Mamata asks TMC workers to gherao officials to force completion of road project

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday asked TMC workers to put up posters, organise rallies and gherao officials to force the completion of NH 60 bypass at Dubrajpur in Birbhum district following complaints by locals that work on the project is pending for the past 10 years. The unfinished work on NH 60 was a deliberate act of the Centre, she said at an administrative review meeting here on Monday.

''We (the state government) have nothing to do with this. This (road bypass) is not in our hands, it is looked after by the central government,'' Banerjee said at the meeting. ''We have given them (the Centre) the land. They did the same thing in Krishnagar and Ranaghat. This is their deliberate attempt,'' she added.

Banerjee told local TMC workers, ''Put up posters on that road questioning why the central government is not completing it. Also tell them that if they are unable to complete the project they should hand it over to the state government and we will complete it... Organise meetings, rallies and gherao the officials and raise your voice for this''. The chief minister, who has lent support to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in the controversy over his house in Santiniketan, also announced the state's decision to take back the maintenance of the century old Sriniketan-Santiniketan Road which has heritage buildings on both sides of it.

The responsibility for maintaining the road was temporarily given to Visva Bharati University authorities in 2018. ''We are taking back the permission to maintain the road and from now on the public works department will be doing it. I have signed the necessary papers this morning.

This will solve the problems of the ashramites of Santiniketan who had lodged complaints that no goods vehicles were being allowed to ply on it,'' she said. Authorities of the central university University authorities when contacted said that they were yet to receive any order from the state government in this connection.

Soon after Banerjee announced the decision, Birbhum superintendent of police Shyam Singh paid a visit to residents of the area who welcomed the move..