A woman who gave birth in a running train in Bihar is so inspired by the former chief minister and railway minister Lalu Prasad that she named her newborn son after the politician.
Gayatri Devi, in her mid 20s, gave birth to a boy on Tuesday in Lohit Express at Desari railway station on the Hajipur-Bachabar rail section of East Central Railway.
"I named my son Lalu Prasad so that he becomes like Lalu Prasad. I like Lalu's style and his pro-poor talk," she said.
Railway official B Ram said Gayatri Devi, who was travelling in a sleeper coach, gave birth with the help of co-passengers. She and her child have been admitted to a private clinic.
Gayatri Devi boarded the train from Siliguri in West Bengal where her husband works. She was coming to Bihar to visit her native village.link
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Sunday 8 November 2009
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
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
IGNOU To Set Up 400 Training Centres In Bihar
Indira Gandhi National Open University has plans for developing 400 training centres in Bihar to improve educational facilities in the state and provide more vocational opportunities of the youths.
The IGNOU training centres "will be equipped with computer labs to provide distance education through information technology to the remotest parts of the state", said IGNOU.
In addition "it is estimated that during the year 2009-10, 25,000 government officials will be trained by the IGNOU”.
Despite the fact that the value of the Human Development Index has been constantly increasing, it is yet to reach the level of other states.
"These programmes will not only enable them become competitively skilled, on par with the workforce of other states, but also help Bihar to significantly improve its Human Development Index," the official said.
A deal has been signed between IGNOU and the state government of Bihar for the rolling out of projects, which are backed by government, called 'Samarth'.
The IGNOU training centres "will be equipped with computer labs to provide distance education through information technology to the remotest parts of the state", said IGNOU.
In addition "it is estimated that during the year 2009-10, 25,000 government officials will be trained by the IGNOU”.
Despite the fact that the value of the Human Development Index has been constantly increasing, it is yet to reach the level of other states.
"These programmes will not only enable them become competitively skilled, on par with the workforce of other states, but also help Bihar to significantly improve its Human Development Index," the official said.
A deal has been signed between IGNOU and the state government of Bihar for the rolling out of projects, which are backed by government, called 'Samarth'.
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Polio virus goes wild in Bihar, 98 kids affected
The alarming rise in number of polio cases has baffled the health officials with fresh 98 cases reported till October this year.
Health officials said of the total cases, 93 were reported from those children who were covered in the last seven rounds of the Polio Immunization Drive.
Experts are now questioning the maintenance of cold chain required fro maintaining the efficacy of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).
“How do you expect OPV vials to work when the volunteers carry them in bare hands and they are exposed to sun rays”, asked a health expert Dr SA Krishna.
Of the total cases reported this year, the maximum number of 22 cases have been reported from Saharsa district, followed by 15 cases in Khagaria and 13 in Patna.
The WHO provides technical support to the polio eradication programme whereas the UNICEF takes care of the social mobilisation exercise.
“The latest polio statistics are indeed perplexing. Either the affected children suffer from serious immunity deficiency or the OPV has failed to produce required immunity to them”, the state immunization officer Dr Gopal Krishna said.
last year, Bihar had recorded 300 new polio cases.link
Health officials said of the total cases, 93 were reported from those children who were covered in the last seven rounds of the Polio Immunization Drive.
Experts are now questioning the maintenance of cold chain required fro maintaining the efficacy of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).
“How do you expect OPV vials to work when the volunteers carry them in bare hands and they are exposed to sun rays”, asked a health expert Dr SA Krishna.
Of the total cases reported this year, the maximum number of 22 cases have been reported from Saharsa district, followed by 15 cases in Khagaria and 13 in Patna.
The WHO provides technical support to the polio eradication programme whereas the UNICEF takes care of the social mobilisation exercise.
“The latest polio statistics are indeed perplexing. Either the affected children suffer from serious immunity deficiency or the OPV has failed to produce required immunity to them”, the state immunization officer Dr Gopal Krishna said.
last year, Bihar had recorded 300 new polio cases.link
Power Project for 2000 Off-Grid Villages in Bihar
Shell Foundation announced the second round of support for Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, to further scale up operations of their unique biomass gasification technology which converts rice husks into electricity.
