Ranji Trophy Roundup: Delhi hand Vidarbha their first defeat since 2016, Jharkhand beat Uttarakhand.

Source – indiatoday.in

Nitish Rana displayed his T20 repertoire in full as he smashed a heroic unbeaten 68-ball 105 to help Delhi chase down a stiff target of 347 and win their Ranji Trophy group A encounter against defending champions Vidarbha at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Wednesday.

Resuming at 10/0, Delhi played out of their skins to down Vidarbha with Rana hitting eight fours and seven sixes in his blistering knock which would make all Kolkata Knight Riders fans and staff happy.

Besides Rana, openers Kunal Chandela and Hiten Dalal scored 75 and 82 respectively and shared a 163-run opening wicket stand to set the platform for Dhruv Shorey’s side.

Shorey himself scored 44 as Delhi blunted Umesh Yadav’s threat with the ball and recorded a memorable win.

Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan brought up his maiden triple century in first-class cricket to lead Mumbai’s fightback against Uttar Pradesh on day four in their Group B game. The match ended in a tie but it was Sarfaraz who stole the show as he remained unbeaten on 301 from 391 deliveries with the help of 30 fours and eight sixes.

Sarfaraz Khan’s 301 not out is now the second-highest score in first-class cricket while batting at number six. The highest is by Karun Nair who hit 328 in the 2014/15 Ranji Trophy final also at the Wankhede Stadium.

Manoj Tiwary also scored a triple hundred, his first too, for Bengal two days back at Kalyani in West Bengal.

Mumbai were in trouble at 16/2 at one stage with Jay Bista and Shashank departing early in pursuit of UP’s 625/8d.

But from there on it was the 22-year-old Sarfaraz all the way as he took charge and made mincemeat of all the bowlers.

Hardik Tamore (51), Siddhesh Lad (98) and Aditya Tare (97) added solidarity to the innings.

In other matches, Maharashtra thrashed Assam by 218 runs in Group C as Jharkhand beat Uttarakhand by six wickets in another Group C game.

Gujarat humbled Punjab by 110 runs in Group A.

Delhi Anaj Mandi fire: After victims’ families object, bodies of Bihar residents to be taken home by road.

Source – thehindu.com

Bowing to pressure from families of those killed in the Anaj Mandi fire on December 8, the Bihar government has decided to send the bodies of the State’s residents home by road instead of train.

Earlier, it was decided that the railways will carry the bodies in the seating-cum-luggage rake (SLR coach) on board the Swatantrata Senani Express over December 9 and 10.

However, the victims’ families objected to the arrangement, choosing to take the over 1,000 km journey by road instead.

Many of the 43 people who were killed in Sunday’s blaze were migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They were trapped in the building as they were asleep when the fire started.

“The families were not comfortable in taking the bodies by train, so we have decided to send them in ambulances. One ambulance will have two bodies.

“All the preparations were made for sending the bodies by train. Special coaches were also attached [to the train] but the family members [of victims] did not agree to let the bodies go by train,” said Kumar Digvijay, Joint Labour Commissioner, Bihar Bhavan.

“As and when post-mortem is being done, we are sending the bodies home. Till now 36 bodies of Bihar residents have been identified and we are trying to send them back to the State as soon as possible. The procedure is slow, but we are trying our best,” he said.

Zakir Hussain from Bihar’s Madhubanj area, who lost his brother Shakir in the fire, said though the Bihar government had made arrangements to take the bodies back home by train, there was no clarity about the procedure.

Mohammad Shamshir from Begusarai, whose neighbour Naveen Kumar (19) died in the fire, said it was not feasible to take the body in a train.

“We were not happy with travelling via a train. The train would stop at Samastipur station and our village Barijana is another 70 km from there,” Mr. Shamshir said.

According to officials, the resident commissioner of Bihar in Delhi had approached Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for help to send the bodies back home. Upon Mr. Goyal’s intervention, the Delhi Division had arranged for the coach.

