Bhagalpur (Bihar), Jan 17 (PTI) Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar today inaugurated and laid foundation stones formore than 600 schemes worth over Rs 200 crore in the districtduring his state-wide "Vikas Samiksha Yatra".
The Chief Minister arrived here by air from Patna anddrove straight to Udadih village under Sultanganj block wherehe visited the house of slain Indian Air Force commando NileshNayan, who was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Jammuand Kashmir in October last year.
Later, Kumar addressed a public meeting where he said"this village has the distinction of being the place of birthof a martyr who laid down his life fighting for the country.
It is a matter of pride".
The Chief Minister also flagged off 660 schemes worthRs 223 crore and said his government was committed to bringingthe fruits of development to every doorstep.
Kumar appealed to the people to wholeheartedly takepart in the state-wide human chain on Sunday and send across astrong message against dowry and child marriage - social evilsagainst which his government had launched a campaign onOctober 2 last.
Kumar lauded the role played by "Jeevika" self-helpgroups in empowering and promoting welfare of rural women andhoped that the SHGs would have "more than one crore members inthe near future".
"We have always realized the power of women. It was attheir request that we banned sale and consumption of liquor inthe state. The radical step is yielding positive results. Wehave also created a post of Inspector General of Police(Prohibition) so that the crackdown on illicit liquor tradersbecame more effective", Kumar said.
He also said "every household will get an electricityconnection by the end of this year and every street will havepucca roads and drains in four years".
The Chief Minister was accompanied by state waterresources minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, RajyaSabha member Kehkeshan Parveen and Chief Secretary AnjaniKumar Singh among others. PTI CORR NACSNS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.