Connect with us
Wednesday,05-August-2026
Breaking News

National News

Another round of district bifurcation in Bengal likely next year

Published

on

Mamta Banerjee

Speculation is rife that West Bengal is heading for a fresh round of district bifurcation by 2023.

Reportedly a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the preparatory planning for this proposed fresh district bifurcation has already started and the plan is currently restricted among a selected members of the cabinet and the top bureaucrats of the state. Although none of the top cabinet members and bureaucrats were willing to make any official comment on this matter, highly placed sources said if the fresh bifurcation is done the total number of districts in West Bengal will increase to 27 from the existing 23.

The planned three new districts will be forked out of the two big districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. To recall, the two existing districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas were formed by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided 24 Parganas district on March 1, 1980.

A state government official, aware of the planning on the formation of the three new districts, told IANS on condition of anonymity, that the proposed three districts would be Sunderbans, Basirhat and Alipur.

Of the three, the formation of Sunderbans district will be the most complicated process and it will have to be formed by forking out pockets from both North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas district. According to him, the proposed Sunderbans district might be forked out mainly out of Gosaba, Basanti and Kultali areas in South 24 Parganas district as well as Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali blocks in the current North 24 Parganas district.

The state government official also said that the formation process of the planned Basirhat and Alipur districts will be comparatively simple. Alipur might be formed with the pockets forked out of the Kolkata adjacent pockets in South 24 Parganas districts as well as the Assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, where from the MP is the Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary and the chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

On the other hand, the state government official said the proposed Basirhat district would be formed from pockets forked out of the existing Basirhat and Bangaon sub-divisions in North 24 Parganas district.

Since 1980, West Bengal has witnessed district bifurcations for seven times, out of which three developments were during the previous Left Front regime and four developments took place during the current Trinamool Congress regime.

The first event of district bifurcation in the state was on March 1, 1980 when the previous Left Front government was in force with late nonagenarian Indian Marxist, Jyoti Basu as the state chief minister.

The second phase of district bifurcation was on April 1, 1992, when the erstwhile West Dinajpur district was bifurcated into the existing North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts. At that point of time the Jyoti Basu-led Left Front government was in power in the state.

The third phase of bifurcation was on January 1, 2002, when the undivided Midnapore district was divided into the existing two districts of East Midnapore and West Midnapore. Mamata Banerjee’s predecessor, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the chief minister of West Bengal then.

On June 25, 2014, when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime came to power, the new Alipurduar district was formed by bifurcating Jalpaiguri district.

Again, on February 14, 2017, the hill district of Kalimpong was formed by bifurcating the Darjeeling district.

On April 4, 2017, the formation of the new Jhargram district was formed by bifurcating the West Midnapore district.

Finally, on April 7, 2017, two districts of West Burdwan and East Burdwan were created by bifurcating the erstwhile undivided Burdwan district.

Commenting on the practical justification of the bifurcation of districts, senior political analyst and former registrar of Calcutta University, Raja Gopal Dhar Chakraborty told IANS that formation of smaller districts through bifurcation of bigger districts is always a welcome move.

“First this will provide a relief to the common people from travelling long distances to reach government offices. Secondly, formation of new districts means creation of new government offices which enhances the scope of fresh employment. However, at the same time, I would also like to say that like the formation of new and smaller districts I also do not find any harm in creation of new and smaller states through bifurcation of bigger states. There might be some sentimental issues involved with the bifurcation of states but creation of smaller states enhances administrative advantage,” Dhar Chakraborty said.

National News

Assam flood: Door-to-door damage assessment from August 9

Published

on

Guwahati, Aug 4: Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday assured flood-affected families of comprehensive government support, announcing that officials will undertake a door-to-door assessment of damaged households from August 9 to ensure that relief and rehabilitation benefits reach every eligible beneficiary.

Addressing inmates at a relief camp in Sivasagar district, one of the worst-affected areas in this year’s floods, Sarma said the state government is committed to standing by every affected family until normalcy is restored.

“We are taking feedback from every affected family to see if they have received relief and help. Starting from August 9, our teams will reach every home of the affected families to conduct a ground assessment of the damage,” the Chief Minister said.

He said the survey aims to verify the extent of losses suffered by families and ensure that rehabilitation assistance is provided in a transparent and timely manner.

“I want to assure every flood-affected family in Assam that in this difficult time, the government stands with them at every step. From rehabilitation to restoring life to normalcy, every possible assistance will be provided. Today, in a relief camp in Sivasagar, I reiterated this very resolve,” Sarma added.

The Chief Minister interacted with families staying at the relief camp and reviewed the availability of food, drinking water, healthcare and other essential services.

He also took stock of the ongoing relief operations and rehabilitation measures being carried out by the district administration.

Sivasagar has emerged as the worst-hit district in terms of fatalities during this year’s floods, prompting the state government to intensify relief and rehabilitation efforts in the region.

The Assam government has already initiated restoration of damaged infrastructure, distribution of relief materials and assessment of losses in several flood-affected districts.

