Mamata Banerjee inaugurates development projects ahead of assembly polls

Ahead of the assembly polls,West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesdayinaugurated a slew of development projects in four districtsfrom here and took a veiled dig at those who unveil a singleproject on a day and keep talking about it.

The chief minister inaugurated 40 development projectsin Purulia, Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur and Murshidabaddistricts from here through virtual mode.

''Some people are in the habit of inaugurating a singleproject on a day. But we are working on so many projects thatwe don't have time to spare like them.

''Before leaving for Kolkata today, I am inauguratingall these projects which may appear to be small but willcreate great impact,'' Banerjee said.

She was apparently referring to the inauguration ofprojects by the prime minister and other union ministers butrefrained from directly naming anyone.

The projects include opening new bus terminals atManbazar and Bandwan in Purulia, a new bus depot at Baharampurin Murshidabad, a new block of the state-run JhargramSuperspeciality Hospital and 100 anganwadi centres amongothers.

Banerjee also laid the foundation stone forconstruction of a fire station at Sabang in Paschim Medinipurdistrict.

Asserting that her government had substantially rampedup infrastructure in Jangalmahal area, within which Puruliafalls, the chief minister called for exploring the tourismpotential of the district.

'Rupasi Bangla' (Purulia belt is known as BeautifulBengal for its natural beauty) should be projected robustlyamong tourists and the homestay tourism potential should beexplored as visitors like to acquaint themselves with theflavour of local life, Banerjee said.

''We have already undertaken a massive development ofthe Ajodhya Hills in Purulia district. To explore the beautyof Rupasi Bangla, we need more hotels in the entire belt. Manyhotels and cottages have come up in Purulia. We need toencourage more people to offer homestays to tourists.

''People like to travel. The circuit tourism projectneeds to be cleared at the earliest,'' she said.

The chief minister announced that tourism would begiven a fillip and local artisans would be encouraged byhelping them to participate in fairs to be held by the stategovernment in different blocks of the state this season.

She said Jangalmahal Utsav, inaugurated at Jhargram onWednesday, will showcase the heritage and craftsmanship of thepeople of this belt.

Over 100 stalls, including 42 of various governmentdepartments, have been set up at the fair.

There will be 621 such fairs across the state to helpcraftsmen, promote local business and give a thrust todevelopment, the chief minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)