Finding holes in the computation method of the Centre for calculating the number of BPL families, Bihar government today demanded setting up of a commission to fix the criteria to define the people living below poverty line.
"Centre's criteria with regard to computation of below poverty line (BPL) families is not correct and has many shortcomings which need a relook," Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi claimed.
He demanded setting up of a commission to fix the criteria to define the people living below poverty line saying "the Centre's criteria is marks based, which in most cases have adversely affected the poor itself".
Modi, who also holds Finance portfolio, said the state government has identified 1.50 lakh families living below the poverty line whereas Centre's figure stood at 60 lakh.link
Friday 28 August 2009
Junior doctors' strike claims 6 lives in Bihar
Six patients admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) here died amid a strike by junior doctors which entered its second day Friday crippling medical services.
Three patients died late Thursday while three others died Friday, an official said. More than 400 junior doctors went on an indefinite strike Thursday, demanding hike in stipends.
The strike has badly hit the emergency services and dozens of surgeries have been postponed. Meanwhile, the hospital authorities have sought the help of the health department to cope with the situation. More than 50 doctors have been requisitioned from nearby hospitals.
A leader of the junior doctors' association said their demand for hike in stipend has been pending for the last couple of years now.
'We are getting stipend of Rs.13,000 in the first year, Rs.14,000 in second year followed by Rs.15,000 in third year of post-graduation. We are demanding that this amount be increased to Rs.22,500 at par with some of the neighbouring states,' he said.
Hundreds of poor patients, who came for treatment from across the state, are victims of the ongoing strike.
'We are the main victims of the strike because there is no doctor to attend to patients,' said Kumtia Devi, who came from a village in Vaishali district three days ago with her husband. Devi's husband is admitted to the hospital.
Chandeshwar Yadav, a poor farmer whose son is a patient at PMCH, said: 'No doctor, no nurse to give injection to the patients... What more can I say, we are at the mercy of god.'
The state government has asked the hospital authorities to hold a meeting with the striking junior doctors and persuade them to end the strike.link
Three patients died late Thursday while three others died Friday, an official said. More than 400 junior doctors went on an indefinite strike Thursday, demanding hike in stipends.
The strike has badly hit the emergency services and dozens of surgeries have been postponed. Meanwhile, the hospital authorities have sought the help of the health department to cope with the situation. More than 50 doctors have been requisitioned from nearby hospitals.
A leader of the junior doctors' association said their demand for hike in stipend has been pending for the last couple of years now.
'We are getting stipend of Rs.13,000 in the first year, Rs.14,000 in second year followed by Rs.15,000 in third year of post-graduation. We are demanding that this amount be increased to Rs.22,500 at par with some of the neighbouring states,' he said.
Hundreds of poor patients, who came for treatment from across the state, are victims of the ongoing strike.
'We are the main victims of the strike because there is no doctor to attend to patients,' said Kumtia Devi, who came from a village in Vaishali district three days ago with her husband. Devi's husband is admitted to the hospital.
Chandeshwar Yadav, a poor farmer whose son is a patient at PMCH, said: 'No doctor, no nurse to give injection to the patients... What more can I say, we are at the mercy of god.'
The state government has asked the hospital authorities to hold a meeting with the striking junior doctors and persuade them to end the strike.link
Gaya International Airport runway to be extended
The State government also promised to transfer over 100 acres of land, which is in the process of acquisition, to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for extension of the international airport at Gaya.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar conveyed this to V P Agrawal during a two-hour meeting they had at the CM’s secretariat at 4, Deshratna Marg here.
“Operating international flights will become easier after the Gaya airport runway is extended to 9,000 feet,” Agrawal said, adding regular Haj flights may be introduced from Gaya after the runway extension.
Agrawal said the proposal airport in Bhagalpur has for now been shelved due to congested inhabitation there.
Nitish and Agrawal had a detailed discussions on AAI’s airports and aerodromes in Bihar. The issue of extra land for Raxaul and Muzaffarpur aerodromes was also discussed.
Apart from airports at Patna and Gaya, there are aerodromes at Raxaul, Muzaffarpur and Jogbani.
There are 29 airports, aerodromes and airstrips in Bihar. Of them, 18 are under the state government, five under the defence ministry and five under the AAI. There’s also a private aerodrome at Kursela.link
Chief minister Nitish Kumar conveyed this to V P Agrawal during a two-hour meeting they had at the CM’s secretariat at 4, Deshratna Marg here.
“Operating international flights will become easier after the Gaya airport runway is extended to 9,000 feet,” Agrawal said, adding regular Haj flights may be introduced from Gaya after the runway extension.
Agrawal said the proposal airport in Bhagalpur has for now been shelved due to congested inhabitation there.
Nitish and Agrawal had a detailed discussions on AAI’s airports and aerodromes in Bihar. The issue of extra land for Raxaul and Muzaffarpur aerodromes was also discussed.
Apart from airports at Patna and Gaya, there are aerodromes at Raxaul, Muzaffarpur and Jogbani.
There are 29 airports, aerodromes and airstrips in Bihar. Of them, 18 are under the state government, five under the defence ministry and five under the AAI. There’s also a private aerodrome at Kursela.link
New airport at Bihta
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to shift the Patna airport to Bihta and planning to approach the defence ministry for their nod for this.
