‘BJP’s promise made 10 yrs ago to turn Hatighisha into a model village still a far-fetched dream’
Siliguri: Despite repeated promises, Members of Parliament (MPs) representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have failed to live up to their words. Hatighisha Village in the Naxalbari Block has not yet been converted to a model village, despite assurances by the MPs.
In 2015, the village of Naxalbari under Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad of Darjeeling district was adopted with great pomp and show as a model village by the then BJP MP SS Ahluwalia. He had promised to develop the village into a model one but it did not happen. His successor, BJP MP Raju Bista has allegedly not even visited the village.
The villagers are utterly disappointed with the empty poll promises and are not willing to buy this anymore. According to the villagers, whatever work has been done in the area has been done by the state government.
“MP Ahluwalia had promised us that our village would be developed as a modern village. But nothing happened. Later, numerous problems of our village were resolved by the state government,” said Manchan Munda, a resident of the area.
About 30,000 people live in this village. Naxal icon Kanu Sanyal lived here in the Sebdollajyot area. There was a severe drinking water problem in the area. Despite several protests, the BJP MP did not pay any heed. When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee heard the news, she arranged water for them. The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) sent drinking water tanks. Meanwhile, the Public Health Engineering department (PHE) has started work on setting up a water plant in the area. Shyam Oraon, a villager, said: “The MP failed to undertake a single developmental project in the area using his MP LAD fund. We are disappointed by the inaction of the BJP MP. No survey was conducted to transform the area into a model village.”
Ashraf Ansari, regional president of Trinamool Congress (TMC), said: “This is nothing new. BJP is a jumla party. The BJP has cheated the people of this area. Villagers will give a befitting reply through the ballot.”
CPI(M) leader Madhav Sarkar, who stays in the area, also stated: “The BJP always makes false promises to
people, which people have
started understanding.”
Meanwhile, Anandamoy Barman, BJP MLA of Matigara-Naxalbari said: “That was 10 years ago, but the TMC government also did nothing in the area. The government provided drinking water only after receiving the court’s order.”
