Members of Kosi Bedari Morcha at Kala Bhavan in Purnea on Wednesday. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Purnea, Jan. 4: Kosi Bedari Morcha, a non-political organisation, convened a mass gathering at Kala Bhavan in the district today to demand special status for the Kosi region on the eve of the chief minister’s ninth leg of Seva Yatra.

People from eight districts — Purnea, Araria, Kishanganj, Katihar, Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa and Khagaria — took part in the meeting.

Earlier, social workers, including Vijay Kumar Sreevastava, V.K. Thakur and others, sent a letter to the chief minister, explaining the need of developing Purnea district and Kosi region. Significant demands included upgrade of Purnea Sadar Hospital into a medical college, setting up a varsity on Purnea College campus and establishing a high court bench at Purnea civil court.

The morcha president, Ahmad Ashfaque Karim, its secretary Samrendra Kunal, its vice-presidents Engineer Prabhas Kumar and Viveka Nand Yadav, and Abhas Anand, a professor, shared their views with the audience.

“Considering that the average literacy rate within Kosi region as 35 per cent, alarming migration from this areas to other parts of the country in quest of jobs, poor industrialisation, lower energy supply, Karim told The Telegraph: “Nitish Kumar must turn his eyes if he wants to develop the state as a whole till 2015.”

He added: “During his Seva Yatra, we expect the chief minister to address key issues of the areas in which people are vulnerable to natural calamities such as floods. Even flood-hit people have not been fully addressed and only 221 houses were built against a requirement of 3,000.”

The morcha secretary, Samrendra Kunal, said: “The agrarian areas of Kosi region have turned into sand dunes and farmers in these areas suffered the most after Kosi floods. Once these areas are given special status, their people would be relieved of land taxes, get cheap power and other facilities.”

Kosi Bedari Morcha has been working towards raising awareness (bedari) among people on the causes of the Kosi region.