November 28, 2013
WB CM showers projects on South Dinajpur
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee announced a plethora of infrastructural, educational and healthcare projects for South Dinajpur district while addressing a public rally at Kushmandi High School ground last afternoon. She said her government is committed to have the projects completed at the earliest. The CM reached Kushmandi yesterday afternoon by road from North Dinajpur.
Immediately after the public meeting, she met the district administrative officials and police personnel in presence of state cooperative Minister, Mr Sankar Chakraborty, Chief Secretary, Mr Sanjay Mitra and principal secretaries of different state departments. She announced 14 projects and laid the foundation stones for another 37 projects.
Thousands of people thronged the school ground at Kushmandi.
`South Dinajpur will get two degree colleges and three ITI colleges. The degree colleges would come up at Kushmandi and Hili and the ITI colleges at Kushmandi, Hili and Tapan,` the CM said.
Announcing medical facilities, she said Gangarampur sub-divisional hospital would be upgraded and the OPD at Balurghat district hospital would be extended. `We have already opened fair price medicine shops in Balurghat and Gangarampur will soon get one. In addition to opening more such shops even at the sub-divisional levels, we are planning to open fair price diagnostic centres in the district so that the people can get access to MRI, CT Scan and other expensive tests at 40-50 per cent discount,` she said.
Speaking on the NREGS scheme, she said her motto is to ensure more jobs under it. `If one completes 100 days we will give him jobs for 200 more days,` she said.
Dwelling on the burning problem concerning the migrant workers from the district, she said: `Migrating for jobs will not solve problems. Get jobs nearer homes. For job cards, approach the BDOs. We have to stop the labour drain from the state.` She asserted that by June 2014, all families, both on the APL and BPL lists, would have access to electricity. `To ensure rural hygiene, families without a sanitary latrine will get Rs 10,000 each to build one,` she said.
Touching on the debt the state is bogged with, she said that the erstwhile Left Front government has left a huge burden. `We are hamstrung. Many of our development dreams would remain unfulfilled,` she said.
The West Bengal Chief Minister promised introduction of flight service from Balurghat. `We want to introduce air services from South Dinajpur to Kolkata at least once a week. We are pursuing the matter with the Union Civil Aviation Ministry with an invincible tenacity,` she said. `There would be no letup. We are committed to connecting all corners of the state through flight services. We have sanctioned funds for an aerodrome in Cooch Behar, North Bengal and South Bengal would be connected in a bond of warmth,` she added.
