January 20, 2014
WB CM sends a stern message to separatists during the inauguration of North Bengal mini secretariat
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee today began her 4-day North Bengal tour, during which she inaugurated the mini secretariat for North Bengal, thus fulfilling a long standing demand of the people of this region. The Chief Minister inaugurated 6 projects for the progress of North Bengal and laid the foundation of 18 new development initiatives for the region.
Speaking on the occasion, WB CM sent a stern message to the separatist groups, asking them to desist from indulging in violence. While highlighting the work done by her govt in the past two and a half years, the Chief Minister asked the people of North Bengal to join the development bandwagon.
Excerpts from WB CM`s speech on the occasion:
Today we are joined by representatives of all the 6 districts of North Bengal. I welcome you all.
You have heard the Chief Secretary of the state informing you that 18 departments of the West Bengal Government will be housed in the new mini Secretariat here.
A political party after coming to power works according to the manifesto, which it published prior to the elections. Before we came to power, we made certain commitments to the people. We said that we would bring peace in Hills. The Hills are smiling now. I congratulate all the MLAs of Darjeeling and members of GTA. I congratulate the common man because of whom peace has been restored.
During the past couple of years, I have visited the North Bengal 26 times. I know that the people in North Bengal have been neglected for a long time. Now I have asked my ministers and other leaders to look after the needs of the people in every district.
We made a commitment that if we come to power, we will create a secretariat for North Bengal. Even after 66 years of Independence, North Bengal did not have a Secretariat. We have set up one in 32 months. We will need more time to expand the new administrative building. But one has to start somewhere to reach a final destination.
Earlier, files related to North Bengal had to be sent to Kolkata for clearance, because of which work got delayed. But now this will not happen anymore, thanks to Uttar Kanya. Work will have to be completed on a daily basis now. For speeding up work process we have appointed a financial adviser for this secretariat and we will appoint an additional chief secretary too. Every minister will have to visit Uttar Kanya regularly.
Discipline dedication, determination and devotion are the main pillars of democracy. Making speeches is easy, but actions speak louder than words. We have a huge debt burden, yet we are standing with our head held high. We are working despite the Centre`s non-cooperation.
We need to have strong will and determination to excel. You must love the work you do to excel. We have made commitments to the people. Fulfilling the commitment is our duty. Uttar Kanya will go down in history as the symbol of peace, unity and progress.
We do not support separatist movements. We do not want any division of Bengal. We don`t want and bloodshed or death. Let Uttar Kanya be the answer of all the demands. Those who could not do anything, it is the time for you to keep quiet and let us do the work. For 35 years, Bengal has slowly been sliding backwards.
We want our Maa, Mati, Manush to stay well. It is not possible to do everything in just a day. There has been a flood of development in North Bengal in the recent years. Big projects have been taken up in every district of North Bengal.
In Darjeeling a number of programmes are lined up for the next few days. On January 22nd, we will inaugurate the renovated Roy Villa at Lebong, the house where Sister Nivedita breathed her last. The house has now been transformed to Nivedita Educational & Cultural Institute under the guidance of Ramakrishna Mission.
We will hand over the prizes to the winners of the Marathon race organized by the District Police on 22 January. On January 23, for the first time, the official celebration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose`s birth anniversary will be held in Darjeeling.
We are serious about developing tourism in North Bengal. We have undertaken a project to establish Gazaldoba as a tourism hub. We are inaugurating an industrial estate in Ambari Falakata. 30000 people will get employment there. We are developing a film city near Bagdogra. Gazoldoba will become a tourism hub. Banarhat will be a hub of small scale industry. A lot of ancillary industries will come up in these two places.
This is the 150th birth anniversary of Rajbanshi icon Panchanan Barma. We will celebrate it with due honour. We have set up a Rajbanshi Academy and a university named after Panchanan Verma at Coochbehar. We have set up an expert committee to decide on giving recognition to Rajbanshi language.
In a tragic incident last month, a few of my brothers were killed in a bomb blast in Jalpaiguri. I condemn this incident. I urge you all not to support violence. Violence can never be a solution to any problem. If the terrorists want, they can kill me, but spare innocent lives. Today we will hand over letters of appointment to the family of the victims of Jalpaiguri blast. This is our small tribute to those who died. We will also hand over an ex-gracia payment of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims. We are always by their side.
Let Uttar Kanya be the pride of the people of North Bengal. Earlier there was only Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority. We have introduced a full-fledged department with a cabinet minister for North Bengal development. There were around 300 pending projects in this area. We have already completed 265 projects and 10 are ongoing.
Like Kolkata has Nabanna, North Bengal now has Uttar Kanya. We are moving on a fast pace. That is the necessity of the day. Let us all walk together in this process of development.
