Category: Ranchi

Inspired by Shaheen Bagh protests, women in Ranchi begin anti-CAA stir.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Inspired by the protest spearheaded by women at New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh which began on December 15, 2019, an indefinite sit-in led by women against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) kicked off at Ranchi’s Kadru area on Monday.

Holding national flags, hundreds of women, after finishing their daily chores, gathered at Kadru under the banner of ‘Hum Bharat ke Log (We the People of India)’. By evening, the crowds had swelled. The protesters said the agitation was an extension of the women’s protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Temporary camps have been erected and arrangements to cook food have also been made for the women. A bonfire has also been arranged to fight the cold.

A participant at the protest, homemaker Shakina said, “Women from all religions have come together to protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. I don’t think CAA is against any religion but it will put poor and women in trouble in days to come. So, it is our kind request to the Modi government to repeal the new law.”

“The country witnesses several natural calamities every year such as flood and earthquakes. Poor people face loss of their properties and documents in such situation. On the other hand, women, who move to other houses after marriage and they also have to change their surnames. They also face problems with documents till they revise them. In such situation, laws like CAA and NRC will definitely put them in trouble,” she added.

Another woman, Shagupta Parveen, said the agitation would continue until the government repealed the CAA.

Protesters claimed the Ranchi administration granted them permission by for the protest.

Sub-divisional officer (SDO), Lokesh Mishra said the local police have been asked to ensure the safety of the women.

“Even though organizer of the event did not seek any security, we have alerted the local police station asking to ensure adequate security for the women there. A magistrate has also been deputed for tonight,” Mishra said.

Jharkhand has witnessed sudden spike in rallies, marches and demonstrations both in protest against or in support of the new citizenship law after formation of the Hemant Soren government on December 29. Anti or pro-CAA events are reported every day from one place or the other, which also caused tension in some of the places. A major tension was averted by the Giridih administration on January 12 after stones were hurled at a rally, which was taken out in support of the CAA there.

Even as Muslim organisations, civil society groups and Left-backed organisations have been spearheading protests against the citizenship law, right-wing organisations along with top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been campaigning in support of the law in the state.

At Ranchi’s Ormanjhi locality on Monday, thousands of people, including women, children and students, under the banner of Rashtriya Ekta Parishad took out a mega rally in support of CAA, NRC and NPR. The participants said rumours are being spread against the law by some political parties for their vested interest.

Anti-CAA-NRC stir: From PhD scholar to homemaker, women lead big protest in Ranchi.

Source – indianexpress.com

A homemaker left her ailing in-laws behind at home, a businesswoman locked up her stationery shop, and a doctoral student missed her class. All of them went to Ranchi’s Doranda Urs Maidan — along with 70,000 others — to protest against the new citizenship law, the National Population Register (NPR), and the proposed NRC.

Jharkhand has seen several anti-CAA protests — the ‘Samvidhan Bachao, Desh Bachao’ gathering at the Maidan on Saturday was the largest in the state so far. Professor Rizwan Ali, one of the coordinators of the event, said more than 30,000 of the protesters were women.

A woman who identified herself as Rani Parween held up a sign that said, “Humein chain se jeene do, kala kanoon wapas lo (Let us live in peace, take back the black law)”. She said she had joined various protests against the CAA earlier, but had made extra effort to be present on Saturday.

“My in-laws are ailing, and need constant attention. However, this protest was very important for all of us — not just because (Prime Minister) Modiji’s intention is to discriminate against one religion, but also because it is against humanity. I had to leave my in-laws at home and lock the door from the outside to come here,” she said. Parween, a homemaker, said she would attend all protests in the city.

By the afternoon, the protest ground was teeming with women from all strata of society. Nushi Begum, who came with her husband and their daughter who studies in Class 7, said they had decided to keep their shop closed to be able to attend the protest. “Hum kaagaz kyon dikhayein? Hum isi ke virodh mein aaye hain. (Why should we show papers? We are protesting because we are forced to do so),” she said.

Her daughter, Sanya Sarah Hayat, held the Tricolour in one hand and a sign in the other: “Tanashahi nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (We won’t allow dictatorship).” She said: “People are divided, we are constantly getting messages on social media on this issue.”

