Eight companies have submitted quotations for the Rs.2,234.46 crore project, said an official of the Bihar State Road Development Corporation Ltd.

Bihar Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav told IANS here that the government would select the company by June.

“We hope to start construction work by next year and the project would be completed by 2016,” he said.

Last year, the union finance ministry and the Planning Commission cleared the project.

In the first phase, the driveway will connect Digha and Didarganj, a stretch of 21 km, and in the second phase, it will go to Fatuha, a distance of 18 km. About seven km of the road will run on an elevated platform.

Indira Gandhi, then prime minister, had first proposed such a driveway in Patna, said a retired engineer associated with construction of the Mahatma Gandhi Setu here.

A FIR was lodged by resident Rakesh Kumar Singh on April 21. The FIR alleges Nirmal Baba made a false promise of fame and fortune to him and, in return, forced him to pay Rs 1,000 in three instalments between January and March 2011.

The Baba allegedly also asked Singh to send him the counterfoils of the deposit forms through which he deposited Rs 300 twice and Rs 400 once in the Baba’s account with Punjab National Bank. While he couriered the counterfoils to the Baba’s Delhi address, he has preserved the courier receipt, the FIR said.

According to Araria SP Shivdeep Lande, police investigated the case and found the accusation prima facie true following which he directed the investigating officer to move the court and seek the warrant of arrest. He has constituted a police team led by DSP Vikas Kumar which will now need the DIG’s nod to leave the headquarters and arrest the accused.

This year, 27 of the 30 students from Bihar’s Super 30 cracked the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination.

Shailesh Kumar and Biswajit Bahera are among the successful 27 students.

Biswajit Bahera, whose father works as a security guard in Kolkata, said he had never dreamt of cracking the prestigious exam. “My father is a security guard in Kolkata. As I gave him the news, he was extremely happy, though he does not quite understand what it would mean,” Bahera told IANS, adding his stay at the Super 30 hostel and the coaching by Anand Kumar and his team filled him with a lot of confidence.

Shailesh’s father is a marginal farmer with less than two bigha land for agriculture, his main source of livelihood.

Behra was full of gratitude for Super 30. “If Super 30 had not provided me with facilities, it was beyond my reach to crack the IIT-JEE,” he said.

“At Super 30, it is only education that matters. Even in the hostel, the peer group helps. We sit, eat and sleep together solving problems. When Anand Kumar teaches, it is like music. As most of the students are from poor background, they all put in all their effort, which leads to healthy competition,” Shailesh told IANS.

Ashish Ranjan, whose father is a truck mechanic, said his family and everyone in his village are in a celebratory mood. “As soon as I told my father about my success on the mobile, he was extremely happy. But he often said ITI, instead of IIT. He is a truck mechanic. He did not have enough money, but I read about Super 30 and came here to take the entrance test. Once I qualified and stayed at Super 30, I felt I could do it,” Ashish said.

Sonu Kumar Rudra, son of a daily wage labourer, said his father and relatives were disbelieving at first when he told them he had cracked IIT-JEE. “I am lucky that I was selected by Super 30′s Anand Kumar,” Sonu said.

Sumit Kumar Gupta was on cloud nine after seeing his result. “I got to know of Super 30 through a newspaper. I came to Patna and took the test. Luckily I made it to Super 30 and that changed the course for me. Else, with the meagre income from my father’s grocers’ shop I would not have been able to continue my studies. At Super 30, there was no botheration, as I did not have to pay anything. Plus there was quality teaching,” Sumit told IANS.

Sumit recalled how two of his brothers could not continue their studies due to financial hardship. “I want to go for UPSC after my B.Tech. I have seen how Anand sir is making a difference to so many poor students, who don’t even have proper schooling. His style of teaching is distinct. I also want to do something for the society,” he added.

The institute selects talented students from poor families and provides them with free coaching, food and accommodation.

According to Anand, “Hard work, proper guidance and supervision are the secrets of our success.”

Students from poor families have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16 hours a day study routine. Coaching, food and accommodation are free for the students. Anand Kumar said the institute is supported by income generated from his Ramanujam School of Mathematics, which has students who can afford to pay fees.

In 2003, the first year of the institute, 18 students made it to the IITs. The number rose to 22 in 2004 and to 26 in 2005. In 2007 and 2006, 28 students made it through IIT-JEE. In 2008, for the first time all 30 students cracked the exam, as well as the following year.

