जीवन के रंग- अपनों के संग- REMEMBERING NEELKANTH PRASAD -‘VISVESVARAYA OF BIHAR’ (04/01/2020)

NEELKANTH PRASAD

NEELKANTH PRASAD AND HIS WIFE SHAIVALINI 

Three close family members all with the initial ‘N’ passed away in the month of January albeit in different years- my Badke Bauji Neelkanth Prasad (5^th January 1995), my Papa Narbadeshwar Prasad (31^st January 2006) and my cousin Naveen Sahay or Naviniya for short. (15^th January 2008). All the three personalities were unique in their own way. I was closely associated with each of them. Hence I often remember them, more so my father who I miss every single day. I remember Badke Babu or Badke Bauji (Neelu Cha) as a soft-spoken suave patriarch who often dropped in at our place on his way to Ranchi and back to Patna- a distance which he invariably covered in his chauffeur-driven fiat car. As a child, I only knew he was a very senior officer and a renowned engineer. Occasionally he came along with Sri Satya Narayan Sahay, Satto Cha for us, who was also an engineer with the Bihar Government.

   

Sri Neelkanth Prasad headed a number of projects during his tenure, including the construction of Ranchi-Tatanagar highway via Bundu-Tamar-Chandil route which shortened the distance between these two important cities of the erstwhile Bihar. Earlier it was covered through a circuitous route via Chaibasa. However, the most important contribution of Sri. Neelkanth Prasad was the famous Mahatma Gandhi Setu Project which he headed as its Engineer-in-Chief. This bridge was the longest road bridge, measuring over 5 kilometres (5.75 kilometres to be precise), an engineering marvel both in design and technology in its time that brought North Bihar close to Patna considerably reducing the distance between Patna and Hajipur/Muzaffarpur. Such was the significance of this bridge that it was named after the ‘Father of Our Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi and none other than the then Prime Minister of India Smt. Indira Gandhi flew down to Patna to inaugurate this world-renowned bridge in May 1982. This was just 6 months after Sri Neelkanth Prasad’s had superannuated in November 1981. The Government of Dr Jagannath Mishra, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, did not grant him an extension in service till the inauguration of the bridge, that he definitely deserved. Dr. Mishra was bound to obey the orders of his political master Mrs Indira Gandhi, who was not favourably inclined to give Sri Neelkanth Prasad this extension, given his strong political legacy. Such was the legacy of K. B. Sahay, his father and Ex-Chief Minister of Bihar, whose image as the ‘Iron Man of Bihar’ was enough to haunt the corridors of powers even a decade after his death in 1974. This was sheer pettiness on part of the Government of Bihar that failed to give the credit to the person it was due. Sri Neelkanth Prasad gave his blood and sweat for this prestigious project but his contribution does not merit acknowledge even by the Bihar Government. Hardly anyone in Bihar remembers its very own ‘Vishvesvaraya’ even on ‘Engineer’s Day’.

   

Sri Neelkanth Prasad fought relentlessly to get this prestigious project sanctioned. Despite the fact that the length of Ganga in UP is 1170 km and it is 445 kms in Bihar,  Uttar Pradesh had over fifteen bridges on Ganges whereas in case of Bihar it was only two. This leaves one numb at the extent of discrimination Bihar faced. When Sri Neelkanth Prasad took up the case, the Planning Commission refused to clear the Ganga Bridge at Patna in late sixties dismissing it as economically unfeasible. This discrimination was never reported in the National Press. Nor the effort made by Neelkanth Prasad to get this prestigious project sanctioned for Bihar was ever acknowledged by the National Press. ‘The National Press’ has always highlighted how Bihar is the fountainhead of dynastic politics. They refused to acknowledge the contribution of the brilliant engineer Neel Kanth Prasad, son of former Bihar Chief Minister K. B. Sahay, who kept the dream of the Ganga Bridge alive in spite of very limited resources in extremely trying circumstances and managed to execute it successfully. This great hero of Bihar finds no mention in any “National Press”. [Excerpts from the article “Journalists and Bihar Bashing” (April 22, 2007) in response to an article by Rajdeep Sardesai. Here’s the link http://1bihar.blogspot.com/2007/04/journalists-and-bihar-bashing.htm]

Despite all efforts to play down his legacy, Sri Neelkanth Prasad and his contribution cannot be wished away so easily. He will be remembered so long as ‘The Mahatma Gandhi Setu’ exists. I salute this great son of Bihar, today, on his 25^th death anniversary.