Rejuvenation of Mahananda, Phuleshwari and Karala rivers dream projects, says SJDA chief

ALIPURDUAR: From setting up sewage treatment plants to resolving the traffic woes by building parking lots and new roads, Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) — led by its Chairman Sourav Chakraborty — has its goals set for the sustainable development of the region under its jurisdiction.

In this endeavour, Chakraborty considers the rejuvenation of the Mahananda, Phuleshwari and Karala Rivers as his dream projects.

“We will have two Sewage Treatment Plants as part of the Mahananda Rejuvenation scheme. Work on setting up the STP 1 will commence soon,” he said. Besides the rejuvenation scheme, Chakraborty has his priority set on decongesting traffic in Siliguri.

“To ease the traffic woes in Siliguri, two more bridges will come up on the Mahananda River. The Bidhan Market will be renovated with a planned layout with adequate space for parking. A parking zone will also come up in Jalpaiguri,” stated the SJDA chairman.

The rejuvenation plan of the Mahananda and Phuleswari rivers will include new roads on the banks of the rivers. The Pineapple Project at Bidhan Nagar — which has been stalled owing to road connectivity and land acquisition problems — along with a tomato processing unit in Jalpaiguri will be restarted. A milk cooperative will also come up, he added.

With a political career spanning over 33 years, Chakraborty was nominated as the Chairman of SJDA four times in 9 years between 2015 and 2023. During his tenure at SJDA, several important projects have been implemented.

“We have renovated the Rajbari Dighi in Jalpaiguri district at a cost of Rs 14 crore. Solar projects have been installed in this park. More than 100 lights are lit in this area through the solar project and the rest of the electricity generated is sold to the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Limited,” stated the chairman.

Garveshwari, Bhamri Devi and Jalpesh temples have been completely renovated. Roads leading to the temples, drains and markets have been constructed in the temple complexes by the SJDA.

An Ecopark has been constructed at Lataguri at Rs 9 crore. A market complex is being built at Lataguri.

Water projects have been developed in all the tea gardens of Malbazar to ensure an uninterrupted water supply. Jalpaiguri Main Road has been repaired. An auditorium is being constructed in Jalpaiguri in memory of Panchanan Barma. This is the first building named after Rai Saheb Panchanan Barma, a Rajbangshi leader and visionary.

Roads and market complexes have been constructed in Rajganj at Rs 28 crore. A total of 6 Haat sheds have been constructed in Jalpaiguri district, including Gauri Haat and Belakoba Haat.

SJDA bears the cost of lighting up the main road of Jalpaiguri and Siliguri. A total of 6,000 streetlights in rural areas are lit from the funds of SJDA.

In Maynaguri, boundary walls have been constructed. Twenty high-mast towers, gardens and hospitals also have come up.

SJDA has also taken up renovation work of the Rajganj Ladies Police Barrack, Falakata Police Barrack, and Clock Tower in Alipurduar. “SJDA generates its fund hence we can take up a lot of development activities. At present, the Central government has stopped releasing the funds for the 100 days work. We are spending from the SJDA’s fund for development activities,” stated the chairman.

Speaking about the political developments of the region, the 50-year-old, who had started his political journey in 1990 as a student leader of the Chhatra Parishad, affiliated to the Congress party, and later joined Trinamool Congress in 2011, said the separate state demand of the BJP was nothing but a ‘political gimmick’.

“A section of the voters are being hoodwinked and BJP is reaping benefits in terms of votes by playing the emotional card,” stated the TMC leader.

In 2014 he took over the charge of the Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts as district president. “During this tenure, I won as MLA of Alipurduar along with 10 other MLAs from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri. Now I’m TMC state secretary. I also helped seven MLAs of Manipur win. In Goa, I was the co-in-charge of Trinamool,” said Chakraborty.

The TMC leader blamed polarisation on communal lines for his defeat in the last Assembly polls. He said: “Despite receiving 92,000 votes, I lost because the election was being conducted on communal lines. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worked to polarise votes.”