Jalpaiguri, July 27 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday appealed to migrant workers employed in other states to return to West Bengal, assuring them that his government would create employment opportunities within the state through MSMEs, industrial projects and the revival of closed tea gardens.
Speaking to reporters at the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate's office after extending financial assistance to the families of 11 migrant workers killed in the Namchi tunnel accident in Sikkim.
Adhikari said: "The previous government had created complications over OBC certificates but our government has resolved those issues. We have only recently assumed office, so give us some time. We will generate employment through MSMEs and other sectors, enabling people to earn a livelihood within the state."
The Chief Minister said seven bereaved family members had been appointed as Home Guards, while four others had been recruited as Civic Volunteers due to discrepancies in their documents.
He added that each family had received Rs 5 lakh from the West Bengal government, Rs 4 lakh from the Sikkim government, Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF), and Rs 9 lakh jointly from NHPC and the tunnel construction company.
Adhikari said: "The state government is allotting 15 acres of land each in North Bengal and South Bengal to Amul for setting up ice cream manufacturing plants. These projects will generate substantial employment opportunities. Within the next two months, 12 of the 25 closed tea gardens in North Bengal are expected to reopen."
He also urged people without job cards to register under the resumed 125-day rural employment guarantee scheme.
Later, Adhikari visited the Jalpesh Temple in Maynaguri, where he offered prayers and assured the temple authorities that engineers and architects would be deputed to prepare a development plan. Addressing a BJP organisational meeting, he announced that Jalpaiguri district would soon get representation in the state Cabinet.
The Chief Minister also directed Jalpaiguri MP Dr Jayanta Roy to identify suitable land for establishing a full-fledged state university in the district before concluding his visit and returning to Siliguri by helicopter.
Meanwhile, the Bengal government will felicitate 100 toppers from the state in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on Tuesday, a senior official said.
The Chief Minister will hand over a laptop each to the students during an event at the 'Nabanna Sabhaghar'.
"The initiative is aimed at recognising meritorious students and encouraging them to pursue higher education in the medical field. The chief minister will felicitate the top 100 NEET achievers, and each of them will be presented with a laptop," the state government official said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.