A massive fire broke out in a plastic factory near NH-30 in Karamlichak, Patna City on Saturday morning. Short circuit is believed to be the initial cause of the fire. The fire spread rapidly due to plastic material, causing loss worth lakhs. Several fire tenders reached the spot and tried to control the fire. There is no news of any casualties, but a large part of the factory was burnt to ashes.
A case of murder of Rakesh Sharma 21 has come to light in Amarpur, Banka. Police have arrested one accused from Khagaria. Rakesh's three friends together strangled him to death and threw the body in Bahiyar. It is being told that Rakesh had taken a pistol and 30 thousand rupees from one of his friends, which he was not returning. Police are searching for other accused.
There will be no significant change in the weather in Bihar for the next 3-4 days. There is a yellow alert of dense fog in East and West Champaran and Gopalganj, while there will be light fog in the southern parts including Patna. Despite sunshine, rain will remain due to westerly winds. Bhagalpur Sabour recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature of Patna was 10.3 degrees Celsius.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be in East Champaran on the second day of his Samriddhi Yatra. He will start the journey from Virat Ramayana Temple at Kaithwaliya in Kalyanpur, where he will participate in the installation of Sahastralingam. In Motihari, CM will address a public meeting at Gandhi Maidan, inaugurate schemes worth Rs 138 crore and lay the foundation stone of Rs 34 crore. He will also inspect Dhanoti River Bridge and Women ITI.
The patients of Sabour CHC will soon get rid of the dilapidated hospital building of the British era. RAD Dr. Ajay Kumar has taken cognizance of this matter, due to which the possibility of construction of a new and modern building has increased. The roof of the old building was in danger of leaking and collapsing, causing problems to the patients. Dr. Kumar has summoned the officer of construction agency BMICL and given instructions to take immediate action.
The four lane road from Navgachia to Chaudharydih will be raised by 10-14 meters. The project, which will commence in June, will cost a total of Rs 306 crore and is targeted to be completed in 18 months. This also includes a flyover at Zero Mile and ROB at Gopalpur. This road will connect to the four-lane bridge parallel to Vikramshila Setu and connect NH 131B to Munger-Mirzachowki four-lane.
General Manager of East Central Railway, Chhatrasal Singh inspected the window trailing of Patna-Natesar railway section. He gave instructions to improve track maintenance. Inaugurated a 250 kilowatt solar power plant and AMDBS maintenance unit at the coach repair factory located in Harnaut. The General Manager also took stock of the ongoing redevelopment works under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme at Rajgir station, emphasizing on quality and time-frame.
Panchayati Raj Minister Deepak Prakash reviewed the preparations for Panchayat elections in the State Election Commission. He laid special emphasis on technological innovations, including face recognition system, OCR vote counting and multi-post EVMs. The minister talked about making the election process more transparent and technology-enabled. The draft of ward delimitation of Khagaul Municipal Council has also been released, on which objections can be lodged till February 3.
Police Sub Inspector examination will be held in Banka on 18 and 21 January 2026. DM Navdeep Shukla and SP Upendra Nath Verma held a joint briefing to ensure peaceful and malpractice-free examinations. Magistrates and police forces will be deployed for this examination to be held in two shifts at 10 centers in the district. There will be a ban on electronic devices and intensive checking will be done.
The Makar Sankranti banquet organized by Nitin Naveen in Patna became a symbol of NDA's unity. Leaders of all major parties of the alliance including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar participated in it. This event was not just a social gathering but also a medium for strong coordination and political message of NDA in Bihar. The leaders enjoyed Dahi-Chuda feast and BJP workers were exhorted to take the public welfare schemes to the last person.
There will be a detailed investigation in the disproportionate assets case against suspended Regional Education Deputy Director Virendra Narayan. After the raid by the Special Surveillance Unit, he is accused of misuse of position and earning money through corrupt means. Rejecting their reply, the Education Department has ordered to complete the investigation within three months. This investigation will be done by Additional Secretary Vijay Kumar and District Education Officer Muzaffarpur.
Marriage registration in Patna is done for just Rs 100, which is very important for legal protection and rights. Although, more than 20 thousand marriages take place in the district every year, but only 2500 are registered. People often register only when required, which leads to double fees and complications later on. It strengthens women's rights and social security.
Bhagalpur administration has decided to organize special camps in the panchayats of Sabour block from 17 to 21 January to speed up the farmer registration, FR and e-KYC of the farmers. BDO Prabhat Ranjan said that e-KYC is mandatory for all other farmers associated with Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi. This campaign will be run on a war footing to ensure the benefits of the scheme to the eligible farmers. Farmers have been appealed to reach the camp with necessary documents.
JDU is preparing to extend its membership campaign by 15 days, which ended on January 14. Due to less activity due to cold wave, extension is being demanded till January 31. A decision on this will be taken soon. Detailed organizational elections will be possible only after Holi, as the Legislative session is starting from February 2. The party is hoping to get closer to the target of 1 crore members.
A 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping in front of a train near Sarobagh Railway Gumti in Dharhara police station area. He died on the spot after being hit by the Jamalpur-Kiul passenger train. After the incident, the villagers took the body with them, due to which the Railway Police is facing problems in the investigation. The police are now investigating the identity of the deceased and the reasons behind the suicide, and are also searching for those who took the body.
Makhana will now be cultivated on more than 7000 acres of land affected by water logging in Bhojpur district. This initiative is being taken by the Agriculture Department and Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Cultivation of superfood Makhana of Mithilanchal will provide relief to farmers from crop loss. Sabour Agricultural University has developed a special variety, whose nursery is being prepared in Purnia. Planting will start in February-March.
Farmers protested in Raxaul, East Champaran over inequality in compensation for land acquired for the proposed airport project. Demanding one land, one price, he said that there is a huge difference in the compensation rates for the same agricultural land in different mouzas. The farmers, led by social worker Umesh Prasad Chaurasia, warned that if their demands were not met, they would intensify their agitation and would not raise the amount until they received equal compensation.
To ease the traffic on Sakdi-Nasriganj Highway in Bhojpur, under the Chief Minister Sulabh Sampark Path Yojana, a road is being built on 18.57 km canal dam from Sandesh to Koilwar. To get rid of the jam, SP Raj has proposed to allow only small vehicles on this new road and install barriers on heavy vehicles. This will improve traffic in the area.
Katihar district will get the gift of many new trains from January 17, which also includes Amrit Bharat Express. MP Tariq Anwar will flag off these trains from Barsoi Junction. Stoppage of some trains has also been approved in Katihar. Along with this, New Jalpaiguri is being developed as a modern rail gateway and Santragachi as a multi-modal hub, which will provide better facilities to the passengers.
North Eastern Railway has started halting of two express trains, Gondia-Barauni and Chhapra-Farrukhabad Utsarg Express, at Phephna station. This facility will be effective from January 16, 2026, which will be inaugurated by AYUSH Minister Dayashankar Mishra 'Dayalu'. With this, passengers in and around Phephna will get the benefit of direct travel to major cities like Chhapra, Barauni, Lucknow and Gondia, thereby saving time and resources.