Category: Patna

Patna High School turns 100; VP Naidu to attend centenary bash of school, PU Library on August 4

Source: indianexpress.com

Patna High School, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country established in 1919, on Tuesday turned 100 and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is slated to attend its centenary celebrations on August 4, officials said.

On the same day, the vice president will also be the chief guest at the centenary celebrations of the Patna University Library, which is currently in its 100th year.

“Patna High School was established seven years after the creation of the new province of Bihar and Orissa (in 1912) and initially, it mostly served the children of ‘babus’ (bureaucrats) and clerks who worked at the Patna Secretariat and other government offices. It was set up as Patna High English School,” the institute’s principal, Ravi Ranjan, said.

Located in a sprawling campus in Gardanibagh area of central Patna, the school’s oldest building is an E-shaped main block, constructed in 1919, which is getting a facelift ahead of the celebrations in August.

“We feel proud that this historic institution, which has produced illustrious alumni, has turned 100 and VP Naidu has consented to attend the centenary celebrations here on August 4. It is a matter of great honour for the school,” Ranjan told PTI.

The word ‘English’ was dropped from the name of the school, soon after Independence, and in 2008, it was rechristened to Shaheed Rajendra Prasad Singh Rajkiya Uchh Madhyamik Vidyalay, but it is still popularly known as Patna High School, he said, adding that it was established on July 2, 1919.

“Rajendra Prasad Singh was a matric student of this school and was one of the seven youths who was killed in the infamous Patna Secretariat firing case during the Quit India Movement in August 1942. Hence, the school was renamed by the Bihar government in his honour,” Ranjan said.

Patna’s famous Shahid Smarak in front of the state assembly building complex commemorates the sacrifices made by the seven persons for the nation’s freedom. A bust of Singh was also installed in the campus a few decades ago.

“On the day of the centenary celebration which will be held at Adhiveshan Bhawan, Vice President Naidu will felicitate the widow of Rajendra Prasad Singh, who is in her 90s, and the most aged alumnus (old boy student) and alumna (old girl student) of the school. A centenary souvenir will also be launched by the vice president during the function,” the principal said.

Ranjan said arrangements are also being made to set up a replica of the bust of Singh at the function venue.

Naidu will pay homage to Singh, as per the plan, he said, adding that the event will end with a cultural programme.

“The function is slated to take place late afternoon. So, an alumni meet will be held in the school’s campus in the first half of the day, where old boys can gather and celebrate the occasion, among themselves, to relive old times,” he said.

According to Ranjan, who completed class 9 and class 10 (1978-79) from the school and later in 1989 returned to the campus as a Physics teacher, Patna High School began as a co-educational institution, and in the 1960s, it became a boys school as a separate school was started for girls at a nearby campus.

“For the centenary, a special logo has been created and it will be unveiled by the vice president. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, an alumnus of Patna High School, will also be attending the function,” he said.

The school counts a number of noted personalities among its alumni, including Gauba, Governor of Sikkim Ganga Prasad, veteran politician Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Rajya Sabha MP R K Sinha, and several top government officers, Ranjan said.

“About eight-nine serving DMs of various districts who passed out of this school will also be present on the occasion,” he added.

According to an old succession board hung on a wall in the principal’ office, located in the century-old building of the school, Ambika Charan Mishra was its first principal.

A portrait of Rajendra Prasad Singh, flanked by those of B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru, hangs on a wall behind the principal’s desk.

A cabinet full of trophies won by its students highlight the achievements of its current and former students while a double-lock colonial-era safety vault installed in a corner of the high-ceiling room evokes an era gone by.

Ranjan points to the prancing horse logo of the ‘Das & Co of Chitpur, Calcutta’ on the vault and the ‘Patna High School’ metallic plate placed at its bottom.

“This E-shaped building is a heritage of Bihar and this old vault, which is still functional tells the story of this building. On August 4, this building will be illuminated to mark the centenary,” he said.
Patna University Library, which was also set up in 1919, two years after the university was established, is celebrating its centenary this year.

