Backward Muslims in Bengal to get OBC certificates soon

PTI / Sunday, August 29, 2010: Nearly 1.4 crore backward Muslims in West Bengal would be issued OBC certificates under the reservation policy for poor people of the community after the state cabinet approves the decision on September 22.

The policy decision has been taken and it awaits approval of the cabinet on September 22, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said while inaugurating a Haj House-cum-Empowerment Centre at Kaikhali near Kolkata airport.

"If SC and ST population can come under reservation, why not the minorities like Muslims?" he said adding that the state government was encouraged by recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission in this regard.

The Rs 10-crore Haj House is the second of its kind in the state after the one situated near Park Circus in the city, which made West Bengal the only state to have two Haj Houses for the benefit of Haj pilgrims, he said.

Bhattacharjee said there was need for such a facility to cater to the growing number of Haj pilgrims in the state. While 1,410 pilgrims went to Haj in 1985, the number rose to 10,272 in 2010.

Built by the state government's PWD department, the G-plus-seven-storeyed building can accommodate pilgrims for three months during the pilgrimage to Mecca.

During the remaining nine months, minority beneficiaries would be given vocational training there by the Aliah University, he said.

Bhattacharjee said "minorities were not living in anybody's mercy" and the government had given approval for starting 12 English medium madrasas in the state.

 

In addition to 600 madrasas in the state, steps have been taken to prepare a list of 300 more of the institutions to impart education not only in religion, but also in subjects like science, mathematics and computers to make the minority community students more competitive.

Minister of state for minorities development and madrasa education Abdus Sattar said unemployed Muslims would be imparted vocational training in 37 trades in the Haj building for nine months by the Aliah University.

West Bengal: Woman Maoist commander surrenders

Press Trust of India,

Updated: August 28, 2010 00:50 IST

Kolkata: A woman self-styled Maoist commander has surrendered before the police in West Bengal's West Midnapore district alleging sexual exploitation by ultra leaders.

Shobha Mandi alias Sikha is the second Naxal to surrender after the West Bengal government announced a rehabilitation package for them.

"Shobha, who has five cases against her, has been keeping in touch with us for the last eight days and we succeeded in convincing her to surrender," West Midnapore Superintendent of Police, Manoj Kumar Verma said after the woman Maoist leader turned up at the Midnapore Police Lines.

"We will refer her cases to the review committee and they will decide finally," Verma said.

Mandi, the daughter of Jamadar Mandi, a resident of Koyerpahari under Sarenga Police Station in Bankura district left home in 2003 after Maoist leaders Sasadhar, Akash, Bikash, Madan and Suchitra met her family and convinced them that she would have a better life with them.

"We were very poor and they convinced us that I would have a better life. So I left home and joined a Maoist camp. But the experience turned out to be horrible," Mandi said.

"They tortured me mentally and physically in the forest and I was forced to sleep with Bikash and Kamal and others too," Mandi claimed.

Asked whether she had complained about the exploitation to top Maoist leader Kishenji, she replied, "Kishenji is too big a leader. We don't have permission to speak to him. I have seen him of course, but never spoke to him."

She claimed that the top Maoist leadership knew about the sexual exploitation of women cadre, but did not take any steps.

"I left camp on April 25 in frustration. When I came to know about the rehabilitation package I contacted the police and they promised me security. So I surrendered," she said.

She handed over a bag containing Rs. 55,000 rupees to the police which she said was given to her by the Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA).

Asked about the connection between the PCPA and the Maoists, she replied, "The Maoists and the PCPA are the same. The PCPA doesn't do anything without the consent of the Maoists."

Verma said that in the next 36 months she would stay at a transit camp after which she would be provided security by the police so that she was not disturbed by the Maoists or the PCPA.

Jhargram Superintendent of Police Praveen Tripathi was also present on the occasion. The Maoists, however, alleged that Mandi was arrested on April 25.

On Thursday, a Maoist squad member Shobhon Karak surrendered with arms. He was the first Maoist to surrender after the announcement of the rehabilitation package by the state government.

Meanwhile, two suspected Maoists were arrested and some explosives seized during anti-Naxal operations at Barigara in Khunti district of Jharkhand.

The securitymen comprising the CRPF and district police arrested Satya Deo Thakur and Ravi Munda, both facing charges of blowing up a mobile tower, Additional SP Vijay Kumar told newsmen in Khunti.

 

The arrested duo led the security forces to a hideout at Lungburu hills where a landmine, ten empty cans, a binocular and equipment for making explosives were found, Kumar added.

Jnaneshwari sabotage accused killed

Hindustan Times, Jhargram, August 27, 2010

The West Bengal Police have killed one of the Jnaneshwari Express sabotage accused, Umakanta Mahato, on Friday in a night operation in a forest near Jhargram in West Midnapore district.

