Tag: Bihar

Bihar plans all-CNG commercial car fleet for Patna

Source: downtoearth.org.in

The Bihar government said it plans to convert all commercial vehicles running on fossil fuel to be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), starting with Patna.

The number of vehicles registered in Bihar jumped 6.5 times in 11 years to 950,120 (February 2018), according to the state transport department. Pollution hasn’t been far behind.

The state capital was ranked the seventh-most polluted city in the world, with a PM (particulate matter) 2.5 count of 119.7 mg, according to the 2018 World Air Quality Report prepared by IQAir AirVisual and non-profit Greenpeace.

The Bihar State Pollution Control Board blamed this on vehicular emission, domestic fuel burning, burning of waste in the open, construction, industrial emissions and road dust.

Owners of all commercial vehicles in Patna have been advised to switch over to CNG to keep air pollution in check, transport department authorities said. “We are encouraging vehicle owners to opt for CNG; not only is it cheaper but also environment friendly,” state Transport Secretary Sanjay Agarwal told Down to Earth on September 5, 2019.

He said the current focus was on Patna and cars with petrol engines, even as the department was firming up a policy. Diesel-run vehicles will be taken up subsequently. Eight companies have been authorised to fit old vehicles with CNG kits, depending on models and variants, he added.

An official report pegged the number of commercial vehicles retrofitted with CNG kits at 150 so far.

The move hasn’t gone down smoothly with owners of commercial vehicles though. Describing the move as a punishment, Ranjeet Kumar, secretary of the Patna chapter of All India Road Transport and Workers Federation, said: “This will destroy our business and leave our families to starve.”

Auto drivers, who make an average Rs400-500 a day, will have to shell out about Rs 35,000 for a CNG kit. “How can they afford that without any government subsidy?” Kumar asked and warned of protests in case the government didn’t look into demands.

Of the state’s 922,500 commercial vehicles, 225,000 are auto-rickshaws, 190,000 trucks, 325,000 tactors, 75,000 buses, and 7000-7500 are tanker lorries.

Agarwal denied that the government was pressuring vehicle owners. State Transport Minister Santosh Kuamr Nirala, however, said on September 4 that though there was no compulsion and vehicle owners can attach kits voluntarily, “after certain period, conversion of all vehicles to CNG will be made mandatory.”

The lack of CNG filling stations — Patna has only two at the moment — is also a worry. The government has announced that three more will be added by mid-October.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar hints at pay hike for agitating Bihar teachers but only on a condition

Source: hindustantimes.com

In the face of an agitation by teachers seeking salary hike on the Teachers’ Day, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar gave them a stern message as well as hope of a salary hike in the near future.

Kumar asked the teachers to shoulder their main responsibility of teaching with sincerity first, as it was only his government that would do something for them, like in the past. “Don’t worry, we will do whatever is to be done, not others, who are these days joining your dharna. If you deserve, we will be happy to do it for you,” Nitish said, while taking a subtle dig at the opposition parties supporting the agitation.

Reminding them of a reversal at the hands of the Supreme Court earlier this year after a long legal battle and teachers’ condition prior to 2005, when Shiksha Mitras were appointed for a meagre Rs 1500, Kumar said he was not worried about demands raised by the teachers or his criticism, as it was their democratic right, but hoped that they never lose sight of their main role.

He also indirectly hit out at the opposition for allegedly fanning the stir after having called them “incompetent” earlier and also having blamed them for “destroying education”. “I always said that the teachers are competent. I have always stood by the teachers. I respect the teachers. And all I can assure you on the Teachers’ day is that in the future also, only we will do something, not those giving lip service,” Nitish said.

Ahead of the 2015 assembly polls, Bihar government had announced a new pay-scale for the school teachers following their long agitation.

On the occasion, he also launched the “Unnayan Bihar” programme, modelled on the lines of highly successful ‘Unnayan Banka’ project, for class 9-12 in all secondary and higher secondary schools run by the State. The programme involves use of information technology as supplement to classroom teaching to make learning more interesting and receptive.

