The internal security situation was by and large stable but serious challenges and threats remained, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Tuesday. Addressing a meeting of chief ministers on internal security here, the prime minister said there were “serious challenges and threats” from left wing extremism, cross border terrorism and fundamentalism. He said left wing [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Jharkhand’
Yashwant Sinha resigns as BJP in-charge of Punjab
Miffed over being neglected by the party leadership for Jharkhand chief ministership, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha resigned as the party in-charge for Punjab state here on Thursday. Sinha is learnt to have conveyed to the party that he did not have time for this additional responsibility, an NDTV report stated. A [...]
4 CRPF men killed in second naxal attack today
In a new round of attacks, and second one in the same day, Maoists have killed four jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force [CRPF] on Wednesday in Midnapore district of West Bengal.
According to the sources, a landmine blew up a vehicle that was carrying the jawans. Several other jawans are seriously injured and [...]
Candlelight vigil to seek justice for Nirupama
Around 250 people held a candlelight vigil at the Jantar Mantar Saturday evening seeking justice for Delhi journalist Nirupama Pathak, who was found murdered at her home in Jharkhand April 29.
The protest was to have been held at the India Gate but the organisers, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) Alumni Association, later changed [...]
With Dantewada massacre, Maoists on suicidal course
The Maoists may have signed their own death warrant by carrying out the massacre at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. The very success of the ambush can spell doom for them. No government can accept the brutal gunning down of as many as 76 security personnel at one spot without gearing up for a massive retaliation.
In a [...]
MTS India ties up with HP to introduce MBlaze
To mark its name in Wireless Internet market, the MTS India, the CDMA Mobile and Data services operator collaborates with the top Laptop and PC manufacturers HP India so as to provide MTS MBlaze High Speed Data Services along with HP Notebooks.
MTS India expands its EVDO services in Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, West Bengal & Sikkim, Kerala, [...]
Soren gives deputy chief minister two more portfolios
Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister and president of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Sudesh Mahto has been allocated two more key departments.
A government notification Friday said that Sudesh Mahto will also head rural development and panchayati raj departments. Sudesh Mahto now has six departments, including road construction.
Soren, who became seventh chief minister of Jharkhand Dec [...]
Jharkhand: Polling begins for second phase
Ranchi: The second phase of Jharkhand elections began this morning for 14 seats. These seats are mostly situated in Naxal-hit areas and Maoists have announced to boycott the poll.
Altogether 30,96,854 people are eligible to vote in Kodarma, Barhi, Mandu, Ramgarh, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Gomia, Tamar, Silli, Khijri, Mandar, Khunti and Pakur. Except Pakur, all other [...]
Maoists call for a shutdown in Jharkhand
The Maoists on Friday called for a shutdown in Jharkhand to protest against the police operation against them.
A tight security arrangement was made through out the state.
Security personnel have been put on high alert and a massive combing operation is on in sensitive areas of the state.
Last night, two passengers were killed and over 47 [...]
Top naxal commander shot dead
Security forces gunned down a top Naxal commander in Uttar Pradesh’’s Sonebhadra District on Monday. He was wanted in connection with thirty-two criminal cases in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, police said.
Self-styled Maoist zonal commander Kamlesh Chowdhary, was trying to reactivate Naxalites in the Sonebhadra-Mirzapur region. He was gunned down during a three hour-long fierce encounter [...]
Ranchi, Mangalore added as embarkation points for Haj
Pilgrims undertaking Haj this year will have two more embarkation points, up from 17 last time, and will have to pay Rs 16,000 instead of Rs 12,000 lastyear.
These decisions in relation to the month-long Haj pilgrimage beginning from Tuesday were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at New Delhi [...]
Haj to cost more this year Pilgrims going for the month- long Haj this year will have to shell out Rs.4,000 more for air fare from the existing Rs.12,000. Altogether 1,60,491,people will undertake the Haj this year. Of this, 1.15 lakh pilgrims will go under the aegis of the Haj Committee and get the benefit of government subsidy while the remaining will be through private tour operators. Under the government scheme, each pilgrim will have to pay Rs 16,000 for air fare and rest of the ticket cost will be borneHaj to cost more this year ina.
Pilgrims going for the month- long Haj this year will have to shell out Rs.4,000 more for air fare from the existing Rs.12,000.
Altogether 1,60,491,people will undertake the Haj this year. Of this, 1.15 lakh pilgrims will go under the aegis of the Haj Committee and get the benefit of government subsidy while the remaining [...]
IGNOU to educate and train BPL youths in six states
IGNOU will start a series of programmes early next year to educate and train youths from below poverty line (BPL) families in tribal areas of six states.
After clearing the certificate or diploma courses, mostly on Information Technology, successful candidates will be given employment.
While the certificate programmes are for six months each, the diploma courses will [...]
PM to chair Ganga River Basin Authority meet today
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will chair the first meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA) here today.
Chief Ministers of States through which the Ganga flows such as Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh will hold a discussion on ways to clean up the river.
The issue of roping in international financial institutions to fund the cleaning [...]
Lalu discusses Congress- RJD alliance with Sonia for Jharkhand polls
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday called on Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi to hold talks on possibilities for forming an alliance between the two parties for the Jharkhand Assembly elections.
Yadav who was accompanied by former Union Minister Premchand Gupta had a 30 minutes long discussion with Sonia Gandhi.
Gupta informed the media [...]
Praying for rain
By Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Ranchi, Jharkhand

