Over Rs.7 crore seized in poll-bound Bihar
Patna: Over Rs.7 crore in cash was recovered from vehicles on Wednesday in Bihar’s Saran and Siwan districts during routine checking in the poll-bound state, police said. The Rs.7 crore haul was made from a vehicle in Chapra, while Rs.12 lakh was found in a vehicle in the neighbouring Siwan district, a police officer said. The Income Tax department and Bihar Police have intensified crack down on the use of unaccounted cash as the model code of conduct is in force for the upcoming assembly polls. The five-phase assembly elections will begin on October 12 and counting of votes will take place on November 8. (IANS)
Fadnavis to inaugurate ‘National Agri and Orange Festival’
Amravati (Maha): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate ‘National Agriculture and Orange festival’ in the district on Thursday. The four-day long festival to be held at Warud is being jointly organised by Maharashtra government and ‘Krishimitra Events’, an official release said. State Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hansraj Ahir and others will be present on the occasion. Nagpur-based orange grower Dhiraj Junghare and scientist S.A.M.H. Naqvi will be awarded Mohanrao Totey Santra Bhushan award for their remarkable achievements in orange production and orange pest control research respectively, it said. (PTI)
Prez greets Nigeria on National Day
New Delhi: Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday extended his greetings to the people of Nigeria on the eve of their National Day. In his message to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Mukherjee said: “It gives me great pleasure to convey to you, and to the government and people of Nigeria, warm greetings and felicitations on the occasion of your National Day.” “I take this opportunity to convey my good wishes for Your Excellency’s health and well-being, as well as for the progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Nigeria,” he said. He is confident that the bilateral relations between India and Nigeria will further strengthen in the years ahead for the mutual benefit of our people, he said. (IANS)
UK experts preparing roadmap for New Town’s smart city project
Kolkata: A six-member technical team of urban planning experts from the UK are in the city to help develop New Town as a smart city. A team from London-based urban planning organisation Future Cities Catapult (FCC) has started work with the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) and New Town Kolkata Development Authority. The three-month-long project to help prepare a road map for New Town is financially supported by the UK government. “The UK has world-leading smart city expertise and we are excited to be here as a hand-holding agency to help New Town Kolkata develop their own smart city strategy,” Peter Madden, CEO of Future Cities Catapult, said. British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn Wood said this is a direct outcome of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit to London during which an MoU was signed between FCC and WBHIDCO to work together on smart city projects. (PTI)
Court directs Sikkim govt to establish dispensaries in jails
Gangtok: Sikkim High Court has directed the state government to establish dispensaries in the Central Jail at Rongyek in East Sikkim and South district prison at Namchi within a month. The bench comprising Chief Justice S K Sinha and Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai directed the Sikkim government that the dispensary may be established at such a place in the jail premise so that inmates can safely access it for medical treatment at any time. The court has granted four weeks time to the state to establish such dispensaries and file a report in this regard. Chapter V and Chapter XIII of the Sikkim Prison Manual, 2010 provide for medical facilities for inmates within jail campus with dispensary, resident doctor and nursing staff and medical facilities to be given to women prisoners within the campus. (PTI)
UNICEF highlights poor social indicators in Bihar
Patna: UNICEF on Wednesday highlighted poor social indicators in Bihar like high incidence of underweight children, high percentage of households deprived of drinking water and sanitation facility and stressed on effective steps to overcome the challenge. The issue was discussed in detail at a day-long workshop organised by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) under the theme ‘Demystifying data on children’. Yameen Mazumder, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bihar, said while infant mortality rate in the country in 2013 was 40, it was 42 in Bihar. (PTI)