Kumar said that from April 2020, all the panchayats in the State would have a secondary school starting with Class 9 and equipped to run the ‘Unnayan Bihar’ programme. “In the field of education, Bihar has done a lot with over 99% enrollment, major drop in the gender gap and a slew of other initiatives including huge infrastructure development, but the quality of education remained a concern. It is a global concern and that is why teachers’ role becomes important,” he added.

Kumar said that an intervention by the government will come at an “appropriate” time if the teachers did their job with “sincerity”. “All I expect from you is that you should shoulder your responsibility sincerely, as my commitment is to people. You raise your demands, but at the same time you also teach. Only demand will not do, certainly not if it is at the cost of teaching,” he added.

He also asked chief secretary Deepak Kumar to see what could be done for the teachers, hinting that another pay hike for teachers was under government’s consideration.

“When my government came to power, we had to make large-scale recruitment. We did so with a fixed pay of Rs 4000-7000, but later increased it and in 2015 put teachers on a pay-scale. In 2017, we also announced 7th pay commission benefits. Still, if I have to face criticism, I humbly take it in my stride. But be sure, only we will do it again,” he said.

The CM also honoured 20 teachers from across the state on the occasion. Despite protests by the teachers, all of the awardees turned up to receive the honour.

The awardees welcomed the CM’s speech, especially the hint to increase their salaries, some of the teachers, however, lamented the absence of any acclaimed teacher or eminent academician on the dais on the Teacher’s Day.

NRC demand in Bihar makes NDA a divided house

Source: hindustantimes.com

First came the opposition to the triple talaq bill. Then the disagreement on the abrogation of Article 370. And when things seem to be settling down within the NDA, the BJP’s demand for National Register for Citizens (NRC) in the Seemanchal region has once again brought uneasiness in the alliance in Bihar.

The two alliance partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal(United), have come face-to-face after the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior RSS leader Rakesh Sinha initiated the demand for NRC in four Bihar districts bordering West Bengal that have strong Muslim population.

While Sinha and few other BJP leaders are insistent that the influx of foreigners in these four districts has adversely impacted their local demography, JD(U) leaders, especially its minority face Gulam Rasool Baliyawi and party principal general secretary KC Tyagi, have criticised it as a case of minority hunting. The JD(U)’s vice-president Prashant Kishor had also criticised NRC in his recent tweet.

“We strongly favour NRC in the Seemanchal region. The region is replete with Bangladesh nationals, who have illegally migrated and settled there over the last several years,” said Sinha, who had been one of the most vocal protagonists of Hindutva politics. “There is an urgent need for NRC in Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea and Araria districts,” he added.

Though no senior BJP leader has come out strongly in support of Sinha’s demand, none of them has opposed it either. In fact, Sinha has the silent support of several of his party’s leaders, who are only preferring to stay away from making any statement.

The BJP and RSS have been eyeing to consolidate their position in Seemanchal for a long time but have failed to penetrate because of the high Muslim population in the region. Muslims account for 67.70% of the population in Kishanganj, 38% in Purnea, 43% in Katihar and more than 40% in Araria. However, Muslims only form 16.5% of Bihar’s 105 million population as per 2011 census.

The BJP, in a tactical move and taking into account the Muslim factor, gave four Lok Sabha seats to the JD(U) and contested only Araria earlier this year. The JD(U) won Purnia, Katihar and Madhepura and the Congress managed to win the Kishanganj seat, a traditional Congress bastion which it has won eight times so far. The BJP and JD(U) together won 17 and 16 seats respectively out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

In the 2015 assembly elections, the Grand Alliance, of which the JD(U) was then a part, had won 29 seats out of 37 seats in the Seemanchal and Kosi regions. Out of these, the JD(U) had won 14, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) seven and Congress eight. The BJP could manage to win just seven seats, while one seat had gone in favour of CPI(ML).

The assembly elections in Bihar are due in 2020. The GA comprising the RJD, JD(U) and Congress had won 178 out of 243 seats while the BJP could win 53 seats only in the last state polls. The JD(U) returned to the NDA’s fold in 2017. The alliance, also comprising the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), won a whopping 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, almost clean-sweeping the polls.

