Posts Tagged ‘Bihar’
Written by admin on 08 November 2012
Dhaka, Nov 8 (IANS) The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Thursday announced its 14-man squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, scheduled to start Tuesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here.
Bangladesh selectors have included uncapped off spinner Shohag Gazi in their squad. Medium-pacer Abul Hasan, who impressed the selectors through his outstanding performance in the national league, is also set to get an opportunity to make his Test debut, reports Xinhua.
A 15-member West Indies squad led by Darren Sammy arrived in Dhaka Monday morning for a series involving two Tests, five One Day Internationals or ODIs and one T20.
The series comes about a month after the West Indies clinched the World Twenty20 title beating Sri Lanka by 36 runs in Colombo.
Bangladesh squad:
Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Mahmudullah Riyad (vice-captain), Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Junaed Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Naeem Islam, Nazimuddin, Nasir Hossain, Elias Sunny, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Abul Hasan, Shohag Gazi.
Tags: Bihar, Dhaka
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Written by admin on 08 November 2012
Patna, Nov 8 (IANS) The Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) said Thursday it will oppose the setting up of a nuclear power plant in Bihar’s Katihar district.
“We are against the proposal of the state government to set up a nuclear power plant,” CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya told IANS.
Bhattacharya said the CPI-ML “will launch an agitation if the government goes ahead with its proposal”.
According to him, people were apprehensive of losing their land and water resources if the nuclear plant comes up.
The Bihar energy department has identified Kursela in Katihar for a nuclear power plant in view of the availability of adequate water in the area.
An official said the state had sent a proposal in this regard to the Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL).
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Ranchi, Nov 7 (IANS) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren Wednesday repeated his demand for a change in leadership after the BJP-led Jharkhand government completes 28 months in power in January.
“The new government will be formed under leadership of JMM in January next year,” Soren told reporters in Bokaro.
Asked what JMM would do if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not hand over power, Soren said: “We’ll explore for an alternative to form the government or go to the polls.”
Asked if JMM will join hands with the Congress-led United Progresive Alliance (UPA), he said: “For the formation of government, we’ll go with anyone.”
The BJP formed the government, led by Arjun Munda, with the support of JMM and other parties in September 2010.
BJP has been denying JMM’s claim of rotation of power after completion of 28 months of the Arjun Munda government.
However, since the last fortnight the JMM chief has been repeating his stand on change in leadership.
On Wednesday, he moved one step forward saying the party would explore formation of government with any party if the BJP did not hand over power in January.
“The Congress will not like the imposition of president’s rule if the Munda government falls,” leader of opposition and state Congress leader Rajendra Prasad Singh said, commenting on Soren’s statement.
Tags: Bihar, Ranchi
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Ranchi, Nov 7 (IANS) Leaders across the political spectrum, except those of the Congress, have raised their pitch for a special status for Jharkhand after the demand was made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his “Adhikar rally” in Patna Nov 4.
“Jharkhand is rich in natural resources but its people are poor. The state resources are being utilised by other states to achieve prosperity. Jharkhand deserves the special status,” said state assembly Speaker C.P. Singh, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator.
Cooperative Affairs Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Haji Hussain Ansari said: “Jharkhand is a backward state and the central government should provide it the special state status automatically.”
The Congress, however, said that instead of making it a political issue, the state government should focus on development.
“The BJP-led government failed to spend state and central funds meant for different schemes and programmes. The Munda government is making it a political issue. It should first develop the system to spend the funds properly,” Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Shailesh Sinha told IANS.
Chief Minister Arjun Munda has raised the issue with the central government on several occasions. In the National Development Council (NDC) meeting this year, the chief minister sought special package for infrastructure development and raising various human development indicators in the state.
Tags: Bihar, Ranchi
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Patna, Nov 7 (IANS) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Wednesday said that chief ministership would be decided on the basis of votes polled, not on the basis of caste identity.
“I am announcing that a leader from any caste or community could become chief minister of Bihar if his party wins power,” Lalu Prasad said at Katihar during his “Parivartan Yatra” (rally for change).
Lalu Prasad said the people of Bihar would elect the next chief minister, and that if the RJD returned to power, caste would not be a consideration when it came to choosing the chief minister.
Lalu Prasad also reiterated that he had never claimed in the past that no leader from the upper castes could become the chief minister of the state. Lalu dismissed such talk as “propaganda to defame”.
Lalu Prasad said that youths would be given 50 percent of the tickets in the elections, including for the Lok Sabha in 2014 and the Bihar assembly in 2015.
Lalu Prasad is frequently described as a casteist leader by political rivals within the state as well as outside it.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Dhaka, Nov 7 (IANS/CMC) Vice Captain Denesh Ramdin says the West Indies would not be taking Bangladesh for granted during their tour which begins here Nov 13.
The West Indian players are already in Dhaka and will meet the home side in the first of two Test matches next Tuesday at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, reports CMC.
Ramdin says winning the first Test is an important strategy for the visitors.
