Tata Nano all set to hit the road on 23rd March

Kolkata, 27th February: FINALLY THE long wait of the middle class people for the Rs one lakh Tata Nano car seems to be coming to an end. On Thursday (February 26), Tata Motors announced that the Tata Nano will be launched at a glittering function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

According to company sources Tata Nano cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealership from the first week of April 20009. From the second week of April 2009 people can book the dream car. Tata Motors said that the booking process and other details of the Rs one lakh car will be announced on the day of the launch.

Meanwhile, the company is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that interested customers can conveniently avail booking facilities at their locations, across India. Touted as the world’s cheapest family car, Tata Nano car was first unveiled at the auto expo in Delhi on January 10, 2008. Since it’s unveiling, the car has evoked unprecedented interest in the country.

The official website of Tata Nano has recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and at the same time over 6,000 interest groups and communities have been created. However, due to rift between Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress Party and West Bengal government, Tata Motors had to relocate its manufacturing plant from Singur to Sanad in Gujarat.

Tata Motors ambitious project Tata Nano has became the centre of attraction for middle class people, who were earlier not able to buy four wheelers. Let us see, how much interest people show n buying the car, as the whole country has been badly hit by recession.

No decision yet on post-poll support to Cong.: Basu

KOLKATA, 27th February, 2009 : The Leftfront may face a tough battle in West Bengal if the Congress and Trinamool join hands in the coming Lok Sabha elections, party patriarch Jyoti Basu on Friday said while maintaining that it has not taken any decision on extending support to the former after the polls.

"We cannot say it at this stage. No decision has been taken by the party in this regard," 95-year-old Basu said when asked if the CPI(M) would extend support to the Congress after the parliamentary polls.

Basu, who came to attend the CPI(M) State secretariat meeting at the party's Alimuddin Street headquarters, told reporters that the party would face a tough battle if Congress and Trinamool Congress forged an alliance in the LS polls in West Bengal and might get less seats compared to what it had won in the 2004 election.

Asked what strategy the party would adopt in the coming election, he replied, "We will go to the people and explain". The State secretariat meeting assumed significance as it was authorised by the CPI(M) State committee to approve the party's list of candidates for the LS polls.

West Bengal, Emami in pact for pulp, paper project

Kolkata, Feb 27: West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) and the city-based Emami Group Friday inked a pact for setting up a greenfield integrated pulp and paper project at an investment of Rs.22 billion (Rs.2,200 crore).The proposed project at Kutikri in West Midnapore district will be part of a Paper and Allied Products Park being developed by WBIDC.

“There will be a high-end printing and writing paper plant with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes per annum. The plant will be developed using the state-of-the art technology from Scandinavia and Germany,” state Industries Minister Nirupam Sen said at the signing of the pact, where Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was also present.

R.S. Agarwal, joint chairman of the Emami Group, said around 1,415 acres will be required for the project, which is likely to be commissioned 42 months after the company got possession of land.

Asked whether acquiring land could pose problems in view of the recent controversies over land acquisition, the chief minister said “No”. The project is expected to generate captive power of around 40 MW and employ around 1,000 people directly and 4,000 indirectly.

“To conserve energy, the plant will utilise the spent liquor from the process to generate steam and power for their captive use,” Agarwal said. The project also envisages setting up of social infrastructure, including hospitals, school and market facilities, for the employees and the local population.

BDR mutiny hits India-Bangladesh trade

Kolkata, Feb 27 : At least 500 trucks ferrying goods to Bangladesh, were stranded at the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Petrapole Friday as exporters feared a loss of Rs.2 billion ($38.83 million) following the mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troopers. “As of now, at least 500 trucks with both perishable and other goods are stuck at the border,” Raja Roy, general secretary, Calcutta Goods Transport Association, told mediaperson.

West Bengal Exporter Coordination Committee secretary Ujjal Saha said: “In north Bengal, there could be a loss of Rs.2 billion. Vegetables and fruits are becoming stale”. India shares a 4,095 km-long border with Bangladesh, of which the longest stretch - 2,216 km - is in West Bengal.

After the mutiny, vigil was stepped up all along the border. The Border Security Force asked people to keep distance from the border and the authorities restricted movement of vehicles. The administration on the Indian side suspended operations at the three land customs stations (LCS) in West Bengal - at Mehadipur in Malda district, Hili in south Dinajpur and Chengrabandha in Cooch Behar districts.

The international check post at Petrapole had remained closed for about six hours Thursday following fears that the Bangladesh army personnel could be arriving to take over the outposts at Benapole on the Bangladesh side from the BDR.

The stalemate continued till 3 p.m., and even the two Dhaka-bound buses from Kolkata had to wait. Later on, the buses were allowed to cross over to Bangladesh. “But till now trucks are not being allowed to go by the customs authorities,” Roy said, adding he hoped something positive will happen in a day or two and the normal pace will be restored. As per a rough estimate, trade worth Rs.3 billion takes place with Bangladesh through West Bengal daily.

An official at Mehadipur said 200 trucks carrying perishable goods were still stranded at the border. Gunfights broke out inside the BDR headquarters in Dhaka Wednesday morning as BDR troopers mutinied to protest poor wages and frequent transfers.

The government held talks with a delegation of the mutineers Thursday and an agreement was reached but by that time, the mutiny spread to other BDR camps located all over the country. The revolt ended in the face of an imminent attack by the Bangladesh Army which moved tanks into position outside the BDR headquarters. The mutineers then laid down their arms.

Eighty-two percent polling in West Bengal by-election

Kolkata, February 26,2009: Eighty-two percent of the electorate cast their votes in Thursday’s by-poll to West Bengal’s Bishnupur (West) assembly seat, officials said.They said there were no untoward incidents and polling in in the constituency in South 24 Parganas district passed off peacefully. The votes will be counted March 1.

Trinamool Congress nominee Madan Mitra is pitted against Communist Party of India(Marxist)- CPI(M) candidate Dr. Iskandar Hussain. The Congress had withdrawn its candidate in favour of Madan Mitra.

The election has assumed importance as it would be the last trial of strength between West Bengal’s ruling Leftfront and the opposition before the April-May Lok Sabha polls. The death of CPI(M)’s Rathin Sarkar, who won the seat in 2006, had necessitated the by-election.