Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor and West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim in an exclusive informal interaction with The Free Press Journal (FPJ) said that the Trinamool Congress will continue to be in power in Bengal for the next 20 years.
“There is no opposition in Bengal as they are only in the media. They don’t go down the road. One party criticizes religion and another party has no voter base. There is no constructive opposition. Mamata Banerjee has given a lot to people and in my life span I don’t see any other party form a government in Bengal,” said Hakim.
When asked if in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha TMC will be the main opposition, Hakim said that everyone understood that Mamata Banerjee can only bring ‘true’ development.
“We will constantly hit the streets. If there is no change in 2024 then black days are ahead. Normal people will die as the central government from demonetization to pro-corporate policies the central government is trying to make India a private limited company. Our Chief Minister is asking all oppositions to unite and that party wherever they are strong will fight from that place,” further mentioned the KMC Mayor.
Hakim, who is also the state transport minister, said that the state government is giving ‘stress’ on e-bus to ease the pocket pinch of the common people amidst the continuous fuel price rise.
“By July we are intending to bring 125 e-buses in Kolkata and in next three years we will bring 1200 e-buses. In the next few years, the government will run only e-buses. The government will also run trams as they are eco-friendly,” said Hakim.
It can be noted that recently, the state transport department had announced exemption of registration fees and additional taxes on all two and four wheeled electric vehicles and all categories of CNG-operated vehicles from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024.
“In order to reduce dependence on petrol/diesel run vehicles, we have given some benefits for e-vehicles and this, in turn, will not just lower the cost but will also improve the air quality,” further mentioned the state transport government.
The Kolkata Mayor also mentioned that everything in Kolkata Municipal Corporation is being digitized so that no people have to stand in Municipal Corporation to get their work done and also that digitization will not only make the work easier but people can get their documents easily.
Hakim also assured of the work going on by the Municipal Corporation to tackle the waterlogging issue during the upcoming monsoon season.
“The issue of waterlogging has been tackled and works are being done in several parts of Kolkata to ease the people's woes. There are some financial constraints and despite odds, the work is being done for the benefit of the people,” mentioned Hakim.
