Page 51 - Bihar

Smallpox spreads in Bihar village, locals allege medical negligence

More than 100 people from 35 families have been infected with smallpox in a village in Bihar's Supaul district, an official said

Oppn uneasy over presence of Congress in Patna meet ahead of 2024 LS polls

A strong sense of unease seems to be emerging in opposition parties over the presence of Congress, ahead of the Patna conclave of non-BJP parties

Ask Nitish Kumar about corruption in Bihar: Anurag Thakur on Oppn meet

"They should also say who is the leader of their alliance," he added

Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM announces withdrawal of support to Nitish govt

Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on Monday announced withdrawal of its support to the Nitish Kumar government. Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, the party's national president, said an appointment has been sought with Governor Rajendra Arlekar for handing over the letter of withdrawal of support. Suman, who had resigned from the cabinet last week alleging pressure from Nitish Kumar's JD(U) to merge his party, was addressing a press conference after the national executive body of HAM "authorised" him to take a decision on future course of action. Suman said he will visit Delhi later in the day to "explore options" and he is "willing to consider" an invitation from the NDA if the same is extended by the BJP-led coalition. "We are also keeping the option open for setting up a third front", said the HAM president whose party has switched allies many times since it was founded eight years ago. He also ducked queries about unconfirmed reports of a ..

Manjhi to decide his next plan in today's national executive committee meet

The national executive committee meeting of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is scheduled to be held in Patna on Monday where Jitan Ram Manjhi will decide the future course of action

Bihar Congress to extend 'historic welcome' to Rahul Gandhi on June 23

The Congress in Bihar would extend a "historic" welcome to Rahul Gandhi when he visits the state later this week, for the first time since making waves with 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', the party's state president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said on Sunday. Talking to reporters, Singh said Gandhi will be accompanied by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal and they will make a stopover at Sadaqat Ashram, the BPCC headquarters, before attending the meeting of opposition leaders convened by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. "Gandhi will drive straight to Sadaqat Ashram from the airport and will be accorded a historic welcome all through the route. It is a special occasion for us since he is visiting Bihar for the first time since his Bharat Jodo Yatra", said the Bihar Congress chief. He said Gandhi will spend about an hour at Sadaqat Ashram where "a huge marquee, spread across 70,000 square feet" was being put up for the occasion. "He will addre

Scorching heatwave continues in Bihar; death toll mounts to over 40

A searing heatwave continued to sweep Bihar which has recorded over 40 deaths since May 31, this year

27 people die in Bihar due to heatwave, temp beyond 40 degree Celsius

The Met department has predicted that the heat wave would continue for the next 24 hours

Bihar Cong's Kuntal Krishna resigns, refuse to accept Nitish's leadership

Adding further, Krishna declared that he is resigning from the post of PCC delegate, Congress Spokesperson, and all the positions he has held in the party

Notice posted on houses of fugitive Bihar BJP MLA Raju Singh, aides

Raju Singh, the MLA from Sahibganj Assembly constituency, was allegedly involved in kidnapping of RJD leader Tulsi Rai on May 25 and an FIR in this regard was registered in Paro police station

BJP may go for early polls worried over oppn unity gaining momentum: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has caused a flutter by predicting early Lok Sabha polls, on Friday asserted that the possibility arose out of the ruling BJP's fears of his opposition unity drive gaining momentum. Talking to reporters here, Kumar also defended the ouster of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi from the state's ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', alleging that the Hindustani Awam Morcha founder was virtually spying on opposition parties at the BJP's behest. "I may have spoken about early polls in jest but it is also a strong possibility. Those in power at the Centre may sense that there is a lot of movement in the opposition camp", said Kumar, as part of whose efforts to forge opposition unity leaders of nearly a score of parties opposed to the BJP will converge here on June 23 for a conclave. The JD(U) supreme leader was talking to reporters at the Raj Bhavan, after the swearing-in of party MLA Ratnesh Sada into the cabinet, which follows the resignation of Manjhi's son Santosh

Bihar bridge collapse: Patna High Court slams laxity of govt, contractor

The Patna High Court on Wednesday blamed laxity of the Bihar government and the contractor concerned for the collapse of part of the four-lane Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge, being built over the Ganga in Bhagalpur district, on June 4. The high court directed the state government to submit the action taken report on the issue, while asking the managing director of the firm constructing the bridge to remain present before the court along with his expert team on June 21, when the matter will come up for hearing again. This court is shocked at the collapse of constructed part of the bridge on June 4... Last year also, while the construction work was going on, some structure of the bridge had collapsed on April 13, the bench of Justice Purnendu Singh said. The incident occurred due to the laxity of the state government and the contractor, observed the court. The bench said it seeks to prevent the misuse of public money and exploitation of natural resources in the interest of the ...

