Women auto drivers in Bihar

In a rare first steering towards change and empowerment, women auto drivers are motoring towards empowerment in Patna. Many of them have now become bread earners for their families.

"We wait outside schools and colleges and students are glad to see women auto drivers," an auto driver Sarita Pandey said.

It all began when the Patna auto-rickshaw association began training 35 women of which 15 were selected in the first phase. With a license and bank loans of 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh, they were soon zooming on the streets of Patna. A monthly income of Rs 12,000 to 15,000 leaves enough room to repay the EMIs of Rs 4000.

Straight out from the confines of their homes, it's a daring entry into a male bastion which many females would not dare to take up. "People stop our autos and tell us that this is not a woman's job," auto driver Sarita Pandey said.

However, their presence has given a sense of security to women travelers and has been regarded as a welcome step for women commuters. Only families with women are allowed to uses these autos. "We feel safe leaving our homes in autos and driving on the streets," a passenger Anita said.

The new auto drivers also share the credit of the initiative with their families. "My husband has been very supportive otherwise it wouldn't have been possible," an auto driver Namita said.

Patna auto-drivers association feels elated for having taken the initiative that has given these women a new freedom. "It is challenging for women to drive autos and get on the road. We were certain to implement it." President Patna auto-drivers association Raj Kumar Jha said.

It's a welcome trend and these new fast lane girls on the streets are inspiring many more to join the tribe taking the number of women drivers in the city from 12 to 50 in just a month.

People of Bihar is not safe in the hands of the police: HRC

In a scathing comment on the police brass, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has observed with 'concern' and 'dismay', that the people of the state were 'not very safe with the police'.

The BHRC made the observation in response to the director-general of police, Abhayanand's response to the commission, sought in a case of misconduct involving a sub-inspector (S-I), then posted as station house officer of Chauri police station in Bhojpur district.

As many as nine departmental proceedings had been initiated against the S-I concerned, Subodh Kumar Singh, of which, he was awarded punishment in seven. The commission had sought the response of the DGP whether it would be in public interest to retain such an officer in police service in view of his service record.

In his response to the commission, the DGP raised doubts over the jurisdiction of the state human rights commission.

He said, "The issue of retaining a government servant in public interest on account of orders of punishment passed in different departmental proceedings may not fall within the purview and jurisdiction of the SHRC in terms of the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act."

After a few 'general remarks' on the point of passing orders of compulsory retirement, the DGP further said, "Police officials work under several constraints and in difficult situations, which many times are life threatening. In course of performing their duties, they are at times faced with vindictive and malafide action at the hands of those who are aggrieved by their action. At times, even false cases and complaints are lodged against them."

Clarifying his stand, SHRC chairperson, Justice (retd) SN Jha said, "The objection to the jurisdiction of the SHRC overlooks the provisions of section 18(a)(ii) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, which empowers the human rights commission to recommend to the government 'to initiate proceedings for prosecution or such other suitable action as the commission may deem fit' against the person concerned."

He further said, "The query was made into the facts of the case and considering, that the officer (SI) was punished in all seven (out of nine) departmental proceedings, it cannot be said that the complaints were false. After all, punishments were awarded by the police officers themselves."

"The commission expected, that the DGP would get the matter examined at his level and make suitable intervention, but what is conveyed to the commission is a general denial as if all is well with the police organisation and no action is required to be taken against erring police officials because they work in difficult situations… If this is what the state head of the police organisation believes, the commission would observe with concern and dismay, the people of the state are not very safe with the police," concluded Justice Jha.

2 passengers, 1 RPF jawan killed in Naxal attack on train

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has confirmed the death of an RPF jawan and one passenger aboard the Bihar train that came under Naxal attack.

The latest reports coming in from Bihar now indicate that three people have been killed in the attack on the passenger train. CNN-IBN reported that the dead included 1 RPF Jawan and two passengers.

No further details were immediately available.  The condition of the train driver is still serious.

Bihar MLA charged with murder

A case has been registered against Nityanand Rai, MLA, in connection with the murder of Atul Kanan, son of former State Minister Motilal Kanan, in Hajipur, Vaishali district.

Unidentified persons gunned down Kanan late on Saturday night, sparking tension in the area on Sunday. The police are investigating the motive behind the murder.

They have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against Mr. Rai and an unidentified person, Vaishali Superintendent of Police S.P. Choudhary told.

