Tag: patna

Security beefed up at Patna’s Beur Jail after IB alert of possible jailbreak attempt by Maoists

Source: hindustantimes.com

Unprecedented security has been deployed at Patna’s famous Beur Jail since late Wednesday night after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) alerted the Bihar police about a possible jailbreak attempt by Maoists and terrorists, much like the 2005 Jehanabad jail break incident.

Police said at least 80 jawans of Bihar Military Police (BMP) and other personnel have additionally been deployed at the jail.

Senior police officers are camping in the jail and carrying out search operations. Director general of police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey and home secretary Amir Subhani also visited the jail and supervised the security arrangements.

In November 2005, hundreds of Maoists had stormed the Jehanabad jail and freed several of their top leaders. In all, 341 prisoners fled in that incident.

The Beur jail houses several Maoist leaders, hardened criminals and at least a dozen terrorists associated with banned outfits like Indian Mujahideen (IM), Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Officials said the search operations led to recovery of several cell phones and few other items not permitted inside the jail.

As per the IB alert, the accused in the Bodh Gaya and Gandhi Maidan terror blasts, along with other criminals lodged inside the jail, had planned to carry out a repeat of the Jehanabad incident or a major blast.

After inspecting the jail, the DGP instructed officials to intensify patrolling in the area. “We raided several wards and recovered some cell phones. We are alert and ready to tackle any eventuality,” he said.

DIG (central range, Patna), Rajesh Kumar, however, preferred to downplay the jailbreak threat. “We are carrying out routine raids and reviewing the security in the wake of attack on a constable at Danapur court by an undertrial prisoner recently. The objective to prevent repeat of such incidents,” he said.

Jail officials said that the accused in Bodh Gaya and Gandhi Maidan blasts lodged inside Beur jail had in October 2017 clashed with the jail security personnel and also raised anti-national slogans. Among other things, they had decried the quality of food served to them. Since then, they have been confined to their cells and not allowed to meet with others.

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.

Cloudy Patna Stays Hot, Humid as Floods Ravage Bihar

Source: weather.com

Bihar is in the throes of a crisis, with massive floods killing over 30 and affecting nearly 18 lakh people across its northern region.

Over the last week, Bihar received heavy rainfall as a cyclonic circulation over north India and parts of Nepal caused atmospheric instability in the region. To its north, the Terai region of Nepal received nearly 300 mm rain, against the normal of 50 mm, over the last 3-4 days. This forced Nepal authorities to open up all the gates of the Kosi barrage.

As rivers swelled their banks, hundreds of villages across Sitamarhi, Araria, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Supaul and Darbhanga were inundated. Road links as well as power supply have been hit in some of these places as well.

However, the capital Patna did not witness any rainfall on Sunday. Patna belongs to the south-central subdivision of Bihar and the IMD forecasts generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers in Patna for the next 48 hours.

The current forecast for the capital shows a hazy sky with humidity over 70%. The Weather Channel’s hourly data shows that Patna may receive scattered thunderstorms on Monday. These are likely to start late in the night and continue into Tuesday morning. Rainfall in Patna is expected to begin late Tuesday night and continue till the next morning.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to range from 28°C to 38°C in Patna. However, it may feel much hotter–around 40-43°C–due to high humidity. Gentle west-north-westerly winds are likely to criss-cross Patna through the day at speeds of 5-15 km/h.

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) data for seasonal rainfall shows that Bihar has received 388.9 mm rainfall up to July 14, which is in line with the long-term average for the state.

Google is using AI to monitor flood in India, pilot project Patna called a success

Source: indiatoday.in

ndia accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the flood-related fatalities in the world. Nearly 107,487 people have died due to heavy rains and floods in India over a span of 64 years between 1953 and 2017. And the floods are only getting worse year after year. Is there something that can be done? While the Indian government is working on solutions that will mitigate effect of flood, Google has deployed its artificial intelligence (AI) systems and machine learning to predict floods with better accuracy, which can give people more time to prepare for it and migrate to a safer location.

Google has started Flood Forecasting Initiative in India, which aims to develop an ecosystem that predicts floods and informs people before such a natural calamity strikes so that loss to life and property can be reduced. The company piloted a program in Patna last year which was able to predict floods and the regions that it would be affected due to the natural disaster with an accuracy of over 90 per cent.

Achieving such a high accuracy is no ordinary feat, as it requires a combination of factors including a deep understanding of the topography, tons of historic data and real-time information that needs to be processed together to predict the region that would be affected by the floods. Google achieved this by combining the data from government agencies that provide on-ground information from measuring devices placed on the spot and thousands of images of the flood prone areas captured by various satellites orbiting the Earth.