Mahato, one of the three people accused of causing the train accident on June 28 this year, killing 148 people, carried an award of Rs 1 lakh.

“Locals have identified the body as that of Umakanta Mahato,” said Praveen Tripathy, Jhargram police chief. He said Mahato’s body was sent for post mortem by afternoon.

Of the other two Jnaneshwari sabotage accused, Bapi Mahato was arrested on June 20 from Jamshedpur, while Asit Mahato still remains at large. All three are reportedly leaders of the Maoist-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA).

On Thursday, the police got a tip-off that Mahato, Maoist leader Jayanta and some other rebels were hiding in the forest. The Maoists, according to their standard operating procedure, dispatched two scouts, Abani and Sanjib, to find out about the force’s movement. But since the two were apprehended, the Maoists did not get any information.

The police said there were 10 to 12 Maoist rebels at the spot when the four-hour gun battle began about 1.30 in the night. After the battle was over, the police found a trail of blood and several sandals, which led them to believe that the Maoists had taken away the injured, leaving behind the body of the PCAPA leader.

Since May 2010, this is the third successful night operation by the security forces.

The police recovered a revolver – probably snatched from security personnel – a cell phone, some cartridges and a motorcycle from the spot. The police also detained 10 people from the area. Some of them may be formally arrested later. The motorcycle belonged to a headman of a nearby village, Soumen Bhakat, who was recently killed by the rebels.

First Maoist surrender in West Bengal

MIDNAPORE, 26th August, 2010: Nearly a month after the announcement of a rehabilitation package for Maoist rebels who give up arms, the West Bengal government met with its first success when a Leftwing rebel surrendered in West Midnapore district Thursday.

Shobhan Karak alias Bijoy was the first rebel to lay down arms by responding to the rehabilitation package of the government.

Bijoy, a squad member that used to operate in Goaltore area of the district, surrendered with arms before the police at the district police line, said West Midnapore Police Superintendent Manoj Verma. Verma, who was present when Bijoy surrendered, said he was also an active member of a militant wing of the pro-Maoist body Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). Bijoy has been booked in at least 13 cases.

'We will make a fixed deposit of Rs.1.5 lakh in his name for three years and refer the case to the rehabilitation committee,' Verma said. Once the rehabilitation committee clears the case, the Maoist would get a monthly remuneration of Rs.2,000 for three years and vocational training of his choice, he said.

He also said many more Maoists were expected to surrender in the next few days.

Interestingly, West Midnapore police had earlier announced that a woman squad member Sobha Mandi has expressed her wish to give herself up to the authorities and would do so Thursday. But police officials now claim she will surrender after discussing the matter with her family members.

Meanwhile, the state government is yet to set up a barrack to rehabilitate the surrendered Maoists cadres, where they will also undergo vocational training during the rehabilitation period of three years.

A senior state home official said: 'The district magistrate of West Midnapore has been asked to identify a location to set up the rehabilitation centre after a meeting Wednesday between the home secretary and other home department officials.'

West Bengal's Left Front to petition PM on price rise

KOLKATA: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Tuesday accused the opposition of inducting false names in the voters' list and said it will submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding the price rise of essentials and other vexed issues.

'False names are being inducted into the voters' list. People are being brought to the (election commission) offices in trucks and lorries. This is a peculiar trend we are noticing this time. But I will give details regarding this issue very soon,' Left Front chairman Biman Bose told reporters.

The Election Commission is currently inducting names in the voter rolls ahead of next year's state assembly elections.

Left Front leader and state minister Kshiti Goswami said a memorandum will be submitted to the prime minister covering a gamut of issues including price rise of essentials and the drought situation.

Bose also blamed Trinamool Congress, without naming them, of having undercover deals with the perpetrators of the Gyaneshwari Express tragedy.

'Some people are having undercover links with those who are the prime suspects in the tragedy,' Bose said.

The Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express derailed after suspected sabotage by Maoists and was then hit by a freight train near Jhargram in West Midnapore district May 28, resulting in 148 deaths.

Bengal madrasah with more Hindu students draws eyes, President’s award for teacher

By Shiv Sahay Singh

Indian Express, Posted online: Thu Aug 26 2010, 01:56 hrs

Kolkata:  A teacher in West Bengal who has enrolled more Hindu students than Muslims in his madrasa is to receive the national award from President Pratibha Patil this Teachers’ Day.

Anwar Hossain, the headmaster of Orgram Chatuspalli High Madrasah in Burdwan district, will be among the 12 teachers from the state who will receive the award at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Back in 1977, when Hossain joined the madrasa, it had just 34 students. Slowly the number increased and the institute drew more Hindu students. Today, it has about 64 per cent Hindu students.

 

“The award, I hope, will do away with the false notion about madrasas in our country,” Hossain told The Indian Express. “Madrasas are centres of learning where all sorts of education — computer education and English education  is being provided along with religious education.”

