Equations that govern board appointments For a long time,Chief Minister Arjun Munda had kept on hold the appointment of chairpersons for various government-owned boards and corporations. This was because his ally Shibu Soren,president of the JMM,had delayed his selections. Now the buzz is that the 26 posts are finally being filled,with circumstances having forced the hand of both leaders. Soren is said to have offered posts to some half a dozen of his MLAs who,in the hope of getting a post with a beacon-fitted car,have been grumbling about the government and ministers of ignoring their respective constituencies. Soren cannot afford them quitting the party and toppling a government in which his son Hemant is deputy CM. Munda,on his part,has no option but to accept Sorens proposal,given that his government has a strength of only 45 in a House of 81. Urn with Don Bosco relics reaches state An 820-kilo urn,containing the relics of Don Bosco,have done the Jharkhand leg of a worldwide tour ahead of the Catholic priests 200th birth anniversary on August 16. Travelling since 2009,the relics are slated to cover 131 countries where Don Bosco institutions exist. They were kept for a few hours at the Don Bosco School in Ranchi. Thousands turned up as the huge urn slid out of the back of a white,custom-built van that had travelled through Italy and other European countries,Latin America and the US,and various Asian countries. Rector James Kullu said,When St Bosco was alive,many had told him his work would travel far and wide. Their prophecy has come true. Iron ore mafia at work in Bokaro too The seizure of gas cutters,tools meant to cut iron plates,along with 400 tonnes iron ore in Bokaro,has brought the spotlight on a mafia don yet to be booked by the police. Ilyas Choudhary,a West Bengal-based smuggler,and 19 associates are suspected to be behind the network. Bokaro is where the Steel Authority Of Indias steel plant is located. Although it has not been established where these implements and the iron ore came from,the police found them stocked in trenches dug by the gang of Choudhary,who allegedly masterminded the operation from Bengal through his associates in Bokaro. We are trying to locate him and identify his associates, said Bokaro SP Kuldip Dwivedi. For the poor,cheap meals,salt and now dhotis In a state with a huge list of BPL families,the Food and Civil Supply Department has been announcing programme after programme for the poor. The first was a decision to provide meals at Rs 5 dal-bhat-sabji to the poorest of the poor at 100 centres from August 15. With the implementation of that plan still being worked out,the department has unveiled two new ones. One proposes to provide saris and dhotis at subsidised rates; the second proposes to make available iodised salt at 50 paise per kg to each such family every month. The department is keen to implement them with the help of panchayat representatives.
