West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced a broad tourism and connectivity push for Cooch Behar, including the proposed inclusion of the non-operational Cooch Behar airport in the Centre’s Udan project, improved accommodation and stronger road and railway infrastructure. The announcement was made during a visit to the district on Tuesday.
Adhikari said the state government would sign an agreement with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu for the Udan project on October 8. The Cooch Behar airport, from which no flights are currently operating, is expected to be included in the initiative, according to the chief minister’s statement reported by The Indian Express.
The plan also includes improved guesthouses and other accommodation facilities for visitors. Adhikari said better air, road and rail connectivity, combined with increased lodging capacity, would support hotels, transport operators, restaurants, local services and small businesses connected to tourism.
Cooch Behar attracts visitors for its natural environment and religious and cultural sites. During his visit to the 19th-century Madanmohan Temple, Adhikari identified the temple as part of the district’s tourism appeal. Other sites mentioned in the announcement included the Baneswar Shiva Temple, Siddheswari Kali Bari, Siddhanath Siva Temple and Madhupur Satra, a Vaishnavite monastery.
The chief minister said the Terai-Dooars region would be developed as a “world tourism hub” within one year. He also set a May 9, 2027 deadline for taking what he described as all necessary steps to fulfil the aspirations of Cooch Behar residents. Adhikari took oath as chief minister on May 9, 2026.
The announcement was accompanied by commitments concerning tea garden workers and housing. Adhikari said the government would work to reopen closed tea gardens, provide ownership of surplus land to tea workers living in the gardens and ensure a 20 per cent bonus for tea garden workers. He also promised to construct 1,200 houses in Toto Para.
In neighbouring Alipurduar district, Adhikari inaugurated a rhino gallery at Subhasini tea garden on World Rhino Day and named two rhinos Chaitanya and Sulakshana. He said a Royal Bengal Tiger would soon be translocated to Buxa Tiger Reserve, where, according to his statement, the number of resident big cats had fallen to zero over the years. The proposed release could take place by October 2, he said.
The chief minister later travelled to Jalpaiguri, where he inaugurated a bridge over the Murti river. Built at a cost of nearly Rs 20 crore, the bridge is around 126 metres long and 13 metres wide and connects Nagrakata with Jalpaiguri.
Adhikari said two more bridges were under construction and that approval had been given to rebuild the bridge at Kalikhola, which was damaged in a natural disaster last year. Construction of the Kalikhola bridge is expected to begin soon, according to his statement.
The announcements link tourism development with transport infrastructure, accommodation, wildlife conservation and local livelihoods. Their implementation will depend on the proposed Udan agreement, the delivery of the promised connectivity and accommodation projects, and the timelines set by the state government.
