WB Chief minister Mamata Banerjee didn’t float dreams to win hearts. Instead, she showcased Bengal with its prospects and problems that touched the 600-odd IIT alumni who have listened to international stalwarts such as Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and Manmohan Singh in the previous meets.
“You must have heard about Bengal from several corners. We live in a democracy where there are diverse views and opinions. I need not tell you about them. You know better than me. Yet, let me tell you what our government is doing,” the chief minister said while addressing the Pan IIT Global Conference 2012, at Science City.
In a bid to allay fears about the poor work culture in Bengal, the CM said that there has been a dramatic change in the work culture scenario in the state. “You would be happy to know that man days lost in Bengal due to strike has come down drastically from nearly 68 lakhs in 2009-10 and 66 lakh in 2010-11, to only 60,000 in 2011-12. During ongoing 2012-13, such loss of man days is reportedly around 5,000,” the CM said.
Mamata didn’t make any tall claims. She took to her “small is beautiful” theory to showcase Bengal with its Darjeeling Tea, Nakshi Kantha, Baluchari, leather goods from Santiniketan, premium mangoes and other technical sectors such as animation, film cities, cultural complex, tourism, textiles and many more. The chief minister made a fervent appeal to the gathering to lobby for Bengal. “Please help us attract investment here. Bengal is a small state but small is beautiful,” she said.
Apart from the six products that have qualified for the Geographical Indication (GI) from the world community and the WTO, the CM announced that a new IT policy is on the cards that will facilitate the way for a couple of IT hubs and hardware parks. While talking about infrastructure, the CM informed that the government has already set up the West Bengal Highway Corporation to develop the road network on the lines of the Golden Qaudrilateral Project. Mamata also announced her government’s plans to set up airports across the state apart from the new airport terminal in the city.
Describing Bengal as a power surplus state, the CM said that the government was setting up land bank to solve land problems for industry. Mamata took the opportunity to mention that the state’s SDP growth has been greater than the national average and its revenues have grown by 35% between April and September this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment