In the footsteps of uttarkanya
Kanchan Siddiqui
kanchan@thestatesman.net
Asansol, 5 February
In the line of ‘Uttar Kanya’  a subsidiary state headquarters for North Bengal districts, the Burdwan zilla parishad has taken a bid to float an auxiliary office in Asansol as the proposed new Asansol district is on the cards.
The Burdwan zilla parishad had set up a section office near the Asansol Court Building in the late 1980&’s that is being run by seven staff members headed by one Assistant Engineer. The zilla parishad now has decided to brace up the section office giving it a ‘true office’ status.
Mr Debu Tudu, Sabhadhipati, Burdwan zilla parishad, said: “From March onwards the Asansol office will start running as an auxiliary office and the Sabhadhipati will be available a whole-day in that office and the Saha Sabhadhipati will hold his office two days a week there.”
Besides, the ZP Karmadhyaksha&’s for Electricity, Agriculture, Public Works, have also been assigned to hold their offices at the Asansol office for two days each every week. Mr Tudu said: “We have ordered refurbishing of the office infrastructure for the purpose.”
The Chief Minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee on 11 January 2013, at a public meeting here, had declared that to help better administrative effectiveness, the state was all set to split Burdwan in two parts ~  Rural Burdwan and Asansol-Durgapur.” Prior to that, all party meetings were held and parties, at the Burdwan Collectorate had given consent for bifurcation.
The new government gradually introduced separate policing for Asansol- Durgapur declaring it as a police Commissionerate. Besides, the Asansol hospital was elevated to District Hospital and the CBI Court. The judicial system needed to be augmented also. Mr Moloy Ghatak, state Agriculture minister, said: “In phases, the state is preparing for a separate district and we are optimistic about this.” Recently Calcutta High Court also gave a go ahead for bifurcation of the district.
The zilla parishad&’s fresh bid to run an auxiliary office at Asansol however hinted that the state&’s bid to bifurcate the district is nearing shortly.
Twenty members of the Burdwan zilla parishad are being elected from Asansol-Durgapur industrial zone and it accommodates nine panchayat samiti&’s and 71 gram panchayats.