KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Howrah, situated on the other side of the river Hooghly, sharing its border with West Bengal’s capital Kolkata, serves as a vital urban centre. The Trinamool Congress has a strong hold on this seat, which the BJP is trying to breach. In spite of being a TMC bastion, the seat is bereft of basic development.
The constituency is still grappling issues like potable water issues, power supply, waterlogging, potholes, road safety, transportation, etc. As The Sunday Guardian discerned that the dwellers of Howrah are in desperate need of development.
TMC candidate for Howrah is sitting MP Prasun Banerjee. BJP has fielded Rathin Chakraborty, former Howrah Municipal Corporation mayor.
Abhishek Pall, a resident of Bally, told TSG that they have been demanding proper transport for decades, but no one bothers to do anything. He added, “After 8 p.m., you can’t get bus service on the Howrah Bally route; due to this, people have to suffer a lot.” He further said he reached out to MLAs and even to MP Prasun Banerjee, but despite making fake promises, he hasn’t done anything.
Ranjeet Singh, a businessman, said, “Prasun Da, after winning the 2019 election, never visited his assembly and did not do a single development project in his constituency.”
Another resident, Surojeet, said the roads in Howrah are one of the decades-long problems. The roads in Howrah are full of potholes, and due to this, accidents happen frequently. He mentions that “a section of road after Salkia crossing that connects Howrah to Bally always remains damaged and full of potholes.” He further said that in 2019, incumbent MP Prasun Banerjee promised that he would make world-class roads in Howrah, but that never happened.
Arunima told The Sunday Guardian that during the rainy season, the roads of Howrah get submerged due to persisting drainage problems. He pointed out that this time he will vote for the BJP in the hope of development, as the constituency lacks development despite being ruled by the TMC since 2009.
Howrah will go on a poll on May 20 in the 5th phase of the election. BJP’s Rathin Chakraborty has been attacking Trinamool MP Prasun Banerjee as ‘Kumbhakarna’. On the other hand, TMC’s sitting MP, Prasun Banerjee, retorted and said that this was his illusion. There is no point in saying these things before the vote. What I have done is available on the Parliament web portal. If necessary, download all the information from that portal and make it available to the general public. The allegations he is making have no basis. He said that he repeatedly demanded an underpass from the railway to Santragachi-Baksara, but the central government has not done any work till now. He also alleged Rathin and said that during his tenure, he ruined Howrah Nagar Nigam.