Rs.16-bn upgrade of Kolkata airport launched

Kolkata, Dec 29 : Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Monday set the ball rolling for a Rs.16-billion modernisation of the international airport here, which will include a new terminal, modern taxiways and extension of a runway so that it can handle the giant Airbus A-380 aircraft.

The modernisation project, the foundation stone for which was laid by West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, is targeted for completion by May 2011.The project launch was attended by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechuri.

The upgrade will raise the airport’s handling capacity to around 20 million passengers annually from 4.9 million now - 4.06 million of whom are domestic and the remaining 882,000 are international air travellers.

In his address at the inauguration function, Patel said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will not borrow a single rupee for modernisation of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. ‘Investment will come from internal resources,’ the aviation minister said.

Patel said 35 airports would come up at non-metro cities, which will be completed by 2009-end, and added that a ‘world class’ airport will be opened at Srinagar next month. The minister said 20 more airports, including those at Kolkata and Chennai, will be upgraded on an investment of Rs.120 billion.

Turning to the proposed airport at Andal in West Bengal’s Burdwan district, Patel said: ‘When the airport comes up there, it will be the government’s first airport under the Greenfield Airport Policy’. Emphasising the need for the revamp at Kolkata airport, Bhattacharjee said it was essential for enhancing business relations with South East Asian countries.

Following the modernisation plans of Mumbai and Delhi airports, Kolkata airport was supposed to have been upgraded in a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. But Patel had to shelve the plan in the face of stiff opposition from the Left parties. The modernisation work is now being done on a cash and contract basis. Delhi and Mumbai airports modernisation works are done by private consortiums led respectively by companies such as GMR and GVK.

Jai Balaji gets land for West Bengal steel project

KOLKATA, 29 December: The West Bengal government on Monday allotted 748.97 acres to Jai Balaji Industries for setting up a five-million-tonne integrated steel plant at Raghunathpur in Purulia district. "We will get another 250 acres over and above this within the next 10-15 days," company chairman and managing director Aditya Jajodia said after receiving the land allotment order from state industries minister Nirupam Sen.

Altogether 3,700 acres are required for the project. The first phase of the Rs 16,000-crore project comprises a two-million-tonne steel plant, a 400 MW power plant and a one-million-tonne cement plant, Jajodia said. The total investment for the first phase will be Rs 4,000 crore, out of which Rs 1,500 crore will go towards setting up the power plant, Rs 200 crore for the cement facility, and the remaining Rs 2,300 crore on the steel plant.

"The total project cost has come down by 30 per cent and that of the first phase by 25 per cent because of developments in domestic and international markets," he said. The company expects additional turnover of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore from the first phase, which will be completed within 36 months of the start of the project. "We will start working on the project within 15-20 days," Jajodia said.

The total project will comprise a five-million tonne integrated steel plant, three-million tonne cement plant and a 1,215 MW captive power plant. Jajodia said the project involves a debt-equity ratio of 2:1, with a Rs 700-crore loan having already been secured from a consortium of 20 banks. Non-coking coal, which will be supplied by the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corp, will constitute 60 per cent of the total coal requirement.

Jai Balaji Group also said it would raise Rs 700 crore from a consortium of 20 banks to part finance its Rs 4,000 crore first phase work in Purulia. “We have already tied up Rs 700 crore from a consortium of 20 banks. This will be used to part finance our Rs 4,000 crore first phase of work in that area,” a company official said.

The group plans to fund the proposed investment in the 2:1 debt-equity, he said. The official said that Jai Balaji Group plans to start the construction work on the project “as soon as possible” and complete the first phase in the next 36 months. It has received close to 750 acre from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and hopes to get an additional 250 acre from it in the next one month.

“Around 1,000 acres is required in the first phase, while our requirement is 2,700 acres for the entire project,” the official said. Jai Balaji Group plans to invest Rs 16,000 crore in the project to put up a five million tonne integrated steel plant, th ree million tonne steel plant and 1,215 MW power plant for captive consuption.

CM blames Opposition for halting development

Kolkata, 28 December: Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee challenged the Opposition on Sunday by saying that the land acquired for the small car project in Singur will only be used for industrial purposes.

Addressing the 22nd West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) employees’ union state conference at Barasat, Bhattacharjee accused the Opposition of “creating all sorts of problems for the government when it tries to undertake any kind of development work for which land acquisition is required”.

“They are a harmful power. In North 24 Parganas, they are preventing us from starting work on the widening of National Highway 34. Like Singur, the Trinamool Congress is causing disruptions here too. It was because of them that the Tata Motors factory could not come up. Now they are trying to create more trouble by demanding that the government returns all the acquired land,” he added.

Bhattacharjee, however, claimed all was not lost. “Some good news is coming up. I just want to say that only factories can come up on the Singur land, which has been acquired for industry. We will make it happen,” he said.

The chief minister also slammed the Maoists at the conference. “They want the inclusion of three districts to Jharkhand. Are the common people fools? The residents of those districts are part of our development programme. Will they get the amenities that we provide in Bengal?” “The Maoists want to create terror in the state. They are moving away from democracy and heading towards terrorism,” said Bhattacharjee .

“They are murdering policemen and creating obstacles in administrative work by threatening government officials,” he added.

