Air Quality Index (AQI) dangerously high in Patna.

Patna: With pollution level in Patna soaring like never before and Air Quality Index at a dangerous level of over 400, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday summoned a high-level meeting of top bureaucrats to strategize on ways to provide relief from the toxic environment that is reducing the lifespan of the residents by many years.

Biharis in Florida, USA, celebrating Chhath.

Pinellas Park, FL: Tampa Bay residents of Bihar and other Indian heritage celebrated Chhath this year with full zeal and enthusiasm.

Women buying coconuts a day before the commencement of Chhath festival.

Patna: Devotees observing Chhath, Bihar's 'toughest' religious festival thanks to its rigorous requirements, hit the markets on Wednesday to do their last minute shopping that included clay pots, earthenware ovens, mango tree woods, 'soops', and above all, fruits including bananas and coconuts – items most associated with the annual four-day event that keeps the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the law-enforcement officials on their toes until the event is over.

University of Chicago professor Dr. Michael Greenstone being honored by BJP state chief Sanjay Jaiswal in Patna on Wednesday.

Patna: Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, was in Patna on Wednesday where he met with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal to share his ideas on a number of economic and environmental issues.

Cleaning-up of Ganga ghats in Patna ahead of Chhath festival.

Patna: District Magistrate Kumar Ravi and other top officials in Patna on Monday held a meeting of concerned officials to review preparation for Chhath, one of the biggest religious Hindu festival in Bihar, that begins with 'Nahai-Khai' on October 31 and ends with the 'arghya' to the rising sun on November 3.

Vendor selling soops and daura in Patna on Monday.

Patna: With the festival of Diwali already in the rearview mirror, Patna’ites are now gearing up for Bihar’s most revered festival Chhath that begins on October 31 with Nahai-Khai.

Firefighters battling flames at a drug store in Patna on Monday morning.ouse flame

Patna: A day after Diwali, two drug stores near Laxmi Market on Govind Mitra Road on Monday morning sustained serious damages after a fire broke out at around 4:00 am, police in Patna said.

Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi and others looking at clay models of his dream project in Patna on Saturday.

Patna: Apparently having bounced back from the severe backlash caused by epic water-logging in Patna just a few weeks ago and the embarrassment caused by his party’s drubbing in the just-concluded Assembly by-polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday laid the foundation stones of 32,781 new projects in Bihar with a price tag of over Rs. 1,359.27 crore.

CM Nitish Kumar reviewing Chhath preparation from a boat in Patna on Thursday.

Patna: Like his annual aerial pilgrimage of flooded districts in Bihar each monsoon season, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday conducted his annual survey of Patna ghats to review preparation for the upcoming 4-day Chhath festival that begins on October 31.

BJP leader Giriraj Singh (file photo).

Patna: Known for his over-the-top rhetoric, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh on Friday described the victory of Kamarul Hoda, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate who stunned his nearest rival and lone BJP candidate in the race Sweety Singh from Kishanganj constituency by a margin of over 10,000 votes, as a dangerous sign for the country.

Bihar Assembly Bhawan in Patna.

Patna: The myth that the NDA was indestructable in Bihar with Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi ‘double engine’ doing its magic in the state came crashing down on Thursday when three of the four Janata Dal - U candidates and one Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the Assembly by-elections lost their bids by convincing margins.

Pappu Yadav spraying chemical with a fogging machine to check mosquito growth in Patna.

Patna: Putting all elected leaders from Bihar to shame, former Member of Parliament from Madhepura Pappu Yadav on Tuesday took the matter in his own hand and took part in the fogging process to end the menace of mosquitoes in the state capital in the aftermath of epic flooding of the city due to a failed underground drainage system.