Around 40 years back, Janakpur was a bustling city. Students from all over the country came to study at the Ram Swaroop Ram Sagar Bahumukhi Campus established in 1957. Pilgrims from India and Nepal thronged to this holy city in the thousands. It was the political hotbed for revolutions. With such a strong base, one would expect Janakpur to have become one of the best cities in the country. Sadly, it has slid back. The college is in poor shape. Classes do not occur as they should. Streets are dirtier. Drains are filled with litter. There are no dustbins.
Around 40 years back, Nuwakot was a city that would be considered by any standard quite remote. It did not have access to road. Now this town has a resort, a museum, proper water supply and irrigation facilities. Before you enter the town, you will see a board which warns you of fines of up to Rs 500 if you are found littering. About every 200 meters is a dustbin. The school and the medical facility have new paint and are very clean. Entrepreneurial spirit is high. There are poultry farms, vegetable farms and fisheries.
There are multiple reasons as to why these two towns have changed in such contrasting ways. But one chief reason is lack of political desire to see Janakpur developed. The Panchayati regime did not want border towns to be well-developed. It was their policy. They intentionally stifled the city. It makes no economic sense that one of the most fertile lands in the country has no irrigation facilities. It makes no sense that where the cost of building roads is a lot cheaper, and the economic impact a lot greater, Kathmandu has chosen to build roads elsewhere first.
The brief multi-party democracy didn’t work out well for Janakpur either. No new roads were built. The old roads deteriorated in conditions. Despite being historically a center of learning, no new universities were opened. Notice that the two new universities, Pokhra University and Purbanchal University, are both in regions where the Pahadi population is large and where their lobby is strong. Attempts by Bimalendra Nidhi to establish a university in Janakpur has gone nowhere.
The Janakpur region politicians have lacked the political clout in Kathmandu. Nuwakot has always benefited from its representation in Kathmandu. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Ram Sharan Mahat, Prakash Sharan Mahat, and Post Bahadur Bogati are all from this district.
The Janakpur region politicians have lacked the political clout in Kathmandu. Nuwakot has always benefited from its representation in Kathmandu. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Ram Sharan Mahat, Prakash Sharan Mahat, and Post Bahadur Bogati are all from this district.
Things cannot get worse for Janakpur. But amidst these deteriorating conditions, there is some hope. There are indications that tide should turn in the next few years.
In recent years, the price of land has shot up remarkably, a sign that the market believes prices in the region will go up. This region sends the most people abroad to work. This has led a large flow of remittance. If a good business climate can be created, entrepreneurship will foster because people here have the cash and experience of foreign lands.
Business climate could change. Janakpur’s politics has always been influenced by the politics next door in Bihar. The poor conditions in Bihar were considered as the main reason as to why Janakpur was dirty, inefficient and unsafe. There is now encouraging sign from Janakpur’s foreign neighbor.
Bihar is turning around (socially and economically), and there should be some spillover effect on Nepal. A strongly male chauvinist society is turning upside down. One elderly relative of mine from Bihar said half-jokingly that men were now scared of women, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has “brought them on the street”. In other words, Nitish’s campaign to uplift the status of women in the state is giving results. It has given them a new sense of confidence that makes men uncomfortable. There is a revolution in the economic sector as well. The business climate has improved dramatically. Bihar is a lot safer place than what it was six years ago.
Also encouraging is the campaign by NGOs and INGOs in Nepal following the Madhesi revolution. The positive effects of this campaign should be seen in a few years. This should develop social capital and foster communal work.
In a decade or two, Janakpur might just regain its lost glory.
Writer is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at Texas A&M International University, US
680anand@gmail.com
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