Tag: Bihar

Aidan Singh Bhati to get Bihari Puraskar.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Dr. Aidan Singh Bhati will be awarded the 29th Bihari Puraskar for his poetry collection, Aankh Heeyae Ra Hariyal Sapna (Green Dreams of the Heart’s Eye), the KK Birla Foundation said in a statement Friday.

Bihari Puraskar is one of the three literary awards instituted by the Foundation in 1991. Named after famous Hindi poet Bihari, the award carries a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh, a citation and a plaque.

The award is given every year for an outstanding work in Hindi/Rajasthani published in the last 10 years by a Rajasthani writer.

After considering the works published during 2009-2018, poetry collection Aankh Heeyae Ra Hariyal Sapna by Dr. Bhati was selected for the 29th Bihari Puraskar, 2019.

The recipient is chosen by a selection committee. Its present chairman is Om Thanvi.

Born on December 10, 1952, in Jaisalmer’s Nokh village, Dr. Bhati is a noted poet and scholar in the Rajasthani language. His poetry reflects folk traditions of Rajasthan. His poetry collection, Hanstoda Hotan Rau Saanch (The Truth of Smiling Lips), is taught at Sukhadiya University.

After completing his master’s degree in Hindi, Dr. Bhati did his research on poetry from Jayanarayan University.

Aankh Heeyae Ra Hariyal Sapna, published in 2010, is a collection of poems that touch upon the geography of the Thar region, its culture and folk life. They also talk about the effects of globalisation. The collection delves into the plight of migrant villagers but also holds out hope and positivity.

The KK Birla Foundation also presents the Saraswati Samman, which is given to an outstanding literary work by an Indian citizen in any of the languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of the Constitution; and the Vyas Samman, given annually to an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored in the last 10 years.

This village in Bihar wouldn’t care even if onions cost Rs 500. Know why?

Source – indiatoday.in

Onion prices are skyrocketing all over the country retail rate of onion has gone up to Rs 70 per kg to Rs 100 per kg in different parts of the country.

In Bihar, the price of onion has gone up to Rs 70-80 per kg. Onion prices are increasing in such a way that Bihar State Cooperative Marketing Association Limited (BISCOMAUN) has been supplying onions at Rs 35 per kg for the last few days to provide relief to people in many areas of Bihar’s capital Patna.

Interestingly there is a village in Bihar that has no interest in the prices of onion even if it touches Rs 500. The Triloki Bigha village in Chiri Panchayat of Jehanabad district, which is 80 kilometers from Patna. There are 35 families in this village and the population is about 300 to 400 people.

No matter how high the prices of onions are across the country, people of this village don’t care as no one eats onions in the entire village.

Surprisingly enough it was discovered that every person in this village is pure vegetarian and do not consume onion or garlic. No one in the village touches liquor too.

Elders in this village say no one has eaten onion or garlic in this village for many centuries.

A native of the village, Rampravesh Yadav said, “The people of this village stopped eating onions since centuries because there is a temple of Lord Vishnu in this village.” Even today the people of the village follow the practice started by their ancestors with full sincerity.

Yadav further added that he doesn’t even know what the price of onion is.

Rampravesh Yadav also claimed that some villagers who ate onions in the past met with accidents. Then the villagers decided not to ever consume onions.

Yadav also said that the villagers definitely have some difficulties in following the tradition but they adhere to it, adding that if any person ever goes out of the village, he tries to eat food in a place where onion and garlic are not used.

Bihar: Notre Dame Academy turns 60, governor graces diamond jubilee celebrations.

Source – indiatoday.in

he prestigious Notre Dame Academy, Patna, celebrated its diamond jubilee on Wednesday which was marked by a colourful event by the students of the school.

Bihar Governor Fagu Chauhan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, called for all the school to provide quality education and maintain highest level of transparency in admission of students.

“The purpose of education should not be just to prepare a youth to get a job. The purpose should be to prepare committed citizen to serve the nation,” said Fagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar.

