Bihar Government Web Site Does a Disappearing Act

by Aninda Bose

March 12, 2006

Have you recently tried to access the official Bihar government's web site? Here is the web address: http://bihar.nic.in/. Go ahead and try it. Oh yeah, and good luck!!!

So how did you like its design and information provided on it? You know the white page that slaps you with a message "The page cannot be displayed?" One thing though you got to give credit to the web designers for making it lightening fast.

I decided to write down my views on prominent Bihar government web sites after doing an 'unscientific' research on the sites listed on PatnaDaily.Com at this page: http://www.patnadaily.com/links.html.

1 Government of Bihar Official Web site
2. Government of India, Bihar directory
3. Bihar State Tourism Development Corp.
4. Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
5. Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB)
6. Bihar Intermediate Education Council
7. Bihar Telecom (BSNL)
8. Government Telephone Numbers (Bihar)

Let's start from the very first one - Government of Bihar Official Web site. This was very easy to critique because the web site has pulled a disappearing act like Jai Prakash Narain Yadav did after pulling a stunt in Jamui during the last Assembly election.

I can't help but feel pity at these people who are responsible for updating and maintaining government web sites. Who are these people? I know, I know… they are our cutting-edge programmers at National Informatics Center (http://home.nic.in). Do they have a clue about how to make a web site or are they all going to use the same PHP template that 8 out of 10 Indian web sites use. You know which one I am talking about. Oh yes, the same one that tells you how many users are currently logged in (usually 1 guest logged in – you, that is) and the one that has a scrolling marquee on the top that just won't quit until you have developed a severe headache. And the one that tells you that you are the 1015th visitor since April 2002. Popular web site, isn't it?

Also, I can't figure out from where do they get the inspirations for colors for their web sites. Didn't their mother teach them that a dark orange shirt doesn't go well with a purple pant?

Sorry, I digress.

Coming back to Bihar government's official (note the word official) web site: it's dead. But that doesn't discourage our Chief Minister to continue to talk about how he would help usher Information Technology in Bihar. Or could it be that having some limited ability to hold video-conferencing from his official residence qualifies as IT revolution?

Now let's move on to the second web site: Government of India, Bihar directory (http://goidirectory.nic.in/bihar.htm). At least, it's up and running even though there is not much to talk about its design. Black background, orange border, bright green (sugga-rang) disclaimer button. And what's with the table that scrolls in the middle of the screen? Was it really necessary? Never mind, I am just nitpicking.

Before we move on to the third Bihar government web site in the above list, let's talk briefly about the National Informatics Center (http://home.nic.in/) that is purportedly responsible for the monstrosity that they call web sites. Try clicking any link on the left site. You are immediately scolded for visiting this web site and shown the door to other web site. Go ahead, try it; it's fun!

These guys should thank their stars for having government jobs. Had they been in private companies; they would be seen standing in the unemployment line before long!

Our next destination: Bihar State Tourism Development Corp. (http://bstdc.bih.nic.in/)

Uh-oh, here comes the headache inducer. If you have a history of weak heart, mirgi, or are prone to hallucination or nausea, don't go there. If you are really very gung-ho about it, keep a bottle of aspirin and a tall glass of water nearby. Trust us, you will need it. Also, while you are there, read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. It reads, "This website should not be constructed as an exhaustive information about tariff, bookings, provisions and availability. In case any doubts users are requested to contact Manager, Travel & Trade, Bihar State Tourism Development corporation Patna".

…should not be constructed? "This web site should not be constructed as an exhaustive information…?" Going by its content I can vouch the designers kept their words. It is NOT constructed as an exhaustive information resource!!

Then there is a word LINK on the main page that doesn't link to anything. Thank God, with that terrible headache, who now wishes to visit other sites?

Next station: Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (http://ceobihar.eci.gov.in/).

Ok, admitted K. J. Rao did an excellent job in holding a free and fair election in Bihar and he is now retired from active service and is contemplating writing a memoir of his experiences but is that any reason for the web site to disappear? It's gone, kaput, history!!! Oh well, there's always another election in the state. Hopefully, it will be back by then.

Our next stop is at Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) web site (http://bsebpatna.com/). I couldn't tell who designed this site or who maintains it but I must credit them for making it very fast and unpretentious. You click on the link and wham! You are there! Unfortunately you can only check your BSEB exam results if you passed in 2005. Though I finished my schooling over 30 years ago, just for the heck of it, I went ahead and put an imaginary Roll Code and Roll Number in the online form. The program was quick to declare in bold red letters that I had flunked the exam! Thank heavens my parents were not looking!

Let's move on to Bihar Intermediate Education Council (BIEC) at http://biec.nic.in/.

Green on green. Great! Framed web site. Fantastic. 'Spreadsheetish' look. Wah, kya baat hai! If this is the quality of National Informatics Centre then all this talk about Indian IT industry taking over the world by storm is nothing but hype created by politicians and media-houses.

I tried to click on the National Informatics Centre logo. It laughed at me as if saying, "What do you expect to find here? Don't forget this is a government undertaking and this is how things work in government sector." Well, excuuuuuse me for butting in!

Next stop: Bihar Telecom (BSNL) (http://www.bihar.bsnl.co.in/). WARNING: Don't visit this site unless you are on one of the fastest Internet connections. I am on a very fast cable connection and I am still waiting for this page to load after a lapse of roughly 7 minutes. Ok, that's it! I am out of here.

BSNL is a telecom company but it seems it has very little or no understanding of bandwidth or how the Internet technology, in general, works or has no regard for those who are still on dial-up or slow DSL connections.

There is a changing banner on the top of the page that itself is about 96 kb. Just out of curiosity I checked the properties of PatnaDaily.Com and the entire front page with all its text and images was less than 75kb. Go figure.

Also features the fast-moving banner in the bottom. Hope you still have that bottle of aspirin handy.

Our final destination is Government Telephone Numbers (Bihar), or SarkariTel's web site {http://www.sarkaritel.com/states/bihar}. Sarkari Tel? The name itself reeks of red tape. Anyway, the page loaded fairly fast. If they just ditch the fading page effect (ugh) while going from one page to another, it would be much better. But no doubt the best (functionality-wise; not look-wise) among the rest of the web sites I mentioned above.

After my virtual journey to various government web sites, I came back to PatnaDaily.Com and I must admit it was a big relief.

One of these days when I get time, I would jot down my take on various news sites of India. But right now I have got to run to the corner drug store to replenish my stock on aspirin. It's all gone!
 

Return to previous Page