1 cr throng Duare Sarkar camps in just 8 days

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday achieved a rare feat with one crore people registering, including 74.26 lakh only for Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, in its biggest outreach drive Duare Sarkar camps in just eight days.

The second edition of Duare Sarkar clocked one crore registrations in only eight days while it took 18 days during the first edition of the outreach drive at the end of 2020.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated all officers, including the district authorities, for the feat that helped people get benefits of 18 different state-run schemes, including Lakshmir Bhandar, at their doorsteps.

At 11 am on Tuesday, the figure of registration touched one crore. Subsequently, the Chief Minister sent her best wishes to all District Magistrates and concerned officers stating "congrats to our team". Appreciating the efforts of all concerned, she stated: "Keep up the good work. Still a long way to go."

The second edition of Duare Sarkar camps begun from August 16 and will continue till September 15 to provide benefits of schemes, including Lakshmir Bhandar, Krishak Bandhu (New), Student's Credit Card, Kanyashree, Aikyashree, Manobik, Jai Johar, Caste Certificate and bank account related issues at the doorsteps of beneficiaries.

There were more than 1.22 crore registrations at Duare Sarkar camps till 6 pm on Tuesday since August 16 and 10,750 camps were held. More than 1.62 lakh registrations have taken place only on Tuesday. The state government is now scheduled to hold at least 37,203 camps in one month.

With an overwhelming response in regard to Lakshmir Bhandar scheme that ensures minimum monthly income to women aged between 25 and 60 years of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 (for women from SC and ST communities), there has been massive turnout at the Duare Sarkar camps. In a bid to ensure better crowd control, the state government has already increased the number of camps and even held it at polling booth levels, especially for the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.

It needs a special mention that out of one crore, the maximum number of footprints at Duare Sarkar camps was in South 24-Parganas where more than 14.05 lakh people visited the camps in the past nine days.

The second highest was in Murshidabad where 11.18 lakh people had turned out. Registrations of around 7.01 lakh people have taken place in East Midnapore. In Kolkata, around 2.09 lakh people attended the camps.

The data of the state government shows that 74.26 lakh women have applied for the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme till August 24. About 19.57 lakh people have applied for the Swasthya Sathi scheme and 3.49 lakh went for Krishak Bandhu (New) scheme.