The guest of honour on this occasion was Patna Archbishop William D’Souza SJ. Patna Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal and District Magistrate Kumar Ravi also graced the occasion. Principal Sr. Mary Jessy, SND and Headmistress Sr. Tresa were present too.

Governor Fagu Chauhan, speaking during the event themed “Education for Transformation,” appreciated the effort made by the Notre Dame Academy to provide education to students from economically weaker section of the society by running Julie School for underprivileged children.

Principal Sr. Mary Jessy, on this occasion, presented a memorabilia to the Governor. Many teachers, sisters and former students were also felicitated by the principal during the event.

It may be mentioned that Notre Dame Academy has been ranked as the No.1 girls day school in Bihar for the fourth time by the Education World School rankings 2019-20.

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.

5 lakh including MBA, Engineers, post graduates apply to become gardener and watchman in Bihar.

Source – indiatoday.in

all it unemployment or the craze to get a “sarkari naukri”, more than 5 lakh candidates have applied for Group D jobs in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha.

Interviews for the same are currently underway to fill vacancies for 166 posts which include watchman, gardener, peon and cleaners. What is shocking, however, is the fact that most of the applicants for the job are B-Tech, MBA, post graduates and graduates degree holders.

Technocrats and professional degree holders applying for the Group-D jobs in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha raises questions whether this is because of unemployment or fad to get a government job. Interestingly, the minimum qualification required for the 166 posts are 10th class pass but most of the applicants are over qualified for the job.

“I am working for a private company but my salary is not enough for a family of four. I want to get a government job to take care of my family,” says Ajay Kumar, who is a graduate and recently appeared for the interviews along with his wife Monika Kumari who too has applied for the same job.

“We can do anything to get a government job,” said Monika Kumari.

More than 4.5 lakh applicants have appeared for the interviews till now which started in September 2019. On an average, 1500-1600 applicants are appearing for interview everyday at the Vidhan Sabha. This has also triggered a controversy with opposition hitting out at Nitish Kumar government for rising unemployment in the state.

“Engineers and MBA degree holders are applying for post of gardener and peon. This is a big issue. Does Nitish Kumar want qualified people to become peons in his government?,”questioned RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav.
Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra has demanded an inquiry on how 1500-1600 interviews are being conducted everyday meaning 10 seconds to interview each candidate.

“This is a matter for investigations on how so many applicants are appearing for interviews on daily basis. There is job crisis and unemployment in the state and therefore engineers and professional degree holders are applying for Group-D jobs,” said Prem Chand Mishra.

BJP, on the other hand, has termed large numbers of professionals and technocrats applying for Group-D jobs as a craze to get a sarkari naukri.

Highest number of acute respiratory infections among under-5 children in Bihar.

Source – financialexpress.com

Bihar recorded the highest prevalence of acute respiratory infections among under-five children among the five high-burden states between September 2018 and June 2019. The prevalence of acute respiratory infections among under-five children was 18.2 per cent in Bihar, followed by Uttar Pradesh (15.9 per cent), Jharkhand (12.8 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (11.6 per cent) and Rajasthan (8.4 per cent), according to report — “Situation Analysis of Pneumonia in India” — released on Tuesday.

Household air pollution emerged as the important risk factor for childhood pneumonia.

The report by a non-profit charity organisation, ‘Save the Children’, highlighted that children from households using improved fuel for cooking LPG had a preventive effect. It revealed 2 per cent lower probability of reporting acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in households using clean fuels for cooking.

“ARI prevalence was 4 per cent higher among chidren, wherein breastfeeding was initiated later than one hour after childbirth and 2.4 per cent higher in cases where they were exclusively breast fed for less than 6 months,” the report stated.

According to the report, awareness on signs of pneumonia and importance of early care seeking was poor. This is a critical gap that requires focussed attention.

Almost 81 per cent caregivers preferred private sector for availing medical treatment for pneumonia in children. Under-reporting of pneumonia cases both in public and private healthcare domain, the report stated.

The report encapsulates results from an in-depth assessment of five high-burden states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, mapping the challenges and calling for action.

