Promises: College for hills & varsity

AVIJIT SINHA, Siliguri, March 11: The Trinamul manifesto has promised a Nepali-medium college in the Darjeeling hills, a new campus of Aliah University and a second agricultural university among other things for north Bengal.

The ruling party also promised to set up a centre of Netaji Subhas Open University in Jalpaiguri.

"A new campus of the Aliah University will be opened in North Bengal's minority-inhabited area....agricultural University would be established in North Bengal," says the manifesto. Right now, north Bengal has an agricultural university, Uttarbanga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, in Cooch Behar district.

The manifesto mentions a silk park in Malda where "many crores of rupees would be invested for construction" and wi-fi connectivity in Siliguri and Malda.

In the "Jangalmahal, Hills and Tea Estates" chapter, the document claims that the GTA has been allotted Rs 1,018 crore.

However, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha took objection to the Rs 1,018 crore claim.

"We don't know whether Trinamul is speaking about non-planned expenditure. But as far as funds under plan heads are concerned, the GTA has not received so much money from the state government. Trinamul should show copies of government orders on the allocation of the funds," said Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha.

Other than the Nepali-medium college, there is no mention of any other project for the hills. The manifesto doesn't make any promise with regard to tea plantation labourers though it reeled off the relief measures the government has provided to them so far.

"The manifesto shows Trinamul is least bothered about tea garden workers, particularly those in the sick and closed plantations. Not a single word has been written on closed tea gardens, fixing minimum wages for tea workers and alternative job opportunities for their dependants," said Mani Kumar Darnal, the joint general secretary of Intuc-affiliated National Union of Plantation Workers.