BIHAR

The on Tuesday computed the details of the Rs 3,763-crore damage caused by the three-phase of floods this year and submitted the same to the six-member central team headed by R K Singh, joint secretary in the Union Home ministry, sources said.

The central team, which made an aerial survey of some of the 16 flood-affected districts, including Darbhanga and Bhagalpur, in the last two days, will make its own assessment of the extent of the damage before comparing it with the details submitted by the state government to reach at the amount of Money that could be given to the state as central assistance.

The maximum damage worth Rs 1,469 crore has been suffered by the Resources“>Water Resources department (WRD) whose Ismailpur-Bindtoli embankment in northern Bhagalpur, besides minor bunds at Dagmara in Supaul district and long stretches of zamindari bunds in south Bihar were damaged. The department has also pointed to the erosion being caused by the rivers as floodwaters have started receding.

Similarly, the rural works department has suffered damages to its rural roads worth Rs 234 crore, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department Rs 661 crore, road construction department Rs 203 crore and the energy department Rs 14 crore. Several school buildings were also washed away by the floodwaters.

The Disaster Management department has spent Rs 1,159 crore on providing gratuitous relief to flood-hit families, food to displaced people at community kitchens and other relief materials.

Jeevika (BiharRural Livelihoods Promotion Society) inked an MoU with BRAC ( Building Resources Across Communities), paving the way for the implementation of flagship programmeSatat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY)across the urban areas of the state.

The MoU was signed during a workshop on Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana Urban. The PARTNERSHIP between Jeevika and BRAC is supposed to be a crucial step towards empowering urban communities and promoting sustainable livelihoods.

The workshop aimed to share valuable insights and exchange ideas and discuss strategies for empowering urban communities through sustainable livelihoods.

Unlocking Women‘s potential in urban areas was another key focus of the workshop under which the executive director of Mobile Creches, Sumitra Mishra, gave a presentation detailing various sources of livelihoods for urban women.

Gayaemerged No. 1 among 112 aspirational districts across the country in theDeltaranking announced byNiti Aayogon the basis of points awarded on five indicators in May. The district had a composite score of 48.7 points, better than its 45.5 in April.

The five indicators are Health and Nutrition, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Resources, and Skill development and basic Infrastructure.

Gaya performed the best in Health and Nutrition with 52.2 points, compared to 43.2 points in April. In the field of Education, the district secured third position with 52.7 points. Financial inclusion and skill development fetched Gaya 29.6 points and it remained on the 11th position.

Bihar has bagged eighth rank in the country among 31 participating states in utilising eSanjeevani, a digital Health service platform of the Union ministry of health and family welfare. As per the data shared by the ministry, around 2,23,197 people from Bihar have so far availed consultation on free telemedicine platform. The 31 states together account for 70 lakh doctor-to-patient tele-consultation since the launch of the scheme.

Of total consultations recorded in Bihar, 2,22,482 took place through Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme and 715 through online OPDs. The technology-based health service is currently operational in 31 states/union territories in the country and widely used for telemedicine advice by non-Covid patients across the country. Andhra Pradesh has topped in utilising the facility with 16 lakh consultations, followed by Nadu (12.6 lakh) and Karnataka (12.1 lakh).

Several initiatives and incentives from the for female children notwithstanding, their number has declined in Bihar from 934 per 1,000 males in National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 to 908 in NFHS-5 though the national Average has improved from 919 (NFHS-4) to 929 (NFHS-5).

In fact, districts like Muzaffarpur showed an alarming figure of only 685 female children per 1,000 males in NFHS-5 compared to 930 in NFHS-4. Second worst was Saran with 779 female children in NFHS-5 compared to 976 in NFHS-4. Darbhanga, Madhubani, East Champaran and Samastipur also have a big drop in thesex ratio. Darbhanga figures dropped from 982 to 812, Madhubani from 954 to 805 while East Champaran and Samastipur witnessed a decline of -159 each. Interestingly, Haryana, infamous for female foeticide, showed an improvement from 836 to 893.

With Covid-19 pandemic showing the adverse impact of rampant intervention of human beings with nature, senior officials and environmental experts have called for immediate steps for ecosystem restoration, which is the theme for this yearsWorld Environment Day.

As perUnited Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), ecosystem restoration can take many forms, including growing trees, greening cities, changing diets and cleaning up rivers and coasts.

Bihar government has claimed that forest cover in the state is 15% at present and efforts are being made to raise it up to 17%.

Bihar chief ministerNitish Kumar flagged off a fleet of 23 ambulances to provide better medical facilities to prisoners lodged in different jails across the state.

Each ambulance is fitted with an Oxygen cylinder, blood pressure machine, pulse oximeter and stretcher, besides having life saving medicines.

TheBihargovernment has taken a “revolutionary” step of merging the sub-categories of a particular caste concerned into one single social entity, which will have one numerical caste code for use during the month-long second phase of caste-based headcount from April 15 to May 15.

It will simplify the caste-based headcount exercise being conducted in the state. The codes have also been given to religion, offspring out of inter-religious wedlock, property and even professions, like doctor and lawyers.

As to the second phase of the headcount, the sub-categories ofMaithil, Kanyakubj and other Brahmins have been merged into a single social entity calledBrahmin, which will have caste code as 126. No separate enumeration of its sub-categories will be done. Similarly, the caste code of theRajputis 169, of the Bhumihar 142, and of the Kayastha 21.

ollowing chief Minister Nitish Kumars statement that the top brass of the state administration and Police should clear misunderstandings about the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, which triggered a huge row in the State Legislative Assembly and outside.

The BMP Act, 1892, has been changed into the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, after 129 years as it was needed in view of the states development and requirement of protecting important installations like Darbhanga airport and Mahabodhi Temple.

On the lines of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), now State Industrial Security Force (SISF) will be deployed, with adequate powers to take anyone in custody or carry out search on suspicion without warrant.

Deputy CM cum finance ministerTarkishore Prasadsaid in the legislative assembly on Friday that the government has been working with an integrated vision for an all-around development of the state and its 2022-23 budget reflects the development story.
In tune with the same, he said Saat Nishchay-2 andJal-Jeevan-Hariyali(JJH) schemes remain the flagship programmes of the government.

He said the social sector schemes were being implemented to address the concerns of weaker sections, including the old and aged persons. He also gave details of the allotments made for schemes in various departments.

Prasad was giving the governments reply to the House debate on the states Rs2.38 lakh crore budget for the 2022-23 fiscal that he tabled on February 28. The House is slated to debate and pass the appropriation Bill concerned on March 25.

Prasad said Rs5,000 crore had been earmarked for the schemes under implementation as part of the Saat Nishchay-2 programmes, noting that the departments concerned have been working in synergy to implement them, as well as the schemes under JJH programme.