Chapra (Bihar): It's blowing in the wind. Evident to one visiting Bihar after a few years' gap years is the change in mood that is felt more markedly in rural areas than in the bigger urban centres of the state.
The air of despondency - a feeling that nothing will or can improve is no longer there. What has changed? Villagers talk of improved roads that help them travel for work. Whether it is a Rajput, Yadav or Dalit habitation, this is the first thing villagers mention when asked how things are improving. Aap sadak hi dekh lijiye ("just take the roads, for instance"), they say.
The change began three years ago, says everyone, and CM Nitish Kumar is generally credited for this. People can tell you which schemes were introduced by the state and which by the Centre, which one they owe to Lalu Prasad and to Kumar. But for putting them on the ground, they agree, some reluctantly, that the present CM has done a better job.
People also talk of better education and health facilities achieved simply because teachers have begun teaching and doctors attend to the health centres. The old get their pensions, the widows theirs; the safe motherhood scheme is operational and anganwadis function.
Every village has persons working in another state who send money back and income from the agriculture supplements this. There is no huge problem of rural indebtedness and no suicides. Yet. For the time being, the hopes are high.
However, while there may be doctors at hospitals, medicines are not as they are sold through shops, illegally. Schools have teachers but many 'teachers' are not qualified and have been employed by panchayat mukhiyas for other reasons.
Rural electrification has not made much headway. There is little power supply to begin with. The three thermal power stations the state do not work and Bihar gets all its electricity from outside. Most of Bihar gets electricity only for a total of four hours through the day. No wonder then, Bihar is a thriving market for generator sets.
"If you promise power and provide it, you raise people's aspirations and expectations. People would complain they are getting only 18 hours of power supply and vote you out because of power cuts," said one man.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Salim Parvez may queer pitch for Lalu in Saran
BSP's move to field a candidate in the Yadav-Rajput-dominated Saran Lok Saha seat may queer the pitch for RJD boss Lalu Prasad, who is locked in a cliff-hanger with BJP leader R P Rudy in the constituency where caste equations have changed after delimitation.
The erstwhile Chapra Lok Sabha seat, dominated by Yadavas, has now been renamed Saran after delimitation with the Yadavas and Rajputs accounting for about 2.7 Lakh and 2.5 Lakh voters respectively in the electorate of 12.67 Lakh.
Besides, upper caste Bhumihars have around 75,000 votes, followed by Brahmins (55,000) and Kurmis and Koeris (60,000). Muslims comprise another 1.55 Lakh votes approximately.
As development and caste equations determine the outcome of elections in Bihar, often described as caste cauldron, Lalu is engaged in a neck-to-neck fight with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati fielding a strong local Muslim leader, Salim Parvez, who is making a determined bid to make inroads into RJD's Muslim votebank.
Political analysts believe that in the event of the BSP nominee cutting into a sizeable minority and dalit votes, it may not be an easy sail for Lalu. The presence of Independent Yadava MLA Lalbabu Rai from Marhaura, who is in the fray as Independent, will further make Lalu's task of retaining the seat difficult.
Lalu's profile has undergone a metamorphosis between 2004 and 2009. In the 2004 general elections he went to voters tainted with involvement in the fodder scam and often accused of letting loose a reign of terror during his party's rule for over 15 years.
But now he is credited with turning the Railways around and posting a profit of Rs 90,000 crore during his five-year stint at the Rail Bhavan.
"He has brought a number of projects in Saran like the coach wheel factory, diesel locomotive factory, coach repair workshop, rail-cum-road overbridge and network of railway lines are among the projects worth over 25,000 crore.
"He has also upgraded Chapra railway station into a model station," his election agent and advocate Bhola Prasad Rai told PTI.
"People of the constituency will vote for development and we have support from all sections of society, including upper castes," RJD's ex-MLA Yaduvanshi Yadav, one of Lalu's campaign managers, said.
"Why will the electors favour Rudy, who did nothing when he was a minister in the erstwhile A B Vajpayee government?" asks Yamuna Rai of village Sitalpur.
"In fact, the cultivators, particularly Rajputs, are angry as Rudy failed to keep his promise to work for re-opening of the sugarmill at Marhaura," another resident of Doriganj said.
Ruling out a possibility of division of Muslim votes due to the presence of BSP candidate, Baglul Mobin, RJD's Saran district chief and a close confidante of Lalu, said, "They are aware of the BSP's plan to indirectly benefit the saffron party's nominee and thus will vote en-bloc for Laluji."
Rudy too is no less confident about achieving his long-cherished dream to defeat a leader of the stature of Lalu. He seems to be heavily banking on the development work being carried out by the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar.
"The roads in Saran which were dilapidated and full of potholes are now pliable. New schools and community centres have come up and all-round development is seen," he asserted and ridiculed Lalu's claim of bringing several railway projects in the constituency.
"Please show me a single rail project which has become operational in Saran. Lalu has only laid foundation stones for the projects he claimed to have brought," Rudy, BJP's national spokesman said.
However, sources in the NDA, pleading anonymity, said intra-NDA squabbles may adversely affect Rudy's bid for victory following the denial of BJP ticket to Janardan Singh Sigiriwal, a Rajput leader and former member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet, for the seat.
"Please show me a single rail project which has become operational in Saran. Lalu has only laid foundation stones for the projects he claimed to have brought," Rudy, BJP's national spokesman says.
He said that the projects would take shape and concretise only when a development-oriented NDA government came to power at the Centre.
Insiders in the NDA, pleading anonymity, confide that intra-NDA squabbles may adversely affect Rudy's bid for victory following the denial of BJP ticket to Janardan Singh Sigiriwal, a Rajput leader and former member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet, for the seat.
BSP's Salim Parvez brushes aside the allegations that he is contesting the elections to benefit the saffron party and hopes that the dalits, upper castes, Muslims and extremely backward classes will support his candidature as they want installation of a Mayawati-led government for establishing an equitable society.
Rudy also apprehends large-scale riggings allegedly by RJD activists, a repeat of 2004, when the election to Chapra seat was countermanded and repoll held.
