NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Sandeshkhali on December 30, her first since massive and violent protests in the region amid sexual harassment allegations against TMC leaders.
Mamata will attend a public distribution program on the island, which is located in the North 24 Parganas district, which borders the Sundarbans.
Banerjee confirmed the visit at the state secretariat. “I will visit Sandeshkhali on December 30 to attend a public distribution programme. People had asked me before the elections whether I would visit Sandeshkhali or not. I had told them that I would be going later,” she said.
The program will focus on government schemes like ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ and ‘Banglar Bari’. The CM said approximately 20,000 residents will benefit. “This will be a government programme. We have completed several pending programmes under ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, ‘Banglar Bari’ and other schemes. Around 20,000 beneficiaries of the area will benefit from various state-run schemes. I hope to hand over certificates of various schemes to around 100 people from the stage,” Banerjee added.
Sandeshkhali had been a site of huge protests centred around reported atrocities against them by TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides.
Multiple women in February this year alleged that Sheikh and his “gang” captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing women in the area.
