Saturday, 28 May 2011

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

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

Bihar boy tops IGNOU exams, secures Gold Medal

Posted: 28 May 2011 06:03 PM PDT

PATNA: Mohammad Hidayat Ali was awarded gold medal for securing 77% marks in Post-Graduate Diploma in Environment and Sustainable Development at the 23rd convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Patna regional centre here on Wednesday.

A total of 3915 students were successful this year at the IGNOU’s Patna regional centre. Out of the total, as many as 775 students received their Master’s degree and Post-Graduate Diploma at the convocation held at Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir.

Imtiyaz Ahmed, director, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, who was the chief guest on this occasion, said that IGNOU has been doing a commendable job in distance learning by imparting knowledge and skills.

The director of Patna regional centre of IGNOU, Q Haider, said, “At present, Patna regional centre is offering as many as 46 courses, and soon we are planning to start online examination process. He added, “IGNOU has certainly succeeded in raising the standards of higher education in the country and preparing human resource.”

“More than 11 lakh professionals of the country are IGNOU pass-outs and we have more than 90% of rural coverage by now. Our aim is to provide an intelligent and flexible system of education to meet the challenges of access and equity, and work towards development of a knowledge society,” Haider told students.

The ceremony concluded with presentation of mementos to guests by the director of IGNOU’s Patna regional centre.

BSEB gets joint toppers for Class 10

Posted: 28 May 2011 07:58 AM PDT

PATNA: If you find the ‘girls-outshine-boys’ headlines hackneyed even if that has been the fact in most of the competitions and examinations, here’s something different: Only 12 girls as against 29 boys made it to the merit list of 15 top scorers in the Class X exam conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board ( BSEB).

Here’s more: the unsuccessful students included 1.56 lakh girls as against only 1.43 lakh boys. But then 5.32 lakh boys as against 3.99 lakh girls took the exam. Thus, the girls’ pass percentage is better than that of the boys.

A boy and a girl scored 460/500 each to share the topper’s slot. They are Kundan Kumar of Janata High School-Sitamarhi and Shalini Yadav of Ghanshyam Balika High School-Khagaul.

Shekhar Suman of Adsar (Jamui) ranked 2nd with 455 while Sanjeet Kumar, Mohd Gufran Alam and Himanshu Kumar of Hajipur, Rosera and Samastipur respectively had to be content with third position with 454 each.

State HRD minister P K Shahi released the merit list on Wednesday. Of the 9.31 lakh students, 6.21 lakh passed. “The overall pass percentage is thus a little over 67,” the minister said.

The first divisioners numbered 1,43,864 lakh while 3,04,385 lakh and 1,72,971 lakh students secured second and third division respectively.

Magadh division came out with flying colours with 74.11% of the students from the division passing the exam followed by Munger division (73.03%). The pass percentage of Patna division is 66.86, Purnia 56.26, Bhagalpur 55.16, Kosi 61.35, Tirhut 64.17%, Darbhanga 65.9 and that of Saran division is 70.54.

Shahi expressed pleasure over the stellar performance of students belonging to obscure, remote areas. “This betrays the success of the state government’s schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in spreading awareness about education,” he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Boy-girl-on-top-in-BSEB-exam/articleshow/8573698.cms

Patna zoo welcomes newly born baby Rhino

Posted: 28 May 2011 05:59 AM PDT

PATNA: It’s time to rejoice at Patna zoo. Soon after the birth of a baby giraffe, the zoo welcomed another member, a baby rhinoceros, on Wednesday at 12.50pm.

Born to Hartali and Kancha, the calf at the zoo is around 65kg and is about three feet tall. Its gender has not been identified yet as it is under the strict protection of its mother. With the birth of this baby calf, the total number of rhinoceros in the zoo has gone up to 13, with five male and seven female rhinos.

“It is a normal delivery and the baby and mother are fine,” said Abhay Kumar, director, Patna zoo, adding, “At present it is on mother’s feed only and for another two months it will stay on that.”

Hartali is mother of eight more calves. She was born at Patna zoo in 1988. Kancha was brought from Guwahati in 1979.

Two more rhinoceros at the zoo are expecting. One is likely to have its delivery in third week of June and the other in August. The gestation period of rhinoceros is 16 months.

Govt to present mangoes from Bihar to President

Posted: 28 May 2011 05:57 AM PDT

BHAGALPUR: Besides bringing accolades for the region, the mouthwatering Jardaalu variety of mango (botanical name Mangifera indica) has come handy for the state government in promoting diplomacy and the ‘Brand Bihar’.

The juicy Jardaalu, a unique species of mango fruit cultivated in this region, is being readied for presenting to the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil, vice-President M Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries of the country by the state government.

The Jardaalu variety of mango has unique aroma, flavor and sweetness that linger long on the taste buds of persons, whoever savors it. In view of its uniqueness and specialty, the state government asked the district administration and the agriculture department to procure the special variety of mango so that it can be gifted to the country’s dignitaries.

Altogether 400-450 packets of Jardaalu mangoes are being readied for transshipment to the state headquarters and thereby to the country’s capital for presenting it to the dignitaries. Each packet will contain nearly five kilograms (20-24 pieces) of delicious mangoes.

Interestingly, since 2007 the unique variety of Jardaalu was selected from the mango orchard of Ashok Chowdhary, a horticulturist of Mahesi village under Sultanganj block of this district. The mangoes of Chowdhary’s orchard were found to be best on all counts on earlier occasions, said agriculture department sources.

District Agriculture Officer (DAO) Dinesh Kumar Singh said that we are proud that Jardaalu mangoes of Bhagalpur have secured a place on the dining tables of Indian dignitaries.

