Page 37 - Jharkhand

Gunfight between security forces, Naxals on outskirts of Jharkhand's Ranchi

A gunfight broke out between security forces and Naxals on the outskirts of Ranchi city on Thursday, police said. Acting on a tip-off that five members of the banned Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC) were in a forest in the Budmu police station area, a search operation was started around 3.30 pm, they said. Soon, a gunfight broke out between the Naxals and the forces, they added. "However, the extremists escaped taking advantage of the forest," Superintendent of Police (Ranchi-Rural) Naushad Alam told PTI. A rifle and live bullets were seized from the area, he said. Alam said they have received information that some of the extremists were injured in the gunfight. "We are verifying it," he said.

Tribals to hold fast on Jan 30 for Parasnath hills movement in Jharkhand

Tribals will observe a day's fast on January 30 at Ulihatu in Khunti district, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda, in solidarity with their movement to save the Parasnath hills, a member of a joint forum of Adiva bodies said. A large number of tribals on Tuesday assembled near the Parasnath hills in Giridih district, urging the state government and the Centre to free their holy site from the clutches of the Jain community. They also warned of severe agitation if their demand was not met. Hundreds of tribals from Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha demonstrated in the hill area, carrying traditional weapons and beating drums. "Marang Buru' (Parasnath) is the birthright of Jharkhand's tribals, and no power in the world can deprive them of this right," a member of the Jharkhand Bachao Morcha', which claims to be an outfit of over 50 bodies, asserted on Tuesday. Tribals will observe a day's fast on January 30 at Ulihatu in Khunti, the birthplace of tribal icon Birsa Munda, in ...

Jharkhand extends winter vacation till Jan 14 amid cold for primary schools

All primary schools in Jharkhand will remain closed till January 14 amid the cold wave conditions prevailing in the state, according to a government notification. Teachers will, however, attend schools to update all student records online, it said. "In view of continuing extreme cold wave conditions in Jharkhand, the state department of school education and literacy has decided that teaching in all government and private schools from KG to class 5 will remain suspended till January 14," the notification said. Earlier on January 3, the department had ordered the closure of schools from class 1 to class 5 till January 8. Midday meals would also be made available to students in government schools, it added. The lowest temperature in some districts varied between 4.1 and 10 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours.

Lawyers meet Jharkhand CM over court fee hike; Soren promises review

A section of lawyers met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday over the court fee hike, as the JMM leader assured them of a review. As many as 500 advocates were present at the residence of the chief minister where he assured them that his government will review the provisions of the Advocates Protection Act and do a comparative study with other states. The state government had last year hiked court fees by passing the Court Fees Amendment Bill in the assembly. Soren said the increase in court fees was not directly concerned with the welfare of lawyers but still, the government will look into the matter and review the amendments. The delegation was led by Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, and he was accompanied by Jharkhand State Bar Council members Manoj Singh, Ram Subhag Singh, Anil Tiwary and Rinku Bhakat, among others. Council chairman Rajendra Krishna and other members stayed away from the meeting. Bhakat told PTI that they interacted with the CM and he promised ...

J'khand must check infiltrators who grab land by marrying tribal women: HM

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Hemant Soren government must check infiltrators, out to grab land in Jharkhand, by marrying tribal women. Accusing Soren of "destroying Jharkhand", Shah claimed that the JMM dispensation has indulged in "looting" mineral resources and "betrayed" tribals in the name of 'khatiyan'. The Hemant Soren government, which has also accused the BJP of "plundering" the state's wealth, wants to prepare a list of original residents of the state based on the 1932 land records which would implicitly identify a large number of non-tribals as later migrants. "The Hemant Soren government must check infiltrators, out to grab land, by marrying tribal women," Shah said while addressing 'Vijay Sankalp Maha-rally' in West Singhbhum district's Chaibasa, around 150-km away from the state's capital Ranchi. The programme is being viewed as the beginning of the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Claiming that corruption has peaked under the JMM-led .

