Unidentified gunmen looted Rs 25 lakh from Oriental Bank near Sadar hospital in this district headquarter town of Bihar's Bhojpur district today, police sources said.
Around 10 motorcycle-borne gunmen stormed the bank, locked its employees and officials inside a room and looted the money from cash counters, sources said.
After carrying out their operations, they managed to flee, sources said.
Raids were on in the area to nab the looters and recover the money.link
Monday 11 January 2010
Sunday 10 January 2010
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
"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
Saturday 9 January 2010
Freedom fighter, 90, fights for pension
A 90-year-old freedom fighter from Bihar has been on dharna in New Delhi for the past four years demanding her pension.
Gayatri Devi has been forced to live on the streets of Delhi because the government has withdrawn her freedom fighter's pension.
"I have been on dharna for four years, without little food or water. I have no one. I have been suffering for four years here on the street," the 90-year-old says crying with her hands folded.
Gayatri Devi says she was getting money from the government under the 'Samman' pension scheme for freedom fighters from 1997.
"I have these documents to prove I was a freedom fighter. But in 2002 suddenly my pension stopped. I was told that my name appeared in a list of fake freedom fighters. But these allegations are totally false," she says.
CNN-IBN filed an RTI with the Union Home Ministry and found that Gayatri Devi had submitted document declaring her wanted by the then British government which made her eligible for a freedom fighter's pension.
Based on the documents a special team in charge of sanctioning pensions granted Gayatri Devi her due after investigating the case.
She got pension from 1997. But in 2002 because of a media report about some fake freedom fighters, Gayatri Devi's case got caught in a web of red tape. She was declared a fraud and her pension was stopped.
"My health is failing. I have heart problems and high blood pressure. But I don't have the money to get any tests done," she pleads.
"The administration calls me a liar. They say go home old woman. Where is this home they are asking me to go?" she asks the country for whose freedom she fought.
When CNN-IBN first found Gayatri Devi, she was wandering in the emergency ward of RML Hospital in Delhi. She had been brought in complaining of chest pain and breathlessness.
She has been fighting her lonely battle from Jantar Mantar for the past four years. CNN-IBN filed an RTI on her behalf, and now plans to take it to the Bihar State Government, so that she can finally have her case re-investigated.
But meanwhile, Gayatri Devi's health is failing and she needs medical attention. So, if there are any organisations that are able to offer her help, please contact at editor@ibnlive.com.
Gayatri Devi has been forced to live on the streets of Delhi because the government has withdrawn her freedom fighter's pension.
"I have been on dharna for four years, without little food or water. I have no one. I have been suffering for four years here on the street," the 90-year-old says crying with her hands folded.
Gayatri Devi says she was getting money from the government under the 'Samman' pension scheme for freedom fighters from 1997.
"I have these documents to prove I was a freedom fighter. But in 2002 suddenly my pension stopped. I was told that my name appeared in a list of fake freedom fighters. But these allegations are totally false," she says.
CNN-IBN filed an RTI with the Union Home Ministry and found that Gayatri Devi had submitted document declaring her wanted by the then British government which made her eligible for a freedom fighter's pension.
Based on the documents a special team in charge of sanctioning pensions granted Gayatri Devi her due after investigating the case.
She got pension from 1997. But in 2002 because of a media report about some fake freedom fighters, Gayatri Devi's case got caught in a web of red tape. She was declared a fraud and her pension was stopped.
"My health is failing. I have heart problems and high blood pressure. But I don't have the money to get any tests done," she pleads.
"The administration calls me a liar. They say go home old woman. Where is this home they are asking me to go?" she asks the country for whose freedom she fought.
When CNN-IBN first found Gayatri Devi, she was wandering in the emergency ward of RML Hospital in Delhi. She had been brought in complaining of chest pain and breathlessness.
She has been fighting her lonely battle from Jantar Mantar for the past four years. CNN-IBN filed an RTI on her behalf, and now plans to take it to the Bihar State Government, so that she can finally have her case re-investigated.
But meanwhile, Gayatri Devi's health is failing and she needs medical attention. So, if there are any organisations that are able to offer her help, please contact at editor@ibnlive.com.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
Bank of the kids, by the kids
An unique bank run by children and for the children in Bihar allows poor children to save money and gives them soft loans to start small enterprises.
Ashna become a saviour of her family after her father suffered from spinal cord disease and his shop was on verge of closure after the children's bank, Bal Vikas Khajana, came to her help
The 16-year-old Ashna managed to get a soft loan of Rs 2,500 on her own credential and her father's shop is now up and running.
Ashna got the loan from the children's bank being run in Muzzafarpur district of Bihar.
"Our shop had shut down and I could do noting to save it. I decided to reopen the shop by taking a loan from Bal Vikas Khajana. My father can now make tazias," says Ashna.
Bal Vikas Khajana is a small cooperative bank, which is run by children for children.
