1,000 students to get cycles in Murshidabad today

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will distribute bicycles among the students of Class IX of state run, aided and sponsored schools under the Sabuj Sathi Project on Tuesday.

Banerjee will distribute 1,000 cycles and altogether 20,000 cycles will be distributed in the district in the next couple of days. The Backward Class Welfare (BCW) department looking after the project proposes to distribute 15 lakh cycles among the students of Class IX.

Already 25 lakh cycles have been distributed among the students of classes X, XI and XII so far. The Sabuj Sathi scheme – one of the state government’s most successful projects – has received tremendous response from the students.

The Opposition had accused the state government of distributing poor quality bicycles and alleged that many of the students had sold them. On the contrary, it was found that each bicycle, worth around Rs 3,900, has been handed over the students and they have been regularly using them.

The new cycles have 10 reflectors as an added safety measure. The BCW department has also trained 3,000 SC and ST youths for maintenance and repairing of the cycles so, as to make them economically independent.

Banerjee will hold a crucial and landmark administrative meeting at Rabindra Sadan in Berhampore on Tuesday at 1.30 pm. She will be accompanied by the Chief Secretary and additional chief secretaries of different departments. The last time Banerjee had held an administrative meeting, Murshidabad Zilla Parishad was under Congress. Now, not only has the Zilla Parishad come under Trinamool, five out of seven municipalities in the district are also ruled by the party. As a result, the aspirations of people have gone up.

State Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim had held a meeting with the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the municipalities and discussed about the projects that will be taken up immediately.

It has been learnt that the Chief Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 141 projects in Murshidabad. She will reach by train and get down at Berhampore Court station. She will then go to the Circuit House to meet senior officials of the district and hold first round of talks.

It was learnt that Banerjee might walk down to the venue of the administrative meeting at Rabindra Sadan on Tuesday. Later, she will distribute the cycles and address a gathering at Stadium Math in the afternoon.

Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy on Monday said that because of development projects, Trinamool got more votes in the 2016 Assembly election and in Murshidabad those who wanted development came under the party’s fold.