Motilal Kanan was from the Samyukta Socialist Party and served as a minister.

Bihar growing faster than Gujarat

A new study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has found the Nitish Kumar-ruled Bihar growing faster than Gujarat, though Bihar lags behind the Narendra Modi-ruled state in investment and per capita income.

According to the report, Bihar is catching up with developed states in terms of fresh investment in crucial sectors like power, although it has a huge disadvantage of laggard development in the past.

“Bihar logged in a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent in public investment between March 2003 and March 2013 while this was 14.1 per cent in the case of Gujarat.  Likewise, the CAGR of private investment in the same period was 104.5 per cent in Bihar and 31.9 per cent in Gujarat,” the study noted.

As per the report, the share of public investment in Bihar as on March 2013 was 50.3 per cent, while it was 27 per cent in Gujarat. On the other hand, the share of private sector in Gujarat was way ahead at 72.3 per cent while it was 49.7 per cent in the case of Bihar.

Airtel launches free roaming scheme

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday launched a new roaming scheme for its prepaid customers in Delhi which will enable them to receive free incoming calls in five states.

"With this pack, Airtel prepaid mobile customers can now get up to 30 days of free incoming calls while travelling to Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and West Bengal (except Kolkata) on a recharge of Rs 21," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel's Delhi customer at present are charged Re 1 for incoming calls, Re 1 for local outgoing calls and Rs 1.5 paise for STD calls on roaming, the company said.

Bihar village’s irony: Rising wages help fight hunger

Khedu Ram and hunger had long been friends. When he was young and needed more food to keep working, hunger wouldn't leave his side. Some 30 years ago Khedu and his wife had six to feed.

The choice was often between eating and feeding the children. No amount of work earned enough. Soon his wife died. But their four children lived. They lived to see a better time. "No one, not one soul, in this village is hungry any more," says Khedu, his deep-set eyes showing no emotion, at Chhapwa in East Champaran, Bihar.

Khedu is over 60 years old. He does not remember when he was born. Nor does his son Bhikhari. The boy and this writer used to be village pals. That was in the early 1980s. Khedu was a young man then, a much fuller frame moulded by hard physical toil. He looked 30.

"My wife hardly ever had a full meal in her short life," says Khedu, a member of the "Chamar" caste, who has spent his years well under the poverty line, however imaginatively you draw it. "I wish she were alive today. Between Bhikhari and I, we feed a family of 11 now."

Stove's Burning

Bhikhari Ram, whom the free village school along with free lunch could not educate, fathered nine children. Eight alive. His wife does some seasonal farm work. But she has little time to spare from childcare and cooking two and a half kilo of rice for lunch and two and a half kilo of atta for dinner. Where does all this grain come from?

Who is keeping Khedu's stove burning? "We have two red ration cards," says Khedu. "Between father and son, we get about 60 kg of rice and wheat a month." The rest they buy from the open market, he says. Has Khedu discovered prosperity at the sooty bottom of a rice pot? "For us, to be poor is to be hungry," he says, starkly. "Look at this sweater, this new towel."

Turn to Jung Bahadur Thakur, another life member of the below poverty line club. He is from the opposite extreme of the caste divide but is united with his Dalit villagefolk in a tight bond of chronic want. "I am almost 70 and I have seen real hunger in the past," says Thakur. "What you see today is heaven. Do you not notice all the new brick houses?"

There's Work

Thakur and Bhikhari point to MGNREGS, the rural job guarantee programme. Thakur's son has a job card but takes no part in the scheme. Bhikhari has not bothered to register. Both, however, say the scheme has helped change the labour market and, in turn, their lives. "The MGNREG scheme pays just over Rs 100 a day, after 'cuts'. But due to it, daily wages here are Rs 200," says Thakur.

"One can make Rs 5,000 a month right here in the village. That's a lot of food." Bhikhari, still in the prime of his work life, says there is much local work, even in the non-farming season. "There is a lot of construction work. And unlike in the past, wages are now paid promptly."

His baby brother Munna went to Punjab a decade ago. He died of a snakebite working the fields. "He did not want to go but he had no choice," says Bhikhari, his eyes impassive. Villages around here are indeed rebuilding. Thakur has a three-room pucca house, built last year. Khedu Ram has two brick-and-concrete rooms. Both owe in part to another rural scheme, the Indira Awas Yojana.