The bank lends soft loans for starting small enterprise to child labourers, rag pickers or those working in factories
"We give loan and advance loan. We give two types of loans. One is for welfare and the other is for development," says Bal Vikas Khajana Branch Manager Mohammad Karim.
"Whatever money I earn a part of it goes to my mother and the rest is deposited in the bank," says rag picker Mushkan.
The smile and confidence on the faces of the children assures that the tribe of kid depositors would surely grow by leaps and bounds.link
Ashna become a saviour of her family after her father suffered from spinal cord disease and his shop was on verge of closure after the children's bank, Bal Vikas Khajana, came to her help
The 16-year-old Ashna managed to get a soft loan of Rs 2,500 on her own credential and her father's shop is now up and running.
Ashna got the loan from the children's bank being run in Muzzafarpur district of Bihar.
"Our shop had shut down and I could do noting to save it. I decided to reopen the shop by taking a loan from Bal Vikas Khajana. My father can now make tazias," says Ashna.
Bal Vikas Khajana is a small cooperative bank, which is run by children for children.
The bank lends soft loans for starting small enterprise to child labourers, rag pickers or those working in factories
"We give loan and advance loan. We give two types of loans. One is for welfare and the other is for development," says Bal Vikas Khajana Branch Manager Mohammad Karim.
"Whatever money I earn a part of it goes to my mother and the rest is deposited in the bank," says rag picker Mushkan.
The smile and confidence on the faces of the children assures that the tribe of kid depositors would surely grow by leaps and bounds.link
Monday 4 January 2010
Special package for the science and technology sector in Bihar
Prime minister Manmohan Singh today said that the government was considering revising the value of several government fellowships for scientists.
“The government is considering revision of the value of doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships, as well as formulation of new schemes that would cover all research scholars with some funding support,” he said inaugurating the 97th Indian Science Congress.
Singh also said that the government was planning a special package for the science and technology sector in Bihar and other such regions as part of its efforts to bridge asymmetries in development.
The prime minister said National Science and Engineering Research Board will start functioning before March. The Board is part of a government initiative to de-bureaucratise research, and hand over the task of funding research to an independent panel of eminent scientists.
Noting that under-representation of women was causing imbalance in the scientific resource pool, Singh asked science administrators to redouble efforts to attract talented young women to take up careers in science.
He announced a new scheme now available for women’s universities named Consolidation of University Research, Innovation and Excellence (Curie). This scheme provides financial help for complete upgrading of facilities in these universities, he said.
“The government is considering revision of the value of doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships, as well as formulation of new schemes that would cover all research scholars with some funding support,” he said inaugurating the 97th Indian Science Congress.
Singh also said that the government was planning a special package for the science and technology sector in Bihar and other such regions as part of its efforts to bridge asymmetries in development.
The prime minister said National Science and Engineering Research Board will start functioning before March. The Board is part of a government initiative to de-bureaucratise research, and hand over the task of funding research to an independent panel of eminent scientists.
Noting that under-representation of women was causing imbalance in the scientific resource pool, Singh asked science administrators to redouble efforts to attract talented young women to take up careers in science.
He announced a new scheme now available for women’s universities named Consolidation of University Research, Innovation and Excellence (Curie). This scheme provides financial help for complete upgrading of facilities in these universities, he said.
Bihar set exmaple for other
This is much more than the national average of 8.49%, making it the second fastest-growing state in the country. It has, of course, benefited from a low base effect since the state has long been a growth laggard, but governments before Mr Kumar had been unable to accelerate economic growth.
The output growth is a consequence of the restoration of normalcy. Kidnappings for ransom are no longer creating headlines, teachers have returned to schools and colleges, and doctors and nurses to primary health centres.
Villages and towns are being connected by a vast network of roads. Institutions are seeing a revival. Among Mr Kumar’s biggest achievements is the move to empower women—an experiment now being replicated in other states. Soon after assuming power, the state government decided to reserve 50% of the seats in panchayats and urban local bodies for women. The decision was hailed as a “revolutionary” step aimed at involving women in the decision-making process and giving them a voice in the political system.
The affable, soft-spoken chief minister has also made concerted efforts to improve education, health and infrastructure. In educational, the emphasis has been on persuading children to go to school. He kicked off two ambitious projects—Mukhyamantri Poshak Yojana and Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojana—to convince parents to send their daughters to school. All girl students above Class VIII were given free uniforms and a bicycle each. “The result has been remarkable. The drop-out rate among high school girl students has come down dramatically from 25 lakh to 10 lakh. So successful has the programme been that it’s now being extended to boys,” the Bihar CM pointed out.
The government simultaneously recruited 1 lakh teachers to attain a teacher-student ratio of 1:40, or one teacher for every 40 students. Schools in villages , which had become dilapidated because of the years of neglect, have been re-built and renovated.
