BIHAR

CM Nitish Kumar took stock of the arrangement and facilities at community kitchen centres in 22 districts on Monday via a virtual tour through video conferencing from the Sankalp hall of his residence.

CM also spoke to some of the beneficiaries and asked visitors about the facilities and quality of food being served at the centres.

He asked the beneficiaries about the meals served, what they get in the meals and how many members from their family get their food from the kitchens, and if they face any difficulty in getting a meal from the government-run kitchens, among others.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said more than 2 lakh new schoolteachers would be appointed in the state this year and his government would also enhance “income” of the already employed (niyojit) teachers across the state.

The state has nearly 4 lakh contract (niyojit) teachers engaged by the panchayat raj institution.

In the Light of the surge in the COVID-19 cases in the state, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, besides authorising all district and block headquarters to impose Section 144 to restrict crowd movement. The government also decided to keep schools, colleges, other educational institutions, and religious places closed till May 15.

Not over 100 people will be allowed in weddings and for funerals, the number stands at 50. Only 50% of employees will be allowed in IT firms.

February 15 would be commemorated as Shahid Diwas, in the honour of 34 freedom fighters who were killed by Police 90 years ago, in Tarapur town in Munger district of Bihar.

These freedom fighters had never got their due, even though this was the biggest massacre carried out by the British police after Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 in Amritsar.

Prime MinisterNarendra Modihad also referred to the Tarapur massacre in his January 2021 Mann ki Baat radio address.

Amid rumours of a move for fresh amendment in the provisions of the law that is caught in crossfires in the wake of frequent hooch deaths, the main opposition party, RJD, on Tuesday claimed that it would move a No-Confidence Motion against the government in the budget session if the proposed amendments are not in the interest of the people or in tune with its principles.

The last amendment to the prohibition law was made in 2018 to set free a person caught drinking liquor for the first time on the payment of a fine of Rs50,000. However, it was put in abeyance.

As per the new unconfirmed reports, the proposed amendments have been mooted by the state excise and prohibition department and sent to the Home department for clearance to pave the way for its scrutiny and final approval by the law department.

As per the rumours, the government is mulling over dividing the offences in two groups ordinary (liquor consumers, that pertain to the drunk or those caught drinking) and serious offences (liquor manufacturer, hoarder, distributor, supplier).

The ambitious Ganga Jal Apoorti Yojana of chief minister Nitish Kumar, aimed at mitigating the sufferings of water-stressed areas of south Bihar, will be dedicated to people ofBiharin the last week of November.

Ganga Jal Apoorti Yojana is first of its kind scheme in the country where surplus floodwater of river Ganga would be pumped to water-stressed cities and used as drinking water.

Despite the Covid challenges, enrolment of children in 6-14 age group in the government schools in Bihar has increased by 3.6% in the last one year, according to the 16th edition ofAnnual Status of Education Report.

The number of children enrolled in government schools increased from 76.9% in 2020 to 80.5% in 2021, compared to 2.8% rise in the last three years since 2018. The report also revealed that more children from the rural background took admission in the government schools, compared to private schools, between 2018 and 2021.

The report was based on a survey conducted in the rural areas of 581 districts across 25 states and 3 union territories between September and October this year. It covered 76,706 households, 75,234 children in 5-16 age group besides teachers and staff of 7,300 government schools.

Significantly, the proportion of both boys and girls enrolled in government schools across all grades increased from 2020 to 2021. The Percentage of girls enrolled went up from 80.9% in 2020 to 82.9% in 2021 while the boys enrolment increased from 73.2% in 2020 to 78.2% this year.

As per the report, the availability of smartphones to the enrolled kids also increased from 27.2% in 2018 to 54.4% in 2021. However, only 11.8% kids have access to studies all the time while 34.4% used the device for limited periods for education purpose. A large section of almost 53.8% enrolled kids still have no electronic devices for studies.