Category: Patna

Over 20 Trains Delayed Due to Low Visibility, Schools Shut in Patna till Jan 5 Amid Cold Wave.

Source – news18.com

New Delhi: Even as temperatures in parts of north India showed slight improvement, the low visibility conditions persisted delaying 21 trains in the Northern Railway region on Thursday, officials said.

The weather department said the temperatures have increased by 3-4 degree Celsius over most parts of Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan and at isolated places in Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, west Madhya Pradesh during the past 24 hours.

However, cold wave conditions continued in Bihar and authorities in Patna ordered closure pf schools till January 5.

The national capital witnessed a sunny New Year’s Day on Wednesday and the maximum temperature rose to 20.5 degrees Celsius, giving people some respite from the bone-chilling cold that persisted for over a fortnight. The weatherman has predicted light rain over Delhi on Thursday.

On New Year’s Day, the minimum temperature was recorded at 2.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, while the maximum settled at 20.5 degrees Celsius, a Meteorological Department official said. On Saturday too, the national capital had recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.

The city was wrapped in a cover of moderate fog with 29 trains being delayed by two to nine hours due to reduced visibility, officials said.

December 2019 recorded 18 consecutive ‘cold days’ or an 18-day ‘cold spell’, the maximum after 17 cold days in December 1997. The maximum temperature in Delhi took a big tumble on Monday to settle at 9.4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest December day since 1901.

Muzaffarpur student, set on fire for resisting rape attempt, dies at Patna hospital.

Source – hindustantimes.com

A 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur earlier this month, died in Patna on Monday. She was being treated at the city’s Apollo Burn Hospital after sustaining 95 per cent burn injuries.

The victim’s brother-in-law said the woman died around 11.40pm on Monday.

She was set on fire by Raja Rai, son of land broker Raj Kishor Rai, who poured kerosene on the woman for resisting rape attempt on December 7. Rai was arrested soon after the incident, and his accomplice Mukesh Kumar a week later.

The woman’s family has demanded an assurance of justice from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before she is cremated. “We want the chief minister to come and assure us of justice in the case,” her brother-in-law said.

He also demanded security for family members and sought that his wife, an auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) at Bairiya in Sitamarhi, be transferred to Muzaffarpur so that she could be with her two minor children, who were witnesses in the case.

The victim’s family members had met the state’s principal secretary, health, Sanjay Kumar on Monday afternoon and placed a few demands, which among others included that the victim be shifted to higher specialised centre in New Delhi.

Kumar had then said the government would constitute a medical board if it received a recommendation for referral to higher centre from the private health facility where she was being treated since December 10. The Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH), Muzaffarpur, where she was earlier admitted on December 8 had referred the patient to the private centre after the woman’s family members refused to take her to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) for treatment.

The Muzaffarpur district administration had assured to bear the entire cost of treatment of the woman.

According to the FIR lodged at the Ahiyapur police station in Muzaffarpur, the woman was with her minor niece and nephew in her house while her mother was on night duty at a primary health centre when the incident happened. Rai, her neighbour, and Kumar barged in and tried to sexually assault her but failed. So, Rai along with Kumar, poured kerosene on the woman and set her on fire.

After setting the woman ablaze, the two accused had initially taken her to a private hospital in Muzaffarpur before she was brought to the Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital the next day around 2.30pm.

Rai had been stalking the woman for some time, but she rejected his advances. Out of fear, the woman had stopped attending coaching classes and did not pursue studies after completing her intermediate, her mother said.

6 died in painful road accidents in Bihar, three in Bhojpur, two in Patna and one in Vaishali.

Source – jagran.com

Patna, JNN. Four lost their lives in painful accidents on Tuesday night in Bhojpur and Vaishali in Bihar. While the condition of five remains critical. Uncontrollable high speed car collided with a truck parked in Bhojpur. The three youths died on the spot after the car entered under the truck. Among those who died were a Patna businessman, two others from Rohtas district. At Vaishali, a high speed truck trampled three bike riders. One died in it. The truck trampled three passers-by at Patna Fatuha , killing one. Similarly, one also died in the draft.

Bhojpur: uncontrolled car under truck

An uncontrollably high speed car crashed into a truck parked near the Atlanta company on Ara-Mohania NH under Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district. The three youths died on the spot after the car entered under the truck. The trapped bodies were pulled out by breaking the glass as the car was locked. One of the deceased was a Patna businessman and two other residents of Rohtas district based on car papers and mobile numbers. The information of the names of the three could not be known till late.

