Nandigram fit for sustainable farming: Governor

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on a tour of Nandigram on Sunday said the place was an ideal venue for sustainable agriculture.

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on a tour of Nandigram on Sunday said the place was an ideal venue for sustainable agriculture. The statement is being seen as a snub to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee whose Government has plans to convert it into a chemical hub.

“This place has beautiful natural resources, so many water bodies, such prospect for agriculture. I think Nandigram has a great future for sustainable agriculture and a plan must be made by the state Government with expert bodies of the Centre to make Nandigram an ideal venue for sustainable agriculture, using its resources and skills of people. You can see everywhere there’s farming and fishing going on side by side,” Gandhi said while addressing reporters at Bhangabera.

Justifying his earlier statements on Nandigram that drew criticisms from the ruling Left, the Governor said statements were not what’s important at this junction. “We have to go beyond what has happened, not exonerating wrongdoers, not at all. Wrongdoers must not be exonerated. The honourable high court has made certain observations and the Government should implement the honourable high court’s order.”

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Asked whether the orders were being implemented, Gandhi said it was not an issue for him to comment on. “I am sure our Government is responsible enough and sensitive enough to take them seriously.”

He also made it clear that the people he talked to had expressed trust in the CRPF.

The Governor visited various localities that have witnessed violence and calmed down the homeless at a relief camp set up at the Brajmohan Tiwari Shiksha Niketan who were shouting slogans like ‘Jai Hind and Jai Shanti’.

He even joined a group of tiny tots for a game of cricket.

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Making his stand clear on the course of development Nandigram should have, Gandhi also expressed his concern on the fear psychosis that’s keeping peace, security and confidence away from the masses. “For peace and security and confidence a very important factor is absence of fear. There should be no fear. There should be no fear among the people and everybody should be abhoy. Abhoy is not just the man who has no fear but also the man who is not feared. There should be nobody who is feared,” Gandhi added.