PATNA: 2017 was a landmark year for Bihar for various reasons like electrification of all villages and launch of the campaign against dowry and child marriage, among others.
The Nitish Kumar government took a big leap in terms of social reforms by launching a massive campaign against dowry and child marriage on October 2. On several occasions, the chief minister (CM) spoke highly of couples who tied the nuptial knot without exchanging dowry.
The CM continued with his crusade against liquor. The state government organized a statewide human chain on January 21 to raise awareness about prohibition which was launched on April 5 last year. Around four crore people are believed to have taken part in the event in all the 38 districts of the state.
Yearlong celebrations to mark 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi's
Champaran Satyagrah also began with a national seminar in Patna and a walk led by the CM in West Champaran in April.
For the first time, power tariff was announced without including subsidy in 2017. Besides, rural electrification works witnessed substantial progress in the state. Of the 39,073 revenue villages in Bihar, at least 3,320 were 'UEVs' (un-electrified villages) till April 1, 2014. While the number came down to 659 on April 1, only 291 villages were left to be electrified on December 7. It was on December 27 that the CM announced the electrification of all the villages.
Towards the end of the year, the state witnessed a global congregation of lakhs of Sikh devotees from across the world. They came to offer prayers to Guru Gobind Singh in the 'Shukrana Samaroh' (concluding or thanksgiving ceremony) of the yearlong 350th birth anniversary celebrations of the 10th Sikh Guru at Takhat Sri Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara in Patna City.
The state, however, witnessed a couple of disasters as well in 2017. While 24 people died in a boat tragedy in the Ganga diara area in Patna on January 14, around 1.46 crore locals across 7,304 villages in 20 districts of north Bihar were hit by devastating floods in August-September. Many affected areas are still recovering from the loss caused by the floods.
