Dak bums start their run at Sultanganj on Sunday. Picture by Amit Kumar

Sultanganj, July 17: Every year, Jehanabad resident Ramadhin Yadav prays for the prosperity of his family at the Shravani Mela at Deoghar in Jharkhand. This year, the dak bum kanwariya would pray for a little more. He would ask Lord Baidyanath to grant special status to Bihar.

Around 35,000 dak bum kanwariyas fetched water from the Ganga here today and started their 95-km-long journey to Deoghar on foot. They would run non-stop and pour the holy water on Lord Baidyanath on Sunday. Thousands of other kanwariyas would walk to the abode of Lord Shiva.

“Like every year, I wanted to pray for the well-being of my family. But this time, I will add a special prayer to Lord Baidyanath to grant Bihar special status. Nitishji has been fighting for so long but the central government has not paid any heed. So, we will pray to the god to convince the UPA leaders at the Centre,” said Ramadhin.

Like Ramadhin, the special status quest of the state would be in the mind of thousands of pilgrims after chief minister Nitish Kumar raised the issue in the course of the inauguration of the Bihar-leg of the month-long festival yesterday. Nitish requested the pilgrims to pray for special status to the state.

“When you will reach the shrine to Lord Baidhyanath at Deoghar, after the long journey on foot, you will want to pray for your family. However, please do not forget to pray to the lord to fulfil our demand for special status,” said Nitish.

Dak bums from other states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, also pledged to pray for the well-being of Bihar.

“Bihar has changed dramatically. Around 10 years ago, the condition of the state was horrible. We faced a lot of trouble on our way to the pilgrimage. Things have, however, changed now,” said Vinod Kumar, a dak bom from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Bishnu Das, a dak bum from Jharkhand, said: “If Nitishji wants the grace of the lord for the well-being of the state, we will convey his prayers. Bihar has staged an amazing turnaround under him. Many people in Jharkhand now want to merge with Bihar because of his good governance.”

Nitish said his government would provide all the necessary facilities to the pilgrims. He added that the kuccha kanwariya road from Sultanganj to Dumma gate (at the border of Deogarh) had been constructed.

“The road has reduced the journey by 10km,” he said. Earlier, the kanwariyas had to cover 105km from Sultanganj to Deoghar.

Nitish also said the state government would now develop a model kanwariya route for the pilgrims, many of whom come from other states and abroad. “We want to have facilities like accommodation, medical aid, shops and food kiosks after every kilometre on the path. It is our duty to take care of the pilgrims,” he said.