General

Police in Jharkhand are fighting the well-armed groups of Maoists without having adequate number of main strike weapons (eg Insas rifles, AK-47 and sten guns), area weapons (eg mortars, light machine guns and hand grenade launchers) and security equipments like bullet proof jackets and bullet

proof helmets.
An audit report, released in Ranchi on Friday by the state's principal accountant general (PAG), revealed that five Naxal-affected districts - Palamu, Ranchi, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Hazaribag - have shortfalls of main strike weapons ranging between 29 to 64 per cent.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The Central Government on Friday approved a Rs 1,479 crore project in Jharkhand under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

"The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) today approved the implementation of the project of four laning of Ranchi-Rargaon-Jamshedpur section of NH-33 from 113.73 km to 277.50 km in the state of Jharkhand under NHDP Phase III," said an official statement issued in New Delhi.

The construction period for the project that will be built on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis will be 15 years.

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday approved four-laning of a section of the national highway connecting Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand at an estimated cost of Rs.1,479 crore.

This will help reduce the time and cost of travel between the state capital and the industrial town.

"The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approved the implementation of the project of four laning of Ranchi-Rargaon-Jamshedpur section of NH-33 from 113.73 km to 277.5 km," said an official statement.

ALLAHABAD: Train routes and timings of some trains on the Kharagpur-Rourkela and Kharagpur-Adra sections will remain changed till changed August 25 due to stoppage of trains from 10pm to 5am. This step has been taken following the accident of train number 2102 Gyaneshwari express on May 28.

Train number 2802 New Delhi-Puri Puroshattam express will run on the Gomo-Bokaro-Purnia junction-Tata route and will be stopped at Tatanagar station till 5am.

A central team on Thursday described the drought situation in Jharkhand as very grim after the failure of monsoon. As per reports available till now, most districts recorded deficit rainfall, which was alarming, Agriculture Secretary Vijendra Singh said after members visited Hazaribagh,

Ramgarh and Chatra.
The team found khariff crop could not be revived at this stage as no seedling was raised, he said.

Chouparan block in Hazaribagh was the worst hit with only 5 per cent paddy being transplanted and no hope of revival of the crop, Singh said.

Ranchi, Aug 17 (Coal Geology) Three illegal miners in Jharkhand’s coal city of Dhanbad died when the roof of a closed mine they were working in caved in. More casualties are expected, police said Friday.

According to the police, seven to eight people were working in the closed Munidih coal mine of Dhanbad district, some 240 km from here Thursday night, when the roof of the mine caved in, trapping all of them.

All the men are suspected to have died. Villagers recovered one body Thursday night while two more bodies were recovered Friday morning.

Members of the tribal communities in Jharkhand have always treasured their tradition and culture with utmost care. Many of the tribes have various rituals, which may look strange to others but for them it's something that defines their tribal life.

On the occasion of annual Mansa festival here on Tuesday, the celebration of tribal life and the joy of offering obeisance in awe-inspiring ways was visible once again.

A central team arrived in this Jharkhand capital on Wednesday to assess the drought situation in the state, an official said. All 24 districts of the state have been declared drought-hit. The eight-member team is headed by Vijay Kumar, managing director of National Horticultural Board. "We

will stay here for the next three days and assess the situation," Vijay Kumar told reporters at the Ranchi airport.
On Monday, all the districts of Jharkhand were declared drought-hit as the state has received less than 50 percent of the normal rainfall.

Within hours of killing a Congress activist, CPI (Maoist) ultras set on fire and triggered a blast in a school building at Jiyan in Ghatsila sub-division last night, police today said.

A group of Maoists last night set on fire the office of the primary school and triggered the blast, senior superintendent of police Akhilesh Kumar Jha said.

Documents, doors and furniture in the office were damaged, Mr. Jha said.

No casualty was reported in the incident, Mr. Jha said.

Gumla, Aug 17 (ANI): Jharkhand police arrested a Maoist activist, wanted in several cases including murders in Gumla on Monday.

Officials said the activist, identified as Damodar Singh, was involved in several cases of murder, besides instigating violence in the area.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also seized during the raid at his residence, said officials.

Besides currency notes, several arms, including a double barrel gun, revolvers and bullets were recovered from him.