RAIGANJ, March 30: With an objective to provide contamination free drinking water to the rural population, the state government has started 89 projects covering six districts of the state. “All the projects are nearing completion,” Mr Anwarul Hoque, state mnister of Public Health and Engineering (PHE) department said at the inauguration of a fresh drinking water project in Bhatol, Raiganj today.
It was learnt that the PHE department recently completed the fresh drinking water project worth Rs1 crore. Total 52 taps were constructed under this scheme and around 13000 people of 23 mouzas of Bhatun grampanchayat in Raiganj will get fresh drinking water from this project.
Mr Hoque also said: “It was a commitment of the state to provide fresh drinking water in all villages. As a part of this commitment the work was done here. Other drinking water projects in North Dinajpur district are also nearing completion.

slampur (North Dinajpur), March 27: A 22-year-old youth from a village here has been traced by the Red Cross to a jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The Red Cross said it did not know how he landed in Pakistan from Punjab’s Patiala, where he was studying in a free residential madarsa.

Abdul Karim had gone missing from the madarsa three years ago. His parents Mohammad Tajuddin and Gulshan Begum had taken him for dead till representatives from the Red Cross called on them in December with a letter from Abdul written from the jail.

“Father, I am well. Please look after mother. I am now in a jail in Pakistan. Pray to Allah so that I gain my freedom, and, if you can, try and get me free,” the letter in Urdu reads.

Tajuddin, who translated it, confirmed that the handwriting was Abdul’s.

A homeguard with the Panjipara police outpost, Tajuddin, and his wife, have also send a reply to their son through the Red Cross.

“We are all well and missing you a lot, we will try our best to secure your release,” the father, a resident of Betabi Village, 50km from here, wrote back.

A member of the International Red Cross Society, Baptiste Jacobe de Naurois, when contacted in Delhi confirmed that he was part of the team that had handed over the letter to Abdul’s parents.

“Our counterparts in Pakistan who were inspecting the jails had stumbled upon the youth. They got him to write the letter, which was handed over after the Rawalpindi jail authorities scrutinised it. I personally came down and met our members in North Dinajpur as well as Abdul’s parents. But we still do not know how the youth found his way inside a Pakistani jail and have informed the Indian external affairs ministry,” Naurois said.

The North Dinajpur district magistrate, Sukumar Bhattacharya, recalled the visit of the Red Cross team. “I have spoken to the parents and then sent a report to the Bengal government. But we are in the dark about the circumstances under which Abdul was put in a Pakistani jail,” the district magistrate said.

Tajuddin recalled that from 2005 Abdul stopped writing to the family. “We had sent him to Patiala in 2003 because it was a free residential madarsa. He was planning to become a teacher. Now that we have got proof that he is alive, my wife is insisting that we bring him back at any cost,” Tajuddin said.

The family had not filed any missing person’s diary when Abdul stopped communicating five years ago. “At first we thought, he would come back one day. Then we gave up hope,” the father said.

The home guard said he would approach Raiganj MP and Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi for help to get his son freed.

Funds for electrification remain unutilised
The Statesman, India – 27 Mar 2008
RAIGANJ,March 27: A large amount of fund which turned up in North Dinajpur district for electrification to the houses of poor bidi binders remained …

North Dinajpur district magistrate Mr Sukumar Bhattacharjee recently urged the officials of National Highway Authorities of India to start a repair work on NH34 in North Dinajpur district.
After being informed about the bad conditions of the road from checkpost in Itahar to Purnea more in Dalkhola Mr Bhattacharjee reportedly visited the roads and found that in some places the roads turned accident prone. It seemed to him that repair of roads was very essential. So he urged the officials of NHAI to start repair work immediately. It was learnt that around 85 KM stretch of NH34 from checkpost in Itahar to Purnea more in Dalkhola of North Dinajpur remained in broken state for months. There were too many ditches on the roads. Sudden breaking down of vehicles on the roads were leading a great traffick congestion for hours.The passengers were facing a great ordeal to reach their destination. Accidents were also commencing everyday. After evening the bikist and cyclists were also facing a great difficulties on the roads.
When asked the district magistrate of North Dinajpur Mr Sukumar Bhatt-acharjee said: “Around a fortnight ago I witnessed the difficulties with the roads. In most of the places there were too many ditches. Later the officials of NHAI were urged to repair the roads. But repair work yet to start”.
The Project Director of NHAI of Malda division admitted the broken conditions of the road and informed that a move from the end of NHAI had been initiated to repair the NH34 from Omarpur in Murshidabad to Purnea more in Dalkhola of North Dinajur district. The work order has been already issued to the constructing agency and it will start since next Monday.

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I & B minister sanctions 10 lakhs for master plan
The Statesman, India – 23 Mar 2008
KOLKATA/Raiganj, March 23: The Union information and broadcasting minister Mr Priyaranjan Das Munshi today decl-ared that he has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for …

Das Munshi to inaugurate Raiganj Bhawan on Sunday
The Statesman, India – 20 Mar 2008
RAIGANJ, March 20: The Union I&B and Parliamentary affairs minister Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi will inaugurate the newly constructed Raiganj Bhawan in Kolkata …