The primary focus of the West Bengal government in former Maoist-hit ‘junglemahal’ was to provide employment and improve basic services, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
“Our focus is creating employment opportunities in junglemahal and on improving basic services such as health, education and infrastructure,” Ms. Banerjee said.
In the coming days teachers would be recruited for teaching the Olchiki language, she told a government programme here in West Midnapore district to mark completion of the sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebration of Swami Viveknanda.
She said that her government was committed to providing opportunities for students in junglemahal belonging to all sections including the minority community, scheduled caste and scheduled tribes to get opportunities for higher education.
Ms. Banerjee who visited Amlasole village on Tuesday, which had hit headlines in 2004 for starvation deaths during Left Front rule, said “Our government has been able to restore peace in Junglemahal. This was our challenge and commitment after we came to power in 2011.”
Claiming that the success story of restoring peace in junglemahal was a model before the world, she recalled that 15,000 boys and girls were recruited in the police force and another 21,000 as civic police.
Ms. Banerjee who was present at the ‘Junglemahal Vivek Chetna Utsav and Sport-meet’ award ceremony, said her government had given Rs 25,000 each to 1,600 clubs in junglemahal and a similar amount would be given in future.
“Those who have enough get many opportunities, but these people do not get opportunities,” she added.
She asked the sports ministry and the football academy to organise sports events in Kolkata for boys and girls from junglemahal for exposure of their talent.
