Nitish bats for liquor-free India
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has advocated the need to enforce prohibition or a ban on the consumption of alcohol all across the country. Speaking at a seminar, titled ‘Liquor-Free Bharat’, in New Delhi, the Bihar CM said the ban is necessary to save the society from ruin. He added that 1.19 lakh bond papers have been filled by parents of Bihar’s schools in favour of promoting prohibition at a national level. He said nearly 500 government officials, including 71 police personnel, in his state have been suspended, since April 5, 2016, for not enforcing prohibition.
Rly staff felicitated
Officials of the East-Central Railway were felicitated at the division’s headquarters on Thursday. Commending the effort of the staffers, LC Trivedi, general manager, East-Central Railway, said, “Performances must be rewarded.” The officials to be felicitated were drawn from all five divisions of the zone. Trivedi said the ECR recorded 87.40% punctuality in running mail and express trains and secured the fourth position in this regard. He lauded the “extraordinary services” rendered by staffers of all five wings for ensuring operational efficiency.
$1.7 bn investment in litchi project
Soft drink giant Coca Cola, India, has decided to invest $1.7 billion into Bihar’s litchi project. The investment is tipped to benefit more than 80,000 litchi growers in the state. Inaugurating an event organised jointly by Coca Cola, India and the National Litchi Research Centre in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur recently, state Agriculture Minister Dr. Prem Kumar said 80,000 litchi growers, harvesting the produce on an estimated 30,000 acres, would receive training under the project. A state-of-the-art litchi orchard would also be developed in Muzaffarpur under the project.
State hosts police shooting championship
As many as 740 police personnel and central forces from across the country, including the National Security Guard (NSG), displayed their marksmanship at the 20th All India Shooting Championship in Bihar’s Dehri. The event was held from February 10 to 15. Kamal Kishor Singh, IG, State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), said the event featured 33 police personnel from Kerala, 27 from Tamil Nadu, 24 from Telangana, 23 from Karnataka, 30 from Maharastra,30 from Manipur and the rest from states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand and Punjab.
Rajesh K Thakur
Our correspondent in Biharrkthajipur@gmail.com