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.”

Seige enters fifth day, Lalgarh remains cut off

Kolkata, November 11: Meetings fail to reach consensus, prices of essential commodities go up Lalgarh remained cut off from the rest of West Bengal for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, as all-party meetings called by the district administration to resolve the crisis failed to reach a consensus. The state government has alleged that outsiders are instigating the locals of the area.“The type of slogans being raised in Lalgarh show the presence of outsiders who are instigating violence,” said Home Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti.

“The trouble at Lalgarh is also hampering the investigations in the Salboni blast, as the officers involved in the probe are now busy with controlling the law and order situation in Lalgarh. Moreover, the snapping of roads has affected the supply of kerosene oil, which is widely used in the area that has no electricity,” he added. Political parties and the administration have failed to arrive at an agreement to allow repair of roads dug upin the Lalgarh area of West Midnapore. Two separate meetings were called by the administration on Tuesday.

The first meeting — called by the block development officer (BDO) of Lalgarh — was held at his office and was attended by gram panchayat pradhans and panchayat samity members of the area. Another meeting was called by District Magistrate Narayan Swarup Nigam in Jhargram with all the political parties. Both the meetings failed to serve the purpose. “We do not intend to use force to repair the roads that have been dug up. We want to resolve the issue through dialogue,” said Nigam. Another meeting has been called on Wednesday.

In both the meetings, the Opposition demanded an end to the 'atrocities' by the police and that the police should release all those arrested or detained for their alleged involvement in the Salboni blast. The Opposition also sought a public apology from the police. District police sources, however, said since the case was linked with the attack on the chief minister’s convoy, it would not be possible for them to allow release of those arrested. “This will give a signal that the administration is compromising even in such a sensitive case,” said a senior police officer of the district police.

Panic was evident among the residents of Lalgarh, with most of the roads remaining deserted on Tuesday. The three police station areas of Lalgarh, Binpur and Belpahari remained cut off, which has resulted in the rise in prices of essential commodities — with potato and candle being the worst hit. A source in the Lalgarh BDO office, however, claimed there was no shortage of dry food. The administration is arranging for supply of kerosene in the area.

Lalgarh comprises 10 gram panchayats. Of these seven are run by the Jharkhand Party and three by the CPI(M). The panchayat and samity members have been requested by the state administration to go back to the villages and try to convince the villagers to allow repair of roads.

Bayern Munich to set up football academy in Kolkata

Kolkata,November 12, 2008:German giants Bayern Munich will set up their first football academy outside Germany, and West Bengal will have the honour of being their partner. Bayern president and former German soccer star, Karl Heinz Rummenigge was in Kolkata on Wednesday to announce the plan of a football academy that would be set up in Burdwan with technical support from the giants of club football in Europe.

The Burdwan District Sports Association would enter into an agreement with Bayern and Techno India (a knowledge management group) for the proposed academy.Rummenigge said that Bayern chose India and West Bengal as a partner for such a venture as they were looking into long-term relationships and were not in Kolkata only to make money.

"Our philosophy is different from other clubs of Europe who go into Asia for making money. Our slogan is to create friends and have long-lasting commitments. The way we saw Oliver Kahn being felicitated here when he played in farewell match in Kolkata also showed us how people of West Bengal loved football," he said.

While Rummenigge will fly back on Wednesday night, his colleague from Bayern, Martin Hegele, will travel to Burdwan on Thursday to see the proposed site. Hegele told India Today: "We are here as we wanted to work with serious people and your minister Nirupam Sen is one such man." Burdwan is Sen's home town and he, along with sports minister, Subhas Chakraborty, pledged support for the academy.

Hegele explained that apart from providing technical support to build up the academy, which will include the construction of artificial and natural football pitches, training of coaches and players, there will be exchange programmes and age-group tournaments to enhance the talents available in West Bengal and also across India.

The academy will have a stadium and five football fields, two of which will have artificial turf. Four fields will be floodlit, so that the students can practise at any hour.Rummenigge expressed hope that one day a player from the Burdwan academy will play in the professional football circuit in Europe and added that he did not think it was impossible for a passionate country like India to finally play in the FIFA World Cup.

WB govt to support ailing steel and sponge iron units

KOLKATA,12 November,2008: The West Bengal government said on Wednesday that it would support, within its ability, ailing steel and sponge iron units facing closure in the state. “I have proposed to meet the sector to understand the situation collectively and not individually. If in some way, the government can help within its abilities, it will do so,” said the Principal Secretary of Commerce and Industries, Mr Sabyasachi Sen, said here.