“The library was set up on September 24, 1919. A number of programmes are being organised to mark the centenary. And, on August 4, Vice President Naidu will be the chief guest for our main centennial celebration that will be held at the historic Wheeler Senate House in the university campus,” PU Vice Chancellor RBP Singh told PTI.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest at the main centenary function of the university in October 2017. And, now the vice president has consented to grace the centenary celebration of its equally historic library. We are deeply honoured,” he said.

Tejashwi Yadav finally surfaces in Patna but still can’t make it to Bihar assembly

Source: theprint.in

Patna: Under fire for the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD’s) dismal campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, Tejashwi Yadav is still to return to the political arena even though he was back in Patna Sunday evening after spending a month in New Delhi.

Yadav’s absence is all the starker as he is the leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly, where the monsoon session commenced Friday. On Monday, the treasury benches allowed a rare adjournment motion on the death of around 180 children in Muzaffarpur due to the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).

Adjournment motions are an opportunity for the opposition to censure the government on its lapses, but Tejashwi, the son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, wasn’t present in the House despite his home in Patna being less than a kilometre from the assembly building.

That prompted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Srawan Kumar to gesture at Tejashwi’s empty chair even as Speaker Vijay Choudhary remarked, “Let’s focus on the members who are present”, leaving RJD MLAs red-faced.

“This must be the first time in parliamentary history that the leader of the opposition has been absent on such an important issue,” an angry RJD MLA later told ThePrint.

The onus was then on a few senior opposition leaders such as Abdul Bari Siddiqui of the RJD and Sadanand Singh of the Congress to grill the JD(U)-BJP government on the issue but they targeted Health Minister, the BJP’s Mangal Pandey, as opposed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The Nitish government has been pulled up by the Supreme Court and the media over the Encephalitis deaths but was virtually handed a walk-over in the assembly as the opposition allowed Pandey to read out the steps taken by his department without questioning him.

Family, party unsure of whereabouts
Tejashwi had gone off the radar after addressing a press meet in Patna on 28 May following the Grand Alliance’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. There was much speculation on his whereabouts with some RJD leaders even claiming that he may have gone to London to watch the Cricket World Cup as he is a former cricketer himself.

On 28 June, exactly a month later, Tejashwi tweeted accusing the media and his political opponents “of cooking up spicy stories” of his absence and stating that he was away as he had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

He then went on to reiterate his party’s “commitment to the poor” and added that he was “following up on” the death of children due to Encephalitis.

But there is little clarity on his whereabouts, with family members showing irritation when asked the question. Tejashwi’s brother Tej Pratap surfaced in the assembly Monday but shrugged off the question. “He must be at his home,” Tej Pratap said. Their mother, former chief minister Rabri Devi, Friday snapped back at a reporter over the same question. “He is at your home,” she said.

RJD MLAs, however, told ThePrint that Tejashwi was yet to interact with them. “When a few MLAs telephoned him they were told that he would call back. But that call never came,” a senior RJD MLA said, adding that the party was yet to hold its routine meeting of legislators to discuss its floor strategy for the monsoon session.

“The result is that in the assembly we are going soft on CM Nitish Kumar, but in the state legislative council, Rabri Devi is demanding his resignation,” he added.

Opponents mock RJD leader
NDA leaders have been taking jabs at Tejashwi ever since his tweet on 28 June.

“Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj made their illness public while they were in office,” said deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi. “Tejashwi Yadav made his absence mysterious and has disrespected his party and its legislators.”

The RJD leader is also facing flak from his own party colleagues. “The manner in which he runs the party raises questions on if the party will survive. He refuses to meet his supporters and leaders,” said another RJD leader. “All this is happening when the party has to gear up for the assembly polls next year.”

The leader further said that Tejashwi is living up to his reputation as a “non-serious political leader who did not even cast his vote in Patna during the Lok Sabha polls”.

