Corridor of `hope` and destruction

Siliguri, June 19. - Some are calling it the `corridor of hope` and others say it will turn out to be the `corridor of destruction.` The proposed East-West Corridor which will connect Surat in Gujarat to Shilchar in Assam via Siliguri and Dooars, has split the residents of this region.

The debate is not restricted among the people, the Left Front committees of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts have also been caught up in it; as are voluntary organisations, trade bodies and NGOs of the two districts.

]According to current plans, the corridor is scheduled to pass through Dooars running across Sevoke, Mongpong, Oodlabari, Malbazar, Birpara, Hasimara and other small Dooars settlements before crossing over to Assam.

While Darjeeling district residents want the corridor to pass through the designated route, those in Jalpaiguri want a change in course. They are demanding that the corridor should pass through Fulbari, Jalpaiguri, Mainaguri, Dhupguri and Cooch Behar, sparing the Dooars.

While the Darjeeling district Left Front has rooted for the Dooars route, Jalpaiguri CPI-M MLA Mrs. Minati Sen is against it. She is being supported by former parliamentarian Mr. Debaprasad Roy and the Jalpaiguri Sangrami Mancha.The proposed route will benefit Sikkim and will graduate into a Saarc Road to facilitate trade with neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan in future,` Mr. Asok Bhattacharya, Darjeeling district Left Front convenor and state urban development minister said.

`The proposed route will destroy Dooars` huge forest wealth, prove detrimental to wild life and cause a number of other problems,` said Mrs. Sen and Mr. Roy.

They are being supported by environment activists. So do the Jalpaiguri Sangrami Mancha, Cooch Behar MPs Mr. Amar Roy Pradhan and Mr. Tarini Roy. In their opinion, the corridor will be nothing less than environmental disaster if it passes through the Dooars region.

`Since it is a riverine zone, number of bridges would have to be constructed to accommodate the new highway. This could disturb the natural course of the large number of rivers flowing through the Dooars and increase the possibility of floods,` Dr. Subir Sarkar of the North Bengal University's Geography department said.

According to the environmental experts, more than 2,000 hectares of forest would be lost to the corridor if it passes through the Dooars. Predictably, the Darjeeling district Left Front is not ready to buy the argument. `If the corridor is routed through Jalpaiguri, it would deny development to Sikkim and also hurt the Teesta command area,` Darjeeling Left Front MP Mr. Sangdopal Lepcha said. He has written to the chairman of the National Highway Authority of India urging speedy progress of the corridor through Dooars via Siliguri.

Dooars residents all want the corridor to pass through their area. `The opposition is unfortunate particularly because the Dooars is part of the Jalpaiguri district,` said members of the Dooars East-West Corridor Movement Committee. The committee has received support from the Malbazar Byabasayee Samnnay Committee. `The corridor would give a big boost to the tea, timber and tourism industries if it passes through the Dooars. moreover, as land is readily available, the mater of compensation can also be avoided, which would not be possible if the corridor is rerouted through the agriculture belt of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar,` MBSC members said.

The Dooars route has also received support from the Alipurduar RSP MP Mr. Joachim Buxla and former state PWD minister Mr. Manohar Tirkey.

`It is the corridor of hope for the people of Dooars,` Mr. Buxla said. The long neglected region would get a facelift once the corridor becomes operational, he said.

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