West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced that the state will provide Rs 5 crore to make proper arrangements for the congregation of lakhs of devotees in the temple town of Tarapith on September 11 for Kaushiki Amavasya.
Rs 5 crore for Kaushiki Amavasya arrangements
After holding a meeting with the Birbhum district administration here during his first visit to the district since taking over as chief minister, Adhikari directed officers to ensure that middle- and lower-middle-income families have proper places to stay while visiting the town.
"I have told the district magistrate to build a large tourist lodge so that middle-class and lower-middle-class people can stay there at a low cost," the chief minister said, adding that the government will ensure there is no shortage of funds for arrangements at Tarapith on the occasion of Kaushiki Amavasya.
Adhikari also set October 10 as the deadline for repairing roads maintained by panchayats, municipalities and the Public Works Department across Birbhum.
Police, medical camps to be set up
Tarapith is one of the state's major destinations, where thousands of devotees gather during important religious occasions.
"The government will also set up assistance camps every five kilometres on roads leading to Tarapith. The camps will have police booths, temporary medical facilities and ORS water arrangements, while Baul song performances will also be organised," Adhikari said.
The chief minister also said that flower petals would be showered on devotees from helicopters during the festival.
Fire safety in hotels under scrutiny
His visit to the temple town came days after nine tourists were killed in a fire at a hotel.
Referring to the incident, Adhikari raised concerns over fire safety measures in hotels. "I was surprised to hear that hotel rooms are locked from outside so that guests cannot leave in the morning. This is a complete death trap. This bad practice must change immediately," he said.
Road repairs, local administration reviewed
With panchayats currently inactive, the chief minister directed block development officers to take on additional responsibilities for development work in their respective areas.
Several other development issues were discussed at the administrative meeting, including projects concerning Suri Medical College, Deucha-Pachami coal block, national highways and railway infrastructure.
Deucha-Pachami roadmap by September
On coal mining at Deucha-Pachami, Adhikari said a concrete roadmap for the project would be prepared by the last week of September.
He alleged that tribal land in the area had earlier been illegally given in the names of Trinamool Congress leaders from Burdwan and that some people had used such documents to obtain jobs.
The illegal pattas and jobs had since been cancelled, he said.
Praise for Birbhum police
Without naming stone trader Tullu Mondal, Adhikari also praised the Birbhum police for seizing Rs 220 crore and impounding 252 vehicles.
"State or district police can do everything if they want to. You do not need the ED, CBI, CID or STF for this. The Birbhum district police has proved it.
The state police, investigating Mondal in a case of amassing disproportionate assets and evading government taxes, recovered cash and gold worth nearly Rs 50 crore from his brother-in-law's house and froze assets worth around Rs 220 crore.
Revenue, Tarapith probe and journalists’ welfare
Incidentally, Adhikari's remarks came two days after he criticised the condition of police infrastructure, logistics and vehicles, as well as the dependence of several police stations on civic volunteers.
Taking to reporters in Tarapith, Adhikari highlighted the state's revenue collection, saying that while only Rs 82 crore was collected in the previous fiscal year, Rs 255 crore was collected in the last three months since the BJP assumed the charge.
The chief minister also said that investigation into alleged irregularities in the Tarapith Development Authority would continue. He also rejected opposition allegations that false cases were being filed in the matter.
Welfare measures for state and district-level journalists would be announced on October 1, he said and invited suggestions from local media organisations.
After the meeting, Adhikari visited the residence of former deputy speaker of West Bengal Assembly and TMC leader Asish Banerjee, who was found hanging at a party office earlier this month.