PATNA: The 6th Bihar Times Conclave, the annual global meet that brings together Bihar’s brightest minds -- from academicians and healthcare professionals to environmentalists and industry leaders -- under one roof, concluded on Friday with a call to own the responsibility to rebuild Bihar.
Experts and intellectuals gathered in Patna on the invitation of the Bihartimes Development Foundation asked every resident of Bihar as well members of the Bihari diaspora to play their role as the state cannot develop without the civil society’s participation.
Rituraj Sinha, Managing Director of SIS Group and National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that Bihar needs a new vision for development as well as an image makeover that needs public participation.
He called upon the participants to own the responsibility to rebuild Bihar. “Bring the change by participating in electoral process with a clear vision for development of the state. If you reset your attitude towards politics, it will transform the state,” he said.
Rituraj also pointed out that a social crisis is brewing up in the state due to migration. Migration is happening at a significant pace both from cities as well as from the rural areas.
“Migration is happening at a faster pace now because people are losing hope. If solid steps are not taken to stop it now, its adverse effect will ruin the state in the next 10 years,” he added.
Internationally acclaimed healthcare experts also expressed concern over the dismal state of medical facilities in Bihar and asked the government to take serious action immediately.
Dr. Satyajit Kumar Singh, a distinguished Senior Consultant in Urology & Andrology, and Managing Director at Ruban Group of Hospitals, Patna, urged the government to take immediate action to reduce severe shortage of doctors and nursing staff.
Dr Sanjeev Upadhyay urged the government to strengthen the public healthcare system in the state. Sharing the statistics, he said that there is a grim situation in rural areas as primary health centres are in bad shape due to lack of facilities.
“There is a need for a revolution in the healthcare sector similar to what we have seen in the field of automobile and telecommunication. There is an urgent need for investment, medical insurance and technological advancement to upgrade the scenario,” he said.
Several experts also highlighted the need to adopt a new vision to overcome the challenges faced by the agriculture sector. They highlighted barriers and opportunities for inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in the state.
Dr Sanjeet Kumar Sameer, Associate Professor at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, highlighted the elite institution’s continued role in advancing agricultural prosperity of Bihar. Sharing various initiatives of the university, he urged farmers to learn about new techniques and technologies to overcome the challenges.
Dhirendra Kumar of IOTECH showcased drones developed specifically to meet the needs of farmers. He urged farmers to adopt agriculture drones for versatile field tasks from pesticide and seed spraying to monitor crop diseases.
The last day of the annual conclave, organised by the Bihartimes Development Foundation, also celebrated 25th anniversary of Bihar Times, the first news portal of Bihar. Veteran journalists including Manikant Thakur, Suroor Ahmad, Amarnath Tiwari, Abhay Kumar and cartoonist Pawan, were felicitated by Bihar Times Editor Ajay Kumar for their continued support throughout the journey.
