As in Mumbai, so in Patna! Patna: Another male bastion is set to be stormed. The streets of Patna, considered till recently to be most vulnerable and quite unsafe for women, will soon have autorickshaws being run by girls/women. A select group of girls, for the first time in Patna’s chequered history, has volunteered to learn driving skills. After a one-month rigorous training, these girls would ferry passengers in autorickshaws. Neha Sharma is studying law, but is keen to learn autorickshaw driving. Clad in a track suit, she reaches the Bihar Veterinary College ground eve­ry Sunday to... 

James Bond: it’s the same through the ages! James Bond is a cultural package of a complex kind but with a charm that simply captivates. The playboy, the patriot, the adventurer, the world-saviour, the suave socialite at home in parties, he is also a misfit, ill at home in his own intelligence service. This complex icon lives on without aging, just as he never had a childhood like us mortals. A festival like ‘Bond with Bond’ will allow you to see the many Bonds indeed. Each great actor who succeeded in settling in Bond’s skin gave him a new dimension, and the character is indeed now... 

  Shumang Leela Patna: people at Rajendra Nagar was spellbound by a Shumang Leela (traditional courtyard theatre) played by Sangai Artistes’ Association of Manipur which was staged during the National Traditional Theatre Festival “Lokabhinya” held at Premchand Rangashala in Patna. The festival based on folk theatre was held on September 24-28 and five states including Manipur, Assam, Sikkim, Odisha and the host state Bihar participated it with different traditional plays of their own states. For Sangai Artistes Association, it was the first time to take part in such a national... 

The dirty stinky Cowsheds in Patna: can urban planning get us rid of them?   Patna: it would appear that the real challenge to urban planning for Bihar towns including Patna is to remove the above 300 cowsheds from the densely populated areas and yet provide the animal owners with an alternative. Otherwise blueprints made in plush offices are easy to draw or even photostat from maps of other cities that may be looked upon as the ideal. According to a report, the municipal corporation has not been able to draw up a plan for the removal of cowsheds from the roadsides of the state capital... 

Patna to have 40 km Ganga driveway: from Digha to Fatuha   Patna/New Delhi: according to the latest reports, the finance ministry and Planning Commission have cleared Patna’s 40 km Ganga driveway project, which will cost 2,400 crore. As part of the first phase, the Ganga driveway will cover a 21 km distance from Digha to Didarganj, and the second phase will take the driveway as far as Fatua, a distance of 18 km from Didarganj. The project was forms an integral part of the vision 2021 document for the state and is expected to get environmental clearances soon. Bihar Road Construction... 

Focus Urban Bihar: Nitish does some plain talking!   Patna: according to reports, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar yesterday made some frank admissions about the quality of urban life in Bihar and the state of the Bihar towns. Not mincing words, he pointed out the two outstanding issues of urbanism in Bihar – that of unplanned and unregulated growth in the towns, specifically Patna. Second, he rued the fact that everyone in Bihar wants to own a house in Patna or has to rush to Patna for the smallest of jobs. Nitish gave the example of Uttar Pradesh which has many urban centres and has not... 

Now women cops in Patna to look ‘nice’ and bait molesters!   Patna: with more and more media focus on cases of eve teasing and molestations in Patna, the police department has decided to nab the roving criminals with the help of women cops. The plan is to use women cops as lures and baits under the protection of their male counterparts. Patna senior superintendent of police Alok Kumar told the press that the constables at the Women’s Helpline, a wing of the city police that dealing with offences towards women, will be a part of the new campaign. It seems that such an attempt was... 

Patna University to award gold medals to undergrad toppers: 1st time in 94 years!   Patna: of late, the only news about higher education in Bihar relates to the issue of appointment of vice chancellors for the universities, Nalanda University included. The only exceptions have been the violent fights among mobs of students over issues of eve teasing or loyalty to the hostel gangs. Thankfully, now a variation from the usual news is available, and it is a good one! According to reports, Patna University authorities have decided to award gold medals to the toppers in the undergraduate course.... 

Underage motorcycle riders in Patna, watch out: police is looking for you! Patna: according to reports, recently the Patna police decided to clamp down on minor bike riders soon after 15-year-old Deepak, a Class X student of DAV, Khagaul, met with a fatal accident. Perhaps also impelled by the recent case of mobike accident in Hyderabad where the cricketer Azaruddin lost his young son, the Patna traffic police decided to do something drastic about underage driving in the city. According to reports, the police began their drive from the school parking lots where they found a very large... 

Planning Commission gives go ahead for Patna Metro   Patna: there is some good news for the commuters in Patna. According to the latest reports, The Planning Commission has given a go-ahead for the construction of the Metro rail in Patna. Bihar Urban Development Minister Prem Kumar told the press ‘With the Planning Commission having agreed to it, the Metro rail will come to Patna.’ The Metro rail will be introduced on two routes under the public-private partnership mode. Another officiual source stated that ‘A breakthrough for Metro rail in Patna was finally made in a marathon...