Dr Ajay Khera, Commissioner, Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health, explained how it focuses on improving the quality of care at birth, which involves equipping ASHA workers and mobilizing mothers to healthcare centres.

“Health and Wellness centre is a new entrant in the health system, which will help reaching out to grassroots level. The government has set really ambitious targets to tackle childhood maternity and is totally committed for this cause,” Khera said.

Anindit Roy Chowdhury, Director, Programmes, Save the Children, said, “Pneumonia is still the leading cause of death in children and accounts for 14.3 per cent of under 5 deaths in India, which translates to 1 child death every 4 minutes. India contributes to 17 per cent of global under 5 pneumonia deaths.”

“Addressing childhood Pneumonia is one of the three centenary commitments of Save the Children and we are committed to end preventable pneumonia deaths.This current report, entitled, ‘Fighting for breath in India’, that we are launching, is a step towards that commitment,” Chowdhury said.

Save the Children and UNICEF have entered into a partnership at global level in the fight against childhood pneumonia and is committed to support the health ministry in the roll out of the recently launched SAANS campaign on Pneumonia.

The organisation has also recently collaborated with Philips India to develop and prove low-cost innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis and management of Childhood Pneumonia.

Maharashtra political drama may impact BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar.

Source – indiatoday.in

he breaking of pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena after the declaration of the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election results on October 24 has led to some serious mulling over the fate of the BJP and its alliance partners in others states. The concern looks more serious in Bihar where the BJP-JDU combine is in power at present than other states.

Bihar goes to polls in just about 10 months and the breaking up of 30-year-old BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has become the biggest talking point in the state with many speculating what will happen to the BJP-JDU alliance. Barring four years between 2013 and 2017, the JDU and the BJP are alliance partners for 22 years.

JDU president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had severed ties with the BJP after it became clear that then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would be elevated as the prime ministerial candidate of the NDA for 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Nitish Kumar’s JDU has always donned the cap of the big brother in Bihar since he came to power in 2005 with BJP choosing to remain second fiddle. Though the BJP and the JDU contested equal number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections (17-17), it should not be perceived that both parties were at par.

The BJP with 22 MPs in 2014 had to sacrifice five sitting seats to accommodate the JDU, which turned out to be the biggest gainer. It had just two MPs in 2014 and managed to win 16 of the 17 seats in Bihar in 2019.

However, only a few months back, the BJP and the JDU had engaged in massive war of words over who would lead the NDA in the next assembly polls in Bihar. BJP’s Dalit face Sanjay Paswan suggested Nitish Kumar should make way for a BJP chief minister in 2020 and graduate to national politics.

The remarks by Sanjay Paswan left the JDU fuming and the normalcy returned only after Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah said the BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar is “atal” (immovable) and that the Bihar Assembly election will be contested under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.

Amit Shah’s effort to put an end to all sorts of speculation over Nitish Kumar’s role in the NDA for 2020 Bihar Assembly election was seen as the BJP’s inability to gain foothold in the state where it faced a massive defeat in 2015 state polls following split with the JDU.

Though in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP made a clean sweep winning all the 17 seats it contested, the party still believes assembly election is a totally different ball game. The party does not want to risk going alone in the election and prefers to bank of the image of “Sushasan Babu” Nitish Kumar. The combination has worked well for the alliance in 2005 and 2010 when it registered emphatic victories.

However, following the Maharashtra episode, the BJP in Bihar has started targeting the JDU signaling that any move mirroring the Shiv Sena could spell disaster for the regional party.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi congratulated Devendra Fadnavis after his Saturday swearing in with a twisted tweet taking a veiled aim at Nitish Kumar too. He said, “Sharad Pawar like Nitish Kumar knew that BJP is more reliable than Congress. Shiv Sena was like RJD. Very difficult to work with party like Shiv Sena or RJD, full of lumpens.”

Sources say, Sushil Modi, considered close to Nitish Kumar, through this tweet obliquely hinted at Bihar chief minister advising him to keep distance from the Congress, which has never appeared averse to Nitish Kumar for his secular credentials. Sushil Kumar Modi also warned Nitish Kumar against allying again with the RJD the way he did in 2015.

