Page 61 - Bihar

Trying to set up one engineering, medical college in all districts: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said the 'Mahagathbandhan' government is trying to set up at least one medical college and hospital in every district and "working tirelessly" to augment health infrastructure so that people do not have to go outside the state for better treatment. Efforts are also underway to ensure that each district gets at least one engineering college, he said. While interacting with media persons during his 'Samadhan Yatra' in Saran district, the CM said, To ensure that the people get the best medical facilities, the government is working tirelessly to augment health infrastructure in the state. "Efforts are being made to boost the sector so that the people need not go outside the state for treatment. We are planning to have at least one medical college and hospital in every district to make sure that medical education and facilities remain in reach of everyone," he said. The government's aim is that the boys and girls of Bihar do not need to go ...

BJP accuses Nitish of making indecent remark at function attended by women

The BJP in Bihar on Sunday hit the roof over what it considered to be an "indecent remark" made by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his speech on population growth, at a programme attended by a large number of women. Kumar had on Saturday visited Vaishali district, along with cabinet colleagues including his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, on the third day of his state-wide 'Samadhan Yatra', aimed at assessing the status of ongoing welfare programmes and pending works. While interacting with self-help group volunteers, Kumar had spoken about the role played by educated, empowered women in controlling population growth. The JD(U) leader, who has been opposed to the BJP's pitch for a population control law, much to the annoyance of the former alliance partner, also hinted that men often did not show the same sense of responsibility as their wives in controlling population. A small video clip of Kumar's speech has gone viral in which the CM could be heard as having said "the men are often ..

Former Bengal and Bihar governor Keshari Nath Tripathi dies aged 88

Keshari Nath Tripathi, former governor of West Bengal, Bihar and two other states, died at his home in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Sunday. He was 88. "Keshari Nath Tripathi had recently fallen in his house following which he broke his collarbone. Three days ago, he came back home after being discharged from a hospital. Today (on Sunday) at around 5.00 am, he breathed his last," his daughter-in-law Kavita Yadav Tripathi said. Born on November 10, 1934, in Allahabad, Tripathi served as the Governor of West Bengal from July 2014 to July 2019. Before that, he also had additional charges for short stints as the Governor of Bihar, Meghalaya and Mizoram. He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly six times and was the Cabinet minister of institutional finance and sales tax in the state during the Janata Party regime from 1977 to 1979. A poet and author, Tripathi had practised as a senior advocate at Allahabad High Court and was the BJP president in Uttar Pradesh for some .

Caste-based head count begins in Bihar; Tejashwi terms it 'historic step'

Terming the caste-based head count that began in Bihar on Saturday as a 'historic' step, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said the exercise will provide scientific data for carrying out welfare schemes for weaker sections of the society. Noting that all the parties of the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan' were in favour of the exercise, the RJD leader claimed that the BJP was "critical" about the survey. "The enumeration exercise began in Bihar from today. It is a historic step taken by the Mahagathbandhan' government in the state. Once the exercise is completed, it will provide scientific data to the state government for carrying out developmental work for people, including those who are deprived," Yadav said, while speaking to media persons here. He also said, "The BJP is an anti-poor party which always opposed this exercise and has always been critical about the caste-based head out." Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Friday said that the caste-based enumeration exercise could be ..

Govt fully prepared to conduct caste census, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that the government is fully prepared to conduct caste-based census in the state.

Trouble in Bihar's ruling alliance as RJD ministers skip Nitish's event

All does not seem well between ruling allies JD-U and RJD in Bihar in the New Year, with one such example cropping up in an event of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here on Tuesday

Nitish 'ignoring' Sudhakar's statement, Tejashwi calls him 'BJP agent'

This comes in wake of RJD leader Sudhakar Singh's "Shikandi" remark against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

SC to hear on January 9 plea seeking SIT probe into Bihar hooch tragedy

The Supreme Court said on Tuesday a petition seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the last month's hooch tragedy in Bihar which claimed many lives will be heard on January 9. The plea about the tragedy in Saran district, where at least 30 people lost their lives after consuming illicit liquor, has also sought a direction to the state government to adequately compensate the victim families. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha. "It will come up next Monday," the bench told advocate Pawan Prakash Pathak who mentioned the matter. Bihar's Nitish Kumar government imposed a complete prohibition in April 2016 and has rejected the demand for compensation to the families of those who died after consuming spurious liquor. The petition, filed in the apex court by Bihar-based Aryavarta Mahasabha Foundation, has arrayed the Centre and the state of Bihar as respondents.

