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Nitish concludes second phase of Samriddhi Yatra in Samastipur, unveils ₹827 cr projects
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar concluded the Samriddhi Yatra's second phase, launching 188 projects worth ₹827 crore and focusing on healthcare and infrastructure.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday concluded the second phase of the Samriddhi Yatra in Samastipur, unveiling, inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of 188 development projects worth ₹827 crore for the district.
With the Bihar Assembly’s Budget Session scheduled from February 2 to 27, officials indicated that the next phase of the Yatra was likely to be temporarily paused. So far, the CM has covered 12 districts across the first and second phases of the outreach programme. Samriddhi Yatra was launched on January 16 this year.
During the second phase, Kumar toured three districts of the Darbhanga division in the Mithilanchal region, with Samastipur marking the final stop on Thursday. He visited Madhubani on January 27, followed by Darbhanga on January 28.
Addressing the Jan Samvad programme at the Housing Board ground at Jitwarpur here, the CM highlighted the expansion of healthcare services in Bihar. He said the state earlier had only six medical colleges and hospitals, but after the NDA government came to power, sustained efforts were made to strengthen the healthcare system. He said while the average monthly footfall at a primary health centre was just 39 earlier, now it had increased to 11,600.
“The number of medical colleges in the state has risen to 12, and work is underway to open 27 new medical colleges, “ he said adding, “Patna Medical College and Hospital is being developed into a 5,400-bed facility, while a decision has been taken to increase the bed capacity at IGIMS to 3,000. Similarly, five old medical colleges and hospitals are being upgraded to have 2,500 beds each.”
Taking a dig at previous governments, the CM said no significant work had been done during their tenure.
In Samastipur, Kumar reviewed the progress of several ongoing development schemes and directed officials to ensure their timely completion. He began the day by inspecting the campus of the Government Engineering College at Sarairanjan, where he inaugurated an amenities building and reviewed facilities like smart classrooms, project labs, language laboratories and network labs.
Interacting with students and teachers, the CM emphasised the adoption of modern educational technologies and encouraged students to focus on skill development. A girl student welcomed him in French and English at the language lab, highlighting the institution’s focus on international language training.
From the engineering college campus, Kumar remotely laid the foundation stone of 71 schemes worth ₹470 crore, inaugurated 74 projects costing ₹273 crore, and launched work on 43 schemes valued at ₹84 crore for the district.
He later visited stalls set up by local startups, government departments and self-help groups. Appreciating products made by Jeevika Didis, Kumar handed over symbolic cheques amounting to ₹437 crore to 23,472 women associated with self-help groups. Beneficiaries of social rehabilitation schemes, inter-caste marriage incentive programmes, disability marriage assistance and the Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana also received symbolic cheques.
Inspecting the Borlaug Institute for South Asia stall, the CM reviewed new agricultural technologies and multi-crop farming models being implemented in the district. He also interacted with beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana and asked officials to ensure better market access for locally manufactured products to boost local industry and markets.
Later, Kumar inspected the under-construction RCC bridge-cum-bypass road in Hakimabad block, where officials briefed him on the progress of infrastructure projects announced during the earlier Pragati Yatra. These include the development of Muktapur-Moin as a tourist destination, construction of a rail over bridge at Muktapur on Samastipur–Darbhanga road, widening of NH-322 stretches, and construction high-level RCC bridges on key river crossings.
Officials also presented updates on major road widening, bypass construction, river de-silting works and bridge projects across Rosera, Shivajinagar and adjoining areas. Kumar instructed departments to expedite execution and maintain quality standards.
Dy CM Samrat Choudhary, water resources and parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha among other incumbent and former public representatives besides chief secretary Pratyay Amrit, DGP Vinay Kumar, and other senior administrative and police officials were present.
