Kalam asks Nitish to establish mobile science Labs in Bihar villages

Dwelling on importance of developing scientific outlook among youngsters, former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Monday suggested to the Bihar government to set up mobile science laboratories in villages and science laboratory in every district.

"The value of science has to be propagated to people at large and they should be made to realize the role played by science in their day to day life. Youngsters should be motivated to enquire into science," he said in his inaugural speech at Mega Science Fair here.

Kalam emphasised on establishing science museums and laboratories across the country to remove fear against science from the minds of the children.

Kalam, popularly known as 'Missile Man', referred to his special relationship with Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who was the chief guest.

"I am very close to Bihar, particularly I have worked with Nitish Kumarji when he was minister of railways and later as Chief Minister of Bihar for the last seven years. He is working for development and bringing peace and prosperity for all the citizens of Bihar," he said.

He said the presence of chief minister was indeed an important message to all the people of rural villages of Bihar that education, particularly science education would reach the unreached.

Non-governmental bodies 'Agastya International Foundation' and 'Viksit Bharat Foundation' have successfully operated a mobile science Lab during April-July 2010.

Nitish Kumar in his address said science helped fight superstition. He appealed to children to give topmost priority to science in their studies.

Inquiry into incidents of fake admissions in schools

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday ordered an inquiry into incidents of fake admissions in schools for availing benefits such as free uniform, cycle, mid-day meal and scholarship.

Education department officials said that till date 336,000 fake admissions had come to light in less than a dozen districts.

The principal secretary in the education department, Anjani Kumar Singh, said the fake admissions were exposed following a special drive.

"It was shocking to find a student's name in more than one or two schools. Even attendance figure were less than the number of students in admission registers," he said.

Singh said that if a student took government doles from two schools, action would be taken against his or her parents.

The department has decided to withhold the salary of a dozen teachers in Sasaram.

"Admission of fake students has been cancelled and action initiated against teachers suspected to be involved in the racket," Omprash Singh, a district education official, said.

In Banka, around 70,000 fake admissions were reported, followed by about 57,000 in West Champaran, 53,000 in Sitamarhi, 50,000 in Rohtas, 34,000 in Katihar, 33,000 in Muzaffarpur, 32,000 in Jamui, 4,000 in Darbhanga and some 3,000 in Kaimur.

The government has cancelled all fake admissions in these districts.

In a bid to woo more students from poor families to schools, the government is giving out bicycles to those above Class 9.

Human Resource Development Minister P.K. Sahi says now cycles and uniforms will be given after six month attendance record.

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

Nitish goes all out to promote Bihar's tourist spots

With a view to attract more tourists Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is all set to lay the foundation of a world class convention centre at Rajgir worth Rs 33 crore even as Opposition leaders have termed his holiday at the tourist place as a waste of money.

Bihar Cabinet ministers arrived at the Rajgir hillock on Tuesday to conduct their weekly Cabinet meeting.

Nitish himself came for the meeting in a helicopter. The state government gifted its employees a New Year gift and cleared the Sixth Pay Commission at the well-known tourist spot of Bihar.

"I took a break and came here. We held a Cabinet meeting too," says Nitish.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi says, "This is a gift for the people of Bihar."

Nitish also seems to be in a party mood as he along with his team of officials will be at Rajgir for one week.

The purpose, he says, is to hit two birds with one stone - take a break as well as promote Rajgir on the national tourism map.

"This is a tourist place and we need to promote it," says Nitish

From tonga (horse pulled cart) rides to enjoying the beauty of nature and local delicacies, he is revelling in all this place has to offer with the media following his every move.

Nitish's political opponents have found enough reasons to train their guns at him for what they call holidaying at public expense.

But Nitish seems unfazed. Maybe taking a cue from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who has gone all out to promote Gujarat as a tourist destination, Nitish plans to promote not just Rajgir, but other tourist spots of Bihar.link

Maoists threaten to kill Bihar Chief Minister

The banned CPI (Maoist) has threatened to kill Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar if two of their top leaders were not released from jail, official sources said today.

