Bihar CM Nitish Kumar asks officials to create awareness about his govt's work

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked officials to apprise people, especially the new generation, of the development work carried out by the state government in the past 15 years.

The chief minister said this at a programme here to mark the inauguration of several schemes of the Road Construction Department through video-conferencing.

"People should also be informed about what happened during the previous regime. How will the new generation come to know about the work if you (officers) don't tell them?" Kumar remarked.

The major 119 schemes, worth Rs 3,516 crore, which Kumar inaugurated, included Bangraghat bridge in Gopalganj district.

The 1.5-km bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 509 crore, would reduce the distance between Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur and Saran districts.

The chief minister also laid the foundation stone for 98 schemes worth Rs 1,508 crore. Asserting that the state government has done considerable development work in the state, Kumar made it clear that he was not referring to the road sector alone.

In the past 15 years, work had also been done in the sectors of education, health, power and Jal Jiwan Hariyali, he said.

Kumars JD(U) has been sharing power with the BJP under the banner of NDA in Bihar for past 15 years except the period between 2013 to 2017.

The chief minister's assertion assumes significance in view of the assembly elections, due in October-November this year, and the ruling dispensation trying to highlight its achievements in comparison to the work done by Lalu Prasad followed by his wife Rabri Devi as chief ministers before the NDA came to power in the state.

Talking about the construction of state highways and major district roads, Kumar said that "6,735 km length of roads were constructed during 2006-10, while 9913 km were built between 2010-15 and 10,287 km between 2015-20." Asking engineers to issue pictures of roads and bridges prior to 2005 and the infrastructure at present, he said, "it will help the people to know what has been done".

After achieving the target of reaching the state capital in six hours from any part of the state, the government is now working hard to reduce the travel time to five hours, the chief minister said.

Kumar assured the people that his government would work further for the states overall development if they give him another opportunity to serve them.

(Photo Credit: PTI)