Malda, June 19: Bhutni island is going to get a block status and a police station, the minister for women and child development and social welfare said here today.
Around 1.5 lakh people stay on the sand banks comprising three gram panchayats.
“This is a gift to the deprived population of the island by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She has asked the district administration to complete a survey at the earliest,” said minister Sabitri Mitra, also the Trinamul Congress MLA from Manikchak.
Additional district magistrate Tarun Singha Roy said if the island gets a block status then OBC certificates can be issued in Bhutni itself. Currently the residents have to travel to Manikchak, 4km away, to get it. The official added that if the island became a block then relief distribution and development schemes can be planned and executed locally and the funds allocation for the place will rise. He, however, said the district administration does not know anything about the new block status yet.