Sunday Late Night 31 Bodies Identified in Delhi Fire – Fire: 31 out of 43 useless, Bihar authorities will even give compensation.

Source – ourbitcoinnews.com

By late Sunday evening, 31 individuals of the New Grain Market hearth have been recognized. Nearly 60 % of the employees killed within the hearth have been residents of Bihar. Among them, Samastipur, Madhubani, Sitagarhi, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur and different districts got here to Delhi for employment.

On discovering this incident within the morning, Resident Commissioner (Spatial Commissioner) Bipin Kumar reached Loknayak Hospital and helped in identification of the useless our bodies. By night, 28 of the 43 useless have been recognized, of which the utmost 25 have been from Bihar.

The kinfolk of the deceased have been trying to find their households in hospitals. Bipin Kumar reached the hospital with the crew at round 10 am. He first helped these injured within the hearth after inquiring about their properly being. Police additionally referred to as kinfolk and neighbors to the hospital to establish the useless.

However, not all of them might be recognized because the kinfolk of many of the useless have been in Bihar. The Resident Commissioner stated that if there may be any problem in carrying any of the our bodies, he’ll cooperate with the victims.

Till late evening, so many our bodies have been recognized
Loknayak Hospital:

Resident of demise
Imran Moradabad (UP)
Sajid (Tofir) Bijnor (UP)
Mursarf Al Bijnor (UP)
Guddu Samastipur (Bihar)
Mo. Sadre Samastipur (Bihar)
Mo. Sajid Samastipur (Bihar)
Mo. Ikram Moradabad (UP)
Akbar Samastipur (Bihar)
Faisal Saharsa (Bihar)
Sajim Saharsa (Bihar)
Afsar Saharsa (Bihar)
Afzal Saharsa (Bihar)
Shakir Madhubani, (Bihar)
Enul Sitamadi (Bihar)
Ghyasuddin Sitamadi (Bihar)
Ganwa Samastipur (Bihar)
Dulare Sitamadi (Bihar)
Abbas Sitamadi (Bihar)
Raju Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
Naveen Kumar Begusarai (Bihar)
Mo. Gulab Sitamari (Bihar)
Sanaullah Sitamadi (Bihar)
Mo. Sajar Saharsa (Bihar)
Zahid Saharama (Bihar)
Sajid Haripur (Bihar)
Jojo Haripur (Bihar)
Chief Samastipur (Bihar)
Job Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
(28 our bodies out of complete 34 have been recognized in Loknayak Hospital.)
—-
Lady Hardinge Medical College:
Bablu Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
Mehboob Samastipur (Bihar)
Mo. Asabool Samastipur (Bihar)
(Six our bodies haven’t been recognized, there are a complete of 9 our bodies.)

Bihar authorities will even give compensation
There is a provision by the Government of Bihar to provide compensation of 1 lakh rupees to the households on the demise of the employee in any accident exterior his state. There is a provision to provide compensation of 75 to the significantly injured individuals, whereas Rs 37 thousand for the frequent injured. Kumar additionally knowledgeable that each one the sufferer households might be compensated by the federal government.

Lok Sabha question: Uttar Pradesh tops chart in PDS corruption, Bihar 2nd, Delhi 3rd.

Source – cnbctv18.com

As many as 807 complaints of corruption in the public distribution system (PDS) were received across the country till October 31, 2019, of which Uttar Pradesh reported maximum number of complaints, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Raosaheb Danve-Patil has said.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the Union Minister said that UP has topped the list in PDS corruption cases with 328 complaints, while Bihar comes next with 108 complaints.

Significantly, UP has hit the headlines many times earlier for PDS scams. In 2014, a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the land of the then cabinet minister of the state, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, in a multi-crore food grains scam in the state.

Ravi Kishan, MP from Gorakhpur and Dr Ramshankar Katheria, MP from Agra sought details of these complaints as well as the steps taken to curb it.

