The stake was staggeringly high. Do we need industry or not? Should industry come up on farmland? Should there be a chemical hub in Haldia?
On the face of it these questions have easy answers. We need industry for economic progress and to provide jobs to thousands of unemployed. Industry cannot be avoided on farmlands (see my post, Amartya Sen on industrial Bengal).
And yes, chemical hub is required at Haldia. Mind you, the need for chemical hubs (3 of them in different parts of the country) is being pursued at the highest decision making level in the country, by none other than the Prime Minister himself. Therefore the proposed chemical hub can be said to be a project of national importance.
In Bengal politics however nothing cuts the ice sharper than blind opposition to whatever the government is planning presently for industrial revival. It is therefore no surprise that during campaigning for the Haldia municipality polls the opposition parties have been telling people that the chemical hub will be an ecological disaster like Union Carbide’s Bhopal gas tragedy.
Given the high stake, the failure of the combined opposition to make much dent in Haldia polls brings much needed respite in favor of industrialization.
The polling was without any untoward incident and it saw heavy turnout. Further, it was fought on the sole plank of whether Bengal needs industrialization.
The verdict is unequivocal, clear and loud, notwithstanding what many may say to the contrary.
Leave a Reply