‘Tata’s exit will not be complicated’

Kolkata, November 13, 2008: The exit route for Tata Motors from Singur will not be a complicated one, Principal Secretary of state for commerce and industry, Sab-yasachi Sen, has assured.

“As and when the Tata Motors takes out all the equipment from the site, they can terminate the lease with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) — but not before that. The same applies for the 290 acres of land that is with the vendors,” said Sen.

He said the factory site has many types of equipment that had been assembled with the help of engineers from Japan and Germany. “Assembling the unit took about two years. The state government has to give them legitimate time to bring out all the equipment. Even if not two years, we are expecting them to take anything between six months to a year,” said Sen.

He said the commerce and industry department will keep a layout ready for possible future projects. “We will conduct a survey of the land and prepare a blueprint with roads, drainage, sewerage and the overall layout. The area might be taken by a single company or two companies or we may even have an industrial park. Layout for all options will be prepared,” the minister said. He, however, added that only when the existing lease agreement is terminated, concrete progress can be made with other companies. The land lease is renewed every year and the present lease will lapse in March.

WBIDC Managing Director Subrata Gupta, meanwhile, confirmed that vendor companies have already started approaching WBIDC for terminating the lease. “Recently we received a letter from one vendor company stating that they would like to terminate the lease and take the money back,” said Gupta.

Sen also said the proposal for Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) at Nayachar has been sent to the 14-member high-power committee chaired by the cabinet secretary. The proposal was approved by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers two days ago. “We hope the high-power committee will clear it soon. Then the proposal will go to the Cabinet,” he said.

Regarding Salim group’s investments in Gujarat, he said: “We have no apprehensions of the group pulling out its projects from West Bengal. Both Mahabharat Motors and New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd (NKID) are on track. It is a big group which can invest anywhere it wants,” added Sen.

Kolkata Film Fest begins

KOLKATA, 13 th November,2008 - Shorn of glamour, the 14th Kolkata Film Festival got off to a drab and colourless start here this week. Veteran filmmaker Mrinal sen inaugurated the eight-day event, during which 276 films from 62 countries will be screened at 11 auditoria in the city, besides at one each in Siliguri, Barasat and Burdwan.

Actor-filmmaker Nandita Das was the only Bollywood presence, with the state government failing to rope in any other megastars of the country's tinsel capital despite sounding out megastars like Shahrukh Khan and Shabana Azmi. Nandita is attending the festival with her directorial debut Firaq. Among others present were actor Soumitra Chatterjee and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Bhattacharjee quoted the opening lines of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, saying it was "the best of times and the worst of times". The chief minister said the ongoing financial crisis in the U.S., which has implications for Europe and even India, made the present "perhaps the worst of times". "On the other hand, the best of times perhaps is that a black president along with his black family members will be entering the White House," he said, referring to Barack Obama's election as the U.S. president.

The centenary tribute to French director Jacques Tati will be the highlight of the annual event that ends Nov. 17. Tati's masterpieces, including Play Time, My Uncle and The Big Day, will be showcased here. Under a special segment Remembering Ray, filmmaker Satyajit Ray's favourite Hollywood films as well as his restored creations, including Teen Kanya, Parash Pathar, Joy Baba Felunath and the short film Two, will be screened. Besides, Aparajito, the second film in Ray's legendary Apu Trilogy will also be shown.

For veteran actress Shabana Azmi, filmmaker-turned-actor Farhan Akhtar's performance, was pitch-perfect- a title that she would otherwise give only to actors Balraj Sahni and Paresh Rawal.
"Farhan took me by surprise with his performance in Rock On. He was pitch-perfect," said veteran actress Shabana, who is married to Farhan's father, writer-poet Javed Akhtar.

Tapasi Malik murder case verdict a conspiracy: CPI(M)

Kolkata,13th November,2008: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads West Bengal's ruling Left Front, on Wednesday termed as a "conspiracy" the life sentence awarded to its Hooghly district leader Suhrid Dutta in the Tapasi Malik murder case.

Alleging that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the death of the 18-year-old Tapasi in 2006, had been "used" in the "conspiracy" against Dutta and the party, the CPI(M) state committee appealed to its cadres to sensitise the people about the "canards" being spread by the "enemies" of the Left Front government.

"In the past, our party has moved ahead after defeating the conspiracies hatched against us. The latest example is the conspiracy against Dutta and the entire party," the state committee said in a release.

"The party can't accept this verdict. We will see to it that an appeal is made in a higher court," the release said.

Additional Sessions Judge Amar Kanti Acharya of the fast-track court at Chandannagar in Hooghly district Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to Dutta, secretary of the party's Singur zonal committee, and another activist Debu Malik for the murder.

The court had convicted the two on Tuesday. The Singur girl's charred body was found inside the fenced area of Tata Motors' Nano factory on December 18, 2006. Dutta was found guilty of masterminding the murder and criminal conspiracy. Malik was convicted on the charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and manipulating evidence.

Tapasi from Bajemelia village in Singur, about 40 km from Kolkata, was an member of the opposition Trinamool Congress-led Save Farmland Committee that was protesting land acquisition for the Nano project.