Mr Sen, was speaking to reporters while announcing a B2B (business to business) exhibition cum conference, 'Biz Bridge - Resurgence East', to be held here. Admitting that the government was aware of the recent developments in the steel sector, Mr Sen, h owever, said that it would consult with industry bodies - CII and FICCI - to ascertain the number of such units facing closure.

Industry players said that units facing problems were not integrated players and mainly small ones. Following the global meltdown and subsequent lull, the steel industry is in the dock which has prompted production cuts even by majors like JSW Steel, Ess ar Steel and Ispat Industries.
Steel Secretary Mr P K Rastogi had said yesterday that public sector major SAIL may also cut production as the demand for the commodity dipped. Admitting that the steel industry was in the grip of a crisis, Mr Ramswarup Group Chairman and Managing Direct or Mr Ashish Jhunjhunwala said that CII has already urged the state government to support the industry. “However, this is a temporary blip and the steel industry is not going to die,” Mr Jhunjhunwala said. - PTI

State Bank to lend Rs.40 bn for JSW’s West Bengal project

Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS): JSW Bengal Steel will take a loan of Rs.40 billion from the State Bank of India (SBI) to part finance the first phase of its steel project in West Bengal, a senior company official said here Wednesday.”SBI has agreed in principle to fund the first phase of the West Bengal project,” JSW Bengal managing director Biswadip Gupta said on the sidelines of a press conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Talks are on now with SBI for re-negotiating the interest rate, Gupta said. The first phase that involves setting up a three million tonne plant will cost Rs.100 billion, and the debt component of Rs.40 billion would be funded by SBI. JSW, however, wants the bank to bring down the interest rate.

“SBI had earlier demanded 13.75 percent interest. Considering the current lower interest regime, we have asked it to lower the rate,” Gupta said. JSW Bengal is promoted by JSW Steel, which holds an 89 percent stake in the company, with the state government owning the balance.
The company is constructing a 10-million-tonne steel plant in three phases on a total investment of Rs.350-billion (over $7 billion) in Salboni in West Midnapore district of the state.

The first phase of the project will have a pelletisation plant, iron ore beneficiary and coal mine development units by 2012. The second phase, a six million tonne plant, is scheduled for completion by 2015. The entire project will be ready by 2020.

CIL, DVC and BEML to invest INR 1000 crore for MAMC revival

Kolkata, 12 November, 2008: BS reported that CIL, DVC and BEML will be investing around INR 1000 crore in phases to revive the West Bengal based Mining and Allied Machineries Corporation, a BIFR company since 2003.While BEML will be the major share holder with 48%, CIL and DVC will be picking up by 26% stake each in the company.

A revived MAMC is expected to commence operation from the middle of 2010.Mr PS Bhattacharya chairman of CIL said that "I have approached the Mr HC Gupta coal secretary to take up the matter with the ministry for a cabinet clearance on the takeover. Prior to that the clearance for the joint take over will have to come from the Calcutta High Court as it is a BIFR company and the court is sole custodian to determine the company’s future."

Mr Bhattacharya said that MAMC has dues of INR 1200 crore with the Centre and about INR 100 crore with the West Bengal government. He said that “I approached the West Bengal government for a waiver and they have readily agreed. The green signal for the central waiver is still awaited and for this cabinet clearance is mandatory."He said that a silver lining recently emerged on the future revival of the company with the State Bank of India deciding to prune the debt component of the company from INR 430 crore to INR 120 crore.

He added that SBI ends have been tied up and things are moving in the right direction.Revival of MAMC is essential for CIL as it is moving ahead in augmenting underground mining production in the next couple of years. The coal giant is also seeking overseas tie ups in Australia, China, Indonesia and USA for developing UG mining in the country.

West Bengal seeks more Central forces from Home Ministry

New Delhi (PTI),11th Nov: West Bengal on Tuesday sought additional para-military forces from the Union Home Ministry to tackle the Maoist problem in the state.

The demand was made at a meeting of State Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb with Union Home Secretary Mahdukar Gupta here on Tuesday.Deb later told reporters that he asked for more security personnel for the state, but declined to specify the quantum of the requirement.