Delhi ranks third in corruption cases in PDS with 78 complaints been received. Whereas West Bengal has received 48 complaints in such cases.

However, the states from which no complaints have been received include Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim. Apart from this, no complaints have also been received from the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadar Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.

The minister said that for the offence of violation of the provisions of the PDS (Control) Order 2015, there is a provision of punitive action under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. Under this order, the state and union territory have the power to take punitive action.

At the same time, to make the system more transparent under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013, an institutional arrangement for monitoring it has been done by vigilance committee, District Grievance Redressal Officers, State Food Commission.The minister said that to improve the public distribution system, the ministry is computerising the PDS operation in collaboration with all states and union territories. Under this scheme, supply-chain management is being computerised by digitising ration cards/beneficiaries and efforts are being made to bring transparency in it, besides, the ration shops will be automated using electronic point of sale (e-POS) devices.

Jharkhand polls: Leaders in Delhi to finalise lists.

Source – indiatoday.in

As polling day nears in Jharkhand, all the political parties are engrossed in finalising their candidates for the 81-seat Assembly.

Marathon meetings and hectic discussions are being conducted by the parties.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have been the heavyweights in the elections here while regional parties like the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and All Jharkhand Students’ Union Party (AJSUP) also have stakes here.

For national parties like the BJP and the Congress, the scene has shifted to Delhi where state leaders are camping to finalise their lists.

A BJP leader said Chief Minister Raghubar Das, state party chief Lakshman Gilua, and other leaders are in Delhi as they were asked to reach the national capital. Before leaving for Delhi, the BJP’s state election committee met on Wednesday under Gilua’s chairmanship and a list of candidates was readied.

Sources in the BJP said the party’s central election committee would be meeting on November 8 where the names of the candidates will be finalised.

Sources also said that Suresh Mahato, chief of BJP ally All Jharkhand Student Union, has also reached Delhi to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.

Congress state leaders, including state party chief Rameshwar Oraon and senior leaders like Aalamgir and Subodhkant Sahay have also moved to Delhi. Party spokesperson Kishore Shahdeo told IANS that the party’s screening committee had met on Wednesday. But, sources said that candidates could not be finalised as the seat-sharing arrangement with the JMM is yet to be finalised.

Congress sources said that the central election committee is likely to meet this week to finalise their candidates.

As the political parties are readying their lists, most of the aspirants are keeping a watch on the happenings in Delhi.

The Assembly polls in Jharkhand will be conducted in five phases from November 30 to December 20, an exercise spread over 21 days because of the Naxal problem that poses a security challenge.

Counting of votes will be taken up on December 23.

Of the 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand, nine are reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 28 for the Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Raghubar Das: ‘Mob lynchings not just in Jharkhand should not be made political agenda’.

source – indianexpress.com

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das speaks to Abhishek Angad on incidents of lynching and the upcoming state polls. Excerpts:

During our reportage, we found out that the most vulnerable sections of the society are not getting the benefit of central schemes.

All such schemes have been implemented as per the 2011 Census. I am aware of what you have mentioned. I frequently speak to people and it will be addressed. By 2022, nobody will be left homeless, but this will not happen quickly. It will take time.

You have said the government has focused on roads, electricity and water. At Maspera, Sundarpahari, in Godda, ill people are being carried to hospitals on cots because there is no road. Water scarcity has been the biggest problem of the state capital during summer. You once said you will provide 24×7 electricity, that has not happened.

A government needs at least 10 years to complete its work. I am not saying Ram Rajya has come. At Sundarpahari, the local MLA is from JMM. What did they do? On electricity, I was misquoted. I had said electricity will reach every village….it has reached 30 lakh more houses in the last five years — compared to 39 lakh in the last 14 years…It will take time. Regarding water, we have started conservation. There is no scarcity of water, but it has to be managed well…

The government put thrust on Momentum Jharkhand. What is the total investment that came in?

