Kalimpong dist holds 2-day fest to commemorate its 6th anniversary

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 14 Feb 2023, Siliguri: Kalimpong is commemorating the 6th Anniversary of the formation of the district with a two-day long Kalimpong festival. On St. Valentine’s day in 2017, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had formally announced the formation of the Kalimpong district. 

The state Cabinet had given its nod to the creation of the Kalimpong district on December 18, 2015. On February 14, 2017, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had officially announced Kalimpong as the 21st district of West Bengal. 

The new district started functioning with areas under the Kalimpong Assembly constituency. In 2017 it consisted of a Sadar sub-division and existing 3 blocks namely, Kalimpong 1 block, Kalimpong 2 block and Gorubathan block. Since its formation, in the 6 years, the district has come a long way. 

“We have project monitoring units that have been set up after becoming a district. For all flagship programmes of the government, including Kanyashree, Rupashree, Swastha Sathi, Utkarsha Bangla, we have dedicated district-level project management units. All programmes are properly implemented, monitored and supervised. All this is giving an intangible outcome so that benefits go to the public,” stated R Vimala, District Magistrate, Kalimpong talking to the Millennium Post. 

A child-welfare committee, juvenile justice board, one-stop centre and district-level legal service authority have also been set up for the district. 

The Kalimpong II block has been bifurcated to Pedong and Lava. Three new police stations have also come up. Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, about 2,598 Self Help Groups have been formed so far. 

The district boasts the highest number of homestays in the state and also the highest concentration per area in the country. The movement has rejuvenated the rural economy with community involvement. 

There are 1009 registered homestays in the Kalimpong district with 35 in the registration pipeline. The district administration has also developed a ‘Kalimpong Tourism’ app by which users can locate homestays, hotels, restaurants, petrol pumps, police stations and ATMs. On August 3, 2022, the Government of West Bengal issued notifications regarding the creation of three new police stations and the realignment of boundaries of an existing police station in the Kalimpong district. 

The two-day commemoration was flagged off from the Kalimpong Town Hall on Tuesday in the presence of different community boards. The commemorations include a “Karukala Utsav” to celebrate the art and craft of the Hill communities along with cultural shows. 

“Kalimpong was also chosen as a venue to commemorate World Millet Day on Tuesday with a stall selling all edible items made of Ragi (Kodo). 

We also released a tourist guide Ramailo Kalimpong II to mark the occasion,” added the DM. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/kalimpong-dist-holds-2-day-fest-to-commemorate-its-6th-anniv-508699