The meeting came in the backdrop of the Home Ministry asking for a detailed report from the State Government on the landmine attack on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan in Maoist-infested Midnapore district on November two. The powerful landmine blast triggered by suspected Maoists had damaged the security vehicle of Paswan and injured six policemen.

The Home Ministry has already said that there were "callousness" and "lapse" as the security drill was not ensured by West Bengal Police ahead of the visit of the two dignitaries to Midnapore.

Sources in the Home Ministry said the police did not carry out the basic road opening exercise, a mandatory security drill, ahead of the VIP arrival or departure from the foundation-laying ceremony of a steel project.

The remote-controlled mine was exploded at Salboni shortly after Bhattacharjee had passed through that area and Paswan was approaching the point in Jhargram district, adjacent to Midnapore.

Maradona to arrive in Kolkata on December 5

Kolkata,10 Nov,2008:

Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will lay the foundation stone of the Indian Football School (IFS) besides participating at a charity dinner during his visit to the city December 5-7.

Announcing Maradona's itinerary in the city, Lok Sabha MP Samik Lahiri said the present Argentine coach would arrive at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the city on the night December 5.

After laying the foundation stone of the IFS in Maheshtala , about 13 km south of the city December 6, Maradona would meet the press - his first ever media interaction after becoming the Argentina coach.

The West Bengal government and the soccer fraternity would felicitate the superstar in the evening at the Salt lake Stadium, where all former soccer internationals of India would be invited. Maradona's programme for the day ends with a charity dinner, where some of his football gears would come under the hammer.

The hero of Argentina's 1986 World Cup victory is scheduled to visit Mother House, the global headquarters of Missionaries of Charity the next day, before attending a football clinic with youngsters, Lahiri told reporters on Monday. Maradona would leave for home the same night. To a query, he said Maradona could not play now, as he was a FIFA-registered coach. Lahiri also refused to disclose the remuneration Maradona has asked for his appearance.

The soccer genius is likely to be accompanied by his estranged wife Claudia, who played a big role in arranging the meeting between him and the organisers which made the visit possible. Asked what benefit would accrue to the country from the visit, Lahiri said: "The presence of the soccer master will definitely inspire and motivate the youngsters, who have grown up watching his exploits on the soccer field through video".

Lahiri said the ambitious IFS project would start by choosing 20 talented youngsters below the age of 10 from various clinics. The cadets would be coached by a former national level player, who would undergo a coaches' training in a reputed Latin American soccer academy.

After three years of training, the total number of youngsters would be pruned down to 40 (three batches combined). Once the shortlisted charges become 18, efforts would be made to place them in the leagues of various Latin American and European countries.

"Initially, we can't find slots for them in the premier divisions, but I think placing them in lower divisions should be possible," he said. He exuded confidence that if the project succeeded, the country would get 100 players with the experience of playing at the international level. West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty said the state government would play the role of facilitator for Maradona's visit.

Metro Cash & Carry to open outlet on Dec 4

KOLKATA,10 Nov: Metro Cash & Carry will be thrown open to the public on December 4. This German supply major outlet off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass will be inaugurated the day before, possibly by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Metro officials met ministers Naren De and Mortaza Hossain among others on Monday.

The outlet will be the company’s fifth outlet in the country after Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Metro’s special focus would be hotels, restaurants, traders and kirana stores. The opening of the outlet is a major development as the Forward Bloc-controlled agricultural marketing board had refused to issue a fresh licence to the wholesale outlet a few months ago. Later, it agreed to give the nod after placing certain conditions. CPI(M) and Forward Bloc were locked in a major tussle over the issue. Finally, the marketing board and the Bloc agreed to issue a fresh licence and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the company and the state government on October 10.

Metro will do business with only those who have APMC licences. Though it can purchase from private markets or regulatory marketing committees, it has to pay one per cent market fee while selling the produce. Other conditions include a bar on contract farming with farmers and only following the business-to-business model with traders. Also, in case of a legal dispute, it must be sorted out in a court of law within the state.

The German wholesale major has already trained 350 persons to work in its outlet. According to its officials, the wholesale centres are open exclusively for business customers, all of them duly registered and provided with customer identification cards.

Hyundai to launch small car by 2011

CHENNAI,10 Nov.,2008: The country's second largest auto maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd said it is working on a new 'mini car' in the entry level segment which should hit the roads by 2011."We are developing a small car in the entry level range and it should hit the market by 2011," HMIL Managing Director H S Lheem told reporters here, refusing to divulge the details including the cost of the proposed car.

