Tag: Foundation

Once in Spotlight for Laying Foundation of Ram Temple, This Dalit Boy Has Now Been Nominated in Ayodhya Trust

Source: ews18.com

Meghnath Oram had travelled to Ayodhya with small jattha of karsewaks from South Bihar’s Chota Nagpur division. Led by a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary in Gaya region, the group had camped about a mile off the disputed site.

Oram since his arrival had shown signs of unrest. He had vowed to lay the foundation stone for a grand Ram temple at the site where Babri Masjid stood. Else, he would not return to his village.

To avoid any untoward incident, Kameshwar Chaupal, the VHP joint general secretary in-charge of tribal-dominated districts in Bihar, was asked to keep a close watch on Oram.

November 9, 1989 was the ‘auspicious’ day chosen by top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and VHP leaders to performs shilanyas and lay the foundation for the ‘proposed grand temple’ at Ayodhya. It was to be the culmination of decade-long campaign led by the VHP and nurtured by the RSS.

Early that Wednesday morning, VHP leader Ashok Singhal’s close aide Rameshwar came looking for Chaupal. At the shilanyas site, very close to the disputed structure, Chaupal was accorded the coveted seat beside Singhal.

Swami Chinmayananda, who would go on to become a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, was the master of the ceremony. With Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, seers and saints in attendance, the puja began.

In a powerful political statement, from a bevy of gurus lined up for the event, the VHP had chosen a Dalit boy from Saharasa in Bihar to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and of the BJP in national politics.

Once Shilanyas was done, Kameshswar Chaupal left Ayodhya for his village in Bihar.

On his arrival, Chaupal was told Baldev Jha, head of a prosperous Brahmin family had sent a message and wished to see him. “We had lived under centuries of subjugation, and I was reluctant. But my father coaxed me to go and meet Baldev Babu,” Chaupal recalled speaking to News18 in December, 2017.

For a person who had never entered an Upper Caste household in his village, Chaupal was unsure of the reception he would receive. “To my shock, Baldev Babu held my hand, made me sit beside him and asked everyone in the family, young and old, to touch my feet. They had read about me in the newspapers,” he recalled.

Chaupal later contested 1991 Lok Sabha elections from Rosada on BJP ticket, but lost. Chaupal tried his luck for the second time in 1995 Assembly polls. Five years later, he was nominated to the Bihar Legislative Council, where he served for two terms.

Ahead of the 2014 general elections, JD(U) had broken its poll pact with the BJP. It asked him to contest from a general seat. Chaupal lost to Pappu Yadav’s wife and Congress candidate Ranjeet Ranjan.

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PM Modi inaugurates Jharkhand assembly building, lays foundation of state secretariat

Source: hindustantimes.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the Rs 465 crore newly constructed state-of-the-art Jharkhand assembly building, putting an end to the state’s 19-year wait for construction of its own assembly building and laid foundation stone of the Rs 1238 crore proposed construction of state secretariat.

The ground plus three floors magnificent structure of the assembly building has come up on a site of 39 acres of land at HEC township near Jagannath temple. A symbolic one-day special assembly session has been convened on September 13 in this new building.

Inaugurating the assembly complex, Modi said, “It’s a historic day for Jharkhand. After 19-years of its creation, the state now gets its own assembly building and foundation stone of the proposed state secretariat has been laid.”

Appealing to the youths to must visit this assembly complex, Modi said, “One should not consider this building as a structure with walls only. It will lay foundation of the better future of state’s citizens. It will help in realizing the dreams of coming generations.”

Recalling the importance of these buildings, the Prime Minister said, “The recently concluded monsoon session was one of the most productive sessions of the Parliament after independence. The houses worked till night to discuss and pass important legislations. People felt happy to see it going. Credit goes to all MPs and political parties for giving effect to a healthy discourse.”

The dome shaped Jharkhand’s new assembly complex consists of Central, East and West wings and service buildings including covered car parking. A rooftop solar power plant of 500 KVA capacity have been set up over the car parking area. The campus is beautifully landscaped with three stage fountains in the south (front) and north (back). Besides, work is in progress to set up four half ball fountains.

The main attraction of the building is its large dome just overhead of the assembly hall. The dome has been decorated with traditional Jharkhandi arts from the inside. These arts will be illuminated with high quality lights.

The building’s central wing consists of a assembly hall of seating capacity of 150 persons, chambers of chief minister, assembly speaker and deputy speaker, a conference hall with seating capacity of 400 persons, MLAs lobby, press gallery, media lobby, library, canteen and others.

While the building’s East wing would have 22 minister rooms, six committee rooms, establishment, budget, pension, question and answer sections, accounts, legislative section and others, the west wing would house chamber of leader of opposition, five committee rooms, parliament, public information, dispatch, whip sections, bank, post office and other services.

The four-storied proposed state secretariat building will be constructed on an area of 33.60 lakh square feet in HEC township.

Central Wing: Assembly hall (150 seating capacity), chambers of CM, Speaker, deputy speaker with rest rooms, 400 seater conference hall, MLA lobby, press, officers, visitors galleries, library, canteen, dispensary and others

East Wing: 22 minister rooms, six committee rooms, establishment, budget, pension, question and answer sections, accounts, legislative section and others

West Wing: Chamber of leader of opposition, five committee rooms, parliament, public information, dispatch, whip sections, bank, post office and other services.

Service building: Electrical sub-station, AC plant room, police barrack, maintenance room, covered car parking (400 vehicles)

509% rise in cases under child labour law: Study by Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

Source: nationalheraldindia.com

There has been a 509% increase in the number of cases registered under the child labour law since 2017, according to a research study on child labour by Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF).