Bihar does not meet special state status criteria said Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Bihar does not meet the existing criteria to be granted the status of special category state, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Wednesday.

"Bihar does not meet the existing criteria according to which a state is deemed eligible for special category state. We do recognise that Bihar and some parts do have a special problem and as part of BGRF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) we have Bihar package," Ahluwalia told reporters.

He was briefing the media on the eve of National Development Council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last week said he would raise the demand for special status state for Bihar at the National Development Council meeting.

Special category status brings private investment in a state as investors get tax benefits.

Kumar had also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and handed over a six-page letter on the demand to provide special category state status to Bihar to spur growth.

Bihar demands the special category state status saying it is subject to floods. Likewise, Rajasthan demands the same saying it is subject to draught.

Ahluwalia said the Planning Commission cannot see to such demands by states in isolation.

"Either we have to reopen the whole question or respond (to) the demand of one state. Many states have problem," he said.

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkin, Tripura and Uttarakhand are amongst the states that have been granted special category status.

Its hard to mark up total sanitation in Bihar by 2012

Total Sanitation Campaign to provide sanitation in all rural areas of Bihar by 2012 has not been up to the mark, according to a CAG report. Principal Accountant General (Bihar) Preman Dinaraj told reporters today that the programme, launched by the Centre in 1999 and was to be implemented in a time-bound manner, suffered at various stages due to the non-availability of reliable baseline data and slow and tardy implementation. The other problems faced by the programme were expenditure on various components, deficient information on education and communication activities, lack of community participation and proper monitoring. The Centre had approved Rs 1967.11 crore for all 38 districts of the state for the programme but the expenditure against available funds ranged between 20 and 54 per cent during 2005-10, the CAG said in its report for the period ended on March 31, 2010. An amount of Rs 13.45 crore out of Rs 26.40 crore released as state share during December 2007 and March 2010 for the programme in the state was utilised for construction of latrines for above poverty line families in Bihar in contravention of the guidelines, it said.

Unpaid their salaries for last 17 yrs

In what could be termed as an unimaginable shocker from Bihar. A few state government employees claim they haven't been paid their salaries for last 17 yrs.

One such state government employee is Satya Narayan Mahto who hasn’t been paid salalary for 17 years.

"I stopped getting my salary 15-16 years back. To add to that my kidney has got damaged. I have no money for medical treatment," says Mahto.

The poor economic condition has forced his wife to work as a domestic help.

But Mahto is not alone. About twelve thousand government employees and their families in Bihar are going through the same ordeal. Already three thousand of them have died due to poverty and starvation.

"I am suffering from TB. My eyesight is now affected as I couldn't afford treatment for my eyes," says Amrendra Kishore, another employee.

During the elections, both the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP promised to address their concerns. But, once voted to office, they failed to act.

"There are lots of complications. The Congress party, which was in power, failed to keep proper records. We don't know how many employees are affected," says Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister.

The employees have been on a dharna for 6 months hoping to draw the attention of Modi and Nitish Kumar...the same leaders who once sat with them in protest during 15 years of RJD rule.link

Maoists blow up railway track in Bihar

Maoist guerrillas blew up a railway track in Bihar early on Monday and enforced a one-day strike in their strongholds to protest the arrest of senior leader Subodhji alias Anand, police said.

The Maoists blew up the track near Nadaul railway station in Jehanabad district, about 50 km from here. Nadaul is situated on Patna-Gaya rail route of East-Central Railway.

"Maoists first forced railway officials on duty in the cabin on the outer signal of Nadaul railway station to leave the place. They then blew up the railway track," Patna Railway Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana said.

A railway official in Jehanabad said the incident disrupted rail traffic on the route and repair work was underway.

The strike call by Maoists evoked a mixed response in Bihar as urban areas remained unaffected but normal life was hit in villages.

An official in the home department said the Maoists' strike call evoked no response in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Purnea. But it affected life in Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal and Gaya districts that are considered Maoist strongholds.

The rebels had also torched a truck in Amas police station in Gaya district late on Sunday and blew up a mobile phone tower in Sherpur in Gaya district.

Subodhji alias Anand, Bihar-Jharkhand special area committee member of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, was arrested by the special task force and the district police Friday.