Lalu Prasad had, however, emerged victorious by a margin of 60,443 votes polling 2,28,882 votes against Rudy's 1,68,459 votes.
Lalu represented the Chapra seat thrice in 1977, 1989 and 2004. In 2004, Lalu successfully contested the elections from Madhepura and Chapra, but decided to retain the latter, now renamed Saran, comprising Marhaura, Chapra, Garkha (sc), Parsa, Sonepur and Amnaur assembly segments.
Out of these segments, ruling JD-U has its sitting MLAS from Chapra and Parsa, while BJP'S Gan Chandra Manjhi represents Garkha.
RJDd's Ramanuj Prasad reperesents Sonepur while Lalbabu Rai, who is contesting as an Independent, represents Marhaura. Amnaur is a newly constituted assembly segment.
There are altogether 12 candidates trying their luck from the seat.
Around 12.67 Lakh electors will exercise their franchise at 1270 polling stations on April 16.
The erstwhile Chapra Lok Sabha seat, dominated by Yadavas, has now been renamed Saran after delimitation with the Yadavas and Rajputs accounting for about 2.7 Lakh and 2.5 Lakh voters respectively in the electorate of 12.67 Lakh.
Besides, upper caste Bhumihars have around 75,000 votes, followed by Brahmins (55,000) and Kurmis and Koeris (60,000). Muslims comprise another 1.55 Lakh votes approximately.
As development and caste equations determine the outcome of elections in Bihar, often described as caste cauldron, Lalu is engaged in a neck-to-neck fight with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati fielding a strong local Muslim leader, Salim Parvez, who is making a determined bid to make inroads into RJD's Muslim votebank.
Political analysts believe that in the event of the BSP nominee cutting into a sizeable minority and dalit votes, it may not be an easy sail for Lalu. The presence of Independent Yadava MLA Lalbabu Rai from Marhaura, who is in the fray as Independent, will further make Lalu's task of retaining the seat difficult.
Lalu's profile has undergone a metamorphosis between 2004 and 2009. In the 2004 general elections he went to voters tainted with involvement in the fodder scam and often accused of letting loose a reign of terror during his party's rule for over 15 years.
But now he is credited with turning the Railways around and posting a profit of Rs 90,000 crore during his five-year stint at the Rail Bhavan.
"He has brought a number of projects in Saran like the coach wheel factory, diesel locomotive factory, coach repair workshop, rail-cum-road overbridge and network of railway lines are among the projects worth over 25,000 crore.
"He has also upgraded Chapra railway station into a model station," his election agent and advocate Bhola Prasad Rai told PTI.
"People of the constituency will vote for development and we have support from all sections of society, including upper castes," RJD's ex-MLA Yaduvanshi Yadav, one of Lalu's campaign managers, said.
"Why will the electors favour Rudy, who did nothing when he was a minister in the erstwhile A B Vajpayee government?" asks Yamuna Rai of village Sitalpur.
"In fact, the cultivators, particularly Rajputs, are angry as Rudy failed to keep his promise to work for re-opening of the sugarmill at Marhaura," another resident of Doriganj said.
Ruling out a possibility of division of Muslim votes due to the presence of BSP candidate, Baglul Mobin, RJD's Saran district chief and a close confidante of Lalu, said, "They are aware of the BSP's plan to indirectly benefit the saffron party's nominee and thus will vote en-bloc for Laluji."
Rudy too is no less confident about achieving his long-cherished dream to defeat a leader of the stature of Lalu. He seems to be heavily banking on the development work being carried out by the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar.
"The roads in Saran which were dilapidated and full of potholes are now pliable. New schools and community centres have come up and all-round development is seen," he asserted and ridiculed Lalu's claim of bringing several railway projects in the constituency.
"Please show me a single rail project which has become operational in Saran. Lalu has only laid foundation stones for the projects he claimed to have brought," Rudy, BJP's national spokesman said.
However, sources in the NDA, pleading anonymity, said intra-NDA squabbles may adversely affect Rudy's bid for victory following the denial of BJP ticket to Janardan Singh Sigiriwal, a Rajput leader and former member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet, for the seat.
"Please show me a single rail project which has become operational in Saran. Lalu has only laid foundation stones for the projects he claimed to have brought," Rudy, BJP's national spokesman says.
He said that the projects would take shape and concretise only when a development-oriented NDA government came to power at the Centre.
Insiders in the NDA, pleading anonymity, confide that intra-NDA squabbles may adversely affect Rudy's bid for victory following the denial of BJP ticket to Janardan Singh Sigiriwal, a Rajput leader and former member of the Nitish Kumar cabinet, for the seat.
BSP's Salim Parvez brushes aside the allegations that he is contesting the elections to benefit the saffron party and hopes that the dalits, upper castes, Muslims and extremely backward classes will support his candidature as they want installation of a Mayawati-led government for establishing an equitable society.
Rudy also apprehends large-scale riggings allegedly by RJD activists, a repeat of 2004, when the election to Chapra seat was countermanded and repoll held.
Lalu Prasad had, however, emerged victorious by a margin of 60,443 votes polling 2,28,882 votes against Rudy's 1,68,459 votes.
Lalu represented the Chapra seat thrice in 1977, 1989 and 2004. In 2004, Lalu successfully contested the elections from Madhepura and Chapra, but decided to retain the latter, now renamed Saran, comprising Marhaura, Chapra, Garkha (sc), Parsa, Sonepur and Amnaur assembly segments.
Out of these segments, ruling JD-U has its sitting MLAS from Chapra and Parsa, while BJP'S Gan Chandra Manjhi represents Garkha.
RJDd's Ramanuj Prasad reperesents Sonepur while Lalbabu Rai, who is contesting as an Independent, represents Marhaura. Amnaur is a newly constituted assembly segment.
There are altogether 12 candidates trying their luck from the seat.
Around 12.67 Lakh electors will exercise their franchise at 1270 polling stations on April 16.
