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regular-article-logo Friday, 26 April 2024

Free water in Trinamul civic manifesto

In Siliguri and Asansol, the municipal corporation polls are to be held on February 12.

Bireswar Banerjee And Abhijeet Chatterjee Siliguri/Asansol Published 16.01.22, 01:16 AM
Trinamul leaders release the manifesto for the SMC polls in Siliguri.

Trinamul leaders release the manifesto for the SMC polls in Siliguri. Passang Yolmo

“Dosh Diganta” (10 horizons) — a host of promises on civic services and infrastructure — forms Trinamul’s manifestos for the Siliguri and Asansol civic polls.

In both cities, the municipal corporation polls are to be held on February 12.

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On Saturday, leaders in both cities released the manifestos, which mention promises ranging from free drinking water supply to desiltration of rivulets and canals.

In Siliguri, where elections would be held in 47 wards and where Trinamul does not have a majority in the corporation, the party has committed to waive tax on drinking water if it forms the civic board.

“If we form the civic board here, we will withdraw the water tax. We have been working for the past seven months and a detailed project report of a mega drinking water project for the city has been submitted to the state government,” said Gautam Deb, a veteran Trinamul leader who is also believed to be the party’s face for the civic polls. The other nine points which the party has mentioned in its manifesto that has been published in four languages — Bengali, English, Hindi and Nepali — include a series of commitments.

Among these are a “Paray Samadhan App,” establishing a Nepali-medium school in the city, renovation of all marketplaces, construction of five community halls, upgrading all primary health centres of the city body with day and night services, and rejuvenation of the Mahananda river, along with Fuleswari and Jorapani, and plans to host annual cultural and tourism fests.

“Every ward committee across the city will draw up plans for development of the concerned ward. There will also be a grievance cell where people can approach with complaints,” added Deb.

In Asansol, law and PWD minister Malay Ghatak, who unveiled the manifesto, said that they had given emphasis on upgrading the drainage system, desiltation of drainage canals and augmenting the supply of drinking water.

Ghatak said water logging and flooding was one of the major problems in Asansol. “Considering this problem, we will de-silt and clean the drainage canals within the next five years,” he said.

The minister also spoke about traffic congestion and said if voted to power, the Trinamul board would constitute a committee of experts to prepare a master plan for upgrading the road infrastructure and for setting up multistoried car parking lots.

“We will also set up modern bus stands and foot over bridges in Raniganj, Jamuria, Barakar and Burnpur,” Ghatak said.

The BJP has also published its manifesto for the Asansol civic polls. “If elections are held in a free and fair manner, we will win in at least 80 of 106 wards here,” claimed a leader of the saffron camp.

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