'Dabloo', a naxalite leader, in an sms from the mobile phone number -- 09308670993 -- to a reporter of a private TV channel, claimed that there was a plan to kill the chief minister, State Home Department Principal Secretary Amir Subhani said.

The message demanded the release of naxalite leaders 'Raviji' and Diren Singh.

"Director General of Police Anand Shankar and IGP (Operations) S K Bhardwaj are probing the issue," Subhani said.

"We have tightened the security for the CM," he said.link

Maoists gun down 16 villagers including five children

At least 50 Maoist guerrillas attacked a Bihar village and brutally gunned down 16 people, including five children, after tying their hands and legs, police said Friday as the issue gained political overtones with demands for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's resignation.

The incident, which appeared to be a dispute over land, took place late Thursday in Amausi village in Khagaria district, about 200 km north of Patna.

Villagers told police that the guerrillas had tied the hands and legs of the victims before shooting them dead.

Eleven people have been detained and are being interrogated.

'During raids, we have detained 11 people suspected to be involved in the incident,' Bhagalpur Inspector General of Police (IGP) A.R. Kinni told.

Bihar police chief Anand Shankar added that the priority was to arrest those involved in the incident.

'Over 50 armed Maoist rebels attacked Amausi village and shot dead 16 villagers, including five children,' Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajay Pandey said, adding that the killing appeared to be over a land dispute but that the police were still investigating.

'All senior district officials are camping in the village and security forces have been deployed. The Special Task Force along with district police have launched combing operations against Maoists in Khagaria,' Pandey added.

Nitish Kumar condemned the incident and asked top officials of the state administration to investigate.

'It is a shocking incident and should be condemned by one and all,' the chief minister said, while announcing compensation of Rs.150,000 to the families of each victim.

He said Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and Director General of Police Anand Shankar would visit the village later Friday.

The incident prompted opposition Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan to demand Nitish Kumar's resignation.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also targeted Nitish Kumar by saying the state government had failed to curb the spread of Maoists.

Lalu Prasad said it was not a caste massacre but a killing by Maoists.

He added that his party leaders had rushed to the village and so should Nitish Kumar.link

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar orders probe into police high-handedness

Following allegations of high-handed attitude of police at a village in Buxar district, a probe was today ordered by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

A complaint was made to the Inspector General of Police ( Patna Zone) seeking legal action against policemen who allegedly assaulted residents of Mukundpur village yesterday when they went to arrest a man named in an FIR for atrocities on a woman, official sources said.

Angry villagers had attacked the policemen, injuring two, leading to retaliation by the authorities, the sources said.link

Nitish orders probe into rumours about mehendi and milk

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said vested interests were behind spread of rumours of skin rashes after applying 'mehendi' and contamination of milk supplied by a state-run diary firm and asked the police to go into the matter.

"The rumours have been fanned by vested interests to spike the festive spirit on the occasion of Eid....The milk pouches have been found contamination-free," Kumar said adding that it seemed to be part of a bigger conspiracy.

The Chief Minister has asked the ADG (headquarters) Neelmani to thoroughly investigate it and bring the guilty to book.

With rumours about supply of contaminated milk, angry residents had yesterday destroyed hundreds of pouches of milk manufactured by a state-run dairy firm.link

Bihar to give 100 acres of land for AMU centre

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said that 100 acres of land would be alloted to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for establishment of an education centre in Bihar's Kishanganj district.

"We have decided to give 100 acres of land, free of cost, to AMU for opening its centre in Kishanganj district," Kumar said in a letter faxed to the university's vice-chancellor P K Abdul Azis.

"The AMU centre will be very helpful in imparting quality education to the student of minority community and will improve the educational atmosphere of the state," he said adding that the district is Muslim dominated with poor literacy figures.link

Summons to Bihar chief minister in 1991 case

A Bihar court has issued summons to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in a case relating to firing at an election booth during the 1991 Lok Sabha elections.

