Patna: sun god has proved to be the reigning deity of Bihar with the increasing popularity of the Chhath festival. In keeping with the ancient tradition followed in Bihar, it is now time to give some secular and practical attention to the sun in Bihar. The following two reports do just that.   Solar pump site: Bihar Bunty Singh is a large farmer in Bihar’s Gopalganj district. In the absence of reliable supply of electricity, he used to incur Rs 2.42 lakh a year on diesel to fire his diesel generator (DG) set and a 5-HP pump to irrigate his 40 hectares of farm land. Last year, he bought... 

An earthen dam in Jharkhand Gunia (Gumla): when you look at typical development news in the papers or the TV channels, one third of the news may be about the planned projects, another one third about what has been implemented with uncertain results and the rest about what has NOT been done. In sum, the citizen is always waiting for the fatherly-motherly state to come to her rescue and get her out of the mess. Not always though! Once in a while people decide not to wait and take their fate in their own hands. This is of course possible when the solution comes through relatively small development... 

Nalanda potatoes Farmers in Bihar’s Nalanda district are happy that potatoes grown by them through organic farming will be exported to Russia, an official said last Friday. R.K. Sohane, director, Bihar agriculture management and extension training institute (Bameti), said a Delhi-based export firm, Indian Potato Ltd, is keen to purchase one lakh tonnes potatoes from the Nalanda farmers for export to Russia. “It is a big development for the hundreds of farmers growing patato and will encourage farmers engaged in growing other crops and boost the state’s agriculture,” Sohane told the press. Bihar... 

  Akhilesh: ‘let us go all the way’! Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday presented the idea of extending the Noida-Agra Expressway all the way to Lucknow so that the entire state could benefit from the largest access controlled expressway that was thrown open recently. The produce of farmers of the areas from where the proposed Agra-Lucknow Expressway would pass will get an “opportunity to reach larger markets” and the mandis would also expand, according to an official release quoting chief minister. Same would be the case with vegetables... 

 I.                 Questions asked by the parliamentary panel Bt Cotton: failed promises! New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has called for an in-depth probe into the agriculture ministry’s role in the government’s decision to approve the commercial release of Bt Cotton in the country in 2002. According to the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture, the department of agriculture has not discharged its mandated responsibility in a professional manner as far as the introduction of trans genic agricultural crops in India are concerned. “It has to be found... 

  The big catch: Madhubani! Madhubani: For nearly two decades, Shankar Singh, a fish farmer from Daiya Kharwar village in the Jhanjharpur sub-division of Madhubani district, around 175km north of Patna, has created a great example for the fish farmers in the region. He has set up a hatchery of his own over 10 years. Singh’s labour in pisciculture has not gone in vain. Besides being a successful entrepreneur, around 60 people work in his hatchery that has become an inspiration for hundreds of fish farmers in the village. People come to him for expertise and assistance, both in terms of technique... 

Finally, a 4000-MW power project for Bihar: a centre-Bihar give and take!   Give & Take: power! Patna/New Delhi: according to a number of recent reports, Bihar will now manage to get out of its dark tunnel. Soon after granting two central universities to Bihar and a 20 per cent hike in Plan allocation, the Manmohan Singh-led Government has now doled out one more largesse to the JD (U) strongman. This is being seen as a positive fallout of Nitish’s support of Pranab Mukherjee as the presidential candidate. The centre, in a friendly gesture of give and take has decided to supply coal on... 

How conflict over land leads to violence in Kokrajhar, Assam! Kokrajhar violence: all about land! Guwahati: with 40 dead and thousands wounded and displaced, the current conflict around Kokrajhar has been the bloodiest one in recent times. According to an insightful report, the renewed spate of violence between Bodos and immigrant minorities in Kokrajhar district in lower Assam has shown up shortcomings in the formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), analysts said on Wednesday. The BTC was formed under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. While the non-Bodos complain that the... 

When true value of Bihari migrant labour becomes clear: stories from Ludhiana bike industry   Bicycle:  mule with wheels! Ludhiana/Patna: only yesterday, India seemed a basket case of over-population, whether in the cities or in the villages. But these days, if you travel to rural Bihar and ask questions about problems faced by farmers, shortage of labour will be one of them. So the question is why do Bihari labourers migrate at all any more? The answer may be work is a seasonal matter when it comes to agriculture, unlike most industries. So it is possible to have a shortage during month... 

Punjab faces shortage of labour from Bihar: the implications!   Bihari labour in Punjab Chandigarh: migration of labour from Bihar is indeed a many-sided story – you hear complaints about shortage of labour in the Bihar countryside on a regular basis now. But that is mainly during the seasons when intensive labour is required. Similarly, at the other end, tales of Bihari labour staying away from destinations like Punjab and Gujarat also make frequent news. According to the latest reports, farmers in Punjab are facing an acute shortage of labour after Bihar has improved its government policies...