Page 54 - Bihar

Bihar arranges special flight to bring back students stranded in Manipur

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar will bring back all students of the state stranded in violence-hit Manipur, an official said here on Monday. All the students, holed up in their hostels and other places in the restive north-eastern state, will be brought back on Tuesday and the expenses of their travel will be borne by the government, he said. "As per the directions from the chief minister, the Resident Commissioner in Delhi got in touch with students from Bihar in Manipur. They will be ferried to the airport in Imphal in buses, and flown back to Patna by a special flight," the official added.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to travel to Odisha, meet Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will meet his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar on May 9, amid talks of regional parties coming together ahead of the 2024 general elections, officials said. Kumar will meet Patnaik at Naveen Niwas' here around 12 pm, they said. The Bihar CM and JD(U) leader had recently announced that he would travel across the country to unite opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year. He has already met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja. Patnaik, the BJD supremo, had also met Banerjee in March. In December last year, Patnaik had invited both Banerjee and Kumar to witness the hockey world cup in Odisha.

Bihar BJP leader moves court over 'derogatory' language against godman

A BJP leader in Bihar on Saturday lodged a complaint in a court against state president of the ruling RJD, Jagadanand Singh, and another political figure, for allegedly using derogatory language against godman Dhirendra Shastri. Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar baba', is scheduled to visit Patna next week for holding a five-day congregation. The petition was filed before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Muzaffarpur, by Anil Kumar Singh, a lawyer who is also associated with the BJP's legal cell. The petitioner has cited videos uploaded on YouTube a couple of days ago, wherein Jagadanand Singh and Pappu Yadav, a former RJD MP now heading his own outfit Jan Adhikar Party, allegedly made disparaging remarks about Shastri. The petitioner has contended that this was tantamount to hurting religious sentiments of Hindus, and sought trial of Jagadanand Singh and Yadav under relevant sections of the IPC. The petition, which will be taken up for hearing on May 16, has been filed

Stories of Bihar women entrepreneurs to be showcased during G20 events

The Bihar government will highlight the rise of rural women entrepreneurs breaking all barriers and the success of the World Bank-backed village livelihood programme Jeevika' among several other socio-economic programmes during G-20 events to be held here in June, an official said on Saturday. The G20 meetings in Patna are expected to be held on themes such as women and future of work and upskilling of the women workforce in tech-intensive work environment. During two-day G-20 programmes on June 22 and 23, the Bihar government will showcase women's upliftment and development in the rural sector, besides the state's rich cultural heritage. How rural women are defying odds to become entrepreneurs in Bihar through different initiatives taken by the state government, how Jeevika' has become a revolution and changed the lives of rural women and their families will be presented before G20 delegates, Art and Culture department secretary Bandana Preyashi said. She also said how women in Bi

Patna High Court orders stay on Bihar govt's caste-based survey

The Patna High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the caste survey being conducted by the state government. Hearing a bunch of petitions, a division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad directed the government to immediately stop the caste-based survey, and ensure that the data already collected are secured and not shared with anybody till final orders are passed. The court fixed July 7 as the next date for the hearing. "We are of the considered opinion that the petitioners have made out a prima facie case against the continuation of the process of caste-based survey, as attempted by the State of Bihar. There is also the question raised of data integrity and security which has to be more elaborately addressed by the State," the court said. "Prima facie, we are of the opinion that the State has no power to carry out a caste-based survey, in the manner in which it is fashioned now, which would amount to a census, thus impinging upon the legislative po

2024 LS polls: CM Nitish likely to meet Naveen Patnaik for Opposition unity

After touring Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow in a bid to unite Opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is all set to visit Bhubaneswar to rope in his Odisha counterpart

Patna High Court to deliver interim order on caste-based-survey today

The Patna High Court completed the hearing and reserved its judgement on a petition challenging and seeking an interim stay on the enumeration of castes and economic survey in BiharThe Patna High Court on Wednesday reserved its judgement and will pass an interim order todayIn the hearing on Wednesday, a division bench of Chief Justice KV Chandran heard the petitions filed by Akhilesh Kumar and others.Advocates Dinu Kumar, Ritu Raj and Abhinav Srivastava on behalf of the petitioners and advocate General PK Shahi on behalf of the State presented the parties before the court.Dinu Kumar told the court that the State government is conducting caste and economic surveys. He said that this right to conduct surveys is beyond the jurisdiction of the State government.Advocate General PK Shahi during the hearing on Wednesday said that, the survey is being conducted to make plans for public welfare and to improve the social level.

