Patna from no angle appears as the capital of India’s one of the poorer state. There is an urgent need to de-congest Patna in order to bring sanity to the madness there. No amount of urban planning will de-congest Patna.
By Syed Ali Mujtaba,
Just back from the ‘republic of Bihar,’ visiting its capital Patna. Very great feeling to be back home and nostalgia and fond memories of childhood haunted all through my stay there.
I have been visiting Patna since 70s, when there existed ‘Soda Fountain,’ D Paul and the lush green lawn called Gandhi Maidan. Over the years, the city has changed exponentially. I see both good and bad things prevailing and it is hard to choose between them.
Mandir and Masjid outsite Patna Junction
As far as positives are concerned, the city has become the bazaar or the marketplace for the whole Bihar. You name the brand, it exists there. There are huge numbers of shops of all around the city. There are malls and other shopping complexes that have sprung up. The hawkers have taken over the pavements. The wealth of the city is reflected through the goods being sold there.
The second noticeable thing about the city is the variety of cars seen on the road. The high rise residential complexes are another feature of the city with the old houses giving way to multi-storied housing flats. The way city’s residential area has expanded suggests that a huge migration of rural population over the recent years. The real estate prices are booming and almost on par with the metropolis of India.
Patna from no angle appears as the capital of India’s one of the poorer state. The enormous amount of wealth concentrated in the city is glaring. Patna is no more what the Mughals had left or what the British had developed. The urban boundaries are redrawn many times and are still expanding. Someone visiting the city after a long time maybe surprised with the gigantic developments in this historic city.
The flip side
The flip side is: It’s bursting at its seams. A sea of humanity seems to be swamping all over the urban space. Patna junction and ‘Ashok Raj Path’ are chocking. The ‘Patna lawn’ or Gandhi Maidan, in the middle of the town, which as a child, I still remember seeing polo matches being played there, now is a place for political rallies and public protests.
Patna’s traffic system is appalling. The stick wielding British era vintage policemen regulates the chaotic traffic system. There are no traffic rules in this city, the traffic signals do not work. With pavements taken over by the hawkers; people have no other option then to walk on the road. The roads meant for 4-5 lakh people are now being used by more than 50 lakh. The road from Patna town to Patna city is a classic example of traffic chaos.
The filth and garbage is littered all over Patna. There is no mechanism for garbage collection. With flies and mosquitoes, pigs and cows wading in that garbage the foul stench is all over the place. The much touted ‘Sulabh Shauchalay’ or public toilets which the state has given to the world is nowhere seen operational in the city. The city certainly needs “Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.”
There are few categories of people who caught my attention while I roamed in the city for a week. Bihar is a politically charged state and politics is the favorite pastime there. First, of course, were those who looked like politicians: Netas sitting inside the big SUVs and party workers roaming aimlessly on the streets. The second category was the ‘Doctors.’ I was amazed to see the astronomical numbers of private hospitals, nursing homes that have sprung up in the city. Someone told me that Patna doctors have amassed huge amount of wealth that may match corporate income. Come rainy season and disease proliferates, they make killing out of the sick people. Then they leave for Europe or America for holidaying. The third category was those running educational coaching institutes in Patna. The Bari Path, once a quiet lane, has become synonymous for this business.
Along with the coaching institutes, there is a plethora of educational institution from primary to higher education. The next category is of students. It looks that all the students of Bihar have descended here at Patna. There are any number of lodges both for girls and boys in the city. They students roam around the Ashok Raj Path which has large number of competitive bookshops, and on Bari Path, which has many coaching centres.
The last category is the common man. If any one likes to have glimpse of the real common man of India, a visit to Patna is recommended. The poverty and hunger is writ large on many faces. I was approached by one such person, saying he had no food since morning.
Patna City
Any description about Patna cannot be complete without the mention of Patna city. Patna is divided between Patna city and Patna. The City is the older area of habitation and Patna is an extension of it. Patna city is essentially the place where Muslim landed aristocracy once resided. There still are remains of the ruins with huge gates of the havelis (buildings) that tell the story of the Muslim splendor.
Patna city has now become Patna Sahib. With the prominent gurdwara, it’s now a Sikh pilgrimage centre. There is a sizable Sikh population, mostly Partition immigrants, occupying Muslim evacuee homes. Nonetheless, Patna city is essentially a Muslim locality that still maintains its old charm. With its narrow lanes and by lanes, life moves on in this overcrowded place.
Patna has quite a few landmarks; one of course is the “Golghar” the granary built by the British during World War II. It is circular in nature with stairs to climb on its top. As a child I remember seeing entire Patna from there. Now, very little can be seen from the “Golghar” as a number of high-rise buildings surround it and are sore points for the eyesight.
Gandhi Maidan, Patna
Need to shift the capital
There is an urgent need to de-congest Patna in order to bring sanity to the madness there. No amount of urban planning like building flyovers or artery roads or metro rail project or even creating satellite towns will de-congest Patna. The only remedy to ease the human pressure from Patna is to shift the capital elsewhere from its present location. The entire administrative paraphernalia has to be relocated. This could be the only way to make the people of Patna breathe easy.
A suggestion would be that the new capital can be built at Rajgir, which is not far from Patna. Rajgir is prominently located and connected with roadways and railways. It’s very close to the famed Nalanda University. The place has a picturesque hills and rope ways of ‘Johnny Mera Nam’ fame. A Chandigarh kind of township could be a feast for landscape developers. The city equipped with all modern facilities could be bait for all those who migrated out of Bihar in search of livelihood and modern day’s comforts of life.
An incentive for a true “Ghar Wapasi,” or return home, for the sons of the soil!
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(Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He hails from Bihar and can be contacted at [email protected] )