In a state where poverty levels are still high, the health sector had taken a severe knock in the past few decades. Primary health centres (PHC) had been rendered non-functional , and doctors had stopped visiting them. The government has now appointed 25,000 doctors on contract, and a scheme has been launched to provide 102 free medicines to patients. The sector has, because of these measures, seen an impressive revival. Studies conducted in the state have shown that while, previously, only 39 patients visited a PHC every month on an average, the figure has shot up to 4,500 every month. Again, because of a series of incentives offered by the state administration, institutional deliveries, which were only 45,000 in 2005-06 , had gone up to 3.12 lakh by July this year.
Aware that no meaningful development can take place if the infrastructure is below par, the state government embarked on an ambitious mission to improve it. Thus, while just 318 km of roads were built in 2004-05 , 2,418 km of roads were constructed in 2008-09 . And while only 316 bridges could be constructed between 1975 and 2005, some 400 bridges have been built since this government came to power.link
The output growth is a consequence of the restoration of normalcy. Kidnappings for ransom are no longer creating headlines, teachers have returned to schools and colleges, and doctors and nurses to primary health centres.
Villages and towns are being connected by a vast network of roads. Institutions are seeing a revival. Among Mr Kumar’s biggest achievements is the move to empower women—an experiment now being replicated in other states. Soon after assuming power, the state government decided to reserve 50% of the seats in panchayats and urban local bodies for women. The decision was hailed as a “revolutionary” step aimed at involving women in the decision-making process and giving them a voice in the political system.
The affable, soft-spoken chief minister has also made concerted efforts to improve education, health and infrastructure. In educational, the emphasis has been on persuading children to go to school. He kicked off two ambitious projects—Mukhyamantri Poshak Yojana and Mukhyamantri Cycle Yojana—to convince parents to send their daughters to school. All girl students above Class VIII were given free uniforms and a bicycle each. “The result has been remarkable. The drop-out rate among high school girl students has come down dramatically from 25 lakh to 10 lakh. So successful has the programme been that it’s now being extended to boys,” the Bihar CM pointed out.
The government simultaneously recruited 1 lakh teachers to attain a teacher-student ratio of 1:40, or one teacher for every 40 students. Schools in villages , which had become dilapidated because of the years of neglect, have been re-built and renovated.
In a state where poverty levels are still high, the health sector had taken a severe knock in the past few decades. Primary health centres (PHC) had been rendered non-functional , and doctors had stopped visiting them. The government has now appointed 25,000 doctors on contract, and a scheme has been launched to provide 102 free medicines to patients. The sector has, because of these measures, seen an impressive revival. Studies conducted in the state have shown that while, previously, only 39 patients visited a PHC every month on an average, the figure has shot up to 4,500 every month. Again, because of a series of incentives offered by the state administration, institutional deliveries, which were only 45,000 in 2005-06 , had gone up to 3.12 lakh by July this year.
Aware that no meaningful development can take place if the infrastructure is below par, the state government embarked on an ambitious mission to improve it. Thus, while just 318 km of roads were built in 2004-05 , 2,418 km of roads were constructed in 2008-09 . And while only 316 bridges could be constructed between 1975 and 2005, some 400 bridges have been built since this government came to power.link
Saturday 2 January 2010
High security for Dalai Lama's visit to Bodh Gaya
High security arrangements were put in place for the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to Bodh Gaya in Bihar where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.
The Dalai Lama will spend a week in Bodh Gaya, starting Jan 4. He will pray at the Mahabodhi temple, said Tenzing Lama of the Tibetan monastery at Bodh Gaya.
'A fool proof security will be in place for Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's visit to Bodh Gaya as he faces serious threat to his life,' an official said Sunday.
Tenzing Lama said Dalai Lama will give a five-day programme of teachings at Bodh Gaya from Jan 5-9.
'Over 50,000 people from all over the world are expected to assemble at Bodh Gaya's Kalchakra Maidan to hear a discourse by the Dalai Lama,' he said.
Thousands of Tibetans have already arrived in Bodh Gaya from all across India to attend Dalai Lama's meeting. A local police officer said Bodh Gaya has turned into a mini-Tibet with the huge gathering of Tibetans.
The 1,500-years-old holiest Buddhist shrine Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, 110 km from here, is where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago.link
The Dalai Lama will spend a week in Bodh Gaya, starting Jan 4. He will pray at the Mahabodhi temple, said Tenzing Lama of the Tibetan monastery at Bodh Gaya.
'A fool proof security will be in place for Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's visit to Bodh Gaya as he faces serious threat to his life,' an official said Sunday.
Tenzing Lama said Dalai Lama will give a five-day programme of teachings at Bodh Gaya from Jan 5-9.
'Over 50,000 people from all over the world are expected to assemble at Bodh Gaya's Kalchakra Maidan to hear a discourse by the Dalai Lama,' he said.
Thousands of Tibetans have already arrived in Bodh Gaya from all across India to attend Dalai Lama's meeting. A local police officer said Bodh Gaya has turned into a mini-Tibet with the huge gathering of Tibetans.
The 1,500-years-old holiest Buddhist shrine Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, 110 km from here, is where the Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago.link
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