The visibly emotional Ramgoolam met the people of
Harigaon, talked to them and then addressed them in
their own dialect, Bhojpuri. The message was loud and
clear: he wanted to convey to the local people as to
how much attached these migrants still are to Bihar
though they have left the place more than 130 years
back.
He appealed to the people of Bihar to work hard and
make it a developed state. They should not consider
themselves unlucky and disadvantaged. He cited the
example of his grandfather who left his home without
anything in hand to settle in Mauritius. It is the
people from this state who transformed the tiny island
nation thousands of kilometers from here. He said that
life was nothing but full of struggle.
The Prime Minister than laid the foundation stone of
several developmental projects in the village. The
state government has already decided to modernize the
pond and name it after Navinchandra’s grandfather,
Moheeth Sarovar. The high school, whose foundation he
laid today has been named after his father, Sir
Sewoosagur Ramgoolam and the hospital after
Navinchandra himself. He also donated Rs one crore for
the construction of the hospital.
Harigaon is situated on the National Highway,
therefore, what is needs is just a road inside the
village. This work has already been taken up. The
Prime Minister once again announced two scholarships
for the students of Bihar.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday did not mince his
word to state that Biharis have always proved their
mettle by sheer hard-work be it in India, Surinam,
Mauritius or anywhere else. Today they were being
chased away from Assam and Maharashtra. But the truth
is that the entire country belongs to them and they
have made enormous contribution both in India and
abroad.
While there was celebration time in Harigaon on the
return of native, Barkasinghpura wore a totally
different look. People of this village did not cook
food and observe collective fast on Tuesday. Last year
chief minister Nitish Kumar went to the village, laid
foundation stone of some development projects and than
took the soil from the temple of the village as a gift
for the Prime Minister Ramgoolam. Later, the Mauritius authority confirmed that the
ancestral village was Harigaon and not Barkasinghpura.
However, on Monday evening while speaking on the
occasion of public reception to the Mauritius Prime
Minister the Bihar chief minister tried to indulge in
damage limitation exercise. He made it amply clear
that for his guest the entire Bihar is home and people
of Barkasinghpura did not need to lose heart. The
developmental works which he inaugurated would be
completed, he assured.
But the people of Barkasinghpura had a complaint. They
were not even allowed to go to Harigaon––perhaps out
of fear that they may cause trouble.
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