Posters in Patna blame Nitish, Pandey for AES deaths

Source: nationalheraldindia.com

Hours ahead of the Monsoon session of the Bihar Assembly on Friday, posters appeared in Patna blaming the NDA government for the death of over 150 children in Muzaffarpur due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and the complete collapse of law and order in the state.

Dozens of posters in Hindi that were pasted on walls along the main roads in the state capital, also demanded resignations of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on moral grounds for having failed to check the spread of AES.

The posters termed Bihar as “maut ka kuan” (death well) and mocked it leaders lack of concern for the suffering of the people of the state.

“Chief Minister Nitish Kumar found time to visit Muzaffarpur only after 100 children had died, while Mangal Pandey was more interested knowing the score of the India and Pakistan World Cup cricket match at his press conference with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in Muzaffarpur,” it said.

The posters also expressed growing resentment among the people over the rising lawlessness in the state with daily reports of murder, kidnapping, extortion, loot, robbery and rape.

Ealier similar posters had come up in Muzaffarpur — the epicentre of AES epidemic — asking people to trace “missing” Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Monsoon covers whole Bihar, many places receive good rainfall

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

PATNA: Several cities and towns in different parts of Bihar on Saturday received good rainfall as the monsoon covered the entire state, Met officials said.

The monsoon which hit Bihar’s north east districts on Friday, covered the entire state on Saturday, the Patna Meteorological Centre said.

Several cities and towns in different parts of the state received a good rainfall bringing down the temperature below normal maximum temperature.

Patna, like other cities, which have been facing the heatwave since the beginning of June this year, on Saturday witnessed a pleasant weather because of the first spell of good rainfall since the morning.

Patna received 33.0 mm of rainfall during the day between 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, bringing down maximum temperature down to 32.4 degrees Celsius which is three notches below normal, Met official said.

Gaya recorded a temperature of 33.0 degrees Celsius which is three degrees below normal maximum temperature, he said.

Bhagalpur and Purnea recorded maximum temperature of 36.0 degrees and 33.8 degrees respectively, Met official said, adding that Bhagalpur and Purnea recorded 3.2 mm and 0.3 mm rainfall respectively.

Met department forecast said that Patna is expected to witness generally cloudy sky on Sunday while Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are expected to witness generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or thunderstorm.

Patna sizzles at 45.8 degrees celsius, highest in 10 years

Source: business-standard.com

Patna recorded its highest maximum temperature in the past 10 years at 45.8 degrees celsius on Saturday, the meteorological department here said.

Residents of the state capital singed under blistering heat wave condition, as the city’s maximum temperature was 9.2 degrees above normal, the Patna Meteorological Centre said.

The minimum temperature was 31 degrees celsius, 4.2 notches above normal for this time of the year.

Heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is recorded above 4.5 degrees from its normal for two consecutive days, a Met official said.

According to a Met department bulletin, Gaya recorded 45.2 degrees celsius, Bhagalpur 41.5 degrees celsius and Purnea 35.9 degrees celsius.

The Met department has forecast heat wave conditions on Sunday as well in Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur.

Meanwhile, the Bihar government on Saturday said all schools in the city will remain closed till June 19 in view of the prevailing weather condition.

Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi said all government and private schools of Patna will remain shut till June 19, due to persisting heatwave-like condition for the past several days, an official release said.

A number of private schools were scheduled to open in the week starting June 17 after the summer vacation.

This is the second time the district administration has extended suspension of academic activities in schools due to the weather.

Earlier on June 9, the DM had ordered closure of schools till June 16.

Patna’s Over Century-Old Heritage Market Demolished In Smart City Project

Source: ndtv.com


Patna:  The over 100-year-old Gole Market in Patna, a unique heritage building constructed as the Bihar capital’s first planned municipal market, has been demolished by local authorities as part of a Smart City project.

