Foundation of new rail lines laid

Bihar would have a new rail face in terms of density line and trains in the next three years. Flooded and remote areas of the state, which remained missing from the national rail map, are also being provided rail lines and trains.

This announcement was made by railway minister Lalu Prasad on Thursday while laying the foundation stone for construction of Darbhanga-Muzaffarpur rail line at the ground of Kedar Nath High School, about 20 km from Darbhanga.

Now, Singhwara and Jale blocks of the district would be connected with Aurai (in Muzaffarpur) by rail line through which Muzaffarpur - Janakpur rail line would pass, thus both the above blocks would come under rail network.

New Sitamarhi - Nirmali rail line was also announced at a function held at Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial College ground, Barahi (Sursand).

Railway minister will also lay the foundation of Gaya - Chatra and Gaya-Daltenganj rail lines on December 7 at Ranglal High School ground, Sherghati, Gaya. Sherghati will also have a reservation facility now.

Rail-cum-road bridge (like Rajendra bridge connecting Barauni to Mokama) would be constructed on the Ganga between Digha and Sonepur.

The state would soon boast of seven rail factories with each factory having large number of ancillary units.

If the state government would have provided land for rail lines and rail factories, then rail projects worth Rs 65,000 crore would have been running in this state by now, said Lalu lamenting the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
New Project Details

Sitamarhi - Nirmali new rail line
Via : Sonvarsha, Parihar, Sursand, Choraut, Basopatti, Jaynagar, Laukha Bazaar
Districts served : Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul
Total length : 190.240 km
Number of bridges : 614
Number of stoppages (Station/Halts) : 28
Estimated cost : Rs. 678.62 crores

Gaya - Chatra new rail line
Via : Parsanwa, Bodh Gaya, Karmauni, Sherghati, Hunterganj, Jori kala, Chatra
Districts served : Gaya, Chatra
Total length : 97 km
Number of bridges : 163
Number of stoppages (Station/Halts) : 8
Estimated cost : Rs. 415 crores

Gaya - Daltenganj new rail line
Via : Rafiganj, Mathurapura, Gurua, Sherghati, Kindi, Imamganj, Chhapri, Narayanpur, Nav Diha Bazzar, Chhatrpur, Dali, Dulhi, Kajri, Daltenganj
Districts served : Gaya, Aurangabad, Palamu
Total length : 137 km
Number of bridges : 115
Number of stoppages (Station/Halts) : 13
Estimated cost : Rs. 445 crores

Bombardier, Alstom in fray for Rlys` unit in Madhepura Bihar

Global electric locomotive manufacturers - Bombardier Transportation, Alstom and Siemens from Europe and Kawasaki, Toshiba, Mitsubhishi and Mitsui from Japan - have shown interest in participating in the Indian Railways' ambitious Rs 2,000 crore project to set up an electric locomotive factory at Madhepura, Bihar.

The project will be implemented on a private-public partnership basis. The Railways will pick up a maximum of 26 per cent equity stake in a special purpose vehicle to be floated for the purpose. The remaining equity will come from the foreign partner.

The initial capital cost of the factory, as estimated by the Indian Railways, is Rs 1,000 crore. But industry experts say that the actual cost could go up in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 crore factoring in to account the increase in the prices of critical components like steel, iron, cement, fuel among others.

The top international companies were all present in a pre-application conference, which was held at Rail Bhawan on Friday.

Rajeev Jyoti, MD, Bombardier Transportation, said, "We are very eager to associate with the project. Since the agreement will be for a long-term basis, we will have to carefully evaluate the commercial, legal and technical aspects before participating in the bidding process."

Similarly, a top executive of Alstom Transportation, who did not want to be named, also expressed interest in participating in the proposed project. The factory will be set up on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis for the production and supply of a minimum of 660 locomotives over a period of eight years. and undertake maintenance thereof for a period of up to 20 years.

The Indian railways will be subscribing to its equity for up to a maximum of 26 per cent of the issued and paid up equity capital of the company,subject to a maximum of Rs 100 crore.

A Rail Bhawan official said that the project is receiving a good response from global locomotive manufacturers and they are expecting a minimum of 5-6 major players in the final bidding process.

The due date for the application of request for qualification (RFQ) is on July 18, 2008 and the shortlisting of applicants will be done within 15 days from the application due date.