HPS owns and operates 35-100 kW "mini power-plants" that deliver electricity as a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000 to 4,000 inhabitants in the Indian Rice Belt. Each plant becomes operationally profitable in the first six months of operations. HPS has successfully implemented projects in 50 villages in Bihar and will expand its footprint to 100 villages in 2009, 400 in 2010, and 2000 in 2012.
The second round of support will help deliver more power plants, increase the operational and technical capacity of the company and develop the Husk Power Systems brand in India and the US. Shell Foundation has been a partner to Husk Power Systems since November 2008, providing ongoing business development assistance and technical support.
Rice husks (the casing on the outside of rice grains) have traditionally been discarded. However, upon heating, rice husk releases gas and which HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity. The waste product of the process is high in silica and can be sold to concrete manufacturers. The business has also been awarded the first prize in the 2009 Global Business Plan Competition by leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco.
Simon Desjardins, Analyst, Shell Foundation, said: "Today, more than 40% of the Indian population, or approximately 1,25,000 villages, have no access to reliable electricity. Existing energy options in rural communities such as diesel generator sets and kerosene lanterns are polluting, prohibitively expensive, and logistically difficult to disseminate. Those villages which do have access to electricity are often subject to frequent power cuts and shortages in power supply. This directly impedes the economic development of the affected communities and indeed India as a whole."
"Husk Power Systems is using unique technology and processes to tackle the rural energy deficit in India in an environmentally and commercially sustainable way. They are proving that rural Indian communities are willing and able to pay for reliable electricity and that Bihar represents a viable market in which to deliver modern energy services. The Husk Power Systems team has surpassed Shell Foundation's expectations and we are excited to build on this partnership with a second round of financing required to lay the groundwork for a wider scaling up of operations," he further added.
Chip Ransler, Chief Strategy Officer, Husk Power Systems, said "The first round of Shell Foundation financing provided access to energy for 15 villages and critical improvements to scale our business. This new round of support will take us over the hump: funding more expansion, but also the people and resources we need to make Husk Power Systems an important player in the Indian rural power market."
"The Shell Foundation gets our vision - that power is critical to creating a new reality for rural Indians and that innovative technology and service models are critical to delivering it in a meaningful, sustainable way."
The company which has set up 10 plants is creating new job opportunities locally in Bihar. Ransler continued, "We are currently looking for 3 regional managers (to oversee 35-50 plants each) dozens of mid-level managers (in terms of fresher mechanical engineers, talented fresher management trainees, and experienced project managers), and close to 100 field workers (mainly skilled mechanical technicians from local technical schools) to join the Husk Power team. As we scale up, we'll hire hundreds of employees - most of them coming from Bihar. Candidates will be trained at our training facility where they will become skilled in large engine repair and maintenance, facility management, and continuous improvement processes.link
HPS owns and operates 35-100 kW "mini power-plants" that deliver electricity as a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000 to 4,000 inhabitants in the Indian Rice Belt. Each plant becomes operationally profitable in the first six months of operations. HPS has successfully implemented projects in 50 villages in Bihar and will expand its footprint to 100 villages in 2009, 400 in 2010, and 2000 in 2012.
The second round of support will help deliver more power plants, increase the operational and technical capacity of the company and develop the Husk Power Systems brand in India and the US. Shell Foundation has been a partner to Husk Power Systems since November 2008, providing ongoing business development assistance and technical support.
Rice husks (the casing on the outside of rice grains) have traditionally been discarded. However, upon heating, rice husk releases gas and which HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity. The waste product of the process is high in silica and can be sold to concrete manufacturers. The business has also been awarded the first prize in the 2009 Global Business Plan Competition by leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco.
Simon Desjardins, Analyst, Shell Foundation, said: "Today, more than 40% of the Indian population, or approximately 1,25,000 villages, have no access to reliable electricity. Existing energy options in rural communities such as diesel generator sets and kerosene lanterns are polluting, prohibitively expensive, and logistically difficult to disseminate. Those villages which do have access to electricity are often subject to frequent power cuts and shortages in power supply. This directly impedes the economic development of the affected communities and indeed India as a whole."
