Mini-Bihar comes up around refinery

Mini-Bihar comes up around refinery
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Phulokhari, September 17

It is 12 noon and the Bihari tea stall is doing a brisk business. Customers are thronging the Bihari dhaba for lunch. Some patients are being examined at the Bihari clinic. This is not the description of a scene in some part of Bihar. All this is happening in the heart of Malwa belt. Sounds strange!
Believe it or not, but it is the scene in the vicinity of the under-construction Guru Gobind Singh Oil Refinery, also known as Bathinda refinery. Thousands of migrant labourers, majority of them hailing from Bihar, have set up their own ‘mini-Bihar’ here.
A kilometre-long stretch from the main gate of the refinery is dotted with Bihari labourers.
Though a majority of the migrants are engaged in the construction work at the refinery¸ a large number of them runs shops outside to cater to the basic necessities of their fraternity.
Setting up hundreds of residential quarters besides shops, they have transformed the area into a complete Bihari region.
During a visit, The Tribune witnessed a large number of shops with the word Bihar in its names like Bihari Tea Stall, Bihari Clinic, Bihari Medical Store, Bihari Dhaba etc.
Elated over being asked about the reason, shopkeepers boasted about their love for their state and their sense of belongingness.
“I get much respect from the local population of Punjab but it was because of my respect for the state I belong to that I named my shop as Bihari Tea Stall. I am settled far away from my state and my people, but the name of my stall keeps me connected to them,” said Dhruv Kumar.
Supporting his viewpoint, another migrant Sukant Kumar said, “I came here about two years ago. Then, I used to sell only tea but now I am selling eatables also. I observed that some people feel shy about being addressed as Bihari Bhaiya, but I feel proud.”
Interestingly, there were some shops with the Bihar or Bihari in their name, but their keepers did not belong to that state. They were only cashing on in the name.
“As a majority of the population here is from Bihar, the nomenclature of shop having the word Bihar helps in attracting more customers,” said Sanjeev Sharma, who belongs to Sangrur district. Sharma runs the Bihari Clinic and treats 15 patients daily on an average. He claims to be qualified GAMS.
Sharma asserted, “One must be ready to adjust to the situation, if one wants to grow. So what if I have named my clinic as Bihari Clinic.”
An elderly Parkash Verma, who works with a construction company as welder, said, “I came here about two years ago. Then, I used to feel a bit uncomfortable. But now, I feel as if the area is just another Bihar with thousands of Biharis living here.”