The success story of Super 30 was telecast by the Discovery Channel two years ago.

Three years ago, Norika Fujiwara, a former Japanese beauty queen and actress, made a documentary film on Super 30 for its innovative and successful attempt to send poor children to India’s top engineering colleges.

“It is again good news that this year, 27 out of the 30 students made it to the IIT-JEE… it has underlined how with proper opportunity, students from poor families can also reach the prestigious IIT,” Super 30′s founder-director Anand Kumar told IANS.

The successful candidates include the wards of a truck mechanic, a farmer, a daily-wage labourer and vendors.

“All of them have managed to successfully chase their IIT-JEE dreams at Super 30 with their commitment and hard work,” he said.

Last year, 24 students of the institute had cleared the IIT-JEE.

Super 30, which helps economically backward students crack the IIT-JEE, was selected by Time magazine in the list of The Best of Asia 2010.

Students from poor families have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16 hours a day study routine. Coaching, food and accommodation are free for the students. Anand Kumar said the institute is supported by income generated from his Ramanujam School of Mathematics, which has students who can afford to pay fees.

In 2003, the first year of the institute, 18 students made it to IITs. In 2008, for the first time, all 30 students of the centre cracked the exam, a feat which was repeated in 2009 and 2010.

Super 30 is a highly ambitious and innovative educational program running under the banner of “Ramanujan School of Mathematics”. It hunts for 30 meritorious talents from among the economically backward sections of the society and shapes them for India’s most prestigious institution – the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

In the last seven years, it has produced hundreds IITians from extremely poor background. During this program students are provided absolutely free coaching, lodging and food. Super 30 targets students from extremely poor families. They have all seen the change with sheer disbelief in their eyes that their children are now going to be top
technocrats.

State Bank of India has agreed to lend Rs 1,400 crore to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to part-fund its 500 mw Bokaro thermal power station (A) project,” a bank release said here, adding SBI’s associate banks will lend Rs 1,000 crore for this purpose.

The thermal unit, which is likely to be commissioned next April, will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 3,500 crore with a debt-equity ratio of 70:30. Referring to contentious coal supply and power purchase agreement, the release said fuel will come from the Central Coalfields and the power generated will be fed to the National Grid.

“DVC has signed a power purchase agreement with the Punjab State Electricity Board to supply 200 mw, while the rest will be consumed in Jharkhand,” the release said.

The power generation from old thermal plants of DVC stands at 2,210 mw and it has commissioned new thermal plants with additional capacity of 3,500 mw so far. The Corporation is expected to make further capacity addition of 1,250 mw during this fiscal

The event will focus on ways and means by which Bihar can become a role model for India and the world if the investment climate is optimized, create opportunity for renewable energy industry to network and develop viable energy models.

“Our aim is to further strengthen the political commitment of the Bihar government to work towards DRE and to bring energy experts, policymakers and financial investors on the same platform and get unanimity of approach for working together cohesively,” said Ramapati Kumar, one of the organizers of the conclave. Greenpeace India is the organizer of the event.

The business conclave will see participation of experts like MNRE director Pravin Dhameeja, Energy Head India ( World Bank) Ashish Khanna, Moser Baer CEO Rajvardhan Ghai, Alstom Power India (country head) Sunand Sharma, Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich, Sun Source Energy CEO Adarch Das, and head Renewable Energy Campaign (Greenpeace India) Ramapati Kumar.

The meet would also launch Smart Energy Access Report on Bihar which would showcase potential roadmap to boost investment in the renewable energy sector to remove energy deficit. It will show how micro-grid system based on renewable energy sources can provide sustainable energy services to all as it is available in the developed world.

Anand, whose efforts to help underprivileged students get through the tough competitive examination were recognised world-wide, said the problem had been detected soon after the examination, but it was confirmed after the JEE uploaded the answers to three questions yesterday.

Anand said it was strange that instead of accepting the mistake, the authorities had once again resorted to average marking, which, he believed, would affect meritorious students adversely.

In respect of one question each in chemistry (Q No. 23) and mathematics (Q No. 60) of Paper 2, the JEE authorities wrote that all students would get zero mark for it. “This means that the problems are wrong and even those students who still made an attempt to solve them would get zero mark. Similarly, in question number 6 of physics, there should be one right choice, but two choices have been given,” he explained.