Bad truck was standing on the road

JCB was parked near the Atlanta company on Jaghishpur-Dhangai on NH-30 with a malfunctioning truck. A speeding car with a Patna number on its way from Ara to Mohania entered the truck. The collision was so severe that more than half of the car entered the truck. On arrival, police reached Jagdishpur and Dhangai police station and sent the bodies to the hospital.

Bodies removed after breaking the car

SP Sudhir Porika said that the bodies were removed by breaking the glass due to the car being locked. The car registration is from Patna. On the basis of car papers and mobile numbers, it has been learned that one of them was a Patna businessman and two others were residents of Rohtas district.

Truck crushed three, one youth died

Vaishali : On Tuesday, a speeding truck rammed three bike riders on the Kotiya bridge of Patepur police station area on Mahua-Tajpur road. Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Bahura in the accident, died on the spot. At the same time, two others were seriously injured. Road blocked in protest. Four hours later, the police finished the jam. Mukesh, the 22-year-old son of Upendra Rai, resident of Bahuara Chakmir Banki village, along with two companions Chandan Kumar and Kundan Kumar, was going to buy the Kothaya bazaar by bike.

Trample on road side three

Patna: A truck going from Fatuha towards Patna late Monday night crushed three people running along the road near Jethuli village in the river station area of ​​Fatuha, one of whom died during treatment. While two injured are being treated in a private hospital. It is being told that the three people were going to Jethuli village on the roadside, when this accident happened. The deceased has been identified as Nagendra Rai (45), a resident of Jethuli village. Among the injured is his son Sanjay Rai and the other is Param Rai, a resident of the village.

Youth dies in truck collision

On Wednesday morning, a truck hit the young man vigorously near Vijay Market, located on the main road of the Chardhi police station. The young man died at the scene of bleeding. The deceased has been identified as Akhilesh Das (35), son of Ram Nandan Ravidas. Akhilesh was from Chithaul village of Bhagwanganj police station. The deceased went to work as usual in the ongoing construction work in the market. After his death, the family members are in bad health.

India’s first national dolphin research centre to come up in Patna.

Source – newindianexpress.com

PATNA: India’s and Asia’s first National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) will come up on the bank of the Ganges in the premises of Patna University.  

Proposed in 2011 the project to set up the national dolphin research centre continued hanging in balance for next eight years, however, the state government has finally expedited the work 

According to deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi, around 1,455 dolphins have been sighted during a survey conducted in 2018-19 in the river Ganga by the teams of experts.

“The state government is working hard to set up the national dolphin research centre in the premises of Patna University”, Modi said, adding that a 7 km long stretch between Sultanganj and Kahalgao in Bhagalpur district has already been declared as Vikram Sheela gangetic dolphin sanctuary.

The gangetic dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to illegal poaching.

The presence of dolphins in the Ganga gives a sign of a healthy ecosystem because dolphins live at least in  5 ft to 8 ft deep water.

The gangetic dolphin has been declared  an endangered aquatic animal and is one of the four freshwater dolphins species in the world as another three species are said to be found in the Yangtze River, the Indus River in Pakistan and the Amazon River globally.

The proposed NDRC in Patna would play a major role in facilitating deep and wide researches on the life cycle of dolphins and their behavioural significances in context with climate change.

CAAQMS installed at three places in Patna to monitor air quality on real-time basis.

Source – newindianexpress.com

PATNA: In a much needed-move akin to the that taken in US, UK and Germany for keeping a tab on air pollution, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday inaugurated the three hi-tech ‘Continuous Ambient Air Monitoring System’ (CAAQMS) at different places in Patna.

Patna is India’s one of the ten most polluted cities and has recently been witnessing alarming rise in the air pollution.

Modi speaking at the inaugural occasion at Patna’s Eco Park said that the CAAQMS will help in monitoring ambient air quality on real-time basis in city.

He said: “One such system has been installed at ECO Park, second at BIT Mesra and third in the premises of SK memorial hall. This system would get expanded in other cities of state also in near future gradually.”

Elaborating the function of the CAAQMS, he said that ambient air quality would be monitored on a real-time basis on large screens installed at places through metrological sensors.

Installation of the CAAQMS was initiated in 2014 in 17 categories of highly polluting industries and common pollution treatment facilities in India.

The CAAQMS is comprised of sampling, conditioning and analytical components through software designed to provide direct real-time continuous monitoring of ambient of air quality.