With the commissioning of the project, railway officials say that the Indian railway will be upgrading its technology to the next generation, where the new locomotive which will have 12,000 horsepower will have the capacity to pull a higher pay load at a much higher speed of 100 km per hour. This will enable the Indian Railways to cut down their operational and maintenance cost.

thereby increasing productivity. Currently, Railways operate electric locomotives with 6000 horsepower capacity having a speed of 80 km per hour.

China offers to develop Buddhist spots in Bihar

Nalanda, Feb 12: Showing special interest in the development of Buddhist spots in Bihar, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaxing today offered monetary support in promoting the land of Buddha. Addressing the inaugural function of Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, constructed to mark the historic visit of the Chinese scholar of Buddhist theology in the seventh century Xuan Zang, Zhaxing said China had already prepared a project for the development of Buddhist spots in Bihar and would invest here accordingly. He said if the Bihar government provides China with land for the project, the country would execute its schemes on the holy land of Buddha. Expressing pleasure at the construction of Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, Zhaxing said it would further strengthen Sino-Indian relation. In a reminiscent mood the Foreign Minister said China had handed over the urn of Xuan Zang, the symbol of the cordial Sino-Indian relations, to the Bihar government fifty years ago and now it was great pride for china that the urn was placed in the Memorial Hall. Enthused with the Chinese offer for investment in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured to provide land for the projects and maintained that the government would extend logistic support to the Chinese government.

'Bihar must first develop agri & cottage industry'

PATNA: Former member of the Maharashtra State Planning Board H M Desarda has said Bihar needs to develop agriculture, cottage industries and handicrafts first to improve socio-economic condition of the poor and the common man. Desarda, who said this while delivering the key note address at a seminar at AN College here on Monday, pointed out that as of now proper planning is a must for achieving an all-round development in the state. According to him, the core areas will have to be first developed in order to put the state's economic growth on right track. He said short-term policy should not be considered for achieving real development in the state. Desarda maintained that modern economics is blind and blind growth is no development at all. "The state, which has resources in plenty, is in need of right direction to make its presence felt in the global market," he said. Junior Union minister for agriculture, food and civil supplies Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who inaugurated the seminar, said harmony is the greatest need for maintaining development in the society while ADRI member-secretary Shaibal Gupta said water, forest and land are important for maintaining sustainable development in the state. A N College principal Sita Ram Singh earlier welcomed the guests. Cultural exchange meet: A N College has arranged a cultural exchange meet between South Korean delegation and its students on Wednesday on the college campus, said the college principal Sita Ram Singh. He added it would be the first time when students of both the countries would interact and exchange views on their respective cultures imbibing the spirit of brotherhood. Shortage of teachers: Teaching in science stream has been greatly affected at both inter and degree-level at RPM Mahila College in Patna City, a constituent college of Magadh University, for want of regular posting of science teachers in the college. As of now there is not a single teacher in science subjects to cater to the needs of students, said the college principal Jayshree Dhar. She said the college has already sent several reminders in this regard to both university and government offices, but to no avail. The college also requires at least one teacher in each department of arts stream to cope with the work load of classes, she said and added that the college intends to start vocational courses in fashion designing, BCA and BBM to fulfil the needs of students.

The great job swap

India’s most dysfunctional state is getting a little better.

PATNA’S main cinema is full for a Sunday matinée showing of the latest film starring Amitabh Bachchan, India’s most famous actor. All 832 seats are occupied by families whistling and clapping at scenes set in an India of German cars and carefully pressed golfing slacks. Last year, just 10% of the seats were selling on any given evening, according to Birendra Singh, the cinema’s manager. Now it is normally half-full at night. The reason? People are less afraid of being mugged by gangsters, the police, local bureaucrats or all three in combination when they walk back into the outside world of rummaging pigs and intermittent electricity.
A big reason for the change is that just over a year ago Bihar’s voters booted out Laloo Prasad Yadav, who either directly or through his wife had ruled the place for 15 years. The replacement is his long-term rival and former ally, Nitish Kumar. To complete the symmetry, Mr Yadav has Mr Kumar’s old job in Delhi as railway minister, and is credited with turning the loss-making state railways around. After a year under Mr Kumar, Bihar also seems to be doing well out of the job swap.