Speculation is rife that BJP firebrand leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh’s comments after Fadnavis took oath as Maharshtra chief minister was also aimed at Nitish Kumar. Singh said, “Greed and arrogance invite disaster.”

Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s statement is too being seen as a veiled message to the JDU national president. “Animal which is indecisive whether to go left or right gets killed on the road,” Paswan wrote on Twitter.

The JDU too obliquely criticized BJP for allying with NCP (Ajit Pawar) and relinquishing its ideology for power.

In such circumstances, the bone of contention could be the seat-sharing agreement between the BJP and the JDU. Both parties would be keen to grab a larger piece of the cake. Remember, some seats also have to be given to the LJP, another alliance partner of the NDA in Bihar.

The BJP would be keen to settle for the seat-sharing formula based on the Lok Sabha elections where both parties fought equal number of seats. However, the JDU would want to keep the 2010 formula as the reference point when both parties fought elections together. The JDU contested on 141 seats and BJP on 102.

However, the BJP, in any case, would not want the JDU to fight on more number of seats that itself. This would not only send a message of the JDU being a big brother in the alliance but might also give the JDU an opportunity to dump the BJP post-poll if it wins more than 100 seats in a house of 243. The half way mark in Bihar Assembly is 122.

Interestingly, results of the assembly elections in neighboring Jharkhand may also have a bearing on the BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar. The BJP is fighting the Jharkhand election alone, snapping ties with All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU). If it wins Jharkhand election, it will not only strengthen its position in NDA but will also shield from pressure politics of the alliance partners.

Bihar: Protesting Minor’s Rape in Kaimur District, Mob Pelts Stones, Burns Shops.

Source – thewire.in

New Delhi: A mob in the Kaimur district of Bihar turned violent on Monday after a video of a 17-year-old girl gang-raped by four men in Bihar was released by one of the accused on Saturday. The girl was waiting to return home from her coaching classes when the accused persuaded her to drop by a nearby parked car. Later, four men took turns to rape her in the moving vehicle.

The offence went unreported for a week as the survivor had been threatened by the accused that they would upload the video on social networking sites if she reported anything to the police. During this time, the accused again tried to sexually exploit her. Eventually, on Saturday, the accused made the video viral.

As per the SP, two of the four accused – Arbaaz Daroga alias Kallu and Sonu Shahwaz – have been arrested and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) is formed to nab the remaining two.

Protesting the incident, a mob pelted stones at the house of the accused in the Mohania area and torched makeshift shops and motorbikes of a particular community. Some four-wheelers were also heavily damaged.

In order to control the situation, Kaimur district magistrate and superintendent of police Dilnawaz Ahmed organised a peace committee meeting and appealed to the communities to maintain communal harmony in the town.

“The police swung into action and tried to ascertain the place of occurrence and the identity of the accused. On Sunday night, two of the accused were arrested,” Mohania SDPO Rajendra Singh told the Times of India.

The accused have been booked under various sections of the IPC, including wrongful confinement, gang rape and Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The SDJM court at Bhabhua recorded the survivor’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC and sent her to the Sadar hospital for medical examination.

Three of the four accused have been identified in the video, which has been sent to the forensic science laboratory in Patna, while the fourth accused has been identified by the survivor.

“My repeated requests to spare me went on deaf ears as the accused kept on repeating the crime. At one point of time, I fell unconscious. That also didn’t deter them,” the survivor told the investigating officers.

Tejashwi Yadav’s Bihar Reminder To Sushil Modi After Tweet On Maharashtra.

Source – ndtv.com

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav took a jibe at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday, reminding of the “khela” (play) enacted in Bihar a couple of years ago in the that helped the BJP achieve power despite having lost the mandate.

Mr Yadav added that had his party joined hands with the BJP, Sushil Modi would have still been the deputy but serving under “a Chief Minister of our party.”

