B’day near, Jharkhand gets gift of progress

The last two months have seen some signs of development — roads are being made and street lights now illuminate not only Ranchi but als...

The last two months have seen some signs of development — roads are being made and street lights now illuminate not only Ranchi but also towns like Deogarh, Hazaribagh and Dumka. So what if it is all for the six-day mega bash, starting from November 15, to celebrate two years of Jharkhand’s formation.

Chief Minister Babulal Marandi is himself overseeing the preparations for the function, which is likely to be attended by senior NDA leaders including L.K. Advani, Yashwant Sinha, George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Karia Munda. Both Marandi and state BJP chief Abhay Kant have appealed to the people to turn up in large numbers for the mega-event.

However, Opposition parties have decided to boycott the ‘‘unnecessary’’ event. ‘‘By organising the show, Marandi wants to prove to Advani that the state has developed under his leadership. But this kind of tamasha won’t help him win over the people who’re fed up with his rule. Not a single worthwhile industry has flourished during his tenure,’’ said JMM leader Stephen Marandi.

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But the state government is not letting such concerns come in the way of the celebrations. At the 20-acre Morahabadi maidan here, a 40X20 feet stage has been set up, besides the VIP stage which can accommodate 200 chairs. About 110 private and public sector companies like TISCO, TIMKEN, Usha Martin, CIL, Mecon and Khadi Gramudyog are setting up stalls at the Udyog Mela which will be held alongside. A proposal for exemption of sales tax for these stalls is being considered.

Advani will kickstart the function by laying the foundation stones — online — for three projects: the state capital in the outskirts of Ranchi, the Ranchi University campus in Kanke and a sports complex at Morahabadi. Before that, he is slated to offer puja at the ancient Shiva temple at Deogarh and lay the foundation stone for a multi-purpose hall-cum-guesthouse for women at the temple premises.

While the mela has been sponsored by the companies, the State Electricity Board, Road and Rural Engineering departments got the rest of the work done through private contractors at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore. ‘‘The money has been used to create infrastructure. Moreover, we want to use the establishment to showcase ourselves to potential investors and let the world know we have a treasure of minerals and an industry-friendly milieu,’’ said Chief Secretary G. Krishnan.

A cultural programme is scheduled for the first evening. A team of 25 folk musicians and dancers, led by a Boston-based group called Akhra, will stage a show in the local Nagpuria dialect. A local company, Satyarth Productions, will project the ‘‘achievements’’ of the two-year-old Marandi government. Also lined up are a kavi sammelan, an Anup Jalota geet ki raat and stage shows by Anuradha and Kavita Poudwal.