JP Nadda to visit Bihar, address party workers in Vaishali today

BJP president J P Nadda will visit Bihar on Tuesday to take stock of the party's organisation as it prepares for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, state party chief Sanjay Jaiswal said. This will be Nadda's first visit to the state after the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) ditched the BJP to form a government with the RJD and Congress. Nadda will land at Patna airport around 11.30 am and go by road to Goraul block in Vaishali district, where he will address party workers around 12.30 pm, he said. The BJP president will then visit Harihar Nath temple in Sonepur before returning to Patna. He is expected to chair a meeting with state BJP leaders in the evening before leaving for Delhi, Jaiswal added. Jaiswal will receive the BJP president at the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna , while scores of party workers will line up along the roads outside the premises with party flags to welcome Nadda. Taking a dig at the BJP, the Congress state president Akhilesh Singh said, "Nadda's visit

RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh courts controversy statement against Nitish Kumar

Senior RJD leader Sudhakar Singh has courted controversy by making objectionable remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Interacting with reporters on Monday, Singh, the son of RJD state president Jagadanand Singh, compared Kumar to 'Shikhandi' a eunuch character in Mahabharata and said he has no standing of his own. The former state agriculture minister demanded that Kumar should immediately step down and offer the CM's post to Tejashwi Yadav. "People will not remember him (Nitish) once he steps down. Nitish has done nothing great for the statethere are people like former CMs -- late Krishna Sinha and Karpoori Thakur -- who will always be remembered by the people of Bihar for their contribution. "Same is the case with our leader and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad ji, who has done a lot for the state...but Nitish Kumar's name will not be there in history. He will not be remembered at all. He is like 'Shikhandi', who has no standing of his own," he said. Singh had resigned as

Election Commission appoints Maithili Thakur as Bihar's state icon

Folk singer Maithili Thakur was on Monday appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission. Thakur, trained in Indian classical and folk music, was recently selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of Bihar for 2021. The ECI has approved the proposal of appointment of Maithili Thakur, folk singer as State Icon of Bihar, the letter sent to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar by the poll panel said. The singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process, a senior official of the state election commission said. The singer's father, Ramesh Thakur, told PTI, We are grateful to the EC and the Bihar government. At the same time, this recognition will give her (Maithili) more impetus to spread Bihar's folk music across continents and generate awareness about the importance of participating in the electoral process. Maithili, born in Bihar's Madhubani ..

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar owns movable, immovable assets worth Rs 75.53 lakh

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar owns movable and immovable assets worth Rs 75.53 lakh, a marginal rise of around Rs. 18,000 from a year ago, according to his latest disclosure of assets. According to details of assets of the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues uploaded on the Bihar government website on December 31, Kumar has Rs 28,135 in cash and nearly Rs 51,856 deposited in different banks. The Bihar chief minister and his cabinet colleagues on Saturday declared their personal assets and liabilities. The Nitish Kumar government has made it mandatory for all cabinet ministers to disclose their assets and liabilities on the last day of every calendar year. As per the disclosures, several ministers are richer than the CM. According to the disclosures made by the CM on the website of the Cabinet Secretariat Department, Kumar has total movable properties worth around Rs 16.68 lakh, while he has immovable assets worth Rs 58.85 lakh. The CM has only one residential flat at a ...

