Bengal Governor visits tense coal belt towns, appeals for peace

ASANSOL/RANIGANJ: Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi finally got to visit West Burdwan district, where Ram Navami processions sparked off clashes and resulted in at least three deaths, on Saturday. The trip came three days after he first made his desire known to the state government but was “advised” to defer it because the local administration was preoccupied with quelling the clashes and the tension.
The governor spent two-and-a-half hours in riot-hit Asansol, spending a good 45 minutes speaking to senior police and administration officials at the circuit house. He appealed for peace after visiting the violence-hit areas of Asansol and Raniganj but avoided making any comments on the administration’s handling of the situation.

“I have come here with the message of peace and harmony. Peace should be paramount at this hour. I request everybody from all castes and communities to live together in peace,” he said.

The governor’s first stop was a marriage hall in Kalyanpur where victims had taken refuge till Friday. But on reaching the spot, Tripathi was informed by local cops that the 200-odd people who had taken shelter there had returned home. The governor then summoned a few locals and asked them about the situation in the neighbourhood. “How many people had taken refuge here? When did they go back? Are things back to normal? Have there been any fresh instances of violence?” he asked in a bid to verify the administration’s claims.

Tripathi next visited Chandmari, where miscreants had set ablaze a shop opposite the Balbodhon Temple. Several local people clamoured to speak to him here as he surveyed the ravaged shop. The governor then did a survey of BC Roy Road and OK Road from his car.

Residents of some riot-affected affected areas, though were disappointed that Tripathi did not visit their localities. “We were waiting for the governor to come here but he didn’t,” said assistant professor Md Moazzam, a resident of Nadipar Sitaldanga in north Asansol. It was in this locality that a 16-year-old was killed.

A senior police officer said the governor had briefed them of the localities he wished to visit at a meeting in the circuit house after arriving in Asansol in the morning. The DM, CP, IG (Western Range) and ADM were present at the meeting.

The police force, on its toes throughout the day, went on an overdrive to keep shops open and prevent Opposition leaders — Adhir Chowdhury of Congress and Sujan Chakrabarty of CPM — from entering Asansol. The district administration is likely to take the same strategy when a BJP delegation led by party national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain starts for Asansol on Sunday.

In the afternoon, Tripathi visited Raniganj around 15 km away. At this coal belt town, octogenarian Biswanath Saraf told the governor that he had not witnessed such clashes here ever in his lifetime. “Bhai bhai se lar gaye, beech main darar par gayi. Jahan sab saath rehte the wahan ab hinsa ka raaj hai (Brothers fought against each other creating a deep divide. Where people once lived peacefully, now violence rules),” Saraf said with folded hand.

The governor, who had last July slammed the “lapses of the state government” in handling law and order in Basirhat, refused to make any comments this time despite repeated questions by journalists on the administration’s role. Looking a little displeased at being repeatedly asked the same question, he shrugged and shot back, “How does the question arise if I am satisfied or not.”

(With inputs from Md Asif)