I have followed the news of Parswanath Developers of Delhi winning the contract for making the "Budhha Memorial Park" at the prime site of erstwhile Bankipur jail at Patna.
Sir, it may kindly be noted that Bankipur jail site is no ordinary location. It is the face of Patna (or the whole Bihar) to the rest of the country and world. Why wasting such an important site (or perhaps the greatest site that present times has offered us) for a ordinary park or a temple-like thing ?
Sir, please develop this site for constructing World's Tallest Twin Towers - "The Patliputra Towers" just like the Petronas Towers of Kualalumpur, Malaysia. This Tower should house the World Trade Centre for this part of India and the world. In the vicinity of this Twin-Towers, there can be some of the greatest IT Parks, Multiplexes and Malls, amusement parks etc to give Patna a really befitting ultra modern look.
Sir, may I submit before your kindself that this "garden plan" has not been thought and planned properly in the interest of Patna and Bihar as a whole. I think this whole plan should be cancelled and should be redecided and redrafted. There can be national debate on this topic of great importance. The views of some great city planners of India like Hafiz Contractor or Charles Correa of Mumbai should be taken to discuss this matter of great importance for the future of Patna and Bihar. Sir, may I submit before your kindself the simple fact that parks and temples won't help Bihar in this 21st Century World. We have enough natural surroundings in Bihar. If at all, these are needed, we can make them at some more suitable places or other but not at the site of ex Bankipur jail. Plese see where the Akshdham Temple at Delhi is located ? On the outskirt of Delhi. No doubt, gardens should be made but at a more serene, subtle, calm and quite places where the human soul would seek peace and solace, but definitely not at a busy urban junction opposite Patna Railway Station !
Sir, you are one of the the great visionary leaders, we ever had. Please stop constructing this park and instead develop a World Trade Centre (like the Taipei Towers of Taiwan, Sears Towers of Chicago, Empire State building of New York etc for inspiration...) at the above site so that every Bihari can make his head high stating that all the world's Tallest and Best are not outside, some are in Bihar too.
Dr.R.P.Raman
Sr. Scientist
CIFE(ICAR)
Buddha is the symbol of the 1st Bihari renaissance. Hence the building of Budhha Memorial Parkat the site is justified. The statue will remind the current and future generations of Bihar about the importance of Buddha in Bihar, and make us aware of the very meaning of Bihar which comes from the word Vihara. Manoj.Kumar@irclass.org |
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I partly agree with Dr R P Raman , that the vacant space of Patna jail, to be converted into world trade centre, converting the prime location into a park will be just a misuse of the resources.
Every body has the right to give suggestions or comment on some one’s thought, but the people sitting in the government who decided to use the location as park seem to be myopic. There is a saying in English, “ eyes do not see which the mind does not know”, our leaders see only their own interest ,either vote or commission and the park may give both
We, in Bihar has three basic problems , economy, education and health, and this prime location should be utilized only for these purposes , if some one asks me, considering it proximity with the Patna railway station I would suggest that best utilization of a such a prime location will be construction of a tertiary level multi disciplinary hospital, a state where there is population explosion and rampant disease this space could have been utilized for this noble cause! Owned, governed and run by Biharis alone, with a special package for the government employees and people from BPL. FUND for such a project can be easily arranged from NRI’s! don’t we see our leaders go to APOLO Delhi for simple reasons at the government cost?
DR ANWER AHSAN
Dept Of Pediatric Surgery, mch
Dammam, ksa
Email ahsan_drpedsurg@hotmail.com
At present, Patna has no strength to digest the heights of Petronas, Malaysian Oil giants, and Taipei 101, a newly constructed world Trade Center in Taiwan . Taiwan dominates with number of semiconductor manufacturing units including TSMC, second to INTEL of USA in the world. What do we do? Very recently, five miles away from Legislative Assembly of Bihar five peson were hacked to death. People are loosing faith, there is complete breakdown of trust amongst us. Bihar needs a saintly place where one can exchange tranquility (to others). I think Budhha Memorial Park may host such activities for the betterment of Patna from several years down the line. I am sure Park will pave the way, bringing to an end of our 'loud' and 'violent' society, atleast in Patna. Dr. Sudhir Ranjan, USA ransud@yahoo.com |
Many people will undoubtedly agree that you are a great visionary for such an out of box thinking, but I simply categorize you as a lunatic (a person whose actions and manner are marked by extreme eccentricity or recklessness) for such an idealistic thinking. Did you ever ponder pragmatism of your proposal?