Senior CBI officer caught taking bribe in Kolkata

DSP Partha Sarathi Bose was arrested after a Delhi CBI team laid a trap at Ultadanga crossing

KOLKATA, 28 December: The Deputy Superintendent of Police of CBI, Special Crime Branch, Kolkata, Partha Sarathi Bose, was arrested on Sunday by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Wing (Delhi) while taking bribe. With Bose being the officer in-charge of various sensitive cases in West Bengal, including Tapasi Malik murder case, Chhota Angaria case and Rabindranath Tagore Nobel theft case, the arrest is expected to create a storm. He is the second high-ranking officer in the Special Crime Branch (SCB) of CBI to be arrested. On August 23, 2007, a month before his retirement, A K Sahay, an SP, was arrested on charges of extortion and amassing wealth disproportionate to his income. Sahay was in charge of the SCB and Bose’s immediate superior.

“The DSP has been asking for Rs 50,000 from a person and harassing him. After receiving the complaint, our special team from the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch went to Kolkata. A trap was laid and he was caught red-handed,” said a source from Delhi.

According to the CBI, Avatar Singh, a truck operator from Kolkata, lodged a complaint with the agency saying the DSP was asking for a bribe and threatening to implicate him in the murder of an officer with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Guwahati in 2006.

On September 12, 2006, Tarun Kumar Dutta, the DRI officer who had reportedly intercepted drug consignments estimated to be worth over Rs 40 crore in the international market, was shot dead by Assam-based drug mafia kingpin Samsul Haque Talukdar alias Pakhi Mian in Guwahati. Pakhi Mian was arrested this year on April 22 by the West Bengal Police from Baguiati. The SCB is investigating the case.

“According to Avatar Singh’s complaint, Bose said his garage was frequented by one Munna Musalman, a co-accused of Pakhi Mian. Bose threatened him that he would implicate him in the murder case if he failed to shell out Rs 50,000. He made a number of phone calls to Singh and also met him personally,” said another source. A trap was laid and Avatar called up Bose to arrange for a meeting to hand over the money. Bose and Singh fixed Ultadanga crossing as the venue. Bose was caught when he arrived at the spot at 12.10 pm and took the cash. Teams raided his office in Salt Lake and his residence in Ultadanga. The raids were on till last reports came in.

Bose, who was leading the investigation in a number of high-profile cases, is one of the most important CBI officers in Bengal. He faced sharp criticism from the ruling CPI(M) when he arrested Suhrid Dutta, party’s Hooghly district committee member, and his accomplice Debu Malik in the Tapasi Malik murder case. The two were recently convicted for life by a lower court. Bose was also criticised by the ruling party for his investigation into the Chhota Angaria case.

According to sources, the CBI top brass in Delhi is now preparing to replace Bose in the SCB’s Kolkata office, which is already reeling under a shortage of senior officers. Superintendent of Police (CBI) S Sunder Rajan was recently transferred to Orissa and held joint charge for both Kolkata and Orissa offices. Bose was at present in charge of the SCB Kolkata, in the absence of any superior.

Govt to demand centralised system to identify fishermen

Kolkata, 28 December: The state government will demand a centralised system for all the coastal states to confirm the identity of those fishermen, whose boat is intercepted by the police on the basis of suspicion. The demand will be raised in a meeting of home secretaries and DGPs of all the coastal states convened by Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta in Delhi on Monday.

The meeting will make an assessment of the progress made by the state governments in securing coastal areas of their respective states. “If a boat from Andhra Pradesh or Orissa is intercepted in Bengal, we may like to check the identity of the fishermen. But unless we have access to a centralised system, we cannot ascertain their identity. Similar situation may arise if a boat registered with us is intercepted in other states,” said Asok Mohan Chakrabarti, state Home Secretary, who will attend the meeting as well as the tripartite talks on Gorkhaland.

He added that if he could not make it on time for the coastal security meeting it will be DGP A B Vohra who will attend it. The West Bengal government is going to set up six coastal police stations and 17 outposts along its 269-km-long shore with Bangladesh. It is also going to get buy boats, sophisticated weapons and other equipment for coastal security.

According to Chakrabarti, besides these measures, the state government will furnish another plan to the Central government to ensure security along the state’s coast line.

“Fidel in Kolkata” photo exhibition

KOLKATA, 26 December : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee inaugurated, here on Friday, an exhibition of photographs taken during the great revolutionary, Fidel Castro’s, brief visit to the city in September 1973.

Mr. Castro visited the city only once — on his way back from Hanoi — and that too for less than an hour. But the memories of that short visit, captured in the photographs taken by the late photographer Satya Sen, will give city residents the opportunity of reliving the past at the “Fidel in Kolkata” exhibition.

Organised by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation in collaboration with Nandan-West Bengal Film Centre and the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 35 rare black and white photographs of Mr. Castro’s visit to the city will be displayed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of his visit as well as the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.

Mr. Bhattacharjee felt that this exposition would provide an opportunity for all people who were unaware of Mr. Castro’s visit, to savour those moments. He said the former President of Cuba had been an inspiration to people worldwide.

“Fresh in your memories should be legendary football player, Maradona’s visit to the city. His affection for Fidel and Cuba are well known…I can imagine that the same crowds were drawn by Fidel when he came to the city,” said Miguel Angel Ramirez Ramos, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba.

He added that the message behind the exhibition was of friendship, solidarity and mutually shared values in a better world where social justice could prevail. Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and eminent filmmakers Mrinal Sen and Goutam Ghosh were also present at the ceremony.

Referring to Mr. Castro’s famous speech — “… History will absolve me,” Mr. Basu said that history had already absolved the great leader who had become history himself.