The demolition work began on Friday and by Sunday the historic landmark, located in the heart of Patna and endowed with beautiful red-tiled roof, was reduced to a skeletal shell.

“The Gole Market was demolished as part of a major redevelopment project of the railway station area under the Smart City initiative. Other markets lining the streets are also being knocked down as part of the mega project,” Patna Municipal Commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman told news agency Press Trust of India.

As part of this Smart City project, the now-dismantled Gole Market, located near Patna Junction, will make way for a seven-storeyed commercial complex and a modern municipal market along with a vending zone will come up in the area adjoining the Station Road, he said.

Popularly known as Gole Market, among the local people, it was Patna’s first planned municipal market designed by architect Joseph Fearis Munnings while he was planning the layout of the “New Capital” city of colonial Patna after the creation of the new province of Bihar and Orissa in 1912.

Despite the historical value of the building, the demolition has drawn feeble protest from citizens of the city, but many people in Patna are angered by this “shocking move” of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC).

“This is just madness. It was a historical building and should have been preserved. But, instead of restoring and reusing it as a cafe or something, the corporation razed it,” said city-based researcher and author Arun Singh.

“One by one the local government is knocking down heritage buildings in the city. This is an attempt to erase the colonial history of Patna in the name of development,” he alleged.

In December last year, the 133-year-old Anjuman Islamia Hall, perhaps the first public hall of Patna, was demolished to make way for a modern complex.

The heritage market had faced decades of neglect and its occupant shopkeepers had been feeling the shadow of the wrecking ball for years as local authorities had planned a redevelopment project much earlier too, which kept on getting stalled, a local shopkeeper, who did not wish to be named, said.

“My grandfather had a meat shop in it during the British time, and elite of the city would come in their cars to buy meat, fish, chicken, eggs, grocery and milk. It should have been preserved,” he said.

City-based 84-year-old architect and INTACH Patna Chapter Convener J K Lall also expressed shock and anger over the demolition of Gole Market.

“It was a unique single-storeyed building with a raised central hexagonal core topped with elegant red-tiled roof and two flanks came out of it and again it was topped with red tiles of the colonial-era Burn & Co. It was a perfect building and a perfect setting for a heritage cafe,” he told PTI.

“Smart City also means preserving our architectural legacy and not just building new ones,” he said.

PMC Commissioner Suman, when asked why the building was demolished, said, the Gole Market was “coming in the middle” of the layout of the Smart City project plan.

“There were suggestions made to us by a few heritage lovers to preserve the building and reuse it as a cafe. We tried but the market structure was coming in the way of the plan. So, we had no option left but to knock it down,” he said.

“Also, besides the fact that it was designed 100 years ago by Munnings as the first municipal market, there was not much heritage value of it. And, sometimes we have to lose something old to build a new, better future,” the municipal commissioner said.

However, the iron shell of the building and whatever can be salvaged will be stored and later reused in a new gazebo at the site, Mr Suman said.

“That gazebo will be built with new material and old material from the dismantled Gole Market. We are trying to look into our archives to know about the history of the building, which along with old pictures would be displayed there, so that people will know there was a Gole Market here,” he said.

Retired bureaucrat R N Dash, who served as the district magistrate of Patna from 1972-74 and Divisional Commissioner from 1983-85, also said that demolition was a “wrong move” and that restoration and proper rehabilitation of local shopkeepers should have been planned instead.

“The overall master plan should have ensured the preservation of the market and other heritage buildings, and Smart City project should have factored that in. Converting it into a cafe was a good idea and people coming to these complexes would have visited too, so it was a win-win situation,” he said.

Ironically, Gole Market was also listed as a heritage building in a 2008 Bihar goverment publication — Patna: A Monumental History.

Mr Singh, whose book “Patna – Khoya Hua Shahar” came out early this year, talks about the history and glory days of this market, located in what is termed officially as the New Market area, falling between the railway station rotary and the Patna GPO roundabout. 

