Page 65 - Bihar

Congress to launch state-wide padayatra in Bihar from Dec 28: Jairam Ramesh

Congress is set to launch a state-wide padayatra in Bihar from December 28 on the lines of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said here on Sunday. He said the 1,200-km-long march against the "communal agenda of the BJP" will start from Banka district and conclude in Bodh Gaya. It will cover 17 districts of the state. Rahul Gandhi, however, is unlikely to take part in the state-wide padayatra in Bihar. "The Bharat Jodo Yatra has unsettled the BJP, which has resorted to cheap and childish diversionary tactics. The top rung of the saffron party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is worried by the padayatra of Rahul Gandhi," Ramesh said at a press conference with party colleague Digvijaya Singh by his side. Singh said all senior Congress leaders, ministers and lawmakers in Bihar will take part in the state-wide padayatra. A senior Congress leader in Bihar said Rahul Gandhi will visit the state during the proposed east-west second phase of the 'Bharat Jodo ...

Liquor ban has not been successful in Bihar: JD (U) leader Upendra Kushwaha

"Can't you see how successful this ban is? It's a chain between the suppliers and the consumers, and if the sale of liquor is stopped in Bihar, its consumption will also stop," the he said

Bihar to sign MoU with ICCR to showcase its soft power to world: Official

The Bihar government will sign an MoU with the ICCR to help artists from the state, handicrafts and several other ethnic arts to get international exposure, an official said. The Art and Culture Department of the state government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) in this regard on November 11, Secretary, Art and Culture Department of Bihar government, Bandana Preyashi said. The department is now preparing a calendar of live art and heritage performances to be held worldwide in the coming months after this MoU, she said. "This MoU will help artists from Bihar, handicrafts and several other ethnic arts of the state to get international exposure", Preyashi told PTI on Wednesday. The Art and Culture department secretary said this MoU will help Bihar to send group of artists to other countries as part of cultural exchange initiative by the Central and the state government. Similarly, cultural troupes from other countries

Nitish Kumar gave appointment letters to officials already posted: BJP

Samrat Choudhary alleged that while 11,329 panchayat secretaries were recruited, only 3,500 were given appointment letters

Shoot me instead of humiliating me, Sadhu Yadav tells Lalu family

Bihar politician Sadhu Yadav, who was criticised by his niece and RJD leader Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya after the Bihar bypoll, sharply reacted to her barb and hit back at the family

Bihar: Closure warning for 1,800 health centres over waste disposal lapses

The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) said on Tuesday that it was issuing notices to 1,800 healthcare centres in the state, which have failed to comply with the norms laid down for bio-medical waste disposal, warning them of closure. Ashok Kumar Ghosh, the chairman of the BSPCB, said these centres, in six districts of the state, were being served a "proposed closure direction" with a 15-day window to ensure abidance of the rules set for the disposal. "If these 1800 health care facilities or centers fail to adhere to the norms pertaining to scientific storage, transportation and treatment of medical waste at Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTF) in the state within 15 days, the BSPCB will order their closure. "The board will also request the power distribution companies to cut off electricity supply to these healthcare units under such circumstances," Ghosh told PTI. Patna has the maximum number of erring health care units, he said, adding that other distri

Focus on breaking liquor supply chains, Bihar CM Nitish tells officials

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked all officials concerned to ensure strict implementation of the prohibition law, with focus on stemming the supply of liquor to the state. Chairing a meeting of top officials in his office on Monday, Kumar asked them to identify the routes being used to smuggle liquor to Bihar from other states. Liquor ban was enforced in Bihar in April 2016. Shortly after the meeting, Chief Secretary Amir Subhani said, "The CM has made it clear that the focus of the police, prohibition and excise departments should be to break all liquor supply and distribution chains across the state. If those involved in the supply and distribution of liquor to Bihar are nabbed, the availability of liquor will automatically be checked." "Therefore, the priority of officials should be to identify the routes through which liquor is being smuggled to Bihar from other states and nab those involved in this illegal trade," he added. As per law, a person caught the first time

