Page 57 - Bihar

6 dead after consuming spurious liquor, CM Nitish calls it sad incident

Reacting to the hooch tragedy in Motihari, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that it's a sad incident and asked for all information related to it

A big test for Opposition unity

Nitish Kumar's efforts in Bihar were hindered by the lack of a grand vision for state-building, but now with the Congress' blessings, he has the opportunity to create something new

IMD issues heatwave warning for parts of Bengal, Odisha, Andhra, Bihar

Parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar may experience heatwave conditions over the next three to four days, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. Earlier this month, the Met office predicted above-normal maximum temperatures for most parts of the country from April to June, except parts of the northwest and the peninsular regions. Above-normal heatwave days are expected in most parts of central, east, and northwest India during this period. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heatwave conditions are likely in isolated pockets of Gangetic West Bengal until Monday (April 17), north coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha until Saturday (April 15) and Bihar from April 15 to April 17. The maximum temperatures in central and north peninsular India are hovering in the range of 40 to 42 degrees Celsius at present. The weather department said maximum temperatures are three to five notches above normal in many parts of the western ...

Bihar Police detain one person for hoax bomb call to Patna airport

Bihar Police has detained one person on Wednesday after a hoax call was made claiming that an explosive was planted at the Jayprakash Narayan International Airport here earlier in the day. The caller was detained by the police in Samastipur, senior superintendent of police of Patna Rajeev Mishra told PTI. Initial investigations have revealed that the caller was in an inebriated state when he made the call, he said. "The entire area was scanned thoroughly but no suspicious object was found. The search operation was carried out without inconveniencing the passengers," Mishra said. The matter is being investigated, he said. Security was beefed up at the airport after the call was made to a landline number on Wednesday morning, an airport official said. "As the information given by the caller was non-specific, the entire terminal building, parking area and office building was scanned by security forces. But no explosive was found," he said. Bihar is a dry state. Chief Minister Nitis

Nitish blames Centre for 'not supplying' adequate Covid vaccines to Bihar

With Covid-19 cases once again increasing in the country, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleged on Monday that the Central government is not supplying adequate Covid vaccines to the state

Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav to appear before ED on Tuesday: Report

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav may appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the railways land-for-jobs scam, sources said Monday. Yadav, 33, was questioned by the CBI in this case last month. The ED booked a separate case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the CBI FIR and it is expected to record the statement of Tejashwi Yadav, the son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, on Tuesday, the sources said. Tejashwi Yadav's MP sister Misa Bharti was also questioned by the ED in this case on March 25, the same day he had deposed before the CBI. Both the central agencies recently initiated action in the case, with the CBI questioning Lalu Prasad and his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and the ED carrying out raids against the RJD chief's family. The ED, after the searches, said it seized "unaccounted cash" of Rs 1 crore and detected proceeds o

Bihar cabinet approves rules for hiring school teachers, 4% DA hike

The Bihar Cabinet on Monday approved new rules under which the state government will constitute a Commission for recruiting teachers in government schools. It was also decided at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the government will increase the dearness allowance (DA) of the state employees and pensioners by four per cent. Earlier, the recruitment of teachers was held at panchayat, block and district levels... Under the new rule, the government will appoint teachers through a Commission, S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. According to a senior education department official, around 1.5 lakh teachers from primary to senior secondary stages will now be appointed on the basis of the revised guidelines. Around 9,350 upgraded higher secondary schools in the state are facing an acute shortage of teachers. Under the new rule, appointments will not be made on a contractual basis. Those ...

Bihar CM Nitish urges Centre to provide fresh Covid-19 vaccine stocks

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday urged the Centre to provide fresh stocks of COVID vaccine vials so that administering of jabs, which is currently on hold, could be resumed. Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a function, he also asserted that his government was "alert" in view of rising incidence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, though Bihar was not one of them. "Our testing rate is much higher than the national average, which is six lakh tests per one million people. We are conducting eight lakh tests. Bihar accounts for about one fourth of the total number of tests conducted across the country", claimed Kumar. He underscored that the current spike was noticed in those parts of the country which were the worst affected when the coronavirus had caused a global pandemic. "In Bihar cases are very few but we are alert, nonetheless. In places like hospitals wearing of masks is being reinforced. We were also carrying out vaccination till our supply drie

Could provoke people: BJP teams not allowed to visit Sasaram, Bihar Sharif

When the BJP leaders reached the Bikramganj border, they were told that law and order could get disturbed if they would visit the riot-affected areas

Bihar riots were orchestrated, culprits will be exposed soon: CM Nitish

With dust settling on communal disturbances in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday rejected charges of administrative laxity and vented spleen against Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP, vowing to expose those who had orchestrated the riots. The JD(U) leader also lambasted AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, calling him an agent of the BJP. He was replying to queries from journalists on the sidelines of a function organised on the occasion of birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister and dalit stalwart Babu Jagjeevan Ram. Kumar's remarks come a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the BJP was bringing in goons to create riots in her state. The Bihar CM taunted Shah over the much-publicised rioters will be hung upside down if BJP comes to power in Bihar remark at a rally in Nawada district on Sunday, and reminded him of riots in 2017 when our government had to arrest the son of a BJP leader". The allusion was to the riots that broke

