Foolproof security, helipad in place before Mamata's Sandeshkhali visit

Kolkata: Ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee'svisit to North 24-Parganas on Monday for a government distribution programme, state Fire minister Sujit Bose along with District Magistrate and Police Superintendent of Basirhat police district visited the programme venue to review all security arrangements.

Minister in-charge of Fire and Emergency Services department Sujit Bose along with District Magistrate Sharad Dwivedi and Police Superintendent of Basirhat police district Hossen Mehedy Rahman along with other concerned officials had visited the programme venue on Friday and supervised the arrangements.

Senior officials of the district administration and the police top brass surveyed the place on Sunday for overseeing the last minute arrangements. Security has been beefed up in and around the programme venue ahead of Banerjee’s visit.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Sandeshkhali on Monday where she will attend a public distribution programme at Aurobindo Mission field. She will reach the place in a helicopter. A temporary helipad has been created just adjacent to the venue.

About 20,000 odd people will be handed over benefits associated with various government projects through camp mode on the day. Banerjee will personally provide benefits to around 100 people from the dais. Since a good number of people in the area earn their livelihood from pisciculture, Banerjee will also be handing over some fishing tools from the dais.

Banerjee is also expected to inaugurate a number of projects in the district from the programme venue.

The Opposition had apparently attempted to cash-in on Sandeshkhali turmoil during the Lok Sabha elections where TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan was accused of land grabbing, torturing women. However, the TMC had made a clean sweep in the polls in Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, bearing testimony to the fact that there was no impact of the Sandeshkhali episode in the ballot box. In this backdrop, Banerjee’s Sandeshkhali visit has political significance. Since the Lok Sabha elections, people of Sandeshkhali have been looking forward to Banerjee’s visit. She had promised she would be visiting the place after winning the elections.