Page 6 - Jharkhand

J'khand: UPA to stage protest on Nov 5 against attempts to destablise govt

Hours after the ED summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in an alleged illegal mining case, members of the ruling UPA coalition decided to launch a state-wide protest against the "attempts to destabilise a democratically elected government". A two-hour meeting of the UPA -- comprising the JMM, the Congress and the RJD -- was held at the CM's residence here in the evening, shortly after the summons was served by the agency. JMM MLA Sudivya Kumar, following the meeting, said a decision to give a "befitting reply" to the BJP-led Centre, which is "hatching conspiracies using probe agencies", was taken by the leaders of the ruling alliance. "The UPA has decided to oppose BJP move... We will unmask the conspiracy hatched by the BJP, generate awareness among people about it," he said. "We will stage a protest on November 5 against these attempts to destabilise the government. I will tell people that efforts are being made to disrupt the outreach programmes launche

ED issues summons to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning on November 3 in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, officials said on Wednesday. Soren, 47, has been asked to appear before the federal probe agency at its regional office in state capital Ranchi on Thursday. The agency wants to question and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The ED had earlier arrested his political aide Pankaj Mishra and two others in this case. The agency has said it has "identified" proceeds of crimes relating to illegal mining in the state to the tune of more than Rs 1,000 crore till now. The ED probe began after the agency raided Mishra and his alleged associates on July 8, covering 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand in the case linked to alleged instances of illegal mining and extortion.

Chhath celebrated with fervour in Jharkhand, CM offers prayers in Ranchi

The four-day Chhath festival concluded in Jharkhand on Monday morning after the offering of 'Usha Arghya'. A sea of humanity thronged various water bodies across the state to pay obeisance to the rising sun. Amid playing of devotional songs and bursting of firecrackers, devotees marched towards rivers, rivulets, lakes and ponds where they performed the rituals. Apart from common people, politicians also congregated at different water bodies to offer 'Arghya' to the Sun God. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, along with his wife Kalpana and two sons, offered prayers at Ranchi's Hatnia pond on Sunday evening, while his predecessor Raghubar Das prayed at Suryadham in Jamshedpur. Former chief minister Babulal Marandi also offered prayers. "Chhath Puja is the worship of nature god. It is a great example of dedication, faith and cleanliness. I bow my head to this great tradition. I pray to Chhathi Maiya to bless everyone with happiness and good health," Soren said. This year, water level i

Tata Power Solar Systems launches off-grid solar solutions in Bengal, Bihar

Tata Power Solar Systems on Wednesday announced the launch of cost-efficient solar off-grid solutions in West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd (TPSSL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL). The off-grid solutions provide a combination of high-efficient solar modules, inverters and batteries and are available in 11 variants ranging from 1 - 10 Kw with 5-year warranty, a company statement said. The solutions offered by the company are engineered to provide an efficient integrated power system to consumers for their power backup requirements in times of grid supply shortages. The solution was unveiled in the presence of S Suresh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, West Bengal; Partha Pratim Mukherjee, Director (Distribution), West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd and Nayak, Director (EV), West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd in Kolkata. These solar off-grid solutions are charged during the day time and enable

Jharkhand CM allows graft charges probe against govt staffers, contractors

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has approved a proposal to register a case against 29 people, including government employees, in connection with alleged irregularities in the drinking water and sanitation department, an official said on Wednesday. The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) will register an FIR against the accused state government employees and contractors, he said. "The chief minister has permitted Anti Corruption Bureau, Ranchi to conduct a probe by registering an FIR against 29 public servants and others involved in the corruption," the official said. The alleged irregularities were related to installation of tube wells in the 2010-11 and 2013-14 financial years in panchayats of Govindpur and Nirsa blocks under the Dhanbad district besides other schemes of the drinking water and sanitation department", he said. Several engineers, an officer of accounts, and many contractors were accused of being involved in the corruption. An FIR has already been registered by the .

