Darjeeling: In a first-of-its-kind effort to ensure inclusive governance, the Darjeeling district administration organised a special night “Hamro Gaon Hamro Samadhan” (Amader Para, Amader Samadhan - APAS) camp on August 12 at Bangladara Community Hall for residents of Rangeroong Tea Garden and West Senchal Forest under Rangbull Gram Panchayat.
“The initiative, held at 6 pm, was designed to accommodate the work schedules of tea garden and forest workers, many of whom are unable to attend the regular daytime APAS camps” stated Richard Lepcha, Sub Divisional Officer, Darjeeling. Preeti Goyal, District Magistrate, Darjeeling led the programme, accompanied by officials from the Jorebunglow Sukhiapokhri Development Block.
During the session, residents presented their priorities for local development, including solar streetlights, a children’s park, a crematorium, a playground, a public toilet at the children’s park, repairs to the Anganwadi Centre and public library and other minor infrastructure upgrades. “The proposals were documented and ranked in order of urgency with community consensus. The District Magistrate also enquired about additional government service needs, but no new requests emerged beyond the listed schemes. As part of the event, 15 beneficiaries received saplings under the Sabujshree scheme, promoting environmental awareness,” added the SDO.
Residents thanked the administration for holding the event at night. The special night camp is part of the district-wide APAS programme running from August 2 to November 3, 2025, aimed at covering all 1,465 polling booths across Darjeeling district. Out of 670 scheduled camps, 98 have already been held by August 12, covering 224 booths and recording a footfall of 57,841. So far, 1,599 development scheme proposals have been collected from the camps. “It is our attempt at a people-first approach—turning governance into a truly participatory process as directed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” stated Lepcha.