Ranchi: Continuing with its charity works among distressed people affected by the pandemic, the Ranchi Archdiocese on Monday distributed dry ration packets among 100 people at Ranchi railway station. The packets contained 15 days ration that included rice, pulses, grams (chickpeas), soya beans and cooking oil.
Since May this year, the Ranchi Archdiocese has been in the forefront distributing dry ration among the Birhor tribesmen, daily wage workers, slum dwellers and HIV-affected people and their families in Ranchi district. The church is also distributing cooked meals to Covid-19 affected patients admitted at the Rajendra Institute Medical Sciences, Ranchi, their attendants and relatives.
RANCHI: US representative Juan Vargas has urged US secretary of state Antony J Blinken to take up the matter of octogenarian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, who is in Tajola jail in Maharashtra on charges of terrorism, with the Indian government as part of US foreign policy. Blinken has assured the Congressman to look into the matter.
Rep. Vargas, a Democrat who represents the San Diego region in the US Congress, raised the issue before the foreign affairs committee that held a hearing on President Joe Biden administration’s priorities for the US foreign policy on Wednesday.
Raising the issue, Vargas said Swamy was arrested from Bagaicha (in Jharkhand), a Jesuit action centre in India on October 8, 2020, by the National Investigation Agency for “instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in 2017”.
Ranchi: With less than a week to go for Christmas, shops here are all decked up with lights, stars and other decorative items but the buyers are nowhere in sight.
“At this time of the year, we hardly find a minute to relax as shops are bursting at the seams. But this year, I am sitting idle and have not even been able to sell a single greeting card yet, which usually sells like hot cakes ahead of Christmas and New Year’s,” Ramesh Prasad, who owns Hallmark Epsy at Purulia Road in Ranchi, said. He added, “To make matters worse, schools, colleges are yet to reopen, which has further added to our woes. Last year my shop was abuzz with students from nearby schools and colleges weeks ahead of Christmas.”
Ranch: A fresh advisory issued by the Ranchi Archdiocese under the Roman Catholic Church, has called for a less extravagant and more spiritual celebration, urging devotees to make Christmas lighting and decorations this year more austere.
“We recommend that you build a beautiful crib at home using decorative items in your possession without making more purchases this year. Limit illuminations to a Christmas star and avoid adorning houses with lights,” a directive, jointly signed by Ranci archbishop Felix Toppo and auxiliary bishop of Ranchi Theodore Mascarenhas said.
“Don’t burn fire crackers. We request our youth to avoid merry making on the streets and spend the Christmas night with their family,” the advisory further read.