No end in sight to tug-of-war between Jharkhand Governor, Soren govt

The role of Syed Sibte Razi had sparked intense controversy in 2005 when he administered the oath of chief ministership to Shibu Soren, the leader of the UPA

WB, Jharkhand women get married early due to fewer job opportunities: Study

The findings by a central government study that over half of the women get married before attaining 21 years in Jharkhand and West Bengal also revealed that the scope for sustainable job opportunities for young women is limited, experts said. It is also clear from the findings that the benefits of government schemes are not reaching the desired section of the population, they said. However, some experts expressed doubts about the data authenticity given that the survey was conducted during the Covid pandemic. It was found in the study, the report of which was published late last month, that Jharkhand and West Bengal are the only two states in the country where more than half of the women are married before they are 21 years old. While 54.9 per cent of girls are married in West Bengal before attaining the age of 21 years, the figure for Jharkhand is 54.6 per cent as against the national average of 29.5 per cent. Women, particularly in rural areas, face a lot of problems. They do no

Ruling JMM's central committee member shot dead in Jharkhand's Garhwa

A central committee member of the ruling JMM in Jharkhand was shot dead by unidentified persons in Garhwa district on Thursday evening, police said. The incident occurred around 6.30 pm in Chinia village of the district, around 200 km from the state capital Ranchi, when Ayub Ansari, aged 58, was shot at by the miscreants, a senior officer said. "Some criminals opened fire at Ansari in his village. He was brought to the Garhwa Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. We are investigating the matter and the persons involved in the crime will soon be arrested," Chinia Police Station in-charge Virendra Hansda said. According to villagers, the incident took place when the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was going to a mosque. The deceased was the husband of Chinia panchayat mukhiya Sabera Biwi.

PM-Kisan scheme benefit discontinued for over 1.5 mn farmers in Jharkhand

The financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) has been discontinued for over 1.5 million people in Jharkhand as they fail to provide the necessary documents

Jharkhand HC declines stay of proceedings against 3 suspended Congress MLAs

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday declined to stay proceedings against three suspended Congress legislators, who were arrested from Kolkata in July, for their alleged involvement in ferrying cash. The court of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi after hearing the matter of Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachhap and Naman Viksal Kongari, accused of laundering cash to the tune of around Rs 48 lakh, refused to put a stay on the investigation. However, it directed that chargesheet in the case may not be filed until orders of the court are passed. The Congress had in July suspended the three Jharkhand MLAs, who were allegedly caught with huge amount of cash in West Bengal's Howrah, and accused the BJP of attempting to topple its coalition government in the state. Acting on a tip-off, the West Bengal Police had intercepted a sports utility vehicle in which the legislators were travelling, and allegedly found nearly Rs 50 lakh in cash in the car. Congress MLA Anup Singh had filed a case against the thre

Action against M&M Financial Services won't affect other NBFCs: RBI

Experts had pointed out that in light of these directions against one entity, recovery activities of NBFC sector could get impacted as a majority of NBFCs rely on outsourced agents for loan recovery

Jharkhand cabinet gives nod for inter-state bus terminal in Jamshedpur

The Jharkhand cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal for setting up an inter-state bus terminal and WRD office-cum-commercial facilities at Jamshedpur. The facility will come up on 13.7 acre of land near National Highway-33, an official said. The bus terminus will be developed on 7.37 acre of land and the WRD office on 3.81 acre, while the commercial facilities will be built on the remaining land parcel, he said. The cabinet also approved Rs 70.40 crore for the project, which will be developed in public-private-partnership mode, the urban development department official said. The cabinet gave its nod to a proposal for the construction of three critical care health block hospitals in Lohardaga, Khunti and Saraikela Kharswan districts. Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel said each will be a 100-bed facility, and a fund of Rs 52.86 crore has been approved for the construction of the hospital building at Lohardaga, she said. As many as 30 agendas were cleared by the council of ministers

1,898 tribal women from Jharkhand offered jobs to mark PM Modi's birthday

Around 1,900 tribal women from Jharkhand were offered jobs during an employment drive conducted by Tata Electronics Limited in collaboration with the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, a statement said. The two-day recruitment drive was organized at Khunti, Saraikela, Chaibasa and Simdega districts of Jharkhand on September 18 and 19. The women will be employed at the company's facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. More than 2,600 women participated in the recruitment drive from the rural areas of the districts, of which 1,898 have been selected, the ministry said in the statement. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the drive was aimed at empowering young tribal women, and thanked Tata Electronics Ltd for providing them opportunities to work and upgrade their skills. Munda will on Tuesday flag off a special train which will carry the first batch of 822 tribal women from Ranchi to Hosur. The remaining candidates will be sent in the second .

