Three new trains were flagged off on Thursday by Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, who also announced a slew of development programmes for Cooch Behar district in North Bengal.

Ms Banerjee flagged off the New Cooch Behar-New Jalpaiguri Intercity Express, Bamanhat-New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri DEMU service and New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express by remote control from the Cooch Behar Stadium, adjacent to the Cooch Behar Palace.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Banerjee announced a new university in the district which would be named after social reformer Roy Sahib Thakur Panchanan Barma.

The Chief Minister said that efforts would be made to ensure that the university came up next year and then there would be no need for students of Cooch Behar to go to Kolkata or elsewhere for higher education.

The Cooch Behar airport would be extended under a Rs 25-crore project, she said.

A circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court would come up in August in Jalpaiguri, she said. She also announced Rs 50 lakh for the development of the Cooch Behar Stadium.

A jute hub would be established for which the Chief Minister asked the district magistrate to identify 33 acres.

comment COMMENT NOW