Students of Kala Jyoti celebrate Bihar Divas in Gaya on Tuesday. Picture by Suman

March 22: Bihar Divas festivities were not limited to the state capital. Elaborate arrangements were witnessed in districts, where schoolchildren, government employees and others participated in cultural events organised to mark the special day.

In Muzaffarpur, more than 1,200 boys and girls belonging to seven high schools and 25 middle schools took out a prabhat pheri from their respective institutions in the morning. The procession concluded at Khudiram Bose Memorial Ground at Companybagh area.

Divisional commissioner S.M. Raju and district magistrate Santosh Kumar Mall inaugurated the two-day Bihar Divas celebration. In the evening, 99 earthen lamps were lit on the collectorate premises to mark 99 years of statehood of Bihar.

In Saran commissionary, Bihar Divas was organised in three districts — Saran, Gopalganj and Siwan — with much fanfare. Rallies, seminars and cultural programmes were organised to mark the day. Blood donation and loan distribution camps were also organised. District magistrate (DM) Vinay Kumar along with many others donated blood at the camp. The DM distributed loan to the tune of Rs 16 lakh to men and women of scheduled caste.

In Bhagalpur, the main event was organised at Sandis compound ground. It was inaugurated by divisional commissioner, Bhagalpur, D.S. Pandey. The main attraction of the programme was the folk dance performance by school students. Two plays — Bahula-Vishari and Bisorout — were staged by local artistes. A cricket match was organised for physically challengedkids.

In Gaya, a marathon — Vikas Daud — was organised from Harihar Subrahmanian stadium to Vishnupad temple in the morning. Magadh range deputy inspector general (DIG) Umesh Kumar flagged off the marathon. The Vikad Daud was followed by Vikas Shivir (development camp) at Gandhi Maidan. DM Bandana Pre-yashi inaugurated the camp.

In Motihari, the three-day celebration at Gandhi Maidan was inaugurated by East Champaran DM Abhijit Sinha. Health and child welfare programme, women development corporation, district rural development authority, social security and CRPF were among the departments which set up stalls on the occasion.