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News18
18-07-2025
- Climate
- News18
Bihar: 34 killed, 6 injured in lightning strikes in past 48 hours
Patna, Jul 18 (PTI) At least 34 people died and six others were injured in incidents of lightning strikes in Bihar during the past 48 hours, the state's disaster management department said on Friday. The highest number of six fatalities each was reported in Nalanda and Vaishali, followed by Sheikhpura (five), Patna and Aurangabad (three each), Nawada and Banka (two each). Besides, Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Gayaji, Samastipur and Jamui districts accounted for six deaths. Over 90 people were killed in lightning strikes and thunderstorms in different districts of Bihar in April, which also caused massive damage to crops and houses. According to the latest Bihar Economic Survey tabled in the assembly during the budget session in February, 'The state witnessed 275 lightning/thunderstorm related deaths in 2023. Among the districts, the highest number of deaths due to thunderstorms/lightning were reported from Rohtas (25), Gaya (21), Aurangabad (19), Jamui (17), and Madhepura and Bhagalpur reported 16 each." PTI PKD RBT Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
From voting queues to job quotas, are Bihar's women really empowered?
As elections approach in Bihar, the state government is turning its focus towards women, a vote bank that has increasingly become very important in the last few years. Yesterday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a 35 per cent reservation for women in government importance in electionsOver the past decade, female voter turnout has consistently exceeded male turnout in Bihar. In the 2020 Assembly elections, turnout among women stood at 59.7 per cent, compared with 54.6 per cent among men, marking the third consecutive poll where women led the in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, around 59.9 per cent of the female electorate participated, compared to about 55.3 per cent for men. More recently, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, women again outvoted men, 59.45 per cent against 53 per Sex Ratio At the demographic level, Bihar has shown gradual improvement. According to a March NITI Aayog report titled Macro and Fiscal Landscape of the State of Bihar, the sex ratio at birth in Bihar was 933 females per 1,000 males as per the 2011 Census, notably higher than the national average of workforceWhile reservations for women is a good move, the question is: how are women actually performing in Bihar's workforce?The female labour force participation rate in Bihar has increased significantly in recent years. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the rate among women aged 15 and above was just 4.1 per cent in 2017–18, one of the lowest in India. By 2022–23, it had jumped to 22.4 per cent, and in the latest 2023–24 round, it stood at 30.5 per cent, a seven-fold rise in six the story doesn't end here. The type of work women do has also changed. In 2017–18, Bihar's female workers were split fairly evenly between self-employment, salaried jobs, and casual labour. But by 2023–24, over 83 per cent of women were self-employed, while only 4.8 per cent had regular wage jobs, and 11.7 per cent were casual workers. However, women in Bihar continue to face a big pay gap compared to gapDespite increasing participation in the workforce, women in Bihar continue to earn significantly less than men. According to the Bihar Economic Survey 2023–24, self-employed rural women earn just Rs 4,434 per month on average, while men in the same category earn over Rs 10,000. The gap is even wider in urban self-employment, where women earn Rs 8,342, compared to Rs 18,583 earned by men, a difference of more than Rs 10, the disparity is smaller in regular salaried jobs in urban areas, with women earning Rs 22,394 compared to men's Rs 23,869. But this gap remains more pronounced in rural salaried employment. There, men earn Rs 18,504 per month, while women earn Rs 14,848, resulting in a monthly gap of Rs 3,656.- EndsTune InTrending Reel
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NGT seeks replies over palm tree felling in state
Patna: The principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB), the state's disaster management department, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and others in connection with the widespread felling of palm trees in Bihar, which, it is believed, is contributing to a rise in lightning-related deaths. The NGT's principal bench in New Delhi took suo motu cognisance of a news report titled "Are missing palm trees causing more lightning deaths in Bihar", published in TOI on May 29, 2025. "The news item relates to the large-scale felling of toddy-yielding palm trees, which is stated to have contributed to a rise in lightning-related deaths with over 2,000 lives lost since 2016 in Bihar. According to the article, the widespread cutting of palm trees is directly linked to a sharp increase in lightning-related fatalities. It highlights that dozens of towering palm trees are being felled, leading to more frequent lightning strikes that result in deaths. The article notes that after the ban on toddy tapping due to Bihar's prohibition policy, palm trees lost their economic value and have since been widely cut down. This ecological loss appears to have made rural areas more vulnerable to lightning strikes with the state recording over 2,000 lightning-related deaths since 2016," the principal bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, stated in its order on June 5. The bench further observed, "The news item mentions that according to the Bihar Economic Survey and the disaster management department, lightning strikes claimed 2,446 lives between 2016 and April 2025 with rural population being the worst affected. The article states that the number of lightning deaths began to rise following the rampant felling of palm trees. The Annual Lightning Report 2023-2024 states that lightning strikes claimed as many as 2,937 lives in Bihar between 2014 and 2024. " According to the tribunal's order, the most severely affected districts include Aurangabad, Patna, Nalanda, Kaimur, Rohtas, Bhojpur and Buxar. The highest incidence of lightning-related deaths occurs between 12.30pm and 4.30pm, when many people are outdoors for work. The article also mentioned that the south-central region of Bihar is more prone to lightning strikes than other parts of the state. The order added, "In addition, the Bihar Rashtriya Pasi Sena, a platform representing the Pasi community, which has traditionally been involved in toddy tapping, has found that the area under palm tree cultivation in Bihar has decreased by 40%. The article further notes that the planting of palm trees has almost stopped." Citing the seriousness of the issue, the NGT bench noted, "The matter seems to attract the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Hence, we implead the BSPCB, the CPCB, the additional chief secretary of the state's disaster management department and the regional office of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, as respondents in the matter." The bench directed that, "Replies/responses may be filed by the respondents before the eastern zone bench of this tribunal at Kolkata at least one week before the date of next hearing on Aug 7."
