Patna Dec 27 PTI Days after courting a controversy with his remark against Brahmins Hindustani Awam Morcha HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday hosted a feast for members of the community as well as Dalits which however went awry when some of the upper caste attendees claimed that they were manhandled by supporters of his party Earlier this month the former CM earned the wrath of the community when he stated that Brahmins visited houses of Mahadalits but didnt eat food there and instead ask for money In a statement issued on Thursday HAM announced that it would hold a feast -- Brahmin-Dalit Ekta Bhoj -- at Manjhis residence It however insisted that only those Brahmins who have never consumed meat or liquor made no attempt of theft or dacoity should be attending the banquet People were served Chura flattened rice curd tilkut sweet made of sesame seeds and vegetable preparations for the feast A ruckus however erupted when one of the Brahmin attendees alleged that he was manhandled by supporters of HAM Many others too levelled similar allegations Talking to reporters outside the former CMs residence Yash Raj one of the Brahmin leaders said We did not like the way food was served to us When we raised objections we were manhandled by Manjhis supporters If they have no respect for us why invite us We boycotted the bhoj and left the place The HAM chief was among those serving food to the attendees Manjhi put conditions before our people Who is he to ask us what we eat and what we dont Manjhi is not an authority All those Brahmins who raised this matter at the programme were manhandled by HAM supporters Yash Raj claimed Despite attempts Manjhi and HAM leaders could not be reached for comment PTI PKD RMS RMS

Patna Dec 27 PTI Police on Monday batoncharged used water cannons and waved pistols in the air to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside the Bihar BJP headquarters here in support of their demandsThe agitators comprised a large number of women many of them carrying babies in laps and demanding regularisation of their jobs as panchayat ward secretariesWe have been driven against the wall Many of us have offered our services despite not getting stipends on time The state government has added insult to injury with fresh vacancies It is a clear signal that we are going to be eased out they saidThe agitators had launched a dharna at Gardani Bagh nearly a fortnight ago Opposition leaders have in the mean time visited the site and expressed solidarity with their causeBuoyed by the support they on Monday gathered in front of the BJPs Birchand Patel Marg office demanding an assurance from Samrat Chaudhary the Panchayati Raj Minister who belongs to the partyIt was not known whether the minister was inside while the protesters were staging the demonstrationTempers flared up when policemen came and asked them to leave underscoring that no public gathering was allowed on the streetSome of the protesters said they will proceed for the assembly premises situated half a kilometer awayA scuffle ensued between the protesters and police personnel and the latter took recourse to lathicharge and water cannonsSome members of the police contingent were seen running after the crowd with their pistols whipped out of the holsterHowever no gunshots were fired police officers maintainedNormalcy was restored by the afternoon No FIR was lodged so far against those involved in the illegal demonstration PTI NAC RBT RBT

Patna Dec 27 PTI Several old buildings of the historic Patna Medical College and Hospital have been demolished as part of a mega revamp project even as its alumni have lamented the move and issued a fervent appeal for sparing at least the core heritage structures of the famed institution which tell the story of its inception The first phase of dismantling began a couple of months ago to make way for modern high-rise structures in the campus of the PMCH which was established in 1925 as the Prince of Wales Medical College to commemorate the visit of the then Prince of Wales to Patna in December 1921 The college was in turn born out of the Temple Medical School set up in 1874 in Bankipore and was conceived in 1921 to mark the visit of the royal guest to Patna Old medical superintendents bungalow prison ward nurses hostel and a few other structures in the sprawling campus located on the banks of the river Ganga have been demolished and Cottage building and nurses school will also soon be dismantled under phase one of the redevelopment project officials said Members of the PMCH alumni from Patna to London have lamented the move to demolish old historic structures saying the current and future generations will be robbed off an extraordinary piece of architectural and institutional heritage of Bihar and India at large Many eminent doctors spread across the world are part of the alumni PMCH Alumni Association president Satyajeet Kumar Singh said Its saddening that demolition is taking place in the PMCH campus and many old buildings already lost But we appeal to the Bihar government authorities to at least spare the historic old Bankipore General Hospital building and Administrative Block to let future generations see the legacy of the institution in a tangible form Patna-based Singh who finished his MBBS and masters degree from PMCH in the late 1970s and worked for several years in the UK and other countries before returning to Bihar said it was painful to even imagine the fall of axe on the heritage buildings of our alma mater The college will turn hundred in 2025 and what will we show to its future students alumni and to posterity The demolition of its historic buildings will be a colossal loss for everyone Singh said and added that he finished his MBBS in 1974 and his degree has the old name Prince of Wales Medical College embossed on it Other alumni members also rued that it was a tragedy that in the centenary year of the conception of the college instead of celebration its old structures were undergoing demolition The old Bankipore General Hospital predates PMCH and its imposing double-storied main building is connected to a handsome structure which houses the old operation theatre OT and the PMCH Superintendents office Adjacent to this structure is the Administrative Block located immediately on the banks of Ganga which also carries on its wall the historic plaque of the inauguration of the Prince of Wales Medical College The old general hospital building popularly known as Hathwa Ward which it houses also has a British-era lift system The OT building has beautiful and huge Doric columns in its facade which present a striking view and its image had adorned the stamp released by the postal department on PMCHs platinum jubilee in 2000 PMCH Principal Vidyapati Choudhary said PMCH is a historic institution and its old buildings too carry generations of history Mahatma Gandhi had even visited the campus on May 15 1947 for an appendicitis surgery of his grand-niece Manu Gandhi he said As part of the revamp plan a 5462-bed hospital complex will come up at the site at a cost of Rs 5540 crore and the project is expected to be completed in seven years Demolition of old buildings have been planned in three phases Patna-born doctor Navin Kumar who moved to London in 1982 to further his medical career said We the old boys of the historic PMCH are in tears after hearing of the demolition news Our alma mater is being torn down piece by piece UK-based Kumar aged nearly 70 had completed his MBBS from PMCH in 1979 and recalled that his father also went to the same medical college and his grandfather even studied for some time at the Temple Medical School before completing his higher education from Campbell Medical College Calcutta in 1923 So I am a third-generation of doctor in my family All those years and years of memories of generations of people will be lost if those historic buildings disappear For a government it may be just a piece of civil structure but these heritage buildings are repositories of stories and tell the tale of foundation of Bihars first medical college and several achievements in the field he said So many beautiful heritage buildings of Patna have been razed in the last 10 years in the name of development he rued and alleged that when politicians become town-planners heritage is bound to be destroyed Singh Kumar and several other alumni members had issued an appeal in December 2018 as well to save the beautiful heritage buildings of the PMCH for posterity when the redeveloped project was first announced Kumar who lives with his family in London said I now live in the UK I see how zealously people here guard their heritage hospitals or other buildings with active role of heritage societies While in my hometown built heritage is perhaps the most vulnerable entity right now PTI KND SMN SMN