Assembly bypoll tomorrow in Bengal

Purulia, Dec 26: The bypoll to Para assembly constituency in Purulia district of West Bengal would be held at 7 am tomorrow.However, the bypoll to the assembly seats of Nandigram in East Midnapore and Sujapur in Malda district, which were scheduled to be held together, have been deferred to January 5.

A total of 161,042 voters would cast vote for candidates of CPI(M), Congress, BJP, PDS and JMM(S). Security has been tightened with the deployment of three companies of central paramilitary forces in all the 174 booths and 23 auxilary booths of the Maoist-affected district.
Micro observers have also been posted in 154 booths.

The district & states border with Jharkhand have been sealed by erecting five checkposts between Para and Raghunathpur of the district and Bokaro and Dhanbad districts of Jharkhand.

GJM to attend tripartite talks on December 29

Siliguri, Dec 26: The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) today said it would take part in second tripartite talks with the Centre and West Bengal government in New Delhi on December 29."The single agenda of GJM is statehood," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri who would lead a 17-member delegation to New Delhi tomorrow for the second round of tripartite talks said here.

He criticised West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for reportedly stating that the Gorkhaland proposal would not be accepted.

West Bengal CM, rules out possibility of retrenchment of govt. employees owing to worldwide recession

KOLKATA,Dec 26,2008: The West Bengal Chief Minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has ruled out the possibility of retrenchment of government employees in the wake of ongoing worldwide recession. Addressing a public rally organised by the co-ordination committee of the government employees at Jalpaiguri district yesterday Mr. Bhattacharjee clarified that the government will not take any step to downsize its staff strength to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the empowered committee, State Finance Minister Dr Ashim Das Gupta said in Kolkata that the committee has urged the centre to allocate additional 20,000 crore rupees to the States to tackle the recessionary situation.

Manna Dey awarded DLit by Jadavpur university

KOLKATA, Thursday, December 25, 2008 : Singing legend Manna Dey, known as much in Bollywood as in the Bengali film industry for his versatile voice, was awarded an onorary doctorate of literature (DLit) by Jadavpur University.

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi presented the DLit degree to Dey, 88, for his contribution to the Indian music industry at the 53rd annual convocation of the varsity here."All I do is a little bit of singing and don't think I deserve such an honour. It feels great and I am elated," Dey told reporters after receiving the award in the afternoon.

Dey is regarded as one of the veteran playback singers of Hindi and vernacular films. Some of the noted films he sang for are Padosan, Waqt, Shree 420, Teesri Kasam, Upkaar, Mere Huzoor and Zanjeer.

CPI(M) leader killed by Cong supported anti-socials

RAIGANJ, Dec. 24, 2008: Md Arsad Ali (43), the secretary of North Dinajpur unit of Citu-affiliated Federation of West Bengal Bidi Tobacco workers union and CPI(M) Dalkhola zonal committe member was killed by congress anti-socials last night.

He was a resident of Kamartore village under Karandighi police station of North Dinajpur. At around 10.30 p.m. he was returning home riding a bike when anti-socials attacked him near Vurri village. They hit him on the head with an iron rod and he died on the spot. The CPI(M) and CITU leaders of North Dinajpur district alleged that Congress supporters killed him.

In protest against the killing, both the CPI(M) and CITU called a 12-hour bandh in Katandighi police station areas on 26 December. The secretary of North Dinajpur CITU committee and one of the district secretariat members of North Dinajpur CPI(M), Mr Subir Biswas, said: "Two anti-socials who were Congress members of Karandighi, were arrested and we have a report that a group of Congress members killed him with sharp weapons. Demanding the immediate arrest of all the accused Congress members, we will organise a 12-hour bandh in Karandighi police station areas on 26 December. If they are not arrested, will start a vigorous agitation against both the police and the Congress.

The Police Super of North Dinajpur district, Mr Shankar Singha said: "One Mangal Mahanta and Budhia Singh of Karandighi who were allegedly Congress members have been arrested for this killing and investigation into the incident has started."

Buddhadeb rules out Gorkhaland

Jalpaiguri (WB), Dec 24, 2008: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said his government will not bow down to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) pressure for separate Gorkhaland."The GJM leadership in Darjeeling hills wants to divide the state. But, we do not want it and it will not happen. We have asked its leadership for talks and they will sit in a tripartite talks on December 29," Bhattacharjee told a rally here.

He invited the GJM leadership to take part in elections and said "those who would come to power by election will rule the Hills." Citing the example of Kamtapuri rebels of north Bengal, Bhattacharjee said, "The local Rajbanshi youths took up arms and went to the jungle. We have initiated talks with them and most of them have returned to the mainstream. A few are based in Bangladesh only."

WB govt to implement HC order for use of LPG in autos

KOLKATA, 23 December, 2008 : The West Bengal Government said it was determined to implement the High Court order for use of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) in all the autos. All the autos will have to get converted to LPG mode by December 31.

The state Government shall implement the court order by the deadline, Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty said.He said about 3,000 auto owners had already applied for using LPG in their vehicles.Calcutta High Court had recently passed the order to check the high level of air pollution caused by the three wheelers.

INDIASOFT 2009, to be held in Kolkata

Kolkata, December 23, 2008: The ninth edition of the largest IT global networking event in India, INDIASOFT 2009, to be held in Kolkata, is targeting the new emerging markets of South Africa, Spain, France and Germany for software exports and services.

Last fiscal, the country exported software worth $45 billion and the target this fiscal is around $58 billion. Out of this, $3.6 billion has been earmarked for electronics hardware and $55 billion for software and services.

