WB governor likely to visit Lalgarh next week

Taking a pro-active stand on the law and order situation in the state, West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan is likely to visit Netai village in strife-torn Lalgrah area, where seven unarmed villagers were killed recently.

"The governor is most likely to visit the village on January 19. The schedule of his visit is under preparation," a Raj Bhavan source told PTI.

On Thursday, Narayanan had reviewed the overall situation arising out of the spurt in political violence in the state with the top brass of the administration at Raj Bhavan. He had summoned Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh, Home Secretary G D Goutama and Director General of Police N Mukherjee. He also asked the state government to concentrate more on the law and order situation in the state.

"It is not the time to discuss things but act properly," the governor had said on a number of occasions when reporters sought his reaction on the situation.

His predecessor Gopalkrishna Gandhi had also undertaken a visit to trouble-torn Nandigram in 2007 and expressed anguish at the worsening law and order situation at that time.

Narayanan's move to visit Lalgarh comes a day after the Election Commission decided to dispatch a six-member team of observers to the state to oversee the law and order situation ahead of the state assembly polls.

Political observers feel that the Election Commission's decision is an unprecedented step. The EC team of observers will comprise senior police officers and the chief election officer of Bihar.