Book Review: Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh’s novels are all meticulously researched and Sea of Poppies is no exception. With the opium trade and the opium wars as a background, the book explores in detail the East India Company-run opium factory at Ghazipur, the workers whose lives depended on it and its produce. At another level, it also tracks the origins and journey of the first batch of the Indian Diaspora, the indentured laborers of the nineteenth century. This class of people, who supplied cheap labor in the British Empire after slavery was abolished, traveled under horrendous conditions to escape the poverty and deprivation in their native land. The book chronicles well, the life and ambitions of the grandiose empire builders and the effect of their actions on ordinary Indian people.
Against this background, Sea of Poppies paints a poignant picture of the human devastation caused by imperialism. The fertile farms of the Ganges plain are blooming only with poppies - beautiful, deadly, denying the peasants the crops to sustain them and indebting them to moneylenders and landowners, themselves indebted to the buccaneers of the East India Company. Skillfully and seemingly randomly, Ghosh assembles those who will set sail in his narrative of the Ibis, an old slaving ship that is taking indentured laborers to Mauritius.
The characters are many and diverse and yet richly etched. He begins in the villages of eastern Bihar with Deeti, soon to be widowed; her addicted husband, who works at the British opium factory at Ghazipur; and Kalua, a low-caste carter of colossal strength and resource. Moving downstream, we meet a bankrupt landowner, Raja Neel Rattan; an American sailor, Zachary; Paulette, a young Frenchwoman, and her Bengali foster-brother Jodu; Benjamin Burnham, an unscrupulous British merchant, and his Bengali agent, Baboo Nob Kissin; and an assortment of nautch girls and Indian sepoys and soldiers in the service of the Company.
As they sail down the Hooghly and into the sea, their old family ties are washed away, and they view themselves as jahaj-bhais (ship-brothers) who will build whole new lives for themselves in the remote islands where they are being taken.. Cut off from their roots, in transit, and looking ahead to a fresh start, the migrants are prone to invent new names and histories and innovatively try to recreate rituals surrounding marriage , funerals and other rites of passage which can no longer be performed in their original form.
The novel closes with the Ibis in mid-ocean in a storm. Serang Ali, leader of the lascars, has abandoned ship, along with the convicts and the condemned; the first mate as well as the subedar are dead; of the key figures only Deeti, Paulette, Nob Kissin and Zachary are left, watching from the deck the disappearance of the long boat and those close to them. the deliberately ambiguous ending of the novel which leaves the reader speculating about the fat of those left behind on the ship as well as those who have sailed away on the boat seems to have in its kernel the seeds of the other parts of the trilogy that Ghosh is said to be writing around the them of the opium wars.
Bihar no. 1 in terms of money earned through jail inmates
PATNA: Having hogged the limelight for all wrong reasons in the past, jails in Bihar, for a change, are now making the state proud at least on one
front. This pertains to money earned by sale of products produced inside Bihar jails by the inmates.
Quoting figures provided by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), an official of home (prisons) department said that Bihar stood first in 2008-09 in India in terms of money earned by sale of products made by jail inmates.
While Bihar jails earned Rs 10.76 crore, jails of Maharshtra and Uttar Pradesh stood second and third with corresponding figures of income of jails of these two states being Rs 10.36 crore and Rs 10.20 crore respectively.
"A major share of this income has come from the products of Buxar Central Jail as the Swiss cottage and tarpaulin, manufactured by inmates there, were supplied in good number during Vikas Yatra undertaken by CM Nitish Kumar," said a senior home (prison) department official and added that the supply was made in accordance with the Bihar Finance Rule, a clause of which stipulates that all tents for official requirement should be purchased from Buxar Central Jail.
Income generated by this jail is over Rs 9 crore which constitutes about 90 per cent of the total income of jails in Bihar. Taking a lesson from the good performance of Buxar jail, the bosses in home (prison) department have taken steps to enhance the income of other major jails of Bihar, too.
Steps have been taken to start work for producing tents and blankets using the services of inmates of Central jails in Muzaffarpur. This will be in addition to the leather items already being produced by the inmates of this jail.
A printing press has been installed in Bhagalpur Central Jail and its commercial use would start after the trial run of the press which would be conducted very soon.
A bakery has been set up in Beur Central Jail, Patna, and the product of this bakery would also be sold in the market.
"These are a few steps we have taken to sustain the income level of jails and if things move as planned, there is no doubt that Bihar jails would continue to be number one in the country in terms of money earned by sale of products produced by jail inmates," said the official.
front. This pertains to money earned by sale of products produced inside Bihar jails by the inmates.
Quoting figures provided by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), an official of home (prisons) department said that Bihar stood first in 2008-09 in India in terms of money earned by sale of products made by jail inmates.
While Bihar jails earned Rs 10.76 crore, jails of Maharshtra and Uttar Pradesh stood second and third with corresponding figures of income of jails of these two states being Rs 10.36 crore and Rs 10.20 crore respectively.
"A major share of this income has come from the products of Buxar Central Jail as the Swiss cottage and tarpaulin, manufactured by inmates there, were supplied in good number during Vikas Yatra undertaken by CM Nitish Kumar," said a senior home (prison) department official and added that the supply was made in accordance with the Bihar Finance Rule, a clause of which stipulates that all tents for official requirement should be purchased from Buxar Central Jail.
Income generated by this jail is over Rs 9 crore which constitutes about 90 per cent of the total income of jails in Bihar. Taking a lesson from the good performance of Buxar jail, the bosses in home (prison) department have taken steps to enhance the income of other major jails of Bihar, too.
Steps have been taken to start work for producing tents and blankets using the services of inmates of Central jails in Muzaffarpur. This will be in addition to the leather items already being produced by the inmates of this jail.
A printing press has been installed in Bhagalpur Central Jail and its commercial use would start after the trial run of the press which would be conducted very soon.
A bakery has been set up in Beur Central Jail, Patna, and the product of this bakery would also be sold in the market.
"These are a few steps we have taken to sustain the income level of jails and if things move as planned, there is no doubt that Bihar jails would continue to be number one in the country in terms of money earned by sale of products produced by jail inmates," said the official.
Empty promises, as Gaya voters live in ‘lantern age’
Gaya (Bihar), April 11 (IANS) For 30 long years candidates kept promising that the power situation will improve in Bihar’s Gaya town. They no longer do so, knowing the empty promise will only irritate voters.