The Barh sub divisional judicial magistrate’s court issued the summons to Nitish Kumar Wednesday, as he was an “accused” along with three others in the case, official sources said.

Nitish Kumar was a candidate from Barh Lok Sabha seat in the 1991 parliamentary elections.

One man was killed in the firing at an election booth.

Business Reformer of the Year Award to Nitish Kumar

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is the Economic Times Business Reformer of the Year. The jury members were unanimous in their choice, giving Mr Nitish Kumar

Kumar’s performance a higher rating than Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit.

The national calamity in Bihar following the Kosi river changing its course highlights the state of affairs in Bihar, once rated as the best in administration. Since taking over as the state chief minister, Nitish Kumar has been trying to rebuild the system of governance that has virtually broken down.

When the Janata Dal (United)-BJP alliance came to power in Bihar in 2005, it was heralded as the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the state.

Ending Lalu Prasad Yadav family’s 15-year reign, Nitish Kumar became the chief minister, with a promise to turn the state around. Three years on, Mr Kumar seems to be on track, although Bihar might take a while to show results.

The JD (U) leader, who is often referred to as the state’s last hope, wants to make Bihar a developed state by 2015. Bihar being primarily an agricultural state, Mr Kumar has been stressing on agro-based industries.

He believes this will help in keeping land acquisition to a minimum. The chief minister has gone to the extent of saying that he does not want SEZs in the state and his government has identified agro-processing, handloom and textiles, handicrafts, pharmaceuticals and leather as areas with comparative advantage.

The other areas where he has made a good start are employment generation and infrastructure development. He beat other states to put in place an employment-guarantee programme for agricultural labourers, which promises 80 days of work, in addition to the 100 days mandated by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme.

His government has adopted a new poverty measurement method, so that a bulk of the families living below the poverty line could be identified Nitish Kumar and have schemes targeted at them. His goal to develop roads in Bihar has been tagged to a three-year timeline, by when he hopes to have Bihar rival the best road networks in India.

Even on the administrative front, there are several big tasks waiting for his attention. For almost 15 years, Bihar didn’t even have a proper budget.

Mr Kumar has also identified promotion of investment opportunities as equally important. With poor infrastructure and the absence of long-term policies hindering private investment, he has kickstarted a series of legislative and administrative reforms. A new industrial policy was put in place in 2006, as was the Bihar Infrastructure Development Enabling Act. A new policy for the sugar processing sector — an important crop in the state — was also brought in.

The new industrial policy makes land available at concessional rates and promises reimbursement of 80% of VAT deposited. And these initiatives seem to have paid off, with the government receiving proposals from a number of big sugar manufacturers. An industrial complex with sugar mills, ethanol and power generation plants has been cleared. Measures to revive the textile industry have also been pushed through. With the state relying almost entirely on the Centre for its power needs, Bihar plans to put up new thermal and hydel power plants. ink

Bihar to seek Rs 23000 crore from Centre to combat drought

The state will ask for a package of Rs 23,000 crore from the Centre to meet the crisis arising out of the prevailing drought in Bihar, said chief minister Nitish Kumar. He added that a memorandum would be submitted to the Centre in this regard on Friday.

Nitish further stated that the state would also seek an additional allocation of Rs 38,000 kilolitre of kerosene every month and an additional allocation of 300 MW power per day. He added that if rainfall continues to be dismal, the remaining 12 districts of the state would also be declared drought hit like the other 26.

Addressing the people of the state through Akashvani, Nitish said diesel subsidy will also be allowed for Rabi plantation and shops for cheap breads will be opened, too.

Pointing out that another memorandum to be submitted to the Centre by all parties will be finalized soon, the CM said two senior ministers — Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Nand Kishore Yadav — would meet the leaders of other parties to finalize the draft. link

Most areas of Bihar to be declared 'calamity-hit' tomorrow

Chief minister Nitish Kumar today said that most parts of Bihar will be declared 'calamity-hit' tomorrow in the wake of deficient rainfalls in the state.

