Kolkata, Oct 15 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said the state police was working in coordination with the BSF to stop cattle, narcotics and counterfeit currency smuggling and prevent cross-border infiltration and human trafficking.
Inaugurating a Durga Puja in the Lalbagh area of Murshidabad district, Adhikari said the international boundary was being fenced by the Border Security Force (BSF) with logistical support provided by the police and the state government.
Giving a call for a “narcotics-free West Bengal”, the CM said 5,000 bottles of cough syrup were recently destroyed near the India-Bangladesh border in Jalangi “as part of our objective to have a narcotics-free Murshidabad.
“Cough syrup bottles, fake notes, heroin, opium and cattle used to be smuggled to Bangladesh… We are committed to totally eliminate smuggling… We have also stopped cross-border infiltration and trafficking of girls,” he said.
Appealing to the people to put an end to marriage of underage girls, he said 60,000 minors have undergone institutional deliveries in the state from January to June this year, and of them, 9,700 were from Murshidabad alone.
“I appeal to everyone to help us save the girls,” he said.
“Under the previous regime, girls as young as 12 to 15 years were married off and they became pregnant. This is illegal… Our government wants to reform the society and not remain confined only to administrative work,” he added.
He said a meeting will be held in Delhi on October 27 on river erosion. Erosion by the Ganga River is a major issue in Murshidabad district.
The CM said two puja pandals in the district have experienced “untoward incidents”, and the police were probing to find out those “behind the mischief to spoil people’s joy”.
Adhikari said the number of pujas being organised in the state has increased to 58,000 this year from 45,000 last year.
“We have waived electricity charges for the pujas and allocated Rs 1 lakh each to the 58,000 pujas of the state,” he said.
Thanking people of Rejinagar constituency in the district for ensuring the victory of BJP candidate Shankharavh Sarkar in the October 6 bypoll, he said, “I have promised to visit the area and fulfil the campaign promise of building a bridge there.”
Adhikari asked the district administration to set up “model villages” having all amenities.
(PTI News)