Bypolls in six states: BJP wins in 4 of 7 Assembly seats; loses to TRS

RJD, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) win one each

Bihar bypolls: RJD takes lead in two assembly seats, BJP trailing

The RJD has established a lead in the two assembly seats of Mokama and Gopalganj in Bihar after the first round of counting, with BJP nominees found trailing, Election Commission trends revealed. In Mokama, Neelam Devi garnered 4,159 votes after the first round, and BJP's Sonam Devi 3,508 votes. Mohan Gupta of the RJD is leading in Gopalganj with 2,713 votes. He is followed by Kusum Devi of the BJP with 1,798 votes. Of the 6.10 lakh voters -- Gopalganj (3.31 lakh) and Mokama (2.70 lakh) 52.3 per cent had exercised their franchise in the two seats on November 3, he said. A total of 619 polling booths were set up in the two constituencies. Fifteen candidates are in the fray -- nine in Gopalganj and six in Mokama. This is the first electoral face-off between the ruling Grand Alliance (GA) and the opposition BJP in Bihar after the change of government in August this year, when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party JD-U snapped ties with the saffron party and aligned with Lalu Prasad's

Bihar bypoll results: Counting of votes for two assembly seats underway

Counting of votes for bypolls to Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies in Bihar began at 8 am on Sunday amid tight security arrangements. A senior election official said that trends will emerge around midday. Of the 6.10 lakh voters -- Gopalganj (3.31 lakh) and Mokama (2.70 lakh) 52.3 per cent had exercised their franchise in the two seats on November 3, he said. A total of 619 polling booths were set up in the two constituencies. Fifteen candidates are in the fray -- nine in Gopalganj and six in Mokama. This is the first electoral face-off between the ruling Grand Alliance (GA) and the opposition BJP in Bihar after the change of government in August this year, when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party JD-U snapped ties with the saffron camp and aligned with Lalu Prasad's RJD-led coalition, comprising Congress and other parties, to form a new government. The Mokama seat fell vacant following the disqualification of RJD MLA Anant Singh after his conviction in an Arms Act ca

Bihar will be among top 5 states in 2 yrs if given special status: Tejashwi

Bihar can leapfrog to be counted among the top five states of the country in just two years if the Centre fulfills the long-standing demand for special status, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said on Saturday. The young RJD leader made the claim while complaining about inadequate central aid for urban local bodies of the state and asserting that by its own efforts, Bihar was the best performer in terms of infrastructure growth. "Headquarters of all 38 districts in the state have urban local bodies. For the development of these, the Centre has, as per 15th Finance Commission recommendations, released a paltry sum of Rs 7.35 crore," fumed Yadav, who also holds the Urban Development portfolio. "We will be getting just a fraction of Rs 1,988 crore earmarked for Uttar Pradesh. Our share is much smaller than that of Jharkhand, which is getting Rs 12 crore though it is smaller than Bihar," alleged Yadav. He said Bihar sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha with voters of the state helping "a

'Nitish didn't allow road construction over shoe hurled at him 15 yrs ago'

During 'Jan Samwad' with common people in Yogapatti block of West Champaran on Friday, Kishor said that the 32 km road connecting Nawalpur to district headquarter Bettiah was not constructed for 15 yr

Only propaganda, demand for special status not fulfilled, Bihar CM

In a veiled jibe at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed that "prachar prasar" (propaganda) was going on with little on offer for the poorer states. Kumar, who snapped ties with the BJP two months ago, also lamented that the long-standing demand for special status to Bihar, which "all poor states should get", was not accepted. "Is anything worthwhile happening in poor states? Only propaganda is underway (Garib gurba rajyon mein kuchh ho raha hai? Jhuthe prachar prasar mein laga rahta hai)," said the septuagenarian on Thursday without taking any names. The longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, who has been pitching for a united opposition to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, was addressing a function at the CM's secretariat where he gave away letters of appointment to nearly 200 Urdu translators and stenographers. Kumar spoke at length about his government's efforts to uplift the weaker sections of the society, especiall

Nitish Kumar slams Centre for not according special status to Bihar

"Whenever we talk about special status, the Centre becomes silent," he said.