Interestingly, the timing of announcement of the car comes a month after the announcement shifting of Tata Motors' small car Nano's plant from Singur, West Bengal, after violent protests over the issue of land acquisition.The Tatas have since decided to relocate the unit to Gujarat.A query on whether the HMIL's small car was being planned to compete with the Tatas' Nano, failed to elicit any response from the company officials, though sources said the target group for this product would be the same as Nano's-- two-wheeler users aspiring for a car.

Lheem further said the car would be manufactured from the company's existing plant at Sriperumbudur, about 40 km from here."We have adequate capacity to manufacture (the new car) in the plant.Its capacity is about 650,000 cars per annum and we are sure that it will be accommodated," Lheem, who was here to flag off the company's 'i20' range of cars, produced at the Sriperumbudur plant to the European market, said.

On the current global financial crisis, Lheem said, "25 per cent of the total sales has been affected and most of our distributors present in various countries have also asked us to postpone the shipments"."Distributors especially from France and Ireland have asked the shipments to be postponed" he said, adding even quite a few (distributors) have also cancelled their orders for the 'i20' range of cars due to the crisis. -PTI

Cine Central to screen world cinema at Kolkata film fest

Kolkata, Nov 8: Cine Central, one of the largest film societies in India, will screen 70 films from 30 countries as part of the 14th Kolkata Film Festival to be held here Nov 10-17. "Besides some remarkable Indian films, we will be showcasing some of the best films from Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Iran, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Pakistan, Sweden, South Korea, Slovakia and Uruguay," general secretary of Cine Central, Sadhan Chakraborty told reporters here Thursday.

"We will also present a package of contemporary films to focus on Turkish, Norwegian and Dutch Cinema," said Chakraborty.Under the "Homage" category, tributes will be paid to Cuban film director Humberto Solas and Egyptian director Youssef Chahine. "A retrospective of Manoel de Oliveira will also be organised to pay centenary tribute to the Portuguese film director," Chakraborty added.There will also be a "Documedia" section where documentaries from Afghanistan, Lebanon and France will be shown, along with a package of documentaries on Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara to commemorate his 80th birthday.

The inaugural film "Gulabi Talkies" will be presented by Kannada director Girish Kasaravalli at Basusree Cinemas in south Kolkata.Cine Central was formed in September 1965 and organised India's first independent international film festival in 1986 under the name Calcutta International Film Festival. This film fest was renamed as International Forum of New Cinema in 1998 and is held every year as part of Kolkata Film Festival.

Nobel testimony to be heard in town

Kolkata, November 7 , 2008: Nadine Gordimer, South African writer, Nobel Laureate and one of the first people Nelson Mandela wanted to meet after he emerged from prison, will arrive in the city on November 10 to deliver a lecture. Gordimer, a strong voice against apartheid, has titled her talk “The Inward Testimony”, which she will deliver at Town Hall, at 6pm.

She is visiting the country on an invitation from the public diplomacy division of the ministry of external affairs. She arrives in Mumbai on November 7 and will be in Calcutta till November 13, when she leaves for New Delhi.

The 85-year-old writer of stories and novels, whose books were banned several times by the white South African government, will be given the honour of “state guest” in West Bengal, said Amit Dasgupta, the joint secretary of the public diplomacy division.

Gordimer’s lecture is part of the Nobel Laureate Lecture series organised by the division. Last year, American mathematician John Nash, on whose life the film A Beautiful Mind was made, had been invited for the lecture. But last year, Calcutta was given the miss, as Nash only visited New Delhi and Mumbai. This year, the ministry is making up for it and more, for Gordimer’s talk is reserved for the city, while in the other two, she will be reading from her books.

The writer, who won the Booker for her novel The Conservationist, wrote powerfully and movingly about the lives of ordinary people, many of them black, in the violence-ridden apartheid era, earning the wrath of the authorities repeatedly.

Her latest book of stories is Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black (2007). She has outlived that cause. But an activist forever, in a post-apartheid world, she works on AIDS and HIV prevention, a severe problem in South Africa. “Gordimer will interact with Calcuttans, including writers,” added Dasgupta. She will attend a dinner at Raj Bhavan. Dasgupta is also planning to take her to Victoria Memorial and St Paul’s Cathedral and city bookstores. But he complained that his early inquiries have revealed that not many city bookstores have any of her books.