Near a group of protesters singing the now signature Aazaadi song, Ranchi University PhD scholar Arma Mazhar stood holding a sign that read: “Hum documents se nahin, dil se Hindustani hain (We are Indians by our hearts, not by any documents).” She said that she had also joined a protest at Firalyal Chowk in the city earlier.

Next to Arma stood a woman who said he has a small shop that makes bags. “In WhatsApp messages, television reports, and phonecalls, we are being reminded every day about this issue. The entire family is tense. Agar ab nahin karenge protest to kab karenge (If not today then when else will we protest)?” she said.

Nigar Sultana, who runs a computer coaching centre in Doranda, said she had downed shutters to make it to the protest. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee was better than Modiji. We only pray that they follow his (Vajpayee’s) path. We have been trying to spread awareness on this black law that Modiji has brought,” she said.

Nigar said women like her had come out in the streets to protect the Constitution, and that she would be part of the indefinite protest near Haj House, Kadru on the lines of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi beginning Monday.

MS Dhoni Has a Practice Session in Ranchi, Getting Ready For Jharkhand’s Ranji Trophy Clash With Uttarakhand.

Source – india.com

Former India skipper MS Dhoni was seen practising in the nets a day after he was omitted from the list of players to have been awarded the BCCI Central contract for 2019-20.

A video of Dhoni has surfaced on social media where he can be seen batting in the nets.

In the nets, he looks confident as he comes down the track and plays the ball with a straight bat. He then takes his guard again and rocks back onto the back foot and defends the ball.

In all likeliness, he will play for Jharkhand in their next Ranji Trophy clash against Uttarakhand.

“I will be honest… I thought there will be a bit of rustiness as Dhoni has not trained for quite some time,” said Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar.

“The last time we had spoken, he had said that he would start in January and here you go. He is a man of his words and it came as no surprise that he was out there training with the guys just like any other regular Jharkhand player. But what surprised me most was how he middled almost every ball, be it in the pacer’s net or the spinner’s net. He even took throwdowns just like a player going through the batting drills does,” he added further.

He would also feature in the Indian Premier League later this year for Chennai Super Kings where he will lead the side. “People keep saying when will he… how long will he play, etc. He will play. I can assure you. He will play this year. Next year he will go the auction; he will be retained. So there is no doubt in anybody’s mind,” confirmed vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements, owners of CSK N Srinivasan at and event.

Routes for electric buses finalised.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Get ready for shuttle service on electricity powered mini-buses in the state capital by October this year.

Ranchi Smart City Corporation Limited (RSCCL) has drawn up two circular routes for the shuttle services initially.

“Acting on the directive of the principal secretary of the state urban development department Ajoy Kumar Singh, we have finalised two routes for the 14+1-seater (14 passengers plus driver) electric bus shuttle services and bids will be invited for service providers soon,” a senior RSCCL official said on Friday.

“We are hopeful of starting the bus service before the festive season in October this year on these two routes. The routes have been drawn up in such a manner that they cover most parts of the city. Depending on the response, we will be increasing the routes later on,” the official added.

The buses will have low-floor configuration, which are easy to get on or disembark from.

The first round-trip route will start and end at Kantatoli and cover a distance of more than 10km. “The Kantatoli shuttle services will begin from Kantatoli Chowk and cover Bahu Bazaar roundabout, Munda Chowk, railway station, Patel Chowk, Sujata Talkies Chowk, Ratan Talkies Chowk, Sarjana Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Main Road (Mahatma Gandhi Chowk), Albert Ekka Chowk, Kutchery Chowk, Jail Chowk, Lalpur Chowk, Circular Road, and Dangratoli,” the source informed.

The other route of the shuttle service will begin from Booty Mor and cover Khelgaon roundabout, Kokar Chowk, Kantatoli Chowk, Bahu Bazaar, Munda Chowk, Sujata Chowk, Rajendra Chowk, Hinoo Chowk (near Ranchi airport), Birsa Chowk, Satellite Chowk, Argora, Harmu, Sahjanand Chowk, Ratu Road, Kishore Yadav Chowk, Suchna Bhavan, Machhli Ghar, and Bariatu Road.

“The second route will cover a distance of nearly 29 km,” the RSCCL source said. “The objective of introducing such buses — both fuel driven and battery operated — which have more seating capacity than the auto-rickshaws is to decrease traffic congestion caused by such auto-rickshaws as people will opt for such buses. We plan to roll out nearly 150 such buses.”

Urban development department spokesperson Amit Kumar said the routes had been planned carefully.

“The environment-friendly battery operated buses will ply on the two routes selected based on traffic density and cover most of the capital,” he said.

The existing fuel driven city buses (29-seater) will be made to ply on the six-lane ring roads outside the city touching the national highways. “The hybrid or CNG buses with better seating capacity (29-seater) will be made to ply on more routes which do not witness traffic jams,” Amit said.

Gear up for scooter rides at Ranchi Lake.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Water sports buffs, by the end of this year you can try out water scootering, paddle boating and motorboat rides at the iconic Swami Vivekananda Sarovar, popularly known as Bada Talab or Ranchi Lake.

Acting on the order of state urban development principal secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) directed Chadda and Associates, the architecture consultancy firm, to incorporate the components of water sports in the second phase of renovation of Ranchi Lake. This is to be carried out on 10 acres of Bada Talab near the Nagarmal Modi Seva Sadan Hospital-end.

Ranchi Lake or Bada Talab will be the first reservoir in Jharkhand to have water scooter rides if the plan fructifies.

Bada Talab, spread over 52 acres, was created by a British agent, Colonel Onsely, in 1842 with the help of prisoners to maintain the groundwater level of the city located more than 2,100 feet above sea level.

“Based on the directive of the principal secretary on inclusion of water sports for youths, we have asked private consultants to purchase water scooters, paddle boats and motorboats,” RMC commissioner Manoj Kumar said. “Ideally, we would begin with a pair of each of the water-sport equipment, which would be operated by a private agency and ensure safety of the participants.

“We hope to introduce the facility soon after the completion of the second phase of the renovation plan by the end of 2020,” he added. “We also plan to convert a small patch of island at the centre of the lake into a resting place with chairs and a snack kiosk.”

Chadda and Associates has also been asked to incorporate a kids’ play zone with swings and simple gaming activities and playstations.

An open-air theatre with live band performances, on the lines of the ones Rock Garden in Kanke, is also on cards.

The lake would have a sewage treatment plant (STP) and treatment of wastewater through bio-remediation.

“The consultant has been asked to submit a fresh detailed project report incorporating the new suggestions including setting up of STP within a week. After getting the report we will be getting it sanctioned by the department. As soon as we get an official nod, we will start the process of issuing a tender for the renovation work,” said a senior official in RMC engineering wing.

The cost of renovation is pegged at over Rs 14 crore after inclusion of the new suggestions. The plan already had the proposal for landscaping, benches and tensile structures, and a cafeteria.

The first phase of the beautification and conservation of the lake began in May 2017. Two bridges — one 20m long and 6m wide linking the main entrance with Island-1 of the lake, the other 200m long and 6m wide connecting Island-1 with Island-2 — were built then. This apart, lighting, fountains, pathways and sewage treatment plants were done in the first phase of renovation. This was pegged at Rs 13 crore.

A 33-foot-high statue of Swami Vivekananda was added to the beautification project taking the cost to Rs 20-crore in June 2017. The statue was opened to the public in January 2019.

Fodder scam case: Lalu Prasad Yadav appears before CBI court in Ranchi.

Source – newindianexpress.com

RANCHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday appeared before a special CBI court here to record his statement in another fodder scam case.

Lalu Prasad was brought to the CBI court from paying ward of Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS), Ranchi. He was produced before special CBI court of S.K. Shashi.

His statement will be recorded in a fodder scam case no. RC 47A/96 which is related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 139 crore from Doranda treasury of Ranchi.

Lalu Prasad has been convicted in four fodder scam cases. He has been awarded jail up to 14 years.

Lalu Prasad is accused in six cases in the fodder scam. Of the five cases in Jharkhand, he has been convicted in four. The trial in the fifth case is underway in the CBI court of Ranchi.

There are total 111 accused and statements of 107 have been recorded in Doranda treasury case so far.

No parking charge for pick-and-drop vehicles at airport.

