Journalism of Courage
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated beverage plant worth Rs 550 crore in Begusarai on Friday. He also announced that 17 ethanol units, cleared by the Centre, would soon open in the state.
Inaugurating the beverage bottling plant of Varun Beverages Limited at Asuari, Begusarai, the CM said: “I have come here to congratulate them (the bottling plant owner). Products (soft drinks, packaged drinking water and fruit juice) produced here would be used by people of other states. More industrial units would be set up in the state”.
The CM also inquired about employment generation of the plant and expressed his desire to engage people of Bihar working in similar bottling plants by the same company in other states.
State industry minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, who was also present at the event, said the beverage unit would generate employment and preference will be given to local residents. Hussain said: “We have requested Varun Beverages Limited’s Ravi Kant Jaipuria to explore possibility of setting up processing units of mangoes, litchi and pineapple…This is the step towards employment generation in the state”.
The bottling plant has been set up at land of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA), a state government agency that provides land to investors. The Begusarai plant, which was readied in 11 months, has over 500 employees and also indirectly engages 500-700 people.
The state government is also planning to set up 129 ethanol units to boost investment.
The CM said: “Though we had been trying to give boost to setting up of industrial units (particularly ethanol units) since 2008-2009, we had not got adequate support from the then UPA government at the Centre. We had got proposal of investment worth over Rs 20,000 crore in ethanol production back then… But we have got clearance to set up ethanol units by the NDA government at the Centre now”.