“The BJP’s demand for NRC is irking,” a JD(U) leader, who did not want to be named, said.

“The 2020 polls are knocking at the doors and such announcements will only displease the minorities, who have in the LS polls, voted for NDA in large numbers,” he added.

The JD(U)’s prominent Muslim face Baliyawi went on to seek NRC across the country. “Muslims in Seemanchal are not afraid of NRC but my question is why the minorities are being targeted through such absurd steps,” he asked.

Another senior JD(U) leader and Bihar industries minister Shyam Rajak said there is no outsider or foreigner in Bihar. “All those living here are Biharis,” he said.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, has repeatedly said that his party is not in favour of NRC.

“NRC is a very sensitive issue and it was implemented in Assam following clearance from the Supreme Court. But there is no need for NRC in Bihar or other states in the country. Our party is fully against sending citizens outside the country in the name of NRC,” said JD(U)’s principal general secretary Tyagi.

Prashant Kishor, who is an election strategist and close aide of Nitish Kumar, had two days ago opposed NRC, saying that it is a ‘botched up’ process meant to leave lakhs of people as foreigners in their own country.

Two railway engineers among a dozen people thrashed in Bihar on child-lifting rumours

Source: hindustantimes.com

In a worrying sign of mob attacks over rumours of child-lifting continuing unabated despite warning by the Bihar government to book the culprits under the Crime Control Act (CCA), a mob thrashed half-a-dozen people, including two railway engineers and a beggar woman, in two separate incidents on Tuesday.

In Samastipur, two engineers were thrashed in Munnichak-Sarsauna village under Bangra police station while they were busy conducting a survey for a new rail line project. The incident took place around 11.45 am when some villagers surrounded them, suspecting them to be child-lifters, and thrashed him.  The mob also damaged their vehicles and snatched mobile phones.

A police contingent was also called in to control the situation after villagers went on a rampage and attacked the policemen as well. “An FIR has been registered against named persons of the village and 15 unidentified for attempt to murder, rioting, criminal assault and criminal intimidation,” said local SHO Anil Kumar. Efforts are on to nab those named and others, he said.

Both engineers hail from Uttarakhand, the police said.  

In Begusarai also, a mob assaulted a mentally challenged woman at Khatopur village, suspecting her of being a child-lifter. The woman was rescued by police. 

Earlier, in Lakhisarai, a woman was mercilessly thrashed on similar rumours.

In Nalanda, a mob attacked a beggar, suspecting him to be a child lifter. Later, an investigation found him innocent.

Congress workers getting disillusioned in Bihar

Source: .outlookindia.com

Patna, Sep 3 The Congress party continues to be in a state of disarray in Bihar. With the Assembly polls scheduled next year, the party just doesn”t seem to be getting its act together.

The continued indecisiveness on the part of the party leadership has led to confusion among the party workers as to the future course of action on issues like the continuation of the alliance in the state.

The Congress spokesperson in Bihar, Harkhu Singh, admitted that the party is going through a very difficult phase. “Right from the central level to the state level, our party is right now going through a difficult phase. There is an urgent need for a change or a makeover. Our party interim President Sonia Gandhi is trying to do this,” he said.

The situation at the ground level is worsening day by day for the party in the state. A top Congress leader in the state admitted on the condition of anonymity that every other big or small party is busy with outreach programmes, but Congress leaders are not even attending the party meetings.

Recently, the state Congress” advisory committee meeting was held in Patna, the first after the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, but only eight of the 29 members turned up. The meeting was called to discuss the strategy to strengthen the party and the continuance of alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

While some senior leaders like Sadanand Singh want the party to go solo in the Assembly polls, some are in favour of continuing the alliance with the RJD.

“There is no dearth of leaders in our party. We should go solo in the polls. The alliance has not brought any benefits to us,” Sadanand Singh said.

The party had won only 27 out of the 243 seats in the last Assembly polls in 2015, clearly showing that the alliance with RJD did not benefit them.

A Congress leader said: “Most of the leaders are only working in their constituencies in order to save their seats. No one is working on the organisational level.”