Mastermind of Bihar liquor tragedy that claimed 73 lives arrested in Delhi

Delhi Police's Crime Branch has arrested a man wanted in the cases related to the spurious liquor tragedy in Bihar's Saran which claimed the lives of 73 people, an official said on Saturday

BJP claims candidates supported by it swept Bihar Urban Local Body polls

The BJP on Friday claimed that most candidates supported by it have emerged victorious in the urban local bodies (ULBs) polls in Bihar, results of which began coming out on Friday. Nominees considered to have been backed by the ruling Mahagathbandhan also won in several posts. The ULB elections were not held on political party lines in the state and the win of an individual candidate cannot be declared as that of a political outfit, the RJD said. While the counting of votes was still on for many places, Sita Sahu returned as the Mayor of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), officials said. The BJP-backed candidate defeated her nearest rival Majzabi by a margin of 18,529 votes. Another candidate Chandravanshi won the post of deputy mayor by defeating Anjana Gandhi by a margin of 5,251 votes. This time the election for the post of mayor and deputy mayor was done directly by the votes of the general public. Earlier, people were elected to these two posts by the votes of ward ...

Counting of votes begins at 68 centres across Bihar for municipal polls

Counting of votes for the Bihar municipal polls began on Friday morning amid tight security arrangements, a senior official said. Voting to seal the political fate of 11,127 candidates in 23 districts of the state had taken place on Wednesday. The counting of votes of 17 municipal corporations, including Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC), two nagar parishads and 49 nagar panchayats began at 8 am across 68 counting centers, the official of the Bihar State Election Commission said. These centers are under multi-layered security cover. The result is expected to be out in the afternoon, he said. Stray incidents of violence had marred polling for the urban local bodies in the state, with 57.17 per cent of the nearly 62 lakh voters exercising their franchise.

Nitish Kumar trapped in Lalu Yadav's 'chakravyuh': Bihar LoP Vijay K Sinha

Opposition leader in Bihar Assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha has slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that he was trapped in the 'chakravyuh' of his party ally RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav

Police looking for Chinese woman suspected to be a spy in Bihar's Gaya

Police in Bihar's Gaya are looking for a Chinese woman suspected to be a spy and had also been illegally residing in various parts of the country, including Bodh Gaya.

Bihar minister slams Pradhan, says BJP wants to change country's history

A day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the history of the country is wrongly written, Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary slammed him

Rise in active Covid-19 cases in Bihar; no need for panic, says expert

Bihar has witnessed a more than ten-fold rise in active COVID-19 cases, since last weekend, according to figures released by the state health department. The state, which had zero active case till Sunday, now has 14, with Gaya accounting for 12 of these. Notably, Gaya is witnessing an influx of pilgrims from abroad who are heading for Bodh Gaya, less than 20 km away, to attend the discourses of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader is in Bihar after a gap of two years. On Monday, the international Buddhist pilgrimage centre had reported five COVID-19 cases, all of them foreign nationals. In addition, one person each has tested positive for coronavirus in Darbhanga and Patna. Meanwhile, Dr Gopal Krushna Pal, the Executive Director of AIIMS, Patna, said in a statement "there is no need to panic over rumours of an impending fourth wave. Though it would be prudent if people avoided going to crowded places and wore masks while venturing out". He asserted that the hospital was

Over 12 school students of Bihar injured as bus overturns in Jharkhand

More than 12 students of a school in Bihar were injured on Sunday after their bus overturned in Jharkhand's Ranchi district, police said. The accident occurred in the afternoon in the Sikadari area, around 50 km from the Jharkhand capital Ranchi, when the driver lost control over the bus and the vehicle overturned, a senior officer said. The bus with 64 students and teachers onboard was on its way to Ranchi's Hundru Falls, Sikidari police station in-charge Satya Prakash Ravi told PTI. The students and teachers are of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Barachatti, in Bihar's Gaya district, "Steering of the bus somehow got locked near Doctor More in Sikadari and the driver lost control over the passenger vehicle. It overturned leaving over a dozen students injured, the police officer said. The students and teachers earlier visited the Bhadrakali temple in Chatra district. Those who suffered minor injuries were treated at a primary health centre, while one was sent to Ranchi's Rajendra Institu