Darjeeling MP Surendra Singh Ahluwalia on Friday demanded that a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) be set up
in Siliguri at the earliest to reduce harassment to passport applicants
of north Bengal. He raised the demand while addressing a party meeting
at Agrasen Bhawan here.
A Passport Application and Collection
Centre (PACC) had been set up in Siliguri back in 2000, but it was shut
down on April 1, 2013 citing various reasons.
“We feel it necessary for a full fledged
passport office in Siliguri to speed up the process of renewing and
issuing of passports,” said the MP. “Sushmaji (Union external affairs
minister) is expected to visit Siliguri next January. We will discuss
this urgent matter once she is here.”
Meanwhile, sources at the regional
passport office in Kolkata said as many as five new PSKs will be set up
in the state including one in Siliguri.
The Darjeeling MP also slammed the state
government for failing to check the rapid spread of encephalitis,
especially innorth Bengal. He criticised the Mamata Banerjee government
for its hasty decision to suspend medical officers in an attempt bid to
hide its own shortcomings.
Talking about the recent appointment of
three administrators for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation Ahluwalia
said the state government has unlawfully appointed the administrators
even as he condemned it for shifting the super-specialty hospital from
Raigunj to Kalyani.
“I have had a talk with the Union
health minister to set up an AIIMS-like hospital in North Bengal as the
existing North Bengal Medical College and Hospital is not capable of
providing the required level of healthcare, added the MP.” (HS)
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