With Panchayat polls a year away, Mamata gives stern message

Jhargram: Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee urged her party workers coming from Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samities and Zilla Parishads to work for the people keeping in mind the Panchayat elections, scheduled to be held in 2023.

Addressing a rally here on Thursday afternoon, she instructed the leaders to take an active interest in serving the people. "Try to finish tendering process now so that work can be completed before monsoon during which there is usually a gap of three months. Do not keep any work pending. Any day, the date of Panchayat elections can be announced and you must be prepared."

In the same breath, she urged the people "to lodge complaints to her or the District Magistrate or lodge an FIR if you fail to get Rs 2000 for cremation because of some leaders who do not give you the full amount."

She told the leaders to fill up forms for various initiatives at the Duare Sarkar camps going to be held from May 21-31, which some beneficiaries might find difficult to complete. "We are there to help them. Despite so much work if it fails to reach the beneficiaries, then there's no point in having the schemes," she said.

Talking about her long association with Jhargram, she said as a youth Congress leader, she had visited the area in 1993 and found that people had been consuming roots of grass and ants as they had no food.

"It was a pathetic sight. The people were in abject poverty and they told me that for three months they get rice and for the remaining nine months they consume the roots of plants and ants. I was almost in tears and pledged to help them if I ever came to power. Now, people are getting rice and there are schemes to help them. After retirement, the tribals get a pension. Extensive development work has been carried out in Jhargram," she maintained.

Banerjee said there was a time when eggs and fish had been brought from Hyderabad while onions were brought from Nasik. "Now, onions are grown in Murshidabad, Birbhum and Jhargram. Vegetables are being grown on barren lands."

She said Rs 500 crore has been spent to set up check dams. "More will be set up in Jhargram and water bodies will be dug up so that there is no scarcity of water during the summer to irrigate lands."

Banerjee said a super specialty hospital has come up in Jhargram and a university has been constructed. Archery academy has been set and students are doing well. Communication has improved and tourism is coming up in a big way.

"People are coming to Jhargram in such big numbers that it is difficult to get accommodation. There is peace everywhere. Don't allow anyone to disturb this peace and prosperity of the district," she said. Banerjee further added that she would come again to Jhargram and meet the workers herself.