The RJD leader rose from his seat in the state assembly, speaking in support of other opposition MLAs were raising slogans against police clamp down on a Congress procession by

As Mr Yadav began speaking about alleged attempts by the Nitish Kumar government to “muzzle the oppositions voice”, he turned towards Sushil Modi and said, “Modi-ji says many fine things happen in the night. Bihar too has seen such a khela, when a government was formed in the thick of the night”.

Mr Yadav was referring to a tweet by Mr Modi in which he had defended his party against criticism from the opposition over the developments in Maharashtra.

“Many big things have happened in the thick of night. Independence was achieved and the Union Jack was lowered at midnight,” Mr Modi had tweeted in Hindi.

Mr Yadav’s insinuation was about the developments that took place in Bihar in July, 2017 when Nitish Kumar resigned, disapproving of the RJDs refusal to heed demands for his resignation in the backdrop of a money laundering case.

Mr Kumar sprung a surprise less than 24 hours later when he was sworn in as Chief Minister again as he staked claim to form a new government with the support of BJP, paving way for Mr Modi’s return as deputy, four years after he was stripped of the post as Mr Kumar snapped ties with the BJP.

Mr Yadav’s tongue-in-cheek remark was, however, drowned out in the shouting of slogans by agitated members which prompted Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary to adjourn the proceedings till

Mr Yadav said his party too had the option of tying up with the BJP and retaining power but decided otherwise on account of ideological commitments.

“It seems to have become the BJPs style of functioning. We saw similar things happening in Goa. As the matter is sub judice, I would not like to say much about Maharashtra but wait for the Supreme Courts verdict,” he said.

Incidentally, Mr Modi had claimed during the Lok Sabha polls this year that Mr Kumar’s exit from the grand alliance had come months after a meeting Lalu Yadav had with the late Union minister Arun Jaitley.

Patna Air Turns ‘Severe’; Supreme Court Issues Notice to All States on Pollution.

Source – weather.com

In an unprecedented step, the Supreme Court issued a notice to all Indian states and Union Territories on Monday, seeking their response on why they should not be held accountable to pay compensation to people for not providing clean air.

Even on the day of the hearing on air pollution, November 25, two cities from the state of Bihar recorded the highest AQIs as reported in the Daily Air Quality Index (AQI) Bulletin by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Patna was the most polluted city in the country with ‘severe’ 24-hour average AQI of 404.

Are authorities neglecting environmental issues in cities?

In a three-hour hearing, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprising Deepak Gupta said: “The AQI is extremely poor in many cities and towns. We also need to know how they are managing garbage. It appears that these issues have lost priorities for the authorities.”

Pollution levels in the country, particularly in the northern half of the state, consistently rise during the post-monsoon season. While the air quality worsens in almost all the regions, some states and union territories have persistently recorded the poorest air quality since the past few years.

Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Punjab are some of the regions where unhealthy air has lately become the norm.

Eastern cities most polluted on Monday

Patna and Muzaffarpur were the most polluted cities on Monday with AQI values of 404 (severe) and 393 (very poor) respectively. They were followed by West Bengal’s Howrah (329) and Asansol (324).

While the entire Indo-Gangetic plain is often the most polluted region in the country mainly due to geographic and meteorological reasons, so far this season, northwestern cities from Delhi NCR and Haryana had remained the most polluted cities. On Monday, only cities from Bihar and West Bengal remained the most polluted with ‘very poor’ air quality.

Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Lucknow and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), Jorapokhar (Jharkhand), Vapi (Gujarat) and Narnaul (Haryana) occupied the rest of the spots on the list of top 10 most polluted cities.

Endangering right to life

Apart from air pollution levels, the bench also pointed out the emerging issue of unavailability of clean drinking water in many cities and towns. “Yamuna river has turned into sewage. River Ganga is also in the same condition. River water pollution is a major issue,” said the court.

SC observed that the right to life has been endangered by the states due to lack of response on most pressing issues.

“We have noted that every year, and year after year, the process is worsening…time has come to protect the right to life. Why should they (state administrations) not pay compensation on air pollution, not lifting garbage etc.? Time has come to rewind the state machinery,” said Justice Mishra.