Residents complain that electricity is a luxury in Gaya, a pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Buddhists alike and located about 100 km from Patna.
Shakeela Khatoon, who lives in the Gewal Bigha area in the more upmarket part of the town, is bitter.
“We live in the lantern age.” she said. “We have three lanterns in regular use. There is hardly a night when we don’t light the lanterns. The electricity mostly fails.”
Even in the run up to the last state assembly elections, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) nominee in this area promised better power situation in Gaya town. But in over three years, the situation has only got worse.
“It is common here to spend hot and humid summer nights without power,” a bitter Khatoon told IANS. “If there is power at night during summer, it is considered a luxury.”
In the nearby neigbourhood of Rampur, Manisha Sinha curses her decision to force her husband to construct a new house with all their savings and settle down in Gaya.
“It was a wrong decision. We were confident the power supply would improve but nothing has changed. Most residents either use lantern or lamp. Some are using battery-operated emergency lights,” she said.
The energy department says Bihar faces a deficit of 400-500 MW of power a day and that the situation is likely to worsen with the onset of summer if additional power is not made available.
Bihar does not produce even 100 MW a day, India’s only large state to face such a predicament. The government of Nitish Kumar blames the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government for the mess.
Bihar is almost totally dependent on the central grid for power. The state needs 1,600-1,800 MW of power a day but gets 700-800 MW from the central pool.
“This should be the main issue during the election,” says bureaucrat Munna Singh, a resident of Nai Godam locality. “Instead, politicians are wooing voters on caste lines.”
Gaya goes to the polls April 16. The town is Bihar’s second largest educational hub after Patna, and the power crisis has hit hard the student community.
Dinesh Yadav, a college student in his early 20s, says: “I failed to watch cricket on TV. We pay Rs.30 per hour for surfing the Internet, three times as much as in Delhi and twice the rate in Patna, and all because the cyber cafes have to be run on generators.”
Sanjay Kumar, another resident, said people had lost hope of getting power. “Thanks to uncertain power supply, kerosene oil sells at Rs.40 per litre.”
The situation is precarious in villages. They hardly get any power even during the day.
It is not unusual to experience day-long power cuts in most of Bihar’s 38 districts. People in small towns and district headquarters are considered lucky because they have electricity for four to six hours a day.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
Residents complain that electricity is a luxury in Gaya, a pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Buddhists alike and located about 100 km from Patna.
Shakeela Khatoon, who lives in the Gewal Bigha area in the more upmarket part of the town, is bitter.
“We live in the lantern age.” she said. “We have three lanterns in regular use. There is hardly a night when we don’t light the lanterns. The electricity mostly fails.”
Even in the run up to the last state assembly elections, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) nominee in this area promised better power situation in Gaya town. But in over three years, the situation has only got worse.
“It is common here to spend hot and humid summer nights without power,” a bitter Khatoon told IANS. “If there is power at night during summer, it is considered a luxury.”
In the nearby neigbourhood of Rampur, Manisha Sinha curses her decision to force her husband to construct a new house with all their savings and settle down in Gaya.
“It was a wrong decision. We were confident the power supply would improve but nothing has changed. Most residents either use lantern or lamp. Some are using battery-operated emergency lights,” she said.
The energy department says Bihar faces a deficit of 400-500 MW of power a day and that the situation is likely to worsen with the onset of summer if additional power is not made available.
Bihar does not produce even 100 MW a day, India’s only large state to face such a predicament. The government of Nitish Kumar blames the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government for the mess.
Bihar is almost totally dependent on the central grid for power. The state needs 1,600-1,800 MW of power a day but gets 700-800 MW from the central pool.
“This should be the main issue during the election,” says bureaucrat Munna Singh, a resident of Nai Godam locality. “Instead, politicians are wooing voters on caste lines.”
Gaya goes to the polls April 16. The town is Bihar’s second largest educational hub after Patna, and the power crisis has hit hard the student community.
Dinesh Yadav, a college student in his early 20s, says: “I failed to watch cricket on TV. We pay Rs.30 per hour for surfing the Internet, three times as much as in Delhi and twice the rate in Patna, and all because the cyber cafes have to be run on generators.”
Sanjay Kumar, another resident, said people had lost hope of getting power. “Thanks to uncertain power supply, kerosene oil sells at Rs.40 per litre.”
The situation is precarious in villages. They hardly get any power even during the day.
It is not unusual to experience day-long power cuts in most of Bihar’s 38 districts. People in small towns and district headquarters are considered lucky because they have electricity for four to six hours a day.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
Meet The Miracle Indian Woman Who Cries Tears of Blood
Indian woman Rashida Khatoon has been dubbed a 'living miracle' because she cries tears of blood.
According to the Austrian Times, the women of Patna in Bihar has become a 'holy shrine' where people see her weep blood several times a day.
Even the doctors are stunned at Khatoon's condition.
"I do not feel any pain when it happens but it's a shock to see blood instead of water," the Daily Star quoted her as saying.
The local Hindu holy men have declared her a living miracle.
People visit her home daily to see her cry blood and have even showered her and her family with gifts as holy offerings.
According to the Austrian Times, the women of Patna in Bihar has become a 'holy shrine' where people see her weep blood several times a day.
Even the doctors are stunned at Khatoon's condition.
"I do not feel any pain when it happens but it's a shock to see blood instead of water," the Daily Star quoted her as saying.
The local Hindu holy men have declared her a living miracle.
People visit her home daily to see her cry blood and have even showered her and her family with gifts as holy offerings.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Vina Sahee Joins JD(U)
PATNA: Congress leader and former minister Veena Shahi on Saturday hurled accusations on the state Congress as well as High Command and said most of
the Lok Sabha seats were put on sale. "A minimum of Rs 10 lakh has been charged for giving tickets. The rate goes high depending on the paying capacity of the ticket aspirants," she alleged. Veena, who joined JD(U) on Saturday, is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister L P Shahi.
Veena was also a ticket aspirant, but was denied one. Asked if she was also asked to pay, she shot back, "They do not have courage to ask me, but I know many people have paid." She said after March 18, when the Congress decided to contest all the parliamentary seats in Bihar, the game of selling tickets began.
