Pre-2005 Bihar known for broken roads: CM | Patna News

Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday said dilapidated roads used to be Bihar’s defining feature before Nov 2005.In a detailed post in Hindi on X, the CM reminisced about the poor state of infrastructure before his govt came to power, recalling that it was once difficult to tell “whether there was a road in the pothole or a pothole in the road.”“You all must remember the days before Nov 2005 when dilapidated roads had become Bihar’s identity. People had to think twice before travelling anywhere. Even short distances took hours to cover with vehicles jolting along and travellers gripped by fear,” Nitish wrote.He added that poor connectivity once made healthcare and education almost inaccessible. “If someone in a village fell ill, many people would die on the way before reaching the hospital. Due to lack of bridges and culverts over rivers, streams and canals, several districts like Sitamarhi and Sheohar were cut off from the capital Patna. People in villages and towns became ‘water prisoners’ throughout the rainy season, while students could not go to school for months,” the CM said.Recalling his own experiences before taking office, Nitish said, “At that time, I was a minister in the then Union govt. Whenever I came to Bihar and met people in my area, I had to walk several kilometres on foot due to the absence of roads. It is also heard that earlier those in power used to say that if good roads were built, police would reach villages quickly and criminals would be caught. This means they themselves were protecting crime.”He described the situation before 2005 as one of neglect and corruption. “There were very few roads, and the ones that existed were in poor condition. There was no proper system for maintenance. Rampant corruption prevailed in the name of road upkeep, and even the bitumen scam happened at that time,” he said.Giving statistics, Nitish said before 2005, Bihar had only four bridges on the Ganga, two on the Kosi, four on the Gandak, and two on the Son rivers — all built before 1990. “Before 2005, there were only 11 rail over bridges (ROBs) in the entire state, leading to long traffic jams at many places,” he added.He said that after the formation of the new govt in November 2005, road infrastructure became a top priority. “New roads were constructed, old ones were renovated and widened, and a network of bridges and culverts was laid. A long-term maintenance policy was also implemented,” Nitish wrote.Listing key achievements, he said, “Since 2005, around 20 new major bridges have been built, including Veer Kunwar Singh Setu in Bhojpur on the Ganga, J P Setu in Patna, Shrikrishna Singh Setu in Munger, and the Kachchi Dargah-Raghopur six-lane bridge connecting Patna to Raghopur Diara. The Aunta-Simariyadham bridge and additional two lanes on the Veer Kunwar Singh bridge in Buxar have also been completed. Construction of 10 new bridges on the Ganga is ongoing. Meanwhile, three new bridges, including Kosi Mahasetu, have been built on the Kosi river, with three more under construction. Four new bridges have been built on the Gandak river, with three ongoing, while four new bridges have been built on the Son, and work on two more continues. In total, 18 new bridges are currently under construction and will be completed soon.”The CM said several bypass roads were also being built to ease congestion, and the Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana — funded by the state govt — was providing road connectivity to hamlets and settlements. “Under this scheme, roads totalling 1,18,005 kilometres in length have been constructed. The remaining villages will be connected with paved roads as soon as possible,” he said.Highlighting progress in connectivity, Nitish added, “We achieved the target of reaching Patna from remote areas of the state in six hours in 2016 by constructing several roads and bridges. After that, a new target was set in 2018 to reach Patna from any corner of the state in five hours. This has also been achieved, and work is progressing rapidly on new expressways, bridges, bypasses, elevated roads, and ROBs to reduce the travel time even further.”