Tag: Ranchi

Herbal pills of ‘happiness’ brood in Ranchi

Source: dailypioneer.com

At a time when mental health has become the elephant in the room and the use of psychotropic drugs is becoming as common as antacids, Ayurvedic experts and clinical scientists in Ranchi claim that herbal medicines coupled with proper counseling can be an effective substitute for popping in an antidepressant every time you feel low or anxious.

Ranchi has been long known for its psychiatry institutes and the treatments they offer to patients suffering from common and severe mental illnesses. However, the use of herbal medicines to ease mental stress –a major contributor to most of the mental illnesses—is an area that remains unexplored so far. “The use of herbal medicines for treating mental illnesses has great potential. A class of plants called Medhya Rasayana has been clinically proven to improve memory and enhance cognitive functions,” said Dr. Suresh Kumar Agarwalla, an MBBS who has worked closely with patients in the psychiatry ward of Kolkata’s NRS Hospital.

Dr. Agarwalla, who runs his own practice in Ranchi, is against the use of antidepressants for common mental illnesses caused by daily stress. “First of all, counseling is must for any patient suffering from stress induced disorders. The commonly prescribed antidepressants only mask the symptoms, but do not address the root cause of it. Besides, these medicines also have side effects,” he said.

According to Agarwalla, in many cases, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI), which are commonly called antidepressants, further increase symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients. In some cases, they make patients lethargic, passive or too sleepy, he said. “Many doctors these days are in a hurry to treat patients in a short span of time, so they resort to prescribing psychotropic drugs even to patients who may get treated with counseling and lifestyle changes,” he said.

Another Ayurvedic practitioner based out of Ranchi, Dr. Akhawri Shankar, said that extracts of Ashoka tree is effectively used in treating diseases such as insomnia and dementia. Shankar also runs his own company of Ayurvedic medicines by the brand name KDS4 and sells medicines for treating mental illnesses. “There are nearly 900 types of mental diseases and around 300 of them are curable. Common disorders such as anxiety disorder and even severe ailments such as autism can be treated using Ayurvedic medicines,” he said.

Shankar added that thorough research in the field of Ayurvedic treatment for mental disorders can give major breakthroughs and help people lead better lives without the side effects of psychotropic drugs. Several scholars and even the American Psychological Association, one of the leading umbrella bodies that deals with psychiatric disorders and its treatments, has criticized the over-prescription of psychotropic drugs across the globe lately. Clinical psychologists and counselors have also voiced their reservations towards unabated use of psychotropic drugs, a practice becoming common in the younger generation in India.

“If you are in stress over a loss of job or a divorce, how can any pill make you feel better? You have to undergo counseling and address the core issue,” said Dr. Agarwalla, adding that the approach of “take a pill for every problem” was plaguing the society and making people vulnerable and fragile when it comes to dealing with challenges in life.

Psychiatrists, however, say that severe cases of mental illnesses do require the use of drugs. Dr. D Ram, Director of Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi refused to comment on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicines claiming that it was not his area of expertise.

He, however, said that psychotropic drugs prove to be life saver in many cases of severe mental illnesses and they should not be stigmatized.  “Psychiatry institutes have a multi-disciplinary approach towards patients. Common mental disorders are often treated with counseling and other forms of therapy, while the serious disorders may even require hospitalization and heavy dosage of drugs,” he said.

Mucky road test for Ranchi patients

Source: telegraphindia.com

The absence of a proper approach road to the 500-bed super-specialty wing of Ranchi Sadar Hospital is causing a lot of inconvenience to patients and their attendants.

The road that leads to the extended hospital wing, which was inaugurated with much fanfare by chief minister Raghubar Das two years back, has turned slushy after rain making the hospital inaccessible to visitors.

On an average, around 2,000 patients and doctors visits the hospital every day .

“People have been facing this problem for the last one month. You can neither walk nor negotiate the stretch on a two-wheeler without risking a fall. Patients and their attendants are the worst-hit. The state health department should at least put a layer of stone dust or morrum on the slush,” said Ravi Prakash, the relative of a patient.