Hossain (56), says the madrasa drew more students from other communities because the institution provided help to students who had no access to education and did not have any means to support their education.

“We went from village to village and spoke to parents who could not afford a single rupee to educate their children. We did not charge any fees and started giving free books.”

Even today, all books till class X are given free of cost. And the teachers of this madrasa move across villages to identify the children who are out of school or who have dropped out due to financial constraints, said Hossain, who plans to donate his prize money to the madrasa.

“When students get support for their education, they don’t mind studying two extra subjects Arabic and Islam Parichay along with other regular subjects,” he added.

When The Indian Express first reported about the madrasa on January 19, 2009, it had 883 students of whom 555 were Hindus. Now the madrasa has been upgraded to higher secondary level and has 1,078 students studying in science and humanities streams. Even now, the number of non-Muslim students has remained 64 per cent.

“The headmaster (of the madrasa) has a big role in the making of the institution,” said Dibyen Mukherjee, the Director of School Education, West Bengal.

 

Abdus Sattar, Minister for Minority Development and Welfare and Madrasah Education, said the selection of Hossain for the President’s award points to the efforts made by the state government to modernise madrasas. “We have been able to provide a system where all communities can get education together,” he said.

We regret not being able to do what we wanted to do, says Ratan Tata

By Indrani Dutta

Kolkata: West Bengal is very much a part of the Tata group's identity, said Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata on Monday, regretting that it could not do what it wanted to do in the State.

Mr. Tata was in the State on the occasion of the annual general meeting of the group company Tata Global Beverages (formerly Tata Tea). In response to a query whether the Tata group was planning to leave the city, he said: “We have not exited Calcutta. Our visits may be less. But we have a very warm feeling for this part of the country.”

The Cancer Centre which is coming up at New Town in Rajarhat in East Kolkata is likely to be dedicated to the people this year. “We hope it will save many lives,” he said.

He scotched rumours that investment in the State was being curtailed: “We have not changed our views in terms of investments. In fact we have increased our investment in the hospital and I hope that before the hospital comes up, those elements in Calcutta that may feel alien towards us will understand that we are still very much Indian and West Bengal is very much a part of our total corporate identity.”

Mr. Tata had a 45-minute session with West Bengal Governor M. K. Narayanan at Raj Bhavan. He also visited the Cancer Centre.

After the Tata Tea AGM in 2009 he had addressed a hurriedly convened joint press meet with State Industry Minister Nirupam Sen to reiterate that all other group investments were on track. The shareholders' fresh apprehension stems from the fact that the erstwhile Tata Tea has shifted its operational base to Bangalore. “We started in Calcutta, our head office remains in Calcutta.” he said.

Asked why the company was continuing with its listing at the Calcutta Stock Exchange, he said: “It is a respect for our roots. Our presence in the Calcutta Stock Exchange is a mark of respect to the place where we began. We do notice that there is little or no transaction but that listing we will keep.”

Since the announcement of relocation of the Nano project to Gujarat in 2008 following violent protests led by Trinamool Congress over land acquisition, the Tata Sons chief has had to reassure the State's people time and again about the group's abiding interest in West Bengal as an investment destination.

West Bengal govt announces pension for accredited journalists

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Sunday announced a post-retirement pension scheme for journalists and promised to implement a health insurance scheme for them soon.

"All accredited journalists will be given a monthly pension of Rs 2,000 after retirement. We are planning to raise this amount in the future," finance minister Asim Dasgupta said at an Independence Day function at the Press Club, Kolkata.

The minister said he had discussions with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee about a health insurance scheme for journalists and hoped he could announce a positive decision soon in this regard.

The state government has already decided to allow free travel to journalists in state-run public transport, including buses, trams and ferries.

Release Rs 1,400 cr for drought in West Bengal: CPI(M) to Centre

New Delhi:  The CPI(M) today urged the Centre to release Rs 1,400 crore to West Bengal to meet the situation arising out of severe drought in 11 districts, saying the amount was due on account of the employment guarantee scheme.

"We are not asking for charity, neither are we seeking aid from the PM's Relief Fund. We have urged the Centre to release Rs 1,400 crore which is due to the state government on account of the national rural employment guarantee scheme," CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.

His senior colleague Basudeb Acharia said he had met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and informed him that 11 districts of the state, which is the largest rice producer, have had deficient rainfall, ranging from 35 to 55 per cent. "Agricultural workers, who have worked under the scheme, are yet to get their wages for over 20 days as the funds have not been released by the Centre so far," he said.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard and also urged Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to send a central team to assess the drought situation, he said.

Asked whether the funds were not released as the state government had not submitted the utilisation certificates for the money sanctioned to it earlier, Acharia said these certificates have been "duly furnished. So there is no problem in releasing the funds. But why is the delay"?

