India, Jan. 16 -- West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday laid the foundation stone of a Mahakaal (Shiva) temple at Matigara near Siliguri in Darjeeling district and launched more than 40 bus services, including six luxury sleeper buses, to ply between north and south Bengal.

"We will build the world's highest idol of Mahakaal here. The temple will be a large-scale replica of the Mahakaal temple in Darjeeling town. This will be a centre of cultural and religious study as well. It will generate employment. Instead of using Siliguri as a transit point, people should treat it as a religious, cultural and tourism centre," Banerjee said before laying the foundation stone.

She said that the state government will build the Mahakaa...