One of two newly constructed buildings functions as a maternity wing where 100 pregnant women and children come for treatment daily.

“The problem recurs every monsoon. The road turns mucky and the hospital premises becomes dirty even after a mild drizzle. It’s incredible that two super-specialty units of the sadar hospital don’t have a proper road,” one of the hospital employees said on the condition of anonymity.

District civil surgeon Vijay Bihari Prasad said the department would make some stop-gap arrangement to resolve the issue.

“We are trying to get in touch with the officials of Jharkhand State Building Construction Corporation Limited (JSBCCL) so that they can direct the builder to fix the road by putting a layer of

stone dust or morrum. I don’t know whether the construction of the approach road and paver blocks are part of the project, but the problem can’t be left unattended,” Prasad said.

Prasad said the construction of the second building of the super-specialty wing would be completed by the end of December this year.

“We are also facing a problem regarding a designated parking space. We are going to ask the contractor to earmark a parking space,” he said.

The super-specialty wing, built at a cost of Rs 131 crore, has a curious past.

In 2011, JSBCCL undertook its construction and Bijeta Construction Company was awarded the contract.

In 2016, a PIL was filed in Jharkhand High Court over how the wing couldn’t be made functional even five years after the beginning of its construction. The health department had informed the high court that it would complete the construction of the first phase of the super-specialty wing by March 2017.

Ranchi man suffering from blood cancer gets a new lease of life

Source: avenuemail.in

Ranchi, July 31: Doctors at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram successfully treated a 60-year-old patient Lal Mani Mahto of Ranchi who was suffering from Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) which is a type of Blood Cancer with no definitive medicines available. The patient was presented to Fortis Gurugram with the complaints od fever, low hemoglobin, weight loss and low platelets. The patient underwent successful Bone Marrow Transplant performed by Dr. Rahul Bhargav, Director, Haematology and BMT, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram and his team.

Lal Mani Mahto was presented to the hospital with the diagnosis of advanced Blood Cancer. He was given chemotherapy for the advance stage of cancer. Mahto started losing weight drastically. The reason for same was unknown, on consulting a doctor in Ranchi, it was revealed that he was losing blood but the reason for same could not be traced. The patient was given Folic Acid to control the level of blood, but the patient’s condition started deteriorating. He soon had to start the process of Blood Transfusion in every 20 days.  After taking consultation from several doctors in Ranchi, the patient was diagnosed with Blood Cancer. The only permanent solution for same was to get a Bone Marrow Transplant. The patient was presented before Dr. Rahul Bhargava who performed the surgery successfully.

Dr. Rahul Bhargava, Director, Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram said, “Diagnosis of blood cancer is difficult, secondly, once the diagnosis is done there is no clear-cut medicine BMT is the only thing. Ion the process of BMT, RBC, WBC and platelets are Eradicated from the body. The patient is like a new born baby and is susceptible to infections. Stabilising the patient in such a condition is a challenge. Stem Cells from a different body are transferred to the patient’s body and acceptance of same is essentials for a successful transplant. However, when it comes to the donor, there is no risk involved at all. The donor just donates 300 ml of a blood stem cells and there is noting to be scared. The patient was very lucky as ideally the donors match is 30 %, but in this case the sister and Brother matched 100 %. The donor was discharged the very next day of donation. The patient has successfully been discharged from the hospital and is now leading a normal life”

Patient Mr. Arun Kumar said, “When I came to Fortis I had very little hope left in me.  I had to undergo blood transfusion in every 20 days. My family was seeing me getting weak day by day and I could not do anything about it. When Dr. Bharagava gave me hope that after the BMT I could resume my life like before, I thought it was miracle. My younger sisters stem cell matched and saved my life. While I was in ICU, I was very critical and my family was starting to lose faith. It is through persistent treatment I received from Dr. Rahul Bhargava  at Fortis Gurugram that I am healthy today and doing my normal day to day activities with ease.”

