Kolkata: Former West Bengal Congress president and former five-time Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention so that the new Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state government in West Bengal takes up special development initiatives for his native and minority-dominated Murshidabad district in the state.
Chowdhury had been a five-time Lok Sabha member from the Baharampur constituency in Murshidabad district from 1999 till he was defeated in 2024 by cricketer-turned-politician and current Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member from the constituency, Yusuf Pathan.
Chowdhury also contested the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls from the Baharampur Assembly constituency in the same district, but was defeated by the sitting Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, Subrata Maitra.
The first demand Chowdhury made in the letter to the Prime Minister was to set up an airport in Murshidabad district.
“I have repeatedly raised in the Lok Sabha the urgent necessity of establishing an airport in Murshidabad district. Such an infrastructure project would significantly transform the socio-economic condition of the district as well as the surrounding regions by improving connectivity, trade, tourism, and investment opportunities,” Chowdhury’s letter read.
His second demand was related to setting up a railway coach factory in joint collaboration between the Railways Department and the public sector Steel Authority of India, which he himself had initiated as Minister of State for Railways during the United Progressive Alliance-II regime led by former Prime Minister late Dr Manmohan Singh.
“This proposed project has the potential to create massive employment opportunities for the unemployed youth of Murshidabad and contribute substantially to the industrial development of the region,” Chowdhury’s letter to the Prime Minister read.
The third demand was for immediate attention to address the longstanding problem in Murshidabad district, caused by severe erosion along the Ganga-Padma river system.
Another demand raised by Chowdhury in the letter was the setting up of a skill development centre in Murshidabad district, given that the majority of migrant workers from West Bengal are from the district.
“Further, Murshidabad is widely known as a treasure trove of history and heritage in the state of West Bengal. With proper government incentives and investments, the tourism potential of Murshidabad can be developed extensively, generating employment and boosting the local economy,” his letter read.
(IANS)