“(Bangladesh) are a team that on any given day can come and put up a good fight,” Ramdin told WICB Media Tuesday.
“We are not going to take them lightly. They have good players, but we are going to play hard. They are favourites in their home conditions, but we are confident that all will go well for us on this tour.”
The second test begins Nov 21 at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in the south-western city of Khulna to be followed by five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International.
Ramdin has described the playing conditions in Bangladesh as similar to what exists in the Caribbean.
The Windies squad includes off-spinner Sunil Narine on his first trip to Bangladesh and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul on his debut tour with the senior squad.
“It is very important that we start well and not take them lightly,” the West Indies wicketkeeper said.
“We have some good players in the fray, like Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and hopefully they can give us the impetus to do well in this series.”
The West Indies cricketers are still on a high following their sensational win over Sri Lanka to claim the ICC World Twenty/20 title last month.
Ramdin said the players would have to overcome the diet of limited-overs cricket which they have been playing in the last few months.
“We would like to win this series, but it will depend on the weather. Hopefully, we can all prepare well and adapt quickly to the conditions. It is very important that we keep the momentum from winning the World T20 going,” he said.
–IANS/CMC
sr/vt
Tags: Bihar, Dhaka
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Patna, Nov 7 (IANS) Dengue has already afflicted 1,150 people in Bihar this year, and it threatens to become an epidemic. Even so, the level of preparedness of the authorities is dismal — only one of the four fogging machines in the state capital works.
Bihar Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey, however, said Wednesday that there was no need to panic, and that the health department was taking measures to control the spread of dengue.
He said the state would buy new fogging machines, and acknowledged that three of the four machines in Patna do not work.
The one machine that works is in high demand in the VIP areas, and services the 29 municipal wards of Patna. An official of the Patna Municipal Corporation, requesting anonymity, said that Patna alone needs at least six such machines.
In Patna alone, as many as 313 cases of dengue have been confirmed by the health department. Bhagalpur district reported 232 cases.
“People suffering from dengue have been admitted to government and private hospitals,” Rajendra Prasad Ojha, a health department official, said.
Till date this year, dengue has claimed two lives in Samastipur district. Unconfirmed reports, however, said that the toll due to dengue is much higher in various parts of the state.
Choubey did not indicate how many new machines would arrive, but said that they would be available next week. “The state health department will issue tenders for buying fogging machines,” he said.
Reports suggest that there are no fogging machines in Bhagalpur, Gaya and Samastipur.
Health officials have said that dengue cases have also been reported in Sitamarhi, Purnia, Begusarai, Vaishali and Gaya districts.
Choubey said that starting Wednesday, a team of doctors was deployed at important railway stations in Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur to check those entering the state from outside, to prevent the spread of dengue.
Ojha, the health department official, said that civil surgeons of Samastipur and Darbhanga have been asked to deploy a team of doctors to check all those, mainly migrant labourers, who arrive in the state from outside.
The state health minister also said that hospital authorities had been directed to provide treatment and medicines to those afflicted with dengue.
The government’s efforts, however, have failed to allay the fears of people. More than two dozen fresh cases of dengue were reported Tuesday.
“You cannot help the fear, dengue is spreading and the government is still to start fogging and clearing garbage and filth around Patna,” Saken Singh, a Patna businessman, said.
Abid Ali, a school teacher in the state capital, also said that the government seemed completely rudderless in its attempts to prevent the spread of dengue.
A fortnight ago, the health department had issued an alert to prevent the spread of dengue.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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Written by admin on 07 November 2012
Patna, Nov 7 (IANS) About 20 million school students in Bihar Wednesday took a pledge that they would never consume tobacco or related products, and would encourage their family and friends to do the same, an official said.
“Over 20 million students of around 2.2 lakh government and private schools vowed that they would never consume tobacco or related products in their lives,” A.A. Hai, an official of the Cancer Awareness Society here, said.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi administered the oath at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan to students from 30 schools on the occasion of ‘Pledge Day’ observed in the state Nov 7.
Similar functions were organised in other school campuses across the state, said an official of Indian Red Cross Society.
“It is a positive initiative by the government to create awareness among school students on tobacco products,” Indian Medical Association state president A.K. Thakur said.
Hai said the latest studies reveal that many children in Bihar, as young as Class Four students, take to smoking or consuming gutkha, the chewing tobacco-laced betel-nut preparation.
“The drive aims to make school students understand the risk of using tobacco and importance of staying away from tobacco to ensure healthy life,” he said.
Of the 10.5 crore people in Bihar, nearly 53.5 percent consume tobacco or related products. The national average is 35 percent.
“Smokeless (chewing) tobacco product ‘khaini’ is a popular tobacco product used by millions in Bihar, followed by gutkha,” Thakur said.
Last year, a survey by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (India) revealed that 63 percent men and 35 percent women in Bihar consume smokeless tobacco.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
Posted in Education, National | No Comments »
Written by admin on 06 November 2012
Patna, Nov 6 (IANS) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the complaint of a rickshaw-puller that his two minor children were stopped from attending a government-run school due to allegedly dirty uniform.
