Has Uttarkanya, the once much-talked-about state government branch secretariat for north Bengal lost its importance after the ruling Trinamul Congress faced a drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha elections? The almost empty corridors, the deserted look around the compound, and closed offices, all point to the same, while service-seekers too talked about the secretariat’s importance as they visited the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) there today
It may be recalled here that the Trinamul Congress failed to bag a single parliamentary constituency in north Bengal in the polls, while the saffron brigade made good inroads in the region.
Some people, who visited the CMO to draw the attention of CM Mamata Banerjee on various critical issues, could not keep themselves from talking about the “desolate look” at the main building of the secretariat today.
Ever since the secretariat started functioning in 2014, and ever since offices of various departments started operations there, the main building has always been busy, especially the ground floor, which, besides the CMO, also houses the important North Bengal Development Department (NBDD). Several ministers used to visit the secretariat and hold meetings in the conference hall on the ground floor.
“However, very significantly, after the Parliamentary election results, NBDD minister Rabindranath Ghosh came to his office at Uttarkanya only twice, that too silently,” sources said. The sources said that Minister Ghosh was there when Ajit Ranjan Bardhan replaced Barun Kumar Ray as the Principal Secretary of his department a few weeks ago. Mr Bardhan, too, was not in his office today. Though the minister today claimed that Mr Bardhan was in his office today, office staffers said: “He left for Kolkata by the first flight today. We don’t know when he will return.”
Officials at Uttarkanya, and even visitors talked about the political role played by Minister Ghosh in Cooch Behar as the party’s district president, and how he failed to retain the MP seat for the third time.
“Rabindranath Ghosh is so upset after the Lok Sabha results. He was humiliated by his party men before and after the LS polls and the results. He is practically saddened after party chief Mamata Banerjee removed him as the district president there,” one of the officials said. A close associate of Mr Ghosh said that the minister is “purely a grassroots level organizational leader.” “After becoming the minister, he started dealing with administrative officials, and he failed to manage time to keep in touch with the grassroots level organizational workers, and party men finally betrayed him,” the associate said.
Asked to comment, Minister Ghosh later said: “I will go to Uttarkanya very soon, after the end of the Assembly session. As I start going to Uttarkanya frequently, the importance (of the secretariat) will certainly come back and many people will once again start flocking to the place.”
“I was indeed upset after the LS poll results. The loss was more painful than the time when my father died. I came to know how my party men betrayed me,” Mr Ghosh told The Statesman over the phone.
It may be mentioned here that the entrance roads through gate No-2 at Uttarkanya is being renovated and vehicle movement has been restricted. Security arrangements have been heightened at gate No-3 as many visitors, including workers and employees, enter the offices in the apex building through that gate now. “The security arrangement was beefed up after a group of contractors allegedly threatened another group at gunpoint on the Uttarkanya premises a few months ago,” sources said.