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Teesta Barrage: Former land owners demand jobs, start agitation in north Bengal

Jan 29, 2021 01:08 PM IST

The protesters, under the banner of Jalpaiguri Land Losers Association (JLLA), started an indefinite sit-in demonstration in front of the chief engineer’s office of the Teesta Barrage project

At a time when all eyes are on the farmers’ protests in the National Capital Region, hundreds of farmers whose lands were acquired to build the Teesta Barrage in north Bengal have started an agitation in Siliguri demanding jobs.

The Teesta Barrage project, the largest irrigation project in east India, was sanctioned by the Planning Commission in 1975 and the work started in 1976. (HT Archive)
The Teesta Barrage project, the largest irrigation project in east India, was sanctioned by the Planning Commission in 1975 and the work started in 1976. (HT Archive)

The protesters, under the banner of Jalpaiguri Land Losers Association (JLLA), started an indefinite sit-in demonstration in front of the chief engineer’s office of the Teesta Barrage project and did not allow even the officials to enter the office.

The Teesta Barrage project, the largest irrigation project in east India, was sanctioned by the Planning Commission in 1975 and the work started in 1976.

Also Read: More politicians likely to join BJP during Amit Shah’s 2-day visit to Bengal

It aims to provide irrigation water in various districts of north Bengal including Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Malda, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar. Three hydro power projects are also part of this national project.

“Though lands were acquired in different phases since 1967 till 2006 with the promise of financial compensation and government jobs to each member of the land-losing families, more than 500 land-losers in Jalpaiguri district itself are yet to get jobs,” said Najrul Rahaman, president of JLLA.

Teesta Barrage was declared a national project in 2008-2009. While the Centre was to bear 90% of the project cost, the state was supposed to bear 10%. The project, however, got delayed because of alleged irregularities and some engineers and contractors were arrested. Even after 45 years, the first phase is yet to be completed.

“Though the Left Front government kept its promise and gave jobs to many, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government has only given us assurances over the past decade,” said Rahaman.

They even held a 26-day hunger strike in 2019 in Jalpaiguri.The agitators said that a meeting was held on December 17, 2019, but the agitators got nothing more than assurances.

Ujjawal Roy, secretary of JLLA, said: “There are a few thousand of us waiting for justice. More than 300 people are participating in the sit-in demonstration here.”

Raju Bista, BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Darjeeling and the party’s national spokesperson, said: “It is infuriating that those who suffered due to the project are yet to get proper compensation. The cost estimates of the project have gone up several times, yet the project is far from being completed.”

Ashim Chowdhury, executive engineer, Mahananda Link Canal Division, Teesta Barrage project, said: “We and members of the local administration held a meeting with the agitators on Thursday afternoon. The agitators are demanding jobs in exempted category.”

The meeting, however, failed to solve the deadlock.

”Going by the tardy pace, it would take several years to complete even the first phase,” said a former executive engineer of the project, adding that the project was marred by rampant corruption. Initially, the project cost was 69.72 crore and now it has surpassed 3,000 crore.

Goutam Deb, the state tourism minister and the region’s senior Trinamool Congress leader said: “In 2019, I had arranged a meeting between the agitators, the Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner and the Jalpaiguri district magistrate. They have been demanding jobs even before the TMC came to power. I don’t know about the updates.”

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