She also accused the High Command of keeping its eyes shut on what is happening in the state. "The day is not far when the oldest party will cease to exist in Bihar as some so-called leaders have made politics a business," she reacted.
the Lok Sabha seats were put on sale. "A minimum of Rs 10 lakh has been charged for giving tickets. The rate goes high depending on the paying capacity of the ticket aspirants," she alleged. Veena, who joined JD(U) on Saturday, is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister L P Shahi.
Veena was also a ticket aspirant, but was denied one. Asked if she was also asked to pay, she shot back, "They do not have courage to ask me, but I know many people have paid." She said after March 18, when the Congress decided to contest all the parliamentary seats in Bihar, the game of selling tickets began.
She also accused the High Command of keeping its eyes shut on what is happening in the state. "The day is not far when the oldest party will cease to exist in Bihar as some so-called leaders have made politics a business," she reacted.
NDA vows to complete Patna AIIMS
The then Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government's move six years ago to have a unit of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) at Patna has seemingly proved to be abortive. The state BJP has decided to make it an issue during the parliamentary poll.
The state BJP thinks that the Manmohan Singh led UPA government did not resume from where the Vajpayee government had left in 2004. It, on Saturday, held both the UPA government and the Bihar ministers in the UPA's Union cabinet as largely responsible for the seeming abortion of AIIMS. Initially. the estimated cost of the poject was Rs 285 crore. It has now escalated to Rs 400 crore, which, in itself, might work as a deterrent on the Centre to pursue the project to its fruition.
State NDA convener and health minister in Nitish Kumar government Nand Kishore Yadav did not mince words on Saturday, when he said, "The UPA government felt that JPNAIIMS would be seen as an achievement of the NDA, and, therefore, it did not push the matter to its logical end. To add to it, the Bihar ministers obstructed it."
Asked why CM Nitish Kumar did not coordinate with the Union ministers from Bihar and organize an all-party delegation to Delhi if the project was so prestigious, Yadav said that he had met UPA's Union health minister A Rama Doss, and Nitish, too, had written to the Prime Minister separately.
"The JPNAIIMS has been allowed to suffer abortion under a design, but if the NDA comes to power in Delhi we will see that the project is completed," Yadav said, adding: "The Delhi under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had tried to address the health needs of the people of the state, since its critical patients, normally, had been rushing to Delhi AIIMS for treatment."
According to him, Union health minister Sushma Swaraj had initiated the official move for an AIIMS at Patna in July 2003, when she, in an official letter, asked the then CM, Rabri Devi, to allot 100 acres of land for the Patna AIIMS, pointing out that the project would be completed in two years after the land transfer. Rabri consented, and former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat laid the foundation stone on January 2 next year.
In two lots, the Rabri government transferred 72.67 acres of land by June 2005, while the Nitish government transferred the remaining 27.33 acres of land on November 28 the same year, and the Centre intimated about the possession of land on April 27, 2006. In between, nothing beyond the boundary wall and work on residential quarters has been initiated. "The UPA has been insincere in the implementattion of the project," Yadav said.
Sciences (AIIMS) at Patna has seemingly proved to be abortive. The state BJP has decided to make it an issue during the parliamentary poll.
The state BJP thinks that the Manmohan Singh led UPA government did not resume from where the Vajpayee government had left in 2004. It, on Saturday, held both the UPA government and the Bihar ministers in the UPA's Union cabinet as largely responsible for the seeming abortion of AIIMS. Initially. the estimated cost of the poject was Rs 285 crore. It has now escalated to Rs 400 crore, which, in itself, might work as a deterrent on the Centre to pursue the project to its fruition.
State NDA convener and health minister in Nitish Kumar government Nand Kishore Yadav did not mince words on Saturday, when he said, "The UPA government felt that JPNAIIMS would be seen as an achievement of the NDA, and, therefore, it did not push the matter to its logical end. To add to it, the Bihar ministers obstructed it."
Asked why CM Nitish Kumar did not coordinate with the Union ministers from Bihar and organize an all-party delegation to Delhi if the project was so prestigious, Yadav said that he had met UPA's Union health minister A Rama Doss, and Nitish, too, had written to the Prime Minister separately.
"The JPNAIIMS has been allowed to suffer abortion under a design, but if the NDA comes to power in Delhi we will see that the project is completed," Yadav said, adding: "The Delhi under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had tried to address the health needs of the people of the state, since its critical patients, normally, had been rushing to Delhi AIIMS for treatment."
According to him, Union health minister Sushma Swaraj had initiated the official move for an AIIMS at Patna in July 2003, when she, in an official letter, asked the then CM, Rabri Devi, to allot 100 acres of land for the Patna AIIMS, pointing out that the project would be completed in two years after the land transfer. Rabri consented, and former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat laid the foundation stone on January 2 next year.
In two lots, the Rabri government transferred 72.67 acres of land by June 2005, while the Nitish government transferred the remaining 27.33 acres of land on November 28 the same year, and the Centre intimated about the possession of land on April 27, 2006. In between, nothing beyond the boundary wall and work on residential quarters has been initiated. "The UPA has been insincere in the implementattion of the project," Yadav said.
India (Bihar) born Sanjay Jha of is now USA’s top paid CEO (Motorola)
As reported in Wall Street Journal, Motorola’s Sanjay Jha is currently the top paid CEO in USA. Current one year pay package of Sanjay Jha is around $104 million (Rs 510 Crore ). He did Ph.D in electronic and electrical engineering. He is working for Motorola since starting of his career.
Many people think that Ph.D is useful only for teaching career or career in research, now this is not true. Ph.D degree holder from reputed university can also grab the top management position in any company.
Sanjay K. Jha [1], born 1963, joined Motorola in 2008 and serves as co-chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc. and chief executive officer of Motorola’s Mobile Devices business. He is also a member of Motorola’s Board of Directors.
Before joining Qualcomm, Jha held lead design engineering roles with Brooktree Corporation, San Diego, and GEC Hirst Research Centre, London, England.
