Bengal

Sportspersons to get jobs: CM

• The Statesman
• 09 Jan 2014

Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Jhargram, 8 January
A day after inaugurating the ambitious rural road connectivity project in Amlasole, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told aspiring young sportspersons at Jhargram in Junglemahal that her government would create employment opportunities for them.
“Our main focus is creating employment opportunities in Junglemahal and on improving basic services such as health, education
and infrastructure. We had given Rs 25,000 each to 1,600 clubs in Junglemahal and a similar amount would
be given in the future,” Miss Banerjee said while addressing the Junglemahal
Vivek Chetna Utsav and Sport-meet award ceremony today.
To encourage the Junglemahal youths, she asked Sports Minister Madan Mitra to organise sports events in Kolkata for boys and girls from Junglemahal to expose their talent.
“Those who have enough get many opportunities, but these youths do not get opportunities,” she added.
Carrying forward her policy of aggressively pursuing development to bring back to the mainstream those who had sided with the Maoists, Miss Banerjee kicked off several projects and promised more if peace was maintained.
She laid the foundation for 24 projects which include the tourist resort in Jhargram Rajbari, community hall at Silda, Odalchua ashram hostel and nine multi-purpose flood relief centres. This apart, she inaugurated 10 projects which cover health, education and drinking water sectors.
She said her government was committed to providing opportunities for students in Junglemahal belonging to all sections, including the minority community, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
During her speech, Miss Banerjee urged residents not to turn hostile if they did not get jobs under a drive to induct Junglemahal youths into the police force. “We have recruited 15,000 youths in the police force and 21,000 more as civil police. But those who don’t get jobs should register their names in the employment bank and they will get jobs according to their educational qualifications,” she said.
In the coming days teachers would be recruited for teaching the Olchiki language, she told the gathering at Jhargram stadium where the sports award ceremony was organised to mark completion of the sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebration of Swami Viveknanda.
Miss Banerjee had visited Amlasole yesterday which had hit headlines in 2004
for starvation deaths during the Left Front rule.

Bengal

connecting rural bengal

• The Statesman
• 08 Jan 2014

mamata inaugurates rural road project
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Amlasole (Jhargram), 7 January
To ensure better road connectivity for villages across the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated her ambitious 16,000 km rural road project by flagging off the construction of a two-km concrete road between Kankrajhore and Amlasole in Junglemahal of West Midnapore.  
While the project was inaugurated from Kankrajhore, Miss Banerjee later addressed a rally at Amlasole, infamous for starvation deaths in 2004 during the Left Front rule, where she handed over mini-kits of vegetable seeds, paddy-rowing machines, sewing-machines of sal leaves, pattas and scholarships under the Kanya Shree project to various beneficiaries.
Claiming her ambitious road connectivity project was unparallel in the history of rural development project in the country; Miss Banerjee said the two-km Amlasole road would help connect Purulia district and neighbouring Jharkhand with Amlasole.
Though, the erstwhile Left Front government had tried to build 750-km metalled roads in the Belpahari area during 2008-09, but they abandoned the project due to Maoist menace due to which no contractors agreed to work n the area.  
Recalling that she first visited the village when she was in the Opposition in 2004 when the starvation deaths had hit the area, Miss Banerjee said: “Today I want to say that during our rule no one will starve.
“I will tell officials and leaders to visit this place at regular intervals to ensure that development work progress at a rapid pace. For ushering development, what you need most is a heart to work for the people,” the chief minister said.
She emphasised that the Trinamul Congress government was providing rice at Rs 2 per kg to all BPL families and stressed that those who would complete 100 days work would be given more 100-day jobs by her government.
Miss Banerjee asked the officials to discuss development schemes in remote areas with local youths and submit reports to her within 15 days. “I will try to implement the projects suggested by the local youths because they are more aware than me about their locality”, she promised.
During her speech some women whose husbands went missing three or four years ago tried to draw her attention but Miss Banerjee asked them to keep silent and they were later pushed back by security officials. They claims harmads (CPI-M backed armed goons) had abducted their husbands.
Miss Banerjee said: “I know many persons here are still missing, but I have asked police to conduct a probe into the matter.”
Without naming Maoists, she said that along with developmental work it also needed to be seen that none tried to incite violence or bloodshed in the area. “You will have to maintain peace in your locality and never allow any outsider to come and disturb the peace,” she iterated.
Miss Banerjee also urged villagers not to marry off their daughters before the age of 18 as her government had taken steps to ensure that girl children get education free till Class XII.