Dr.Ritu Garg, Zonal Director, FMRIsaid, “This was one of the most challenging case presented to the hospital as patient was brought with an advanced stage of Blood Cancer which is very rare. There were many complicationsand stabilising patient after the surgery was a big achievement. The patient’s situation could have been life threatening, however these were successfully avoided due to the diligence with which the case was handled. FMRI is equipped to handle such complications with the help of comprehensive team o handle all Blood Disorders and advanced technology. This case shows we are equipped to handle all the challenges from different specialities.”

Cops called for Congress clash in Ranchi

Source: telegraphindia.com

Congress factions resorted to an ugly clash in front of the party office on Thursday afternoon, forcing police to use force and detain a few leaders, indicating a growing belligerence among party men eager to ascribe blame for the poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections.

State party chief Ajoy Kumar, who arrived at the state party headquarters on Shradhanand road moments after the police managed to control the situation, addressed a gathering of loyalists and blamed a set of senior leaders for trying to “break the party”.

He did not mention names, but made it amply clear he was referring to former minister and Ranchi MP Subodh Kant Sahay, former state party chief Pradep K Balmuchu, former MPs Rameshwar Oraon and Furkan Ansari, all of whom have joined hands against him.

The Congress contested seven of 14 Lok Sabha seats in alliance with the JMM, JVM and RJD but could win only one.

By the end of the day, a senior Congress leader revealed that the party’s central leadership, already grappling with a leadership crisis, summoned all senior leaders of the state for a meeting in Delhi on August 3.

The leader also said that Jharkhand Congress minder R.P.N Singh called him from Delhi in the afternoon to find out what had happened.

The clash had its genesis in Wednesday night’s expulsion of former president of Ranchi district unit Surendra Kumar Singh and former state spokesperson Rakesh Sinha on disciplinary grounds for a period of six years.

Both leaders, considered to be Sahay loyalists, decided to hold a press conference at the party office at 2pm on Thursday. But around 50 supporters of the state party chief gathered at the party office early on with a plan to thwart the press conference.

At 1.45pm, both the expelled leaders, along with 250 of their supporters, arrived at the party office. They were jeered and pushed back by Kumar’s supporters, saying expelled leaders weren’t allowed to use the party office.

A clash ensued. Stones and missiles were hurled freely. Police, who seemed to have been informed earlier, were on standby with officer in-charge of Kotwali police station S.N. Mandal deploying as many as 22 personnel.

“Police used mild force to disperse the crowd. One photojournalist was hit by stone and injured. Surendra Kumar Singh and Sinha were kept under preventing arrest for around two hours after which they were released. No FIR has been lodged,” Mandal said.

Before they were taken into custody, Surendra Kumar Singh and Sinha addressed the media, calling Kumar “incompetent and arrogant” for wanting to run the party like a “dictator”.

“Kumar will be remembered as the worst (state) president of the party. The downfall of the Congress in Jharkhand and expulsion of committed party leaders and workers are some of his notable achievements. He has set a record of expelling over 100 leaders and workers during his tenure. We have lost committed workers like Ajay Rai and Sunil Singh, whom he has expelled,” said Sinha.

Three days earlier, Kumar had expelled Sudhir Singh, Yogendra Singh Beni, Ashutosh Nath Pathak, Manish Kumar Singh, Tinku Verma and Krishna Verma after they burnt his effigy and shouted slogans against him.

In May, Kumar expelled a dozen leaders and workers of the Hazaribagh district unit. Several others were expelled from Ramgarh, Giridih and other district units.

“Our expulsion is blatant violation of the party constitution. As per rules, a showcause notice has to be issued, and a reply has to be given within two weeks. An expulsion is subject to approval of the working committee. In our case, no procedure was followed,” Surendra Kumar Singh alleged.

In his address to party men, Kumar, who was accorded a welcome with garlands, thanked his supporters and went on fire a volley of accusations against senior leaders. Kumar said that like others, he too was sad over the performance of the party in the Lok Sabha elections.

“We won one seat and lost two others with a narrow margin. This is not a battle for posts and power. There are some people who want to take control over the ticket distribution exercise for Assembly elections. They want to grab the entire party. I have dedicated my life to serve the people of Jharkhand. As a police officer, I was wounded by the bullet fired by criminals. What kind of language they have been using? I too can collect 50 men at a time,” he said.

