Senior citizens felicitated

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 26: Ten eminent senior citizens from different walks of life from Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar, Dinhata and Tufanganj were felicitated at a programme held at Lansdowne Hall in Cooch Behar today. The persons felicitated were : Mr Alok Gangopadhyay, Mr Shyamal Kumar Dhar, Mr Bhabesh Guha, Mr Tarun Lahiri, Mr Ranendra Nath Adhikary, Mr Badal Sharma Chaudhury, Mr Tushar Kanti Chakraborty, Mr Subhas Mitra, Mr Basudev Singh and Mr Kailash Sonar. The district magistrate Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha presided over the programme. CZP sabhadhipati Mr Jnanendra Chandra Chanda and Cooch Behar ADM (D) Mr Pannalal Mahapatra were also present on the occasion. []

  

Cooch Behar Airport : Promises to be kept

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 26: Taking the advantage of the presence of the state fisheries minister Mr Kiranmay Nanda, the district magistrate of Cooch Behar Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha made an appeal to the minister to take an initiative to make the defunct Cooch Behar Airport functional again. Supporting the appeal the minister too took up the issue.

 

At the inauguration ceremony of a Benfish operated luxurious tourist complex in Cooch Behar yesterday, the district magistrate drew attention of the minister over the airport issue. He said the long abandoned airport was thoroughly renovated recently. It is now ready for operation but no operator came up yet to resume the air service between Cooch Behar and Kolkata. As Cooch Behar has high potentiality for tourism industry the resumption of air service may boost up the process. The newly inaugurated tourist lodge may attract more tourists and visitors if the air service is resumed, he opined.

 

During his address the minister took up the cue. He recalled his earlier days as a minister when Vayudoot service was operational between Cooch Behar and Kolkata. As tourism is a flourishing industry in this region the air service is essential to boost up it, he opined. He however made no comment how and when he will take up the issue with the authorities concerned for resuming the long awaited air service.

 

It may be recalled that the DM did a similar thing in December. In a programme in Cooch Behar where the Union information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs minister Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi was present the DM had requested the minister to take an initiative to make the long defunct airport alive by resuming air service as early as possible. Mr Das Munshi had announced that the service would be resumed after the polls in Gujarat but that promise too is yet to be kept. []