"Greater" rally in Cooch Behar

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 9: A large number of activists and supporters of Greater Kamta United Forum (GKUF) assembled in Cooch Behar town today. After passing through the streets of the town with a slogan shouting procession they submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate demanding unconditional release of its seventy-two supporters who were arrested on 27 June during the bandh called by the GKUF.

 

GKUF sources said they had called the bandh on 27 June demanding formation of a separate Greater Cooch Behar state comprising of nineteen districts of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar and recognition of Kamtapuri language. The GKUF was formed in an aim to use it as a common platform of Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCDP), Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) and All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AAKRASU).

 

Mr Ashutosh Barma, the secretary of GKUF and also the president of GCDP, said that they demanded unconditional release of their seventy-two supporters today. They will continue their agitation till release of their men. He alleged that police unleashed a reign of terror against GCDP supporters in rural areas in Cooch Behar to damage their movement demanding proper implementation of the merger agreement by which Cooch Behar State was included into Union of India. Mr Barma also said that their struggle to get the proposed Greater Cooch Behar state within the framework of the Constitution of India would go on till attainment of the goal. []

 

Clinic for sick newborns inaugurated

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 9: State forest minister Mr Ananta Ray inaugurated the much awaited Sick Newborn Childcare Unit (SNCU) inside Maharaja Jitendra Narayan Hospital in Cooch Behar yesterday. Cooch Behar MP (Lok Sabha) Mr Hiten Barman, Natabari MLA Mr Tamser Ali, Cooch Behar (North) MLA Mr Dipak Sarkar, district magistrate Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha and chief medical officer of health Dr SK Sil were present at the inaugural ceremony. Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad sabhadhipati Mr Jnanendra Chandra Chanda presided over the programme.

           

            District Health and Family Welfare Samiti sources said that the SNCU was established to reduce the child mortality rate (CMR) in Cooch Behar district. The CMR in this state is 40 percent and in Cooch Behar it is 50 per 1000 newborns. Most of the death cases occur within one month from birth and it is acute during one-day to seven-day period. At the inauguration ceremony the speakers hoped that the newly established SNCU might be of immense help to reduce the CMR in this district. []

 

Fast-unto-death plan of hawkers

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 9: Members of SUCI affiliated Sangrami Hawkers' Union (SHU) is going to start a fast-unto-death programme from tomorrow. They will sit for the programme at Power House Choupathi in the town to stage protest against the ongoing eviction drive.

 

            A spokesman of the SHU said that finding no other alternative they had to adopt the decision for the fast-unto-death programme. The hunger strike will continue till their demands fulfilled.

 

Some of the demands raised by the SHU : The evicted footpath hawkers should be allowed to do their business at the places from where they were evicted, the hawker eviction drive should be stopped following national hawker policy, one-third space of footpaths should be allotted to the hawkers to conduct business, the hawkers should be provided with identity cards and licences, the seized goods and consumer items should be returned to the hawkers concerned and proper compensation should be extended to them. The drive launched by the administration and civic body against the hawkers should be stopped immediately, the SHU spokesman demanded. []