“We are on the process of procuring for the best of mango and apart from Ashok Chowdhary’s orchard we are also looking for Bihar Agriculture College (Sabour) orchard, etc so that it can be send to the dignitaries in the first week of June 2011, said DAO.

Orchard owner Ashok Chowdhary, when contacted, said that Jardaalu mangoes are not be just mangoes to be consumed by the dignitaries, but it carries our (Bhagalpur and Bihar’s) positive image also. It is immaterial from which orchard it is procured, added he.

“Yeh hamaray liye garv ki baat hai” (it is a matter of pride for us), said Mukutdhari Agarwal, president of Eastern Bihar Industries Association (EBIA). It has created a brand image for Bhagalpur and Bihar, said he adding it would be great if the dignitaries visit here and see for themselves how the people of this region make effort in growing sweet mangoes, commercial activities et-al despite odds.

Central agencies delaying Road Construction in Bihar

Posted: 28 May 2011 03:54 AM PDT

PATNA: Had the central agencies completed all the road projects allotted to them, Bihar, by now, would have enjoyed a big network of rural roads. But this could not be done and the state government puts the responsibility for it at the doorsteps of the central agencies. It also blames them for ignoring the maintenance of the roads constructed by them even though the state government has already paid them for this.

At least five central agencies had been allotted work to construct 3,590 rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), but, till date, only 1,639 roads could be completed. Rural works department, under which rural roads come, is anything but impressed. Hundreds of road projects are still on paper.

“Enough is enough,” lamented rural works minister Bhim Singh. “Several hundred roads for which contracts were given to these agencies are nowhere to be seen,” he alleged. Singh said his department was extremely unhappy with the pace as well as the quality of work. The agencies responsible for construction of rural roads are CPWD, IRCON, NBCC, NHPC and NPCC.

“Out of road projects of 18,908km under the PMGSY, central agencies have completed construction of only 8,690km,” Singh said. He told TOI that the government had asked the agencies to speed up work and ensure a time-frame for the completion of incomplete and untouched projects. Furthermore, the minister has sought assurance on the quality of roads.

“They have sought 15 days’ time to provide us time-frame to complete the work,” said Singh. The government has also sought assurance from the central agencies about the maintenance of the constructed roads and they have promised to provide time-frame for this in seven days.

The minister said, “Under the tripartite agreement among the Centre, state and construction agencies, an agency on completion of a road project has to maintain and repair it for five years with the state government footing the bill.”

“The state government has already paid Rs 31 crore to these agencies but they have not utilized a single paisa on maintenance and repair,” the minister complained. “Nor have they submitted utilization certificate,” he added.

“For the bad condition of the roads, we face public ire as well as the wrath of our peoples’ representatives, who blame us for the non-maintenance and non-repair. We are blamed for no fault of ours,” Singh asserted.

The state government has, however, limited powers to press the central agencies for meeting deadline and maintaining quality of works. As per the provision, there could be an investigation by a joint team if the construction quality is found below the standard. But in this three-member team, there are two members of the construction agencies and only one representative of the state government. “We can only indicate the bad quality and irregularity, but the sole responsibility of correction lies on construction agencies,” the minister said.

This is not the first time the central agencies have been reminded about tardy pace of work and substandard quality. Officials said the state government had on a number of occasions urged the Centre to allot the work under PMGSY to the state agencies, but to no avail.

A total of 1.05 lakh km roads are being constructed in the state, of which 88,000km come under the rural works department and the rest under the road construction department.

Lively and historic Gandhi Maidan-a brief history

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:50 PM PDT

PATNA: Lively and ticking whole day long, the sprawling Gandhi Maidan, which used to be known as Patna lawns or Bankipore Maidan in pre-independence days, is that part of the city that never sleeps. It has long been witness to historic events, some cherished, some long forgotten.

In recent times, from melas, exhibitions, theatre festivals, book fairs to political rallies, it’s been the centre-stage of activities. It can best be described as a home for paupers, a bazaar for vendors, a haven for lovers, a haunt for revellers, a playground for sports lovers, a hope for beggars and a den for drug peddlers.

During the British era, the maidan was a centre for polo sports, and hardly any political rallies were allowed here. But during the Indian freedom struggle, several movements, including the Champaran movement and the Quit India Movement, were launched in Bihar from this Maidan.

In 1938, the Muslim League was revived from this historic ground, with Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the then president of the league, delivering a strident speech against the Congress from this platform.

After the formation of Forward Bloc (1939), Subhas Chandra Bose’s speech here invited the wrath of Congressmen, who hurled stones and shoes at him. He is said to have gathered these in his shawl and later met Rajendra Prasad at Sadaquat Ashram, recalled noted Gandhian Razi Ahmad.

Gandhiji, during his long political movement, held a number of prayer meetings at this historic ground. During 1947, he even collected funds for Muslim refugees after riots broke out during partition, said Vijay Kumar, director, Bihar state archives.

On August 15, 1947, when India became independent, common masses assembled here, where Mahamaya Prasad Sinha, the then Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president, unfurled the tri-colour, said P K Sandilya, who actively participated in Bihar’s 1974 movement.

According to Ahmad, in 1946 JP was given a grand reception at the Maidan after his release from Amritsar jail.

In post-independence history, another unforgettable moment is of June 5, 1974 when the Maidan reverberated with chants of ‘Sampoorna kranti ab nara hai, bhavi itihas hamara hai’, a slogan given by Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan. The call for ‘Total Revolution’ culminated in the ouster of Congress from the government both in the state and the Centre in 1977.

 

 
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