Bagdogra, 20 January
Hundreds of people belonging to different ethnic communities, including Lepchas, Bhutias and Limbus, thronged at Bagdogra airport today to welcome the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee. Clad in their traditional attires, they were found holding banners while the CM came out of the lounge. Miss Banerjee met them and talked to them for a few minutes before leaving for Kamrangaguri to inaugurate the mini-secretariat, 'Uttarkanya'.
The Bhutia Welfare Joint Action Forum adviser, Mr Sonam Wangdi Bhutia, said they had asked her to take initiatives for a separate board catering to his community. “We requested her to set up a separate development board for the Bhutia community on lines of the one meant for the Lepchas. She assured to look into it. We hope she would do something," he added.
The executive member of the Mayalayang Lerpcha Development Board, Mr Bhupendra Lepcha, said they had come to welcome the chief minister.
“This is thanks-giving too as she met her commitment regarding our demand, " Mr Lepcha said.
Meanwhile, the former state urban development minister and senior CPI-M leader, Mr Asok Bhattacharya said the state government seems intent on playing off one community against another in the name of ethnicity-oriented development boards.
“The decision to constitute Lepcha Development Board has set off ominous trends, as myriad communities like the Tamangs, Limbus, Rais and Bhutias are clamouring for the same. We are horrified, thinking where the bungling would land the region. Promising such boards on ethnic lines is a sure recipe to disaster. The day is not far-off when multi-ethnic north Bengal would turn into a replica of Assam, torn as it is by inter and intra-ethnic discord,” he said while addressing a press conference in Siliguri yesterday.(SNS)
Hundreds of people belonging to different ethnic communities, including Lepchas, Bhutias and Limbus, thronged at Bagdogra airport today to welcome the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee. Clad in their traditional attires, they were found holding banners while the CM came out of the lounge. Miss Banerjee met them and talked to them for a few minutes before leaving for Kamrangaguri to inaugurate the mini-secretariat, 'Uttarkanya'.
The Bhutia Welfare Joint Action Forum adviser, Mr Sonam Wangdi Bhutia, said they had asked her to take initiatives for a separate board catering to his community. “We requested her to set up a separate development board for the Bhutia community on lines of the one meant for the Lepchas. She assured to look into it. We hope she would do something," he added.
The executive member of the Mayalayang Lerpcha Development Board, Mr Bhupendra Lepcha, said they had come to welcome the chief minister.
“This is thanks-giving too as she met her commitment regarding our demand, " Mr Lepcha said.
Meanwhile, the former state urban development minister and senior CPI-M leader, Mr Asok Bhattacharya said the state government seems intent on playing off one community against another in the name of ethnicity-oriented development boards.
“The decision to constitute Lepcha Development Board has set off ominous trends, as myriad communities like the Tamangs, Limbus, Rais and Bhutias are clamouring for the same. We are horrified, thinking where the bungling would land the region. Promising such boards on ethnic lines is a sure recipe to disaster. The day is not far-off when multi-ethnic north Bengal would turn into a replica of Assam, torn as it is by inter and intra-ethnic discord,” he said while addressing a press conference in Siliguri yesterday.(SNS)
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?