Soon after arrival, Mamata takes to resolving drinking water problem
On her arrival at the Bagdogra Airport on Wednesday on a tour of North Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee immediately took the initiative to resolve the drinking water problem of Shepdollajyot Village of Naxalbari Block, the village famous as Naxalite leader Kanu Sanyal’s home. The Chief Minister directed Preeti Goyal, the District Magistrate to make arrangements to send drinking water tankers to the village till the permanent drinking water supply project becomes operational.
“Surinder Singh Ahluwalia, the former BJP MP from Darjeeling had adopted the village. As a result, the state government did not intervene. He didn’t do anything for the village. However this time, PHE is working to solve the problem. Numerous technical works need to be done which will require time. For the time being, I have asked the Siliguri Municipal Corporation to send water tankers to the area. We will ensure that people get water,” Mamata said.
On November 21, 2015, the then Darjeeling MP Surinder Singh Ahluwalia had adopted Shepdollajot as ‘Model Village’.
There are allegations that even after adoption, no development work took place in the area. The villagers have to use water from the Manja River for drinking purposes or the water has to be brought in from a distance of about eight kilometers. When the problem increased, the villagers filed a case in the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in May this year. The case came before the bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
During the hearing, the judge called the villagers and heard their problem. On Wednesday, the Executive Architect of Public Health Technical department, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad Officer, contractor and other officials were summoned by the court. According to the sources of Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, the PHE and the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad have started the construction of a drinking water project with a budget of Rs 3.5 crore. The work will be completed by January 2024. Meanwhile, on Wednesday Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered the work to be completed by January 2024. He ordered the officials to submit a report of the work progress.
Work has also commenced to develop the Lohapool area, including Naxal leader Kanu Sanyal’s house, as a tourist centre. The state will also build a library in Shepdollajyot.
While talking to media persons at Bagdogra, in reaction to minister Giriraj Singh’s criticism of the CM’s “dance” at the Kolkata International Film Festival, Mamata said: “It was a tribal dance. It was nothing but a dance step. They all are respected people. It was good to be with everyone.”