He lamented this trend of setting wrong questions had been going on for the last three years due to ‘callousness’ on the part of the question-setters. Last year, he pointed out, questions worth 18 marks had been detected wrong and later average marks were given. Anand said that two years ago it came to light that Hindi-medium students had been discriminated against due to low marking.

“This does injustice to the meritorious students, as they suffer due to average marking. What is more, such things raise a question mark over the IIT’s credibility and shakes students’ confidence,” Anand lamented. It is high time, he said, the authorities worked out a foolproof mechanism to prevent repeat of such mistakes in future, as the IIT-JEE is a prestigious examination, he said.

“The teachers should test the answers by solving them before sending them for print,” he felt. Anand had a few days ago submitted a detailed proposal to HRD minister Kapil Sibal regarding IIT-JEE reforms.

“I cannot live without Prince and it appears that Prince also cannot live without me. We love each other like brother and sister,” Nik told IANS.

She adopted the dog and kept it at the Buddhist monastery here she helps run. She went back to Thailand a month ago. But soon Prince fell ill. His misery pulled Nik back – she returned Saturday.

“Last week, when I was informed that Prince was ill, I decided to visit Bodh Gaya for its treatment,” she said.

She now plans to return to Thailand along with Prince on May 9.

“I had approached the local authorities for the documents required to take Prince to Thailand,” she said.

Her bond with Prince is four months old.

“During my visit to the Vajra Bodhi Society here in early January, I was attracted to this dog after he behaved like a friend. It was a different experience. I then decided to adopt and look after him,” she said.

“After Prince was brought to the monastery, his love for me was unbelievable!” she said.

However, as soon as she left, Prince became upset, she said. “Despite good food and medical treatment, he was not doing well,” she said.

Bhante Manoj of the Bodh Gaya Mahabodhi Temple Management Committee said Prince fell ill soon after Nik left for Thailand. “It is a unique case of love between a human being and an animal,” he said.

He said the news of Nik’s return to Bodh Gaya for the sake of Prince has become a hot topic among local residents.

Some predict that the litchi production could be down by 30-40 percent due to inclement weather conditions.

“Till last week, we were hopeful of bumper production of litchi, but no more now. This year, litchi production will be down by 30 to 40 percent due to squalls coupled with hailstorms,” said Surender Singh, a litchi grower from Muzaffarpur district.

Another farmer, Bholanath Jha, told IANS that the litchi production this year would be significantly less than that of the last year, mainly because of hot weather and hailstorms which damaged the crop in many areas.

“I was upbeat about good crop early this month. But unpredictable weather damaged more than 50 percent of litchi crops,” he claimed.

There are others who are worried about irrigation of the juicy fruit crop. India is the world’s second largest litchi producer, and Bihar accounts for more than 74 per cent of the total production in the country.

“Litchi plants need to be watered at least three to four times a day. It is a difficult task in view of lack of irrigation facilities. Hot weather has made the situation worse,” said Satendra Kumar Sharma, another litchi grower in the region.

Scientists, too, are fretting over impending loss to the crop. “Litchi production could fall due to an extreme hot weather,” said Dr Vishalnath, director of Muzaffarpur-based National Litchi Research Centre. He, however, refused to give forecast on the possible losses.

Last year, Muzaffarpur had recorded bumper litchi crop due to favourable climate, he said.

According to officials at the centre, 35 degree Celcius is an ideal temeperature for litchi but for last few days, the temperature is hovering around 40 degree Celsius.

“Temperature is five degree Celcius higher that the optimum temperature. It is a bad sign for litchi growers,” they said.

Dr S.K. Purve, another scientist, said the litchi growers have been asked to take care of the crop and nurse the plant stems.

Litchi orchards are spread over Muzaffarpur and neighbouring districts. According to statistics available with the state agriculture department, litchi is cultivated in approximately 25,000 hectares in north Bihar. Every year, the region produces about 90,700 metric tonnes of litchi.

“Chief Minister Munda has given his approval to set up ‘Jharkhand special court ordinance 2012′. The ordinance has been sent to the governor for notification,” an official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) told IANS Saturday.

The official added: “The vigilance courts are over-burdened with corruption cases. The tainted officers sell or transfer their properties during case trials. With this ordinance, the special courts would hear the cases fast and would have the power to seize properties of the tainted officers.”

The special courts will issue notices within 30 days of the petition against the tainted officers.

To fight corruption in government offices, Jharkhand has already formulated the Right to Services Act and the Electronic Delivery Services Act.