Balurghat, June 12: Subhas Chakraborty today promised this South Dinajpur town an air taxi link with Calcutta in six months while laying the foundation stone of a project that took 11 years to kick off.

“If I fail to translate my promise into practice in six months, you have the liberty to haul me up,” he said, standing on the plot where a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus terminus will come up.

Chakraborty’s department took 11 years to acquire the one-acre plot from the food supplies department.

But today, the delay was not something on the minister’s mind. The terminus, with its infrastructure, would be something to “boast of”, he said.

“My department is in touch with the Behala Flying Club and everything that needs to be done to get the service going is being put in place,” he said about the air taxi plan.

The people of South Dinajpur would witness the development for themselves in about half a year, he added.

In 1994, the NBSTC terminus was shifted from the municipality bus stand in the heart of the town to the plot belonging to the food and supplies department at Mongolpur. Since then, the corporation had been running its buses without a proper terminus here.

According to Chakraborty, Rs 50 lakh has been sanctioned for the terminus and funds will not be a block to the scheme.

He also inaugurated two Balurghat-Calcutta buses that are fitted with mobile phone chargers and lights and fans to each seat.

Chakraborty told reporters later his department would not backtrack from its decision to allow private parties to operate buses on behalf of the state-run corporations.