Deb ushers in positive changes

SNS, Darjeeling, 10 July : The Hills today experienced a series of developments with the visit of North Bengal Development Minister Mr Gautam Deb, who managed to take out time from from his busy schedule before the panchayat polls. 

Mr Deb today inaugurated an orchid circuit house in Kurseong and allocated Rs 3 crore for it. The circuit house in Kurseong will have eight rooms, two suites, a conference hall and a lobby. Mr Deb said: “It was necessary to set up a circuit house in Kurseong as it is also one of the sub-divisions of the Hills, which adds to the tourism quotient of Darjeeling." 

In Darjeeling, he officially handed over the key of Roy Villa to Ramakrishna Mission for the Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre. Roy Villa is located on the outskirts of Darjeeling, at Lebong Cart road. Here Sister Nivedita had lived for years and had also breathed her last on 13 October 1911. The building encompasses a lovely view of the hills and the famous Lebong race course which is currently in a dilapidated state. Now the Villa will be used as Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre. 

"A school of language, a free coaching centre for IAS and IPS candidates, a girls' campus and a centre for women empowerment would be established by the Mission here. Rs 1 crore has been announced earlier by Miss Banerjee for the renovation work and it will be sanctioned soon," said Mr Deb. 

Miss Mamata Banerjee had visited the Villa on 16 May this year. She had appealed to the chief executive of the GTA, Mr Bimal Gurung, to hand over the Roy Villa to the state government in exchange of the Tenzing Norgay Youth Hostel located at Dr Zakhir Hussain road. 

Mr Deb also handed over the Indian Standard Organisation (ISO) certification to the Darjeeling District Magistrate and Collectorate office for its accomplishment in establishing a quality management service within two years. 

Darjeeling now has its District Magistrate and Collectorate office certified with the ISO 9001:2008, approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), making it the 12th district in the country and 4th in the state with such an achievement.