“The software market in South Africa is estimated to be around $12 billion and we want to tap this potential market. At present, we export 0.7% of it only and want to increase it,” said DK Sareen, executive director of Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC).
INDIASOFT 2009 will have around 120 buyers from these focus regions and also from Latin America, he said. The event will be held in Kolkata on February 26 and 27, 2009.

Around 80 domestic exhibitors will participate in the event. When asked about the last fiscal figures of the IT industry, Sareen said the industry did a business of $25 billion from April to September, involving $2 billion in the electronics hardware and $23.65 billion in software services segment.

“We have already achieved 45% of the total target of $58 billion in the first six months and let us see how we fare in the coming months,” Sareen said. The first six months recorded a growth rate of 30%.

West Bengal IT minister Debesh Das, who was present in the curtain raiser of the event, made it clear that INDIASOFT 2009 is a big opportunity for the city’s small and medium scale enterprises in the IT sector. “IT SMEs in the city are surpassing the SMEs of Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai in quality,” Das told reporters.

SMEs are the key to industrial development, feels state government

kolkata, 23 December, 2008: The Left Front government seems to have focussed on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for carrying out the industrialisation plan in the state. After Tata Motors pulled out of the state and several major industrial projects — Indonesia’s Salim group and Jindal’s steel plant — were put on hold, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is banking on SMEs.

This year, the theme of the Industrial India Trade Fair (IITF) has accordingly been kept: “Resurgent Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises”. “The trade fair is to promote the SME sector of the state since this sector is thriving here. It can promote industrialisation in the state as a whole and promote export-import business abroad as well,” said Bhattacharjee while speaking at the inauguration of the 22nd Industrial India Trade Fair (IITF) organised jointly by the Bharat National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BNCCI) and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

Bhattacharjee also said the global downturn is a severe crisis which has not only affected the financial sector but also the industrial sector. “We are facing a serious economic crisis worldwide and nobody knows when it will get over. Even though the Prime Minister has taken several measures to prevent the economic crisis from affecting the country, at present, business houses and stakeholders should come forward and join hands to overcome these difficult times,” added Bhattacharjee.

He said that he has also been discussing measures to face the slowdown with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. “At a time when the world is affected by the global recession, West Bengal is not an exception,” Bhattacharjee said.

This time the trade fair has been organised under the shadow of the Mumbai terror attack and global recession. The fair has already seen a reduction in the number of stalls. While there were 800 exhibitors last year, this year the number stood at 700.

Hunt on for killers

KOLKATA, 23rd December: The West Bengal police and their counterparts in Jharkhand are on the hunt for the suspected Maoists responsible for the gunning down of two policemen in the Barabazar area of the State’s Purulia district on Monday.

Director-General of Police A.B. Vohra has gone to the spot and will submit a report on his return, a senior State government official said here on Tuesday.

The assailants are suspected to belong to a Maoist squad based in adjoining Jharkhand to where they fled with weapons seized from the victims. They had mingled with the crowd in the Barabazar area before carrying out the attacks.

Buddhadeb for joint effort to tackle economic slowdown

KOLKATA, 23rd December, 2008: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Tuesday that the Centre, the State governments and business entrepreneurs should come together to find a way out of the economic slowdown the country was facing in the wake of the global meltdown.

“The Government of India is trying to face the situation in its own way. I do not know if that is enough,” he said at the inauguration of the 22nd Industrial India Trade Fair here on Tuesday.

Pointing out that India’s growth rate had fallen to 7 per cent in 2008-09 from 8 per cent in 2007-08, he said that the 9 to 10 per cent growth rate by 2012 envisaged by the 11th Five-Year Plan appeared unlikely. Mr. Bhattacharjee said that the drop in the inflation figure was due to the falling crude oil price in the international market. It was not a sign of a strong Indian economy.

“The situation is serious in West Bengal too. But I am an optimist.” He said he had discussed the issue with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen during his recent visit to the city.

Insurance sector staff strike work in West Bengal

Kolkata, Dec 23 : Around 99 percent of Kolkata-based National Insurance Corp and 76 percent of General Insurance Corp non-management staff stayed away from work Tuesday in support of a nationwide insurance sector strike.

Employees unions claimed 98 percent of Life Insurance Corp’s non-management staff in the eastern region also participated in the strike. ‘Apart from gate meetings, two insurance unions, General Insurance Employees Association and All India Insurance Employees Association will be conducting a rally at Dalhousie,’ Gautam Moitra, general secretary, West Bengal General Insurance Employees Association said.

Till noon, chairman of National Insurance Corp did not attend office. The attendance at the Kolkata-headquartered insurance company was skeletal. The strike was called by the All India Insurance Employees Association to protest against the government’s move to raise the cap on foreign investment in the sector from 26 percent to 49 percent.

Residential schools for child labourers: absence of Central fund affects plans

Govt has planned to set up one such school in every district

KOLKATA, 23rd December, 2008: The state government’s plan to set up residential schools in each of the 19 districts in the state for the welfare of child labourers is facing stiff financial problems.

The project of the new residential schools was included in the central-funded National Child Labour project (NCLP) under which the state government had already sanctioned 924 special schools run by NGOs with an aim of absorbing 34,000 child labourers and bringing another 9,687 into the mainstream education.

Though the state government has agreed to provide an annual subsidy of Rs 6,000 per child staying in these residential schools, the absence of any hike in the Central budget allocation for the NCLP has made NGOs reluctant to take up the scheme.

