The Patna administration is gearing up to beat its last year’s record of forming a 400-km long human chain in support of liquor ban. This time the human chain is going to be longer with 18 lakh people expected to participate. The idea behind this 588-km long massive human chain is to raise awareness about dowry deaths and child marriage. The event will take place on January 21, 2018.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been a vocal critic of the practice of taking dowry. Last year, in October, he had launched a campaign against child marriage and dowry. Not only had he made it clear that he would not attend any wedding ceremony where the groom’s side had demanded dowry, he made an appeal to the citizen of Bihar to boycott weddings where dowry has played a role in fixing the match.
Dowry death has been increasing at an alarming rate in the state. Bihar ranks second in the country, only next to Uttar Pradesh in dowry death cases, as per data compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).
According to reports, Bihar witnessed a total of 4,852 dowry-related cases in 2016. And now the state government is gearing to create awareness about the issue in the state by the means of creating a human chain which will cover all district headquarters, blocks, and panchayats.
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About the human chain
The chain will originate at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, where it is expected to be 588 km long, and branch out in four directions from gate numbers 1, 5, 7 and 10. While the chain from gate number 1 will pass through Fraser Road to reach Koilwat bridge, the chain from gate number 5 will reach Dana Cantonment while passing through Digha Road.
Similarly, the chain from gate number 7 will pass through Ashok Rajpath to reach Mokama and the chain from gate number 10 will reach Gandhi Seta while passing through Kankarbagh, The Times of India reported.
Who all are participating
In terms of participation, while 4,500 people are likely to participate from Patna, nearly 15 lakh people are expected to join from Nalanda district, where the human chain in proposed to be 421 km long.
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Similarly, 14 lakh people are expected to unite for the cause from Bhojpur district where the chain is expected to be 364 km long. The officials expect around 8 lakh people to participate from Buxar district where the chain the chain will cover a distance of 277 km.
On the other hand, Rohtas district administration has planned nearly 420km-long human chain involving nearly 15 lakh people, while Kaimur district will cover a distance of 312 km.
What all preparations have been made
The state health department has asked all government hospitals and medical facilities to remain open on January 21. The department has also asked the civil surgeons to form mobile medical teams to deal with medical emergencies. Apart from this, a team of ASHA and ANM workers has also been deputed at regular intervals along with basic drugs. The state health department has also deputed ambulances with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) across every route in the state.
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The government has also prohibited the movement of public transportation from 9 AM onwards to ensure a hassle-free event.
Similar event
A similar event was conducted in Bihar last year. According to reports, nearly 23 million people came forward in support of liquor ban in the state. The chain was stretched across 38 districts and covered nearly 11,000 km.