Dr. Jha joined Motorola in 2008 and serves as co-chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc. and chief executive officer of Motorola’s Mobile Devices business. He is also a member of Motorola’s Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Motorola, Jha served as chief operating officer of Qualcomm Incorporated where he oversaw Corporate Research and Development and Qualcomm Flarion Technologies (QFT). Jha also served as president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm’s chipset and software division.
Jha began his career at Qualcomm in 1994 as a senior engineer with the Qualcomm VLSI (very large-scale integration) group working on the Globalstar satellite phone, and later on the first 13k vocoder ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). In 1997, Jha was promoted to vice president of engineering, where he was responsible for leading the integrated-circuit engineering group. He led and oversaw the development of five generations of modem and cell site chipsets, both digital baseband and RF (radio frequency), and system software. Jha was promoted to senior vice president of engineering in 1998.
In 2002, Jha led the formation of Qualcomm Technologies & Ventures, where he managed both the technology investment portfolio and the new technology group as senior vice president and general manager. Jha became executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of QCT in 2003. He was named COO in December 2006.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Jha held lead design engineering roles with Brooktree Corporation in San Diego, and GEC Hirst Research Labs in London, England.
Jha holds a Ph.D. in electronic and electrical engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He received his bachelor’s of science degree in engineering from the University of Liverpool, England.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Nitish favourite to lead Bihar again, survey shows
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the most popular leader in the state and was likely to retain the post, an opinion poll said Wednesday.
'Nitish Kumar emerges as the most popular candidate to be the next chief minister in Bihar with 63 percent people in favour of him whereas Lalu Prasad Yadav trails by 25 percent,' the NDTV said in a release on the findings of the opinion poll.
A large majority believes that the Nitish Kumar government has done a good job in handling flood situation with 73 percent people saying he has done enough on development indicators like 'bijli, sadak and paani' (power, roads and water).
A majority of people in Madhya pradesh, 67 percent of the respondents, are in favour of the state's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan being elected as the next chief minister.
'Nitish Kumar emerges as the most popular candidate to be the next chief minister in Bihar with 63 percent people in favour of him whereas Lalu Prasad Yadav trails by 25 percent,' the NDTV said in a release on the findings of the opinion poll.
A large majority believes that the Nitish Kumar government has done a good job in handling flood situation with 73 percent people saying he has done enough on development indicators like 'bijli, sadak and paani' (power, roads and water).
A majority of people in Madhya pradesh, 67 percent of the respondents, are in favour of the state's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan being elected as the next chief minister.
Bihar’s IIT dream
State capital Patna wants to be the next Kota-the Rajasthan town known for its IIT coaching institutes
Patna: Along the busy Rajendra Nagar flyover in Patna, the skyline is dotted with huge, irregularly placed hoardings. More than a hundred in number, they congregate with a purpose: to help every child in the city enter the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), the country’s premier technical institutes.
This dream caught Navneet Rajan’s fancy when he was struggling to balance his aspirations and limited means at the Patna Muslim High School. He enjoyed chemistry and mathematics; and the slogan in the neighbourhood only helped concretize an idea: “Do not be a chemist; become an IITian.”
To make things easier, he, like thousands in previous years, did not have to set out for Kota, the city in Rajasthan which has become synonymous with the IITs for the sheer number of coaching institutes. All of them train students for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), conducted for admission to the IITs.
Rajan signed up with JEE Classes, a newly launched coaching institute that caters to Patna’s IIT aspirants. The coaching institute says it delivers on Kota’s promise—but with cheaper fees that can range from Rs25,000 to Rs60,000 a year. Coaching in Kota can cost a student on an average Rs15,000-20,000 more, excluding travel and accommodation expenses.
Rajan is one of 700 in his batch, where several batches add up to a student strength of 1,500. In a class resembling a downtown garage, the students make several rows of intent listeners as their teacher writes equations on the blackboard and addresses the class through a microphone. In a peculiar gender divide, girls occupy the front benches; boys sit in the back rows. Yet, as ambitions go, they all think equal. Everyone here hopes to get into the IITs; an average one of 5,000 aspirants qualifies for the JEE every year.
Elsewhere, too, this dream has triggered a deluge. The city of the working class and small-time traders is now waking to a smart new set of coaching institutes that promise a seat in the IITs. Coaching class owners recall that about a decade ago, there were around 300 such institutes, that helped students get admission to both medical and engineering colleges. Today, an estimated 1,000 such coaching institutes are run here, positioning IITs as tickets to a dream job and promising to make Patna “the next Kota”.
More than a hundred new classes have been set up in the last couple of years, thanks to several coaching institutes from Delhi and Kota setting up branches.
Here, success stories from the big cities are seeping into the psyche of the middle class and fuelling ambitions. Just last year, Shitikanth, who uses his first name only, from a school in Patna secured the top spot in the JEE. That was 27 years after another student from the state hit the merit list with a second position in 1981.
In recent years, at least a thousand students from the state have made it to the IITs, with more than half the number coached at the home-grown training institutes. Super 30, a tent house coaching institute for the state’s underprivileged, is now the best fable in town.
As local tales go, one doesn’t just need to make way through littered alleys and roughshod roads to reach the institute, also known as the Ramanujan Mathematical Academy. There is a stringent entrance test to qualify for admission and for 30 seats, about 5,000 apply every year.
For the deserving, boarding and food are provided at two small student lodges in the midst of the cacophonous town, at a meagre Rs6,000 a year.
Poring over a thick book in one of the barely furnished lodges, Kumod Ranjan, 18, is unconcerned about the lack of a ceiling fan in his room. “Sweat keeps us burning. What if we sleep during study hours?’’ he says.
In less than three months, he along with 29 other promising mathematicians, picked from economically weaker sections, will appear for the JEE.
According to house tradition, each one of them has to qualify because they are what make the Super 30, an initiative launched by founder Anand Kumar along with top cop Abhyanand.
Six years ago, 18 of the Super 30 students cracked the IIT entrance. The number rose to 22 in 2004 and 26 in 2005. Last year, it recorded 100% success.
Then, for the lesser equals, there are various options: Genius Forty, Fantastic Fifty and Stupendous Sixty, styled after Anand’s Super 30.