Rivalry between the two politicians dates back to the 1970s when both were student leaders. They were allies in 1990 when Mr Yadav became chief minister of Bihar. But in 1994 Mr Kumar broke away, forming his own political party and plotting his course back to power. In late 2005, enough of Bihar’s Muslims and lower-caste Hindus, the groups that had sustained Mr Yadav for so long, came over to Mr Kumar and his allies, voting him into the chief minister’s residence.
Inside the ministerial compound, now free of the cows that Mr Yadav liked to graze on its lawns, Mr Kumar is recovering from a bout of malaria. The first thing he did on taking up the post, he says, was to replace old Remington typewriters with computers and e-mail. The next was to make a start on ridding Bihar of its reputation for lawlessness, which has scared away investors and educated Biharis alike.
That is beginning to change. Official figures, vigorously disputed by Mr
Yadav’s supporters, suggest that kidnapping for ransom, one of Bihar’s few flourishing industries during the past decade, is becoming rarer. Between January and October 2006, 166 people were snatched, compared with 214 for the same period in 2005 and 341 the year before. “Now people are committing crimes in the night, stealthily—not out in the open,” says A.R. Sinha, Bihar’s chief of police. That is progress.
Outside the capital, Bihar is still barely industrialised. Most of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, but barely subsisting. Of Bihar’s under-fives, 54% are malnourished, compared with 47% in India as a whole (itself a higher rate than in sub-Saharan Africa). Much of the subsidised grain intended to feed them is stolen and sold by the low-level officials who are meant to distribute it. In an attempt to end the pilfering, every target household should now receive a book of food tickets, to be redeemed at state-run distribution centres.
Other scams abound, though. According to Deepak Mishra, a local journalist, the state bus company employs 40-odd people for every bus it runs. A recent report from the state’s legislative assembly found that 19 senior officers in the Indian Administrative Service, the unsackable elite civil servants, and 108 officers in the Bihar Administrative Service, are facing corruption charges.
If Mr Kumar has made a good start, his old rival should not be written off yet. Even in defeat Mr Yadav was still the state’s most effective vote-harvester, possessing a charisma that Mr Kumar lacks. On December 18th he was cleared of a long-standing corruption charge. Mr Yadav is fond of boasting that one day he will be India’s prime minister. But if Mr Kumar can turn the state around, he may end up looming larger in national politics.

Manoj Bajpai works to develop his native village

Actor Manoj Bajpai has been silently working out ways to develop his native village in Bihar while he spends time there away from the glamour of Bollywood.
Bajpai, of 'Satya' fame, arrived in West Chaparan district's Belwa village, 300 km from here, a few days ago to spend time with his family and friends but has been busy chalking out a development strategy for the backward area.
The actor has joined hands with his friend Gayandeo Mani Tripathi, who plans to set up an organisation for rural development.
'I decided to work with my friend Tripathi as he is setting up an organisation for development in rural areas, so I suggested that he open it in my village,' said Bajpai.
He, however, refused to disclose the details of his project and said he would come up with something concrete soon.
Bajpai, known for the portrayal of intense roles, said material gains are not everything in life, as they don't satisfy the soul.
'I am in my village to satisfy my inner soul by contributing something to the development of my village,' he remarked.
The actor said he had given 13 years to Bollywood and 11 years to theatre, 'But I now decided to give some time for self-satisfaction'.
He his hectic schedule in Mumbai had made it difficult for him to visit Belwa more often. 'After living in Mumbai, I had become distanced from my village and now I would like to fill that gap.'
Bajpai was reportedly enjoying the greenery of Belwa and loved talking to villagers in chaste Bhojpuri.
On the acting front, Bajpai is now looking forward to the release of his next film '1971' and hopes audiences will appreciate it.

'New BG line will be completed on time'

PATNA: Railway minister Lalu Prasad on Friday held a high-level meeting with the Railway Board officials in New Delhi and took stock of the ongoing Hajipur-Sugauli new broad gauge (BG) line project. Lalu also held discussions with Union rural development minister Raghubansh Prasad Singh with regard to the matter. Lalu directed the railway officials concerned to expedite the new BG line project and sort out problems with the Bihar government. He himself spoke to the state chief secretary over phone from New Delhi on the issue of land acquisition for the project. The railway minister hoped that the 152-km-long Hajipur-Sugauli new BG line project would be completed on time with the full cooperation from the state government. This new BG line project involves 48 villages under the East Champaran district and 53 villages in the Muzaffarpur district. The total area required for land acquisition measures up to about 1,554 acres. Railway officials have been holding meeting with the DMs of these two districts on a regular basis to complete the first phase of the land acquisition work. The completion of this project will complete the entire Buddhist circuit as envisaged earlier by the railways. The Buddhist circuit covers Kushinagar and Sarnath in UP and Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Patna, Hajipur, Vaishali, Kesaria, Areraj and Sugauli in Bihar. Meanwhile, the railway minister has directed the ECR officials to complete all the ongoing railway projects on a priority basis.