The tech giant then ran hundreds of thousands of simulations on its machine learning models — such as the hydrologic model and the hydraulic model — to predict the flow of water in a particular region and create accurate flood forecasts, which in this case was near Patna.

Now, all this sounds quite simple. But in reality, the company faced a lot of challenges, both technological and regulatory while collecting data for its flood forecast model and broadcasting this information out to the public. While the company collaborated with governments and purchased and aggregated the distributed data to overcome some of the technological hurdles, to overcome the regulatory obstacles, the tech giant showed the governments results based on historic data and piloted in a small region to build the trust among other things.

“Part of what the biggest technological challenge here is to do something that is automated but is complex enough to work anywhere in the world… that is something that we are still working on,” Software Engineering Manager at Google, Sella Nevo told the India Today Tech. “On the regulatory partnership side, I think we are on the first steps of a long process to persuade governments to trust us with such an important and sensitive system.”

Once the company’s ML models made predictions about the floods, it collaborated with government agencies and local NGOs to impart this information to the people in the region where the company’s AI had predicted would be affected by the floods. Google has a separate interface for government agencies like the Central Water Works Commission in India, NGOs and international agencies like the UN and the Red Cross society, where it gives away more detailed information regarding its forecasts. In addition to this, Google also informed people using Google Maps, Google Search and Android alerts. However, these alerts contain simplified information that can be easily understood by the general public.

In low connectivity areas, however, Google used a combination of three methods to inform the residents about the possible disaster. First, the tech giant provided information to the government so that it can roll out information to the public. Second, it partnered with NGOs, in this case: SEEDS in Patna, that have dozens of workers on ground who can spread the word as quickly as possible. Lastly, the company made all its alerts publicly accessible.

“We make these alerts publicly available and allow even commercial entities to use it so thatwe are hoping that other organisations will help to fill whatever gaps are left after our efforts,” said Nevo.

Patna pilot was a success and now Google is planning to scale its operations and launch its flood monitoring initiative in many locations near the Ganges and Bhramaputra. “We have expanded around Patna and we now have fairly large area around Guwahati We now cover around six times the area we did last year,” Nevo said.

But India is not the end, Google aims to deploy this system globally and it is focusing on the countries in the South East Asia region, which will be picked based on the number of fatalities and people affected. “Our high priority countries include Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Those are the areas where we hope to launch in the future,” said Nevo.

11 years and Rs 1-cr later, conservation work on Patna’s Gol Ghar still not complete

Source: hindustantimes.com

Conservation works at Patna’s Gol Ghar, a colonial-era monument, seem to be a typical case of bureaucratic apathy and red tape.

The structure is a granary built in 1786 by the then Governor General of India, Warren Hastings, following the famine in Bengal and Bihar in 1770. It was designed by the British architect, Captain John Garstin.

A few years ago, this pillar-less monument developed long, deep cracks above its entrances in all the four directions. Steps of its spiral staircase too developed cracks and were crumbling. Alarmed at the impending loss of the city’s history and heritage, Bihar’s archaeology department requested the Archaeological Survey of India to take steps to stop further damage and decay of the monument and handle its conservation work.

The ASI head office approved conservation plan for only 100 steps of the monument while the spiral staircase at the structure has 281 steps. To review this discrepancy and to get the things revised, the ASI (Patna Circle) has scheduled a meeting onFriday.

“We have invited some experts to suggest how to go with the work now,” H C Naik, ASI’S superintending archaeologist, Patna Circle, said.

The conservation works at the monument was started in 2008 and Rs 1.05 crore out of Rs 1.35 crore provided by the state’s archaeology department has already been spent. “Now it’s difficult to say who planned this kind of conservation works and got it approved. Many among the officials who had worked on this project might have got transferred or might have retired from the office,” Naik said.

“But it has got the ASI, Patna Circle, in the dock. Only 100 of the 281 steps can be repaired and restored under the approved conservation plan. Who will take care of rest of the structure,” he said.

“Also, the restoration work of this level will also give the monument an ugly look. The original steps were built of cement while the ASI is using lime mortar for conservation works and the difference between the two varieties is too glaring to remain unnoticed,” Naik said.

State’s archaeology director Atul Verma said the ASI was assigned the project as it has the expertise and experience in the conservation and restoration of monuments. “The state archaeology has already provided Rs 1.35 crore for conservation works. Now that the project will be revised, the budget of the project too is expected to increase,” he said.

After 8 years! India’s 1st dolphin research centre to come up in Patna

Sourcce: indiatoday.in

he foundation stone of India’s first dolphin research centre will be laid here on October 5, after an eight-year delay since it was first mooted, an officer confirmed.

DK Shukla, the senior officer from Bihar’s Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said: “It was announced by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi in state Assembly that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would lay the foundation stone of the National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) on October 5 on the bank of river Ganga in the premises of Patna University.”

