Thursday 9 January 2014

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.

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