Centre bars tourists at Shri Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand, amid protests

In view of a series of protests by the Jain community, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav has asked the state to forbid all eco-tourism activities

Centre stays all tourism activities at Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand

Place falls in eco-sensitive zone, says Union Environment Minister

12 with respiratory issues die in 2 days as air quality worsens in Dhanbad

At least 12 people with respiratory issues who were undergoing treatment have died in the last 48 hours here, as the air quality declined to "alarming" levels, officials said on Wednesday

Primary schools in Jharkhand to remain closed till Jan 8 amid cold wave

All primary schools in Jharkhand will remain closed till January 8 amid the cold wave that gripped the state, according to a government notification. The minimum temperature in Ranchi will be hovering between 7 and 10 degrees Celsius till January 8 with fog and cloudy sky. The mercury will rise from January 9, the weather office said. "In view of extreme cold wave conditions in the first week of January, the state department of school education and literacy has decided that teaching in all government and private schools from class 1 to class 5 will remain suspended," the notification said. Teachers will, however, attend schools to update all student records online, it said. Midday meals would also be made available to students from the government schools, it added.

Target to facilitate education of 900,000 adolescent girls: Jharkhand govt

The Jharkhand government on Tuesday said it aims at facilitating the education of nine lakh adolescent girls in the state under the Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana (SPKSY). The welfare programme was launched by Chief Minister Hemant Soren in October last year from Giridih along with the 'Aapki Yojana Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' campaign, an initiative to take the benefits of various government schemes at the doorsteps of villagers. "The Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana is an effort of the state government to facilitate the education of adolescent girls and a step towards women empowerment and gender justice...Nine lakh adolescent girls of the state shall be covered by this scheme," a statement issued by the government said. Under the 'Aapki Yojana' campaign, which went on for a month, three lakh adolescent girls were linked to the scheme. "In a programme organised on the completion of three years of the government, the chief minister transferred a total amount of Rs

Suspended Jharkhand IAS officer gets interim bail in money laundering case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal in a money laundering case to look after her ailing daughter. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S Oka also directed the Enforcement Directorate to respond in three weeks to Singhal's main bail plea. Appearing for the anti-money laundering probe agency, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said the plea was incorrect and devoid of merits. I will be the last person to oppose such pleas, the law officer said. The top court, which has now listed the suspended IAS officer's plea for hearing on February 6, has imposed some conditions, including that she will not visit Ranchi unless a court case is listed for hearing in the city. Singhal has been in custody since May 11 after raids were conducted at properties linked to her. The ED has accused Singhal, a former state mines department secretary, of money laundering and said its team seized more than Rs 36 crore

J'khand CM Soren demands 5 more years of extension for GST compensation

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday sought a five-year extension for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation to the state beyond June 2022, claiming that the state was facing a revenue shortfall to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore per annum. He also hit out at the Centre for allegedly not clearing outstanding dues of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to the state from Coal India Limited. Soren who became the head of a JMM-led dispensation in 2019 told a press conference here that if he remains the chief minister for 10 years, Jharkhand will no longer be called a backward state. "We have been facing a severe financial crunch. Our challenges have increased. The state faces a loss of Rs 5,000 crore per annum. We have demanded that the GST compensation period be extended for five years," Soren said. When a nationwide GST subsumed 17 central and state levies from July 1, 2017, it was decided that states will be compensated for any loss of revenue from the new tax for five years. That ..