“In its heydays, it had a rose garden around it and six routes leading to it from the streets around it.

“British people including European women would visit there as would the Indians in their cars. Instead of restoring old charm, as done world over, Patna is wilfully destroying its own heritage,” he rued.

Phone call threatening to blow-up Patna airport hoax, caller found to be class 2 student

Source: newindianexpress.com

PATNA: Inspired by a Bhojpuri film, a Class 2 student threatened to blow-up the Jai Prajash Narayan International airport in Patna, police on Tuesday said.

A police team was surprised to find that a threat call to the airport authorities was made by an eight-year-old boy.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rajesh Kumar Prabhakar said the boy told the police team that he was inspired by the Bhojpuri film, “Train se Pakistan”, in which there was a scene of a phone call threatening to blow up an airport.

After police were informed about the call, a probe was launched to get the details of the phone number. It was found that the number was registered in the name of Siddhanth Sharma of Birla Colony.

Prabhakar said that when the police team was interrogating Sharma, his grand-son innocently confessed that it was him to had made the call by using his grandfather’s phone. The boy was then taken into custody

“The boy informed the police that when his grandfather was asleep, he had used his mobile phone. First, he found the number of the Patna airport on Google and then proceeded to make the call,” the DSP added.

The police, however, released the boy after his father issued a bond and assured that he would never repeat the mistake.

“Police have treated it as a childish mistake but directed the family to keep a close watch on the boy,” Prabhakar noted.

Patna Superintendent of Police P.K. Das said: “Police has decided to let him go with a warning that boy should not repeat it (incident) in the future.”

Patna Diary: Gate dedicated to demonetisation in Bihar

Source: newindianexpress.com

Gate dedicated to demonetisation in Bihar

To symbolise his “unflinching support to demonetisation”, a daily wage labourer has erected a Badhai Gate (congratulatory gate) in the Rohtas district of Bihar. Enthused and encouraged by PM Narendra Modi’s 2016 move, Rajeshwar Thakur (45) of Gharbahdih village built the gate with his own money and donations received from his neighbours in over a year. Thakur said the gate will be inaugurated soon by Bihar’s deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who had recently visited it during his tour in Rohtas. 

Kissan Chaupals to inform about govt schemes 

Starting from June 10, Kissan Chaupals or farmers’ meets will be organised in Bihar’s 8,405 panchayats in 534 blocks. The state agriculture department has come up with the idea to apprise the farmers of various agriculture schemes launched by the state and the central government. State agriculture minister Prem Kumar said at least 250 farmers besides agriculture officials, including the panchayat Kissan Salahakars (farmers’ advisors), will be involved in the exercise. Details of schemes and subsidies will be made available to the farmers at the chaupal, he added.  It also helps revive the tradition of choupals existing in the ancient times to help farms solve their problems on their own at their place.

8 new units to monitor Bihar’s air

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi has directed the Bihar State Pollution Control Board to set up eight new air quality monitoring units in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga under the National Clean Air Programme. Modi, who holds the portfolio of environment, forest and climate change ministry in the state, said the four units will be set up in Patna and one in each of the other cities at the estimated cost of D16.96 crore. The Centre has already provided D10 crore for it.

Now, cards in Bihar buses for smart travel

The Bihar State Road Transport Corporation has introduced Chalo Common Mobility pre-paid travel cards for the residents of Patna. Department secretary Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal said the cards can be recharged by any city bus conductor from D10 to D3,000. The card can be used to pay the fare by swapping it onboard any of the 110 city buses plying on 14 routes.  Daily commuters, especially students, in the city can use it as a monthly smart bus pass. 

Politics Hots Up After Passengers of Patna-bound Bus Beaten Up in Bengal for Refusing Meal at Eatery

Source: news18.com

Patna: Passengers of a bus coming to Patna from West Bengal were allegedly beaten up in Burdwan district of the adjoining state where a mob attacked them for refusing to halt their journey to have meal at a roadside eatery, police said on Sunday.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi targeted the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal over the incident and questioned the “silence” of opposition political leaders friendly to her like jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.

