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| Students of St Anne’s Girls’ High School, Mandar, rehearse for Foundation Day celebrations at Birsa Munda Football Stadium in Morabadi, Ranchi, on Thursday |
Jharkhand completes 13 years as a state and celebrates its 14th Foundation Day on Friday, November 15, 2013. The political who’s who is agog over chest-thumping speeches and ceremonial felicitations, and the capital has had its quota of symbolic dusting. But for the rest of the year, would Team Hemant like to know what is on the minds of citizens? The Telegraph hears out everyone between Gen Now to Gen Ex
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Bokaro schoolgirl
Zurisha Aftab Class XII (commerce), head girl of Delhi Public School
My top worry: I find too few institutes for higher education within the state. That’s why thousands of bright minds move out of Jharkhand after Plus Two to seek quality education in metros and other cities. This brain drain has another aspect — youngsters after leaving the state for specialised or higher education, seldom come back. They get jobs and settle elsewhere. The state loses out
My solution: If top-notch institutes of higher education come up in this state, students will stay back for specialisation. And when investors come to know about our huge trained talent pool, they will set up industries here. It will create a vibrant professional atmosphere. More importantly, Jharkhand will prosper. But for all this to happen, we need two things simultaneously — mass literacy and political stability. Only literate masses can vote for a stable government
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Jamshedpur college-goer
Taslima Khatoon third-year English (honours), Karim City College
My top worry: I don’t know where to start because problems seem synonymous to Jharkhand. So many governments came and went in this 13-year-old state without doing much for the uplift of minority educational institutions. Only skilled youths can dream and do big things
My solution: Infrastructure building takes political will. It is childish to see parties join in coalition and withdraw their support whenever they please. It is up to us to elect good, sensible legislators who will ensure governance instead of serving their vested interests
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Ranchi young professional
Nidhi Nikunj obstetrician and gynaecologist, runs Care Clinic at Morabadi
My top worry: I have two. When people call me an achiever, two things come to my mind. One, there has been a massive exodus of academics, skilled workers and youths to other states, who don’t wish to return. Two, there is a yawning difference between the living standards in urban and rural Jharkhand. Many rural families live on the amount of money city-bred youngsters spend on one cappuccino. Also, though there are some basic medical facilities in villages, super-speciality treatment options are mostly absent across the state
My solution: The challenges before the state — stopping brain drain, preventing skewered development and stemming social unrest — are formidable. How can it do so? The state needs to invest sincerely to give social and economic security to all its citizens, regardless of where they live
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Family man from Dhanbad
Debabrat Mitra radiologist, owner of pathological lab Care Diagnostics Center
My top worry: I feel pained to see that three generations of our family have lived in a power-strapped state though it is so rich in coal. My family’s roots in Dhanbad run deep. My late father L.C. Mitra, the first radiologist in Dhanbad, set up his laboratory in the pre-Independence era. My wife Bidya and I are raising our daughter Shreya, who studies in Carmel School, while my son Deep is a doctor in Delhi. It is a pity companies such as Maithon Power Limited (MPL) that produces around 1000MW, gives power to other states like Delhi, Haryana, Bengal and Punjab but not Jharkhand where the plant is situated. Also, the state is naturally beautiful, but most scenic sites have neither safety nor infrastructure. Look at Topchanchi lake or Bhatinda falls!
My solution: The political class must have clear priorities in place. That will help them formulate policies geared around them
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Ramgarh senior citizen
Basant Kumar Hetamsaria businessman-cum-social worker
My top worry: As a trained mechanical engineer from BIT-Sindri (1975 batch), I have tried to scientifically analyse where and why the state is lagging behind. For one, bureaucrats and ministers are not on the same page, so the chapter of development goes for a toss. Secondly, even good MPs and MLAs think in terms of development for their constituencies only, not the state as a whole. There is no visionary leader
My solution: We are the state’s people and we have the power to reject leaders who have failed. We have to stop being treated as a vote bank that can be manipulated. Let’s vote for able leaders