Assembly by-elections: More than 45% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm

An average voter turnout of 45.60 per cent was recorded till 3 pm Thursday in the by-elections to seven assembly constituencies underway in six states, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The polling is being held in Mokama and Gopalganj assembly constituencies of Bihar, Andheri (East) of Maharashtra, Adampur of Haryana, Munugode of Telangana, Gola Gokarannath of Uttar Pradesh, and Dhamnagar of Odisha. Among the seven seats where bypolls are being held, the BJP held three seats and the Congress two, while the Shiv Sena and the RJD had one each. The contest is symbolic of the fierce turf war between the BJP and the regional parties. For the bypolls in Bihar, the main contest is between the BJP and the RJD, and the saffron party's main contenders in Haryana are the Congress, INLD and the AAP. In Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the main contests are between the BJP and the TRS, SP and the BJD respectively. The Munugode assembly bypoll recorded the highest turnout till 3 pm of 59.9

53 drown in Bihar during Chhath, CM announces ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh

As many as 53 people drowned in rivers and other water bodies in various parts of Bihar during the four-day Chhath festivities, said a disaster management official here on Tuesday. Expressing grief, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the next of the kin of each deceased, the official said. The CM directed all district magistrates to ensure expeditious payment to the victims' families. According to the official, five people drowned in Purnea district on October 30, while three deaths each were reported from Patna, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Saharsa. One person each died in Gaya, Begusarai, Katihar, Buxar, Kaimur, Sitamarhi and Banka among other districts. "At least 18 people died in the state on October 31, the last day of the festival. The state disaster management is trying to establish the identity of all deceased at the earliest," added the official.

Chirag enraged over Nitish's reference to his father's second marriage

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's reference to Ram Vilas Paswan's "second marriage in Delhi" evoked an angry outbust from the late leader's son and political heir Chirag Paswan on Tuesday. Kumar had muttered "biyahwa to dusra Dilli mein jaakar kiye the na" (married for the second time in Delhi) on the previous day in a sort of reflection on the Bihari roots of the father-son duo. He had also called Chirag a "bachcha" (kid). "It ill behoves the chief minister to make personal remarks about my father after his death," the young Jamui MP, born to his late father's second wife, said. "I have never stooped to this level. I have never spoken anything of the kind about Nitish Kumar who has not been transparent about his own personal life. My deceased father was like an open book," said Chirag who has been reaching out to his step-mother and step-sisters after being cornered by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras. Chirag, who is in Bihar to campaign for BJP candidates in the upcoming by-poll

Chirag Paswan to campaign for BJP candidates in Bihar by-polls on Nov 3

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal on Friday asserted that Chirag Paswan is an "NDA ally" and he will be campaigning for saffron party candidates for the November 3 by-polls to Mokama and Gopalganj assembly seats in the state. Jaiswal made the averment at a press conference he addressed here and claimed that Paswan, who is a Lok Sabha member from Jamui, will canvass for BJP candidates next week. "We treat all parties that have fought elections in alliance with us and supported us in the Presidential polls as NDA partners. Chirag Paswan very much fits the bill and he will be campaigning on October 31 and November 1," the BJP leader said. The son of Dalit stalwart Ram Vilas Paswan, Chirag Paswan headed the Lok Janshakti Party founded by his father till it came apart last year following a rebellion by uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras who rallied along all other LJP MPs. Chirag Paswan had caused a flutter in the 2020 assembly polls when he rebelled against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who w

Nitish may not canvass for Bihar bypolls, Tejashwi to hit campaign trail

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said he might not campaign for the by-elections to a couple of assembly segments in the state where his current ally RJD is locked in a straight contest with former alliance partner BJP. Kumar, who is nursing injuries he sustained recently when his motorboat crashed into the pillar of a bridge on Ganga, said this in reply to questions from journalists who asked him about his schedule for Mokama and Gopalganj where by-polls are scheduled on November 3. "All my party colleagues are campaigning. I need to take precautions till I recover fully," said the JD(U) leader, who had disclosed his injury on Wednesday. The mishap had taken place on October 15 and the administration had said that all the occupants of the motorboat were safe. Speculations are rife that the RJD which seeks to retain Mokama and wrest Gopalganj from the BJP, is keen on Kumar lending his weight to its campaign for the two seats. Meanwhile, the BJP claimed that Kumar was

Centre asks Bihar to complete construction of wheat, rice silos by Dec

Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has directed Bihar government to complete the construction of wheat and rice silo in Buxar by the end of December. Pandey, who was on a visit to Bhojpur and Buxar districts of Bihar on Wednesday, reviewed the progress of implementation of lifting and distribution of foodgrains under the National Food Security Act and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), an official statement said. He also reviewed the preparedness of paddy procurement for the upcoming 2022-23 kharif marketing season.