Retail inflation rose in Bihar, Haryana in May, touched 6% and beyond

In Tripura, inflation fell from 8 per cent but remained above 6 per cent

Bihar cabinet increases development fund for MLAs, MLCs to Rs 4 cr

The Bihar government Tuesday announced an increase in the development fund of MLAs and MLCs from Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore annually, an official said. The decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he said. The MLAs and MLCs can now use more funds under the Chief Minister Local Area Development Scheme (CMLADS), the official said. The hike will be effective from the current financial year.

Jitan Manjhi's son Santosh resigns from Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's cabinet

In a sudden move, Bihar minister for SC and ST welfare, Santosh Suman, on Tuesday resigned from the Nitish Kumar cabinet, his party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) announced here. Suman is currently the national president of HAM which was founded by his father Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former chief minister. It was not immediately known whether the resignation was accepted. Sources in 'Mahagathbandhan', the ruling alliance in the state, however, said that even if HAM, a four MLA-strong party, pulls out of the coalition, it would not have a bearing on the survival of the government.

RBI penalises Bihar State Co-op Bank Rs 60.20 lakh for various shortcomings

The Reserve Bank on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 60.20 lakh on The Bihar State Co-operative Bank Limited, Patna, for a slew of shortcomings and violations. The RBI said a statutory inspection of the Patna-based bank by Nabard after FY20 had revealed that it failed to put in robust software for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions and submit statutory returns within prescribed timelines. It also failed to submit off-site surveillance system returns within prescribed timelines, submit data to all the four credit information companies and also constitute a customer service committee of the board, among other things. A notice was issued to the bank, and the fine has been imposed after going through its reply, as per an official statement from the central bank. The RBI also announced a monetary penalty of Rs 6 lakh on Jowai Cooperative Urban Bank Limited, Meghalaya for deficiencies in regulatory compliance. The bank was found to have breached inter-bank (gross) exposure

Allotted 150 acres for AIIMS but Centre rejected it, says Nitish Kumar

While BJP is levelling allegations against JD-U MPs for the shifting of the proposed AIIMS in Darbhanga, Bihar CM claimed that his govt allotted land with good road connectivity but Centre rejected it

Nitish Kumar is not a PM candidate for 2024 elections, says JD(U) leader

CM Nitish Kumar is spearheading the Opposition gathering, scheduled for June 23, to discuss methods to better challenge the BJP in the upcoming elections

Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti to attend Oppn meet in Bihar: Report

Jammu and Kashmir stalwarts Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti will be coming to the Bihar capital next week for the June 23 conclave of parties opposed to the BJP, a key political aide of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Sunday. JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' made the disclosure at the party's Bihar headquarters here. "Leaders of altogether 18 parties have agreed to attend the meeting. National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, both former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, have also agreed to come", said Lalan. Earlier, Lalan had said leaders who had given their assent included Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress, besides Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), M K Stalin (DMK), Hemant Soren (JMM), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Akhilesh Yadav (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT). JD(U) workers expressed their enthusiasm by raising "Nitish for PM" only to be ticked off by the national president who reminded them that the

Bihar municipal elections: Counting of votes for 805 posts underway

The counting of votes for 31 municipal bodies in Bihar is underway on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements, a state election commission official said. Armed police personnel have been posted at 58 centres where the counting began at 8 am for posts of ward councillors, mayors and deputy mayors, he said. Altogether 4, 431 candidates, including 2,234 women aspirants, are in the fray for the Bihar Nagar Nikay elections. Nine of them have already been declared elected unopposed. Elections to the 31 civic bodies were held on June 9. The polling took place in Patna, Buxar, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Vaishali, Nalanda, Nawada, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Munger, Lakhisarai, Saharsa, Jamui and Banka districts. The State Election Commission, Bihar used a facial recognition system (FRS) for the first time to confirm voters' identities. The 31 urban local bodies include 24 where polls were not held in the last ur