Patna/Begusarai: CM Nitish Kumar on Saturday launched a series of development projects in Begusarai and Sheikhpura districts during his ‘Samriddhi Yatra’. In Begusarai, he launched 402 govt projects worth Rs 330 crore and also laid the foundation for Reliance Industries’ ‘Campa Cola’ bottling plant on the BIADA premises. The plant will be built at a cost of about Rs 1,000 crore and is expected to generate employment for around 1500 people. The CM also distributed loans worth over Rs 578 crore to various Jeevika self-help groups on the occasion.During his visit to Begusarai, Nitish inspected the medical college and hospital under construction on the BIADA premises and also inaugurated a private hospital online built in the Singhaul area. He took special interest in the stalls put up by Jeevika didis and interacted with them.
Later, addressing people, the CM said his govt had been consistently working for the development of the state since 2005 after he became the chief minister under the NDA govt. “Over the last 20 years large number of new hospitals and medical colleges have been opened. Thousands of teachers have been appointed and new schools have been opened to give boost to the education in the state,” he said.He reminded people of the ‘dark days’ during the RJD rule before he became the chief minister of the state. “Roads were in shambles, there was no power and children didn’t use to go schools. The law and order situation was horrible and common people avoided going outside the house during evening as well as during night,” he said. He added that his govt ensured that there were no communal rifts. “Fencing of graveyards were carried out and similarly boundry walls around the temples were constructed across the state,” he said.While the CM was speaking, a section of JD(U) workers kept chanting slogans demanding that his son Nishant Kumar be made the next chief minister of the state. He, however, asked them to first listen to him and tell him about their demand only after he completed his address.The CM also visited Sheikhpura district, where he launched 316 development projects worth more than Rs 206 crore. Of these, he inaugurated 196 schemes costing Rs 62 crore and laid the foundation stone or commenced work on 120 projects worth Rs 144 crore. He also reviewed several ongoing development works in the district and directed officials to complete the pending works at the earliest.Addressing a ‘Jan Samvad’ programme on the Panchayat Sarkar Bhavan premises in Sarva village, Nitish said Bihar had witnessed the establishment of the rule of law and continuous development since the NDA govt first came to power on Nov 24, 2005. He said the condition of Sheikhpura before 2005 was poor, recalling that the road from Patna to Sheikhpura was in bad shape, travel took a long time and electricity supply across the district was weak.Highlighting development initiatives in the district, he said projects such as the Sheikhpura bypass, an Engineering College, Polytechnic Institute, Women ITI and ITIs in sub-divisions had been established. He added that a Karpoori Hostel and two residential schools were under construction, irrigation facilities had improved and 19 pucca check dams had been built.The CM also announced plans for Sheikhpura under the ‘Saat Nishchay-3’ programme for 2025-2030. He said 95,000 women in the district had already received Rs 10,000 each for self-employment and would be eligible for additional support of up to Rs 2 lakh. He also announced plans for an industrial area, dairy committees in remaining villages, Sudha milk sales centres in all 50 panchayats, model schools and degree colleges in all six blocks, and the upgradation of all six community health centres into speciality hospitals.
