Bihar

• 08 May 2023

The train will run soon from Bathnaha to NCY between India & Nepal

Why in News?

On 7 May 2023, Railway Board's Executive Director Traffic Transport Pradeep Kumar Ojha told that operations will be started soon on the rail line constructed from Bathnaha to Jogbani Nepal Custom Yard between India-Nepal, under the Jogbani-Viratnagar cross-border rail link of Bihar's Araria district.

Key Points:

• It is worth mentioning that the meeting of the Eighth Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the Sixth Joint Working Group of the Ministry of External Affairs was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in which it was decided to start the cargo train between Bathnaha and Nepal Custom Yard from May 2023.
• Under Jogbani-Biratnagar Cross Border Rail Link Project, an important rail project connecting India and Nepal, the work of construction of the rail line from Bathnaha to Biratnagar was done by IRCON Company.
• The work from Bathnaha to Nepal Custom Yard has been completed by IRCON, which is engaged in the construction of the rail line.

Patna's Ganga Maha Aarti is listed in the world record

Why in News?

According to information received from the media on 7 May 2023, the 11-day Gangotsav program organized by IDPTS at the Collectorate Ghat in Patna concluded with a wonderful performance of Ganga Maha Aarti. This program was a world record.

Key Points:

• The music composition and direction of this historical Ganga Aarti were done by Kathak Guru Bakshi Vikas of Lal Murar village of Buxar.
• It is known that the program started on 27 April 2023 at Collectorate Ganga Ghat. In this, 501 women performed Ganga Maha Aarti through dance.
• The music of this Aarti was composed in Awadhi, Hindi, Sanskrit and Russian languages. At the same time, the divine darshan of the mythological, spiritual and geographical aspects of the seven rivers of India was easily conveyed to the audience through Aarti.
• In Gangotsav, Kathak dancer co-guru Adityaa Srivastava along with her group expressed the anguish of Ganga by presenting a Kathak-style drama Ganga Ek Sankalp. In this play, Kathak dancer Amit Kumar enlivened the scene of holding Ganga in her hair with Shiva Tandav with his expressions.
• Kathak dancer Raja Kumar performed well enacting the fictional character 'Kalima'. The play ends with Bhagirath's message of hope to Ganga.
• Sapta Tarangini dance composition based on the spiritual, geographical and mythological stories of the rivers was presented on the occasion. In this presentation, Ravi Shankar, Shalini Maharaj, Khushi Gupta, Harshita Vikram, Sanjana, Sneha, Muskaan, Saloni, Roopa, Vandita and Tanu depicted the flow of rivers with expressions.
• On this occasion, Sanjeev Kapoor, Tejpal Singh Dhillon, Sarvesh Rai, Saroj Mishra, Amresh Pandey and Anjani Kumar honoured eminent personalities of art, medical education and other fields by giving mementoes and clothes.