To a question whether Trinamool Congress which was part of the UPA government was creating any obstacle in this process, Yechury said "After all, the government functions on the basis of collective functioning." "We hope that the Centre would release what is due to West Bengal," he said.

Polls in West Bengal on due date only: CEC

KOLKATA: Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi Friday said the assembly elections in West Bengal will be held at their due time only and not be advanced.

'There is no question of advancing assembly elections in West Bengal. Time for the polls is still away. And we have no reports to advance polls,' he said, adding that the assembly elections were due before June 11, 2011.

Participating in an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Quraishi said: 'Nothing on the radar. We come into the picture only six months before the due date. Before that we have no locus standi at all.'

'Before Dec 11, 2010 we are not in the picture at all. We can only say that the assembly elections in the state will be held between Dec 11, 2010 and June 11, 2011,' he added.

Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has been insisting on early polls in the Left Front-ruled state citing 'breakdown' of law and order there and that the government has lost the moral right to continue in office.

Quraishi maintained that they are satisfied with the preparedness of the state government, but declined to answer to a question whether the polls will be held in phases.

'The preparation of electoral rolls is our first priority and when the appropriate time will come, we will decide if the polls will be conducted in phases or not.'

Asked about the unexpected number of fresh applications for voter identity cards submitted, he said: 'We will ensure error free voter list will be prepared.'

'The independent observers, who came twice to oversee the preparation process, verified the 56 lakh new applications submitted before the state election commission,' Quraishi said.

He said that the independent observers will again come to oversee the process and a survey will be conducted to erase the names of the voter, who have migrated to other places or died.

Quraishi also said that people without voter identity cards would no more require any affidavit to cast their votes this time. 'People without voter cards are requested to communicate with the booth level officers for getting voter cards,' he said.

The poll panel chief was later scheduled to hold a meeting with the district magistrates and other state officials to discuss the poll preparedness.

West Bengal urban poor get Rs.400 crore for house building

23rd August, 2010

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has allocated Rs.400 crore this fiscal for building dwelling units or renovating the old ones for the urban poor, who did not benefit from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

A state government press release said Rs.1 lakh would be utilised for construction of each new house and Rs.60,000 for renovation of the existing ones.

 

'The beneficiaries are not required to pay a single farthing under this scheme. They may spend additional amount of money if possible, or may contribute to the scheme by way of manual labour,' the release said.

The government had allocated Rs.500 crore in the last financial year (2009-10) for the same purpose.

BENGALI SWEETS Gaining international flavor

Posted by Calcutta Tube

Bengal is known for its delectable sweets. Now it is going global in taste and marketing, keeping with the times, finds Baishali Mukherjee.

Bengali Sweets

Reshmi Singh, a doctor, was attending a marriage party of her colleague. It was an elaborate affair consisting of delicacies from all over India. Being a foodie she was enjoying every bit of her gastronomical experience. “But what came as a surprise was the dessert: traditional Bengali sweet Malpoa served with Brandy sauce! Though I knew about Bengali sweets gaining international flavour lately- but Brandy sauce! Simply out of the world,” she enthuses.

This kind of happy surprise is becoming common these days at opulent parties. With increasing overseas travel by Indians, food- along with many other things, are acquiring an international aura. Bengal sweet is not lagging behind.

Gulab Jamun - Bengali Sweet

From the archaic to the ultra modern, from the rich to the plebs- and from the veggies to the non-veg, sweets- typical Bengali sweets have successfully wooed them all. That includes celebrities, Bollywood stars to international sportspersons visiting Kolkata. Few can withstand the temptation of savouring a hot rosogolla or a Nalen Gurer sandesh (with a jaggary made from date palm). This item hits the menu during winter when this jaggery makes its appearance.

Rosogolla is believed to have been first made by Nabin Chandra Das, father of Krishna Chandra Das (The original owner of the famous sweet joint K C Das) in 1868, though some say that the rosogolla actually originated in Orissa and is as old as the Ratha Yatra in Puri. But sandesh was in vogue even before that. Though it is hard to determine exactly when the term ‘sandesh’ came to indicate a sweet made of chhana (sweetened cottage cheese) rather than kheer (thickened milk), it is reasonable to assume that the term became quite common by the later half of the 19th century.

Jilabi - Bengali Sweet

Sanjay Budhia, managing director, Patton Group, is a self confessed sweet lover. “I must confess I have a sweet tooth. In spite of restrictions – self imposed or otherwise, I take full advantage of the special occasions and gorge on sweets on special days like– Raksha Bandhan, Diwali etc. when you get an official license to indulge in.” Though he has tasted some of the new innovative sweets like the Black Current sandesh and liked it too, he confesses that “I prefer to stick to the traditional stuff when it comes to sweets.”

