Now Bihar’s first multi-storeyed industrial complex at Fatuha!

Now Bihar’s first multi-storeyed industrial complex at Fatuha!

Fatuha: last year in December, Bihardays carried a report on plans to start Bihar’s first multi-storeyed industrial complex at the Fatuha industrial area in Patna district. Recently, the foundation was formally laid by the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for what is to grow into a “leather hub”, with initial investment of Rs 400 crore by 600 micro, small and medium entrepreneurs. Most of the entrepreneurs — Muslim immigrants from Bihar running micro and small leather units in Mumbai’s Dharavi — have decided to relocate their industries to their home state, Bihar.

This is the first instance when a very large number of Biharis are coming back to Bihar to start their industries. What is important here is clearly the scale, the number of entrepreneurs re-entering Bihar in a virtual horde. Apart from the money they bring in, they will carry with them bagfuls of intangibles such as attitude and work ethic, not to mention the latest skills straight from Mumbai. They will clearly bring in trained labour from Mumbai apart from training the local labour in Fatuha on a long term basis. This is why this is not just about leather or luggage production but a momentous event for Bihar with massive repercussions for years to come. What Bihar gets with this entry are not isolated units but a whole beehive with its own material and moral power.

Nitish added that the leather industry has been thriving in Mumbai because of Bihar’s quality leather and labour but now the industries would be set up in Bihar with the help of its own skilled and unskilled labour. The interesting thing is this exodus from Mumbai is powered solely by the secure business environment [law and order situation], more than anything else. The situation with power supply in Bihar is pathetic and will remain so for a few more years. Imagine the state of things after 2016 when Bihar also achieves relative security in terms of power supply. Along with the hub comes in the name of the famous architect Hafeez Contractor, who has had a mixed reputation in Mumbai as not everyone admires his design visions. But it must be admitted that he represents the state of the art at this point. The multi-storeyed building at Fatuha has been designed by Contractor, adding luster to the Fatuha label.

However as for Nitish’s decision to seek Contractor’s inputs for developing the area alongside river Ganga, instructing his officials to have a meeting with Contractor, a note of warning must be issued. Before accepting design suggestions from the great architect, Nitish’s men must check on Contractor’s track record on his development vision for Mumbai seafront. Ganga perhaps deserves a more sensitive and environment conscious architect-designer with a more holistic vision. Dealing with a river is not the same thing as dealing with a multi-storeyed complex.