West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that the Asansol-Durgapur belt and its adjacent areas would see witness many more development programmes after the inauguration of long awaited IISCO modernisation.
“A large amount of development has taken place in this region after we came to power in the state, while many more development awaits for this entire industrial region,” Ms. Banerjee said after inaugurating the Kazi Nazrul Islam University near the poet’s birthplace at Churulia.
Mr. Banerjee has also asked the KNI university authority to prepare a proposal urging Dhaka University for collaborative programmes between these two universities. “When I will visit Dhaka, the matter can be discussed with the appropriate authority there,” she said.
“The university has now a campus of eight acres land. We are trying to expand it further to accommodate a B.Ed college and a Law college,” she said. Stating that due honour was not given to this rebel poet, Ms. Banerjee said that her government had developed this university and an Academy after the name of the poet, besides developing Nazrul Tirtha at New Town, Rajarhat.
Giving a list of development programmes which already had taken place in the area, Ms. Banerjee said commercial operation of the country’s first private Greenfield airport at Andal would begin from May 18 with a six-days-a-week flight service between Durgapur and Kolkata.
Stating that the entire region would immensely benefit from this service, Ms. Banerjee announced 25 per cent concession in this air service for students, previous landowners and government officials from the area of Durgapur, Asansol, Raniganj, Bolpur, Santiniketan and Jangalmahal for a year.
Besides, ailing residents of Jangalmahal area could also travel with 25 per cent concession for their treatment, she said. Ms. Banerjee also announced sales tax exemption to the carrier on ATF required for air operation at Andal for a period till 2023.
She also said that a private operator Pinnacle Air would begin air services on Kolkata-Durgapur-Bagdogra-Cooch Behar sector from the same day.
Ms. Banerjee claimed that it was due to an initiative she had taken long back that the modernisation of IISCO took place which was inaugurated by the PM on Sunday.
“I gave a proposal on this first during the time of UPA I government contained in the ‘Bengal Package’ in which IISCO was mentioned. It took eight years to complete this modernisation programme,” Ms. Banerjee claimed at a function near Churulia here after inaugurating the Kazi Nazrul Islam University.
“Had we not given 3,000 acres of land, modernisation and expansion of IISCO would not have been possible. With the inauguration of this project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the region will enter into a new horizon,” she claimed.
Ms. Banerjee also said that during her tenure as Railway Minister she had also helped to recover the ailing Chittaranjan Locomitve Works (CLW).
The infrastructure in the area including roads, drinking water and power have also improved a great deal in the area, Ms. Banerjee said with the mention of a police commissionerate and Fast Track Court.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister either inaugurated or laid the foundation of 46 development projects in the area.