“We have informed the district magistrates about the residential schools that the state government wants them to set up at the earliest. However, despite work being already started, there is a lack of resources for the proper implementation of the concept. We would want the Centre and organisations like the ILO to provide us with funds,” said state Labour Minister Anadhi Sahu on Monday.

Among the 19 residential schools started on an experimental basis, work at Hooghly is complete. Work at North Dinajpur is to be completed next with Nadia, Burdwan, Birbhum following soon. Each of these residential schools catering to 50 children, on an average, will require 3000 square feet extra space, extra staff and an increase in the amount of pay for the academic staff.

“The Centre provides Rs 2,44,400 for each of the NCLP schools present in India. But since the Centre will not increase the fund for state initiated project of the residential schools, NGOs in Kolkata or South 24-Parganas have not yet come up with their proposal. The Central budget needs to increase under the NCLP and other organisations need to chip in,” said B B Saddiqui, Joint department, state Labour department on the sidelines of a two-day state consultation on the elimination of child labour on Monday.

According to 2001 census, West Bengal has 8,57,000 child labourers. Government officials say the issue of child labour is complex and rooted in social, political and economic conditions of our country.

Sahu said that the concept of setting up residential schools was aimed to provide special care for those rescued child labourers whose parents are either too poor to support them or are unable to earn or those kids who do not have guardians.

Officials have to settle mutation in 90 days

KOLKATA, 23 December, 2008: For those suffering from those mutation and land conversion blues, here's something to make you cheer up. The state government has just streamlined the complex processes and fixed a deadline for both: 90 days. Any officer who fails to get the job done within three months of the application will face a showcause.

Although the state government (from district and city offices) has been getting regular feedback on the inordinate delay involved in the processes, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee decided to iron out the creases only after similar complaints started pouring in from potential investors who needed large tracts of agricultural land that had to undergo conversion before the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) could hand them over.

In October, Writers' Buildings decided to fix a time-frame for conversion and mutation of land so that the delay in implementing industrial projects could be avoided. The notification on the matter will be issued soon, now that the decision has been taken after a meeting convened by land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah at Writers' Buildings on Monday. At the meeting, the following decisions were taken. The minister said, "Till now, there was no time frame for land conversion and mutation. We have decided to change things now."

Now, till 10 decimal, the processes will have to be done by BL&LRO, up to 1 acre by SDL&LRO and more than 1 acre, by DD&LRO. The officials concerned must act immediately if they can't, they must send a note to their superior officers explaining reasons behind the delay. The notes will be considered and probed. If the probe finds any fault or deliberate delay on the part of the official concerned, a showcause will be slapped on the official. The land and land reforms department has also decided to pull up anyone who doesn't follow the rules of mutation and land conversion by submitting the necessary applications to the authorities concerned. An official said, "If anyone involved in buying and selling of the land is found to have flouted rules and not applied for mutation, a lump sum fine will be slapped on him."

Mutation means substitution of the names of a person by another which may be done by the revenue officer under Section 50 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. Mutation is done on the following ground. Transfers of sale of gift, exchange, inheritance. The transfer is to be made by a registered deed.

Similarly, change of land use is regulated by Section 4c of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. A raiyat may seek permission for change of character and use of any land under Section 4c of the said Act before the SDL&LRO for land up to 0.10 acres and to the DL&LRO for land exceeding 0.10 acres. On receipt of the conversion application and after field enquiry and hearing the applicant, the SDL&LRO or the DL&LRO passes appropriate order allowing conversion if he deems fit.

Nandigram by-polls deferred for security reasons

KOLKATA, 22nd December, 2008: By-elections in West Bengal’s Nandigram and Sujapur assembly constituencies scheduled for December 27 have been deferred for security reasons and will be held on January 5, 2009.

“The decision has been taken by the Election Commission with the purpose of ensuring an adequate deployment of security forces there on the date of polling, ” the Chief Electoral Officer, Debashis Sen, told mediapersons on Monday.

Nandigram is considered a sensitive constituency given its recent turbulent past. The area has been in the spot-light ever since the start of eleven months of intermittent violence in 2007 between supporters of the Left parties and those of the Trinamool Congress-led Bhoomi Ucched Pratirodh (Resistance against Eviction for Land) Committee even after the State Government had called off its plans to set up a chemical hub in the face of protests over land acquisition from a section of the local population.

Video coverage

Considering its recent history the Election Commission has decided that the entire polling process will be video-graphed. “The entire elections will be recorded as Nandigram is considered a very sensitive constituency and in view of the fears expressed from various quarters of irregularities during voting,” Mr. Sen said.

In an unprecedented move, video cameras are to be installed in each of the 226 booths where polling will take place. “We are putting in place extreme steps to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling and companies of the Central Police Force will be deployed there,” Mr. Sen said.

The Deputy Election Commissioner, R. Balakrishnan, reviewed the election preparations there on Sunday. “Specially trained micro-observers hand-picked by the central observer will be present in each of the booths.”

The concept of having such micro-observers during elections was put into practice for the first time recently during Assembly polls in some States “but this is the first time they will be on stationary duty in all booths,” he added.

Maoists raid police camp, two constables killed

Purulia (PTI): Maoists on Monday attacked a police camp, killing two constables in West Bengal's Purulia district. A 20-member gang of Maoists on motorbikes and on foot raided the police camp at Berada, Purulia Superintendent of Police Rajesh Yadav said.

They opened fire on the policemen killing two constables-- Totan Seth (25) and Chinmoiy Mondal (27)-- and seriously injuring another. The policemen who were caught unawares, took time to return the fire, he said. The attackers managed to escape with three rifles, Yadav, who led reinforcements to the spot, said. The injured policeman was rushed to hospital.