Sand mafia in Jharkhand's Gulma tries to mow down SDPO, team by dumper

A sub divisional police officer (SDPO) and some of his team members sustained injuries after a sand mafia allegedly tried to run over the SDPO's car by a dumper truck in Jharkhand's Gumla district

Narcotic drugs worth Rs 60 lakh seized in Jharkhand's Hazaribag: Police

Around 2kg of opium and 650 grams of brown sugar were seized in two separate raids in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district, police said on Monday. The worth of the contraband is Rs 60 lakh and eight peddlers have been arrested, the police said. The police seized the opium on Sunday, while the brown sugar was recovered on Monday under Pelawal police station area of the district, around 100-km from capital Ranchi, Hazaribag superintendent of police (SP) Manoj Ratan Chothe said. Addressing reporters, the SP said that five people have been arrested in connection with the brown sugar seizure. The police had a tip-off that they were coming to Hazaribag to sell brown sugar to a person, who was yet to be identified, he said. On Sunday, three inter-state opium peddlers were arrested from a Delhi bound bus from the Hazaribag bus stand. During interrogation, they confessed that they were proceeding to Delhi for selling the products to a smuggler's gang, he said. Police also seized four mobile pho

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

Jamtara strives to shed cyber crime image through education-based campaign

Jharkhand's Jamtara district, infamous as India's cyber crime hub, is making efforts to tide over the dubious distinction through a unique campaign Police ki Pathshala' (Police's School), which aims at imparting quality education and creating awareness about phishing activities. The drive, a joint initiative of the police and district administration, is being carried out across libraries in 118 panchayats, officials said. Special focus has been given to 35 libraries of two cyber crime-hit blocks -- Karmatand and Narayanpur. The objective is to make the youths aware about phishing and make them a participant in developmental activities, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Cyber) Majrul Hoda told PTI. The campaign also strives to prepare the youths for competitive examinations through expert guidance, he said. The initiative was started a year back, but it got going in a big way three-four months ago. We are witnessing a gradual drop (in cyber crime cases). Earlier, almost every day, ..

Jharkhand Assembly passes Rs 8,534 crore supplementary budget by current FY

The Jharkhand Assembly on Wednesday passed a Rs 8,533.79-crore supplementary budget for the current fiscal by voice vote. This is the second estimates with the House on August 1 passing a Rs 3,436.56-crore supplementary budget for the 2022-23 fiscal. Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon, who had tabled the supplementary budget on Tuesday, said the government has spent 49 per cent of the main estimates till date, and a supplementary budget was required for ensuring a proper supply of power and scholarships to students etc. The discussion on the budget took place, amid protests by opposition leaders against a recruitment policy. The supplementary budget included Rs 2,733 crore for energy, Rs 1,158 crore for women and child development, Rs 1,050 for Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, other backward classes and minorities, Rs 595 crore for agriculture. JMM legislator Sudivya Kumar alleged that petitioners, who challenged the recruitment policy in the High Court, hailed from Bihar and Utt

UTs top performer in Social Progress Index; Bihar, Jharkhand at bottom

Puducherry has the highest SPI score of 65.99 in the country, attributable to its remarkable performance across components like Personal Freedom and Choice, Shelter, and Water and Sanitation

New forest rules: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren protests but is he serious?

Bhupesh Baghel, chief minister of another tribal-dominated state Chhattisgarh, has also written to the PM about the same

4 workers injured in fire incident at Vedanta ESL Steel plant in Jharkhand

Four workers associated with ESL Steel Ltd, a Vedanta Group firm, were injured due to a fire incident at its plant in Jharkhand's Bokaro district, an official said on Thursday. All the injured persons, who are residents of neighbouring West Bengal, were admitted to the Bokaro General Hospital, he said. The condition of one of the four is stated to be critical as he suffered an 80 per cent burn injury, said Chas Circle Officer Dilip Kumar who visited the plant. The facility is situated under the Chandankyari block of the district. "Four workers were injured in the incident. The administration would initiate a probe into it," Kumar said. "There was a fire incident around 10:30 am in MRSS Substation caused by flashover. Four workers of LB Engineering team suffered burn injuries. They were taken to BGH for treatment," a company official said. The injured workers were doing maintenance work when the incident occurred, he said. In September last year, three employees of ThyssenKrupp .