Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the people of West Bengal would not beg for the money which the Centre has not paid and continue to carry out developmental work from its own funds.

She inaugurated Dhana Dhanye, a state-of-the-art auditorium in Alipore this evening. The auditorium stands on 4 acres of land. The auditorium can accommodate 2,000 people and another mini hall, where 540 people can be accommodated.

There is a space where 350 people can be accommodated to enjoy theatre. Around 3,700 metric tonnes of steel have been used and 30,000 lamps have been brought from Ireland.

There is a dormitory for musicians, a VIP lounge, three banquet halls and a car parking lot. Miss Banerjee said the masons, engineers, architects of this auditorium would be felicitated. She said 133 community centres would be set up across the state where musical programmes could be held.

Without naming the BJP, she said, “We are not in favour of changing Indian history. History should be preserved. We have a museum at Alipore, where the freedom movement has been depicted through models,” she maintained.

Making a sarcastic comment, she said “We have decided to give the best award to that media for doing only negative news. It is a tragedy that there are media, who cannot see anything good in us.

They do not make positive stories. They do not do stories on development that has taken place in West Bengal.” The auditorium, which looks like a conch shell, has been designed by Miss Banerjee. Chief secretary HK Diwedi said, “As finance secretary, I often wondered where this was possible. But now our dream has come true.”

Miss Banerjee said the Jagannath temple that is coming up in Digha will be a wonderful piece of architecture. “We have Eco Park and I am confident someday it will be one of the best urban parks in the world.

The Biswa Bangla convention centre is unique and has been appreciated by people across the globe. “Love Bengal and feel proud that you were born in this stage. We have our own history and heritage and harmony as taught by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda is our asset,” she said.