A combing operation has been launched. Yadav said that the Maoists had earlier put up posters in the area threatening of "action" if a panchayat-sponsored community centre was set up near the police camp. Maoist violence was last witnessed at Burrabazar, Bandwan and Balarampur areas in the district in May this year.

Pranab backs Buddhadeb on industrialisation

KOLKATA, 21 December, 2008: In a virtual endorsement of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s call for greater industrialisation in the State, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday that he was in favour of the setting up new industries in the State that would increase employment opportunities.

“For development we need land. Industry cannot be built in the sky,” Mr. Mukherjee said in an apparent dig at those opposed to the acquisition of land for the purpose of setting up industries.

Agriculture yield had increased but that had not solved the problem of providing jobs to the youth. “I am for industry…Without industrial development, elimination of poverty and jobs for all is not possible,” Mr. Mukherjee asserted.

Fidel Castro photos on display

Pictures taken during his 1973 visit to Kolkata

Exhibition will mark 50th anniversary of Cuban Revolution

KOLKATA,21 December, 2008: All city residents for whom Fidel Castro epitomises the revolutionary spirit will have the opportunity to feast their eyes on some rare photographs of the iconic leader that were taken during his first visit here in September 1973.

The exhibition will be held at Nandan West Bengal Film Centre from December 27 to December 30.

Organised by a city-based cultural foundation called Prabha Khaitan Foundation in collaboration with Nandan and the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, the exhibition will commemorate the 35th anniversary of Mr. Castro’s visit to the city as well as the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.

Addressing a press conference organised to announce the exhibition, here on Thursday, film director Gautam Ghose said: “Fidel Castro was a hero of our youth and he still is. I clearly remember his brief visit to the city 35 years back when we rushed to the airport just to have a glimpse of him.”

Mr. Castro visited the city in September 1973 on his way back from Hanoi. It was a brief visit and he had interacted with several Left leaders, including Communist Party of India (Marxist) patriarch Jyoti Basu, and leaders of various women’s organisations.

A total of 35 photographs by the late photojournalist Satya Sen during Mr. Castro’s visit, will be exhibited.

“The exhibition will highlight the long and deep relationship between India and Cuba. It will also be the first relevant activity we will hold to celebrate, in India, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution,” Dallamy Diaz Munoz, second secretary (press and culture), Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, said at the press conference.

Mr. Ghosh pointed out that the city had also hosted the revolutionary leader Che Guevera in 1959, not many people are aware of it.

LAKHS OF YOUTH ATTEND KOLKATA DYFI RALLY WITH FERVOUR

KOLKATA,20th December, 2008(INN): The basic thrust of arguments of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Bengal chief minister and former youth leader was this: the youth historically could make or break a nation. Buddhadeb addressed the afternoon rally of DYFI under a powdery blue pre-winter sky of the Kolkata maidan, as part of its 15th state conference of the organisation in progress at the Jadavpur stadium. The assemblage served as the open session.

Biman Basu on the other hand delineated the tortuous path that lay ahead of the youth what with the fulmination of imperialism-driven forces of division and fundamentalism attacking the democratic fabric of the nation.

All-India DYFI leader Tapas Sinha was strongly critical of the Bengal opposition. State DYFI secretary Avas Roychaudhury spoke in Bengali and Urdu, concentrated on the challenges that lay ahead, and went on to stress employment generation through industrialisation. Youth leader Pratim Ghosh presided.

Biman Basu who started by suggesting that the membership of the Bengal DYFI would be certain to exceed the existing figure of 97, 84, 784, come January 2009, said that the circulation of the state youth mouthpiece Yuvashakti stood at 1, 42, 500 and was growing all the time.

Speaking on the three forms of menace that swarmed on the Indian societal structure, class-divided as it was, Biman Basu concentrated first on the communal divide, noting that it had been the British policy of ‘divide and rule’ that had rooted in the feeling of antagonism amongst two communities in this country albeit partially yet with a vicious post-colonial, imperialist-fuelled aftermath.

The second menace was that forthcoming from imperialist expansion-domination-division itself. Creation of dissension amongst people of the developing countries was illustrated by the speaker with citation from the African continent, especially, the division and re-division of Ethiopia – into the creation of Eritrea and then Somalia (now a forward post of piracy in international waters.

The third hazard was the attack of consumerist, individualistic, and atavistic cultural practices on the field of mass culture. A sensitive issue, mass culture must be delved deeply into and developed-- especially under the leadership of the young talents of the Bengal youth, first preserving the cultural mores, and then advancing them.

Meeting all three challenges would also concomitantly advance the level of political consciousness among the people, especially the youth who represent more than 55% of the population. The struggle imperialism, divisiveness, and religious fundamentalism as well as terrorism must go on relentlessly all the while, concluded the CPI (M) leader.

Identifying the youth as an army of social change, Buddhadeb said that should the youth be misled or misinformed, they can and would produce monstrosities like der fuehrer Hitler in Germany, il duce Mussolini in Italy, and generalissimo Suharto in Indonesia. On the other hand, socialism grew and set firm roots in places like Vietnam, China, and Cuba thanks to the correct leadership of the youth provided by Mao, Fidel, and Ho. Progress made by youth of a country determines the present and future of the nation.

