Siliguri mayor asks Darjeeling MP Bista to mind his own business

SNS, SILIGURI, 29 MAY 2023 : The proposed model rural health research unit (MRHRU) at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) has triggered a war of words between patient welfare committee chairman and Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb and Darjeeling's BJP MP Raju Bista. In the latest verbal attack, Mr Deb today said that Mr Bista has been making comments eying the parliamentary elections.

A senior Trinamul Congress leader, Mr Deb accused BJP lawmakers-Mr Bista and Jayanta Roy on Jalpaiguri of taking no steps to carry out substantial development work and failing to utilise their Members of Parliament Local Area Development funds for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) area.

Mr Deb also hit back at Mr Bista for claiming credit for the project of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), and demanding his resignation as the patient welfare committee chairman.

"Now, he will say this as the elections are a few months away. Let them say, but his statements on the project are absolutely groundless. I had taken the initiative for the mutation of 15 cottah of land when the ICMR-NICED had earlier sought such an area of land because the mutation of the land had been pending and there was no boundary wall of the NBMCH campus since the tenure of the erstwhile Left Front government. We have been trying for an ICMR-NICED project from 2013- 2014. They had discussed the project with me at least three four times. Perhaps he is unaware about the developments," Mr Deb said.

Mr Bista had on Sunday said that he had to reach out to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by writing a letter to her on 19July, 2021 over the delay in the establishment in the unit after the ICMR officials informed him about the "non- cooperation" of the state government in setting up the MRIIRU. The MP had claimed that the project was coming up at the NBMCH following his intervention.

"If he has taken the initiative, if the state government had not cooperated with the ICMR-NICED, he should show those documents," Mr Deb, on the other hand, said.

The NBMCH has handed over a three-storied building to the ICMR-NICED for the proposed unit on 26 May. The work on the infrastructure will begin there soon.

A tripartite agreement was signed for the project among the department of health research (DHR) under the Union health and family welfare depart meat, NICED, and the state health department December last year.

Scientists of the ICMR-NICED said the project, a first of its kind in north Bengal, will enhance medical science research and study diseases and outbreaks specific to this region.

The ICMR-NICED, which conducts basic research and applied clinical and epidemiological research on diarrhoea'  diseases under the same roof, will play the role of a mentor institute. It has its basic science set-up with well equipped, modern technological facilities in different disciplines such as bacteriology, virology, parasitology, biochemistry, patho-physiology molecular biology, electron microscopy, immunology and biochemistry

According to Mr Bista, he had failed to understand the abysmal condition of the NBMCH in terms of providing patient facilities, while he had sought the resignation of Mr Deb.

"Perhaps, he should consider resigning from the post (committee chairman), and hand it over to someone mom competent," the MP had said.

In a counter attack, Mr Deb said Mr Bista should mind his own business.

"The state government decides on the PWC chairman, but not an MP and I am not holding the post to satisfy Raju Bista" said Mr Deb, a three-time chairman of the committee.

He fired a salvo against Mr Bista and Jalpaiguri MP Mr Ray.

"The MPs get development funds of Rs 5 crore annually I low much did they spend for the development of the SMC area?" Mr Deb said.

Of the 47 SMC wards, 14 fall in the Jalpaiguri Parliamentary constituency, while the rest of the 33 lie in Darjeeling.

The mayor also slammed the Centre for denying the Bharat Ratna for Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who made the first ascent of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary on 29 May, 70 years ago.

"When will the Centre confer Bharat Ratna on Tenzing Norgay Sherpa posthumously? The elections am approaching, now at least they should confer the award to him. The BJP has an MP representing Darjeeling since 2009 and the party has been running the government at the Centre since 2014, but they played no role in this regard," Mr Deb said.