Before the Lok Sabha polls, big names like Shatrughan Sinha, Uday Singh and Tariq Anwar had joined the party, but none could achieve electoral success. Now the party has been left with a bigger problem of giving befitting responsibilities to each of them.

With no clear cut strategy on alliance, even the ordinary party worker is confused and disillusioned and this can very well spell more trouble for the Congress.

Two suspected JMB operatives arrested from Bengal’s Malda district

Source: hindustantimes.com

The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police on Tuesday morning arrested two suspected operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB) Bangladesh from an area near Shamsi police station of Bengal’s Malda district. The two nabbed were identified as Abdul Bari (28) and Nijamuddin Khan (28).

According to the police, Bari and Khan were looking after the recruitment and training of the newly recruited JMB members under the instructions of Salahuddin Salahein and Ejaz Ahmed, two top leaders of the outfit.

Officers described Bari and Khan as “two main organisers of the newly detected JMB’s Uttar Dinajpur module”. Both are residents of Bengal’s North Dinajpur district.

Just one day ago, STF authorities said they arrested a suspected JMB member Abul Kashem alias Kashem, who hailed from Durmut village under Mangalkot police station in Burdwan district. He was arrested from the Canal East Road in Kolkata.

STF officers said information about Abdul Bari and Nijamuddin Khan were given out by Kashem.

Bari and Khan were booked under IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging war against the govt of India), 122 (collecting arms etc with intention of waging war against the govt of India), 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), 124A( sedition), 125 (waging war against the govt of any Asiatic power in alliance with the govt of India).

A week ago the STF arrested Ejaz Ahmed, a top JMB operative, from Gaya in Bihar in connection with the Bodh Gaya explosion during the visit of the Dalai Lama. Salahein, a Bangladeshi national, who is presently leading JMB’s pro-Al Qaeda faction, is believed to be based in India since 2014.

Bari and Khan went into hiding after the arrest of Ejaz Ahmed, said STF.

After questioning the arrested JMB operatives, the STF officers have come to know that senior operatives of the JMB were planning to meet in Kolkata shortly to finalise their strategy before escaping to somewhere in South India.

“We have seized some incriminating articles and mobile phones from the possession of Bari and Khan,” said a statement.

Only last week, 19 of the 31 people arrested in connection with the Khagragarh blast were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment ranging from six years to 10 years after they pleaded guilty in a special National Investigation Agency court in Kolkata. They were all linked with the JMB.

Nilgai shot, buried alive in Vaishali dist of Bihar

Source: dnaindia.com

Many nilgai (antelope) were shot by hired shooters of forest department in Vaishali district of Bihar. Most nilgais died on the spot. The forest department of Vaishali district has claimed to have killed over 300 nilgai in the last four days. However, an injured nilgai met a tragic end, when it was buried alive after being pushed into the pit by a JCB machine. The video of the incident went viral and drew widespread condemnation.

On the initiative of Vaishali MLA Rajkishore Singh, with the cooperation of the state government and local administration, a shooter was called to carry out the gruesome killings, just to solve the problem of farmers who complain of their crops being destroyed by the nilgais. When the video went viral, Singh questioned the veracity of the video circulating on WhatsApp groups and termed it a “fabricated video”. However, the MLA wasn’t asked to respond to or questioned over the video, which suggests he had anticipated possible backlash and to avoid slander, tried to clear his hands.

As soon as the information of this whole matter came in, Vaishali SP Manavjit Singh Dhillon instructed the local Bhagwanpur police station to investigate the veracity of the viral video and when its authenticity came to light, sought clarification from forest department officials to take action on the people responsible for the live burial.

Meanwhile, Singh said, “This incident didn’t happen under my watch. I would not have allowed it to happen if I knew it. I had requested the DM to call the shooter and kill the Nilgais to reduce their numbers, after which forest department shooter came and shot Nilgais in many villages. The live burial is inhumane and I condemn it. Authorities will take the necessary actions.”

