Saturday, 23 April 2011

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

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

AIIMS construction finally begins in Patna

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 06:11 PM PDT

Patna, April 20: Residents of the state have something to cheer about on the healthcare front. Construction work at the Jai Prakash Narayan All India Institute of Medical Sciences (JPNAIIMS) site has finally taken off after a protracted delay.

Sources said the rather long wait in the commencement of the construction work was occasioned by a power shift at the Centre. The foundation stone for the Rs 350-crore project (estimated cost at that time) was laid in 2004, when the NDA government was in power.

In 2005, the Congress-led UPA replaced the BJP-led coalition at the Centre and the project was put on the backburner, said the source.

However, a source in the Union health and welfare ministry said the health hub, which is coming up at Walmi village near Phulwarisharif, 20km from Patna, is expected to be start functioning by the end of 2012.

Officials associated with the Bihar project claim it is in the "most advanced" stage among the six states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, where similar projects are planned.

The cost of the project has, however, gone up because of the delay.

"The cost has already escalated from Rs 350 crore to Rs 800 crore as a result of the delay. While Rs 500 crore will be spent on construction, Rs 300 crore will be spent on setting up the hospital, purchasing equipment, acquiring resources and logistics," a senior officer associated with the project told The Telegraph.

"About 1,500 construction workers are, at present, involved in the project and are working 24×7 in three shifts. The construction area is split in two parts. While one part will have facilities like the hospital, medical and nursing colleges and hostels, spread across 67 acres, the other part, situated about 1km from the main centre, will have housing complexes for doctors and employees. It will be spread over 33 acres. The tallest building, all of eight storeys, will be one of the hostels," the officer added.

He also said, "The project has been awarded to two contractors — Nagarjuna Construction Company and BL Kashyap & Sons. The former is responsible for constructing the medical college, the nursing school and the hostels. It started work in June 2010 and has already completed over 35 per cent of the work. It should complete the construction work by March next year."

"The other company involved in the construction began work in September last year. It will finish its work by the end of next year," added the officer. The superspeciality hospital, which will be centrally air-conditioned, will have 960 beds for patients.

"The hospital will also have an Ayush unit, where patients will be treated with the help of indigenous medicines. The hospital will have 27 operation theatres. In the beginning, 100 students will be enrolled in MBBS courses, entrance for which will be conducted by AIIMS society," the officer said.

He added that the construction work was put on fast track after Patna High Court started monitoring the project following a public interest litigation filed be members of the civil society.

The officials deployed at the project site, however, could not confirm whether the medical college would be in a position to enrol for the medical and nursing colleges from the next academic session.

"That depends on a number of factors and the Medical Council of India report after which the Union health ministry will take a final decision," the officer said.

He also said once ready, the Patna project will not only cater to the healthcare needs of Bihar residents but also of people from Nepal, Bengal and other eastern states, where there is a lack of quality healthcare services.

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Task force to promote ecotourism to be setup soon

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 08:07 AM PDT

PATNA: The state government on Wednesday decided to constitute a task force under the chairmanship of Padmashree P K Sen to promote ecotourism in the state. The decision was taken at a meeting of State Wildlife Council held here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The government also decided to open rescue centres for protection of wild animals at Rajgir and Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district.

A task force led by RK Sinha would also be formed for conservation of dolphins in the state.

Wildlife council secretary Mithilesh Kumar said orphaned and injured animals would be treated at the rescue centres. A core critical area and buffer zone would also be created at the tiger reserve.

In response to state government proposal, the Archaeological Survey of India has decided to do the survey work of ancient stupa at Giriyak hill in Nalanda district.

Mithilesh Kumar said the government has decided to forcefully implement ban on diclofenac, a drug responsible for the dwindling numbers of vultures, along with other steps to be taken for conservation and reproduction of vultures. It was also decided to empower the district magistrates under Wildlife Conservation Act to stop the destruction caused by ‘neelgai’, Kumar said and added that better coordination with the Sashastra Seema Bal would be ensured to stop illegal trade of organs of wild animals.

At the meet, it was also decided to construct a 288-metre tunnel from Jamalpur to Ratanpur in the Munger forest area. Forest roads falling under Akbarpur-Rahel-Aghoura area in Rohtas would also be re-laid.

Principal chief forest conservator B A Khan said the chief minister directed the officials to complete all the work related to the wildlife sanctuary management project of Durgawati by May 10.