Bhupesh Kumar, founder of Genius Forty, says it’s not about aping anyone, however. “We are into welfare initiatives. We are doing some good work,” he says, adding that his institute picks up 40 students to coach for the IITs every year at heavily subsidized fees.
At Vision Classes, however, ex-IITian and founder K. Singh’s slogan for the institute—“Let’s make Patna the next hub for IIT coaching”—also makes profound business sense. After 11 years at a coaching institute in Kota, Singh returned to his hometown last year to arrest the flow of students to the Rajasthan town.
“Our dream is to set up a system which stops the brain drain from here. Bihar loses approximately 30,000-40,000 students to coaching centres in Delhi and Kota every year,” he says.
Singh’s vision is already seeing results. Sujata Kumari, 18, who coached for a year at Kota’s famed Bansal classes, along with two others, joined his institute as soon as it was set up. “My parents didn’t have enough money to pay for another year. Here, teachers have experience from Kota and the classes match that quality,” she says.
But competition for the likes of Vision Classes has grown tougher. While institutes such as Delhi-based FIIT-JEE and Kota-based Daswani Classes and Resonance have already made deep inroads in the flourishing business, several others like Sahil Study Circle and Vidhyamandir Classes have also stepped in with glossy brochures and air-conditioned classrooms over the last couple of years and are offering attractive discounts. “We have kept our fees 30% lower than the fees being charged at our Delhi centres. This offer is open only to students from Bihar,” says Amit Singh, administrator at Sahil Study Centre in Patna, which is headquartered in Delhi.
Many of the locally set up institutes, therefore, including Singh’s, have aggressive marketing strategies in place to meet the competition including launch of websites to attract outstation students also, free T-shirts with the institute’s slogans and coffee mugs and tie-ups with local schools to tap the IITs aspirants at a young age.
At JEE Classes, administration head Balaji, 30, with an engineering degree from IIT Bombay and a management course from Xavier Labour Relations Institute in Jamshedpur, is using his four-year stint in the corporate sector to hard sell JEE as the city’s premier coaching institute. “The education sector in Patna is booming and this is the time to erect good infrastructure and teaching facilities for students here,” he points out, adding that in the last one year, JEE Classes has grown to four centres in the city. “We hope to enrol 4,000 students this year.”
But as with any thriving business in Bihar, there are challenges too. Kumar, whose Super 30 now holds a near-iconic status and has featured in international media regularly, has survived two fatal attacks in the last five years. He blames it on bitter professional rivalry. “There are coaching institutes who do not want us to grow,” he says.
Today, most prominent coaching centres in the city have hired private security guards, from Vision Classes to JEE Classes, though few admit that deepening rivalry is now posing grave dangers.
In Kumar’s case, this perhaps means living life dangerously. He has a posse of security guards provided by the state police to accompany him each time he steps out of home.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Japan, Asian Development Bank pledge $1 mn aid to Bihar
Japan Special Fund (JSF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said they will provide a financial assistance of $1 million (Rs.40 million) to Bihar for improving the living conditions of the people.
JSF, aided by the Japanese government, would help the state in preparing a blueprint for the proposed Bihar Urban Development Project for cities like Patna and Gaya, according to a statement by the ADB. The state government would contribute $250,000 to the development projects, it added.
With the help of the grant, the state will assess the feasibility of all aspects of the development project, which will be financed with a loan from the ADB in coming years.
JSF, aided by the Japanese government, would help the state in preparing a blueprint for the proposed Bihar Urban Development Project for cities like Patna and Gaya, according to a statement by the ADB. The state government would contribute $250,000 to the development projects, it added.
With the help of the grant, the state will assess the feasibility of all aspects of the development project, which will be financed with a loan from the ADB in coming years.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
cairn to begin exploration in Bihar after monsoon
Patna, July 3 (IANS) Energy major Cairn India will begin the next phase of oil and natural gas exploration in Bihar after the monsoon, a company official said Thursday. The first proposed exploration well will be drilled in Darbhanga district, about 200 kilometres from Patna, with a rig contracted from American oilfield services provider Weatherford International, the official said.
The Houstan-based Weatherford International develops and supplies mechanical solutions, technology applications and services for all phases of oil and gas development. It operates in over 100 countries.
Cairn officials said the company has collected seismic data including information from an airborne geomagnetic survey of the block and two-dimensional seismic data over the past two years.
About 4.5 hectares of land has been provided in Darbhanga district for exploration.
Over 2,000 rock and soil samples are currently being analysed.
The administration has served notices to those whose land has been temporarily acquired, and the compensation payment process is underway.
The drill site construction will include the building of about 800 metres of approach road, a camp site and the well site.
The onshore block in northern Bihar was awarded under a production-sharing contract (PSC) by the centre in 2004. The block is in the Ganga Basin, one of the largest sedimentary basins in India but under-explored; to date, no commercial quantities of hydrocarbons have been discovered.
As per the PSC, Cairn India has a seven-year exploration period comprising three phases, which commenced from the issue of the Petroleum Exploration Licence in June 2005.
As operator of the PSC, Cairn India holds a 50 percent interest in this block, with its joint venture partner Cairn Energy PLC holding the remaining 50 percent interest through its subsidiary Capricorn Energy Ltd.
The Houstan-based Weatherford International develops and supplies mechanical solutions, technology applications and services for all phases of oil and gas development. It operates in over 100 countries.
Cairn officials said the company has collected seismic data including information from an airborne geomagnetic survey of the block and two-dimensional seismic data over the past two years.
About 4.5 hectares of land has been provided in Darbhanga district for exploration.
Over 2,000 rock and soil samples are currently being analysed.
The administration has served notices to those whose land has been temporarily acquired, and the compensation payment process is underway.
The drill site construction will include the building of about 800 metres of approach road, a camp site and the well site.
The onshore block in northern Bihar was awarded under a production-sharing contract (PSC) by the centre in 2004. The block is in the Ganga Basin, one of the largest sedimentary basins in India but under-explored; to date, no commercial quantities of hydrocarbons have been discovered.
As per the PSC, Cairn India has a seven-year exploration period comprising three phases, which commenced from the issue of the Petroleum Exploration Licence in June 2005.
