New Delhi, 31 March: Many leaders expressed their concerns about the floods that occur every year in Bihar and the delay in construction of AIIMS in Darbhanga at the three-day Maithili Natya Literature Festival, organized on March 27-29 at IGNCA Auditorium, Delhi. The cultural event was organized by Maithil Patrakar Group in association with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Maithili Bhojpuri Academy, Government of Delhi.
The leaders, across all the political parties, were of the views that the Centre and Bihar government will have to work together for the betterment of Mithila region.
To solve the flood menace, political parties’ leaders said that a tripartite committee will have to be formed with the participation of the Government of Nepal and India as well as the Government of Bihar. They said that a committee has been running for decades on paper, but no work has been done to stop the perennial flood menace.
Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Rituraj Jha, Sanjeev Jha, Darbhanga MP Gopal Ji Thakur, Bihar Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha, former Vice President of Maithili Bhojpuri Academy Neeraj Pathak, Director of National School of Drama (NSD) Ramesh Chandra Goud, Congress Party Secretary Pranav Jha, BJP Kisan Morcha’s Manoj Yadav and BJP’s national media co-in charge Sanjay Mayukh were expressed their views on the development and present situation of Bihar’s Mithilanchal.
Two plays, Bauki and Bijaho based on old bad practices, written by Roshan Kumar Jha and directed by Prakash Jha were also staged on this occasion.
Bihar cadre IAS officer and Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Dr. N Vijay Lakshmi enthralled everyone by presenting a mesmerizing Bharatnatyam dance on Ganesh Vandana.
Bihar’s Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha said that there is a need to form an Authority for effective prevention of floods in Mithila region.
The Central Government and Bihar Government should form an Authority for effective prevention of floods. It should have a fixed tenure. Big dams should be built in the rivers coming from Nepal so that the flood can be stopped,” he said.
“The Bihar government alone cannot resolve this problem. The Central Government must come forward to talk with Nepal for the formation of big dams on the rivers,” he added.
“Being Minister of Water Resources of Bihar government, I was shocked to see that a committee has been working on this issue for years, albeit only on paper. It also has an office in Nepal. Indian officials are also reportedly stationed there. But in reality, there is nothing,” Sanjay Jha said.
He insisted that if the central government solves this problem, there can be a lot of employment which helps to stop the migration.
Darbhanga MP Gopal Ji Thakur said that the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had set up the National Makhana Research Institute in Darbhanga, but the next government reduced its national status which affected Makhana industry. Gopal ji Thakur insisted that he is working to get back it national status again.
Describing the Darbhanga Airport as a symbol of the development of Mithilanchal and Bihar, he said that there is a need for its expansion.
Thanking Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav for providing several trains to Mithilanchal, he also demanded a Rajdhani train and Vande Bharat for the region.
He said that the bridge built to connect Nirmali-Saharsa should be named to Atal Setu.
Expressing sorrow over the delay in giving land by the Bihar government for the AIIMS in Darbhanga, Gopal ji Thakur said that the state government should take immediate steps on this.
Delhi MLA Sanjiya Jha, who is also the Vice President of Maithili Bhojpuri Academy, said that the Delhi government is ready to cooperate for the promotion and development of Maithili and Bhojpuri in Delhi.
“The industrialisation is necessary for the development of Bihar’s Mithilanchal. Bihar and the central government should work together for this and Delhi’s AAP government is also ready to play its role in this,” He said.
BJP’s national media co-in charge Sanjay Mayukh said that among many languages in Bihar, Maithili is the sweetest one.
He lauded the efforts of Maithil Patrakar group for organizing programs to save its language, culture and customs.
Sanjay Mayukh said the way Maithil Patrakar group members are doing this work even after being involved in a heterogeneous and busy work, is unique and commendable.
“After the formation of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, the development and infrastructure have been increased in Bihar. They haven’t happened before. From the second bridge over the Ganges to the new rail line, the implementation of other government schemes has increased in Bihar,” he said.
BJP media co-in charge said that he is determined to work for every person of Bihar and Mithilanchal as an MLC.
MLA Rituraj Jha and Neeraj Pathak said that we come from a culturally aware state. It is the duty of every educated person living outside of state to think what role they can play in the development of Bihar.
Praising the Maithil Patrakar Group, Congress Secretary Pranav Jha said that their efforts to save their language, culture, folk art and tradition are commendable.
While leaders across all the parties expressed concern over Bihar flood and delay of Darbhanga AIIMS, many well-known journalists discussed migration and deindustrialization.
On this occasion, a seminar was also organized regarding the development of Bihar-Mithilanchal.
Senior journalists like Priyaranjan, Prabhash Jha, Ritesh Pathak, Sujit Thakur, Ishwar Nath Jha, Rakesh Kumar Jha, Manoj Mishra and Dr. Rahmatullah expressed their views. On this occasion a special premium of NBT editor Sudhir Mishra’s short film Gular Ka Phool was also held.
Santosh Thakur, President of Maithil Patrakar Group, thanked all the guests, saying the only aim of this group is to bring effective people from all walks of life on one platform for the development of Bihar and Mithilanchal.
