Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Bridging the gap in Raghopur

Raghopur, Bihar: In a land of shifting sands, it may only be a miracle that Raghopur, on the outskirts of Patna, has at least a PIN code that does not change.
For Virender Singh, though, this token of permanence hasn’t helped. In the past two decades, his house was swallowed up three times by the overflowing Ganga.
On many mornings after the floods receded, he woke up to count the toll of people, land and household belongings claimed by the river changing its course by many kilometres. But in his list of hardships, Virender Singh counts boat rides among the toughest. Raghopur, his home for the past 50 years, cannot do without a boat.
Bordered by the Ganga on two sides, the assembly constituency in Bihar can be accessed only through a boat journey, or when the river is kind, through a pontoon bridge. Between May and November, the bridge is inaccessible because of floods, an annual event in Raghopur, or strong river currents.
Life line: A makeshift bridge (top) is Raghopur’s sole motorable link to the outside world; Virender Singh (above, extreme left) is one of the many who have suffered from the floods. He has lost his home thrice. Madhu Kapparath / Mint
Life line: A makeshift bridge (top) is Raghopur’s sole motorable link to the outside world; Virender Singh (above, extreme left) is one of the many who have suffered from the floods. He has lost his home thrice. Madhu Kapparath / Mint
This is no different from large parts of Bihar, where floods inflict the gravest damage on property and livelihoods every year. In August, Bihar, which accounts for 17.2% of the flood-prone area in India, faced its worst floods ever when the Kosi river changed its course. At least one million people were affected by the floods in three districts of the state, according to Bihar government statistics. By conservative estimates, floods have affected about 10 million people in the state over the last decade.
A bridge too far
A permanent bridge, for most people in Raghopur including Singh, remains a perennial election issue. They argue that the river can’t be tamed, but a permanent bridge can make all the difference.
This year too, ahead of the general election, the residents have revived their demand, first made in 2000. Even being one of Bihar’s largest assembly constituencies, with an electorate of 248,000 people, and being the pocket borough of a former state chief minister, has not helped.
The only concrete road in Raghopur extends from Rustampur to Fatehpur; the rest is interconnected through muddy alleys. In some places, sand from the river bed has been stocked to be sold as construction raw material.
For the residents here, the logic is simple. Much of what is built here is devoured by the floods. “Floods come like a demon. They damage everything,” Singh says.
The politics
In Jiddupur village, which is part of Raghopur, the electoral alliance between Ram Vilas Paswan, founder of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is the talking point. Expectations are that it would lead to consolidation of Yadav and Dalit votes in Yadav-dominated Raghopur.

Source : Livemint.com

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