Page 31 - Jharkhand

Jharkhand BJP chief booked for 'derogatory' remarks against CM Hemant Soren

Tirkey alleged that Marandi had used derogatory remarks against Soren's family for his political benefits and that has hurt Soren's as well as the 'tribals' sentiments

J'khand to ink MoU with TGESPL for country's first hydrogen fuel industry

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between Jharkhand government and TCPL Green Energy Solution Private Limited (TGESPL) on Friday to pave way for the establishment of the country's first hydrogen fuel industry in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur, an official said on Thursday. The pact will be signed in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, according to a statement issued by the CM secretariat. The proposed capacity of this unit is 4000+ Hydrogen IC Engine/Fuel Agnostic Engine and 10,000+ Battery system, a release said. "Hydrogen is one such fuel, whose capacity is more than other fuels. It is cheap and light. In such a situation, it can be considered a better option between petrol and diesel. Hydrogen fuel can help in controlling pollution to a great extent," the release added.

Expedite construction of 15,000 km rural roads: J'khand CM tells officials

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has asked officials to expedite the construction of 15,000 km of rural roads in the state without compromising the quality of work, a statement said on Thursday. During a meeting of the Road Construction Department on Wednesday, the chief minister was apprised of the fact that detailed project reports for 6,000 km, of the 15,000 km of rural roads to be built in the state, have been prepared, while approval has been given for construction of 3,000 km of roads. "The state has set a target to build 15,000 km of rural roads and we need to speed up construction. There should be no compromise on the quality of roads as it would not be tolerated," the CM told officials. They were also instructed to expedite the construction of roads, stuck due to delays in getting clearances from the forest and environment department. According to officials, no objection certificate from the forest department has been received for five projects, while clearance for ei

J'khand: 6 vehicles torched, pvt firm's employees assaulted by Maoists

At least six vehicles were set on fire and two employees of a private road construction company were assaulted by members of banned CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand's Palamu district, a senior police officer said on Thursday. The incident happened in the Haldiya Ghati area under the Chhatarpur Police Station limits, around 220 km from the state capital Ranchi, on Wednesday evening, he said. Around 15 Maoists reached at the road construction site and beat up two clerks of the company, Chhatarpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ajay Kumar told PTI. "Maoists also torched six vehicles, including trucks, engaged in the road construction," he said, adding that it was suspected that Maoists conducted the attack on the site for levy. "We are investigating the case and an operation has been initiated to nab the Maoists involved in the crime," he said.

80% of arable land in 8 J'khand districts lying fallow due to scanty rains

More than 80 per cent of arable land meant for paddy cultivation in eight Jharkhand districts is lying fallow due to scanty rainfall, an official said on Saturday. The ideal sowing period for paddy is from July 1 to July 31, according to agricultural experts. With delayed or scanty rainfall in the early months of monsoon in the last few years, many farmers nowadays sow crops till mid-August but that does not lead to a good harvest, they said. Overall paddy sowing coverage in Jharkhand was recorded at 43.66 per cent till August 18. Paddy was sown in only 7.85 lakh hectares of land against the target of 18 lakh hectares till August 18, according to coverage data of the state agriculture department. The situation is grim in eight districts out of the total 24 districts in the state in terms of paddy coverage. Palamu district has recorded the state's lowest paddy sowing coverage at 2.96 per cent till August 18, followed by Jamtara (5.63%), Dumka (7.66%), Garhwa (8.43%), Dhanbad (10.26%)

ED issues summons to J'khand CM Hemant Soren in money laundering case

ED has asked the Jharkhand CM Soren to join its investigation in the alleged money laundering case on August 24

LIVE: HP govt declares whole state as 'natural calamity affected area'

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5 killed after part of well collapses in J'khand, death toll still unknown

Five people died after a portion of a well caved in at a village in Jharkhand's Ranchi district on Thursday, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said. However, NDRF officials said the toll is still unknown as the rescue operation is underway. The incident took place in Piska village, around 70 km from state capital Ranchi. "My heart is pained by the sad news of the death of five people in a well in Piska village May God grant peace to the departed souls, and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this difficult hour of grief," Soren posted on X (formerly Twitter). Meanwhile, personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said efforts are underway to rescue the five people trapped inside the well, and that the death toll is not immediately known. The incident happened in the afternoon after an animal fell into the well. In an attempt to rescue it, nine people went inside the well, and then a portion caved in, Ranchi SP (Rural) H B Jama said.