RAIN LIKELY IN PATNA, GAYA, RANCHI AROUND DEC 13, MINIMUMS TO DROP WITH FOG MAKING AN APPEARANCE.

Source – skymetweather.com

Dry weather conditions are being witnessed in the eastern states like Bihar and Jharkhand for the past several days. The weather of entire Bihar and most parts of Jharkhand is dry for the last one month.

If we look at the rain statistics, the figures for Bihar and Jharkhand are contrary to each other. Rain in Bihar from October 1 to December 5 is deficient by 62% while Jharkhand is observing a surplus by 51%.

This is because the weather systems originated in the Bay of Bengal and largely affected Jharkhand while missing Bihar.

Now, the winter rains are expected to commence over Bihar and Jharkhand. This will be in the wake of an active Western Disturbance going to affecting the Western Himalayas around December 10. This Western Disturbance will move towards east and simultaneously a Trough in the Indo-Gangetic Plains will also form around December 12 or 13. Thus, scattered rains can be seen in Bihar and Jharkhand on December 13 and 14. Places like Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Ranchi, Jamshedpur will get to see rainfall activities.

This system is expected to be a fast-moving one but the scattered rains in Bihar and Jharkhand will increase the soil moisture. Post this rain, dense fog will be seen in several parts of Bihar and a few pockets of Jharkhand.

A significant drop in day temperature will also be experienced in Bihar and Jharkhand during this period.

As the rainfall normals are very low for December in Bihar, this spell will certainly pull down the deficiency in the state.

Pappu Yadav sells onions at Rs 35 outside Patna BJP office, locals flock shop.

Source – indiatoday.in

Former MP and convener of Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) Pappu Yadav on Tuesday sold onions outside the BJP office in Patna and priced the bulb at Rs 35 per kilogram amid a growing crisis over onion price rise.

At a time when prices of onion are skyrocketing across the country and is being sold Rs 80-90 per kg in Patna, Pappu Yadav chose to encash the opportunity to reach out to common people and launch an attack on BJP.

As the news of Pappu Yadav selling onion at cheaper rates spread in the area, hundreds of people queued up outside the BJP office to buy the crop.

Speaking to India Today TV, Pappu Yadav lashed out at the Centre for failing to provide a reprieve to the common man who has been reeling under rising prices of onion for the past few weeks.

Pappu Yadav also hit out at Union Minister for Consumer Affair, Food and Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, for his repeated assurances that the Centre was in the process of importing onion and prices would come down by mid-December.

“The Centre and Bihar government are doing nothing to provide any relief to the common man. When the Centre can provide subsidy on fuel, why cannot it provide subsidy on onions. The minister says that prices will go down in the coming days. Until then what are the people supposed to do,” asked Pappu Yadav.

BJP legislator and spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel called Pappu Yadav’s move to sell cheaper onions outside BJP office a “nautanki”.

Jawan in Patna shoots wife, sister-in-law in moving car.

Source – indiatoday.in

An Indian Army jawan shot his wife and sister-in-law to death in a moving car before killing himself on Sunday.

The incident happened at Ranitlab police station area of Bikramganj, Patna in Bihar.

The jawan — Vishnu Sharma — was travelling with his wife, son and sister-in-law in a car from Garhani Bhojpur to Patna. The reason behind the incident is not clear yet but it is reported that the jawan also tried to kill his son.

Vishnu’s son was in the front seat alongside the driver of their car. The jawan and his wife along with his sister-in-law were sitting in the rear seat. The driver, who was Vishnu’s uncle, said there was no tiff that had happened before the fatal shooting incident. Jawan’s uncle said that Vishnu first shot down his sister-in-law and then his wife. Jawan’s uncle said that he stopped the car upon listening the loud gunshot. The jawan wanted to kill the kid but his uncle saved the little one.

The jawan was suffering from dengue for the past one month and was coming to Patna for his treatment. It was then when he shot down his wife and his sister-in-law in the moving car before killing himself.

The jawan was on a leave for the past one and a half months. He took the leave to attend the wedding of his sister-in-law. On November 22, his sister-in-law got married. But on Sunday, she died after the jawan shot her down.

It is reported that dengue had affected his mental health. He was paranoid of somebody killing him all the time and for all these reasons he was often brought to Patna for treatment.

The police are investigating into the matter.

Patna’s severe air quality due to Ganga’s shifting course: Govt study

Source – downtoearth.org.in

The shifting of the Ganga river away from Patna as well as biomass burning in the city’s vicinity are responsible for its current poor air quality, a study by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) has said.

