Even as the stench of ‘industrial cadaver’ at the erstwhile Tata Nano site in Singur wafted far and across Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday made a desperate appeal to the industry magnets to “come and invest in Bengal” that allegedly offered “exceptional climate” for speculation.
She was speaking at the inauguration of a new five star hotel launched by a US-based group Kolkata.
Bengal had exceptional climate for investment and was “also the gateway for the North East and ASEAN countries,” the Chief Minister said. “From here you can reach out to countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri lanka , Maldives and even Singapore,” she said vouching for the hassle free “implementation of your projects for which all the facilities are available.”
The Chief Minister’s SoS tended to come against the figurative backdrop of a mile-long heap of industrial debris comprising twisted metal and concrete freshly extracted from the demolished small car plant at Singur along the NH-2.
Set against the miserable employment scenario in the State Banerjee’s frantic call for investment if not in core industry at least on investment would not surprise the local chambers of commerce even as business magnets wondered in hushed tones, “with what face will you invite other players after you kick out the industry captain. So the Chief Minister is going for the best available option for the time being by seeking to bring investment in tourism sector.”
Promoting the State’s tourism potential the Chief Minister said, “Bengal is the best destination in terms of tourism which can be proved by the launching of big hotels in Kolkata. Possibilities are huge and you just have to invest to get a good return.”
The year 2016 witnessed the culmination of a political proxy war between the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) when the Tata Motors lost a decade-long judicial battle affording humungous political points to Banerjee, also the TMC supremo.
Notwithstanding her political victory, Bengal tended to suffer a loss in terms of industrial investment as the falling investment graphs post 2011 would suggest. Repeated tours of Singapore, England, Germany et al by the Chief Minister failed to attract investment while her Government employed pay loaders to pull down the huge Tata Motors structure at Singur partly to comply with the Supreme Court order but greatly to celebrate her victory in what her benefactors called peasants’ struggle.
The Chief Minister’s logic of rising investment in hospitality industry however would not miss the critics’ notice experts say. “We have groups like Marriott, Westin and Holiday Inn investing in Kolkata not for nothing” said State Minister Firhad Hakim, adding wait and see how the tourism industry marks the turnaround in Bengal’s industrial scenario.”