Category: Patna

Patna High School turns 100: Week- long centennial celebration kicks off

Source: hindustantimes.com

The prestigious Patna High School campus has turned 100 this year. The school management along with its alumni association has planned a series of programs to celebrate the grand occasion.

In fact, the week long celebrations have already begun from Monday and would culminate on August 4 with a gala event that would see scores of dignitaries from across the nation, most of them the institute alumni, converging on the campus to relive the fond memories of their school days and wish well for their alma mater.

An organising team has been formed to make all necessary arrangements and see through successful completion of the events.  The campus is already gripped with fervour. 

On Monday, an essay writing competition was held among the present students. According to school officials, different competitions including painting, math quiz, and athletics will be held and the winners will be awarded on August 4.

As per the managing committee, Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu, Governors of Bihar and Sikkim, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, education Minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma, members of parliament R K Sinha, C P Thakur, legislators Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Sanjeev Chaurasiya have confirmed to attend the function.

Patna High School Principal Ravi Ranjan, who himself is an alumnus of the school, shed light on the current challenges facing by the school. He said, “Notwithstanding the school’s glorious history, in the present scenario its stature has witnessed decline due to deteriorating infrastructure and lack of teachers. We are expecting a change in fate after the visit of Vice-president Naidu and may the school get reasons to rejuvenate again.”  

Raj Shekhar Gupta, general secretary of Patna High School Alumni Association, said, “All eyes are set for the August 4 gala event. In the morning, the visiting guests would garland the statute of Rajendra Prasad Singh, a former student of the school, who was among the seven youths killed in the infamous Patna Secretariat firing case during the Quit India Movement in August 1942. Singh’s statue stands tall on the campus even today.”

“In the second half, the students of batch 1960-70 and retired teachers of the school would be honoured followed by cultural programme”, added Gupta.

Patna University teachers to go on strike against new salary payment system

Source: hindustantimes.com

With thousands of teachers and employees of schools, colleges and universities still awaiting their monthly salaries and struggling with backlogs, Patna University teachers’ and employees’ associations have announced to go on a two-day strike on August 2 and 3, against the likely move to stop the old system and follow a new one.

Under the new centralised finance management system (CFMS), the salary to university and college teachers and employees will be paid through the treasury, instead of earlier system of releasing grants for varsities.

A couple of months ago, there was problem in salary payment in many universities after the old system was stopped for many universities without putting the CFMS wholly in place. PU is the only university that somehow manages timely salary payment through internal resources,  

“The CFMS system has not been successful in ensuring timely payment of salaries in any university. Alarmed by this, we had approached the Patna high court and the matter is pending there. Prior to this also, the teachers’ association had approached the HC. The HC had directed PU to ensure salary payment to its staff on the first day of every month by any source,” the leaders of two associations have written to vice-chancellor RB Prasad Singh.

The leaders have said that they would continue their protest against Bihar government’s unclear policies and the new system of salary payment, as it was unlikely to ensure timely payment. “At present, at least PU manages timely payment through internal resources to spare the teachers and employees from hassles,” they added.

The leaders have also voiced concern over the delay and mode of payment. “If the government will make net salary payment and not gross payment, it might again take months to get back the lawful deductions,” they added.

Officials in the department of education, however, said once the CFMS becomes fully functional, salary payment would be streamlined. 

Patna Court annuls forced marriage, provides relief to groom married at gunpoint

Source: indiatoday.in

A family court in Patna in Bihar has provided much-needed relief to an engineer employed in Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) by annulling his forced marriage, which he had reluctantly entered into back in 2017.

“The marriage between the petitioner, Vinod Kumar, and the opposite party, Kundan Kumari, allegedly solemnised on December 3, 2017, is hereby declared voidable and accordingly marriage is hereby annulled by a decree of nullity,” the court order reads.

Narrating how he was forced to enter into marriage, Vinod said, “The incident happened in December 2017 when I had gone to Patna to attend my friend’s marriage. There, an acquaintance — Surendra Yadav — fooled me into coming to his house where he held me captive and forced me to marry his sister at gunpoint.”