Emerging from an all-party meeting here, Kumar asked prime minister Manmohan Singh to immediately send a ministerial team to the state to assess the magnitude of the damage due to calamity and recommend for financial package.

The representatives of all the political parties who turned up in the all-party meeting voiced unanimity over the issue of tackling severe drought conditions, Kumar told reporters.

He said a special meeting of the state cabinet will take place tomorrow to specify the areas to be declared calamity-hit in keeping with the guidelines under the Disaster Management Act and the National Calamity Fund (NCF).link

Floods affect one lakh people in Bihar, help rushed

Around one lakh people were affected as the swollen Bagmati breached its embankment near Tajpur in Bihar's Sitamarhi district on Saturday, prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order a high-level probe into the breach and deployment of National Disaster Response Force personnel.

The river breached its embankment in a stretch of 40 - 50 metres at Tajpur under the Runnisayedpur block, inundating vast areas and several villages in eight panchayats of the district, official sources said.

As reports of swirling waters of Bagmati breaching the embankment reached him, Kumar held a high-level meeting with state Water Resources minister Vijendra Yadav, Principal Secretary (Water Resources) M R Nayak, besides Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) and other senior officials.

He ordered immediate deployment of NDRF in the affected areas to step up relief and rescue operations, an official spokesman said.

The NDRF personnel would reach the site within hours with necessary equipment, the spokesman said.

Kumar said the breach repair works were being carried out by the experts, including the engineers of the flood-fighting cells, on a "war-footing".

An estimated one lakh people were hit by the floods, the sources said, adding reports of four to five children being swept away in the swift currents were being verified.

Road communication between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi was likely to be affected as flood waters submerged the National Highway near Koati, about 17 km from here, they said.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that the breach occurred due to digging near the embankment last night and the river swelled over a period of time because of sharp erosions.

Flood fighting continued at the breach-site and the engineers expected to plug the breach shortly, they said.

Divisional Commissioner, Tirhut, S M Raju, District Magistrate Sitamarhi and other senior officials reached the spot to oversee the relief and rescue operations.

The Water Resources Minister accompanied by Principal Secretary of the department and disaster management officials, airdashed to Sitamarhi to take stock of the situation.link

Govt gears up to promote Bihari food products

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has a dream that Bihari food products should find place on every dinning table of the country. This was stated by principal secretary of industry A K Sinha at the `International Summit-cum-Exhibition on Food Processing and Agribusiness' being held at New Delhi.

While interacting with the participants, Sinha said that the government has geared up to achieve that. He said that the industry department has so far undertaken five road shows in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Begusarai and Kolkata for highlighting the strong areas of food processing to different investors.

Sinha mentioned the new schemes launched by the Bihar government and stressed that the National Commission for Farmers has dubbed Bihar the `sleeping giant' of Indian agriculture. He said that Bihar produces 50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and 20 lakh metric tonnes of maize. He also pointed out that Bihar was the third largest producer of vegetables and seventh largest producer of fruits. He said that 75 per cent of the litchi is produced in Bihar and there are 10 lakh metric tonnes of banana and 20 lakh metric tonnes of `makhana' produced in the state.

Sinha said that Bihar has massive opportunities for rice-based industry like modern rice milling and husk-based power plants and it is the largest market for milled rice. He also pointed towards the potentiality of maize-based industry such as starch, poultry feed, corn oil and flakes and flour units. He said that the state has decided to develop two integrated food zones and food parks and would set up 100 rural agribusiness centres.

He also spoke about the enabling factors -- Bihar is the first state in the country to prepare a vision document and has come out with a very attractive policy package. He said that the state has launched two major schemes for investment in food processing sector. The first provides capital grant up to 40 per cent of the project cost, the maximum being Rs 10 crore. The second scheme for food parks provides a capital grant up to 20 per cent, maximum Rs 15 crore.link

Center to shoulder 50% burden on diesel subsidy

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the Centre had agreed to shoulder 50% of the burden incurred by Bihar for its diesel subsidies.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had sought help from Centre for diesel subsidy given to farmers in the state for irrigation purpose.