Kumar said there were leaders who wanted tickets for themselves and their children.

“Those who were defeated in the parliamentary election will not take responsibility of their defeat. For the coming Assembly elections, tickets will be given to new faces, the young and the energetic,” he said.

Congress Lohardaga MLA Sukhdeo Bhagat said the party had become a laughing stock in the state. “Jab nash manuj par chhata hai pahle vivek mar jata hai. (When the end is near, wisdom dies first),” he said.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Beneficiaries in Ranchi Rechristen Diyadih Village as ‘Modi Tola’

Source: news18.com

Impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), about 40 beneficiary families have renamed their Diyadih village as ‘Modi tola’ at Icchagarh block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district-105 km south of Ranchi.

According to The Pioneer, Diyadih village is one out of 116 odd villages where around 20,000 people were left homeless due to construction of Chandil Dam of Subarnarekha multipurpose project.

The homeless people displaced from their original habitant were bereft of their houses and agriculture land. However, a few months ago, 40 families of Diyadih village were provided houses under PM Awas Yojana by the Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Under PM Awas Yojna, each unit of house has two rooms, verandah, kitchen and a toilet.

“Diyadih village is one of displaced village of Subarnarekha multipurpose project. As the government has constructed 40 units of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme, the villagers impressed with the project and expressing their gratitude towards Modijee have renamed the village as Modi Tola,” Vimal Mahto, one of the beneficiaries of PMAY was quoted saying by The Pioneer.

A farmer by profession, Mahto further said they were displaced from their houses around four decades back, many governments visited them but they cared little about their interest. “Few months back that we receive houses PM Awas and the onus goes to PM,” Mahto said.

However, residents of Diyadih village are deprived of infrastructure facilities in the village as they are yet to see power connection at the time when the Jharkhand government is claiming of 100 percent power connection in rural areas.

To fasten Centre and State Government’s development schemes, BJP MLA from Icchagar, Sadhu Charan Mahto recently visited the village and assessed the development projects there. The MLA has promised villagers to provide drinking water through deep boring.

“Work on connecting the village with power map is going on war footing pace with the village going to witness power connection within a month. I have also ensured villagers that a rural road will be constructed in their village,” The Pioneer quoted the BJP MLA saying.

Though the villagers have received houses under PM Awas Scheme, the displaced families are yet to get the promised compensation.

The State Government had approved proposal for construction of 1.60 lakh houses under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana, of which 48,000 houses has been completed. At the same time construction work of 43,822 is underway at war footing pace.

The PM Awas Yojana was introduced in June 2015 is an interest subsidy scheme for purchase/construction/extension/improvement of house to cater economically poor section of society.

Ranchi doctors protest ‘quack’ bill

Source: telegraphindia.com

Outdoor patients in the capital suffered on Wednesday as OPD services at private and government hospitals stayed suspended due to the doctors’ nationwide strike against the National Medical Commission Bill 2019 passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, which doctors claim will legitimise quacks in the country.

The 24-hour national protest, called by the apex body representing the country’s medical fraternity Indian Medical Association, started from 6am on Wednesday with the withdrawal of non-essential services. Emergency, trauma, ICU and related services were outside the ambit of the strike.

In Ranchi, as well as elsewhere in the country, poor patients seeking OPD services at government hospitals faced the brunt of the strike.

At the state’s largest government-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, nearly 200 poor patients, many from outside Ranchi and districts of Jharkhand, had come on Wednesday. They did not know anything about the strike. On an average, over 500 people come to RIMS OPD every day.

Amar Nath Dubey, 62, who came from Baijnathpur in Deoghar to get his post-surgical check-up, said the strike was a big financial blow. “I met with an accident on February 7 and had a surgery at RIMS the same month. My doctor called me a month ago and again today (Wednesday) to the OPD for post-surgical check-up. I’ve come spending Rs 16,000 on a private vehicle as I am in no position to take buses or trains, but the OPD is closed. It means I have to stay in Ranchi, an added expense,” Dubey said.