Congress reviews poll preparedness in J'khand for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Congress on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness of its Jharkhand unit for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will try to win all 14 parliamentary seats in the state. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said preparations of the party's Jharkhand unit for the general elections were reviewed at a meeting. "We are committed to a stable government in the state of Jharkhand, and are continuously striving for the betterment of the people," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and added that the Congress "is dedicated to Jharkhand's water, forest, land rights and development". The Congress is part of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government in the state. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee's preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections was reviewed at the meeting chaired by Kharge. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and senior .

Unfortunate! Will extend support to families: Soren after jawans killed

Calling the incident "unfortunate", Soren said that the Jharkhand government is taking all possible steps to put a check on the Naxal activities and getting the results

Oppn bloc INDIA partners to jointly campaign for Jharkhand's Dumri by-poll

Jharkhand unit of opposition INDIA will jointly campaign for the Dumri by-poll to ensure the victory of its candidate, sources in it said on Saturday. The alliance has fielded Bebi Devi, a JMM candidate and wife of former education minister Jagarnath Mahto, for the by-election. She will file her nominations on August 17. The by-poll will take place on September 5, while the votes will be counted on September 8. The last date for filing nomination is August 17. The first meeting by the INDIA on Dumri by-poll was held at the CM's House. Chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, INDIA alliance held its first meeting on Dumri bypoll. The alliance has decided to hold joint campaign for the by-election to ensure win of our candidate, said senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam. The INDIA candidate will be the winner and the victory would be a true tribute to Jaggarnath Mahto, the former minister whose death necessitated the by-poll, he asserted. Mahto, was the husband of Bebi Devi who died

Govt aims to control surface fire at 19 coal mines in Jharia by 2025-end

The government is aiming to control surface fire at 27 locations of 19 coal mines in Jharia, Jharkhand, by 2025-end, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Some coal mines of Jharia in Jharkhand have been burning for many years due to unscientific mining prior to the nationalisation of coal mines, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. As per the Jharia Master Plan approved in 2009, it was estimated that about 37 MT of good quality prime coking coal has been destroyed due to fire, the minister noted. Coal India subsidiary Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) is periodically conducting surveys through National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) Hyderabad for delineation of surface fire. As per the latest survey report done in the year 2020-21, the surface fire area has been reduced to 1.8 sq km spread over 27 locations, he said. "Out of these 27 locations, fire at 16 locations is being dealt with by operating fire dealing projects through excavation an

ED summons Jharkhand CM for interrogation in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for interrogation in a money laundering case, an official said here on Tuesday. He has been asked to depose on August 14 at the federal agency's office here and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the official said. He is expected to be questioned in an alleged defence land scam case. The 47-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was interrogated for over nine hours by the ED in November last year in another money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state. Neither Soren nor his office has reacted to the fresh summons. BJP MP from the state Deepak Prakash Tuesday demanded Soren's resignation alleging that he was involved in the defence land scam in connivance with corrupt bureaucrats of the state. Claiming to have been the first to have exposed the defence land scam, he said "We had requested the ED to investigate the case. Today, the result is that aft

CM Soren inaugurates, lay foundation of projects worth Rs 292 cr in Bokaro

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday inaugurated and laid foundation of projects worth Rs 292.53 crore in Bokaro district. Addressing a public gathering at Taranari in Chandrapura block of Bokaro district he announced that a medical college would soon come up in Bokaro district in the name of former Education minister Jagarnath Mahto. The CM inaugurated 37 projects worth Rs 18.14 crore, laid foundation of 25 projects worth Rs 274.39 crore and distributed assets worth Rs 116.90 crore among 11,186 beneficiaries on the occasion. The upcoming medical college in Bokaro will be a tribute to the former minister, who died at a hospital in Chennai on April 6 this year, a JMM leader said. The CM also announced that a residential school would be started in Bokaro's Nawadih on line of Netarhat residential school and a degree college would also be built there. "The process in this regard has been initiated," he said. Attacking at BJP, Soren said that the opposition has been trying t