Sunderbans, Ganges in 7 Natural Wonders list

KOLKATA,13th November, 2008: Sunderbans, world’s largest mangrove forest located between Bangladesh and West Bengal, and the Ganges River are competing with some gorgeous natural heritage sites across the globe for the seven Wonders of Nature list.

Famous for its breathtaking beauty and the Royal Bengal Tiger, Sunderbans forest has carved a niche for itself when the mangrove was selected by New Seven Wonders Foundation after the selection of seven new wonders of the world last year, which included Taj Mahal.

Lying in the mouth of the holy Ganges, the Sunderban delta is composed of mangrove forests, swamps and forest island all interwoven in a network of small rivers and streams. It covers an area of approximately 10,000 square kilometers.

Altogether 400 places from different continents have been nominated primarily in the seven wonders nomination process which include 51 places (highest number of places) from South America, 31 Europe, 30 Asia, 27 North America, 19 Africa and 10 Oceania.

Voting is continuing through internet. “It is so exciting that out of 400 places which have been nominated primarily in the seven wonders nomination process, Sundarban and Ganges are on leading positions at this moment for Asia region,” an expert on Sunderbans afair reacted.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee cast his vote here at the Writers’ Buildings recently on the website www.new7wonders.com to nominate the Sunderbans and the holy Ganges as two of the seven ‘Global Wonders of Nature’.

Tushar Kanjilal, secretary of Tagore society for Rural Development, was also present at the state secretariat along with Sunderbans Development Minister Kanti Ganguly and Irrigation Minister Subhas Naskar.

“The Chief Minister took the first step and we request people from both West Bengal and across the country to vote for the Sunderbans and the Ganges to enlist them in the seven new natural wonders’ list. These are multinational nominees and it needs both India and Bangladesh to officially support it,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly said, “We have already formed a supporting committee to champion the cause and we are trying to promote it in a manner to appeal to people in India and Bangladesh to vote for these two heritage sites. In fact three because Cox’s Bazar beach, the largest sea beach of the world, has also found place in the nominated site out of 158 natural places of the world so far.”

The global voting platform, which is conducting the poll, is promoted by the New Seven Wonders Foundation that included the Taj Mahal in its list of seven man-made wonders last year. The foundation was set up by Swiss-born Canadian film maker-explorer Bernard Weber. The platform selects the wonders on the basis of nomination committees in each country and only one nomination from each country is finalised in the last lap of the race.

The Ganges was at the seventh position, while the Sunderbans was tenth, as per current voting on the website. The voting will continue throughout 2010 and into 2011 when the results will be declared. Ganguly further said a nomination committee from Bangladesh had approached the state government to support the Sunderbans, as the forest cover vast areas of both India and Bangladesh.

“I know the process and we have yet to see many ups and downs in the position so far but if we all keep on voting for Sundarbans, Ganges and Cox’s Bazar, we should be in good standing till the end. Voting in the internet is fun and it should be more fun doing it for our heritage sites,” said student of Calcutta University Divya Malik.

“Everyone must log on to the following link and cast their valuable votes to earn the title for natural wonders. That way we will be able to boast of another Wonders of the Modern World, the first one was the Taj Mahal,” said an elated college student.

The Sundarbans features a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for its wide range of fauna, with the Royal Bengal tiger being the most famous, but also including many species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes.

It is already a UNESCO World Heritage site and was designated a Ramsar site on May 21, 1992. It was also nominated as one of the New seven Wonders of the world, along Taj though didn't make to the final 14.Some other prominent natural heritage sites in the race include Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Phillipines, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Chocolate Hills in Phillipines, Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National park in Vietnam and Fansipan Mountain in Vietnam.

Kolkata Trams offer a nostalgic journey to commuters

Kolkata (IANS),13 November, 2008: The charm and nostalgia of the old Kolkata streets, the coffee house sessions and landmarks like the Victoria Memorial, would now come alive through line drawings on the body of the trams - the “heritage wheels” of the metropolis.

Master illustrator Samir Biswas has given an all-new look to the colonial transport mode through the dexterity of his line drawings skills that capture the changing facade of Kolkata since the time when it was the British India capital.

Telecom service provider Aircel launched the innovative programme celebrating the rich heritage of the city. The cultural initiative would initially be introduced in 27 trams across the city.

"The drawings will give a complete feel so that people could easily visualise both old and the new features of Kolkata. All the paintings, mostly based on line drawings and watercolours, will showcase the lifestyle of people belonging to different social strata," Biswas told IANS on the sidelines of the programme here Wednesday.

He said the drawings would cover diverse subjects from the Raj era, high-rise buildings, major landmarks like Howrah Bridge, College Street, Park Street and the Hogg Market. "The portraits will describe a tale of the metropolis which has undergone a change in the time of globalisation. The sky-scrapers, glitzy malls and IT township - which are entering into the history of the metropolis and its colonial soul - will also get a place in my artistic depiction," he said.

