Trinamul leaders in Malda have questioned the authority of K.M. Patil, the Union minister of state for panchayati raj, for his “directive” to the National Highways Authority of India to finish the construction of a bridge over the Ganga ahead of the scheduled time.
They have dubbed it as an attempt by the BJP to play the development card to draw support in Malda, a district where the party’s performance has remained dismal as compared to most other districts of north Bengal.
On Thursday, Patil who is visiting Malda visited the construction site of the bridge that is coming up at Farakka.
“It is an important bridge for the connectivity between northern and southern parts of Bengal. Thousands of vehicles, including goods for export, move among this route. The work of the bridge has already been delayed and thus, I have asked the officials to see that the project is completed six months before its scheduled time,” the minister had said after the visit.
The construction work of the 2.58-kilometer-long second Farakka bridge commenced in December 2018 and a sum of 528 crores was sanctioned for it. It was supposed to be ready in two years’ time.
However, due to an accident at the construction site and because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the work got delayed. As of now, the NHAI has set a target to finish it by June 2024.
Such instruction from Patil, who is from the rural development ministry, has made Trinamul leaders toss questions.
Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, a state secretary of Trinamul based in Malda, said being the junior minister of panchayati raj, he is not supposed to comment on the completion of construction work of the bridge which is under the Union ministry of road transport and highways.
“We doubt whether he has any authority to instruct NHAI officials to expedite the work. If any instruction has to come, it should come from Nitin Gadkari or the junior minister of his ministry. This Union minister of state is simply trying to play the development card to draw support for his party,” said Choudhury.
Yesterday, Trinamul leaders also pointed out that the minister is using the BSF to speak with villagers on Centre’s welfare schemes.
In 2019, BJP lost the Malda south Parliament seat by a margin of 8,000 votes.
