Sops shower for rural Bankura

"When we came to power, there was no water in Bankura. I had instructed Public Health Engineering Minister Subrata Mukherjee to implement a water supply project. Today, we are inaugurating the Rs 1,100 crore water supply project under which safe drinking water will be supplied to 18 lakh people in 14 blocks and two municipalities. This is the difference between our government and the earlier one," she said.

The Chief Minister also announced free power to farmers saying the hike in diesel prices has affected agriculture. "Farmers are unable to cultivate their land because of lack of money. The government has decided to provide power connections to the farmers free of cost. The subsidy will be given to them through Kihan Credit Cards," she said.

She also said financial help to the tune of anything between Rs 10,000-45,000 will be given to poor farmers to help them purchase farming equipment.

She said her government has taken a number of projects aimed at strengthening healthcare and education infrastructure in all the districts of the state.

Multi-super specialty hospitals will be set up and funds have been provided for improving the road infrastructure in Bankura, she said. In every block there will be one Industrial Training Institute and 20 bus terminals, she added. Eight model schools will be constructed and fair price medicine shops will be opened, she said.

Mamata, who had earlier accused the Centre of not providing any monetary assistance to the cash-strapped state, said the financial health of the state was like that of a poor man trying to marry off his daughter.

"One rupee earned by the government is being spent to service the Rs 2.5 lakh crore debt left by the erstwhile LF govt. But we have not begged for money and we are implementing all the projects in the state on our own financial strength against great odds," she said, and urged the party leaders to be with the people.

Mamata visits Loba, slams cops

Nearly a month after the villagers of Loba in Dubrajpur in Birbhum clashed with police, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday visited the village and slammed the police for conducting the operation of retrieving the earth-moving equipment that triggered the violent clash on November 6.

She blamed the "CPM elements" and agents of the mining company for the violence in which 33 people, including 27 policemen, were injured. Villagers had alleged that the police had opened fire on them, a claim rejected by the government.

"I have earlier said that we were kept in dark about the operation. I ordered the transfer of all the police officers" Banerjee told the villagers.

She assured the villagers that her government "will never acquire land forcibly". "It is your land and you have the right to sell it to anybody you want and at any price you want. If you do not want to sell your land, then do not give. This I can assure you that the government will not do anything," she said.

Significantly, villagers had claimed that local Trinamool leaders were playing role of the agents of the mining company for acquiring the land.

However, Banerjee claimed, "The labnd acquisition process for the mining company took place during the Left Front rule in 2009. Banerjee added that there are land sharks moving in the area and she advised the villagers to be aware of them.

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