Rabindranath Ghosh, the chairman of the Trinamool Congress-run Cooch Behar municipality, was felicitated by casual workers of the civic body on Monday for announcing a bonus for their service during the recent Raas Mela, as he continued to cling to the post, defying specific instructions from the party to vacate his office.
Abhijit De Bhowmik, the Cooch Behar district president of Trinamool, had instructed Ghosh to step down.
“I will step down only if Mamata Banerjee instructs me to,” Ghosh said unequivocally.
The heads of other civic bodies in the district had already resigned as directed by Trinamool.
On Friday, Ghosh announced that the casual workers, who had worked in various capacities during the Raas Mela, a fair that is organised by the municipality during the Raas Utsav in the town, would get a bonus of ₹1,000 for their work.
“The casual workers did a lot during the Raas Mela. Those who did not work at the fair keep the entire city running by providing necessary services in each municipal ward during the festival. That is why we decided to pay them a bonus,” the civic chairman said on Monday.
In Cooch Behar, there are 680 casual workers, while the number of permanent staff is 165. During the festival and the fair, around 300 workers were deployed for fair-related
duties.
The rest of the workers, on the other hand, were engaged in the city’s regular civic services, ranging from cleaning and waste removal to the maintenance of sewerage.
So far, the workers who were deployed for night duties at the fair used to get an additional amount of ₹150 per day. But this is the first time that they would be paid a bonus.
“We have never had such an understanding or empathetic chairman before. This is the first time we are receiving a Raas Mela bonus. That is why we felicitated him on our own initiative,” said Shyamlendu Gupta, a temporary worker who serves as a toll gate operator.
He added that the felicitation was not done by any employees’ association, but the workers did it on their own.
“We need such a civic chairman and will support him,” Gupta added.
A political observer said: “It is obvious that Rabindranath Ghosh has the support of a considerable section of civic employees and workers. Being a seasoned politician, he wants to drive home the point that he is popular in the municipality and the employees are with him.”
Asked about the felicitation and Ghosh’s “defiance”, a district Trinamool leader said: “The state leadership is aware of it. We are waiting for the necessary instructions.”