Source – dailypioneer.com

Pick-and-drop vehicles will be freed from parking charges at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi soon, Airport Director Vinod Sharma said on Wednesday, adding that the decision was officially announced at the meeting of the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) recently.

However, Sharma added that the vehicles will have to drop or pick passengers and leave within a stipulated period of time in order to avoid parking charges. “We do not wish to charge any money from the pick-and-drop vehicles, but we have to fix a maximum time for which the vehicles can stay on the airport premises without paying for parking as no upper limit on the free-parking-period will cause overcrowding of vehicles,” Sharma said.

The vehicles, he added, will be given three to four minutes for dropping or picking up passengers, so the free-parking period will be around five minutes. On Tuesday, an AAC meeting was presided over by Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth and attended by Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar, who has been an active member of the committee. Hatia legislator Navin Jaiswal also attended the meeting.

Besides taking the decision of relieving pick-and-drop vehicles from parking charges, the AAC also decided to use funds from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) treasury of the airport to rehabilitate the villagers who had lost land due to construction and expansion of the airport and beautify the villages surrounding the airport.

Poddar highlighted loopholes in the parking arrangements at the Ranchi airport and said that the airport needs to fix all the anomalies in the system in order to leave a good impression on visitors. “The visitors coming from other cities and countries get the first impression of the city by seeing the arrangements at the airport. Any mismanagement at the airport leaves a bad impression,” said Poddar.

The Birsa Munda Airport is fast growing in terms of connectivity with other cities. The largest airport in Jharkhand already has 30 flights connecting Ranchi to important cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The airport also has an international bay, but is yet to get any international flights. The increasing passenger traffic in Ranchi demands for better facilities and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is consistently working on finding new ways to enhance the travel experience of passengers, said airport officials.   

Meanwhile, the airport authorities here have also floated tenders for restaurants and bar in the airport premises. Besides, several shops and showrooms have come up in the airport terminals in order to provide entertainment, refreshment and quality shopping experience to passengers here.

Kanke Dam park to get Rs 2-crore facelift.

Source – www.telegraphindia.com

The Kanke Dam in Ranchi will be developed into an amusement park by next year.

Kaveri Divya Hotels Private Limited, owner of Capitol Hill Residency and Kaveri Restaurant in Ranchi, has bagged the tender and a formal agreement will be inked between Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) and the state capital-based hospitality group later this month for operation of the facility under public private partnership mode.

Sources in the JTDC, which owns the 6-acre park near Kanke Dam, said that the private firm has to complete the process of renovation, operation and maintenance of the park within one year of setting up the facility after getting the work order.

“Kaveri Divya Hotels has bagged the tender and we will be signing a formal agreement soon for development of the tourist spot into tourism hub and amusement park,” JTDC general manager Anmol Kumar Singh said. “It will operate and maintain the infrastructure for a period of 25 years. The firm will have to pay an annual fee to us. We hope it would be a major tourist attraction by the first half of next year.”

The estimated cost of renovation of the amusement park is nearly Rs 2 crore, JTDC sources said.

“The private firm will soon be presenting us a detailed project report on the renovation of the existing infrastructure and addition of facilities as mentioned in the tender bid,” a source said.

A senior JTDC official said: “We would have liked the work order to have been issued earlier so that actual work could have commenced by now, but the tender process was delayed due to festivities and the model code of conduct for the Assembly elections,” said a senior JTDC official.

More than 6,000 visitors, including morning walkers, use the Kanke Dam park every day. It has a jogger’s track of nearly 400m, facilities for a light and sound show, space for a food court, restaurant, a landscaped garden, toilets, children’s play area, and a shed.

The play area will be renovated and enhanced, JTDC sources said. There will be a musical fountain, boating and water sports facilities, new joyrides, landscaping, open gyms, an area designated as a rain forest, an urban haat (market), in addition to theatres and connectivity with an existing rock garden.

“Musical fountain and laser show facilities need proper maintenance which the JTDC is unable to do, resulting in regular complaints from visitors,” said a senior JTDC official. “This is the reason behind outsourcing the project to a private agency so that existing facilities are maintained property and additional features attract more tourists.” JTDC officials also promised there would be parking bays.