In Satbarwa village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, scores of Muslim farmers have gathered in the village square. Their arms raised, eyes fixed on the sky, they pray for rains.
"Allah, forgive our sins, reward our good deeds. Our ground is parched, our cattle are dying. Please bring in the rain."
Some distance away, a group of Hindu farmers ring the temple bells, hoping to catch the ear of the rain god.
With the monsoon bringing little rainfall this season, the land is dry and unfit for cultivation and the worry lines are getting deeper.
"There has been no rain so far this year," says Abdul Sakur, a farmer from Khola village.
"We have not been able to sow rice. Our corn crop has been destroyed by pests. We have nothing to eat. We have nothing to feed our cattle.
"There is a pond in our village. But it has no water. It’s all dry."
"We are in the throes of a famine," says Vinod Thakur, a resident of Makri village.
"Water shortage is our biggest problem. We have had no rains this year so we can’t grow rice."
‘Dying of hunger’
Mr Sakur and Mr Thakur are among the hundreds of men and women who have come from surrounding villages to the town centre in Dhurki on this hot afternoon to meet government officials, to appeal for help.

But some are already going back disappointed.
Sanjhar Bhuin, 70, is a widow and she has been coming to Dhurki every day for the past 10 days from her village 15km (9 miles) away.
"The government is supposed to give us 10kg of rice every month," she says.
"But they say they’ll give it to us when they get it. We haven’t received any rice since April. We are dying of hunger."
By simple logic, Jharkhand should be a prosperous state with nearly 40% of India’s mineral reserves, but the state has some of India’s poorest people as its citizens.
Employment opportunities are few and nearly 80% of the population is dependent on the farm sector.
But farming here is dependent on the rain water and villagers say inadequate rainfall over the past four years has reduced them to penury.
Cynics call it a "rich state of poor people".
Worried
We drive several hundred kilometres from the state capital, Ranchi, to Latehar, Palamu and Garhwa districts in the north-west.

We stop in towns and villages and everywhere we come across people worried about the lack of rain and the crop failure.
They beseech us to write about their plight, maybe then the government will put some food on our plate, they say.
The government says it is listening.
In the last few days, 11 districts have been declared "drought-hit" and authorities have announced free ration for people living below the poverty line in those areas from 1 August.
"It is our top priority to ensure food security and survival of the people – our fight here is with hunger," says Amitabh Kaushal, senior administration official in Palamu.
Mr Kaushal says the government has created a food stock for the infirm, the destitute and the disabled, and the poor:
"We are working hard to reach areas which are not easily accessible. They are starvation-prone areas. We’re trying to identify them so that we can give them the benefits of these free food grains."
Sceptical
Mr Kaushal says local officials have been asked to set up camps in remote areas to ensure that food reaches people in the remotest areas.

The villagers in Palamu and Garwah, however, are sceptical.
"There is too much corruption in the system. Only a fraction of the money sanctioned by the government ever reaches the people. Is the government doing anything about it" asks a bitter Mohammad Khairullah of Dhurki town.
He is speaking from experience.
There are existing government schemes to feed the poorest of the poor, provide them with free food grains or offer rice and wheat at highly subsidised prices.
But, across India, a lack of political will has meant the grains meant for the poor often get lost in transit – they are pilfered by corrupt officials and sold on the black market.
"If the government builds a dam on Kanhar river, it will irrigate the whole of Garhwa district And that will solve our problem But the government is interested only in projects which make them richer," says farmer Nand Gopal Yadav.
"Cruel weather and uncaring authorities are threatening our existence. No one really cares."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.