Officials said the proposed household survey from August 9 will help prepare a comprehensive database of damages, enabling the administration to expedite compensation, rehabilitation and other forms of assistance for affected families.

Continue Reading

National News

Assam CM backs Jharkhand students’ protest over recruitment exam irregularities

Published

on

Guwahati, Aug 4: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday voiced support for students protesting in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, accusing the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of failing to address their grievances in a transparent and timely manner.

In a post on social media platform X, CM Sarma said he had witnessed the concerns of recruitment aspirants firsthand during the Jharkhand Assembly election campaign and asserted that their demands deserved a fair hearing.

“During the Jharkhand Assembly elections, I had the opportunity to closely witness the pain, anger and concerns of JSSC-CGL aspirants regarding the recruitment process,” the Chief Minister said.

CM Sarma maintained that the prevailing unrest could have been prevented had the Jharkhand government acted promptly on the complaints raised by the candidates.

According to him, a sensitive and transparent response from the state administration would have helped restore confidence among aspirants.

He further alleged that repeated allegations of examination irregularities and question paper leaks had created uncertainty over the future of a large number of young job seekers in the state.

“Unfortunately, allegations of irregularities and paper leaks have continued to mount, and today the future of lakhs of youth is in crisis,” CM Sarma said.

Extending what he termed his “moral support” to the agitating students, the Assam Chief Minister urged the Jharkhand government to accept their legitimate demands and ensure justice.

“I express my moral support for this just movement of Jharkhand’s students and youth and urge the state government to immediately accept the legitimate demands of the students and deliver justice to them. Injustice with the future of the youth cannot be acceptable at any cost,” he added.

CM Sarma’s remarks come amid continuing protests in Ranchi, where students have been demonstrating against alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th JPSC Combined Preliminary Examination held on April 19 and sought an independent probe by central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), into the alleged irregularities in the state’s recruitment process.

Continue Reading

National News

BJP accuses Opposition of paralysing Parliament, alleges ‘selective outrage’ on paper leaks

Published

on

New Delhi, Aug 4: The BJP on Tuesday accused the opposition of repeatedly disrupting Parliament proceedings and preventing the House from functioning during the ongoing Monsoon Session.

The remarks came amid continued disruptions in the Monsoon Session over the NEET paper leak controversy and the police action against protesters at Jantar Mantar on July 20. Opposition parties have been demanding a response from the Union Home Minister over the alleged “firing” on the protesters.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress and its allies were deliberately obstructing parliamentary business, depriving elected representatives of the opportunity to raise public issues and discuss important legislation.

“The way the 2026 Monsoon Session of Parliament is being conducted and how the Congress party, along with some of its allies, has been disrupting the proceedings. Crores of rupees are spent on every Parliament session. MPs come to Parliament with questions and issues from their constituencies, expecting the concerned ministries to respond so that development work can move forward. However, since the session began, the Question Hour has not been allowed to function, disruptions have repeatedly affected the Zero Hour, and hardly any Bills have been taken up for discussion,” Patra said.

Referring to recent protests by students in Karnataka over the paper leak and irregularities in police constable recruitment, Patra accused the Congress of adopting double standards while responding to students’ concerns in states governed by the party.

“The media asked Priyank Kharge, son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Home Minister, if he would take responsibility, as the state Home Minister. Kharge arrogantly said, ‘First let the students go on a 25-day hunger strike, then we’ll lathi-charge them, and then we’ll worry about our resignations’. Rahul Gandhi remained silent on this statement, and I can confidently say that even today he will not allow the House to function. This shows the Congress’s double standards,” the BJP MP said.

Patra further alleged that while Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke extensively in the Rajya Sabha on issues concerning students, the party leadership had remained silent over the remarks attributed to Priyank Kharge.

“Mallikarjun Kharge stands up in the Rajya Sabha and speaks for hours. It’s good that at least there was a discussion, but when his son makes an insensitive and inhuman statement on the same issue in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge remain silent,” he said.

The BJP spokesperson also claimed that Congress had ignored similar protests in Jharkhand, where thousands of students were demonstrating over examination-related issues.

“They are still silent on the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) exam irregularities and are not responding to it. Congress MLAs are avoiding raising the issue in the House. Not even a single placard was seen in Congress hands regarding the Jharkhand JPSC exam, as this is selective outrage and the Congress party wants political gains from this issue,” he said.

Patra also criticised the Opposition for “blocking” discussion on key legislative business during the session, including the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

“The Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Bill 2026 asks how many days should births and deaths be registered, and what the consequences will be if they are not. Births and deaths are continuous processes that continue across the country and the world. Congress and its allies prevented discussion on how citizens can exercise their rights and what the new law contains,” he said.

Highlighting another pending piece of legislation, the BJP MP said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had introduced the Bankers’ Book Evidence Bill, 2026, on Monday. Still, Parliament could not deliberate on it because of repeated disruptions.

“It’s a huge bill because everyone is concerned with banking, but the people of India who are concerned with banking don’t get to hear any discussion about the Bankers’ Book Evidence Bill 2026 because of the chaos in the House,” he added.

Continue Reading

Trending