Shukla said the development was a good news for conservation of the endangered Gangetic river dolphins in the country.

According to Gopal Sharma, a senior scientist at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the population of the endangered Gangetic river dolphins was stable along nearly 1,000 km stretch of the Ganga and its two major tributaries, Gandak and Ghaghra.

More than 1,500 dolphins were spotted by three teams of experts and scientists who undertook the exercise of enumeration of the species earlier this year. The NDRC will play an important role to strengthen conservation efforts and help in research to save the endangered mammal.

Another officer of the Department SAID the NDRC remained stuck for over four years due to refusal of Patna University to part with its land for it.

Unhappy over the delay, Nitish Kumar threatened last year that the NDRC might be shifted to Bhagalpur. After this, the varsity finally gave its clearance.

A well reputed expert on the Gangetic river dolphins, RK Sinha, who is also the current Vice Chancellor of the Nalanda Open University in Patna said the NDRC will prove a boon for research and conservation of dolphin.

It was Sinha’s idea to set up the NDRC in Patna and a proposal was approved by then Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahulwalia during his visit here in mid 2011 and early 2012.

Within a year, the commission had sanctioned Rs 28.06 crore for the NDRC in 2013 followed by the state government that also released Rs 18,16 crore to the Infrastructure Development Authority in 2014. But till July 2018, the NDRC remained a non-starter.

Sinha, known as the ‘Dolphin Man’ for his research of the Gangetic dolphins, said the species habitat has been threatened and disturbed in the river.

He said the Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to poachers and sometimes killed without intention after being trapped in fishs net and hit by machines.

The mammals are killed at an alarming rate with wildlife officials saying poachers kill them for their flesh, fat and oil.

Sinha, who was conferred the Padma Shri for his research on dolphin, said dolphin presence is the sign of a healthy river ecosystem. Dolphins prefer water that is at least 5ft to 8ft deep. They are usually found in turbulent waters, where there are enough fish for them to feed on.

Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, which helps them save energy. If they sense danger, they can dive into deeper waters. The dolphins swim from the no-current zone to the edges to hunt for fish and return, Sinha added.

Gangetic river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

2 children die, 5 others hurt in Patna after office building’s wall collapses

Source: hindustantimes.com

At least two children, including a seven-month-old girl, were killed and five people injured in Bihar’s Patna after a wall of an office building collapsed on a hut following heavy rains on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday.

Seven-month-old Nandini and nearly two-year-old Suraj alias Vishal died in the accident and Gopal, 3, Jackie, 8, Golden, 10, Binod Malli and his wife Reena Devi were injured.

The incident took place at about 9.45pm on Tuesday, when a portion of the 8-feet high and 70-feet long compound wall of the office of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) deputy director general fell on the nearby hut owned by Suresh Malli.

According to the police, the wall caved in due to heavy downpour near R Block under Sachivalaya police station area in the state capital. Patna received nearly 110 mm of rains from Monday morning till Tuesday evening.

“All the families have been contacted. I personally interacted with them, visited the accident site and gave Rs 4-lakh cheque to each of the two families,” Patna’s district collector Kumar Ravi said.

Ravi said three of the injured people were immediately rushed to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for further treatment and they will be closely monitored. He added that he has directed PMCH to provide free treatment to the injured.

Eight people were sitting inside the hut while Suresh was outside and his wife Bilaiya Devi was cooking. Locals rushed to the spot after they heard their cries and raised an alarm.

Rescuers also reached the accident spot to remove the collapsed portion of the wall with the help of an earth moving machine.

Local, however, alleged that the rescue operation was started late leading to the death of the two children who died under the debris. They said the wall was old and in a dilapidated condition.

“We had earlier complained about the poor condition of the wall but authorities didn’t pay heed to our complaints,” Anil Kumar Singh, a resident, said.

First spell of rain exposes Patna’s drainage system

Source: hindustantimes.com

The ongoing construction work across Patna for flyovers, roads, drains and laying of underground pipes, filled the capital city’s roads with wet debris, as monsoon rains hit the city in the last 24 hours. The residents’ miseries are expected to continue, as the meteorological department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall across Bihar, in the next five days.

All major roads in low lying areas were overflown with rainwater, as commuting became a hazardous and daunting task, especially for pedestrians and those driving two-wheelers. The roads leading to Mithapur bus stand, Ashok Rajpath, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Jaganpura, Beerchand Patel road, Sabzibagh and Kankarbagh were chock-a-block for most of the day as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace, wading through the waterlogged roads, due to the incessant rain.

Rainwater also seeped into several residential colonies, commercial buildings and hospitals. The medicine department of the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) was flooded with the rainwater throughout the day.