Work worth Rs 72,000 crore is going on in sectors like power, food processing and textiles. In the coming years, Jharkhand will become a textile hub. Garments are being exported to European countries over the past two years. Now footwear will be manufactured in Jharkhand.

But how much is the business it is generating worth?

You think only if it is big business. My focus is on MSMEs because I have to end poverty and MSMEs are the spine of the economy.

Recently, Jharkhand Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries put up several hoardings in parts of Ranchi targeted at the state government’s “insensitivity” towards the businesses. They complained they were facing issues in starting businesses and much- touted single window clearance was not implemented.

I have not been monitoring it since last six months, but in every district a nodal officer has been appointed for this purpose. There may be one or two stray incidents and I am not rejecting the claim entirely.

You have created land banks where the government acquired uncultivated and common land to attract investment. Many have criticised this and said the tribals or villagers were not spoken to.

These are people who are anti-development and do not want growth of the poor. When I conduct choupals, I ask people did the government take the land? The answer is in negative. It is the government’s land. So, land mafia and anti-development people are having a stomach ache. People who took away land are now talking about land rights now. Look at the violation of Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act by the Soren family.

You have initiated an inquiry against them…

Soren family are residents of Gola. How come they have properties in Dumka, Pakur which are clear violation of SPT Act? They also have properties in Ranchi.

So what is happening in the case…

A showcause notice has been issued to them after we received complaint.

Mob violence has become a nuisance in Jharkhand. Recently, a Christian tribal in Khunti and Tabrez Ansari in Saraikela, who was made to chant Jai Shri Ram, died. In the last three years, 21 deaths happened due to child-lifting rumours and on the suspicion of cow slaughter or beef possession. Also, more than 90 people have died after being suspected of witch-hunting. Why is this happening?

Mob lynchings are not just happening in Jharkhand. Is it not happening in Delhi, Bihar or Congress-ruled states? First of all, this is wrong . Nobody has the right to take law in their hands. As for the 20-21 deaths, the dead were deranged people who were lynched on the suspicion that they were thieves. If you leave one or two incidents, maximum people who died were deranged. I am keeping a tab and have directed police and the administration to handle it effectively, but it should not be made a political agenda.

What about incidents where mob violence is driven by religious polarisation, such as the Tabrez Ansari case.

This should not happen and this is wrong. People should not see Hindus and Muslims in cases of lynching. This is being done by parties indulging in vote bank politics. If a Muslim dies, it becomes an issue…AAP came from Delhi to Saraikela to give Rs 5 lakh (in the Ansari case), how many other lynching victims’ families have they reached out to? They are not pained by the lynching, they have to play vote bank politics. This is wrong.

What directions have been given?

Police are meeting a lot of people in the villages to make them aware. But social media is a problem. Something happens somewhere and people want to spoil the environment

But the witchcraft killings…

This is mostly specific to Gumla, Khunti and Lohardaga areas. People need to be more aware. We have made a law, but the tribals in the villages are still uneducated and uninformed. The society needs to sort this issue and take responsibility. The government makes announcements in various villages against the practices. The civil society should also come forward.

Regarding implementation of MGNREGA, some people told us that getting money for work done takes time. Some people don’t opt for it. Recently, in Chanho block, a person allegedly committed suicide because he incurred debts after he got a well constructed under NREGA and did not receive money. The state’s liability under NREGA’s components is high.

There is corruption at the lower levels and we are trying to make it more transparent. There is corruption at the block level and in times to come we will it make it corruption-free. There has been a lot of improvement. Yes, liability it there, and I have asked to create a special fund for the payments under NREGA because the fund comes from the Centre. So that we don’t have to wait for the central fund and we clear the payments and later adjust it. Why should a poor person wait?

But the PESA Act has not been implemented in the state?

Any development work conducted in the state is done after talking to the Gram Sabha. How can one say it is not being implemented?

