ETC

FM declares increase of elephant attack compensation

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 15: State finance minister Mr Dasgupta declared that construction of the much-awaited bridge over Singijani river at Adabari-ghat in Dinhata may be initiated in the next fiscal year. The long demanded bridge is necessary to connect Dinhata with Sitai. Survey for construction of the proposed Rs 150-crore bridge over Tista to connect Mekhliganj with Haldibari already started. To make the bridge a reality the state would have to take assistance from the Centre, he indicated.

 

At the same time the finance minister declared that all the six old wooden bridges existing between Falakata and Alipurduar in Jalpaiguri district would be converted to concrete ones. The state government already initiated talks with the Centre urging financial assistance for the purpose, he said.

 

It may be recalled here that Mr Dasgupta had promised in presence of chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at the inauguration ceremony of the Siltorsa Bridge in 2003 that all the six wooden bridges along Alipurduar-Falakata road will be converted into concrete bridges but nothing happened till now.

 

Alipurduar MLA Mr Nirmal Das, who attended today's programme, said, he demanded several times in the past years that the finance department should hand over the required fund to the public works department (PWD) for the construction of six concrete bridges replacing the older ones. He had even raised the demand in the Assembly but no initiative was taken till now.

 

The finance minister Mr Dasgupta was addressing at the inauguration ceremony of the Forest Week sponsored by the forest department at Kholta High School premises in Cooch Behar on Monday afternoon.

 

During his address, the finance minister said all casual and temporary forest workers would be absorbed as permanent staff. The process already started and about 400 workers are still there to be absorbed within the next three months. Temporary forest workers will also get uniforms from now on.

 

Mr Dasgupta declared that the government would increase the compensation against incident of death by wild elephant attack. Instead of Rs 50,000 the next kin of a deceased would get Rs 1,00,000 from now on. The farmers are also to get Rs 8,000 per hectare of damaged cultivation instead of Rs 4,000 that they receive presently against damages done by wild elephants, the minister said.  []

 

PHOTO : As the atmospheric temperature fluctuation continues the number of patients at the outdoors of the MJN Hospital being increased. In Cooch Behar on Tuesday.