 

Indrani Mukherjee, a young entrepreneur who runs a boutique, loves sweet in any form. “I have tasted the strawberry and papaya flavored sandesh and loved it. But the mere mention of Bhim Nag’s (a famous sweetmeat shop in Bowbazar area) Abar Khabo sandesh or the Jawl Bhora sandesh of Surya Modak of Chandannagar, makes my mouth water. Still I feel that the experimentations are good, especially the recent innovation of low-calorie ‘Diabetic sandesh.” This sweet was born out of both necessity and demand by diabetic patients who love sweets but are forbidden to take them. With India arguably the Diabetes capital of the world, the reason is not difficult to find.

However, for the renowned writer Mani Shanker Mukherjee of Chowringhee fame, experimentation with Bengali sweets is a no-no. He believes that there are certain things in this world like the classical music, where there isn’t any scope for experimentation, Bengali sweets should stand firm against the tide of interference. He insists that nothing can substitute a rosogolla or a Nalen gurer sandesh. “Traditional Bengali Sweets”, Shankar says, “are so rich and satisfying in taste that they don’t need to be changed in any way.”

Nevertheless, Bengali sweet is now spreading its wings to woo the new generation with its many variations. Savour these mouth-watering items: Parijat (a mix of pista, nuts and kheer), Moushumi (sandesh stuffed with nuts and coconut), Golapi Pera (pure chhena rolled in rose water), Dilkhush (kheer, chhena and pista) and Sourabh (chhena with sugar globules and pista).

Rosogolla - Bengali Sweet

Maestro Satyajit Ray was a frequenter at Nokur, so now are his son Sandip Ray and Tollywood director Rituparno Ghosh, often billed as Ray’s protégé,. Singer Manna Dey has a sweet tooth; so do actors Vidya Balan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai who try out the Bengali goodies when in Kolkata. “Bengali sweets are now travelling beyond Bengal. This recent gourmet trend is aimed at keeping sweets of Bengal contemporary and relevant to younger people,” says Prashanta Nundy of Nokur. Therefore, to tempt the new palate, the 165-year old Nokur is adding new flavours—orange, pineapple, mango lichi, black currant and kiwi—to its sandesh. Nokur already ‘exports’ its sweets to various parts of the country and abroad, from its base in North Kolkata.

 

What used to be a mere family-based industry is now looking beyond the horizon and talking of export markets and patents, terms unthinkable in the past. But their primary focus is to strengthen their footing to the other parts of India.

Globalization together with the new market reality has resulted in a change in the character of Bengali sweets which now come with a blend of nuts, pistachio, rose water and cardamom. The enterprising confectioners are honing the desi spread with some internationally preferred flavours like black current, kiwi and strawberry. So you have Alphanso Dahi from Balaram; Black currant sandesh/ Kiwi sandesh/ Strawberry Rabri from Nokur; Strawberry Rosogolla from Gupta’s; Tulsi Doi and Tulsi sandesh from Hindustan Sweets and Soya Roll, Rose-cream Peshwari, Orange Dahi from K.C. Das.

Sondesh

Says Rabindra Kumar Paul, general secretary of West Bengal Sweetmeat Makers’ Association and director of Hindustan Sweets: “ Though people of Asian origin are our primary customers, Americans and Europeans are increasingly taking interest in this delicacy. They are gradually getting aware that where a pastry is full empty calories, a sandesh or rosogulla have some nutritional value. However, compared to the Indian customers who often ask for the international flavours, the foreigners and the NRIs prefer the traditional flavours.”

K.C. Das, arguably the most popular brand of Bengali sweets (particularly for its canned rosogollas), is also gearing up to go global, albeit more aggressively as is clear from its retail spread—five shops in Kolkata, as many as nine in Bangalore and one shop in Mysore. What was a shanty shop at corner of Baghbazar in North Kolkata way back in 1866, is now Boasting of items like many innovative sweets.

Hemen Das, one of the proprietors of K.C. Das, is excited about their Bangalore outlet. “We are having 1.5 times more sale there than in Kolkata. Most of our customers there are non-Bengalis,” he says. The popularity of Bengali sweets among the non-Bengalis can also be made out from the fact that Haldiram’s which mainly cater to the non-Bengali customers are now coming up with sweets like rosogolla giving steep competition to the traditional outlets.

 

So, would the fusion sweets mark the end of the good ol’ mishti? A vehement no comes from Amor Bhattacharya, an NRI living in Dallas: “Traditional Bengali sweets are inimitable and have proved their worth. They are part of history now. Let them come up with items like Carrot rosogolla, Soya rosogolla, Tulsi rosogolla, but nothing can take the place of a plain hot Rosogolla”. But Atalanta Banerjee of Bangalore seems quite happy with the fusion sweets, “I just love to savour a Rosecream Peshwari. It melts in your mouth and the flavour is just awesome. I often visit the K.C. Das outlet on my way back from office.”