Lambasting capitalism as a system based on unequal competition and run-away exploitation, Buddhadeb said that domination and violence were operative words in a capitalist society. Referring to US president-elect Barrack Hussein Obama as a ‘black person in the White House’ whose previous occupier had been shooed out of late, Buddhadeb said that there had recently been a solid build up against the US from China, Russia, and most nation’s of Latin America.

Critiquing Manmohan Singh’s government for declaring itself an ally of a US which was engaged in the work of ruining nations like Iraq and Afghanistan, Buddhadeb pointed out to the rally that the anti-people Congress and the BJP, the latter’s danger emanating additionally from its religious fundamentalism, must both make way for a viable Left-secular-democratic Third Alternative which must grow as a political force across the country.

Buddhadeb concluded by iterating the need for generation of employment and called for the youth to strengthen the hands of the pro-people and pro-poor Left Front government in building momentum in the process of industrialisation across Bengal, a process that would surely be employment-oriented and labour-intensive. Finally, he praised the solidarity of the people against forces of division and described the Maoists from across the state border as cowardly killers who would not even spare medical staff.

The rally began with rendering of mass songs by eminent popular singers and accompanists.
BY B. PRASANT

Maoists are cowards, devils: CM

Express News Service

Posted: Dec 21, 2008 at 0403 hrs

Kolkata: Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee hit out at Maoists groups operating in the state and said, “Maoists are cowards and devils, who are running their operations from the neighbouring Jharkhand.” He was addressing a rally of Democratic Youth Federation Of India (DYFI), the CPM’s youth wing, at the Brigade Parade ground on Saturday.

Bhattacharjee also slammed separatist movements carried out by forces like Kamtapuri Liberation Organisation, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and the ultra-Left forces. He made it clear that the government will not tolerate any attempt to divide the territory of West Bengal.

With the Lok Sabha polls just round the corner, he suggested that the Left forces would have to float a third alternative without the BJP and the Congress. “Both the NDA government and the UPA government followed a foreign policy, which was influenced by the US. We don’t want these parties to come to power again in Delhi,” he said. Bhattacharjee, however, added: “We know that forming the third alternative will be a difficult task for the Left .”

The chief minister claimed that India became a victim of the economic meltdown in US and banking, steel and IT sector of India were adversely affected. Bhattacharjee also said the Left has played a major role in preventing US companies from entering the Indian market. “We have saved our countrymen from a stringent economic crisis by preventing the US banking and insurance companies from entering our market,” he added.

Regarding the rollback of Nano project, Bhattacharjee said: “Did we commit any mistake by setting up a car manufacturing unit in Singur? West Bengal has produced record quantities of rice and vegetables. Now people want jobs and for that we need industries.”

The CM accused the Trinamool Congress of creating hurdles for industrialisation. “The principal opposition party in our state is trying to confine our operations only to agriculture. But the agricultural sector does not have the capacity to provide huge employment,” he said.

WB to get Rs 800 cr investment in solar energy sector

KOLKATA:December 19, 2008 -- Three solar energy sector players, including Bhaskar Polysilicion and Heritage Group, will be collectively investing Rs 800 crore in the state for manufacturing of photovoltaic material.

"Bhaskar Polysilicion, Heritage Group and an IT firm are collectively investing Rs 800 crore in the state for manufacturing of photovoltaic material," West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Managing Director S P Gonchoudhuri said here today.

Gonchoudhuri, who was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, said this would certainly make the state the hub of photovoltaic material production in the country.

Bhaskar Polysilicon would invest Rs 500 crore to put up a facility for manufacture of silicon ingots at Haldia in East Midnapore district, where it has already acquired 200 acre, he said.

Heritage Group would invest Rs 100 crore to manufacture silicon modules over a 25-acre facility at Falta in South 24 Parganas district, Gonchoudhuri said and added "an IT firm would also put in Rs 200 crore to make silicon wafers at Dankuni in Hooghly district", without naming the company.

WB Tourism to organise a two-day Bishnupur Utsav from Dec-27

Kolkata: For the first time Tourism department of the West Bengal Government would organise a two-day Bishnupur Utsav from December 27 showcasing colourful classical dance, besides instrumental and vocal performance by exponents in respective fields.

Announcing this here yesterday, state's Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee told reporters that a dynamic illumination of Rasmanch and other heritage monuments of Bishnupur would be inaugurated by him on the occasion, besides the newly constructed Bishnupur Tourist Lodge.

Popular as capital of the Malla Kings of Mallabhum, Vishnupur in Bankura district is known for its famous for its beautiful terracotta temples and artifacts. The minister said that these temples stand testimony to the exquisite craftmanship for the artisans of the region, where the Rasmanch, Shyam Roy Mandir and Jorbangla are selected by the state's Tourism Development Corporation for'intelligent dynamic illumination' at a cost of Rs 60 lakh.

Built in 16th century by the King Beer Hambira, the Rasmancha temple has an elongated pyramidical tower, surrounded by hut-shaped turret. It was the stage where the idols were used to be kept for public worship during'Ras Utsav'. Built by the King Raghunath Singha Dev II in the 17th century, the ornate terracotta carvings in Jorebangla temple are set off by the roof in the classic Chala style of Bengal architecture.

Built in the year 1643 by the King Raghunath Singha, the wall of the Shyam Roy Temple was richly decorated with terracotta carvings featuring aspects of Lord Krishna's life. Besides tourism department, Micro and Small Scale Enterprise would also showcase their handloom and handicraft products in different stalls during the festival.

