Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday opened two rail-cum-road bridges on Ganga in Patna and Munger and laid the foundation stone of an additional rail bridge, also on Ganga, at Mokama to usher the State into a new era of prosperity and unification of North and South Bihar.
For a change, the PM talked only development, without mentioning a single word on politics. He even praised the Nitish Kumar Government for its cooperation in the Centrally sponsored schemes, particularly in power sector and reiterated his stand that to change the destiny of India, the destiny of Bihar has to be changed first. “I am fully confident that Centre and Bihar Government will work together to achieve this goal. Bihar is our priority,” Modi said at Chhaukia village in Vaishali district. He also flagged off a new train from Patna to lucknow, which will travel through North Bihar crossing the new bridge.
However, the PM indirectly taregted the erstwhile Congress led UPA Government for neglecting the project for 10 long years, which led to its cost escalating from Rs 600 crore to Rs 3,000 crore. The project was initiated when AB Vajpayee was the PM and Nitish Kumar the Railway Minister, whom the PM lauded.
“The foundation on these bridges was laid in 2002 when Nitish ji was heading Railway ministry and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was PM. Had these projects not been neglected it would be completed 5-7 years earlier. The cost of Patna rail bridge was Rs 600 crroe which now touched Rs 3,000 crore. During the past 18 months, 34% of the pending work was completed on these bridges,” Modi said.
Earlier CM Nitish Kumar told the PM that then PM Vajpayee had flagged off work on Digha-Sonepur bridge through remote on February 3, 2002 from Patna’s Gandhi Maidan and on Munger bridge on December 25, 2002 from Delhi. “Today is a day of happiness for Bihar so I will say nothing else,” he said but reminded the PM of the dilapidated condition of the Gandhi bridge on Ganga and drew his attention for its renovation and repair. He said, “After the Assembly polls you have come for the first time to Bihar. We wish you continue coming here in future too.”
The bonhomie between the PM and CM, after a prolonged bitterness during October-November 2015 election, was apparent as the two sitting side by side on the dais continued talking and smiling. While leaving Modi was seen patting and having a word with Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav who reached the function “uninvited.”
Modi spoke about the two major locomotive companies in Bihar for which tender has been allotted to international companies of USA and France. “The biggest FDI of Rs 40,000 crore India is getting has come to Bihar for which process has been completed,” the PM said and added that the proposed gas pipe line project would also benefit Bihar.
“We have taken up cudgels to provide cooking gas connection to five crore poor families in three years to save poor women from the smoke. Do you know a day of chulha smoke is equal to 400 cigarettesIJ”
Modi said power was no longer a luxury but when he assumed office he was aghast to find that 18,000 villages still had no power connectivity and majority of them lied in Bihar and UP. “We decided to electrify them in 1000 days and till date 6000 villages have been electrified,” he said and thanked Nitish Government for its cooperation.
The function was attended among others by Governor Ramnath Kovind, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and his deputy Manoj Sinha apart from Railway Board Chairman. All central Ministers from Bihar Ram Vilas Paswan, Radha Mohan Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ram Kripal Yadav, Giriraj Singh and Upendra Kushwaha besides senior BJP leaders of Bihar were present