Why businessmen are leaving Bihar.

(From Business Line)

Byline: Rasheeda Bhagat, rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

Patna, April 3 - EVEN as Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Laloo Prasad Yadav was filing his nomination papers on Friday from the Chapra constituency, barely 90 minutes drive from Patna, the State's capital was reverberating with shock waves. Yet another kidnapping had taken place that morning and this time it was 71-year-old S.M. Sahay, a prominent industrialist of Bihar. As Sahay was driving in his Santro from his residence in Patliputra colony to pick up his brother and then proceed for a game of golf, as was his routine, his car was intercepted, he was dragged out and pushed into a Maruti 800 which then sped away.

Welcome to Bihar, where, point out Laloo Yadav's political opponents, kidnapping has become an industry. As the business community of Patna took out morchas to protest against the daylight kidnapping, once again the talk in drawing rooms centred around the flight of businessmen and professionals from Bihar.

Rehana Mithaiwala (name changed on request) is a professional psychologist and her husband's family has been running a manufacturing industry in Patna for the last four decades. She and her husband are relocating to Bangalore, where they have opened a marketing arm of the company. In the next phase, they are planning to set up a manufacturing unit in the southern town and slowly phase out their operations from Bihar.

Rehana relates the story of her friend Vimala, who lost her husband recently and wanted to relocate to Kolkata. "As she was going through the process of selling her property and her husband's business, she got a call from Beur jail here saying that the caller was well aware of her plans to leave Bihar. He threatened her that if she did not part with at least 30 per cent of the money realised through the sale, she would not be allowed to leave Patna in one piece." The woman was so mortified that she just left the city, telling her relatives to finish the formalities.

Kidnappings, extortion calls, burglaries, and deteriorating law and order situation is compelling many people to relocate to other cities. Bangalore and Hyderabad are two favourites, followed by Kolkata, Pune, and the like.