Sunday 24 April 2011

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Nasa dream runs into fund trouble

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 06:15 PM PDT

Patna, April 20: The moon project of nine students of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) has run into choppy waters. The group needs Rs 8.5 lakh to go to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) but has been able to arrange only Rs 6.5 lakh so far.

While funds and promises are pouring in for IIT, BIT students are craving for funds. During the foundation stone laying ceremony of IIT, Patna on Tuesday, both chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal promised all possible financial help. They wanted IIT to be one of the institutes of excellence in the state.

While all the promises are being made for IIT, students of BIT are facing a fund crisis.

While all this was happening, the techies of BIT were facing a fund crunch over their ambitious moon project.

Nine students from BIT Patna have been invited to Nasa to participate in the second annual Lunabotics Mining Competition to be held at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, from May 23 to 28.

The Telegraph carried out the report on the lunar mission of the students on February 17.

Nasa experts would judge the models of the BIT students, which is a remote-controlled autonomous excavator that can collect a minimum 10kg lunar stimulant within 15 minutes.

Peetak Mitra, the team leader of the project, told The Telegraph: "We are facing a fund crunch. The total cost of the project is Rs 8.5 lakh and till now, we have received grants of Rs 6.5 lakh from various agencies."

Peetak said: "We have approached science and technology minister Gautam Singh with our project for funding as this is the first time in Bihar that students have been invited to Nasa. The minister asked us to wait for three days and finally refused to provide grants claiming the state government has no money for such projects."

Minto Hassan, the director of Bihar Council of Science and Technology, told The Telegraph: "We are unable to fund the project as we have no government schemes to fund such projects. Out of Rs 6.5 lakh collected for the project, the 1983 batch alumni of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra has provided Rs 4 lakh. Similarly, some alumni living in Calcutta also provided Rs 75,000 for our project. The BIT Mesra alumni working in the US have provided Rs 25,000."

He said some public sector units, including State Bank of India (Patna branch) and Central Coalfield Limited (Ranchi), have provided Rs 1 lakh and Rs 40,000 respectively for our projects.

Subhomoy Ghosh, another team member and a second-year undergraduate student of civil engineering, said: "It is a big achievement for us that we have made it to the international competition. We expect the people of the country to support us."

He said he was disappointed with the state government for not providing funds.

"Even though we are facing a fund crisis, money would not some in our way as we have approached several agencies. But we were very disappointed with the state government."

Mitra said: "Other state governments regularly finance students for such projects. In 2009, the Karnataka government provided Rs 5 lakh to students from their state who were working on a satellite project — Studsat." Similarly, the Delhi government provided Rs 13 lakh to students of Delhi College of Engineering who were working on a solar car project."

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110421/jsp/bihar/story_13882098.jsp

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Railways to gift 20 overbridges to state

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 08:19 AM PDT

Patna, April 20: There is good news for Bihar. Railways have agreed to construct 20 road overbridges (ROBs) in the state. The ROBs would be constructed at a cost of Rs 405 crore.

Railways and road construction department (RCD) would share the cost and the state would provide Rs 238 crore for the project. The railways would provide the remaining fund.

"We had sent a proposal for constructing 25 ROBs of which 20 (see table) have been approved," RCD minister Nand Kishore Yadav told The Telegraph.

As far as construction of ROBs are concerned, the proposals are sent by the state government concerned to the railway board, which after assessing the traffic load on level-crossing gives approval to the proposal.

"The letter sent by the railways says they found only 20 out of the 25 level-crossing meeting the norms for ROB construction," Yadav said.

The construction of these ROBs would be done by Ircon, a government company incorporated by the central government (ministry of railways) under the Companies Act, 1956. Earlier, the company was known as Indian Railway Construction Company Limited. It is a leading turnkey construction company in the public sector and has constructed several ROBs across the country including Bihar in the past.

As far as actual construction work is concerned, Ircon would formulate the detail plans and the project would get underway only after administrative approval of the state government as the state is providing more than 50 per cent of the fund for this project.

 

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Theatre extravaganza in city soon

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 06:14 AM PDT

PATNA: Come May and the city will witness one of the most memorable one-act play festival from May 3 to 7. The five-day extravaganza will showcase 10 plays featuring prominent names from the theatre world.

Titled ‘Ekant Ke Raang: Ekal Natya Mahotsava’, it will be an ensemble of plays to be performed by teams from Mumbai, Pune and local theatre groups, which will be staged at Kalidas Rangalaya. Organized by Natmandap, the festival will provide a platform to the theatre lovers of the city to exchange their cultural ideas and also a distinctive and unique cultural experience.

The festival will be inaugurated by prominent theatre critic and former DU professor Mahesh Anand. Soon after the inauguration, the festival will open with Manabendra Tripathy’s play based on Ganjan Madhav Muktibodh’s story –’Samjhauta’. Tripathy is an NSD graduate and runs a theatre group in Mumbai.

The next two days, a theatre artists from Patna Mona Jha will present her play ‘Akeli Aurat’, followed by Vindo Kumar’s ‘Amritsar Aa Gaya Hai’ and Javed Akhtar Khan’s ‘Tras’ and ‘Bhagin Meri Saathin’.

However, the major attraction of the festival will be the play, `Lihaf ‘, based on Ismat Chugtai’s story and directed by Naseeruddin Shah. The one-act play will be performed by Naseer’s daughter Hiba Shah on May 7.

Ojash from Pune will also add to the charm of the festival as she is all set to perform her play, ‘Le Mashale’, on May 6 based on the struggle of Manipuri poet and activist Irom Sharmila. Ojash has performed her oneact play in several states. Javed Akhtar of Natmandap says, “Patna and theatre are two inseparable entities, and we are delighted to present the first ever one-act play festival in the city. Over the years, Natmandap has become an important landmark in the cultural calendar of the city providing a unique and vibrant theatre experience and promoting art and culture among the people here.”