Works of artists from G20 countries to be exhibited in Bihar Museum

The Bihar Museum, one of the largest such facilities in India, has been selected for a two-month-long international exhibition for the artists of G20 countries. Selected artists of the G20 countries will be displayed in the exhibition, christened Together We Art', from August 7, an official said. The Bihar Museum is now organising and implementing the project for the G20 Initiative. Together We Art is based on the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', a concept from the Maha Upanishad, state Art and Culture Secretary Bandana Preyashi told PTI on Tuesday. The exhibition will continue till October 7 after which it will move to a venue in New Delhi, she said. The artist selected by the respective governments would work through their medium of expression - paintings, graphics, etching, photography, film, video or even a combination of mediums, said Preyash. The artists whose work will be exhibited in the event are yet to be chosen. The artists would also be part of a symposium One World

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has lost his will to govern Bihar: BJP

The BJP on Monday slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for communal violence in the state, saying he seems to have lost his will to govern and asked him to "stop dreaming about becoming prime minister and instead take care of the state". While former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned Kumar's willingness to handle the situation, former Bihar deputy CM and MP Sushil Kumar Modi hit out at the state's ruling alliance leaders for blaming the BJP and right wing organisations for violence wondering as to why the government has then not then exposed such a conspiracy. "If it is a BJP conspiracy, then why did you not expose it? Lakhs of people who participated in Ram Navami processions across the state are not BJP members but belong to the Hindu society. They can be from any party. For the first time in his over 17 years tenure as CM, Nitish Kumar has been unable to control such a situation even after so many days," Modi said. Prasad said no incident was reported last year a

BJP will dislodge Mahagathbandhan from power in Bihar in next polls: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that the BJP will dislodge the Mahagathbandhan' from power in the next assembly polls in Bihar where the government was BAD, characterised by bhrashtachar' (corruption), arajakata'(anarchy) and daman' (oppression). Shah coined the acronym at a public meeting in Hisua, falling under Nawada district and the eponymous Lok Sabha constituency, squarely blaming the Nitish Kumar government for the communal tension that forced him to cancel a scheduled visit to Sasaram, one of the riot-hit towns, earlier in the day. Widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, Shah described his impression of the situation in Sasaram with a rhetorical flourish, claiming log maare jaa rahe hain' (people were being killed) and goliyan chal rahi hain' (guns were blazing). The administration has so far maintained that riots in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns have led to no casualty. The BJP has blamed the imposition of Section 144 CrPC in Sasaram for the ..

Rioters will be hung upside down if BJP forms govt in Bihar in 2025: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday tore into the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar for "failing to check" communal violence in Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns and asserted that rioters will be hung upside down if the BJP forms the government in the state in 2025. Addressing a rally in Hisua in Nawada district, Shah, widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist, asserted that the people of Bihar have decided to ensure the victory of party candidates in all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 general elections. "People of the country have decided that Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for the third consecutive term. Once that happens, Nitish Kumar will go back on his promise of handing over the mantle to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav as his dreams of becoming the PM will be shattered," he said. Shah alleged that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar have practiced politics of appeasement which has helped terrorism flourish, while Modi has scrapped Article 370

Ram Navami violence: Security beefed up in Nalanda, police say over 50 held

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at the Bihar and West Bengal governments over clashes in the states during the Ram Navami celebrations

Shah speaks to Bihar Guv on communal violence, additional forces to be sent

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed concern over incidents of communal violence in Bihar, and spoke to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to take stock of the situation, sources said. The Union Home Ministry has decided to send additional paramilitary forces to Bihar to assist the state administration in handling the situation arising out of the violence. The additional forces will be sent following a request of the Bihar government The home minister spoke to the Bihar governor and took stock of the situation. The home minister expressed his concern over the violence in the state, the sources said. The governor is believed to have apprised Shah about the prevailing situation in the state. Communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities. The police till Saturday arrested 45 people in connection with the communal violence at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif. Vehicles, houses and shops were torched and several people injured in the comm

Bihar violence: Six injured while handling explosives in Sasaram, 2 held

As many as six people were injured while handling of illegal explosives at a private property while two people were arrested in Rohtas after fresh violence erupted in the state on Saturday evening

Ram Navami violence: Situation in Nalanda normal, Sec 144 in place, says SP

After clashes between two groups during the Ram Navami celebrations in parts of Bihar, the state police on Sunday said the situation in Nalanda's Biharsharif was completely normal

BJP seeks to take on Grand Alliance in Bihar with 'rare' social coalition

The BJP is eying a rare social coalition including 'upper' castes and a majority of backward classes in Bihar to power its bid to vanquish in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls the formidable RJD-JD(U) alliance, which had inflicted a crushing defeat on it in the 2015 assembly elections. While Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) may be the strongest party in the Bihar ruling alliance, the BJP believes that its road to success lies in the dismantlement of the support base of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), which has long enjoyed the backing of a collection of non-Yadav backward castes and some Dalit communities. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Sunday attend programmes to mark the birth anniversary of the great Maurya emperor Ashoka. On his fourth visit to Bihar in the last seven months, Shah's programmes are seen as part of the BJP's ambitious drive to woo the numerically strong Kushwaha (Koeri) community, which believes that the emperor came from their ...

Amit Shah's Sasaram rally cancelled due to imposition of section 144

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his tour of Sasaram in Bihar where prohibitory orders are in place following communal tension sparked off during Ram Navami festivities, state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary said on Saturday. Addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters here, Choudhary said Shah, who will be reaching Patna on Saturday evening, will address party workers in Nawada Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday as per schedule, even as he squarely blamed the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for the cancellation of the function at Sasaram, organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Emperor Asoka. "It is clear that Nitish Kumar is not in control of the administration. Even Bihar Sharif, which falls in the chief minister's home district of Nalanda, is in turmoil. So are many other parts of the state," alleged Choudhary. Union Home Minister of State Nityanand Rai had approached the state government with the offer of providing additional forces as per ...