During the Pathalgadi agitation, a lot of people were arrested and sedition cases were invoked. The same was done against a few activists who supported Pathalgadi on social media? Recently, Arjun Munda said in an interview that the state government should review this?

Whatever has happened is under the law and I dont want to comment. But yes, no innocent should be implicated. There are different views, but I don’t interfere.

In Jamshedpur and Saraikela, a lot of labourers were laid off during a recent slowdown in automobile sector. What is the status now and has the state government done anything?

Measures were taken by the Central government and things will normalise soon.

Migration has been an issue in Jharkhand?

It is no longer the case. The situation is reversing after we set up various companies. People are getting jobs here.

The Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in PDS led to exclusion of many beneficiaries.

Now everyone has Aadhaar. We have also given directions that ration be given even if there is no biometric authentication.

What is your stand on NRC?

People who are Bangladeshis have to go. We will implement NRC.

What is your understanding of the political climate in Jharkhand after the results in Maharashtra and Haryana where the BJP could not achieve its target?

One cannot compare one state with the other. These states do not have 26 per cent tribals. We will aim high. We will definitely win 65 plus seats in the Assembly polls.

A strong opposition is important for democracy. What would you say about the opposition in Jharkhand?

A critic is very important so that gaps in governance is known. But I am sad that here the opposition is very weak. There is infighting in the Congress. Within JMM, brothers were fighting. In RJD, there was a split. The opposition should work hard, but it is sad that the opposition does not want any Raajhit. They want Swahit. The people have started understanding that and they will be shown the doors.

Doctor Part of Inspection Team in Patna Now Patient of Dengue, Chikungunya.

Source – news18.com

An entomologist from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi, who was visiting Patna to inspect the houses breeding dengue spreading mosquito Aedes aegypti larvae, has been tested positive for dengue.

Dr Ram Singh, joint director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and head of the Centre for Medical Entomology and Vector Management, New Delhi, was sent to Patna on October 3, Hindustan Times reported. However, he was rushed to sickbay after he was tested positive for dengue and chikungunya on Saturday.

Dr Ram Singh is one of the members of the central team dispatched by Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, to help prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in Patna and other parts of Bihar that witnessed rains between September 27 and 29.

Singh, who is suffering from high-grade fever and excruciating pain in joint, could not return to the national capital with the rest of the members of the team on Saturday. A fortnight-long operation by the Central team in Bihar came to an end this weekend.

Dengue, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, zika virus, and Yellow fever spread during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. These mosquitoes breed in fresh stagnant water.

Initial symptoms of dengue include high fever and severe headache which is usually accompanied by fatigue, rashes, vomiting, soaring of eyes, joint and muscles pain among others.

Singh said he has been shivering with high fever and have pain in my joints since Friday. “I had to return to Delhi yesterday (Saturday) but am still here under the care of Dr Krishna Pandey of the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) after my blood serum test tested positive for Dengue and Chikungunya,” he added.

During the inspection, Dr Singh had visited a number of waterlogged houses to check for larvae of dengue spreading mosquitoes. He was accompanied by microbiologists and entomologists who collected the samples of water from piped sources and tanks to check for the presence of microbes and those in buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths, flowerpots, or trash containers, to check vector density of Dengue.

Health camps were also set up by the Central team and blood samples of patients with fever and other dengue-like symptoms were collected. The Central team concluded its operation on October 18 after consultation with the state government.

The Central team included doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi; Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi; the National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi; Regional Malaria Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, directorate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), New Delhi; the NCDC, New Delhi; AIIMS-Patna and the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna.

Earlier, two BJP lawmakers of Bihar — Nitin Navin and Sanjiv Chaurasia — both residing in Patna, were tested positive for dengue.

So far this year, 2,538 people from Bihar have tested positive for dengue of which 1,916 are from the state capital Patna.

On the other hand, 293 patients were tested positive for Chikungunya, of which 268 were from Patna.