‘Poster War’ Over Nitish Kumar Being “Just Fine”, And Bihar “Sick”

Source: ndtv.com

PATNA: A “poster war” erupted in Bihar on Tuesday as the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal countered a recent slogan by the ruling Janata Dal-United that claimed Nitish Kumar was doing “just fine” as the chief minister, and there was no need for a leadership change ahead of the assembly polls next year.

“Kyon na karen vichaar, Bihar hai bimaar (why not think for a change when Bihar is sick) screamed a poster put up by the RJD at its state headquarters on the Birchand Patel Marg in Patna. The party also came out with several verses on social media, alleging that the state was in a bad shape under Nitish Kumar and there was an urgent need for leadership change.

The RJD’s poster came up a day after people noticed that the JDU had, at its own headquarters right across the road, put up two gigantic banners proclaiming “Kyon karen vichaar, theeke to hain Nitish Kumar”. 

Roughly translated, it means “Where’s the need to think (about political alternatives) when Nitish Kumar is doing just fine”.

The slogan was the latest in a series of catchy one-liners the JDU has come up with to capture public imagination and eyeballs.

Two such older posters with slogans — Bihar mein bahar hai Nitish Kumar hai (Bihar blooms, the state wants only Nitish Kumar) and Sachcha hai, achha hai, chalo Nitish ke saath chalo (he is good, he is honest, let us go with Nitish) — can be still found inside the JDU office premises.

The move is being seen as an attempt by the JDU, a party without much organizational depth which banks heavily on the charisma of Nitish Kumar, also its national president, to suggest that despite the growing clout of ally BJP, the party still saw Mr Kumar as the NDA’s best bet in the state.

However, senior BJP leader C P Thakur, a former state party chief and a colleague of Mr Kumar in the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had a different take on the slogan.

“I do not know why the JDU has used the expression ‘theeke hai‘ for Nitish Kumar. It gives an impression that he has been just okay when his performance as chief minister has been truly commendable. The party has a right to coin its own slogans, but it could have come up with something better,” CP Thakur told reporters in Patna.

JDU sources said on condition of anonymity that the slogan was coined by a senior office-bearer of the party who does not have “much aptitude for political strategy”.

It was unlike the 2015 assembly polls when Prashant Kishor, now the party’s national vice-president, had got his team to come up with “Bihar mein bahar hai, Nitish Kumar hai” which, rendered to acclaimed composer Sneha Khanwalkars tune, had worked wonders for the party when it had hit a rough patch, he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP leader known to be close to Nitish Kumar, reminded on Twitter assembly elections in the state are more than a year away. 

“This is not the time when the NDA would like to be in the poll mode…… there is neither any doubt nor any infighting over the issue of leadership in our camp.”

Sushil Modi had, in a rare gesture, said in the state assembly during the Monsoon session last month that the ruling coalition would contest the assembly polls under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.

Several hardliners in the BJP have shown the inclination for asserting the party’s supremacy in Bihar after its phenomenal growth under the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combine. 

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar bats for the girl child

Source: indiatoday.in

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has a clear message to those who get happy only when a son is born in the family. “Beti Paida hone par bhi khush hoyiye (Be happy also when a daughter is born in the family). The government is here to take care,” he said.

Indeed, Nitish Kumar is willing to walk the talk. “The government will provide a grant of Rs 2,000 at the birth a girl child in the family. Another Rs 1,000 would be provided once the girl’s Aadhaar registration is done. It will be followed by another incentive of Rs 2,000 after completion of all immunisation procedures of the girl. This is in accordance with Mukhya Mantri Kanya Utthan Yojana (Chief minister’s scheme for development of girls),” said the Chief Minister.

The scheme, a brainchild of Nitish Kumar, is applicable to all irrespective of caste, family income or religion. In addition to this, the girls clearing intermediate examination (+2) and who are not married would get a one-time incentive of Rs 10,000 from the government.

Another Rs 10,000 will be provided as incentive to a girl if she acquires a graduation degree. Nitish Kumar’s total package announced for a girl child in Bihar is Rs 25,000. This is in addition to the raise in the government’s allotments for uniforms, cycles and sanitary napkins.

