to campaign for the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls and cancelled his bail, saying he has violated the bail conditions.

Sao became a minister in the Hemant Soren-led UPA government in Jharkhand in 2013. He is named as an accused in over a dozen cases of rioting and instigation of violence.

The top court had then refused to cancel the bail of Sao”s wife Nirmala Devi. It had transferred the trial of 18 cases against Sao and Devi to Ranchi from Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand.

Both Devi and Sao are accused in a case relating to violent clashes between villagers and police in 2016 in which four persons were killed.

Devi, a Congress MLA, had led an agitation against NTPC authorities for their alleged attempt to forcibly evacuate villagers from Barkagaon without giving them due compensation or rehabilitation, according to police.

Jharkhand MLA resigns over minister’s reply

Source: telegraphindia.com

BSP’s only Jharkhand MLA resigned from the Assembly on Friday, protesting against an ambiguous reply of a minister to his question on reviving a cement plant that he said reflected the casual approach of the BJP-led state government while addressing legislators’ concerns.

“I am fed up. I moved a resolution for the revival of the Japla cement factory. I got upset as urban development minister C.P. Singh replied casually to my concerns, saying that I should search for investors if I was keen on reviving the factory,” said Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta.

The MLA said the state government was not bothered about the industrial development of Palamau. “Am I running the government? Am I the minister? The factory was auctioned and its machinery sold. In the coming years, even the land of the factory will be auctioned,” he said, adding that he had held demonstrations during every House session to raise the issue.

“In the last four and half years, I have seen that the government takes questions raised by MLAs very casually,” Mehta said, referring to his private member’s resolution that was ultimately rejected by the House by voice-vote.

The Japla cement factory was set up in 1917 by Martin Burn Company. It continued production till 1984 when operations were stopped. In 1985, then Bihar chief minister Bindeshwari Dubey persuaded Dalmia group of companies to run the factory, promising Rs 5 crore as financial assistance.

But the state government only released Rs 2.5 crore. The Dalmias were unable to run the factory and it was shut down in 1991.

Last year, the factory machinery was auctioned off for around Rs 12 crore under the supervision of Patna High Court after it rejected Jharkhand government’s intervention petition seeking to stop the auction.

Mehta handed over a typed resignation letter to Speaker Dinesh Oraon during the second half of the day’s session. But an Assembly official, citing technicalities and the circumstances of his decision, said the letter would not be considered by the Speaker.

“He submitted a typed resignation letter when the session was going on. But after that he stayed back and took part in proceedings because many MLAs asked him to. So his resignation has automatically turned infructuous. Had he left the House immediately, then the matter could have been considered,” said a senior Assembly official.

Asked whether he was serious about quitting the House, Mehta admitted he did not know the nitty-gritty of House procedures.

“Today I submitted my resignation to the Speaker. Now the ball is in his court. But I am fed up,” he said, adding that the state government had never taken his concerns seriously.

“I had raised the issue of district-level reservations in government jobs and displacement of local residents due to the Batane water reservoir. But none of these were taken seriously by the government. HRD minister Neera Yadav virtually scolded me on one occasion,” he claimed.

Jharkhand to bear education expenses of children if family head killed in elephant attack

Source: indiatoday.in

The Jharkhand government will provide free education to the children of a family, which has lost its only earning member to an elephant attack, an official statement said here on Thursday.

All district deputy commissioners have been apprised of the government’s decision, it said.

“If a family head dies following attack by elephants, children of that family will get free education in government schools,” said the statement issued by the office of Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

The direction came following a meeting of the Jharkhand State Wildlife Council, chaired by the chief minister, on Wednesday.

Among others who attended the meeting were Additional Chief Secretary (forest department) Indushekhar Chaturvedi, Principle Secretary to the Chief Minister Sunil Kumar Barnwal and the forest department chief Sanjay Kumar.

Special efforts are being made to reduce man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, with focus on plantation of bamboo trees in the forests – one of the major sources of food for elephants, the statement said.

An “underpass will be constructed between Ranchi and Jamshedpur for the safe passage of elephants” along the forested areas, it said.

According to government records, 87 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the 2018-19 fiscal.

Between January and June this year, at least six persons died in elephant attacks in the Ranchi forest division.

14 die in rain-related incidents in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh

Source: indiatoday.in

Fourteen people, including a minor, were killed in rain-related incidents in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, while the Assam floods claimed one more life on Thursday.

