Navodaya school controversy, nine arrested

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 20: Agitated members of Haat Sangram Committee staged demonstrations in front of Tufanganj SDO office and Tufanganj police station today. They were protesting against the arrest of nine traders. They demanded unconditional release of the arrested persons. Later, the agitators dispersed away peacefully. No untoward incident occurred during the demonstrations, according to the Tufanganj OC, Mr Sanjay Dutta.

 

Police said, the nine men were arrested last night in connection with forcible removal of forty-eight boundary demarcation pillars of the re-acquired land of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. The land was handed over to the school authorities on 25 August. It may be recalled that a few hundred shops were dismantled by the district administration at the haat controlled by the Tufanganj Regulated Market Committee (RMC) on the morning of 25 August. The shops were dismantled to clear the area for construction of the proposed building of the school.

 

The Trinamul Congress and BJP had called a bandh on 28 August against the eviction of traders from the haat situated at Uttar Chhatjaigir Chilakhana in Tufanganj. Both the BJP and the Trinamul Congress held CPI-M responsible for the eviction drive. Denying the allegation the CPI-M leadership had said that the government took over its own land for construction of the school building. It may be recalled that state education minister Mr Kanti Biswas had inaugurated the functioning of the JNV in Tufanganj on 27 February last year.

 

The fencing work of boundary of the land (that was handed over to the school authority) was started yesterday under strict police vigil at Tufanganj Kalibari area on the evacuated market place of RMC. Principal of the school Mr DN Singh, Tufanganj-I BDO and others were present at the beginning of the work. Seeing the starting of fencing work the members of the Haat Sangram Committee began protesting but no untoward incident occurred at that time. Later, forty-eight demarcation pillars were damaged at night and nine persons were arrested in connection with that incident.

 

Condemning the eviction drive and the arrest of nine persons the district BJP president Mr Nityananda Munsi said, "We are not ready to accept the atrocity done on the poor traders in the name of acquisition of land for a school". []

 

Forward Bloc's agitation

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 20: Cooch Behar MP (Lok Sabha) Mr Hiten Barman, Cooch Behar (West) MLA Mr Akshoy Thakur and Cooch Behar (North) MLA Mr Dipak Sarkar sanctioned Rs 76-lakh, Rs 18-lakh and Rs 20-lakh respectively for improvement of rural electrification in Cooch Behar district but nothing happened yet. Demanding an end of the tangle a large number of Forward Bloc supporters assembled in Cooch Behar town today and staged demonstration at the office of the divisional engineer of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL).

 

Mr Hiten Barman, Mr Akshoy Thakur, Mr Dipak Sarkar and All India Youth League's Cooch Behar district unit president Md Abdur Rauf spoke on the occasion at the gathering.

 

Forward Bloc leader Mr Akshoy Thakur alleged that the MP and two MLAs had sanctioned a large amount of money from their local area development funds but the WBSEDCL authorities are claiming fifteen percent of the allotted money as supervision charge. This demand created a complexity and following that the proposed rural electrification programme is suffering. He demanded immediate commencement of work by drawing an end to the tangle.

 

Cooch Behar (West) MLA, Mr Thakur also said that 225 districts in the country including Cooch Behar were brought under Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bidyut Yojana. But the local authorities are now saying that the work may start after 2008. It is not proper. Why Cooch Behar be deprived from the scheme, he questioned. He warned that the Forward Bloc would not tolerate the matter if the authorities fail to take any initiative within seven days.

 

District AIYL president Md Abdur Rauf demanded cost free supply of power for the rural farmers to run irrigation facilities. All the speakers condemned the WBSEDCL authorities for regular power cuts especially prior to the festive season in Cooch Behar.

 

After the demonstration the FB leaders submitted a memorandum containing a six-point charter of demands to the divisional engineer, Cooch Behar, Mr MN Dey. The DE assured them that he would convey the demands to the higher authorities for an early settlement. []  

Body found

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 20: Cooch Behar Kotowali Police recovered the body of one Tapan Barua (52) from Sagardighi this noon. As Sagardighi is situated at the centre of the town and surrounded by many offices and courts, a large number of curious locals assembled there. Police said the man was a local resident and he may have drowned last night accidentally during bathing. The body was sent for post-mortem. []