Talking about the course of action he took later, Vinod said, ” I was beaten and threatened for marrying the girl. I did not accept the marriage and lodged a complaint with the Pandarak police station under whose jurisdiction the village came. The police, rather than filing my FIR, kept me at the police station for 16 hours. They did not cooperate with me. After that, I lodged a case at the Vyavhar Nyalaya and also lodged a criminal case.”

Speaking about the problems he faced in the past two years and about the decision by the Vyavhar Nyayalay, he said, “For the past two years I was facing a lot of mental torture. This decision by the Nyaylay annulling the marriage has come as a big relief for me.”

Celestial object found in Madhubani: Transferred to Patna Museum

Source: telegraphstar.com

Celestial object with 13 Kilo Gram weight was dug out by farmers from Mahadeva Village in Madhubani District, Bihar. The report came out from state capital Patna that the object has magnetic properties also. The meteor-like object hit the field on Monday. The local farmers extracted the object from a five feet deep hole caused by the fall of the object.

As the officials suspect it as a meteorite and have been kept in the State treasury. The district magistrate had promptly sent a memo to the State Department for Science and Technology about the same.

“We have written to the state’s Principal Secretary, Science and Technology department, informing him about this particular object that looks like a piece of rock but its glitter is much more than that of unpolished stone. Its magnetic pull makes it even more intriguing”, the district magistrate Shirsat Kapil Ashok said to a local news report.

A release from the Chief minister’s office confirmed that it had been brought to Cheif Minister’s official residence on Wednesday. Later the object was brought to the Bihar Museum in Patna for a clear examination by the scientists from the Cheif Minister Nitesh Kumar’s direct order. He also added that the object will be shifted to the science museum if it is found to be a meteorite.

“These meteorites have a special role in the extinction of the dinosaur from the Earth. The size of this meteor was larger than usual. Such meteorites come burning to the earth.” said Athul Aditya Pandey, Head of the Geology Department, University of Patna.

For those who are hearing about meteor for the first time, it is an interplanetary matter which withstands and manage to pass through the earth atmosphere to reach the earth’s surface. The size could vary from as mere as few grams to more than a hundred-kilo gram.

Goa to probe mass influx of labourers by Patna-Vasco Express

Source: indiatoday.in

Former Goa Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday expressed concern about hordes of labourers arriving at Goa’s Thivim railway station by the Patna-Vasco Express, while also stating that the immigrants could be used as vote banks by politicians.

Responding to Khaunte’s concerns, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Goa legislative assembly that he had directed the North Goa Collector to probe the mass arrival of labourers by train number 12742 and their whereabouts.

“When a train full of labourers arrives in Goa, there is fear. Labourers come to Goa for work and then they get a plot with help of elements in panchayats, they build a house and then become voters. Where have they come from, what are their antecedents, needs to be checked,” Khaunte told the legislative assembly during Question Hour.

Khaunte’s comment comes days after a video of hundreds of passengers alighting the train number 12742 Patna-Vasco Express at the Thivim railway station in North Goa went viral on social media.

Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao also alleged that the employment ratio between Goans and non-Goans in the state’s casinos was skewed, urging the Chief Minister to ensure that more Goans get employment in the casino industry.

“80 per cent employees of casinos are outsiders. Casinos are needed for revenue, but they have to give jobs to Goans. Most of the jobs are taken by Manipuris and Nepalis,” Alemao said, even as Sawant assured the House that he would direct the state Labour Ministry to examine the issue.

Patna: Tej Pratap Yadav dresses up as Lord Shiva; offers prayers at temple

Source: dnaindia.com

Amid the ongoing ‘Shravan month’, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Tuesday dressed up as Lord Shiva and offered prayers at a Shiva temple in Patna.Embracing Lord Shiva’s look, Tej Pratap wrapped up himself in a white dhoti, painted tiger skin-like fabric on waist and applied ash on his body including hands, forehead and chest. In the image, he was seen wearing a traditional Hindu rosary around his neck.

