Protests over delayed or missing Annapurna Yojana payments disrupted government service camps in parts of Malda and Cooch Behar on Friday, with demonstrators alleging administrative inaction and, in one location, vandalism at a camp. The incidents temporarily affected the delivery of other public services being provided through the Sewa Setu programme.
In Harishchandrapur-I block of Malda, a group of women accused Block Development Officer Dhrubashis Samanta of behaving improperly with applicants who had gone to submit forms for the scheme. The protesters alleged that the officer told them their applications had little value and were being accepted only to satisfy them. The officer declined to comment on the allegations and said false information was being circulated, according to the report.
Local BJP leaders demanded that the BDO apologise publicly, warning that they would approach the district magistrate and the chief minister if he did not do so. The report also said that some Trinamool Congress members criticised the administration’s handling of the issue. These political responses followed the complaints from women seeking clarity on the status of their applications.
A separate protest took place at a Sewa Setu camp at Maharajnagar High Madrasa in Malda’s Ratua-II block. Most of the protesters were women who questioned why work related to the Annapurna Yojana was not being processed at the camp. The report alleged that the camp was vandalised during the protest. Police reached the location after receiving information about the disturbance, but protesters also surrounded the police vehicle before the situation returned to normal.
Malda Superintendent of Police Anupam Singh said protests had taken place in several areas but that no one had been arrested or detained. He said police personnel were deployed at the Sewa Setu camps and that officers had spoken to the protesters before restoring normality. His statement was the clearest official account in the report of the police response to the disturbances.
In Cooch Behar town, several women went to a government camp at Rabindra Bhavan and alleged that they had not received financial assistance for about four months despite complying with instructions from the administration. One protester said she had previously received payments but that the money had stopped entering her bank account. She also alleged that repeated enquiries had produced only the response that her application was ‘under process’.
The protest temporarily interrupted services at the Cooch Behar camp, where large numbers of residents had gathered to submit applications and seek help with government services. The protesting women said they would not allow other services to continue until the Annapurna Yojana issue was resolved. Police from Kotwali station later reached the site, and the Sewa Setu camp resumed operations after the situation was brought under control.
The incidents expose the operational pressure placed on single-window public service camps when the status of a benefit application is unclear. In the reported cases, residents used the camps not only to submit forms but also to seek explanations for delayed payments. The immediate administrative response has been to deploy police and restore services, while the payment-related complaints and the allegations concerning application processing remain the subject of dispute.
The Malda police said no arrests had been made, and the report did not provide a fresh district-level explanation for the alleged payment delays. Further administrative clarification on the pending applications and the status of the Annapurna Yojana cases is therefore awaited.
