Bengal will give shelter to refugees: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: Terming the situation in violence-hit districts of Assam as "deplorable", West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the state will provide shelter to refugees fleeing the trouble-torn areas.

"The situation in Kokrajhar and other districts in Assam where the conflict is on is deplorable ... Bengal will give shelter to the people coming from Assam in the wake of the conflict," she said at the launch of employment bank and social freedom (Samajik Mukti) card here.

"The administration in the bordering districts has given shelter to those leaving Kokrajhar. It is our social responsibility to provide them shelter and food even if we are half-fed," Banerjee said.

Thousands of people were crossing over to Coochbehar and Jalpaiguri due to the violence in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous districts which entered its seventh day on Thursday.