Jalapiaguri district will be bifurcated on June 25, says Mamata

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Assembly here on Friday that Jalpiaguri district would be bifurcated on June 25. While two subdivisions – Jalpaiguri Sadar and Mal – would comprise Jalpaiguri district, a district would be carved out of Alipurduar subdivision, which was part of erstwhile Jalpaiguri district. Ms. Banerjee said the bifurcation was the long-standing demand of the people of the district. Alipurduar would be the 20th district of the State.

The Chief Minister said the distance from Jalpaiguri district headquarters to Alipurduar subdivision is 101 kilometre. The distance from the district headquarters to Kumargram block is 143 km and to other blocks like Kalchini, Madarihat, and Birpara, the distance is over 100 km.

She said since certain areas are far from the district headquarters, people face delay in delivery of government services. The Chief Minister said the district has an area of 6,202 sq km and a population of 38.46 lakh as per 2011 census. There are 17 police stations in the district and after bifurcation nine will be in Jalpaiguri district and the remaining in Alipurduar district. The district with significant tribal population has several tea gardens and it shares border with Bhutan and Bangladesh. Senior Congress MLA from Alipurduar Assembly segment D P Roy welcomed the Chief Minister’s statement and said the decision to bifurcate the district would help the people.

Speaking to journalists later in the day, Mr. Roy said the move would help in the development of the State. The Chief Minister during her visit to north Bengal had said that the State government was waiting for the judicial consent before creating the new district.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Special Corrrespondent / Kolkata – June 24th, 2014