By evening, authorities claimed that the hospital was cleared of water, but not before several patients were shifted to safer locations, including the ICU surgery ward.

“This lane is already congested and perennially choked with traffic jam. The construction work has made it accident prone. Every now and then, two-wheelers get stuck and fall, especially during night,” said Pratik Gupta, a general store owner near PMCH.

The Mithapur bus stand wore a deplorable look, as the rains left ankle deep sludge, making it extremely difficult for passengers to board and de-board buses.

A similar situation prevailed in Kankerbag, another low lying area in Patna, where people were seen wading through waterlogged roads.

Patna Municipal Corporation, however, claimed that waterlogging was much lesser this year, compared to previous years. “PMC has carried out advance preparations to deal with monsoon and had arranged for bobcat, super sucker and de-watering machines. The corporation has also prepared a list of areas, including government and public places, which are more prone to waterlogging. Open drains are being repaired and maintained. Portable diesel pump sets and super sucker devices would work in waterlogged areas,” said a PMC official.

“There are 38 drainage pumping stations in Patna district. Assistant engineers are being deployed at each pumping station. 12 mobile squads are also being deployed, who will work at an interval of 24 hours. The water level of the pumping station is continuously monitored and open drainage is cleaned for free flowing of water,” the PMC official added.

Chetan Bhagat to deliver motivational talk in Patna on July 14

Source: business-standard.com

Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat will visit the city next week to motivate young men and women converging here from across the state for a function organized by the Bihar Skill Development Mission (BSDM).

Bhagat, on whose novel “Three Mistakes of My Life” Aamir Khan’s blockbuster “3 Idiots” was based, made the announcement in a video posted on the website of BSDM which is holding a three-day “Skill Carnival” beginning on July 13.

“Namaskar friends, I am looking forward to visit the ancient city of Pataliputra, or Patna, the land of Buddha and Mahavira, on July 14”, Bhagat says in the video in chaste Hindi.

“When we meet, we will share our dreams and our experiences. Our meeting is going to be very special as we will learn about our aspirations and motivate ourselves to fulfil these”, Bhagat – whose another work “Half Girlfriend” had a boy from Bihar as its protagonist – says.

“Your faith and your participation would be vital for determining the future course of the country and the world. So, see you on July 2014”, Bhagat – who has also wrote a non- fiction book “What Young India Wants” and is a regular columnist for many journals – signs off.

According to the state’s Principal Secretary, Labour Resources, Deepak Kumar Singh, the carnival is being held as part of the World Skill Youth Day celebrations which falls on July 15, the day when the function comes to a close.

Motivational talks will be held, along with cultural activities, on the first two days. Renowned actor Ashish Vidyarthi has already announced his availability for delivering the motivational talk on the inaugural day, Singh told PTI.

Besides, the participants will be showcasing the various skills they have learnt under programmes run by the BSDM. Prizes will be distributed among commendable performers on the final day, he added.

Founded in 2010, the BSDM started functioning actively 2016 onwards mainly on account of the saat nishchay (seven resolves) programme which accords top priority to make the youth employable, the principal secretary said.

Notably, the seven resolves were promises that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made to the voters of Bihar ahead of the 2015 Assembly polls which included improving sanitation, uninterrupted power supply and availability of piped water to all households among other things.

HEAVY MONSOON RAINS TO LASH PARTS OF PATNA, GAYA, PURNIA AND BEGUSARAI IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS

Source: skymetweather.com

Though the Monsoon has arrived long back over Bihar and Jharkhand, due to the absence of any significant weather systems, Monsoon remained deficit over these states. Only scattered rains were observed over a few places.

At present, a Cyclonic Circulation is lying over southeast Uttar Pradesh and adjoining Madhya Pradesh. Also, a trough is extending from Northwest India to Northwest Bay of Bengal across Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

These two systems will act as a catalyst and enhance the rainfall activities over Bihar and Jharkhand. We expect moderate rains over most of the places with few heavy spells during the next 24 hours. As a Trough is likely to shift further North, rainfall activity would cover most parts of Bihar and then the heavy rains might intensify. As per our experts, these heavy rains would continue over Bihar till July 11. Jharkhand too would receive moderate to heavy rains during the next three to four days. Thereafter, rainfall will decrease over the southern part but light to moderate rains will continue. Places like Supaul, Purnia, Araria, Patna, Gaya, Katihar, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Bhojpur, Begusarai, Munger, Nalanda, Buxar, etc are likely to be impacted by heavy to very heavy Monsoon rains in the next 24 hours.

This will be the first long spell after the initiation of Monsoon and the rains are likely to pay visit most parts of the states. Till date, for the Monsoon season, Bihar is rain deficit by 49% while Jharkhand is deficit by 44%. There are chances that with these hefty rains, deficiency levels might get recovered with a good percentage.