Protests grow, CM orders cops to ensure law & order.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday attended the meeting of national Opposition parties in Delhi chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to draw up a strategy against the Narendra Modi government’s citizenship matrix, and at the same time ordered the Jharkhand police brass to ensure law and order in the wake of protests.

The meeting in Delhi was called to chalk out strategy to create a consensus among Opposition parties that no state ruled by any Opposition party or combine will implement the NPR — which many say is the foundation on which the NRC will be built — and the NRC. However, six major parties — the DMK, the SP, the BSP, the Trinamul, AAP and Shiv Sena — skipped the meeting.

In an interview with The Telegraph on December 28 last year, Hemant had said in response to a question: “…The decision to implement both (the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register) depends upon whether we can take lives.”

The issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) has triggered protests across the country, including in Jharkhand. In Wasseypur, 5km from the Dhanbad district headquarters, a group of people have been protesting against the CAA, NRC and NPR for 12 days now. In Giridih, Section 144 of the CrPC was clamped on Monday, a day after a pro-CAA rally attended by an estimated 10,000 people sparked violence (See Metro).

Before leaving for Delhi, Hemant directed chief secretary D.K. Tiwari to ensure that law and order in Jharkhand was maintained and action was taken against people for breaking socio-religious harmony of the state.

Tiwari held a closed-door meeting with director-general of police K.N. Choubey besides other senior police and home department officials.

“Maintaining law and order and socio-religious harmony will remain top priority,” a senior Jharkhand police officer said under cover of anonymity. “There is clear-cut instruction from the CM that the administration will have to be sensitive and at the same time tough to deal with people who are involved in creating law and order problems. Police in the districts have been asked to follow the instruction.”

The Ranchi district administration also proclaimed Section 144 on Monday.

“The district administration has prohibited holding of any demonstration and procession on the Main Road right from Shahid Chowk to Ranchi Club, and also on Circular road. It has been seen that different outfits and groups of people organise protests that create traffic chaos. Only such religious processions that are annual features may be permitted to be taken out but only after prior joint approval of the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police,” said a senior Ranchi district administration official.

In Delhi, Hemant is also learnt to have held a closed-door meeting with senior Congress leaders to finalise the Jharkhand cabinet expansion.

Police nab 11 men of dreaded Srivastava gang.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Police on Tuesday arrested 11 men from Ranchi and ` who the cops said used to extort money from coal traders coming to different collieries of the state.

Seven firearms with 70 rounds of ammunition, five motorbikes and 12 mobile phones were recovered from their possession, South Chotanagpur deputy inspector-general of police (DIG) A.V Homkar told the media during a news meet at his office in Doranda.

The DIG said all the 11 arrested men were associated with the Aman Shrivastava gang, active for the last several months in the business of extortion.

“Those arrested are Mukesh Kumar Sao, Mahmood MIyan, Mahmood Alam, Razaque Ansari, Sourabh Sinha, Amarjit Paswan, Qurban Ansari, Sudarshan Nayak, Rajesh Kumar Mishra, Sanjay Ganjhu and Ankit Kishore Nath Shahi. Out of seven firearms recovered from their possession, there were three 9mm pistols, one 7.62mm pistol and three country-made single-shot small guns,” DIG Homkar said.

Asked how the breakthrough came, Homkar said: “The breakthrough came after a SIT (special investigation team) comprising superintendents of police of Ranchi, Latehar, Ramgarh and Hazaribah was constituted after getting regular information of extortion calls to coal traders in Latehar and neighbouring districts. Raids were conducted. The first catch was Mukesh Kumar Saw, who disclosed the names and addresses of the other accused. Sao is a notorious criminal and is accused in as many as nine cases of extortion and Arms Act registered against him in Hazaribagh and Latehar.”

Asked about the kingpin, DIG Homkar said: “Kingpin Aman Shrivastava is yet to be arrested. He is the brother of Sushil Srivastava, who has already been killed in a gang war.”

Asked if extortion money had been recovered from the possession of the 11 arrested men, Homkar replied in the negative.

He shared details of some of the crimes the gang had committed in 2018 and 2019.

“The gang in December last had opened fire on Ravi Ganjhu in Chandwa. In the same month, the gang had shot dead Yugal Ganjhu, a coal trader. In July last year the gang had injured an engineer of Hardeb Construction Company at Urimari in Latehar.”