Trinamul demands Torsa dyke repairing

COOCH BEHAR, June 12: Members of Cooch Behar Town Block unit of Trinamul Congress organised a daylong sit-in in front of Cooch Behar Sadar SDO office today. Later they submitted a memorandum containing a seventeen-point charter of demands to the Cooch Behar Sadar SDO. Senior Trinamul Congress leaders like Mr Mihir Goswami, Mr Santosh Mukherjee, Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh and Mr Ranajit Gupta Choudhury addressed the party supporters at the sit-in.

President of Cooch Behar District Trinamul Congress, Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh said in the memorandum they demanded repairing of the embankment along Torsa river to save the heritage town. The existence of this town is dependent on this dyke, he said. Adequate supply of drinking water to all wards in the town, revision of BPL list to include all poor people of the town, absorption of all municipal casual workers, rehabilitation of displaced and fire-affected traders of Bhavaniganj Bazar, renovation and cleaning of all ponds in the town and establishment of medical, law and engineering colleges in Cooch Behar were also included in the charter of demands, Mr Ghosh Said. []

Tourism survey to start on Friday

COOCH BEHAR, June 12: Entrusted by the state tourism department a ten-member team of state-owned West Bengal Consultancy Organisation (WEBCON) will conduct a nine-day survey to prepare the “Project report for development of properties under Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board (CDTB) located at Cooch Behar district and Varanasi and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh”. The survey will start on 15 June from Mekhliganj. Mr Ratan Chandra Mahapatra, project advisor (tourism) of WEBCON, will lead the team. It will visit all the age-old temples situated in Dinhata, Cooch Behar Sadar, Mathabhanga, Mekhliganj and Tufanganj sub-divisions.

Sources in the district administration of Cooch Behar said today that the WEBCON team would submit its final report to the state government in mid-July. Soon after that, may be within fifteen days, work will be started following the recommendations submitted with the report.

Mr Pannalal Mahapatra, the additional district magistrate (general) of Cooch Behar, said that the members of the WEBCON team would make on-the-spot survey in all the twenty-nine temples under care of Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board in Cooch Behar district. Another team is to visit the CDTB temples and properties at Varanasi and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. During their visit the experts of the team will examine the requirements of devotees and other visitors needed at the temple premises. According to their finding and recommendation guesthouses and rest sheds will be erected at each place concerned. Sufficient number of lights, fans, and toilets alongwith water supply facility will also be provided. These facilities will be available under “use and pay” basis following “no loss no profit” plan, the ADM (G), Mr Mahapatra said.

It may be mentioned here that a four-member WEBCON study-team had visited Cooch Behar to prepare a development plan for CDTB properties from 21 May to 25 May. Led by Mr Ratan Chandra Mahapatra the team had visited different properties of Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board mainly age-old temples and chalked out a development plan to improve the existing infrastructure to boost up religious tourism in this region. Prior to submit their final report to the state tourism department the WEBCON team is coming again with engineers and experts to give the proposed religious tourism plan a concrete shape. []