Additional Director General (headquarters) U.S. Dutt said an alert has been sounded across the state in the wake of the Maoists' strike call. link

Nitish asks India Inc to invest in Bihar; assures them safety

Assuring India Inc of full safety, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday invited corporate honchos to invest in the state as there can be no inclusive growth unless the state catches up with the rest of the nation.

"I can assure you that you will be safe there (in Bihar)...you will return safely from Bihar and would love to visit Bihar again and again," he said after receiving the Economic Times' Business Reformer of the Year Award from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Kumar said things are changing and that there are no worries about the law and order situation in the state. Without naming his predecessor Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, Kumar said, there was absence of governance in the state before he took over as Chief Minster in November 2005.

"Bihar has never been the case of bad governance. It was actually the case of absence of governance. Now governance is visible," he added.

According to the recent Central Statistical Organisation estimates, Bihar emerged as the fastest growing state in the country clocking a rate of over 11 per cent during 2008-09. link

Cop Shoots Two Colleagues, himself Dead

A policeman shot two colleagues dead before turning the gun on himself in Bihar's Aurangabad district, police said Saturday.

Pulwender Singh, a Special Auxiliary Police constable, shot dead Kishore Singh and Anil Kumar late Friday night and then shot himself.

All three were posted at Mufassil police station in Aurangabad town.

Aurangabad Superintendent of Police N.K. Tiwari said the police were trying to find out the reason for the killings. link

Three killed in road mishap in West Champaran

Three persons, including two children, were killed when a car hit them at Lauria chowk in Bihar's West Champaran district today, police said.

The accident took place when the driver lost control over the car due to thick fog, the police said.

The bodies were brought to this district headquarter town for autopsy, they said. link

Four children die in Bihar after eating chapattis

Four children of a family died while two others fell sick after eating 'chapattis' apparently mixed with chemicals at Visnnupur Bathua village in Samastipur district late last night.

Sunita, Shanti, Bajrangi and Raja - all children of Ramprit Sah's family - died after having the meal while two others Sulekha and Chuniya were admitted to a hospital, police sources said.

The chapattis were apparently mixed with sulphur when their mother Shankuntla Devi was away but a thorough probe was on to ascertain the cause of their death, the sources said.link

SC directs Bihar govt to appoint 34,540 primary teachers

If you are a trained teacher and unemployed, you should head for Bihar which has just been directed by the Supreme Court to recruit a whopping 34,540 primary teachers within six months.

The recruitment cannot be delayed as the apex court has kept pending a contempt petition to see the sincerity of the Nitish Kumar government to abide by its undertaking given to SC on January 18 and 23 of 2006.

The Patna High Court on September 26, 1996, had directed the state government to resume recruitment of teachers and it was of the opinion that the order was meant to force the state government to execute a public plan to help eradicate illiteracy.

The Bihar government had appealed against the HC judgment. However, during the pendency of the appeal, it sought to withdraw it in view of the state's decision to comply with the HC judgment, saying, "The government has prepared a policy framework for education in the state."

It had stated that recruiting teachers and filling vacancies of teachers posts in primary schools was its top priority. Recording this undertaking, the SC had disposed of the appeal on January 23, 2006.

However, one Nand Kishore Ojha filed a petition alleging that the Nitish Kumar government had done precious little to fulfil its promise to the apex court. Appearing for the state, attorney general G E Vahanvati and senior advocate Kailash Vas dev tried to convince the court that it was not the intention of the state to sidestep the undertaking before the SC.

Accepting the vacancy figure as mentioned in the 2003 advertisement, a Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and H L Dattu said, "Notwithstanding the number of trained teachers available, we direct that the said available vacancies of 34,540, shown in the advertisement for appointment of primary teachers, be filled up with the said number of trained teachers as a one-time measure to give effect to the undertaking which had been given on January 18, 2006 and January 23, 2006."

The Bench added, "Let the contempt petition be adjourned for a further period of six months to enable the state government to implement this order and to submit a report on the next date as to the result of the discussions held between the petitioner and the concerned authorities."

Manpower shortage hits passport office

At least 39,000 passport applications are pending in Bihar because of acute shortage of manpower. On an average, the Patna passport office receives 16,000 applications per month of which 30 per cent of the applications are from the two districts of Siwan and Gopalganj.

Normally, it takes at least three months to issue passport to an individual.According to a rough estimate, the pending list has touched approximately 39,000 till November-end. Out of the total 90 sanctioned staff, only 45 are on the rolls here which has caused delay in issuing the passports. The existing sanctioned posts were allotted way back in 1997.