"Husk Power Systems is using unique technology and processes to tackle the rural energy deficit in India in an environmentally and commercially sustainable way. They are proving that rural Indian communities are willing and able to pay for reliable electricity and that Bihar represents a viable market in which to deliver modern energy services. The Husk Power Systems team has surpassed Shell Foundation's expectations and we are excited to build on this partnership with a second round of financing required to lay the groundwork for a wider scaling up of operations," he further added.
Chip Ransler, Chief Strategy Officer, Husk Power Systems, said "The first round of Shell Foundation financing provided access to energy for 15 villages and critical improvements to scale our business. This new round of support will take us over the hump: funding more expansion, but also the people and resources we need to make Husk Power Systems an important player in the Indian rural power market."
"The Shell Foundation gets our vision - that power is critical to creating a new reality for rural Indians and that innovative technology and service models are critical to delivering it in a meaningful, sustainable way."
The company which has set up 10 plants is creating new job opportunities locally in Bihar. Ransler continued, "We are currently looking for 3 regional managers (to oversee 35-50 plants each) dozens of mid-level managers (in terms of fresher mechanical engineers, talented fresher management trainees, and experienced project managers), and close to 100 field workers (mainly skilled mechanical technicians from local technical schools) to join the Husk Power team. As we scale up, we'll hire hundreds of employees - most of them coming from Bihar. Candidates will be trained at our training facility where they will become skilled in large engine repair and maintenance, facility management, and continuous improvement processes.link
Teacher held on charge of vehicle lifter
The chemistry teacher of a Patna college have been arrested on charge of being the mastermind of a gang of vehicle lifters.
Police said Amarnath Gupta, a chemistry teacher of the Guru Gobind Singh College, was arrested by a police team from state's Kaimur district from his Rajendra Nagar residence here yesterday. Another person Girija Kesri was also apprehended from the city.
The arrests were made in the wake of one Raju Kumar lodging an FIR with the Mohania police station in Kaimur district alleging Gupta and Kesri sold him a vehicle with fake documents.
The complainant said he returned the vehicle on discovery that the chassis number did not match the one mentioned in the document. However, he failed to get his money back despite repeated pleas, the FIR said.
Superintendent of police, Kaimur, PK Srivastava said the police were probing if Keshri and Gupta had links with other vehicle lifter gangs.
Police said Amarnath Gupta, a chemistry teacher of the Guru Gobind Singh College, was arrested by a police team from state's Kaimur district from his Rajendra Nagar residence here yesterday. Another person Girija Kesri was also apprehended from the city.
The arrests were made in the wake of one Raju Kumar lodging an FIR with the Mohania police station in Kaimur district alleging Gupta and Kesri sold him a vehicle with fake documents.
The complainant said he returned the vehicle on discovery that the chassis number did not match the one mentioned in the document. However, he failed to get his money back despite repeated pleas, the FIR said.
Superintendent of police, Kaimur, PK Srivastava said the police were probing if Keshri and Gupta had links with other vehicle lifter gangs.
Monday 2 November 2009
Bamboo toilets for the poor
The government in Bihar is constructing bamboo toilets for the poor living in the rural parts of the state, according to a senior state government official.
The low cost toilets, the official said, will have their doors and roofs made of treated bamboo easily available in the region.
As of now, 1.8 crore households in Bihar do not have toilet facilities compelling the villagers to defecate in the open.
“The initial response has been tremendous and we hope this model will be a running success”, the principal secretary of Public Health and Engineering Department HC Sirohai said.
He said the department was training carpenters and masons for constructing such toilets for the poor.
Very recently, the department had begun constructing toilets for the families below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) under its total sanitation plan but the government was able to construct only 21 lakh toilets so far.
The low cost toilets, the official said, will have their doors and roofs made of treated bamboo easily available in the region.
As of now, 1.8 crore households in Bihar do not have toilet facilities compelling the villagers to defecate in the open.
“The initial response has been tremendous and we hope this model will be a running success”, the principal secretary of Public Health and Engineering Department HC Sirohai said.
He said the department was training carpenters and masons for constructing such toilets for the poor.
Very recently, the department had begun constructing toilets for the families below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) under its total sanitation plan but the government was able to construct only 21 lakh toilets so far.
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