Dengue has claimed lives of at least five people in Patna since October 15, but the state government has so far not attributed any of these deaths to the mosquito-borne disease.

MS Dhoni determined in setting up a cricket academy in Ranchi.

Source – crictracker.com

While the Indian cricket team keeps scaling new heights each time they take the field in all the formats of the game, veteran MS Dhoni’s speculation on making a comeback is still dominating the news. It remains under a cloud of uncertainty whether the 38-year old will retake the field or the semi-final game against the Kiwis in the World Cup 2019 was his swansong.

However, Dhoni has remained in touch with the sport outside the field as well and is reportedly determined to open an academy in his hometown of Ranchi. The wicketkeeper-batsman is set to fulfill his desire of opening a center of learning in Ranchi where aspiring cricketers can harness their skills to make it big.

As reported by Times Now, Arka sports, an organization of Dhoni’s long-time friend Mihir Diwakar, has been searching for a piece of land and considering all goes as planned, the academy could be fully set up in two years. Besides that, the reports also say that they also have the option of tying up the academy with a local school.

The source was quoted as saying “Aarka Sports, a company of Dhoni’s childhood friend and manager Mihir Diwakar, has been looking for a piece of land to open an academy and if all goes as per plan, we shall see an academy in the city in the next couple of years,”. The Ranchi-born batsman has also established academies in Indore, Delhi, Patna, Bokaro, Nagpur, Varanasi. An academy is also planned to be built in Siliguri.

Ravi Shastri firm on letting MS Dhoni decide on his future

Speaking of Dhoni’s immediate future, coach Ravi Shastri was crystal clear in his words, conceding that the former captain has earned the right to retire from the game as desired. He also criticized the people calling for his retirement and hailed him for what he has achieved for the nation.

Shastri said, “Half the guys commenting on Dhoni can’t even tie their shoelaces. Look at what he’s achieved for the country. Why are people in a hurry to see him off? Maybe, they don’t find enough talking points,” Shastri said. “Let me say this: M.S. Dhoni has earned the right to retire when he wants to. And let this debate end once and for all”.

Delhi will come to halt if Bihar immigrants stop work: Nitish Kumar.

Source – indiatoday.in

Bihar Chief Minister and Janta Dal United President Nitish Kumar has said that the capital will come to a halt if immigrants from Bihar stop working.

He criticised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement that people from Bihar come to the capital for free treatment. “Delhi belongs to all, it was an absurd statement,” he said addressing party workers at a meeting in Badarpur to kickstart preparations for assembly polls.

“If people from Bihar stop working then Delhi will come to a halt,” Nitish Kumar said.

He came down heavily on political opponents for not recognising the contribution of immigrants from Bihar to Delhi’s progress. He took on Kejriwal for his jibe that people from Bihar board a Rs 500 train for Rs 5 lakh treatment in the capital.

He said that the Aam Admi Party (AAP) Government has failed to provide basic infrastructure to residents of Delhi.

“A large population of Delhi still lives in unauthorised colonies, Government should run a campaign to provide relief,” he said. “There is no safe drinking water for people, Delhi Govt should ensure this, we are running a scheme in Bihar to provide water to every household tap,” he added.

Addressing party workers, mostly immigrants from Bihar and Eastern UP, the JDU chief said that liquor consumption is a menace and Delhi too needs prohibition to check it. He said that earlier there used to be jungle raj in Bihar but now law and order is under control. “We do a lot of work but don’t publicise much, in fact we spend least on publicity,” said Nitish Kumar.

JDU workers meet in Badarpur is being seen as an attempt by the party to woo immigrants from Bihar in the national capital.

The party intends to field candidates in all constituencies in the upcoming assembly polls slated to be held early next year.

The party has been trying to make woo voters from Bihar and its bordering districts of UP settled in the capital using Nitish Kumar’s popularity in the previous assembly and municipal polls without much impact so far.

Bihar floods: How Delhi, Kolkata, and Dhaka betrayed Patna.

