Rajbanshi Development Board constituted by Mamata

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced the formation of the Rajbanshi Development Board to carry out comprehensive development of Cooch Behar.

She also unveiled a Rs 1,100 crore development package for Cooch Behar. Earlier she spoke at a rally organised by the Kamtapuri People's Party (KPP) at Rashmelar Math on Tuesday.

While addressing a rally at Chakchaka, she said: " We have set up Rajbanshi Development Board and through it, massive development will take place in CoochBehar." The chief minister said that the state government had already taken steps to recognise Kampapuri and Rajbanshi languages. A committee has been set up with Sanskrit scholar Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri as its chairman. They are studying these languages and will soon prepare a syllabus and publish books. " Once books are published in these languages more people will be interested," she said.

Banerjee said one medical college had already come in the district and the foundation stone of another was laid on Tuesday. "Treatment in state-run hospitals is free and once the medical colleges become fully operational then people here would have access to the best treatment."

Banerjee said work was on in full swing to improve connectivity in Cooch Behar. "Construction of three bridges along with road widening is underway and once they are ready the people of Cooch Behar will be able to go to any part of north Bengal without any difficulty. She announced that Chakchaka would be set up as an industrial hub. "Cold storage units, rice mills and other small and medium industries will come up. This will create job opportunities for local youth", she said.

Coming down heavily on CPIM, she said due to their 34-year misrule, the state government had to pay Rs 40,000 crore on the interest of the loan taken by the erstwhile government. "But despite that, we have carried out development in Bengal and it will continue," she said.

She said the state government was giving soft loans worth Rs 10 lakh to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students to pursue higher studies within the country, and a Rs 20 lakh soft loan for higher studies and research abroad. " We want our students from Cooch Behar to do well in America, Russia and other countries." The CM also distributed cycles among the students of class IX under the Sabuj Sathi scheme.