Mamata Banerjee to visit riot-torn areas of Murshidabad in May first week
Communal clashes had erupted following protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, in some areas of Murshidabad district on April 11 and 12 leaving three persons dead
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that she would visit the riot-torn areas of Murshidabad district in the first week of May.
“We have announced compensation of ₹10 lakh each for the families of those who were killed and financial assistance under the state-funded housing scheme for those who have lost their houses. The government is also ready to take responsibility for the education of children from the riot-hit families. A survey is being done to identify the shops which have been damaged. I will visit in May. I will do the rest then,” Banerjee said.
The chief minister was addressing a public distribution program in West Midnapore from where she inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of a series of projects worth a few thousand crore rupees.
“A riot has taken place. It is unfortunate. We don’t want riots. We will make public how outsiders, with the help of some local residents, triggered the clashes,” she added.
Communal clashes had erupted following protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, in some areas of Murshidabad district on April 11 and 12 leaving three persons dead. Houses and shops were looted and set on fire. The Calcutta high court ordered the deployment of central forces. A few hundred villagers had left their houses and took refuge in a relief camp in Malda. More than 275 people were arrested.
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Last week when West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose said that he would visit some of the riot-hit areas, the chief minister urged him to defer his trip by a few days. She had said that she would visit at the right time.
“Even I could have gone there. Why am I not going there? I will go there at the right time. If I go now, permission has to be given to others too,” Banerjee had said on Thursday.
Bose, however, went ahead with his visit and visited the relief camp in Malda on Friday and the riot-hit areas in Murshidabad on Saturday.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) also sent separate delegations to the trouble-torn areas last week.