Bihar Cabinet approves proposal to recruit 178,000 school teachers

The Bihar Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal to recruit 1.78 lakh teachers for primary, middle, and upper classes in the state. The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approved the proposal to recruit 85,477 primary teachers, 1,745 middle and 90,804 for upper classes. Talking to reporters, after the cabinet meeting, S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), said, "The cabinet approved the proposal to recruit 1.78 lakh teachers for different classes. The recruitment will be done by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). The entire recruitment process will be completed very soonpositively by the end of this year". The cabinet also approved the proposal of the Transport department to ban operations of all commercial vehicles that are more than 15-years-old and diesel-powered buses and autos in Gaya and Muzaffarpur from September 30 (midnight) this year, said Siddharth. The state government would provide financial support to owners of

Odisha begins OBC survey after Bihar, process to continue till May 27

Odisha on Monday became the second state in the country to launch the OBC survey. The much-awaited survey will continue till May 27, an official said. The opposition BJP has criticised the ruling dispensation over the manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, while the ruling BJD said the survey is being held to ensure the socio-economic development of the other backward classes (OBC). Bihar was the first state to have launched the survey, the first phase of which was launched on January 21 and the second on April 15 this year. It is being carried out in all 314 blocks and 114 urban local bodies of Odisha, the official said. The objective of the survey is to get a picture of the present social and educational conditions of the people belonging to backward classes in Odisha, he said. The social and educational conditions of 208 enlisted OBC communities will be collected during the survey, which will be followed by a special drive to ensure that none was left out across the

Over 12.3 mn inactive' job cards under MGNREGS cancelled in Bihar: Minister

The Bihar government has cancelled more than 1.2 crore inactive job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the last one year, a minister said on Monday. The government has also provided 23.07 lakh fresh job cards to labourers in various districts of the state during the period, state Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar said. During a drive by the Bihar Rural Development Department (till April 30), a total of 1,23,13,927 job cards, out of 3,85,69,626, were found inactive for the last several years. In some cases, job cards were found fake or were not linked with provided Aadhaar numbers, or beneficiaries had died. We have cancelled all such cards after proper physical verification. Besides, cards of labourers who had earlier obtained MGNREGS jobs and migrated from the state have also been found inactive for the last several years, Kumar told PTI. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) is aimed at enhancing

Release of Saharsa's strongman exposes caste fault lines in Bihar

Mohan's release has also exposed the fault lines within both the ruling and Opposition parties

Have no objection to Anand Mohan's release, says Union minister Chaubey

Its upper caste leaders are in favour of release of the steps while some others belonging to the OBC section have different views

Conducting caste-based survey no crime, says Bihar CM to opposers

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday reacted with exasperation over the opposition faced by the head count of caste' underway in the state, saying that holding such a survey is not a crime. He asserted that the state is not conducting a caste census but only collecting information related to people's economic status and their caste so that specific steps could be taken by the government to serve them better. The ongoing caste survey is a good initiative taken by us. People will be hugely benefited after the recognition of their economic status, whether they belong to the upper caste, backward caste or extremely weaker sections of the society. I don't understand why a section of people are against this exercise They are challenging it. Is it a crime? No, it is not, Kumar said while addressing a conference of Civil Servants here. An organisation had claimed that it was not a survey for a sample population but a census involving house-to-house enumeration of all people, which o

Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh released from Saharsa jail

Gangster-turned-politician Anand Mohan Singh was released from Saharsa jail on Thursday morning. Singh's release was allowed under a jail sentence remission order after the state government recently amended the prison rules allowing the early release of 27 convicts including him. Anand, was serving a life term for his alleged role in the 1994 murder of the then Gopalganj collector G Krishnaiah, a young IAS officer during the funeral procession of Muzaffarpur gangster Chotan Shukla. Anand who was in jail for the last 15 years after being convicted in the case is expected to reach his home later on Thursday. A local court in October 2007 had initially sentenced him to death, but it was later commuted to life term by the Patna High court in December, 2008, when he appealed against the lower court verdict. The Nitish Kumar government, on April 10, amended the Bihar Prison Manual, 2012 and removed a clause which said those convicted for murder of a public servant on duty could not b