“It would be a real treat for the people who love to watch plays. It is for the first time that such an effort has been made to stage one-act plays in series. We are all looking forward to Hiba Shah and Ojash’s performance,” said a theatre activist, Rajeev Srivastava.

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CNLU students strike shows no sign of end

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:53 AM PDT

PATNA: The hunger strike by the students of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) showed no signs of coming to an end on its sixth day. The students’ attempts to meet the CM have failed so far. Even the VC’s attempts to facilitate the meeting have failed to yield any positive result.

In an attempt to break the stalemate, Bar Council of Bihar chairman Baleshwar Prasad Sharma met the law minister Narendra Narain Yadav on students’ behalf and submitted a letter suggesting ways to end the deadlock. “If we are able to place all the 80 students of the final year, the position of the university amongst the 11 other national law colleges will be upgraded phenomenally,” said Sharma, adding “it will surely jump to the fourth position from the tenth rank at present.” It will bring glory to the state, he said.

The students can be accommodated as junior lawyers, assistants to senior advocates and in lok adalats, he said.

Meanwhile, as many as four companies, one of them a Delhi-based company, MG’s Legal Chambers, and other local companies, have visited the university in recent days for campus selection. “Now, since the companies are coming for campus placement, there is no rationale behind students trying to meet the CM,” said A Lakshminath, the varsity VC, adding “I have tried my best to get the companies visit our campus.”

However, a CNLU student said they were not impressed. “None of the companies was of a satisfactory nature,” he said, adding “they cannot expect us to join jobs offering Rs 7,000 or Rs 8,000 as salary, and the interviewers were not from the HR department.”

In the meantime, the condition of a few of 13 students on hunger strike for five days worsened on Friday. Some of them fainted and had to be taken to a private hospital near the university campus. A team of doctors visited the students on hunger strike and, finding their condition deteriorating, advised them to break their fast. A group of five students – Lakshmi Nath, Hemant Verma, Richa Jha, Seema Chaudhary and Tarikh Shamim – replaced the 13 students and sat on relay hunger strike.

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Arzoo, Amrita win Patna-Rajgir car rally

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:13 AM PDT

PATNA: State art, culture and youth affairs minister Sukhda Pandey gave away prizes to the winners of Lions Club Patna Favourite car rally on late Tuesday evening.

Arzoo Darakshan and Amrita Singh emerged winners in the all-woman category while the second prize was won by Sana Ahmad and Sumbul Ahmad and the third prize by Priti Singh and Prem Lata Gupta.

In the general category, ace car rallyist Brainy Chawla and Asgar Ismail finished first while the second and third prizes went to Manoj Kumar and Prakash Agrawal and Sudip Kumar and Ravi Talwar respectively.

The minister congratulated the winners and emphasized the need to promote motor sports in the state and acquire good driving skills.

Altogether 51 teams took part in the rally, of which 31 reached the destination in Rajgir. The rally was flagged off on Sunday from St Xavier’s High School near Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

“The main objective of the rally was to showcase the development that is taking place in rural Bihar,” said club President Usha Jha.

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ECR to implement ISS to provide foolproof security

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:12 AM PDT

PATNA: The railways has started implementation of Integrated Security Scheme (ISS) at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore at the country level to revamp the entire railway security system. It has chalked out a foolproof comprehensive plan to provide security to passengers on running trains. The ISS is likely to improve railway security further, particularly in the Naxal-hit states, across the country. According to a Railway Board official, the railways has taken serious note of frequent attacks on railway property by Maoists and criminals in Bihar and Jharkhand. During the past few years, journey by trains have become unsafe.

Though the railways had decided much earlier to introduce the ISS system across the country, it has been introduced at metropolitan city stations so far, he said and added this system is now in the process of being implemented at all vulnerable stations.

The railways is likely to reconsider the need to raise commando battalions to strengthen the railway security system in the Naxalaffected states.

A proposal to raise women commandos is also under the active consideration of the railway ministry. It is being mooted to provide foolproof security to women passengers on running trains, especially while travelling by Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express, a Board official said.

According to sources, a highlevel railway security committee had recommended the implementation of ISS system at the country level in 2009-2010.

The railways had then identified about 185 railway stations, including metro stations, as the most sensitive ones. The top priority stations are now being upgraded from security strengthening point of view, sources said.

The stations likely to be strengthened from security point of view include those in South East Central Railway, East Central Railway and South Eastern Railway falling under Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Patna Junction is also under new security system plan and is being reviewed from safety point of view, said ECR CPRO Dilip Kumar.

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Leaseholders to oppose Bihar Khas Mahal Policy 2011

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 01:41 PM PDT

Kadamkuan Khas Mahal House Owners Association has decided to oppose the Bihar Government's Khas Mahal Policy 2011. This was the disclosed by the office-bearers of the association at a press conference in Patna on April 22, 2011.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Inspire Award for science students

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 11:40 AM PDT

Bihar School Examination Board Chairman AKP Yadav said the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, had decided to institute Inspire Award for science toppers from class 6th to class 10th of recognised schools of India. One student from each class of the school would be selected for the award, Yadav said while talking to reporters in Patna on April 21, 2011.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Vanijya Mahavidyalaya students get E-Zee cards

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 09:11 AM PDT

Patna University vice-chancellor Professor Sudipto Adhikari distributed E-Zee cards to the students in Patna on April 20, 2011, provided by the Bihar Government for the students of Vanijya Mahavidyalaya for withdrawing scholarship money from the ATM.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
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