Four-year-old TB patient Arvind from Chandankyari in Bokaro, who came for a consult at RIMS with his grandparents, slept outside the OPD, as the elderly couple worried about where to stay the night.

At Sadar Hospital, poor people from across the capital and nearby localities who turned up for free treatment at the OPD, had to leave. “I am suffering from toothache,” said Salia Khatoon, who came from Brambe to Sadar Hospital. “I was asked to come tomorrow (Thursday).” Usha Devi from Hatma, who came for a pregnancy-related test, said the same. Seven-year-old deaf-mute Raja from Dhanbad came with his grandparents to obtain a disability certificate. His grandfather, mason Ramchandra Sah rued he did not know about Wednesday’s strike.

District civil surgeon Dr Vijay Bihari Singh said outdoor patients at Sadar Hospital needing immediate attention were treated at the emergency ward that was open.

RIMS director Dr D.K. Singh did not reply to calls. President of RIMS Junior Doctors’ Association Dr Ajit Kumar said they were compelled to strike work to “save medical science.” Through the National Medical Commission Bill, the central government is taking a step that will transfer medical science in the hands of those who have not studied medical science. The new system will promote quacks. This will affect the poor the most,” Dr Kumar said. “However, all emergency services were exempt from the strike.”

On its website, the IMA has alleged that “Section 32 of the NMC Bill provides for licensing of 3.5 lakh unqualified non medical persons to practise modern medicine”.

It claimed the new bill vaguely defined the term “community health provider”, thereby allowing persons without medical training to practise and prescribe independently. If the bill comes in force, the quality of healthcare services will fall drastically, the doctors fear, calling the bill “draconian”, “anti-people”, “anti-poor” and “anti-students”.

OPD open

Dhanbad: OPD services largely stayed open at state-run Patliputra Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. IMA state president, Dr A.K. Singh said they were “totally against the National Medical Commission Bill” but decided to let OPD services function to help the poor.

First phase of Harmu river revamp almost over, nothing to show for it

Source: telegraphindia.com

A woman rag-picker was picking plastic bottles, polythene packets and other trash from the sludgy riverbed of Harmu river in Kadru on Tuesday, the stink of the black water enveloping the busy road.

It is difficult to imagine that the state government has already spent Rs 81 crore out of Rs 85 crore earmarked for the first phase to renovate this river, a task undertaken by Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (Juidco), an arm of the state urban development department. The river, a glorified drain, was dubbed “dead” by Jharkhand High Court Justice S.N. Pathak a fortnight ago.

But barely a kilometre away from Kadru, state urban development secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh on Tuesday along with officials of the department and Juidco took part in planting saplings at Tapovan, again on the banks of the Harmu river, and discussed the second phase of the rejuvenation project that’s likely to start in August.

Singh said the state government had decided to plant as many as 15,000 saplings on the 10.5km stretch of the river to protect the water and the environment. “Consulting and construction companies associated with the Harmu river project will be responsible to protect the saplings once they are planted,” Singh said and directed officials to hold regular meetings with residents who live near the river to ensure they are involved too and don’t pollute the river. He also directed Juidco to put iron nets on the flanks of the bridges so that garbage is not thrown in the river.

Amid the plethora of directives, it was not hard to miss Juidco had not even done Harmu’s basic clean-up till date. Team Telegraph on Tuesday morning found the river choked at several points with plastic bottles, thermocol plates and polythene bags.

Asked, a Juidco official said they surveyed 2,000 households close to the banks of the river and a number of nearby colonies, built seven sewerage treatment plants and diverted many drains directly flowing into the river.

“But over the years, the number of settlements increased and many more drains got linked to the river,” he said.

“The first phase of the work is complete a technical team comprising experts from BIT-Sindri, BIT-Mesra and state public health and works department have inspected it. Once we get the panel’s report, we will be able what else is further required and what we lacked,” the official said.

An Ranchi Municipal Corporation official told this paper that despite everything, the river was dirty. “Last month, RMC asked the state urban development department to clean the choked Harmu river. It is Juidco’s job. The situation is very bad and an urgent clean-up is needed. But we don’t know why Juidco is not interested,” the senior RMC official remarked.

