Dhanbad: More than 200 street vendors of Dhanbad on Tuesday staged a massive demonstration at Dhanbad Municipal Corporation office against eviction drives being carried by the civic body on the pretext of road broadening.

The protesters who gathered at the DMC office under the banner of Path Vikreta Samanvaya Samiti alleged that they are worst affected ever since the implementation of the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) project in 2015 as per which the urban local bodies have been given the responsibility to execute the plan.

Talking to the media at the demonstration site, Shyamal Majumdar, convener of Path Vikreta Samanvaya Samiti, said, "Despite the provision of carrying out proper rehabilitation before any eviction under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NULM), arbitrary eviction is conducted in various place including police line area."

He added that only one vending zone out of proposed twelve to rehabilitate around 4000 vendors has been constructed and the size of the shops allotted at the only zone at Baniahir in Jharia is too small to serve the requirement of the street vendors.

Praduman Choubey

Bokaro: Traders upset over non-submission of electricity bills

The electric power sub-station at Chas in Bokaro Gautam Dey

Dhanbad: The traders of Bokaro are upset over the technical glitch affecting the electricity bill payment to Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited for a couple of months. A letter directed to executive engineer of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited at Chas was submitted on Monday by the Bokaro Chamber of Commerce and Industry during which traders raised the problems caused due to non submission of electricity bill through online mode.

Talking to media, Sanjay Baid, President of Bokaro Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “The traders are also getting deprived of the incentives being provided for online payment as they are being compelled due to offline payment. At a time when the Prime Minister is requesting common people to make maximum use of digital payment, common residents of Chas and Bokaro are deprived of such an opportunity."

Former president of Bokaro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Manoj Chaudhary added, “Besides causing operational and practical difficulties, nonpayment of bill through online mode is also causing mental agony to customers."

Praduman Choubey

XLRI appoints media professional as chairman of Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership

Alka Raza

Jamshedpur: XLRI on Tuesday announced appointment of Alka Raza, an accomplished journalist and an author as chairperson of its path breaking Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership(CGEIL). In its endeavour to empower women of the country, the B-school has set up the Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership. The centre was formed to make a meaningful impact on the inclusion of women in economically gainful activities.

The trigger for the Centre’s genesis is India’s alarmingly escalating gender gap; India ranks 140 out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) 2021 by the World Economic Forum. It was ranked 98th in GGI 2006. According to the Survival Gender Inequality Index (GII) which was introduced in 2010 by UN Human Development Report, India ranks 155 out of 156 countries in the domain of Health and Survival.

Creation of CGEIL was the initiative of XLRI Alumni, who were passionate about enhancing women’s participation in workforce and leadership. While welcoming the new Chairperson, Fr. Paul Fernandes, director of XLRI said, “It is an honour and privilege to welcome Alka Raza, an accomplished media professional to the XLRI family. We are delighted to have Alka become a part of the Centre with her over 35 years of experience, which has spanned across continents all over the globe. She brings vast experiences to the institution from covering major sociopolitical and economic crises around the world. Her significant contributions addressing human development and women’s issues are bound to add value to our teachings. We look forward to learning more from her extensive work which has previously reverberated in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South-East Asia among other places.”

Pinaki Mazumdar