We don’t divide people in Bengal but unite them, says Mamata

Chief Minister inaugurates Christmas event and reviews arrangements for Ganga Sagar Mela

“In Bengal, we don’t divide people but unite them,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday, while inaugurating a Christmas event at the city’s Park Street.

Speaking at the ‘Christmas Festival’, the Chief Minister asked the gathering, including leaders of her party, to participate in the festivities. She said she attended midnight Christmas Mass every year and this year also she would participate in the festivities. Like every year, Christmas would be celebrated across the State from Jhargram to Bandel, she said.

Earlier in the day, she chaired a preparatory meeting on the Ganga Sagar Mela, which will be held between January 8 and 17. She spoke to representatives of the Army, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Railways as well as Cabinet Ministers and said arrangements should be beefed up this year as the number of pilgrims had gone up. “ Ganga Sagar Mela is our pride. Even in times of COVID, the mela was organised. This year, about 30 lakh people are likely to participate in the festival,” she said. 

The Chief Minister also announced that the timing of snan (holy dip) during the mela would fall during January 14-15. Every year, lakhs of people take holy dip during Makar Sankranti at the confluence of river Ganga with the sea on the Sagar Island in the Sundarbans archipelago. The Chief Minister urged the Eastern Railways to run more trains during the festival. She also directed Ministers to be stationed at crucial points during the annual pilgrimage. 

In another development, the Chief Minister announced the disbursement of financial assistance under the ‘Krishak Bandhu (Natun)’ scheme directly into the bank accounts of farmers of the State for the Rabi season. “A total of 91.57 lakh beneficiary farmers, including bargadars (sharecroppers), will receive a total assistance of ₹2,555 crore for this season. During the Kharif season, ₹2,468 crore was disbursed to 89 lakh farmers,” a press statement from the State government said. 

Under the revised ‘Krishak Bandhu (Natun)’ scheme, the financial assistance to farmers has been increased to ₹10,000 for cultivable lands of one acre and more, and proportionate amount for land area below one acre with a minimum of ₹4,000 per annum in two equal instalments. West Bengal is the only State that has not joined the Union government’s ‘PM-KISAN’ scheme which provides cash endowments to farmers.