Source – hindustantimes.com

The 2019 monsoon season, which continued till late September, has been disastrous for Bihar. There has been large-scale inundation, leading to loss of lives and property and displacement. Moreover, in the last four months, the Bihar government has spent nearly ~130 million to provide relief to those affected by floods, which were caused by torrential rains in Nepal in mid-July, and flooding in the basins of the Kamla, Bagmati, Gandak, and Kosi rivers that originate in the neighbouring country. The state has urged the Centre to provide ~2,700 crore as compensation.

If Bihar has to get out of this annual cycle of flooding and destruction, the state has to reclaim its riparian rights over the Ganga. One of the key reasons why the destruction could be contained somewhat in the September round of flooding was the timely decision taken by the Bihar government of requesting the release of 19 lakh cusec of water via the Farakka Barrage across the Ganga in West Bengal. The discharge through the barrage, which was built in 1962, was increased to decongest the floodwaters in the Ganga and save the riverine areas along the river in Bihar.

The Farakka Barrage has been a controversial project since inception. The first landmark publication against the Nehruvian penchant for large dams was authored in 1961 by the then superintending engineer of the West Bengal government, Kapil Bhattacharya. He warned that the construction of the barrage would lead to heavy flooding and siltation in Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal, and to floods in Bihar. Bhattacharya was hounded for criticising the project, which was originally conceived by the British in 1853 to “flush out silt from the approach channel” to their key trading port, Calcutta. After Independence, the Centre and the Bengal governments pursued the project, disregarding criticisms.

At that time, there were three key arguments against the building of the barrage. First, the designed discharge of 27 lakh cusec was way below what’s needed during floods; second, it will increase siltation in Ganga owing to reduced flow during the lean months; and, third, that the barrage would reduce water flow into Padma (East Pakistan).

All three apprehensions have been proved right in the later years.

Either due to deft diplomacy by the Bangladesh government or the weakness of the HD Deve Gowda-led government, in the 1996 (lean season) water-sharing treaty between India and Bangladesh, Dhaka was able to wrest the desired discharge from Delhi. Bihar, a key stakeholder, was neither included as a participant in the negotiations, nor was its protest on the treaty’s provisions ever considered. Moreover, both the Indian and Bengal governments could never work out any alternative for the much-hyped 40,000 cusecs of discharge throughout the year into the Hoogly channel, which was, allegedly, required to keep the Kolkata port operational.

So, who has been bearing the brunt of these commissions and omissions? Bihar. While the state suffers from annual flooding, a series of dams and barrages over the Ganga, and its tributaries in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, are denying Bihar its due share of the river’s water.

To honour the Indo-Bangladesh treaty’s commitment of ensuring 1,500 cusec of discharge at Farakka, Bihar has to provide this from the state’s other rivers. This means Bihar only gets 400 cusecs of water from the Ganga during the lean months (January to May). This low water volume and the resultant placid flow year after year have dried up the river’s channels, leaving enormous silt deposits in its lower reaches. The gradually ascending river beds abet inundation during the high volume flooding periods because the choked discharge at Farakka restricts free flow. It is a double whammy for Bihar.

It defies logic how the Central Water Commission (CWC) has persisted with its stand on the issue despite several submissions by the Bihar government and expert group estimations pointing to the need for a rethink on Ganga water sharing and decommissioning of the Farakka barrage.

Repeated submissions by the Bihar government for a review of international and inter-state water-sharing arrangement, and optimising the Farakka barrage’s discharge capacity to meet the changed hydrology of the river, have been systematically downplayed by CWC. The momentum generated by two high-level expert meetings in Patna and Delhi in 2017 has not produced anything productive. Reviving the discourse has become imperative once again.

The annual agony of flooding is a demonic drain on the national resources and not just that of Bihar. Given its political and diplomatic clout, the National Democratic Alliance is best poised to redeem Bihar and its 130 million people from this scourge.