THE TELEGRAPH

Maoists own responsibility for Nov 2 blast

Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS): The Communist Party of India-Maoist Friday night owned up responsibility for the Nov 2 landmine blast in West Midnapore district and said that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the target.

In a press release signed by its general secretary Kanchan, the guerrilla outfit said it had triggered the blast 'with the active cooperation of the people'.The release said the People's Liberation Guerilla Army organised the explosion and threatened that 'the future will see more of such acts'.'The government cannot prevent such attacks by providing Z plus category security to anybody,' Kanchan claimed.

Union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada and Bhattacharjee had a close shave as the blast hit their convoy when they were returning after the groundbreaking ceremony of the JSW Bengal steel project at Salboni. Bhattacharjee was the only leader with Z plus security among the VVIPs in the programme.

The Maosits claimed they were opposed to the policies of the 'fascist' state government, which was 'causing great harm' to the farmers by the way it was going for big industries like the JSW project.'Our fight will be on,' Kanchan added.

WB govt to set up new industries at Singur : Buddhadev

7 Nov 2008, 1842 hrs IST, PTI

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government will announce in a few days plans to set up new industries at Singur after the exit of the Tatas Motors from there and has several proposals in hand, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said. "We have several proposals in hand. We will announce these in a few days. Land was acquired at Singur for industrialisation and we will set up industries there and nothing else," he said in an interview to CPI(M) daily 'Ganashakti' published today.

Claiming the exit of the Tatas from Singur would not impact the investment scenario in the state, Bhattacharjee pointed out that none of the Indian and foreign investors had gone back on their plans for West Bengal. "The Singur episode is an isolated one arising out of the destructive movement of Trinamool Congress ... and none of the Indian and foreign investors has left because of the post- Singur situation," the chief minister said. Bhattacharjee said "people will not forgive opposition parties if they continue to pursue policies which harm the state's interests. Industrialists have identified these parties which have tarnished West Bengal's image ... but I feel that this will not last long."

Claiming that investment in West Bengal had gone up in the last three years, Bhattacharjee said "I hope this trend will be maintained in the near future." There were investment queries from China, Japan, the US, Germany, besides fresh investments were coming from companies like Reliance, Birla and even the Tatas, he said.

West Bengal universities tie up with Italian institutions

Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS): A high-level delegation from Italy Friday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with several leading West Bengal universities here to launch an educational exchange programme.The academic delegation from the University and Polytechnic of Turin signed the agreement with four premier West Bengal universities - Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, Rabindra Bharati University and Burdwan University.

“West Bengal and Turin have a cultural similarity in their origins. I am very hopeful of this academic cooperation, as it’ll serve several issues of mutual interest with reference to scientific collaboration as well as studies in art, literature, culture and political science,” city mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya told reporters at the MoU signing programme. “The MoU was signed between four leading educational institutions and top 11 Italian universities,” he said.

“There’s always a malicious campaigning about Kolkata, outside India, that it’s a city of traffic congestion and filth. I think this type of wrong ideas are common because it’s a communist ruled state in the country,” Bhattacharyya added. “This educational cooperation programme will open up a new era for the students in West Bengal to come in contact with the rich culture heritage of Italy,” he said.

West Bengal CPI(M) gets ready for Lok Sabha poll

Kolkata, Nov 6 (IANS): Communist Party of India (Marxist) West Bengal unit secretary Biman Basu Thursday urged party workers to gear up for the parliamentary elections next year and also maintain the ruling Left Front’s unity in the state. In a press statement after a two-day meeting of its state committtee here, the CPI(M) asked its cadre to gear up for the elections and directed them to beware of political traps set by the opposition before the Lok Sabha poll.

‘The party workers should build a strong network at the district level and they must reach out to a large section of people. The opposition parties are constantly trying to launch armed attack on CPI-M supporters, which we have to combat in a very tactful manner,’ the statement said. The statement quoted Basu as saying: ‘The unity in the Left Front should be maintained in the state.’The statement criticised the ‘anti-people and anti-industrialisation’ stand of the state’s opposition parties.

‘Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has asked party workers to intensify protests against all evil forces in the state that want to split West Bengal into small parts. He asked party men to oppose the anti-industrialisation protest of the opposition,’ the statement said.