Do not let outsiders mislead you: Mamata

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the people of Bhangar to not fall into the trap of the Maoists as they were collecting money from overseas by showing photographs of innocent villagers organising protest rallies.

"Think of the future of your children. I am ready for discussion but don't fall into the trap of those who are misinforming you claiming the foetus in the mother's womb will die and crops will get damaged due to laying of electric wires", she said while laying the foundation stone for construction of 18,000 rural roads covering 25,000 km at Bhojerhaat near Bhangar, in South 24-Parganas on Monday afternoon.

It may be mentioned that the work of the power grid sub-station at Bhangar in South 24-Parganas came to a standstill a few months ago following the protest of villagers after they were instigated by some outsiders, who were Maoists. This is the first time the Chief Minister visited Bhangar after trouble broke out in January this year.

Recollecting the period when the Maoists used to kill 400 to 500 people every year in Junglemahal, Banerjee told the villagers that the Maoists are outsiders, they would leave the place after a few days, but the villagers have to continue living here as it is their own land. "They take money from you saying that they have to go to Kolkata and they also collect money from Venezuela by showing photographs of your agitation," she said adding that they were hand- in- glove with a section of real estate developers, those didn't want the power grid sub-station to come up in Bhangar, as that would impede construction of high-rises.

Maintaining that a few real estate developers had engaged outsiders to instigate people by misinforming them about the power grid sub-station to create trouble for their own vested interests, the Chief Minister said: "You have heard the name of Vedic Village and Unanyan Group. There are some companies like these who want to buy the agricultural land at cheaper prices. They have brought some outsiders into the village by paying them money so that they can construct high-rises on agricultural land."

"The issue of Nandigram was different as an attempt was being made to give away agricultural land to private companies to set up a chemical hub. So, we had protested and agitated against it. Now there are provisions to lay underground cables instead of taking overhead lines for the power grid sub-station," Banerjee said adding that if needed villagers could discuss their problems with her; but she would not speak to any outsider or political party. She urged the villagers to submit a letter to the superintendent of police stating their problems, promising that she would look into it.

Stating that she has information that bombs and arms were brought into the village, she said: "It is not a difficult task to throw them out of the village, but I am tolerating this for the past few months as I have confidence on the villagers that they will throw them (Maoists) out of the two to three villages."

There was a loud cheer from the gathering in favour of the setting up of the power grid sub-station when the Chief Minister asked whether they want uninterrupted power supply or they wish to continue living in the dark.

From Monday's program, she also announced that the winners of Sunderbans Cup would be hired as civic volunteers. She also urged everyone to create awareness so that farmers at the grass-root level could know that the state government had decided not to take land tax. She inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 1035 projects and also distributed different articles among people from South 24-Parganas.