On 1st district visit, Bengal Guv rues 'absence of admin'

Senior West Bengal government functionaries, including a minister, on Tuesday skipped a meeting called in Darjeeling district's Siliguri by state Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who said the lukewarm stand was a "cause of worry" as it did not fit with the culture of the state.

"The lukewarm stand of the state (government) is a cause of worry for me today, because I don't find it fitting into the culture of West Bengal. This can't be the kind of reception given to the Governor when he goes for the first time to a place called Siliguri," Dhankhar told the media in the north Bengal town.

Dhankhar, on his first visit outside Kolkata after taking charge as Governor, was slated to have an interaction with the Darjeeling District Magistrate, MP, MLAs of Darjeeling district, Mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation and Zila Sabhadhipati, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad.

But Tourism Minister Gautam Deb, Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay and the Siliguri Commissioner of Police remained absent. Dhankahar also said that the District Magistrate has gone on leave.

Dhankhar said that Deb and Bandopadhyay were supposed to be present, but "I imagine their absence must be on account of unavoidable state commitments, and I would try to connect with them at some other occasion. But if their presence had been there, it would have been very beneficial."

A peeved Dhankhar said, "I have seen virtual total absence of the state administration here. I do believe the District Magistrate must have gone on leave for a very proper reason. This can happen with all of us. On the police side also, the man in charge was nowhere to be seen.

"I would have been very happy if the state administration could have been a little more involved given that this is the first visit of the first servant of the state outside Kolkata."IANS