Why has Anand Mohan become a headache for the Nitish Kumar administration

Several people and bodies, including the wife of slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah and the Central IAS Association, have expressed their dismay over the decision of Mohan's release

Bihar announces 2-day state mourning over Parkash Singh Badal's death

The Bihar government on Wednesday declared a two-day state mourning over the death of former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Badal, a five-time former CM of Punjab and Akali Dal patriarch died at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday. He was 95. According to a circular issued by the Bihar government, "The state government has declared two-day state mourning on April 26 and April 27 over the death of Punjab's former CM, Parkash Singh Badal. During this period the National Flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the state on all buildings. No government ceremonies or official entertainment will take place on these two days". Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday condoled Badal's death saying, "Badal successfully discharged several important responsibilities during his long political career. He was popular for his value based politics. His death has created an irreparable gap in the socio-political field". Kumar also prayed for the almighty to give strength and

Ex-Bihar MP, serving life term for murder of officer, to be freed from jail

Former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, who is serving a life sentence in a three-decade-old case of an IAS officer's murder, is all set to walk out of jail along with 26 others. The state law department, in a notification issued late on Monday, ordered the release of 27 people, including Mohan, all of whom have spent 14 years or more in jail. The trial court awarded Mohan capital punishment for the murder of G Krishnaiah, the then District Magistrate of Gopalganj. A higher court, however, commuted it to life imprisonment. Mohan, who has been out on parole, was celebrating the engagement of his son Chetan Anand, an RJD MLA in the state, when he received the news of his impending release. Talking to reporters, Mohan expressed his gratitude towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who along with his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, was among the attendees at the gala function organised on the outskirts of Patna. The order for Mohan's release, who is likely to surrender at the Saharsa jail before being set f

NIA raids several places in Bihar as part of crackdown on govt-banned PFI

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted raids in several places in Bihar as part of its crackdown on Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) which was banned by the Union Home Ministry last year. One of these raids took place in Muzaffarpur district where an NIA team, assisted by the local police, raided the house of one Mohammad Saquib in Ankhauli village of Katra block. While the officials were tight-lipped about the raid that began around 5 am and continued for a few hours, the father of Saquib, Neyaz Ahmed, told reporters, "They had come to inquire about my son. We told them that we have had no contact with him for about the past one year." "They also obtained the mobile number of my son, who is aged 30 years. They tried to call his number but got no reply. They took away two of his bank passbooks that were kept at home, along with some other documents," said Ahmed. In adjoining East Champaran district, where suspected PFI operative Irshad was ..

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar meets Akhilesh, Mamata to forge opposition unity

Ramping up efforts to forge Opposition unity, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday met Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and said work is on to bring together as many parties as possible to remove the BJP from power in the next general elections. No welfare work is being done by the present dispensation which is only relying on publicity, the JD(U) leader said attacking the BJP after meeting Yadav at the SP office here, hours after he held talks with his West Bengal counterpart and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. "I am not looking for any position for myself. My endeavour is to work for country's good," Kumar, who was accompanied by RJD leader and Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, told reporters. He alleged that efforts are being made to change the history of the country. Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of price rise and said there was a need to remove the BJP government without any delay. The Bihar chief minister had come to Lucknow a

Airtel teams up with Secure Meters to deploy NB-IoT powered smart meters

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Monday announced its partnership with Secure Meters for deploying Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) services to power 1.3 million homes in Bihar via a smart meter solution. The telco said this deployment will be India's first NB-IoT solution on a narrow band with a fall-back option that will work on 2G and 4G, and ensure real-time connectivity and uninterrupted transfer of critical data. NB-IoT is a low-power, wide area, radio network technology which enables a wide variety of IoT devices and services, including smart meters. Airtel's NB-IoT platform is future-ready and is scalable to 5G, the telco said in a release. Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO of Airtel Business, informed that IoT is one of the fastest-growing business segments for Airtel Business. "This venture into NB-IoT strengthens our credentials as the largest cellular IoT player in the country and places us firmly as a partner of choice for Discoms looking to invest in smart mete