Though Nitish Kumar’s government has already approved the proposals in an earlier Cabinet decision, the Chief Minister once again drove the message across recently on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations.

Although the Chief Minister did not mention the falling sex ratio of Bihar, it is surely a cause of concern for the state. The jarring irony is that while Bihar has highest birth rate (26.4 for state against India’s average of 16.8 in urban regions to 21.8 in rural regions), the state has a declining sex ratio. Bihar’s sex ratio has gone down from 910 per 1000 males in 2011, to 900 now.

It is even worse in urban Bihar where only 865 girls are per 1,000 males. Proportionately speaking, Bihar has fewer girls than what it had a decade ago. It leads to another shocking observation: more girls are allowed to born in villages, and not in cities of Bihar, where ironically, the educated and elites stay.

Patna High Court withdraws judicial work from senior judge

Source: thehindu.com

The Patna High Court has withdrawn all judicial work from a sitting senior judge of the court Rakesh Kumar who had in the course of hearing a corruption case against a former IAS officer on Wednesday highlighted the state of corruption in the judicial system. A 11-judge bench also suspended Justice Kumar’s order and ruled that no action ordered by him would be taken.

“All the matters pending before Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rakesh Kumar, sitting singly including tied up/part heard or otherwise stand withdrawn with immediate effect,” read a notice issued by the chief justice of the Patna High Court on August 28. “The registrar will implement the order forthwith subject to further orders with regard to the formation of the bench,” the bench said in the notice, which came into the public domain on Thursday. The bench also observed that their fellow judge had no “jurisdiction to pass such an order on a case that had been closed”.

“The registrar (list) will inform as to how and in what manner Cr. Misc. No. 4117 of 2018 that had been disposed of finally earlier was listed on Thursday at Sl. No. 1 under the heading ‘To be mentioned – Tied up’ before Justice Rakesh Kumar,” the bench said in the notice.

The Bihar Advocate General Lalit Kishore told journalists in Patna that the bench had also made strong observations and expressed serious concern over the long order passed by Justice Kumar in which he had raised questions over the majesty of the court and integrity of judicial system.

Before his elevation as a judge, Justice Kumar had served as a CBI counsel in the Patna High Court during hearings on the multi-crore fodder scam case against the then chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad . On Wednesday, while hearing a corruption case against retired IAS officer K. P. Ramaiah, Justice Kumar in his 20-page order had questioned how the former officer was granted bail in a corruption case when the High Court as well as the Supreme Court had earlier rejected it. Mr. Ramaiah was accused of financial misappropriation of ₹5 crore in the Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission when he was its CEO. “A corrupt officer like K. P. Ramaiah secured bail as a vacation judge heard his case in place of the regular judge of the Vigilance Court,” Justice Kumar said in his order.

“In normal course, I would not have passed such order, but since last few years, this Court is taking notice of the fact that in Patna Judgeship, things are not going in its right perspective,” Justice Kumar observed, while adding that the manner in which Mr. Ramaiah was granted bail required a deeper probe as it had raised questions about the judiciary. Justice Kumar also ordered an inquiry to be conducted by the District Judge, Patna, to check the veracity of a news report. Further while calling for a report within four weeks, he also ordered an inquiry into whether on the date of granting bail to Mr Ramaiah, the regular vigilance court judge was on leave due to a genuine cause or had gone on leave in a calculated way. The District Judge was also asked to examine the record of cases disposed of by the in-charge judge in the last six months.

In his order, Justice Kumar also raised questions about the judiciary and said that the full bench of the Patna High Court had taken a lenient view every time the case of any judge from the lower judiciary came up. “Despite my opposition, a judge facing serious charges was let off with minor punishment instead of exemplary punishment,” Justice Kumar said in his order. He also made scathing remarks about taxpayers’ money being spent on renovation of judges’ homes. “There were instances of crores of the taxpayers’ money being spent on renovation and furnishing bungalows of judges as well as nepotism,” he said in the order. Further, Justice Kumar ensured that a copy of his order be sent to the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister’s office and the Union Law ministry.