Tension grips Bihar village after clash over idol immersion

October 3rd, 2009 VARANASI - Concerned with the increased levels of pollution in Ganga river after the recent immersion festival, a voluntary organization in Varanasi has asked people not to immerse idols in it, which have chemicals or artificial colours. But save Ganga campaigners say that despite warning several idols with chemical colours were immersed in the National River.

September 30th, 2009 27 die after boats capsize in IndiaPATNA, India — Two boats capsized in flooded rivers in eastern India's Bihar state during a major Hindu festival, killing at least 27 people and leaving around 24 missing, police said Tuesday. At least 20 people swam to shore from one boat that was overcrowded with people returning to their homes after participating in festivities during the Dussehra festival, he said.

September 29th, 2009 PATNA - Immersing idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities in rivers might be an age-old tradition, but the toxic material they are made of pose a grave threat to water bodies, aquatic life and human health, say environmentalists here, urging people to come up with alternative ideas. Hundreds of idols of goddess Durga were immersed in the Ganges river here and other parts of Bihar Monday, marking the end of Durga Puja festivities, and experts warn of various repercussions of harming the river's eco-system.

September 7th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Gopinath Munde was detained at Mumbai airport by state police on Monday before he could go to violence-hit Sangli district to address a meeting there. Officials said he was detained as his address could aggravate the tense situation in the district.

September 7th, 2009 SANGLI - Tension prevails in the Sangli District of Maharashtra following a clash between two communities. The curfew, which is in force since Friday, has crippled normal life.

September 3rd, 2009 MUMBAI - Mumbai broke out into a riot of colours, with dances on the street, loud music and revelry as lakhs of people turned up to bid farewell to their beloved elephant-headed god Ganesh here Thursday. The immersion of the Ganesh idols after the 10-day annual festival has started on a peaceful note and there were no reports of any untoward incidents, Mumbai Police said.

July 31st, 2009 JHAJJAR - Tension is prevaling in Jhajjar district of Haryana as the family of a groom who married a girl of the same clan has refused to quit the village as ordered by the village council. The Gehlot family was asked to leave Dharana village after Ravinder Singh Gehlot, 24, married 20-year-old Shilpa Kadyan of Siwah village near Panipat, against the wishes of the village elders.

June 16th, 2009 SAHARSA - A village in Bihar, ravaged by the 2008 devastating floods, has been restored with the help of Haryana. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda, accompanied by his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, inaugurated the Sahpurmusahari village in Saharsa district on Monday.

March 13th, 2009 PATNA - Armed forces marched through Bihar's Sasaram town Friday following a communal clash that injured more than 13 people. Nine shops were also looted in the clash between two communities Thursday night, police in Sasaram, 200 km from the state capital Patna, said.

March 13th, 2009 PATNA - Bihar's Sasaram town was tense Friday with the armed forces marching through troubled areas following a communal clash that injured more than 13 people and resulted in the arrest of an activist of the radical Hindu Bajrang Dal group. Nine shops were looted in the clash between two communities Thursday night, police in Sasaram, 200 km from the state capital Patna, said.

February 27th, 2009 NOIDA - Five people allegedly involved in the smuggling of idols were arrested and an antique idol worth Rs.50 million in the international market was recovered from their possession, the police said Thursday. 'Vinay Malik, Ramesh Prasad Sinha, Ashok Kumar Singh, Pawan Jindal and Naresh Sharma were arrested Wednesday night in raids across Noida and an idol weighing about 2.50 kg and estimated to be worth Rs.50 million in the international market was recovered from their possession,' Senior Superintendent of Police Navin Arora told IANS.

February 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - At least five people were killed in a clash in a West Bengal village Saturday, a police official said. While some reports said it was a clash between supporters of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and rival Trinamool Congress, others said one or two 'criminal gangs' were involved.

February 3rd, 2009 PATNA - Nearly half a dozen policemen, including a superintendent of police, were injured in a clash between two communities over idol immersion in Bihar's Gopalganj district. A police sub-inspector died of heart attack immediately after the scuffle, police sources said Wednesday.

January 8th, 2009 PATNA - A Dalit leprosy-striken man was cast out of the village in Bihar. Driven out of the village along with his two very young daughters, the man had to struggle for survival under the open sky in this chilling winter.

January 8th, 2009 PATNA - A leprosy-stricken Dalit man has been driven out of a village in Bihar with his two minor daughters by villagers who feared they too would get affected. Femu Sada, a beggar in his late 30s, has taken shelter in a school after being humiliated in village Chatia Mushari in Purnia district, said Madan Singh, a social activist.