The northern parts of the country received light to heavy rains, with the MeT Department saying rainfall activity has increased over central India, Northern Plains and Western Himalayan region since Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh received traces of rainfall and state capital Lucknow recorded a high of 31.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday. However, nine people died in rain-related incidents across the state in the past three days. Meerut received 100.6 mm of rainfall, followed by Bareilly, which recorded 50.0 mm of rainfall.

Due to heavy rains recorded in parts of Rajasthan, three people, including a 15-year-old boy, were swept away in water in Shekhawati region. Parts of the state received rainfall from 7 cm to 15 cm. Didwana of Nagaur recorded 15 cm rainfall, followed by 13 cm each in Sadulpur, Bassi, Sikar, 11 cm each in Bhuhana and Phagi, 10 cm each Chirawa, Neem Ka Thana.

Three more deaths due to lightning strikes were reported in Jharkhand, taking the

death toll in the state to 15. On Wednesday, 12 people were killed by lightning in four districts of the state – six in Jamtara and two each in Dumka, Pakur and Ramgarh.

With the death of one more person, the toll in Assam floods reached 75 on Thursday as more than 34 lakh people remain affected by the deluge in 18 districts of the state, officials said.

Due to the release of excess water from the Kuricchu Hydropower reservoirs in Kuricchu River in Bhutan, western Assam districts of Barpeta, Nalbari, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and South Salmara are facing rise in flood water level. However, water level receded in some other districts of the state on Thursday.

In Bihar, no fresh deaths were reported as flood water entered state’s West Champaran, taking the total number of flood-hit districts in the state to 13. The death toll remained unchanged at 123. The state Disaster Management Department said relief and rehabilitation work was in full swing as 82.12 lakh people are affected by the deluge in 13 districts.

Light to heavy rains lashed most parts of Himachal Pradesh, dropping the maximum temperatures by several notches below normal limits on Thursday, the Meteorological (MeT) Department said.

In Punjab and Haryana, light to moderate rains lashed most places, plummeting the maximum temperatures between two to seven notches below normal in the region.

Narnaul received 54 mm of rainfall, followed by 16 mm in Amritsar, 14 mm in Ludhiana, 12.4 mm in Chandigarh, four mm in Ambala, two mm in Patiala and 0.5 mm in Hisar, it said here.

There was some respite for people from hot and humid weather in Kashmir as

heavy rainfall in lashed most parts of the Valley, even as the downpour affected normal life in Srinagar leading to waterlogging in many city roads.

The Mughal Road and the Doda-Kishtwar highway were closed for traffic due to landslides triggered by heavy rains in Jammu region.

However, in Delhi, vast stretches of the city remained dry, in a departure from the weather department’s forecast of ‘very heavy’ rains in the national capital. On Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert warning for Delhi.

IMD officials said the weather stations at Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar recorded traces of rainfall. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides official figures for the city, recorded nil precipitation.

Several parts of Odisha were lashed by rains due to a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal, giving much needed relief to the farmers hit by deficit rainfall.

Jharkhand varsity ‘defenceless’ in job market

Source: telegraphindia.com

Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University, established in 2016 to provide efficient and trained professionals to meet the demands of police and other security forces, is in the eye of a storm with JMM leader Hemant Soren questioning its efficacy by suggesting that many of its graduates were now working as ATM guards.

While students did not quite endorse Hemant’s views, aired in a tweet, they, however, expressed their displeasure with the university authorities for not organising placements properly and not briefing potential recruiters adequately about the various courses in criminology, forensic sciences and industrial security that they were taught.

On July 22, Hemant tweeted: “Jharkhand Raksha Viswavidyalaya ko @dasraghubar ji ne tamjham ke baad shuru kiya aur aaj pahle batch ke bacche sadak par hain. Bhari fees bharne ke baad inhe majboor kiya gaya Bangalore mein ATM guard ki naukri karne ko. Bataiye kya lakhon, varshon shiksha lene ke baad yahi naukri ke haqdar hai Jharkhand ke yuva? (Raghubar Das started the Jharkhand Raksha (Shakti) University with great fanfare but its first batch of students are on the streets. They pay steep fees and yet are compelled to work as ATM security guards in Bangalore. Tell me, are Jharkhand’s youths only worthy of these jobs after spending lakhs and years on education?”