Biswas, who once worked as a graphic artist with a Kolkata-based leading newspaper group, is a Government Art College graduate. His line drawings skills on Kolkata buildings and life in the metropolis graced many a newspaper and magazine for three decades between the 1970s and 1990s.

"It's a great feeling for me that people now would get to see my creativity," he said. Ever since the first horse-drawn tram of the city rolled out on meter gauge tracks way back on Feb 24, 1873, this medium of transport has virtually become a logo of Kolkata, and has withstood criticism of its utility in the present era of fast-moving vehicles.

The Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC) was formed in 1880 and registered in London on Dec 22 that year. The electrification of the tram routes was done in the early 20th century. The CTC was taken over by the West Bengal government in the 1970s.

Plans for solar power plant on anvil

Kolkata,Thursday, Nov 13, 2008: West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) has invited “expression of interest"" from various developers for setting up a roof-top solar energy harvesting mechanism.

The corporate houses or commercial buildings with roof top area more than 50,000 sq ft would be eligible for submitting an application, said Mr SP Gon Chowdhury, MD, WBGEDC. He said that corporate houses with 50,000 sq ft or more roof top area can set up “high efficient"" solar power plant capable of generating 250 KW of power. He said Wipro has already expressed interest for setting up the proposed solar power plant. This corporate houses would be able to sell power to different state power utilities at Rs 11 per unit as per the state electricity regulatory commission.

He said the WBGEDC has already spoken to different power utilities like CESC, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Corporation (WBSEDC), and DPL. All these power utilities have agreed to buy solar power from the corporate houses. They would be providing the solar power generated to the grid with the help of a transformer. A metre would be fitted to record the total amount of transmission and accordingly the corporate houses would receive the ‘preferential’ tariff.

He described this as “win-win"" situation for the corporate houses as they would be entitled to tax benefits and can also ask the United Nation Framework on Climate Change for carbon credit. But prior to the application, the corporate houses would have to take post country clearance from ministry of environment and forest.

Mr Gon Chowdhury said that the power utilities would be benefited as it is mandatory for them to buy 10 per cent renewable energy by 2012 as per Renewable Energy Port Folio (RPF) standard.

Yunnan Tourism signs MoU on tourism exchange with West Bengal

To offer Lifestyle, Leisure, Sports, Experiential and MICE as tourism products

Kolkata, November 13, 2008: In a bid to strengthen the industrial and tourism cooperation with India, Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration (Yunnan Tourism) is focusing on tourism exchange with West Bengal. Yunnan Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with West Bengal Tourism Directorate, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) and the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Eastern Chapter on the 10th of this month in order to build a mutual bond on tourism practices, exchange and understanding.

Having approached the West Bengal Tourism Directorate, WBTDC and the TAAI Eastern Chapter, Yunnan Tourism plans to cash in on tourism opportunities in Kolkata and East India considering the short distance, newly launched air link and the similarities in culture and ethnicity. As part of the MoU, West Bengal Tourism Directorate and WBTDC have also planned to make the state more available for Chinese tourists.

Manabendra Mukherjee, Tourism Minister of West Bengal said, “Apart from developing destinations and other tourism products, we will be developing the China Town area of Kolkata and include it under the Destination Development Scheme.” Talking about plans to focus mainly on Eastern India, Yu Dingcheng, Director General, Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration, told TravelBiz Monitor, “Yunnan and West Bengal have many similarities in tastes and traditions and both enjoy large ethnic diversities. Also, Kolkata is at a distance of about two hour’s flight from Kunming, a region we are projecting as Yunnan’s USP. Apart from the newly-launched air link, Kolkata has a large harbour in coastal Eastern India. All these features have prompted us to start our promotional activities in India from Kolkata.”

China Eastern Airways, which re-started its operation from Kolkata last month, currently operates with four flights a week to Kunming. According to a China Eastern Airways official, depending on the growth in traffic, the airline may increase the flights to seven per week. Speaking about the tourism products offered by Yunnan Tourism, Dingcheng said, “Yunnan has the largest ethnic diversities in China and that will be one of our highest selling points. With large golf courses and natural hot springs, we will focus on tourism products like Lifestyle Tourism, Leisure Tourism, Sports Tourism and Experiential Tourism.”

Targeting these products at leisure tourists, Yunnan Tourism also sees potential of MICE segment when it comes to tourism exchange with India, especially Eastern India. “Eastern India still lacks exposure to good international destinations as MICE destinations. We are on a constant lookout to find more international MICE destinations which are lesser known but strong in terms of infrastructure when it comes to supporting MICE travellers. Yunnan has great potentials to host MICE segments,” said Devendra Parikh, Chairman, TAAI Eastern Chapter.Commenting on the stiff competition from Thailand Tourism, Dingcheng said, “Although Thailand is an old player when it comes to tourism exchange with India, we have come up tourism products that are different from those offered by Thailand.

Besides, we have geographical proximity with India and have better climate to offer. While most of the popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia cannot provide year-long tourism services due to extreme climate conditions, Yunnan has pleasant weather condition throughout the year and can play host at any time of the year.”