Police arrest four wanted Maoists arrested from Bihar's Aurangabad

Police have arrested four wanted Maoists from Aurangabad district, during a joint operation of security forces of Bihar and Jharkhand, officials said Friday. The arrested Naxals include Vinay Yadav, the regional commander' of the CPI (Maoist), who was carrying a reward of Rs 18 lakh on his head, they said. Police also recovered Rs 20 lakh in cash from their possession. Acting on a tip-off, security personnel had launched a search operation in some forested areas of the district, said Aurangabad SP Kantesh Kumar Mishra. These Maoists were involved in many crimes. Arms and ammunition have also been recovered from their possession, he said. All the wanted Naxals were arrested from Daud Nagar, Madanpur and Mayapur areas of Aurangabad district, Palamu SP Chandan Kumar Sinha said at a joint press conference. Earlier on September 18, another Maoist leader Deepak Yadav alias Karu Yadav, who was wanted in more than 60 cases in Jharkhand and Bihar, was arrested from Maharashtra. He was br

Populist instincts: Jharkhand's march towards provincialism

Its new domicile policy will weaken the delicate mechanisms of federalism that allow any Indian citizen to seek employment anywhere in the country

Recent rains in J'hand, Bihar to salvage kharif paddy production loss: IARI

Recent good rains in Jharkhand, Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh will save the paddy crop and arrest to some extent the anticipated loss in India's rice output in this Kharif season, according to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Director A K Singh. In its first estimate, the Agriculture Ministry has pegged a 6 per cent drop in the rice production at 104.99 million tonnes in the Kharif season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), from over the year-ago period. Paddy is the main Kharif (summer) crop, sowing of which had begun with the onset of the Southwest Monsoon in June and harvesting starts next month. Speaking to PTI, IARI Director A K Singh said the lag in paddy sowing due to poor rains in a few states has been a cause of concern. Fortunately in the last few days, there have been good rains in eastern UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. This has come as a great relief to farmers as at this particular time water is required for the long-duration paddy varieties crop, he ...

A woman's death in Jharkhand brings loan recovery agents to notoriety again

Court warnings and RBI's circular prohibit lenders and their agents from harassing or threatening debtors

Jharkhand domicile policy: SDO's court sends notice to six protestors

Apprehending that their protests against the Jharkhand government for accepting a proposal to use 1932 land records to determine who are local inhabitants might cause breach of peace, the Ranchi SDO's court has issued notices asking six people to appear before it on Monday. The six residents of Ranchi, to whom the notices were served under CrPC section 107, include Kailash Yadav who formed an organisation, Jharkhand Nav Nirman Manch (JNNM), to protest against the decision of the state Cabinet. "Our lawyer appeared before the court of SDO today. We pleaded to submit our reply on September 22, which was accepted," Yadav told PTI. Yadav, the president of JNNM, claimed that the decision is against the interests of the state. We received the notices on Sunday soon after we formed the JNNM to fight against the 1932 Khatiayn decision. Of the six residents, three including me are from the Manch, he said. Yadav said that the government cannot scare them with such notices and that the prote

Seven killed, many injured as bus falls off bridge in Jharkhand's Hazaribag

At least seven people were killed and many others injured after a bus carrying around 50 passengers fell off a bridge in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Saturday, police said. The accident took place when the Ranchi-bound bus coming from Giridih district broke the railing of the bridge and fell into a dry spot in Siwanne River in Tatijharia Police Station area, Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe said. "Two passengers died on the spot and five others succumbed to their injuries. The fatality figures may go up as several are seriously injured," he said. Several passengers were trapped inside the bus and they were rescued. The damage could have been more had the bus fallen into water in the middle of the river, the officer said, adding an investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the accident. A DSP-rank officer and three police station in-charge were deputed to the spot to monitor the rescue operation, the SP added. Mamta Saluja, a passenger who received minor

Deficit in paddy sowing narrows to 4.5%; Jharkhand worst hit: Agri Ministry

The deficit in paddy sowing has reduced to 4.52 per cent at 399.03 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing kharif season on revival of rains in some states, but it is badly affected in Jharkhand, according to agriculture ministry data released on Friday. Paddy sowing in Jharkhand has halved to 8.25 lakh hectares so far this kharif season, compared to 17.62 lakh hectares in the year-ago period, the data showed. Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June. Paddy sowing is now almost over as the crop will be harvested from October. About 80 per cent of India's total production comes from this season. The government expects 6-7 million fall in kharif rice production based on the crop condition till last week. According to the ministry data, there was 12.39 per cent lag in paddy sowing till August 12 of this kharif season. However, the deficit in paddy coverage has reduced to 4.52 per cent at 399.03 lakh hectares now when compared to