Bengal kicks off 'Duare Sarkar', India's biggest outreach drive

Kolkata: The biggest social outreach programme to take place for the first time in India, a drive of the Bengal government, "Duare Sarkar", has received an overwhelming response on its first day on Tuesday with more than 200,065 lakh people visiting 22,216 camps across the state to get benefits of around a dozen state-run schemes.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched the "Duare Sarkar" drive under which four camps will be set up in every village and civic body across all 344 blocks in the state from Tuesday to January 28 where officials would help people get enrolled to get the benefits of 11 different schemes including Swasthya Sathi, Kanyashree, Sikhashree, Tapasili Bandhu and Jai Johar.

While holding a Press conference at Nabanna, Banerjee said: "I would like to express my gratitude to the officials for conducting the camps that are benefiting lakhs of people. There was turn out of at least 1.18 lakh people at the camps across the state till 3.35 p.m. and each of their issues was properly

addressed." With constant coordination with the top brass of the state government from Nabanna, administration in every district level has conducted the camps following Covid protocols. There were separate sets of officials at designated windows for each of the 11 schemes.

With involvement of the local police, people were found standing in queues outside the camps maintaining physical distance and one after the other were allowed to enter the camps following thermal checking.

Help desks have been set up at the entry of the camp itself where two officials are helping the people by directing

them to go to a particular window as per their

requirement. At every camp a dedicated officer continuously kept making people aware about the documents they need to furnish for the schemes. It helped people in applying for the same in one single visit to the camps that started from 10 am and continued till 4 pm.

Expressing their gratitude to the Mamata Banerjee government for such an unique move to help people get benefits of state-run schemes at their door step, visitors at the camp have also appreciated the way the officials gave them patient hearing to help them get enrolled in a scheme. Rita Shaw, who visited Ghusuri Hindi MCJH School in Howrah, said: "I came to know the process to get the OBC certificate for my brother-in-law. I would have been in complete dark if the camp would not have been organised. It genuinely helped me in getting the same. I have applied for the same with the help of the officials here and now I am confident of getting the same shortly."

Similarly, Chandana Hazra a resident of Ghusuri in Howrah has appreciated the way she was helped during her visit to the camp for Shikashree for her daughter.

The programme that began on Tuesday will take place in four phases in the next two months. In the first phase, it will be held from December 1 to 11, December 15 to24 in second phase, January 2 to 12 in third phase

and January 18 to 30 in the last phase.