Siwan News

Nitish opens schemes worth Rs 283cr in Siwan

PATNA: CM Nitish Kumar on Friday charged the Centre with giving step-motherly treatment to Bihar to derail its fast march towards progress.
Addressing a huge gathering at the Agriculture Farm at Maharajganj on the concluding day of three-day Seva Yatra of Siwan district after inaugurating 356 schemes worth over Rs 283 crore and laying foundation of 398 schemes worth over Rs 126 crore, Nitish made a scathing attack on the Centre and said that it was not giving special category state status to Bihar. He said that if Bihar gets this status, industrialists from outside would start investing in the state as they would get relief in central taxes.



The CM also charged the Centre with not releasing Bihar's full quota of fertilizers to the state. He alleged that two months quota of fertilizer of the state had been diverted to other states.
"With the growth rate of the state increasing, the Centre has hatched a conspiracy to reduce its agriculture production to bring down the growth rate," Nitish alleged. When the NDA government assumed power in Bihar in 2005, its power generation was zero. The power plants at Kanti and Barauni were shut. The state government initiated steps to generate electricity, he said and added that Bihar State Electricity Board and NTPC will generate 400MW power at Kanti under a joint venture. Efforts are also on to start generation at the Barauni plant, the CM said.
The CM said the state government was building roads to every village having a population of 500. "Now, we are planning to link villages having a population of 250 with main road," he announced. This would help the farmers to take their produce to market and get higher prices for them, he said.
He said bridges were being constructed on several rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak and Sone. Smaller bridges were also being built to facilitate villagers' movement. "Siwan has completely changed due to efforts of the people," he said.
The CM said his Seva Yatra is to get feedback from people about the progress of different welfare schemes. "Secondly, I visit places where anyone has done something wonderful which can be followed by others."
Nitish, who also inaugurated a subdivisional hospital there, said it would help poor in getting free treatment. "I need healthy people as they are my assets," he said. Earlier in the day, the CM held a marathon meeting lasting five hours to review the progress of different schemes in the district.

PLACES :DARAULI (DON)

About Darauli :-

Darauli is one of the 19 blocks in Siwan District. The total population of the block is 143,757 . There are 97 villages and 0 towns in this block. The literacy rate is 50.13% . The female literacy rate is 36.08% . The male literacy rate is 65.14% .

• The number of households in Darauli is 20,145. All the households are rural households and there is no urban households. .
• Female to male ratio of Darauli is 104.28%. Female to male ratio of the block is less than state's female to male ratio 91.93%. It is unsatisfactory and the people should drive some campaign to improve this.
• The literacy rate of the block is 50.13% compared to the literacy rate of state 47%. The literacy rate of the block is better than state literacy rate. Anyhow, the rate of literacy is low and needs immediate attention of Union and State Government.
• The female literacy rate is 36.08% compared to male literacy rate of 65.14% .
• The total working population is 35.99% of the total population. 52.6% of the men are working population . 20.43% of the women are working population.
• The main working population is 23.13% of the total population. 39.34% of the men are main working population . 7.94% of the women are main working population. While the marginal working population is 12.86% of the total population. 13.26% of the men are marginal working population. 12.49% of the women are marginal working population.
• The total non working population is 64.01% of the total population. 47.4% of the men are non working population. 79.57% of the women are non working population.                                                                 

History of Daruli (Don) :-

The village of Don is located in Darauli block in Siwan district in Bihar. The village is associated with Buddhism in a very important way. The Buddha died in Kusinara, without leaving behind an instruction as to what was to be done with His mortal remains. Post His death, the Mallas of Kusinara gathered and took upon themselves the task of His funeral. Respect was paid for 6 days and after that the body was cremated. After the funeral, a dispute broke out between the Mallas and chiefs of other clans over sharing of the relics. Resolution came with the intervention of a brahmin by the name of Dona. He distributed the relics equally and more importantly to the satisfaction of the eight claimants.

All the claimants, out of sheer happiness and gratitude, gave Dona the vessel in which the ashes of the Buddha was collected. Dona, on his part, declared that he would construct a stupa to enshrine the sacred vessel. This stupa, later, went on become an important pilgrims’ destination.

Reference of the remains of this stupa is found in the travel details of Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang. Today, the stupa is no more than a grassy mound with a Hindu temple on it just outside the village of Don. Quiet closeby is a beautiful statue of Tara who is now worshipped as a Hindu goddess. The statue, it is believed, dates back to 9th century. 

Another story of Don Mythology:-

A village in the Darauli block where there are remnants of a fort, which is said to be connected with the famous hero of the Mahabharat, Acharya Dronacharya the guru of both Kaurav’s and Pandav’s.

Dona's stupa is a lesser-known but popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, despite its isolated location. The Buddhist traveler Hiuen Tsang mentions a visit to Don in his account of his travels in India. He describes the stupa as being in ruins. The account of Dona's distribution of Buddha's ashes and being given the vessel is a mentioned in the end of the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, which is described in Maurice Walsh's The Long Discourses. Presently Dona's stupa is a grassy hill and has a Hindu temple built over it, where a beautiful statue of Tara is worshipped as a Hindu goddess. This statue was carved in the 9th century. A.D. Tourists on a Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour are sure to appreciate the historic sight of the stupa at Don. 

How to Reach:-

Don can be reached from Patna to Siwan via Chhapra. A day trip from Kusinagar via Gopalganj can also be arranged.

After the Buddha's cremation a dispute arose as to how his ashes should be divided. Eventually a brahmin named Dona was given the task and he did it to the satisfaction of all the eight claimants. As a reward for his services he was given the vessel in which the ashes had been collected and from which he had divided and he announced that he would enshrine this vessel in a stupa. This stupa later became a popular destination with pilgrims. When Hiuen Tsiang went there it was already in ruins but it still sometimes emitted a brilliant light. Today Dona's stupa is a large grassy mound with a Hindu temple on it just outside the village of Don. Nearby is an exceptionally beautiful statue of Tara now being worshipped as a Hindu goddess. This statue dates from the 9th century. To get to Don go from Patna to Siwan via Chhapra . Alternatively you can visit Don as a day trip from Kusinara via Gopalganj. Beyond Siwan the road is very bad. The story about Dona's division of the Buddha's ashes is in the last part of the Mahaparinibbana Sutta which can be found in Walshe's The Long Discourses. When you have finished in Patna cross the Ganges by the new Mahatma Gandhi Bridge and head north to Vesali via Hajipur.