The next course? Sweet makers are now taking steps to integrate traditional and modern methods of production. K.C. Das is carrying on research at its southern unit in Bangalore to improve the flavour of its prime product, the rosogolla.

Aiding these efforts is Jadavpur University, where scientists are trying to evolve standardized procedures to be followed by the sweet makers. “Since health and fitness have become important now-a-days, Kalyani University, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology and IIT-Kharagpur are coming up with new ideas to help us develop new sweets that are healthy,” says Paul.

Ranging from traditional to international, Bengal’s repertoire of sweets is getting more and more colourful and exotic thus making its birth place the dessert capital of India.

Top Maoist leader arrested

KOLKATA:  senior member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) was arrested here on Saturday by a joint team of the Bihar police and the Kolkata police's Special Task Force (STF), even as Maoists observed a 24-hour bandh in Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts to protest against the security operations in the region.

Sources in the STF said Musafir Sahani, who operated under names such as Anand, Alokda and Manik, was a member of the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh state committees of the CPI(Maoist).

He has over 15 cases of murder, arson and sedition pending against him in Bihar.

The Bihar police took Sahani to Bihar, after a court here granted four days of his transit remand.

Punjab MLA visits driver accused of bid to kill Mamata

KOLKATA: With a Punjab MLA on Thursday visiting Gurjant Singh, a lorry driver facing the charge of attempting to murder Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on August 9, the case has taken a new turn.

Even as there are reports that several political leaders of Punjab have pleaded Mr. Singh's case with leaders of the Trinamool Congress, MLA Mangat Rai Bansal met Mr. Singh at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) here.

One of the escort vehicles was hit by Mr. Singh's lorry when the convoy of Ms. Banerjee, who was returning after attending a rally at Lalgarh, was re-entering the highway after making an unscheduled stop.

He was immediately detained by the police at Kolaghat in West Bengal's Purbo Medinipur district.

Mr. Singh claimed that he lost control of the truck as the brakes failed. He was arrested on the charge of rash driving and released on bail. However, enraged Trinamool Congress supporters laid a siege to the police station, alleging that Mr. Singh's act was deliberate and part of a conspiracy of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was re-arrested after a First Information Report was filed by Trinamool Congress MP Subhendu Adhikari, charging him with attempt to murder.

While Ms. Banerjee has stayed away from Parliament and the public eye claiming that she was suffering from the injuries she sustained in the incident, Mr. Singh has spent the past 10 days in police custody.

The CID is now investigating the matter. “Since the charges levelled against him are very serious, the matter will have to be carefully investigated,” Additional Director-General of CID Raj Kanojia told The Hindu.

Mr. Kanojia said the report from the Regional Transport Office confirmed Mr. Singh's statement that the brakes failed, but the CID was waiting for a conclusive forensic report. Senior CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim recently raised doubts about Ms. Banerjee's version of the sequence of events.

“She usually demands a CBI probe. Why not ask for one now?” he asked.

(THE HINDU)

Save cultivated crops: Buddhadeb

By Special Correspondent

The Hindu, August 22, 2010 

Chief Minister outlines three tasks, on a tour of drought-hit areas

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, now on a tour of the State's drought-hit areas, has said that the prime task before the government was to save whatever crop had been sown in the 11 districts where cultivation had been badly affected by the errant monsoon. Protecting livelihoods was also very important, he said.

“Our first task now is to save whatever crop has already been cultivated by the farmers in these districts. We have talked to our people in charge of minor irrigation projects and also told people in the State power utilities that we must ensure that power supply remains intact so that minor irrigation facilities can be harnessed to save the little crop that the farmers have been able to cultivate.” The State has already sanctioned Rs. 50 crores towards the repair of existing deep tubewells and digging of new ones.

The Chief Minister, who commenced his tour of the drought-affected districts with Bardhaman, held meetings with district magistrates and panchayat functionaries from of the districts of Bardhaman, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Hooghly.

He said that the second task was to take up early cropping of the winter crop rabi, in areas where sowing has been low. “Three types of alternate crops could be taken up. These were maize, oilseeds and dal (pulses),” he said.

A Central team of agro-scientists is to arrive shortly to conduct soil-tests and distribute seeds of alternate crops in the drought-hit districts. This followed a letter written by Mr. Bhattacharjee in this regard to the Union Agriculture Minister this week.

Mr. Bhattacharjee said that the third task was to create jobs under the 100 days' job scheme to protect the farmers' livelihoods. He said that while in Purulia only 6.5 per cent of the normal acreage has been cultivated, in the cases of two other arid districts – Birbhum and Bankura — the figure was around 33 per cent. The rains have been kinder to Hooghly and Bardhaman, where the deficiency was about 25 per cent. Of the 43 lakh hectares the State planned to cultivate during this season, cultivation on 11 lakh has become uncertain due to adverse weather condition, according to Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta.