At the university at Meur’s Road campus, students aired their views on the tweet freely but did not want to be identified.

“Security agencies want to appoint us as guards when we approach them because they do not an idea about the courses we are taught. I hold the university authorities responsible for this as it did nothing to let the agencies know what qualifications we have,” said one who completed a one-year post graduate diploma in industrial security this year.

Another student, who has done an MSc in criminology this year, agreed.

“The university is taking no steps to ensure placements. It should have signed an MoU with various employers in the government and the private sector to ensure placements. Hence, despite getting the best education, students are not getting jobs. We are struggling like any other state university students,” he said.

An assistant professor of the university did not deny the students’ contention, but clarified that a university wasn’t supposed to provide jobs.

“A university can give education. But for jobs, students have to make their own efforts by appearing in various competitive examinations, meeting employers and impressing them with their skills,” he said, adding that Jharkhand Rakshashakti University was imparting quality education in its chosen fields.

“But as far as agencies’ offer of ATM security guards is concerned, it is the fault of the particular agency, not ours,” he added.

Asked to comment specifically on Hemant’s tweet, the assistant professor said: “The first batch of 70 students, whom the JMM leader was apparently referring to in his tweet, was well trained. To the best of my knowledge, 50 per cent have got jobs and those who haven’ are competent enough to get jobs. Students of the university are given 15 grace marks in police recruitment examinations.”

Registrar Manoranjan Kumar Jamuar parried a comment, saying he was in a meeting. But vice chancellor Ajoy Kumar Singh rejected Hemant’s views.

“This year, out of 15 students who appeared for NET in criminology, five qualified. This indicates that our teaching level is good. Also, as many as 10 students got admission in Delhi University,” he added.

Jamuar also claimed that the university’s placement records were better than general universities of Jharkhand, but did not present data to back his claim.

The state government established Jharkhand Raksha shakti University in 2016 to provide trained manpower to meet the demands of police, military and other security forces by providing an opportunity to youths of the state to build careers in these services.

Students are also offered training to tackle contemporary challenges arising out of terrorism, economic offences, cyber crimes, telecommunication offences and the other offences that require expertise in forensic science.

23 dead in Bihar, Jharkhand after lightning strike

Source: indiatoday.in

At least 23 people were killed and three others injured in lightning strikes in Bihar and Jharkhand, police said on Wednesday.

Thirteen people died in Aurangabad, East Champaran and Bhagalpur districts of Bihar, while in Jharkhand, 10 people lost their lives in Jamtara, Ramgarh and Pakur districts.

The deaths in lightning strikes occurred since Tuesday night, police officials said adding that three persons were injured in Jharkhand.

Bihar is also witnessing heavy rains.

Of the seven deceased in Aurangabad district of central Bihar, four persons, including a woman, were killed on Tuesday night in Goh police station area, Station House Officer (SHO) Venkateshwar Ojha said.

Three more persons died in Rafiganj and Kasma police station areas of the district.

In East Champaran, two persons, including a 13-year-old girl, died in their sleep when lightning struck the asbestos roof of their house in Patpariya village under Mofussil police station limits, the Station House Officer (SHO) Manish Kumar said.

Two others were killed in Gobindganj and Kotwa police station areas in lightning strikes in the morning.

A couple of more persons lost their lives at Sanokhar and Amanda police station areas in Bhagalpur district on Tuesday night, police said.

Unconfirmed reports, however, claimed that over 30 people were killed in the rain-hit state.

The state disaster management department said Bihar has received an average rainfall of 28.9 mm on Wednesday, which was 221 per cent above normal.

In Jharkhand, five persons, including two minors, were killed and another suffered injuries at Kusmahapahadi block of Jamtara district, Circle Officer Chandradev Prasad said.

All of them were returning after taking a bath at a nearby pond when it started raining. They stood under a road bridge when lightning struck them.

A 60-year-old woman also lost her life at Bindapathar village in Jamtara, the circle officer said.

In Ramgarh district, two persons were killed and as many injured when lightning struck them at Chikor village. They were watching a cricket match standing under a tree when the incident happened, Patratu sub-divisional police officer Prakash Chandra Mahto said.

Two women also died in lightning strikes while working in the fields at Littipara and Hiranpur police station areas in Pakur district, police said.