Samrat Choudhary Attends Flag-Hoisting Ceremony at Mahadalit Tola in Patna on Independence Day. Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday attended a flag-hoisting ceremony organised at Mahadalit Tola in Nadwan village under Dhanarua block of Patna district to mark the 80th Independence Day. Local elderly resident Jugeshwar Manjhi unfurled the national flag in the presence of the Chief Minister at the event held at the playground of Nadwan High School.
Extending his greetings and best wishes to the people of Bihar on the 80th Independence Day, Choudhary said the day was an occasion to remember the countless freedom fighters who dedicated their lives to the country’s independence. He paid tribute to all those from Bihar who made significant contributions to the freedom struggle and the pursuit of social justice.
The Chief Minister said it was a matter of pride for him to participate in the Independence Day programme at the Mahadalit Tola in Nadwan. He announced that ₹12 lakh each had been sanctioned for the construction of an Anganwadi centre and a community hall in the Mahadalit Tola.
A sum of ₹1.07 crore has been sanctioned for renovation of the playground at Nadwan High School. Around ₹2.50 crore has been approved for construction of a Panchayat government building, while ₹50 lakh has been sanctioned for a marriage hall. Nadwan High School will also be developed as a model school.
Samrat Choudhary said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was continuously working to make India developed and strong. He also credited former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with undertaking several important initiatives for Bihar’s development and prosperity. “It is our duty to fulfil the dreams of both leaders, and the state government is working continuously towards this goal,” he said.
He said the Tiranga was not merely a symbol of India’s freedom and pride but also inspired citizens to remain committed to their duties. He called upon people to take a pledge to ensure that the benefits of development reached every section of society, particularly Mahadalits, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the extremely backward classes.
The Samrat Choudhary said the government firmly believed that development could not be considered complete until the last person in society was prosperous. He said continuous efforts were being made to educate and empower young people, while equal opportunities remained an important pillar of social justice.
Choudhary said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working towards the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047. Under the Chief Minister’s Women Employment Scheme, financial assistance was being provided to women to help them secure employment. He said 30 lakh Jeevika women had already become ‘Lakhpati Didis’.
Under the social security pension scheme, the pension amount had been increased from ₹400 to ₹1,100. He appealed to eligible people who were still deprived of the pension to apply through the Sahyog Portal.
The Chief Minister said Bihar had around 1.90 crore domestic electricity consumers, of whom 1.70 crore had been receiving up to 125 units of free electricity every month for the past year. He said Bihar was the state providing the highest subsidy on electricity to consumers in the country.
He also announced that helicopter services had been launched from Patna to major tourist destinations, including Nalanda, Kaimur and Valmiki Nagar, to enable Bihar residents to visit these places. Passengers would have to pay only ₹2,100, while the state government was providing a subsidy of ₹12,000.
Samrat Choudhary said applications received through the Sahyog programme were being disposed of within 30 days. Around 6.41 lakh applications had been received so far, of which 95 per cent had already been resolved. Action was being taken against officials found negligent in their duties, he added.
He said a campaign had been underway for the past month to provide ration cards to one crore people in Bihar. So far, ration cards had been issued to more than 30 lakh people.
The Chief Minister said arrangements had been made to ensure treatment at all district and divisional hospitals to provide better healthcare facilities to Bihar’s residents. He warned that strict action would be taken against those responsible for unnecessarily referring patients from district and divisional hospitals to larger hospitals in cases of ordinary illnesses. Referrals to bigger hospitals would be permitted only in cases of serious illness.
Choudhary said live classes had been introduced in Bihar. The Bihar School Examination Board was making arrangements under which students studying in government schools could access online teachers even at 11 pm whenever required. Coaching facilities were also being provided in government schools to help students prepare for competitive examinations such as NEET and IIT-JEE.
He said that in the 80 years since Independence, Bihar had only 278 degree colleges. The state government had started teaching simultaneously at 211 degree colleges on July 15 so that students could access higher education within their own blocks.
The Chief Minister said Bihar had witnessed several development initiatives during Nitish Kumar’s 20-year tenure as Chief Minister. The number of schools in the state increased from around 40,000 to 73,000 during that period.
He said the journey from Patna to Nadwan, which earlier took around two hours, could now be completed in about 22 minutes.
Choudhary said the government was continuously working for the welfare of weaker and deprived sections and to improve their quality of life. The state government was committed to taking all sections of society, including Mahadalits, Dalits, backward and extremely backward communities, along on the path of development, he said.
During the programme, the Chief Minister distributed spectacles under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment of the Health Department. Benefits were also provided to beneficiaries under various schemes, including symbolic cheques to Jeevika Didis under the Rural Development Department, sanction letters under the Social Security Pension Scheme, the Public Distribution System and the Chief Minister Rural Housing Scheme, sanction letters under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana, and land settlement certificates for government land.
MLA Shyam Rajak, MLA Arun Manjhi, former MP Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi, Chief Minister’s Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh, Patna Divisional Commissioner Mayank Warwade, District Magistrate Kundan Kumar and Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya K Sharma were among those present, along with other public representatives, senior officials and a large number of local residents.
–By A Correspondent with inputs from Government Press release in Hindi
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