No guns, only roses greet voters in this Rajarhat ward

KOLKATA: Amid gunshots, fire, allegations of rigging and an open ground for musclemen, Bidhannagar witnessed Gandhigiri at 27 wards in the Rajarhat area. Men and women, who handed over a rose to each voter, requested them to plead for retaining Rajarhat’s identity in the newly formed Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.
The idea came after repeated attempts from the civil society platform, Rajarhat Sachetan Nagarik Mancha, failed to get any response from the state government.They had demanded inclusion of Rajarhat’s name in the corporation, which joined portions of Rajarhat municipality and Salt Lake, even before it went to polls. While representations to half a dozen ministers and the CM’s office did not yield results, at least 200 members of the organization decided to take it to the booths.
“They handed over a rose to me while I was standing in the queue and politely asked me to plead for inclusion of Rajarhat’s name in the new corporation,” said Amit Das, a resident of Jyangra area in Rajarhat. Das, who has been living in the area for the last 25 years, feels there is no harm if it is rechristened as Bidhannagar-Rajarhat Corporation on the lines of Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality.
“It is a question of our identity. I have been staying in the area for last 40 years and Rajarhat is now synonymous with my address. I cannot suddenly find myself with a new identity even if it is a smart city,” said Bhupendra Narayn Mandal, a retired government employee.
Apart from sentimental issues, Rajarhat also boasts of rich historical lineage. It is believed that the ‘jagir’ received by Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s family from ‘baro bhuiya’ included the Rajarhat area. The 500-year-old Raj Rajeswari temple is also believed to be associated with the final passage of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It also witnessed the pre-independence Non-Cooperation movement and the Quit India movement. Under local zamindar Lakshmikanta Pramanik, people in the region stood up against the British.
“Geographically, Rajarhat has also been crucial to the development of trade and commerce in the region during British regime. Martin Rail used to run through the area and the Bidyadhari river was linked to the canal in the area,” said Prithwish Dasgupta, convenor of the platform.
But the Gandhigiri by the civil society platform did not end at that. Members also gifted roses to anyone who tried to hamper the polling process.