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Kota Coaching institute sets up shop in Patna

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 06:06 AM PDT

PATNA: Resonance, a Kota-based private coaching institute for medical and engineering admission tests like IIT-JEE, AIEEE and AIPMT, has set up shop in Patna.

Batches for the academic session 2011-12 will start from May 9 for the passouts of class X and plus two. Admission forms are available at Resonance Study Centre at Kankarbagh Colony. Forms are also available at all the leading book stores, said Safdar Seraj, centre head of the institute.
“In the last one decade, as many as 6928 students from our institute have been selected in IITJEE. Some of them achieved top 100 positions,”institute vice-president Satish Sharma said.

Sharma, while speaking at a seminar on ‘Steps to success’ here for IIT and AIPMT aspirants, gave tips to themont preparing for the examination.RK Verma, managing director of the institute, tipped the students on techniques of successfully achieving career targets and motivated them to follow academic discipline and systematic learning.Later, a question and answer session was held, where parents cleared their doubts related to patterns of competitive examination, preparation and tips for admission counselling after getting selected.

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Bihar babu gets PM award for excellence in public administration

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 04:00 AM PDT

Almost all the congratulatory SMSes invoke 'Bihari pride'. So when Pratyaya Amrit, Secretary, Bihar's Road Construction Department, steps up to receive the 'PM's excellence award in the field of public administration' on the occasion of Civil Services Day on Thursday, he will be acutely aware that the moment and the event in Vigyan Bhawan will get seamlessly woven into a larger narrative back home. They will be claimed by the still-unfolding 'Bihar Turnaround' story.

No wonder, then, that though he is the only winner in the individual achievement category this year, Pratyaya is quick to say, "It (the award) is a recognition for the work that is happening in Bihar today, and it will send a positive message to many people, especially to those investors who are interested but are still not too sure about the state…." He adds: "It is about the 500 employees of the Bihar Pul Raj Nirman Nigam (BRPNN) coming together and working to make it a success, cutting across caste lines."
The PM's award acknowledges the work done in reviving the BRPNN, once a decrepit PSU, now a profit-making corporation poised to extend its footprint outside Bihar to other states. When Pratyaya took over in 2006, the Nigam was not only loss-making, it was also under liquidation. The previous government had decided to wind it up.

The BRPNN's turnaround is irrefutable: In June 2009, the corporation posted a net profit of Rs 60 crore; and the turnover had climbed from Rs 40 crore to 758 crore. "Today, it has crossed 1,000 crore," Pratyaya says.
From 1975 to 2005, the BRPNN had made only 319 bridges, but between 2006 and 2010, the number vaulted to 634. The award for the BRPNN turnaround, says Pratyaya, could well mean a push for critical infrastructure projects currently on the Bihar government's agenda.

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Super 30 founder appears among Europe magazine’s global personality

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 10:56 PM PDT

Patna, April 20 (IANS) Anand Kumar, who founded Super 30, Bihar’s free coaching centre which helps economically backward students crack the IIT-JEE, has been selected by Europe’s famous magazine ‘Focus’ as one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people.

He is the only Indian named in the list.

“This gives me a feel that honest and sincere efforts get noticed, no matter where they are being made. I will carry on with my pursuit of educating poor children,” Anand Kumar told IANS here.

Focus is published by Italy’s biggest publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Apart from Anand Kumar, the article also mentions Iwano Brugneti (athlete).

Earlier, Time magazine had described Super 30 as the ‘best of Asia’.

Discovery channel made an hour-long documentary on Anand Kumar, while a film made by a British producer won the ‘Viewers’ Choice Award’ in the Los Angeles film Fest.

Anand Kumar, who could not go to the Cambridge University for higher studies due to extreme financial constraint after the death of his father, started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992 and founded the Super 30 in 2002.

Super 30 provides free food, stay and rigorous coaching for nearly a year to 30 poor and talented students selected through a two-tier examination process. Most of the successful candidates have come from the most underprivileged sections of society.

In the last eight years, the novel initiative has helped 212 students clear the IIT entrance test. During each of the last three years, all the 30 students of the institute made it to the IITs, drawing worldwide attention.

The students have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study each day, Anand Kumar said.

Japanese channel NHK and Al Jazeera also made documentaries on Super 30. In 2007, industrialist Mukesh Ambani honoured him with the ‘Real Hero Award’.

During his visit last year, US President Barack Obama’s envoy Rashad Hussain described Super 30 as the “best in India”.

 

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