Juidco had its own set of excuses. A senior official of Juidco associated with the river project said it was technically impossible to clean the entire stretch till a proper plan was worked out. “Removing garbage from a couple of places is no solution. The river has become Ranchi’s dustbin. People dump garbage in the river, drainwater flows into it, these are the bare facts.” An official on the condition of anonymity alleged that the river rejuvenation project conceptualised in 2015 had a hastily prepared DPR but did not elaborate.

In the second phase, more sewerage treatment plants are set to come up and more drains diverted from the river. A solid waste management plant is also expected. But the Juidco official, who’d claimed the DPR was made in a hurry, said: “It will take at least a decade to rejuvenate this river.”

Ranchi Muncipal Corporation wakes up to drain reality

Source: telegraphindia.com

Deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya, accompanied by the RMC assistant medical officer and other civic body officials, visited a number of city localities from 11am to 3pm on Monday to take stock of problems plaguing residents, including open drains.

The visit came against the backdrop of the death of a four-year-old girl, Falak — who fell into an open drain at Nala Road in Hindpiri last week — prompting some to remark, sotto voce, that the tragedy had woken the Ranchi Muncipal Corporation (RMC) out of its slumber.

“RMC officials got firsthand experience of the waterlogging on the 45-foot stretch of the road connecting Vidyapati Nagar with Gandhi Nagar. They discussed strategy to solve the problem without delay,” said Raman Kumar, a Vidyapati Nagar resident. “They heard people sharing the problems they face in sending their children to school due to waterlogging.”

Anwar Ali, a resident of Karbala Chowk, said the RMC officials inspected an open drain that goes towards the Government Polytechnic.

“The officials had come to see how the drain could be covered to stop repetition of a Nala Road-type accident in the locality. They spoke to residents and took their opinion on the ways to cover it properly without delay,” Ali said.

Vishnu Agrawal, who runs a garment shop at Upper Bazar, said the officials visited narrow lanes.

“Civic body officials got firsthand experience of the garbage people dump in the narrow bylanes of Upper Bazar,” Agrawal said.

RMC assistant medical officer Dr Kiran Kumari said the four-hour visit was to take stock of the ground reality.

“At Vidyapati Nagar, I directed the engineering cell to visit the spot and prepare a plan to drain out water from doorsteps and find a permanent solution to ensure that schoolchildren should not suffer. At Karbala Chowk, we plan to build a guard wall along the drain to prevent people from going close to it. At Upper Bazar we decided to outsource cleanliness work in the bylanes,” Kumari said.

She said the officials also visited Sarjana Chowk.

“We want to make a stretch between Sarjana Chowk to Kashmir Vastralaya a no-vending zone like the stretch between Sarjana Chowk and Kutchery. For this we visited the stretch and planned where we can shift the vendors and what we can do for them to ensure that they happily accept our plan.”

Deputy mayor Vijayvargia said other localities they visited included SN Ganguly Road, Laljir Heerji Road, Vishnu Lane, and Kali Mandir Lane.

“During the visit we warned vendors and asked them not to cross the white line along the roads,” Vijayvargia said.

“We want to make the city better, and thus we visited different spots from where work can be started for improvement.”

Face recognition cameras to boost policing in Ranchi

Source: indiatoday.in

For long, Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi has been known as a safe hideout for criminals and Maoists on the run.

A rapidly growing city with a big population, coupled with understaffed police force and a poor surveillance mechanism, Ranchi has often seen in the past as a city where a criminal on the run would desire to be in.

Ranchi Police, however, has just made it difficult for the career criminals.

The police in Ranchi have just obtained advanced face recognition cameras (FRCs) to pick the known criminals and habitual offenders from city streets.

The police have uploaded the available photographs of the criminals in the database of the police control room and linked to the FRCs. With the cameras linked to the police database, it is expected to scan the faces in their respective fields of visions and send out an alert if and when a match is found on city roads.

The police are hopeful that these cameras will help them in both prevention and solving of criminal cases, besides augmenting its existing surveillance mechanism.

