Nandigram is set to receive a broad infrastructure and welfare push, with Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari promising rail connectivity, a new bridge to Haldia, piped water, housing, healthcare and employment measures within the next year. The commitments were announced at a BJP rally at Birulia market ahead of the 6 October Assembly by-election.
Adhikari said the constituency would not have to wait for the full five-year Assembly term for pending projects to be completed. “The next 55 months are a long time. I will not take that much time. Within a year you will see most of the work completed,” he said, according to The Statesman.
Among the most significant announcements was a proposed Nandigram-Bajkul-Deshpran train service. Adhikari said the service would be launched within months, although the announcement did not provide a specific commissioning date, operating agency or details of the infrastructure required before services can begin.
He also said preparations for the proposed Haldia-Nandigram bridge had advanced, with soil testing and estimates completed. The bridge is among the commitments with the potential to reshape links between Nandigram and Haldia, but the speech did not specify the project cost, construction agency, tender schedule or completion deadline.
Piped drinking water was another central part of the announcement. Adhikari said the government was advancing work under the Jal Jeevan Mission and alleged that implementation had previously been delayed. He claimed pipe-laying had now begun. The chief minister also promised further intervention in irrigation and rural infrastructure, including renovation of the Odisha Coastal Canal.
The commitments extend beyond transport and utilities. Adhikari said around 13,700 additional beneficiaries in Nandigram were expected to receive houses under the housing scheme. He added that eligible residents excluded from welfare programmes would be brought into the relevant schemes after verification. He also cited increases in old-age, widow and disability pensions, higher PM-Kisan assistance, housing payments and financial support under the Annapurna scheme.
Healthcare measures announced at the rally included cashless treatment coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh through Ayushman Bharat and state health insurance arrangements. Adhikari said patients would be able to access hospitals outside West Bengal. He also referred to improved food allocations for hospital patients, children enrolled in ICDS, pregnant women and school students.
A mid-day meal model operated with ISKCON, supplemented by boiled eggs supplied through self-help groups, would be extended to all 17 areas of Nandigram after the election, he said. The announcement links food and nutrition delivery to local administrative and community networks, but did not specify the additional funding or implementation mechanism.
On employment, Adhikari urged residents to obtain new job cards and said every gram panchayat would have to undertake at least Rs 50 lakh worth of work within six months. He also referred to a proposed 125-day employment guarantee and a daily wage of Rs 300. The speech did not set out how these measures would be administered or financed.
Adhikari further said Nandigram would benefit from crop insurance and the PM Surya Ghar programme. He added that his administrative offices in Nandigram would continue functioning after he vacated the Assembly seat, promising that services previously available to residents would continue. The proposed train service, bridge preparations, pipe-laying and post-election meal expansion are the next milestones identified in the announcement.