The RJD leader, who reached here with his bodyguards, was seen flaunting his long hair to look identical to Lord Shiva. He offered milk and Gangajal (holy water) to Lord Shiva.This is not for the time as even last year Tej Pratap had worn the similar attire during the ‘Shravan month’. He had said the prayers were being offered for the welfare of Bihar and its natives and also for his father’s health.

“Will pray for the welfare of the people of Bihar and the entire nation so that everybody lives in peace, in harmony, without any divide or barrier. I will also pray for the health of my father, will pray for his long life,” he had said.

In May 2018, the poster was seen outside the residence of Lalu, depicting his son Tej Pratap and ex-wife Aishwarya as Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, respectively.

In 2017, he had dressed up as Lord Krishna to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Donning Lord Krishna’s avatar, he was spotted playing the flute with a red turban on his head 

Patna College gym to be revamped with international facilities

Source: hindustantimes.com

The 85-year-old dilapidated gymnasium of Patna College, which was once the most favourite destinations of the fitness freaks, will be renovated and equipped with facilities of international standards under the Patna Smart City Project Limited (PSCPL). 

The traditional parallel bars, balance beam, horizontal bars, and vaults will be replaced with the art treadmill, dumbbells, pull-up bars, exercise bench and many more. 

However, the design and outlook of the building will remain intact. The old-fashioned equipment will be used as decorative and interior items. The equipment will also be treasured for memory as they are of British Era. The vintage fitness tools would be used to decorate the gym hall.

The traditional carpet floors will now have modern wooden finishing to conjure up a conducive ambiance for workout.

This is one of the oldest buildings to be taken up for renovation under the Patna Smart City mission. Other old buildings of public use are being identified for the makeover.

Harshita, public relation officer of PSCPL, said, “The renovation project was at the initial stage. Survey had been completed and tender process is on. Soon an agency for renovation work would be hired and budget estimation would be done.”    

She said that the new gym would have fittings and facilities matching international standards. However, the makeover would not modify the design of the building to keep  essence alive.

Amresh Kumar, student of Patna College said, “Renovation of gym would attract many students. Young college students, like me, are fitness freak and would love to avail the facility. Other colleges in Patna have gym facility but ours is not in a good condition. Besides, the private gym is highly expensive and difficult to afford for students. The college gym would save time and money.”

Youth Shot Dead in Patna; Ward Councilor’s Husband Named Suspect

Source: patnadaily.com

The crime took place around 8:00 am when Vikas Kumar, originally a resident of Shahpur police station in Patna district, was returning home from somewhere. Suddenly about 2-3 men in a Safari vehicle arrived in the area and shot Vikas in his head from a close range.

As the victim fell on the ground, the criminals fled in their vehicle before anyone could get a good look at the car.

His body was later sent to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IIGMS) for an autopsy.

In their police report, family members accused the husband of Panapur Ward Councilor Renu Devi, her two sons, and eight others saying they had threatened Vikas in the past and there was no doubt Renu Devi’s family was involved in his murder.

Vikas lived with his parents and other family members in Dev Vihar Colony off Ashiana Nagar under Rajiv Nagar police station.

Angered by the incident, a mob stormed the home of Renu Devi and vandalized properties and vehicles parked outside on the road.

They also set a cow menagerie owned by the Ward Councilor’s family on fire. Police had to use light force to bring the crowd under control.

Police said they will be questioning a number of people in the case and will also try to collect video surveillance footage from the area.

Pro Kabaddi League 2019: Patna Pirates eye change in fortunes ahead of season 7

Source: hindustantimes.com

Three-time champions Patna Pirates will look to forget their woeful campaign last time and get back to winning ways in the seventh edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. Pirates finished a paltry fourth in Zone B last term and they made their intentions clear for the upcoming season by making host lot of changes to the squad.