“The main cause of deteriorating air quality in Patna is the Ganga moving away from its banks in the city in the last two decades. The river has shifted four km to the north in a long stretch from Digha to Kalighat and dry sand on the exposed bed is mainly contributing to poor air quality,” BSPCB chairman, Ashok Kumar Ghosh, said.

“Winds blowing from the Himalayas are spreading the Ganga’s dry sand into Patna, thus contributing to the poor air quality,” he added.

Ghosh said there was currently no solution in sight to check the spread of the sand. While its mining had been stopped in Patna, transportation of the sand into the city in exposed vehicles from nearby areas was still going on, he added.

The BSPCB has prepared a plan to create a ‘green zone’ on the dry bed left behind by the Ganga as it has shifted away from Patna that has been increasing year by year as Ganga is continue to shift away from Patna in the last two decades.

The board will plant 117 varieties of trees in this ‘green zone’, taking into consideration, the threat posed by climate change. But this plan has been pending due to a lack of funds.

Besides the Ganga’s shifting course, biomass burning in Patna’s neighbourhood is also contributing to the poor air quality.

“People still burn wood or coal for cooking purposes. They also burn dry leaves and fodder on a large scale in the villages to keep themselves warm them in winter. This contributes to the severe air quality in Patna,” Ghosh said.

Vehicles, construction, brick kilns, diesel generator sets add to the deadly mix.

According to the BSPCB’s website, Patna’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was 430 at 12 pm on November 27, 2019. It was 427 at 3 pm and 425 at 4 pm on the same day. It was 419 on November 26 and 404 on November 25. All these figures are classified as ‘Severe’.

On November 28, it reduced to 395 and was 358 on November 29. These figures mean Patna’s air quality is now ‘Very Poor’ instead of ‘Severe’.

Ghosh said that despite the severe air quality in the city, monitoring was being done by only one station.  

He added that four new ambient air quality monitoring stations would be functional in Patna by the second week of December.

Wearing Masks, RJD Legislators Protest Against Air Pollution in Patna.

Source – newsclick.in

Patna: The unbearable air pollution in Bihar’s capital city, Patna, resonated outside the Assembly premises, with Opposition RJD legislators staging a protest by wearing masks to express their anger over the “failure” of the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance government.

On Thursday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members stood outside the main gate and shouted slogans against the government’s inaction on rising pollution.

The air quality in Patna has been in the “severe category” since the past three days — Monday to Wednesday. On Thursday, the air quality was in “very poor category”. The air quality index (AQI) was 390 on Thursday, according to the Bihar State Pollution Control Board’s website.

The AQI touched 430 at 12 p.m on Wednesday, the highest in recent months. The AQI was 404 on Monday and 419 on Tuesday.

The Opposition protest came ahead of a discussion on the state government’s much hyped programme “Jal Jeevan Aur Haryali” in the Assembly on Thursday, the last day of the five-day winter session.

Protesting Opposition members demanded an explanation from the government as to how Patna had become one of the highest polluted cities in the country. They also questioned Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Sushil Kumar Modi, for doing nothing in the past decade. Modi is in charge of the state’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change department .

“Modi is only interested in publicity and has been issuing useless and baseless statements. He has not done anything to tackle the rising air pollution in Patna and across the state,” RJD legislator Ramchander Purve told NewsClick after the protest.

Purve said the pollution situation had turned from bad to worse under Modi’s charge. “Only recently the government has woken up by launching the Jal Jeevan Aur Haryali programme”.

The “severe” air quality is set to affect thousands of people, including workers, rickshaw-pullers, autorickshaw drivers and the economically weaker sections, who spend most of their time outdoors to earn their livelihood.

On November 2 and 5, the AQI of Patna was recorded as 428 and 423, respectively, which is classified as “severe” as per the World Health Organisation.

According to experts, AQI level of severe category can be harmful as inhalation of toxic air containing pollutants like PM 2.5, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide is dangerous, and can pose serious problems for people suffering from lung, heart and other diseases.

Two months ago, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) India, in partnership with the Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED) shared the findings from Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). According to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago’s AQLI, residents of Patna could live about 7.7 years longer if the WHO’s PM 2.5 guidelines were met.

As per the findings, based on data from the real-time air quality monitoring station in Patna, in December 2018, witnessed the worst air pollution when 51% days saw air quality in the “severe” category. Out of the cities where AQI bulletin is issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, Patna remained the most polluted city of India in December last.