“We hope there shouldn’t be any problem,” AAI chairman V P Agrawal said.
Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport at Patna runway length is only 5,500 feet as against the 9,000 feet required for operating international flights.
Agrawal said the extension of the Patna Airport was not possible because of hindrances such as the adjacent railway line and the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.
“One option before us is the IAF air-base at Bihta, and we are concentrating on it with a proposal to develop it into a civil enclave on 300 to 500 acres of land,” he said.
Agrawal said the Bihta air base has a 8,200-foot runway which can be extended up to 9,000 feet.link
“We hope there shouldn’t be any problem,” AAI chairman V P Agrawal said.
Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport at Patna runway length is only 5,500 feet as against the 9,000 feet required for operating international flights.
Agrawal said the extension of the Patna Airport was not possible because of hindrances such as the adjacent railway line and the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.
“One option before us is the IAF air-base at Bihta, and we are concentrating on it with a proposal to develop it into a civil enclave on 300 to 500 acres of land,” he said.
Agrawal said the Bihta air base has a 8,200-foot runway which can be extended up to 9,000 feet.link
Thursday 27 August 2009
Bihar floods: 23 dead, 10 lakh homeless
In Bihar, nature is at its ironic best. The state is split - there is severe drought in one part and now, floods in another. Already, 23 people have died in the Bihar floods and 10 lakh have been displaced.
In north Bihar, when it finally started raining, farmers were a relieved lot. But 10 days later, the rain hasn't stopped and the fear of the drought has been washed away by the fear of floods.
Katihar is the worst affected. The Mahananda river is in spate - its embankment broken, ruin all around. The river flowed into 70 villages and 60,000 people have lost their homes.
Engineers are now inspecting the embankment breach on a boat. Rajeshwar Dayal, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department says: ''We are finding it difficult to source boulders required for the repair work . Also, not many labourers are available. We are trying to plug the breach as soon as we can.''
The villagers are angry. Ranjit Kumar says: ''This is a drama, a waste of government money. All this repair will come undone soon. Why do they build weak embankments in the first place?''
In Madhubani and nearby Darbhanga people have been washed away by flood waters. With them, the paddy and maize in the fields and thousands of homes are a gone.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says: ''We will survey the losses and compensate all farmers. I have asked my officers to work overtime on this.''
Meanwhile, other parts of the state like Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Rohtas, Bhojpur, Buxar, Vaishali, Saran, Sivan Gopalganj, Shekhpura and Nawada are still reeling under drought.link
In north Bihar, when it finally started raining, farmers were a relieved lot. But 10 days later, the rain hasn't stopped and the fear of the drought has been washed away by the fear of floods.
Katihar is the worst affected. The Mahananda river is in spate - its embankment broken, ruin all around. The river flowed into 70 villages and 60,000 people have lost their homes.
Engineers are now inspecting the embankment breach on a boat. Rajeshwar Dayal, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department says: ''We are finding it difficult to source boulders required for the repair work . Also, not many labourers are available. We are trying to plug the breach as soon as we can.''
The villagers are angry. Ranjit Kumar says: ''This is a drama, a waste of government money. All this repair will come undone soon. Why do they build weak embankments in the first place?''
In Madhubani and nearby Darbhanga people have been washed away by flood waters. With them, the paddy and maize in the fields and thousands of homes are a gone.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says: ''We will survey the losses and compensate all farmers. I have asked my officers to work overtime on this.''
Meanwhile, other parts of the state like Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Rohtas, Bhojpur, Buxar, Vaishali, Saran, Sivan Gopalganj, Shekhpura and Nawada are still reeling under drought.link
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Man blinded and lynched over land dispute
A daily wage labourer in Bihar was blinded and then beaten to death allegedly by a group of powerful villagers over a land dispute, police said Thursday.
Chhotelal Bind, who was in his 20s, was killed Wednesday in Aurangabad's Lohri village, over a small piece of land, police said.
"The victim was blinded after his eyes were badly damaged and then he was beaten to death. Preliminary investigations suggest that the dispute was over land," a police official said.
Over half a dozen people have been named as accused in the case.
Over 50 cases of lynching have been reported from the state over the last two-and-half months.link
Chhotelal Bind, who was in his 20s, was killed Wednesday in Aurangabad's Lohri village, over a small piece of land, police said.
"The victim was blinded after his eyes were badly damaged and then he was beaten to death. Preliminary investigations suggest that the dispute was over land," a police official said.
Over half a dozen people have been named as accused in the case.
Over 50 cases of lynching have been reported from the state over the last two-and-half months.link
Tuesday 25 August 2009
Patna university expels student
Patna university has expelled a BBA Part I student of Bihar National College for abusing a girl student.
The university disciplinary committee headed by its Vice Chancellor Shyam Lal met here yesterday and decided to expel the student both from the college and the hostel.
The committee also suspended three students of Patna College -- Santan Raj, Ram Kishore Paswan and Niranjan Kumar, mass communiation students --- for one month for creating nuisance on the campus.link
The university disciplinary committee headed by its Vice Chancellor Shyam Lal met here yesterday and decided to expel the student both from the college and the hostel.
The committee also suspended three students of Patna College -- Santan Raj, Ram Kishore Paswan and Niranjan Kumar, mass communiation students --- for one month for creating nuisance on the campus.link
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