As operator of the PSC, Cairn India holds a 50 percent interest in this block, with its joint venture partner Cairn Energy PLC holding the remaining 50 percent interest through its subsidiary Capricorn Energy Ltd.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Bihar propelling India's telecom growth: survey
India, the second largest telecom market in the world, derives its growth in subscriber base from the otherwise underdeveloped states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) suggests.
According to an Assocham state-wise analysis of mobile subscription released Tuesday, Bihar registered the maximum increase in annual telecom subscribers, marking a growth of 88.2 per cent in the fiscal 2007-08 as compared to the 51.1 per cent in 2006-07.
The total number of mobile phones in Bihar increased from 57,73,370 in 2006-07 to 108,69,459 in 2007-08.
Bihar was followed by Madhya Pradesh, which saw mobile phone users increase from 66,82,326 in 2005-06 to 124,91,306 in 2007-08. West Bengal registered an increase of 86.1 per cent in the subscriber volumes from 84.4 per cent in 2006-07. In volume terms, it increased from 5040111 in FY 2006-07 to 9381095 in the previous fiscal.
“While the metropolitan cities have reached their saturation point, the next phase of telecom growth in India is being driven by sub-urban places of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa,” Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said.
According to the Assocham analysis, keeping aside Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, smaller centres have registered an upsurge, thanks to the major players entering into the unexplored markets, growing middle class, low tariffs and economic mobile handsets.
According to an Assocham state-wise analysis of mobile subscription released Tuesday, Bihar registered the maximum increase in annual telecom subscribers, marking a growth of 88.2 per cent in the fiscal 2007-08 as compared to the 51.1 per cent in 2006-07.
The total number of mobile phones in Bihar increased from 57,73,370 in 2006-07 to 108,69,459 in 2007-08.
Bihar was followed by Madhya Pradesh, which saw mobile phone users increase from 66,82,326 in 2005-06 to 124,91,306 in 2007-08. West Bengal registered an increase of 86.1 per cent in the subscriber volumes from 84.4 per cent in 2006-07. In volume terms, it increased from 5040111 in FY 2006-07 to 9381095 in the previous fiscal.
“While the metropolitan cities have reached their saturation point, the next phase of telecom growth in India is being driven by sub-urban places of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Orissa,” Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said.
According to the Assocham analysis, keeping aside Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, smaller centres have registered an upsurge, thanks to the major players entering into the unexplored markets, growing middle class, low tariffs and economic mobile handsets.
A great opportunity for CAT aspirants with guts and gumption
Dear Friends,
I am Manoj. I run ERUDITE's Patna centre, a premier name in CAT training, since last three years. I am bit depressed to note that results are not very enthusiastic for students who have done their graduation from Bihar. I do agree that there are lot of students from bihar who qualify for IIM but I am talking about the students who have done their graduation from Bihar. (I exclude the students who are from Bihar and have done their graduation from outside.)
Despite all my efforts I am unable to locate the reasons for this.
This has prompted me to take some steps in right direction ( I think so, may be I am wrong.)
1. I am calling all (the potential aspirants) of CAT - 08 who think that they have the calibre to crack the exam.
2. I, along with my team will tutor them free of cost if they pass our screening criteria.
3. If right candidates are found I am sure that this year Patna will see some IIM results.
I request you all to spread this to your aquaintances and connections in Patna and Bihar. I am looking for some real potential.
The course plan is of 4 months, (July, aug, sept, october) and (aug, sept, october November) . It will cater the basics and problems as per our schedule. The maximum intake is of 20 candidates per batch and maximum two batches I can handle this time. They must fulfill the mimimum marks criteria of CAT i.e. 50%, and should clear our benchmark test.
Hope that you all will look at it positively and cooperate. I will be extremely grateful if you people can send some bright students with zeal to overcome the awe factor of CAT exam. This is a pure non - commercial step taken by me because I am desparate for results.
Reagrds
Manoj
The interested candidates can contact me at following address and numbers
Erudite
336-Jamal Road (Near Railway station), Above TTK Pharma, opposite Bob Hotel, 2nd Floor.
Patna - 800001
M: 09334310537
patna@erudite.in
P.S.: About me:
I am in this line since last one decade. My professional qualification is BE (Electronics). I did my graduation in 1992 from MNREC Allahabad (now NIT)
If you can suggest something positive for this endeavour i will be delighted.
Manoj
I am Manoj. I run ERUDITE's Patna centre, a premier name in CAT training, since last three years. I am bit depressed to note that results are not very enthusiastic for students who have done their graduation from Bihar. I do agree that there are lot of students from bihar who qualify for IIM but I am talking about the students who have done their graduation from Bihar. (I exclude the students who are from Bihar and have done their graduation from outside.)
Despite all my efforts I am unable to locate the reasons for this.
This has prompted me to take some steps in right direction ( I think so, may be I am wrong.)
1. I am calling all (the potential aspirants) of CAT - 08 who think that they have the calibre to crack the exam.
2. I, along with my team will tutor them free of cost if they pass our screening criteria.
3. If right candidates are found I am sure that this year Patna will see some IIM results.
I request you all to spread this to your aquaintances and connections in Patna and Bihar. I am looking for some real potential.
The course plan is of 4 months, (July, aug, sept, october) and (aug, sept, october November) . It will cater the basics and problems as per our schedule. The maximum intake is of 20 candidates per batch and maximum two batches I can handle this time. They must fulfill the mimimum marks criteria of CAT i.e. 50%, and should clear our benchmark test.
Hope that you all will look at it positively and cooperate. I will be extremely grateful if you people can send some bright students with zeal to overcome the awe factor of CAT exam. This is a pure non - commercial step taken by me because I am desparate for results.
Reagrds
Manoj
The interested candidates can contact me at following address and numbers
Erudite
336-Jamal Road (Near Railway station), Above TTK Pharma, opposite Bob Hotel, 2nd Floor.
Patna - 800001
M: 09334310537
patna@erudite.in
P.S.: About me:
I am in this line since last one decade. My professional qualification is BE (Electronics). I did my graduation in 1992 from MNREC Allahabad (now NIT)
If you can suggest something positive for this endeavour i will be delighted.
Manoj
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