All FRCs have been attached to separate network video recorders, a digital device fitted on the internet CCTV network. The recorder will digitally record live image/video streams to a hard disk.

If an offender would cross through locations where the FRCs have been put up, an alert will be generated at police control room along with the location of the offender concerned. A police response team will be immediately tasked to trace the offender

Top police sources told India Today that while 16 FRCs have been installed at strategic locations in the city, more can be procured in times to come. Though the locations of these cameras, installed at a lower height to help the devices effectively recognise faces, have been kept a secret, it is understood that the locations are those from where criminals usually try to escape.

The FRCs’ locations have been kept a secret, as criminals would avoid a route if they come to know about precise installation sites. Each of the FRCs cost over Rs 40,000, but these have good lenses to have clear image quality. While the available photographs of criminals have already been uploaded, expansion of the database would be a “continuous process”.

The FRCs are in addition to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras (APNRs) detection cameras, already installed in Ranchi.

These APNRs help cops prosecute traffic rule violaters. These APNR cameras can read number plates of violating vehicles, which technicians at the police control room can scan for the system to automatically generate challans to pay fines and sent them to the addresses of violators. Now with FRCs installed in Ranchi, the police believe its existing surveillance system, which largely depended on 500 CCTV cameras on important roads, will become more effective.

The Ranchi Police said that the FRC system, part of a system to boost real-time policing, will be integrated to the existing video surveillance systems and match faces in real-time against a watch list of individuals to trigger an alert.

Main government office ignores Ranchi public

Source: telegraphindia.com

Dilip Munda and his elderly mother, from Murhu in Khunti district, had come to the state capital on Friday for some work related to her pension. Their ordeal began at Dhurwa roundabout, as they could not find a single auto-rickshaw to drop them at the Project Building situated around 2km from the roundabout.

“I can walk but my mother cannot due to arthritis. It is very difficult to travel to Project Building if you don’t have a bike or four-wheeler of your own,” Munda said.

The Project Building in Dhurwa, the main secretariat of the state government, houses offices of as many as 22 departments besides the those of the chief minister and chief secretary. The state police headquarters is also located on the same stretch, around 500 metres from Project Building.

The Project Building receives a footfall of around 10,000 people per day. But such an important edifice of the administration is almost inaccessible by public transport.

Very few auto-rickshaws ply on the route and common people are sometimes forced to walk for almost 2 km from the Dhurwa roundabout to visit a government office. Motilal, an auto-rickshaw driver who operates from Dhurwa roundabout to Chandni Chowk via Project Building, said that just about 10 autos operate from the roundabout to the Project Building.

“No bus operates from Gol Chakkar to Project Building hence auto-rickshaw is the only mode of communication for people who don’t have a bike or four-wheeler. We operate from around 8.45am till 6pm when the Project Building closes,” said Motilal.

A grade IV government employee who works at the Project Building however said the ordeal is a daily one for people like him as well.

“Majority of the staff and officials of the Project Building have their own bike or four-wheeler. Senior officials enjoy government facilities. But what about us? I don’t have a bike. Grade IV employees have to stay in the office till their bosses are present. Often our seniors stay in the office till late evening holding meetings. I hardly get any auto after 6pm,” he said, requesting anonymity for obvious reasons.

Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) runs no bus to the Project Building.

“I was part of the board of meeting which had finalised the route map for city buses,” said deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya. “I remember that operation of buses from Booty Mor to Project Building and from ITI to Project Building was proposed.”

Transporter Kishore Mantri, who operates majority of the RMC buses, said no bus operates from Gol Chakkar to Project Building.

“The RMC has not given me anything in writing about Gol Chakkar-Project Building route. One should not keep much hope on the RMC bus service which is on the verge of closure,” said Mantri.

The RMC has 91 buses out of which 60 are grounded as operators don’t participate in the tender process because they are not interested. Mantri runs 25 buses — his employees drive and maintain the buses and pay a fixed amount to the RMC — and for the six other buses the civic body hires drivers on daily payment.

Another official of the RMC said Project Building was removed from the route list assuming that employees working there have their private mode of transport and people arrange their own conveyance.