Dubki King Pardeep Narwal, all-rounder Vikas Jaglan and defender Jawahar Dagar were the three players retained by the franchise as they have put the faith in new faces in the squad.

The attack will be led by Pardeep once again and his performances will determine where the team will finish come the business end of the season. Pardeep is still the only raider to score 300 raid points in a single season which he achieved in PKL 5 when he scored 369 raid points.

To make up for the lack of a solid second raider last season, Patna have acquired the services of Jang Kun Lee. Overall, Lee has scored 411 raid points in the tournament and is the leading raid point scorer among foreigners. The team has also bought Iranian raider Mohammad Esmaeil who had impressive performances in the 2018 Asian Games where Iran beat India in the semis.

Despite their strength in attack, Patna’s defence needs to improve big time. Surender Nada, Patna’s biggest buy, has once again been ruled out of the tournament. Jaideep, who has been bought through FBM (35 Lakhs), will again continue his role from PKL 5 and PKL 6. He has been the only Patna defender to score at least 50 tackle points in the last 2 seasons.

Patna also shelled out 35 lakhs to acquire left cover defender Neeraj Kumar in the auction. Neeraj has played just 17 games so far in PKL (for Haryana Steelers) and scored 13 tackle points. Hadi Oshtorak, who was part of Patna’s title winning sides in both season three and four returns to the side after being bought in the auction.

Squad: Pardeep Narwal (C), Ashish, Jang Kun Lee, Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou Mahalli, Mohit, Naveen, Purna Singh, Rajveersinh Pratap Rao Chavan, Mahendra Choudhary, Neeraj Kumar, Jaideep, Surender Nada, Bintu Narwal, Jawahar Dagar, Hadi Oshtorak, Ravinder, Sahil Mann, Vikas Jaglan

Coach: Ram Mehar Singh’s coaching began with the Air Force and Services team. He mentored them to three national Championships. He was also part of the national selection team for 5 years. Then in PKL 5 he was appointed as the coach of Patna Pirates, who went on to win their 3 rd title in a row. These achievements led him to be appointed as the coach for the Indian National team for 2018 Asian Games. He continued to be the coach of Patna Pirates in PKL 6 and this will be his third successive year at help.

IT Minister Inaugurates Tata Consultancy Office in Patna

Source: patnadaily.com

Built at the cost of Rs. 20 crore, the center is expected to hire 400 employees working in software development and business processing side of the information and technology industry, Prasad said.

Urging private industries to invest in Bihar, the Central Information and Technology (IT) and Law Minister said that TCS was India’s largest IT company that employed over 4 lakh people worldwide. Nearly 36% of its workforce is made up of women, he said.

Prasad then went on to the obligatory praise of Narendra Modi saying because of the immense trust the people of Bihar had posed in the Prime Minister, the TCS was an early gift to the state by him.

“This is an early gift from the Prime Minister and more is yet to come. We also plan to turn 5000 villages in Bihar into ‘Digital Village’. Nationwide, more than one lakh villages are part of this ambitious plan. Patna is going to be an ‘IT Hub’ in the coming days,” Prasad said.

Prasad’s vision of Patna being the IT hub of the nation is reminiscent of similar promises made by Chief Minister who has, in his 14 years of rule in Bihar, has pledged to turn Patna, or Bihar, into a ‘Tourism hub’, an ‘IT hub’, a ‘Healthcare Destination’, an ‘Education Mecca’, and an ‘Agricultural powerhouse’, among other ‘hubs’.

Relying on the number of cell phone users in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that out of 130 crore people of Bihar, 123 had Adhaar card and out of 121 crore users of mobile phones, about 70 crores were the owners of smart phones.

“This all means that Bihar is ripe for a ‘digital revolution’ and e-governance. With the presence of TCS, Patna will become the IT hub of eastern India,” he said.

The event was attended by a number of BJP leaders including Sanjeev Chaurasia, Nitin Navin, and TCS Global head Milind Lakkad.