The aim is to disseminate information on government and other socially useful schemes, encourage local participation by the community, revival of local and folk art forms, employment of local youth in the community thus discouraging migration, and aid the process of disaster management.

“We have already applied for licence and the decision is pending with the Centre. Once the licence is issued, we will set up FM broadcasting stations at select schools that will relay programmes related to local issues, fairs, etc. The core programming will be done in Patna while peripheral programming in districts,” said secretary of the Information and Public Relations Department Rajesh Bhushan.

"Education is solution to the many ills our society is facing today," Kumar said and added that this very fact motivated him to start the school. A strong supporter of making a law for booking parents who do not send their children to school, Kumar sometimes get frustrated when he finds a large number of parents ignoring his request to send their children to the school.

"Many of the slum dwellers think that education will not be of any help for the future of their children. Something must be done to change this perception else all the efforts made to spread education will come a cropper," he said. "I hope many would follow my steps which in turn will usher in a new dawn in the country," he said. Unable to move without the help of the wheel-chair, Kumar is serving society by other means as well.

He has made a group of 20 artists, seven of whom are physically challenged, which works for making people aware about the killer Aids disease and the group to date has traversed seven districts of Bihar spreading the message about the disease.

She has now taken up the herculean task of of spreading awareness about AIDS in the villages. Hailing from Balthi Rasoolpur village in Muzaffarpur district, about 70 km from Patna, she was chosen for the honour in 2006 for her pathbreaking move to take up vegetable cultivation and inspire hundreds of women to take it up as a means of livelihood.

Being a counsellor, Devi is busy spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS in villages.'I am doing it as voluntary work to make a difference' she said.'Till date the response is more than expected. People, mostly village women, show keen interest in learning about AIDS and its prevention measures. But the fact remains that there are deep-rooted myths and stigma attached to the disease,' she said.

Elephant foot yam is a tuber crop commonly used as a vegetable and for preparation of pickles and sauce. The tuber is commonly called as Jimikand or Ool in North India, Sooran in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Kand in Andhra Pradesh, Karnai Kilangu in Tamil Nadu and Suwarnagatti in Karnataka, it is cultivated all over the country.

“This value addition has increased the marketability and has demonstrated immense product potentials of this tuber,” said R. Ramadhar, Chairman, Bihar State Farmers Commission, Patna. Mr. Chaudhary grows the crop in his field and also takes the lands of other farmers on rent for raising the crop.“I normally harvest 50-60 tonnes from a hectare of land and earn a gross income of Rs. 2 lakhs in about 10 months.

A number of farmers in the state have adopted Ool farming as a means to supplement their income. Mr. Choudhary provides marketing support to the other yam farmers at a margin of 5 -10 per cent through contract farming. “Besides the contract agreements between Mr. Choudhary and the farmers, there are individual farmers who have taken up Ool cultivation and sell the products to local traders,” said Mr. Ramadhar.