Jharkhand assembly passes bill to boost state's healthcare sector

The Bill aims to crack down on the use of unfair means and irregularities in examinations and plug incidents of question paper leaks

DVC plans capex of Rs 70,000 cr by 2030 to increase power generation

Multipurpose project Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has drawn up capital expenditure plans of around Rs 70,000 crore by 2030 to boost power generation capacity from 6,700 MW at present to 16,000 MW, its chairman R N Singh said on Friday. He said DVC will increase its coal-fired power generation capacity through brownfield expansion, while it also plans to invest in the renewable energy sector, Singh said. Speaking at the Bengal Power Conclave organised by IEEMA here, Singh said "DVC will make a capital expenditure of Rs 70,000 crore in augmenting power generation capacity by 2030. The present installed capacity of 6,700 MW will go up to 16,000 MW". Thermal capacity expansion will be through the brownfield route, he added. Singh said DVC will also make investments in the renewable energy sector by setting up floating and land-based solar power plants. He said the potential for harnessing solar energy will be about 2,000 MW under the DVC command area. "DVC has already floated a te

BJP legislators disrupt Jharkhand assembly over law and order situation

Jharkhand assembly on Tuesday witnessed uproarious scenes during the Question Hour after opposition BJP legislators raised the issue of deteriorating law and order in the state. Unruly scenes were also witnessed during Zero Hour. As soon as the House assembled for the day, saffron party members trooped into the well demanding a debate on the deteriorating law and order situation and raised slogans demanding resignation of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Amid the ruckus, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam said the state had sent its drought report to the Centre twice, but no money was received. The Jharkhand government had also placed a demand for a financial package of Rs 9,682 crore to the Centre for drought-hit blocks. However, the state has not yet received any drought package till date from the Centre, officials said. As the din continued, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato adjourned the House till 12.30 pm while BJP legislators including CP Singh demanded a discussion on law a

4 killed due to electrocution during Muharram preparation in Jharkhand

Four people were killed and 10 others injured on Saturday Morning after they came in contact with a high-tension wire while preparing for a Muharram procession in Jharkhand's Bokaro district, police said. The incident occurred at Khetko village under the Petarwar Police Station limits, around 80 km from the state capital Ranchi, when their religious flag, made of iron, came in contact with a live wire, Bokaro Superintendent of Police Priyadarshi Alok said. The incident occurred around 6 am on Saturday while they were preparing for a Muharram procession. They were carrying a religious flag and its pole was made of iron. It somehow came in contact with a high-tension electric wire of 11,000 volts," the SP told PTI. All the injured people were taken to a nearby hospital, he said. Eight of them were referred to the Bokaro General Hospital where four succumbed to their injuries and the condition of three were stated to be critical, the officer added.

J'khand monsoon session begins today, 3 important bills to be retabled

The monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly is set to commence on Friday, during which three important bills, which were earlier returned by the governor secretariat over "technical flaws", will be tabled again. On the other hand, the opposition BJP has decided to corner the government by raising the issues of "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state and unemployment. The ruling alliance and opposition BJP held separate legislature party meetings here on Thursday to chalk out strategies for the session, which will continue till August 4. The three bills that will be retabled are 'Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021', 'Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and For Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to Such Local Persons Bill, 2022', popularly known as the 1932 Khatiyan Bill, and 'OBC Reservation Bill'. These were returned by the then Governor Ramesh Bais, citing several technical issues. Congress, an ally of the JMM-led

Jharkhand inches towards drought-like situation due to scant rain: Official

Jharkhand is inching towards a drought-like situation due to 45 per cent rain deficit, leading to around 85 per cent of the arable land in the state remaining fallow in the peak monsoon season, officials said. Kharif crops were sown in only 4.15 lakh hectares against the target of 28.27 lakh hectares till July 21 or only in 14.71 per cent of the arable land. In 2022, around 20.40 per cent of the arable land was cultivated till the corresponding date, according to official data. Sowing of the main crop of the season, paddy, was even lesser at 11.20 per cent of the target of 18 lakh hectares. Last year, the figure was 11.76 per cent till July 21. According to agricultural experts, the ideal sowing period for paddy is from July 1 to July 20. With delayed or scant rainfall in the early months of monsoon in the last few years, many farmers nowadays sow crops till mid-August but that does not lead to a good harvest, they said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has also expressed con