The driver, helper and passengers of the bus which brought them here from Kolkata have lodged an FIR alleging that they were stopped by the owner and employees of the eatery and assaulted, Jakkanpur police station SHO Raghunath Prasad said.

“They complained that the attackers, who were drunk, demanded that all the passengers get down, have dinner at the eatery and leave after paying up. When they protested saying they did not want to halt their journey, the mob began assaulting them saying that they are Biharis and they must not expect to have their way in West Bengal,” the SHO said.

They also claimed that that they did not get any help from the local police and hence they were lodging their FIR after reaching Patna, he said adding that investigations were on.

Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar Modi slammed “Didi’s supporters” for keeping mum on the incident. “Didi’s supporters like Lalu Prasad are maintaining silence over the episode. They had invited her to Patna for a dharna against demonetisation and shared the stage with her at a rally in Kolkata recently. They should disclose why they are not talking to her over the attacks on Biharis in West Bengal,” Modi added.

“First Mamata Banerjee attacked the federal structure as envisioned in the Constitution when she prevented a central agency like CBI from functioning, Modi tweeted.

He was referring to the Trinamool Congress chief’s dharna earlier this year when a CBI team had gone to question the city police commissioner in the Saradha chit fund scam.

“Ever since she received a jolt in the recent Lok Sabha polls, there has been a spurt in attacks on Biharis in her state,” claimed Modi who had recently flayed Banerjee for rebuking a group of BJP supporters chanting “Jai Shri Ram” by calling them “outsiders”.

In the general elections, the BJP’s tally soared from only two five years ago to 18, only four less than 22, the number of seats won by the TMC.

Suspected outbreak of encephalitis claims lives of 21 children in Patna this year

Source: newindianexpress.com

PATNA: The outbreak of suspected encephalitis in North Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and its some adjoining districts included Vaishali has reportedly claimed the lives of around 21 children from January to May 9. As many as 18 children, diagnosed with the syndrome of encephalitis, have been admitted in Muzaffarpur based SKMCH and other private clinics.

The outbreak has gone beyond the Muzaffarpur and many children belonging to extremely poor families, have also been diagnosed with the syndrome of acute encephalitis  in neighbouring Vaishali, Sheohar, East and West Champaran districts. On Sunday alone, 4 new suspected cases of encephalitis diagnosed with four children were brought and admitted at SKMCH in Muzaffarpur.

“This time again after a gap of the last three years, the outbreak of syndrome of encephalitis has been reported. It occurs only when heat coupled with extreme humidity rises to an extreme level. It is contained as soon s Monsoon arrives”, Dr M Singh said, adding that sudden loss in the level of sugar in the body leads to collapse of life support functioning in the body of a minor.

Meanwhile, Reena Devi of Muzaffarpur said her 6-year-old son Raghu developed a symptom of high fever with breathing problem suddenly after returning from a nearby mango orchard in Motipur.

“Now, he has been admitted at SKMCH  under critical condition”, she said, adding that fearing further casualties in many remote areas of Muzaffarpur like Saraiya, Sherpur and others, many families have left the villages.

On Saturday, Prince Kumar of Vaishali and Chanda Kumari of Sheohar died while on Friday and other past few days, Madhu Kumari, Pawan Kumar, Sonu Kumar and many other minors had died in Muzaffarpur and other private clinics during treatments.

State health minister Mangal Panday claimed that all efforts are on to save the lives of children, who are being diagnosed with symptoms of encephalitis. Dr S K Shahi, superintendent of SKMCH, told the media that all arrangements have been made to check the outbreak of this disease.

He admitted that nearly 38 kids with symptoms of encephalitis were admitted between January and June this year. According to Muzaffarpur civil surgeon Dr SP Singh, a team of health department had recently visited the SKMCH and held a high-level meeting with doctors on the outbreak.