KSCF has carried out the study ‘Child labour know more’ with the objective of identifying gaps in the implementation of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 and strengthening national efforts towards elimination of all forms of child labour by the year 2025 as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a press release said.

“Since 2017, an increase of 509% in the number of cases registered under the child labour law has been recorded as per a study based on information sought under the RTI Act,” the release said.

However, it said, a comparison between this data, the figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau across three years and the Census of India 2011 brings out the “massive disparity” between the number of working children in India and the number of cases, registered and prosecuted.

RTI replies from across the country revealed that no case of child labour was registered in Haryana, Kerala, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh in 2017. Rajasthan and Bihar contributed 84% of the total cases registered, it said.

“Another glaring deficiency in the policy regime for abolition of child labour is non-disbursal or disbursal with huge delays of monetary compensation and the yawning gaps in efficient delivery of rehabilitation measures,” the release said.

The report also provides a range of recommendations to address the gaps in protection, prosecution, rehabilitation and prevention of child labour in the country.

Gates Foundation to support Bihar beyond 2021, says health minister

Source: hindustantimes.com

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), has accepted in principle to continue support to the Bihar government in the health sector beyond 2021, based on the government’s long-term plan for health system reforms.

This follows the request by Bihar health minister Mangal Pandey for extension of support. Pandey met Melida Gates on the sidelines of the Women Deliver 2019 conference at Vancouver in Canada, which ended on June 6.

The co-chair of the BMGF said that the foundation was committed to supporting the Bihar government beyond 2021 and emphasised that the state government should have long-term health system transformation plan in place.

“Based on the government’s plan, it would become clear as to what would be the nature of support the government needs and how best the BMGF can provide it,” said the minister quoting the co-chair.

Pandey, on behalf of chief minister Nitish Kumar, also extended an invitation to Bill and Melinda Gates to visit Bihar to see the changes that have taken place in the state’s health sector. “During the visit, the government would be happy to share the long-term transformation plan with the BMGF leadership, the minister told the co-chair,” he added.

Principal secretary, department of health, Sanjay Kumar was present at the discussion.

Pandey said that the health system transformation was a long-term process and owing to the government’s commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goal by 2030, the Foundation should support the department of health beyond 2021 or at least till 2025.

The minister said that Melinda told the Bihar delegation that the ongoing project in the state was very close to her and Bill Gates’s heart. “Due to multiple competing priorities, they were not able to visit Bihar in the recent past. But through the Gates Foundation team in India they received regular updates,” he added.

Bodh Gaya’s Mahabodhi Temple to Receive New Hi-tech Illumination System

Source: buddhistdoor.net

The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India, one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world, will soon by illuminated by a state-of-the art LED lighting system by the end of this year, with funding for the extraordinary initiative offered by Siddhartha’s Intent India with support from Khyentse Foundation and Vana Foundation. The new lighting system is designed to illuminate every part of the temple in accordance with the highest safety and quality standards to ensure a long-lasting and sustainable solution.

The project, called “Lighting the Mahabodhi,” is one of the largest and most ambitious light-offering initiatives in Buddhist history. According to the Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, founder of Khyentse Foundation, who initiated the lighting project, came up with the idea in 2015, and in 2017 the proposal was approved by the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee and the Gaya District Magistrate. The total cost of project is around US$1.4 million, with more than 30 per cent of the budget allocated since the project was launched.

“If there is one thing in the world that resembles our minds, it is light,” said Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. “As Buddhists in the Rime tradition, our aim is to illuminate our minds free from judgment, prejudice, or pride. And so, it is to symbolize that realization and to appreciate the Buddha’s infinite compassion and skillful means in guiding us toward it, that we are now offering light at the very place of the Buddha’s enlightenment.” (Kuensel)

The Mahabodhi Temple, one of the most spiritual destinations for Buddhists pilgrims, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site marking the place where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Beside the temple, there are seven other sacred sites in Bodh Gaya, including the descendent of the original Bodhi tree.

“The atmosphere created by the Mahabodhi Temple is so potent it’s as if you fall into a trance,” explained Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. “Here you’ll find the vajra seat (vajra asana, also known as the Diamond Seat) where, after many years of searching for the truth and six excruciating years of penance by the banks of the Niranjana River, Siddhartha finally discovered the Middle Path and achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. (Khyentse Foundation)

“Centuries have passed since the Buddha attained enlightenment at this spot, and the temple has weathered many eras of both resplendence and shocking neglect. In this present era, the temple has been upgraded, is well tended to, and in comparatively excellent shape,” said the president of Siddhartha’s Intent India, Prashant Varma, in a press release on 31 May. “Lighting the Mahabodhi is building upon this support to update the lighting in a way that will last for generations to come. (Khyentse Foundation)

B-Lit, a lighting design company from Bangkok, Thailand, is providing the design offering free of charge as an offering of devotion. The overall lighting system will include high-end LED technology, as well as software to control and automate the myriad of high-efficiency, low-heat LED bulbs and fixtures.

According to the Khyentse Foundation, the lighting project will incorporate: 

• Automated lights that are durable, energy efficient, and ecologically friendly, with minimal light pollution.
• Top technical quality lighting with systematised controls.
• Synchronized with the lunar cycles, and adaptable to the many special rituals and needs of the Mahabodhi Temple.
• Light fittings and fixtures able to withstand changing seasonal and weather conditions.
• Safe and easy operation and maintenance.

“We hope to have part of phase one—the core of the temple lighting—ready by the end of this year,” noted Varma. “We shall then steadily work toward completing all other areas of the temple complex, other than the Sarovar Lake and the new Meditation Park, by the end of 2020.” (Kuensel)