Mr. Bhattacharjee was also scheduled to tour Nadia, another affected district where he would take stock of the neighbouring districts of Murshidabad and then Malda. On Sunday, he is slated to go to Purbo Medinipur, from where he will monitor Paschim Medinipur, and the two remaining districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.

Sunderbans tigers' prey ‘die of shock'

THE HINDU, KOLKATA, August 21, 2010:  Six spotted deer from a herd of 25 that was being moved from the Bibhuti Bhushan Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district to supplement the prey base of the Sunderbans tiger died early on Thursday morning.

A “post-mortem” will be carried out and it seems they died of “shock” experienced during transportation, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director Subrat Mukherjee told The Hindu over telephone.

The herd was being brought to the Deer Acclimatisation Centre in Dobaki. Here they would be constantly monitored before being released in the wild — over a distance of about 200 km, Mr. Mukherjee said.

“There was a delay at a place where the road was severely damaged. The deer had to be shifted from the trucks onto tractors, and then moved back onto the trucks, which took considerable time. It is possible they experienced some trauma then.”

“While three were found dead on arrival, three others were alive. But we could not do much.”

Such occurrences are not uncommon, as spotted deer were delicate animals, Sunderban Biosphere Reserve director Pradeep Vyas said.

Transferring the deer into the wild was essential as several facilities where the animals were being kept were overcrowded.

“The Bibhuti Bhushan Wildlife Sanctuary has nearly 450 spotted deer, whereas it has a capacity to accommodate only 150 deer,” Mr. Vyas said.

The Alipore Zoological Garden in the city is facing similar problems. It had decided to relocate about 60 deer to the Sunderbans. However, it may be deferred for some time.

“The proposal has been sanctioned by Chief Wildlife Warden S. B. Mondal, but we shall have to proceed slowly in this matter. We have to ensure that such incidents are reduced to a minimum,” Mr. Vyas said.

Kolkata is world's 8th most inexpensive city

By SINS

Saturday, 21 August 2010, 12:17 IST

Bangalore: We always hear of surveys done to find out which is the best city or country in the world. There are studies done to find out in which city is the standard of living very expensive and so on and so forth. Rarely do we come across a study or survey done to locate the most inexpensive city in the world to live in.

Now here comes a survey to find out the least expensive city in the world, carried out by the 2010 Mercer Cost of Living Survey. The survey threw out some very interesting results.

Kolkata (ranked 8th) emerged as the only Indian city to make it to the list of the world's 10 least expensive cities. The capital of West Bengal has a populace of more than 15 million. The city is fondly referred to as the cultural capital of India.

 

The city that held the top spot is Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, followed at a close third.

 

It is no surprise that the cities featuring in this unique list are located majorly in third world countries or developing nations.

 

Here is the complete list of the cities in ascending order (one to ten): Karachi (Pakistan), Managua (Nicaragua), Islamabad (Pakistan), La Paz (Bolivia), Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Kolkata (India), Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and Windhoek (Republic of Namibia).

West Bengal kharif paddy production expected to fall 16%

25 Aug, 2010, 06.11PM IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Paddy production in drought- affected West Bengal is likely to fall by over 16 per cent during the current kharif season to 87 lakh tonnes.

The state produced 104 lakh tonnes of paddy in the last season. The state government has already announced drought in 11 districts (out of 19), including Burdwan, called as the rice bowl of the state, due to scanty rains in the ongoing monsoon season. "The production of paddy in the state is likely to be 17 lakh tonnes less than the last kharif season," West Bengal's agriculture minister Naren Dey told PTI over phone.

Dey said that sowing is also expected to come down to around 30 lakh hectares from 41.5 lakh hectares in the last kharif season. "Before the beginning of the current kharif season, we had targeted paddy sowing on 43.79 lakh hectares as against 41.5 lakh hectares of area in the last season. However, owing to scanty rains, paddy can be sown on around 30 lakh hectares only," Dey said.

West Bengal's rice produce has been estimated at around 149 lakh tonnes for 2009-10 crop season, ending June. The paddy-rice conversion rate is 67 per cent.

The truant monsoon has not only affected West Bengal, it has impacted rice sowing in other eastern states like Bihar and Jharkhand. The Bihar government has already announced all 38 districts as drought-affected while Jharkhand has declared drought in 12 districts out of 24.

The dip in output in West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, however, would not have much impact on the country's overall paddy production in the ongoing kharif season as sowing area has increased in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh among other northern states. As per the latest data available, area under paddy has increased by seven per cent as on August 20 in the ongoing 2010-11 kharif sowing season to 29.75 million hectares on the back of a good monsoon. The higher area under paddy augurs well for the country, as rice output had declined by 10 million tonnes in the 2009- 10 crop year (July-June) due to the severe drought in 2009.

