Anerood Jugnauth: Making new plans

Jamshedpur, Feb. 22: The Republic of Mauritius is keen to set up a Mauritius House in the state capital.

Deputy chief minister and in-charge of industry and forest departments, Sudhir Mahto revealed today that during his recent trip to Mauritius, President Anerood Jugnauth expressed his intention of setting up a Mauritius House in Ranchi.

Mahto was in Mauritius to attend the Indian Trade Exhibition held between February 12 and 18. He along with Sanjeev Ranjan, acting high commissioner of India, represented the country at the trade fair.

Mahto said that keeping in view the significant number of people from Jharkhand in Mauritius, their government has decided to adopt the under-developed villages in Bundu, Tamar and other villages located in the periphery of the state capital.

Describing Mauritius as the gateway to the African continent, Mahto said that his trip was fruitful and that both the countries could now look forward to strengthening their cultural and business tie-ups.

“I met both the President and Prime Minister of that country, who were keen in establishing a Mauritius House in Ranchi so that they could effectively work towards developing the villages and promoting welfare activities,” said Mahto.

The deputy chief minister also took out time from his busy schedule to visit some of the rural areas in Mauritius.

He also met a large cross section of people from Jharkhand, majority of them from Bundu and Tamar, who had migrated to that country to earn a livelihood.

“A considerable number of people from Hazaribagh, Bundu and Tamar now stay in Mauritius. They run an organisation comprising 6,000 Jharkhandis. The Prime Minister of that country, Navin Sagar Ram Gulam, assured me that a delegation of 250 members from that organisation would visit the state capital soon. The Mauritius government would arrange a free trip for the delegation,” said Mahto.

Mahto added that he had also interacted with the local exporters, who assured him help in exporting tussar and other handicraft items produced in the state.

Mahto said that during his trip to Mauritius, he urged the business community to visit Jharkhand and make use of the opportunities available here.