"Since then, the work load here in issuing passports has increased four fold," says newly appointed passport officer Anand Kumar.

Kumar, who is an Indian Railway Account Service (2000) cadre, joined as the new passport officer here only on Tuesday.

"There is also a lack of infrastructural facility here. We have only two existing passport printing machines out of the total requirement of four. We have already written to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to increase the number of machines," Kumar said.

He said the existing daily passport issuing capacity was only 450 as against the normal capacity of 700. "Right now we have only two passport issuing officials here as against the normal requirement of four," Kumar said.

Asked about the corrupt practises in issuing passports, Kumar said he would utilize his experiences in the railways in dealing it corrupt practices and touts. Kumar, who hails from Buxar district, had also worked in various various other centres including Ambala Cantt., Lucknow and Delhi for the railways prior to joining the passport office here.

"I am committed to check corrupt practises in the passport office. I'll certainly utilize my vast experiences in the railways to contain corruption. First, I will have to streamline my internal system," Kumar said.

The two districts of Siwan and Gopalganj still maintain their top position in applying for passports. "Out of the total 16,000 applications for passports per month, nearly 5,330 come from these two districts alone," he said.

For the issuing of Tatkal passports, "we normally take one week to deliver the passport. But most of the applicants do not provide the copy of identity card. It is now essential to provide a copy of I-card for issuing passport," Kumar said.link

Free condoms at fair price shops

People in Bihar will soon get free condoms at fair price shops. The distribution of free condoms will be made through PDS (public distribution system) shops in the state, official sources said Tuesday.

Bihar State AIDS Control Society (BSACS) has decided to use PDS shops to distribute free condoms in the state. "BSACS plans to distribute condoms through PDS shops to promote their use so that the spread of HIV/AIDS can be prevented," director of BSACS Ravi Parmar said here.

The aim of distributing free condoms at PDS shops is to check and control people from HIV and AIDS, Parmar told IANS. "We want to create awareness about the use of condoms by putting it on the shelves of PDS shops."

Last year, BSACS launched a programme under which barbers were given condoms and asked to distribute them to their customers in order to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Bihar has distributed 1.4 million condoms this year. But the target is to distribute 28 million condoms during 2009-10. The state distributed 10.1 million condoms in 2007-08. The figure was 8.6 million in 2006-07 and 3.5 million in 2002-03.

Officials said most of the condoms were distributed through NGOs. BSACS has tied up with different NGOs and distributes condoms through social marketing at subsidised rates among target groups.

Experts regard Bihar as a highly vulnerable state in connection with HIV/AIDS. The total number of people in Bihar with HIV/AIDS is 24,835.

The condom distribution programme is also expected to aid family planning efforts. Bihar has a population growth rate of 4.1 percent, almost double the national average of 2.1 percent.

595 fresh HIV positive cases are recorded every month in Bihar in 2009

About 595 fresh HIV positive cases are recorded every month in Bihar in 2009 as against zero in the state before 2001, according to the figures of NACO's Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC).

With 6550 fresh cases detected in the current year so far, the total number of HIV-infected now stands at 24,835 which is, however, far less than the estimated 82,000, the ICTC report said.

The rise in the positive cases has been registered despite crores of rupees being spent under the HIV Prevention and Treatment Programme.

On an average National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) spends about Rs22 crore every month in Bihar to contain the spread of the dreaded disease, NACO sources said.link

Woman ends life after being diagnosed with AIDS

A 25-year-old woman in Bihar ended her life by immolating herself in bathroom moments after being diagnosed with deadly AIDS, police said today.

Police said the victim, a resident of More Pashchimi under Mokama police station in Patna district, entered into her bathroom on Saturday night and immolated herself. She died on the spot.

Police said the victim had stuffed rags in her mouth to let cries of her pain not reach her neighbours.

According to reports, on the fateful day the victim had visited a local hospital to find out if she had the killer disease.

“She was tested HIV positive in the hospital report and the revelation shocked her so much that she committed suicide at night out of fear of being socially ostracised”, local villagers told the police.

According to an official report, there are 8,228 identified cases of HIV positive Bihar and more than 1,100 cases of full blown AIDS in Bihar.

The deadly disease has, so far, claimed 80 lives, including that of 13 children. link