Adhikari's Uttarkanya review clears Kurseong-Darjeeling ropeway, hill hospital upgrades

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari approved a 21-km passenger ropeway between Kurseong and Darjeeling and the repair and expansion of government hospitals in five north Bengal towns at a review meeting at Uttarkanya, the state's secretariat in Siliguri, on Tuesday, according to details shared by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista and reported by Siliguri Times.

The meetings also set a date for the long-promised Kalimpong Medical College. Adhikari will lay its foundation stone on 9 December, the reports said. The Statesman gave the year as 2027; other reports gave only the date, and the state government had not published an official note of the meeting by Tuesday evening.

What was decided

According to Bista's account, the projects cleared at Uttarkanya were:

• a ropeway of about 21 km between Kurseong and Darjeeling, meant to ease traffic on the hill roads and give residents and tourists another way to travel
• repair, modernisation and expansion of hospitals in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mirik and Siliguri
• the foundation stone of Kalimpong Medical College, on 9 December
• conversion of the historic Lebong ground in Darjeeling into a modern stadium
• Rs 19 crore for the beautification and upkeep of the Mahakal temple in Darjeeling, to draw religious tourists

No costs or timelines were given for the ropeway, the hospital work or the stadium. Bista thanked the chief minister and said the projects had been chosen with the needs of the hills, the Terai and the Dooars in mind. The news agency UNI reported that the meetings also covered connectivity, sports and tourism, and the demands of different communities in the region. The Statesman reported that Adhikari directed repairs to state-run tourist lodges.

Tea gardens

Adhikari also returned to the closed tea gardens of the Dooars and Terai. He repeated the state's offer of Rs 5,000 for each eligible worker from 21 closed gardens, UNI reported. According to the Bengali news site Duranta Barta, he said several gardens, including Samsing, had reopened. He told Labour Minister Arjun Singh that it was his job to get the remaining closed gardens running again, saying it could not all be left to the chief minister. He also said workers would be brought under the Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Yojana and asked them to get job cards ready for upcoming work.

The cash payment is not new. The state Cabinet approved it on 14 October, together with an extra 50 kg of rice a family on top of the existing 35 kg ration, for 19,524 workers under 60 from closed gardens, according to a PTI report. The Statesman has given the number of workers as 19,254. The help runs from Durga Puja to Chhath. Representatives of a Kamtapuri language group also met the chief minister to press for the language to be added to the Constitution's Eighth Schedule, Duranta Barta reported. It was not clear whether they received any assurance.

Background

The Kalimpong medical college has been promised before. During a visit to Siliguri in September, Adhikari said a medical college would "come up soon" in Kalimpong, the Millennium Post reported. He also released Rs 254 crore from the disaster fund for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills and ordered an inquiry into alleged corruption in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

Closed tea gardens are among north Bengal's oldest problems. Workers lose wages, rations and housing when owners abandon gardens. Successive state governments have offered cash and food help while trying to find new operators. Under the previous Trinamool Congress government, workers received free rations and Swasthya Sathi health cards. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Centre for not doing enough for the industry.

What happens next

Adhikari has called a review of the state's 125-day rural employment scheme with block development officers on Wednesday, after complaints about the slow pace of work, UNI reported. The Kalimpong foundation stone on 9 December is the next fixed date for the hill projects. Detailed estimates for the ropeway and hospital work have not yet been made public.