First let Government of Bihar and people of Bihar protect the thousand of miles of railway lines and running trains before dreaming about WTC. Every single day several miles railway tracks are being blown away and and several trains are being robbed in different parts of Bihar. Maoism and Ranvir Sena are not valid businesses. Robbery is not a legal profession. You cannot construct a World Trade Center without any trade or business in the state, let alone Patna city. First let Patna Narak Nigam to deal with the perennial water logging in the city before providing infrastructure to WTC or even Budhha Memorial Park for that matter.
You will definitely argue that not every Bihari is a Maoist or a robber, and not every Bihari is a member of Ranvir Sena. But, there are handful of Bihari who are. There numbers will definitely be in thousands in each category, if not in lakhs. Even 100s of them are more than enough to destabilize any state of local machinery. Bihar needs to deal with them first.
On the day of their Convocation, all doctors take an oath to protect the sick and ill people. They are messiah of fallen people. Look what doctors of PMCH doing. Instead of working with syringes and stethoscope, these doctors working with lathis and chairs. Will somebody first remind them of their duties?
Since when did the site of erstwhile Bankipur jail became prime? I know Patna Railway Junction is there, Hanuman Mandir is there, a grand Mosque is there, and a good cinema Hall is there. But, how these landmarks warrant a WTC in the vicinity rather than a Budhha Memorial Park?
You draw inspiration from Petronas Towers, Taipei Towers, Sears Towers, Empire State building, and one or more of the umpteen high rise buildings in Dubai, but did you pause for a while to compare the city of Patna with Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Chicago, New York City, and Dubai. You need to spend at least a day in each of these five cities to propose something like them in Patna. Taking a blind leap of faith can be dangerous at times.
Japan was supposed to collaborate on the construction, initiation and functioning of an IIT in Patna. But, it pulled out of plan unceremoniously. Why?
I am not arguing here that every is bad in Bihar, but there many things that are really really bad in Bihar. These few bad things are heavily masking all the goods in Bihar. Unless Bihar gets rid of these few bad things, it does not deserve a WTC.
Pradeep
pkr5ul@gmail.com
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I agree with the present plan of the state govt to bring a Budhdha theme park at the heart of state capital. Maybe, because you are a scientist with a govt firm(presumably), marketing instincts are missing from your article. A world trade center (WTC) in Patna ! What will it house ? Where will money come from ? And if at all everything shapes up in favor of the WTC, How will it uniquely present our city to the whole world as such structures are just everywhere.
Just consider this: When I talk about "Buddha enlightement in our state" to my American colleagues, Bihar automatically scores over other Indian states. Remember, not a single state in India has any global recognition. It's in fact cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and NCR have got the recognition. This plan would attract religious tourism and help earn money and then build some of these structures. And as far as "wasting such an important site (or perhaps the greatest site that present times has offered us) for a ordinary park or a temple-like thing" is concerned, let me bring to your notice that "important sites" keep changing with the pace of development. A WTC was built after USA was built and not before it.
Kunal Kishore
kishore.kunal@gm.com
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If a park would come up at that location & I can guarantee that Patna won’t move much. Patna needs rapid & planned development. That site should be used prudently.
Also, our airport needs to be expanded or shifted. Also, the Patna University needs to be shifted somewhere near Neora or some other outskirts.. Patna need proper planning. We cant ignore it for long, or else the new generation wont forgive the present political system.
Md. Shayan Anwer
CGI| Bangalore
shayan.anwer@cgi.com
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am not much aware about the Bankipur Jail location, but if this is prime location, it should be used for more constructive things rather than using for memorial park or religious things. A more natural park can me made on outskirt of city. I found Dr. Raman writing this piece of story from his heart which compelled me to respond.
Mustaque Alam
KSA.