Patna Diary: Post-poll tensions grip Patna University, Public building bags a top award and more

Getting ready for heat and humidity

After enduring spells of biting chill and foggy mornings for weeks together this winter, Patnaites are bracing for the summer, which is round the corner. If the minimum temperature in the city had fallen to as low as 4.5 degrees C last month, it is already hovering over the 30 degrees C mark these days. Winter has officially departed, and meteorological experts say the maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to be around 32 and 15 degrees C respectively over the next few days. Fluctuations in temperature have spurred a rise in young children catching infections and visiting doctors. With memories of the sweltering summers of recent years fresh, most Patnaites now plan to upgrade their existing home-cooling devices or to buy new ones.

New high for a busy railway station

The Bihar capital’s main railway station – Patna Junction – is one of the busiest in the country. With close to one lakh footfalls every day, the ten platforms of the station often witness chaos during arrival and departure of trains. In a step that will ease the hardships of passengers carrying heavy luggage and senior citizens, the station is set to get two escalators. Installation work has already started and the two escalators, part of a Rs 2.30-crore project, are going to be ready for use by the end of March, said railway. There is also a plan to install a lift at Patna Junction. As part of its efforts to raise passenger amenities, East Central Railway (ECR) is installing escalators at eight major stations in the state.

Post-poll tensions grip Patna University

The Patna University Students’ Union (PUSU) elections, held after a gap of five years, remained largely incident-free, offering solace to officials of the district administration and the 100-year-old varsity. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of BJP, bagged three of the top five posts, except the president's post, which was won by an ABVP rebel and independent candidate, Divyanshu Bhardwaj. Several students’ organisations alleged irregularities in the election process and began demonstrations. Gautam Anand of Jan Adhikar Chhatra Parishad (JACP), the students’ wing of Pappu Yadav-led Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), alleged that Bhardwaj had taken admission for his postgraduate course by submitting fake degrees. Anand was Bhardwaj’s nearest rival in the polls. The varsity authorities have ordered a probe, but the protests are on.

Public building bags a top award

The gleaming Samrat Ashoka Convention Kendra, a world-class building in Patna where large public meetings are hosted, has won the 10th CIDC Vishwakarma Achievement Award for being the best construction project in India. This multi-purpose building, a brainchild of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has taken the organisation of big events to whole new heights since its opening last year. Built at a cost of Rs 500 crore by the Bihar government’s building construction department, it has a seating capacity of 5,800 people in two auditoriums. The sixth conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s India Region was held in this building earlier this month. The award, instituted by Construction Industry Development Council in collaboration with the NITI Aayog and the construction industry, will be presented on March 7.