The sand and liquor mafias have corroded Bihar’s economy, fuelled criminal politics, brought in a rural rot, and rendered its youth unemployable for at least a decade.
Sand mafias have turned illegal river mining into a thriving industry, luring young recruits and villagers with promises of wealth and power. Crime and cratered rivers are the collaterals.
Blanket ban on sand mining in place in Punjab since 10 November has done little to abate sand mafia. State govt opened first sand & gravel sale outlet in Mohali earlier this month.
With illegal sand mining becoming a poll issue, ThePrint visited SBS Nagar and Rupnagar districts to find out how and why such sites operate, and what local authorities are doing.
Over generations, Bihar’s bane has been its utter lack of urbanisation. But now, even Bihar is urbanising. Or let’s say, rurbanising. Two decades under Nitish Kumar have created a new elite in its cities.
Indian govt officials last month skipped Turkish National Day celebrations in Delhi, in a message to Ankara following its support for Islamabad, particularly during Operation Sindoor.
Bihar is blessed with a land more fertile for revolutions than any in India. Why has it fallen so far behind then? Constant obsession with politics is at the root of its destruction.
Excellent reportage. Kudos to Ms. Jyoti Yadav. Keep up the good work.
Bihar is indeed a cesspool. Always at the bottom across all HDI parameters. No wonder Biharis migrate to other cities and never come back.
The sad part is that once in a different state, say Delhi, they try their utmost to disown their Bihari identity. Most would not say that they hail from Bihar – such is the stigma associated with the state and it’s people.
Thanks to AASU and other such active organisations, Biharis are not really welcome in Assam. Otherwise, even Guwahati would have turned into a mini-Delhi.
I don’t think CM Nitish Kumar thinks any longer in such grandiloquent terms as creating a legacy. Author of the Prohibition policy, which he thought would create a national women’s constituency for his prime ministerial ambitions. Now down to ensuring that jab tak samose mein aaloo hai, he remains in the saddle.
Excellent reportage. Kudos to Ms. Jyoti Yadav. Keep up the good work.
Bihar is indeed a cesspool. Always at the bottom across all HDI parameters. No wonder Biharis migrate to other cities and never come back.
The sad part is that once in a different state, say Delhi, they try their utmost to disown their Bihari identity. Most would not say that they hail from Bihar – such is the stigma associated with the state and it’s people.
Thanks to AASU and other such active organisations, Biharis are not really welcome in Assam. Otherwise, even Guwahati would have turned into a mini-Delhi.
I don’t think CM Nitish Kumar thinks any longer in such grandiloquent terms as creating a legacy. Author of the Prohibition policy, which he thought would create a national women’s constituency for his prime ministerial ambitions. Now down to ensuring that jab tak samose mein aaloo hai, he remains in the saddle.