The Hindu Business Line : On road to better health?

"Though Bihar is cited as an example of bad governance and corruption, these things are not confined to Bihar alone. It is an all-India phenomenon."

Patna , March 28

Dr Prabhat P. Ghosh, Director of the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, when quizzed on the dismal healthcare situation in Bihar, particularly in the rural areas, says with a half-smile, "That is true; you're right. The Primary Health Care Centres of Bihar are in a pathetic condition. But do you know that the average life span of a Bihari is almost on par with the national average?"

He says that the people of Bihar "Love to take medicines. And when a pharma company wants to try new outlets or test a new medicine, they first come to Bihar."

As one drives back from the institute office off Boring Road through the Patliputra colony and then to Gandhi Maidan, and makes it a point to look for pharmacies, it is shocking to find that these are omnipresent. Some times a couple of feet away from each other. Signboards of Angrezi dawakhana stare you in the face.

But leaving aside people's health, is Bihar on the road to good health, after it saw a change in government that ended 15 years of Lalu-Rabri raj barely 100 days ago?

There are signals to this effect, however small, superficial or unconnected they might be. For one, Patna airport is undergoing an expansion-cum-renovation operation. Of course, this has to do more with the Airport Authority of India rather than the Nitish Government, which is on trial right now, but nevertheless it denotes change and development to the arriving passengers.

And the roads leading out from the airport to the heart of the city are spanking new too. But when you comment on this, my driver Altaf says with a dour expression: "Oh yes, jahan se minister log jatey hei, woh raastey theek hi hei, baki sab key burey haal hei (The roads that ministers use are fine; the rest are in bad shape)."

Sakina Hussein, a Patna housewife and a veteran in this city, brushes aside your appreciation with, "Oh a couple of these roads were actually laid overnight by Lalu. Yes, he did it in one single night, proving that they can improve things if they want to. He did it just before the elections, as though he could fool people."

Her comment goes to prove that there are many people who believed that it was RJD Chief Lalu Yadav and not Buta Singh who was actually running the government during President's rule that was imposed after the Bihar electorate gave an indecisive verdict.

When asked to comment on any change that was evident after the JD(U)-BJP government had come to power, Shabbir Hussein, one of the few industrialists in Patna who did not desert the State, despite the slow but sure exodus of business houses and industrialists from Patna over the last two decades, says, "At the moment nothing much has changed; the system has been eaten away so gravely from within that only over a very long period of time things will start improving if there are honest, generous and wise people who start working from now to bring about change."

He makes a pertinent point when he says that changes in Bihar are tied up with changes in the rest of India.

"Though Bihar is cited as an example of bad governance and corruption, these things are not confined to Bihar alone. It is an all-India phenomenon and the rest of India will have to change too. The other day President Kalam said that Bihar is very important to India; I would say that the rest of India is also important to Bihar."

On whether the new Chief Minister is up to the task of changing Bihar he says, "Nitish Kumar is a well intentioned man so is Sushil Kumar Modi (Deputy Chief Minister); they are both honourable men. Whether they can do it, only time will tell."

So was the system "eaten away" during Lalu's time? "Not at all; he too began as a well-intentioned person. He was a victim of the system, which ultimately corrupted him. What was earlier known as the steel frame of the administration later turned into a wooden frame and the wood has been eaten away by termites.

"But there is a widespread belief that the two top men at the helm have integrity and no axes to grind, and that by itself in Bihar is a huge advantage to start with."

Neeraj Labh, who runs the organisation `Initiatives in Development Support' says that while it is too early to see any change in Bihar, "at least the mood has turned upbeat and people have become optimistic."

But Dr Ghosh cautions that while this mood is reflected in the upper strata of society, "those from poor and disadvantaged classes, particularly from the rural areas continue to have a sense of hopelessness about their future."

(To be continued)

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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