LF Govt Works To Generate Employment

And Eradicate Poverty

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee addressing a massive rally in Sandeshkali, north 24 Paraganas district

B Prasant

TWO important aims for the fulfilment of which the Bengal Left Front government has engaged itself in are eradication of poverty and generation of additional employment. Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said this while addressing one of the biggest rallies the district of north 24 Parganas has seen in recent times.

The venue was Sandeshkhali, which has to be approached via Basirhat through Najat and then with a cross-river launch ride over the Ichhamati. The remote place would not deter thousands upon thousands of people, mostly kisans plus artisans, and craftsmen, from crowding the rally to the extent that special volunteers of the local units of the CPI(M) had to be deployed to keep the rally under a semblance of order.

Buddhadeb said that in the matter of undergoing developmental activities, the task before the Left Front government comprised looking to the interests of the masses, especially the poor. It was to look to their interests primarily, said the chief minister, that the LF has instituted itself in the running of the state government.

The need of the hour, said Buddhadeb, were generation of employment and eradication of poverty. Agricultural produce should go up. Industrial development should quicken. This would be a gesture of response to the trust the masses of the people of Bengal repose in the LF government.

five-fold tasks

Dwelling on the pro-people role of the panchayati institutions, Buddhadeb identified five tasks for the rural bodies, and these comprise:

• Rural roads should be developed and refurbished

• 20 per cent Bengal villages yet bereft of electricity must be made to avail themselves of electricity within the space of a year

• The supply network of potable water should be augmented speedily

• The sewerage system should be strengthened and the setting up of toilets as part of the house be undertaken

• Self-helps groups must be further strengthened and widened to enhance income

Buddhadeb repeatedly stressed on avoiding being entrapped in a cocoon of complacence and self-congratulatory overconfidence. He pointed out that while the state tops the all-India figures in the production of rice, fish, vegetables, potato, and several other items of agricultural produce, areas under irrigation must be widened, for this would open up the production and enhance employment.

Similarly, said Buddhadeb, the fact of the state lagging behind in the production of poultry and meat should be looked at and counter-measures brought to bear. Buddhadeb also appeared very keen on ensuring that rural education spread further and becomes employment-oriented.

For those especially who would not be able to go on to attend colleges and universities, the chief minister’s advice was to go in for vocational training so that generating income and getting gainfully employed would become that much less of a hard struggle.

Buddhadeb also urged upon the rural populace to monitor the distribution of BPL cards and to see that PF facilities were made available to unorganised workers. He assured the assemblage that more and more people were coming up and above the poverty level in Bengal.

Buddhadeb mentioned that as far as rural development was concerned the LF government would continue to prioritise health and education, among other issues.