West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit Jalpaiguri on Monday for a series of administrative, religious and political engagements amid elaborate security arrangements across Siliguri and Jalpaiguri in north Bengal.
According to administrative sources, the Chief Minister will arrive at Bagdogra Airport by air before proceeding to Jalpaiguri by helicopter. He is scheduled to visit the office of the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate, where he will hold a meeting with senior district officials to review administrative matters.
Following the meeting, the Chief Minister is expected to hand over ex gratia assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the 11 deceased from tea plantation areas in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts who lost their lives in the recent tunnel tragedy in Sikkim.
Eleven workers from the two districts were among the 25 killed in the tragic incident; the financial assistance will be distributed in accordance with the state government’s announcement.
After the official programme, Adhikari will visit the historic Jalpesh Temple to offer prayers. Later, he is scheduled to address a BJP public meeting at a ground adjacent to the temple premises and the ongoing Shravani Mela.
Highly placed sources also indicated that the Chief Minister may make a brief stop at Uttarkanya, the branch secretariat of the West Bengal government in Siliguri. However, no official confirmation regarding the proposed visit has been issued.
Meanwhile, the Siliguri Police Commissionerate has made elaborate security arrangements ahead of the Chief Minister’s visit. Security personnel have been deployed at key locations, while preparations have been completed along Burdwan Road and Airview More. A stage has also been erected near the flyover at Airview More.
Sources further said there is a possibility that the Chief Minister may inaugurate the flyover, constructed during the previous government’s tenure, though the programme is yet to be officially confirmed.
After completing his engagements in Jalpaiguri and Siliguri, the Chief Minister is expected to return to Bagdogra and depart for Kolkata.