West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday assured that tourists who are stranded at Nepal for recent turmoil, will be soon rescued.
Mamata stayed Uttarkanya while night
She said during a government distribution programme at Jalpaiguri, “Many tourists have gone there. I would like to inform them that the state government has already taken up the issue. Wait for a day or two and we shall bring you back. Don’t do anything in haste which may land you in trouble. Let peace return. If they restore peace, we as neighbours would be happy.”
The chief minister, who is on a three-day visit to north Bengal, added, “The moment I heard that there was a problem in Nepal, I rushed to north Bengal. I spent the entire night at Uttarkanya (Secretariat of North Bengal) monitoring the situation. I hope peace will return.”
“Bengal will run by Bengal”
Mamata Banerjee also attacked BJP-led Central Government and said, Central government will not run Bengal. Bengal will run by Bengal.
She said during a government distribution programme at Jalpaiguri, “If your crops get destroyed, do not worry as we have crop insurance. We also provide Rs 2 lakh to the families of deceased farmers. Many migrant workers are being tortured for speaking in Bengali. I say speak more in Bengali. I will also see what they can do and to what extent they can go. They are sending notices from Assam to our residents in Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. They are pushing back our people just because they are speaking in Bengali. They are not even sparing tribal women. We will speak in our mother tongue but we will also learn other languages. We do not disrespect any language. Speak in whichever you prefer. Why should I not speak in Bengali? But you cannot control Bengal. Bengal will be run by Bengal, not Delhi.”
Criticising Central government for the flood management system, she added, “The whole country is marred by floods this year. Even here, both North and South Bengal are suffering. This year there has been incessant rainfall, but the DVC also releases water without control. We have told the Centre that Bengal should be made a member of the Indo-Bhutan River Commission so that we can coordinate. We want our neighbours to stay well but not at the cost of us remaining submerged.”
She then further added, “We have a universal scheme called Swasthya Sathi where you get coverage of Rs 5 lakh. Delhi tells me why I am not implementing Ayushman Bharat here. I tell them, why should I do it when you will give 40% and I will have to give 60%, and those who have scooters, TVs or pucca houses will not get it. This means out of the 11 crore population here, only 1 crore will benefit leaving out 10 crore people. But ours is universal, we do not discriminate. We do not take a penny from the Centre, we do it all with our own funds.”
Mamata on Tea Garden
On tea garden problem, Mamata Banerjee briefed, “Under Chaa Sundari, 1,106 families received their papers under the scheme in Alipurduar. In Jalpaiguri, 1,053 families have benefitted and 2,969 houses have already been constructed in Alipurduar. Under the Chaa Sundari extension, over 8,000 and 13,000 families in Alipurduar and 500 families in Uttar Dinajpur have been given financial assistance for house construction. The tea gardens have fixed the bonus rate at 20%. I hope that the Chief Secretary will look into it and monitor it so that no one faces issues in receiving the bonus. Some are trying to play with this, I tell them, please do not play with the wages of the workers.”