Joyti Kumari, a Class 1 student, and Akash Kumar, a Class 3 student, of Harchak middle school in Anishabad in Patna were directed not to attend school after they came to school in allegedly dirty uniform last week, the complaint said.
“I have asked the district education officer to inquire into the complaint of two children by their father,” Modi told reporters here.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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Written by admin on 06 November 2012
Patna, Nov 6 (IANS) Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader and former central minister Mohammad Taslimuddin quit Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party and joined the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led by Lalu Prasad here Tuesday.
After questioning Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s agenda of development and good governance, Taslimuddin announced at a press meet here that he joined the RJD. He was accompanied by Lalu Prasad.
Taslimuddin said Nitish Kumar was neither a “development man” nor a “good governance man” and that under his rule, development and good governance have become a farce.
“There is no truth that Bihar is developing fast and that Nitish Kumar has established law and order in the state,” Taslimuddin said.
“(Nitish) Kumar is 100 percent untruthful. He did not fulfil promises made to me for development of Seemanchal districts comprising of Kishanganj, Araria and Purnia,” Taslimuddin said.
Taslimuddin, a four-time Lok Sabha member from Kishanganj who lost the last general elections to Congress candidate Mohammad Asrarul Haque, alleged that Nitish Kumar’s government was neglecting the development of the Seemanchal region.
Taslimuddin is the third leader to revolt against Nitish Kumar. Earlier, BJP MP from Purnia Uday Singh and JD(U) MLA Chhedi Paswan had spoken out against the state government.
Taslimuddin had served as union minister of state for home in the H.D. Deve Gowda ministry and as minister of state in the food ministry in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) I. He switched over to the JD-U from the RJD in May 2010.
His son Sarfaraz Alam is a JD-U legislator from Jokihat in Araria district.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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Written by admin on 06 November 2012
Dhaka, Nov 6 (IANS/CMC) Manager of the West Indies cricket team Richie Richardson says the regional side wants to continue building on recent improvements during their tour of Bangladesh over the next few weeks.
The West Indies legend says winning the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament last month was a step in the right direction, but there was still work to be done.
“We’ve been seeing improvement in all areas of our game in the last 12 months or so,” he told reporters on arrival in the Bangladesh capital Monday.
“We are continuing to work hard, not going to take any team or anything for granted. The West Indies are on their third trip to Bangladesh.
Last year they followed up a 2-1 series win in the One-day International series and a narrow loss in the only Twenty20 International with a 1-0 victory in a two-Test series.
“We see a long way to go in order to bring West Indies cricket back to the top. We all know, the World knows, we are capable of being the World Champions again,” said Richardson.
“We are prepared to do whatever it takes to get back to the top. We are feeling very confident, very positive that we will have a successful trip here in Bangladesh.”
The West Indies face Bangladesh in two Tests from Nov 13 to 17 at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka, and from Nov 21 to 25 at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in the south-western city of Khulna.
The Tests will be followed by five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International.
–IANS/CMC
bs/dg
Tags: Bihar, Dhaka
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Written by admin on 06 November 2012
Patna, Nov 6 (IANS) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to lobby with chief ministers of other states, to urge the centre to grant special status to Bihar and some other states that lag behind in development and growth, an official said Tuesday.
Nitish Kumar is set to visit Pakistan this month. The efforts to gain special status will be intensified on his return from Pakistan, the official said.
Two days after Nitish Kumar demanded special status for Bihar and other states that lag behind the national average for human development and economic growth, he asked some top officials to prepare a detailed report on the subject, before he approached chief ministers of other states, an official said.
“The central government should accord a special status to Bihar and other states which are lagging behind the national average on growth indicators, to ensure their rapid development,” Nitish Kumar said while addressing the “Adhikar” rally here last Sunday.
Nitish Kumar pointed out that special status should extend to states that are not necessarily hill states. The centre should revise the criterion set for offering such status to states, he said.
According to experts, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are among nine states whose per capita net domestic product (at 2004-05 prices) is below the national average. The national average is Rs.38,005. However, of these nine, some states such as Jammu and Kashmir already have special status.
“Bihar’s per capita income, investment and consumption of electricity are among the lowest in the country. It lags behind in all human resource indices. To achieve the national average of economic growth, Bihar must be accorded special category status,” Nitish Kumar said.
“Bihar’s 10.5 crore people, especially youths, are not ready to wait for 25 years to see change,” he said, “We will fight for it.”
Nitish Kumar is heading a delegation of ministers and officials to Pakistan Nov 9-16, at the invitation of some provincial chief ministers there, officials said.
In August, a Pakistani delegation, during a visit to Bihar, extended an invitation to Nitish Kumar on behalf of Pakistani Punjab’s Chief Minister Mohammad Shahwaz Sharif, brother of former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif, to visit the neighbouring country.
Tags: Bihar, Patna
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