Trinamul Maoist Nexus Reconfirmed

PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACY EDITORIAL

15th AUGUST, 2010

THE rally held by the TMC – Trinamul Maoist Combine – at Lalgarh on August 9 reconfirms, if ever such a reconfirmation was required, that the Trinamul Congress and the Maoists have, indeed, been political collaborators in creating mayhem and anarchy in certain areas of West Bengal. The murderous assaults by this combine has already martyred 255 leaders of the CPI(M). Most, if not all of these, belong to the poorest of the exploited classes and tribals, whose interests, ironically, the Maoists claim to champion drawing the blind romantic adulation by some `intellectuals’ and `social activists’.

An embarrassed and cornered Manmohan Singh-led government tried to duck, unsuccessfully, the issue of one of its cabinet members being caught red handed in the open political collaboration with the Maoists. They took refuge behind the argument that they shall return to both the houses of parliament after having “ascertained the facts”. Ironically, the very next day, August 11, the minister of state for home affairs stood up in reply to a starred question in the Rajya Sabha on the involvement of Maoists in railway accidents stating: “Investigation conducted reveals that Police Santras Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC/PCPA), a frontal organisation of Maoists, was involved in damaging the railway track, thereby causing the accident. CBI has arrested 12 persons so far in this case”. It is the very same minister for railways, whose primary job, under oath of the constitution is to protect the life of passengers traveling on the Indian railways and to improve its safety standards, who is openly collaborating with the Maoists. She has openly advocated the withdrawal of the operations of the security forces against the Maoist violence. She, in fact, has gone to the extent of asserting that Maoist leader Azad was `murdered’ and not killed in an encounter as claimed by the security forces.

The Trinamul-Maoist nexus became abundantly clear when, according to media reports: “Maoist politburo member Koteswar Rao alias Kishanji once again batted for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Azad issue. “There is no doubt that our politburo member and central committee spokesperson Charakuri Rajkumar alias Azad was treacherously killed by the members of Andhra Pradesh police special intelligence branch in a fake encounter. Mamata Banerjee spoke the truth and there is no reason behind the furore over the issue in parliament”. This comes from a Maoist leader whose party openly rejects parliamentary democracy and calls for a `people’s war’ against the Indian State!

Unable to defend the role of an important ally and cabinet colleague, the UPA-II government through its minister for home affairs, P Chidambaram, stated in the Rajya Sabha, “No one should support the Maoists and the government will certainly not encourage anybody who does so.” However, the UPA-II government, in a crass display of political opportunism, requiring the numbers of TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha for the survival of this government, is tolerating such `support to the Maoists’ making a mockery of its commitment to safeguard India’s internal security.

Through these columns, we had drawn attention to an irreconcilable contradiction that continues to plague the UPA-II government. The prime minister has repeatedly asserted that Maoist violence constitutes “the gravest threat to India’s internal security”. Yet, its own cabinet colleague, under the leadership of this very prime minister, openly collaborates with Maoist violence and defends the attempted subversion of parliamentary democracy.

The composition of the people gathered in Lalgarh clearly exposes the reasons for organising this meeting. The overwhelming bulk of the people were brought by huge number of transportation vehicles from outside of Lalgarh. The fact that the people of that area stayed away in large numbers shows the growing political isolation of the Trinamul Congress combine. It is precisely in order to strike terror and browbeat the local population into supporting them that this rally was organised.

Clearly, the Trinamul Congress has exposed itself to stooping to the lowest of levels in its quest to gain in the forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. In the bargain, neither the safeguarding of innocent life nor strengthening the unity and integrity of India are of any concern. If the UPA-II government and prime minister Manmohan Singh continue to turn a deaf ear to this threat, then India will have to pay a heavy price. Brazen political opportunism to continue to remain in office cannot be allowed to sacrifice the interests of India’s unity, integrity and internal security. Like in the late-sixties and early-seventies when the CPI(M) politically fought and defeated the mindless terror and violence unleashed by the Naxalites, so shall it do now with their latest avatar of Maoists.

The defence of India’s unity and integrity must rise above the petty electoral pursuits and crass political opportunism.

CPI(M) calls to launch Countrywide Campaign, September 12 to 18, Against Attacks on Party & Left Front In West Bengal

THE extended meeting of the CPI(M) Central Committee, held in Vijayawada from August 7 to 10, has called for conduct of a week-long countrywide campaign, from September 12 to 18. During this campaign, the party units all over the country will express solidarity with the CPI(M) and the Left Front of West Bengal, against the dastardly attacks they are facing from the reactionary combine led by Trinamul Congress and its Maoist collaborators. The campaigns aims at mobilising the Left and democratic forces in the country against these attacks.