“The Centre will also extend this facility to other states,” Pawar added.

“UP, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Manipur and parts of some other states are likely to be affected by deficient rainfall. Manipur has declared drought in all districts and Assam and Jharkhand have declared drought in 14 and four districts respectively,” Pawar said while responding to BJP’s ‘calling attention motion’ over the issue.

Pawar said rainfall deficiency in the country, which stood at 62% in June, had gone down to 17% leading to considerable improvement in overall situation.

Replying to queries on uncertainty resulting from insufficient monsoon rainfall, Pawar said the situation had improved in most parts of the country except northwest, north-east, UP and Bihar.

On paddy cultivation, he said substantial shortfall had been witnessed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. But Punjab and Haryana were not a problem as the farmers had sustained the transplanted crop with irrigated water.

Pawar said while 100 MW of additional power from the Central pool was released to the farmers in Punjab and Haryana, the Centre had agreed to release another 100 MW for the next 15 days.

He also informed the Rajya Sabha that exports of non-Basmati rice and wheat, which was allowed through diplomatic channel, would be completely banned.

“We are going to stop it. We will take the financial burden,” he said, replying to a Calling Attention Notice.

Allaying fears of shortage of foodgrains, Pawar said, “Stock position is quite comfortable. We have sufficient stock position for 13 months in our kitty.”

Pawar was worried over runaway rise in prices of Arhar dal to Rs 95-100 a kg, he said “this will be a temporary phenomenon. A financial support for states is under consideration to help in this regard.”

Centre will also consider how loans taken by farmers can be rescheduled, the minister said, adding “We are going to extend some concessions or other facilities. We will take decision. We will not take any coercive method for loan recovery”.

Bihar villages to have animal, relief shelters

In A major move, which will benefit the rural people in the state of Bihar, state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced setting up of a relief as well as an animal shelter in each village at the cost of Rs 52 lakh. The chief minister said that one billion rupees have been allocated for construction of these sheds.

These sheds will be put under the control of village panchayat and they will serve the village community in lieu of some money, which will be used for upkeep of these shelters.

Speaking at the national seminar on disaster management for the protection of livestock at Veterinary College, Patna, Nitish said that this plan has been approved by the cabinet and soon the tenders will be floated for this purpose.

The chief minister said that 28 districts of Bihar are flood affected as such it is imperative for the Union government to announce relief for the people of Bihar.

He exhorted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare the Kosi floods as national disaster.

Kumar said that the government had learnt a number of lessons during the Kosi floods. The government machinery has realised that in addition to measures taken for human beings, effective steps have to be taken up for welfare and rescue of livestock.

The proposed shelters, he said, are being built keeping this finding in mind and these will help the people during floods.

The government has also invited public private partnership to construct these shelters, he informed. He asked the Vice Chancellor Dr ML Choudhary to make a road map for the protection of livestock with the help of disaster experts.

During the programme, Philip Russel, director of the World Society for the protection of animals promised to help the university in helping them to learn various aspects of disaster management.

Dr Chowdhury, vice chancellor appreciated Bihar government's commitment to the agricultural sector. Animal Husbandry minister Ramanarayan Mandal was present on the occasion and said that the board is now ready to deal with any calamity. Renu Kumari, Minister of Agriculture said agriculture road map is also ready to be implemented.

Dr JN Singh, dean of Rajendra Agriculture University expressed gratitude towards the guests.link

Live telecast of question hour in Bihar legislative Council soon

The live telecast of the one-hour question session of the Bihar legislative Council on TV would soon become a reality. CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday said the government has absolutely no problem with it. Like the state assembly, it can be done in the council also, he said.

Nitish, who was present in the council during zero hour, said that there might be some problem on Friday as question hours in both the assembly and the council start at the same time on that day. This could be sorted out, he said.

