A state needs a smooth system of transport to channel its resources and use them for development. Bihar, however, doesn't have any internal circuitry worth the name connecting its varied geography.
The fertile northern plains were cut off from the administrative central Bihar by the mighty Ganga - among the widest rivers in the world - and until recently, there was no serious effort to bridge it. Also, little in the way of roads or railway lines has ever been drawn to reach out to the mineral-rich but tribal southern plateau - now Jharkhand.
Disjoint railways
All three parts had their own - unconnected - railway systems, writes Arvind N Das in his detailed study The Republic of Bihar. The metre-gauge Oudh Tirhut Railway ran along the northern bank of the Ganga, while central Bihar had a broad gauge main line. The Bengal-Nagpur Railway touched through the southern plateau after coal and steel became important industries. The three parts could thus never operated as a unit.
This disjunction has continued even after Independence. Thus, in spite of having one of the world's most mineral-rich south, northern Bihar never saw the growth of industry. Urban centres like Patna, Jamshedpur and Ranchi grew up in central and southern Bihar, but the farmers of the north could never use them to market their produce optimally.
{{/usCountry}}This disjunction has continued even after Independence. Thus, in spite of having one of the world's most mineral-rich south, northern Bihar never saw the growth of industry. Urban centres like Patna, Jamshedpur and Ranchi grew up in central and southern Bihar, but the farmers of the north could never use them to market their produce optimally.
{{/usCountry}}Even these urban centres remained isolated from rural areas surrounding them, says Das. The rise of Jamshedpur as one of India's most important industrial towns did little to spread growth and urbanisation in other parts of south Bihar.
Bridging the Ganga
Traditional boats carried men and material across the Ganga for ages. A seasonal boat-bridge used to be built at Buxar, near the Uttar Pradesh border, and a concrete structure came up between Mokama and Barauni in the 1960s. But neither of these were strategic enough to connect north and central Bihar economically and pave the way for growth.
A project to bridge the Ganga at Patna had been mooted in the 19th century itself and plans were drawn up in 1916, writes Das. But work did not begin until the 1970s. It was only after many delays and much struggle between the state and the Centre over the funding of the project that the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, a "half-bridge, a moth-eaten version of the original plans", came up about a decade ago.
Even this remains a road bridge. The original plans included a railway line, but it didn't materialise. Roadways are in no better shape, and travelling between any two parts of Bihar remains a nightmare.