VIP security: king’s cavalcade? New Delhi: soon after Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said that women did not feel safe in the Capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi government to explain why large numbers of police personnel were deployed for VIP security instead of being in the service of the common man. The bench was hearing a petition on misuse of red beacon in Uttar Pradesh. Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the petitioner, said incidents like the recent Delhi bus gang rape could have been averted if more policemen were deployed to carry out random... 

February, 2012: when the foundation was laid! Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) has bagged a contract worth Rs 2,854 crore for supply of the Steam Generator Package for three coal-fired thermal units of 660 MW each with supercritical parameters. The order has been placed on Bhel by Nabinagar Power Generation  Company (NPGCL), a joint venture of NTPC and Bihar State Electricity Board, for the upcoming 1,980 MW Nabinagar Supercritical Thermal Power Project (STPP) in Bihar. Significantly, this is the second supercritical thermal power project being executed by Bhel in Bihar, the first being the 2×660... 

Motihari: Reserve Bank of India has alerted all the branches of banks in north Bihar adjoining Indo-Nepal border to take serious precaution in transactions of currencies at their counters as this area has been marked as sensitive for circulation of fake currency notes .The RBI circulated a letter directing the banks to take extra precaution in transaction of Rs 100, 500 and 1000 notes and install machines to check fake notes. Fake note: telltale signs! DGM D K Panda of Muzaffarpur zone of State Bank of India said that two screening machines are being installed in each bank for counting of notes... 

  Sea of humanity: Kumbh Sangam, Allahabad: The biggest show on earth, the most profound spectacle of faith has begun. Maha Kumbh 2013, the largest congregation of people on the planet for a single cause, began at Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad city on Monday. Maha Kumbh 2013, being held after 12 years, will go on for next two months and will conclude on Maha Shivaratri on March 10. This time, the Kumbh is longer by 11 days, and people will congregate at the site for 55 days. Over 10 crore (100 million) believers will converge in the city of Allahabad (Prayag) situated at the holy confluence... 

  Bihar BDOs: stealing homes! Patna: according to a recent report, out of 534 block development officers posted across Bihar, 181 or one-third are currently facing probe — mostly for alleged misuse and misappropriation of fund meant for the Indira Awas Yojana. In fact, 58 BDOs face corruption charges for their dubious role in the implementation of IAY. This was revealed in an RTI query by Buxur resident Shiv Prakash Rai, who had asked for a list of accused BDOs with status of cases against them. The Rural Development Department gave the information on November 6 only after the intervention... 

  Development as loot! Patna: in yet another story of trickle down development, it seems the trickle rarely reaches the bottom, benefitting those targeted by the plan. The trickle meanders along the mid-levels and a large part of it gets absorbed before reaching the ground. By now there is a need to document in precise details exactly how the massive redistribution works out, the mechanisms adopted by the scamsters at every level. Even the greatest optimists are often left exclaiming helplessly ‘something of it must have reached the needy!’ The trouble is you are in no position to call... 

  Maitreya Buddha: 2nd century AD After a nine-year wait for land to set up the Maitreya Buddha project in Kushinagar, a dejected International Maitreya Foundation has decided to move the project to Bodhgaya in Bihar. The project with an estimated cost of $195 million included building a 500-feet tall bronze-plated statue of Buddha as its centrepiece apart from a monastery, library and facilities like an audio-visual theatre, hospitality services, lush green parks and meditation pavilions. A hospital and a school for children from nearby villages were also part of the plan. The spiritual director... 

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... 

  Reaching everywhere! New Delhi: After getting the UPA government to sanction two central universities for Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar has now got the Centre’s clearance for construction of 3,846 km of rural roads and 96 bridges in the state that will cost Rs 2,439 crore. The state government will spend only Rs 54.41 crore, with the Union rural development ministry bearing rest of the cost on construction of rural roads and bridges under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in what appears to be part of Congress’s significant political outreach to a NDA ally. The prompt approval...