Earlier, RJD member Badshah Prasad Azad raised the issue regarding the live telecast of council proceedings on the pattern of the assembly.

Acting chairman Arun Kumar said that the proposal regarding the live telecast of the council was rejected earlier. “Now, the proposal has been sent again,” he said. On July 2, raising this point, Mundrika Singh Yadav (RJD) had said that while question hour proceedings of the state assembly was being telecast live on TV channels, the same was not being done in case of the council.

Ghulam Gaus and Ram Bachan Rai (both RJD) supported Yadav for bringing the matter to the notice of the acting chairman of the council. Kumari Jyoti, Congress, too said that equality should be maintained on this front. link

Bihar police intensify efforts to nab murder-accused JD-U leader

Bihar police have set up a special team to nab Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Vijay Krishna and his son Chanakya, prime accused in the abduction and murder of a Patna businessman whose decomposed body was found floating in the Ganges river two days ago.

Satyendra Kumar Singh, 50, was abducted in the last week of May. His decomposed body was found floating in the river on Thursday.

Mr. Krishna, a former MP, and his son are absconding.

"Police are doing everything to arrest them and raids are continuing," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police R. Mallar Vizhi said on Saturday, adding the police team could even go outside the state to arrest the two.

Singh's wife Laxmi Devi and daughter Sweety have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing.

A police officer, requesting anonymity, said the property of Mr. Krishna and Mr. Chanakya would be attached if they continue to evade arrest or fail to surrender.

A local court issued orders to attach the property on Friday.

The Patna civil court on Tuesday refused anticipatory bail to Mr. Krishna and his son after hearing their petition. The court also directed the police to submit the diary of the case within the next 15 days.

Mr. Krishna filed an anticipatory bail petition on Monday claiming that he was being falsely implicated.

Singh's family has alleged that the delay in arresting the accused was due to political "pressure" as the two were considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.link

Bihar govt works on 'Sahabhagi' model of development

The Bihar government during the last three years has ensured construction of at least 54,000 school buildings by giving funds worth Rs 3 lakh each to school committees comprising of parents of the children studying in these schools.

“We have not only incorporated the principles of ‘Sahabhagi’ in our party JD(U)’s manifesto but our government is also following them in its actions,” chief minister Nitish Kumar told a Times Foundation delegation which delivered him a letter from The Times of India Group chairman Indu Jain at his residence here on Thursday.

Congratulating Kumar on adopting the concept of ‘Sahabhagi’, an initiative launched by Times Foundation to promote inclusive governance by involving citizens in the administrative decision-making process, the letter said the JD(U) move also manifested itself clearly in people’s verdict during just-concluded parliamentary elections in favour of development with pro-people policies gaining the predominance.

“The entire nation today looks at Bihar as a state deeply engaged in building a sustainable model of development through partnered approach of its government with the people,” the letter read and added the ‘Sahabhagi’ model of working with the people will go a long way in building a dependable and transparent support system for inclusive growth in the state through inclusive governance and people’s cooperation.

Kumar said his government is executing programmes with direct participation of people. “By ensuring that every family has a member in the village-level Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), which were earlier used to be run by a select group, we are trying to ensure a positive engagement between the people and the power,” he said.

The CM was informed that as part of the ‘Sahabhagi’ initiative, Times Foundation in collaboration with state governments was working in education, health, environment and disaster management areas in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir.

“Public participation is showing encouraging results in Bihar, too. This has also minimized cost on execution and checked pilferage,” Kumar said. Earlier, the delegation called on deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who also reiterated the state government’s commitment to promoting ‘Sahabhagi’ principles.

Later, an interactive session was held on ‘Sahabhagi: An instrument to bring people and power together’ at ADRI. Jointly organized by ADRI and Art of Living, the meet was attended by the city’s intelligentsia. Those present included ADRI member secretary Shaibal Gupta, senior bureaucrats Anup Mukherjee and Manoj Srivastava, CII’s Bihar chapter chairman Satyajit Kumar Singh and AoL’s Indu Sinha.link