Assembly polls: Connecting voters via road and rail in north Bengal

The central and state governments led by the BJP and the TMC are vying with each other by inaugurating new projects and services to draw support in the region

The Islampur bypass along NH27.Kousik Sen and Main Uddin Chisti

Avijit Sinha   |   TT  |   Siliguri   |    02.03.21 : The road and rail connectivity has emerged as a major topic of election campaign in north Bengal with the central and state governments led by the BJP and the Trinamul Congress vying with each other by making major announcements and inaugurating new projects and services to draw support in the region.

While the BJP is keen on retaining its support base — it won seven out of eight Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s party is desperate for a revival. The region has 54 Assembly constituencies.

“Both the parties are playing cards to woo different communities, right from Rajbanshis to adivasis and Gorkhas. But one of the principal issues which they have been highlighting consistently is the recent developments in the road and rail connectivity in the region, that is considered as a key strategic area of the country,” said a political observer.

The Joyee Bridge over the Teesta river.: Kousik Sen and Main Uddin Chisti

In north Bengal, the most important stretch in terms of national security is the “Siliguri Corridor” or a stretch that starts from the Islampur subdivision of North Dinajpur and ends in Siliguri of Darjeeling district.

The width of the Indian sub-continent is slimmest in this stretch, with Bangladesh and Nepal on either side.

In the past few months, the Trinamul government in the state and the BJP government at the Centre came up with a number of new announcements and launched new infrastructure services.

The Telegraph lists some of the important initiatives made by both the sides.

Following are some of the initiatives of the Mamata Banerjee government:

⚫ Construction of the 2.709km-long Joyee Bridge (probably the longest bridge in the state) over the Teesta river to connect Haldibari and Mekhliganj in Cooch Behar;

⚫ Construction of Asian Highways 2 and 48 which connect the Bangladesh border with Nepal and Bhutan, respectively. The fund was provided by the Centre.

⚫ Construction of a bridge over the Ganga to connect Bhutni, an islet in Malda district with around 90,000 residents.

⚫ Construction of a bridge over the Fulhar river reducing the distance between Malda and Katihar in the neighbouring state of Bihar by 90km.

⚫ Allocation of over 100 acres for the expansion of the Bagdogra airport.

⚫ The first Inland Container Depot or dry port of north Bengal at New Jalpaiguri, where cargo can be ferried via rail.

Following are some of the initiatives of the Narendra Modi government:

⚫ Allocation of Rs 25,000 crore in the Union budget of the next fiscal for construction of the 675km Calcutta-Siliguri economic corridor

⚫ Introduction of goods train services along Haldibari-Chilahati (Bangladesh) route in December last year. From March 26, a bi-weekly passenger train service will commence between Siliguri and Dhaka

⚫ Construction of second road bridge over the Teesta along NH27 near Jalpaiguri. Work of a second rail bridge, parallel to the road bridge, is in progress.

⚫ A 10km-long road to bypass NH27 at Islampur in North Dinajpur has been opened for traffic recently.

State tourism minister Gautam Deb, who is busy reaching out to people in his Assembly constituency, said north Bengal residents witnessed a series of development initiatives since 2011 in different sectors, one of which is the improvement in road connectivity.

“The Centre is, however, delaying some major projects. They include widening of NH31 at Darjeeling More (the principal entry point to Siliguri) and construction of a bridge over the Teesta near Sevoke Bazaar,” the minister said.

BJP leaders, however, said the four-laning of NH 27 — the principal highway that connects Northeast — had been expedited by the Centre since 2017.

“Also, there have been major developments in the rail network and service. The electrification of tracks is almost complete in north Bengal and an international rail route has been opened. Infrastructure has been developed at a number of stations in the region,” said a BJP leader.