Tiger census 2008-09 begins in West Bengal

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (WB), Dec 18 (ANI): The annual tiger census for the year 2008-09 in West Bengal began from Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (MLS) on the foothills of Himalayas in Darjeeling today. The census is being carried out every year in parts of Bengal to get a figure of the number of tigers residing in the area.

India has lost over 50 per cent of its tiger population in the past five years with the numbers dwindling to 1,411 from 3,642 in 2001-02, according to the latest tiger census report released early this year. As per this report North Bengal is left with only 10 tigers as against 349 earlier.

A total of 30 teams, each headed by a forest officer, will monitor over a total area of over 200 square kilometers from Kuersong range to the Bauxar tiger reserve forest in Bengal to find out whether the tigers are breeding in the sanctuary.

“The population of tigers has always been very small in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. So we will check their habitat and prey base in order to find out whether any breeding is happening or not. We will try to find the evidences of the cubs ,” said P. D. Bhutia, Chief Conservator of Forest, MLS, Darjeeling.

The monitoring will be conducted for five days around all the forestlands of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts.The search would be carried out mostly on the basis of the pugmarks, scats of the tigers and other modern techniques.

“From today onwards till December 22 we will do this exercise at those places where we think we might be able to get evidence of the tigers,” Bhutia added. The assessment of the data of the previous census has shown that the tiger has suffered due to direct poaching, loss of quality habitat and its prey.

I will surely be back in India

Diego Maradona

Sunday, 14 December , 2008, 14:29

The greatest tribute to a former player is the immense adulation he receives long after retiring from the game. The crowd that had gathered at the Kolkata airport at 2 in the morning came as quite a shock to me, and to say that I was completely overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Kolkata is considered the home of Indian football, with an unrelenting passion for the sport that is partially comparable to the ardent fervour of fans in South America. India is one country that I have always wanted to visit, and the tireless efforts of the West Bengal government, and their excellent planning made this visit possible.

Maradona gets a tumultuous welcome in Kolkata

India has been an enigma on the world football stage, as it baffles many that a country of close to 1.2 billion people does not feature on the world football map. It would also surprise many that India has an impressive football history, as three professional football clubs in Kolkata have been in existence long before FIFA was formed.

I had a packed schedule in Kolkata, and the love of the people at my official felicitation is something I will always cherish for a long time to come. The football crazy city of Kolkata seemed to be extremely knowledgeable about the sport, and I must confess that they knew more about my football exploits than I would have ever imagined. When the young boy touched my feet on the podium, it left a lump in my throat and it's a gesture that my family and I will never forget.

There are few stadiums in world football that accommodate over a 100 000 people, and when I entered the Salt Lake in Kolkata for the exhibition game, the pulsating sound of 120 000 fans was unbelievable to say the least. As I glanced across the stands, I was amazed to see people sitting on the ledges and the roofs, clearly underlining the passion for the sport. The ovation and the cheers that greeted a few of my football tricks reminded me of the deafening noises in Argentina when Boca Juniors took the field.

It's great that a top corporate house like McDowell's are doing their bit for football in Kolkata, with constant financial support and partnerships, which are crucial for the development of the game. McDowell's No.1 Celebration's association with Mohan Bagan, and their wonderful initiative with the Futsal Friendzy is bound to aid football in an already passionate environment. As more top corporate houses come forward to support the game, Indian football will only get stronger.

I felt extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity of visiting Mother Teresa's Ashram and meeting all her disciples, who are playing an important role in society.

I will surely be back in India, and will continue to contribute to the development of football in every possible way. The soccer school I inaugurated will be a great incentive for more kids to play football, and I hope to see some more budding talent when I return to Kolkata. 'Dhonnobad', Kolkata!

Professional Management Group
SOURCE: http://sify.com/sports/fullstory.php?id=14818163

New logo for Dooars and Terai tea

JALPAIGURI:16 December, 2008- Dooars and Terai tea, which account to about 30 per cent of the total tea produced in India, can now be distinguished by its new brand mark - an elephant standing against the backdrop of tea bushes.

This is the fourth tea logo in the country. Tea produced in Assam, Darjeeling and the Nilgiris already have their own logos in place. All types of tea produced in the gardens in Dooars and Terai would carry the Dooars logo. The Tea Board of India will start using the logo shortly after its registration.

The Tea Board of India unveiled the logo on Sunday. It chose a jumbo to be a part of the logo as the two regions - Dooars and Terai - are as famous for their elephants and tea. Interestingly, this logo is similar to that of Assam Tea but Dooars and Terai tea has an elephant, while Assam Tea has a rhino.

Jairam Ramesh, union minister of state for commerce and industries inaugurated the logo at the Indian Tea Planters' Association office. Ramesh also inaugurated an office of the Tea Board of India in Jalpaiguri on Sunday. Owing to the emergence of the small tea growers as a major tea contributor in the region, the Tea Board India decided to open its office here. There are more than 15, 000 small tea growers and 87 bought leaf factories in the region. The Tea Board office will also monitor the other 172 set gardens in the district.

The Tea Board has also decided to upgrade the tea research sub-station of Tea Research Association at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri into a full fledged tea research station. A sum of Rs20 crore has been made available to Doklai tea institute in Assam to turn it into a full-fledged tea research institute, of which Rs3crore has been earmarked for having R&D facility the smaller tea research centre at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district of neighbouring West Bengal.

Along with all these developments, India's first 'tea park' is set to be launched in early-January on a 50-acre plot in Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal and is expected to give a special impetus to exports of tea from the Dooars and Terai regions in North Bengal.

Ramesh said that the park would have a warehouse-hub and also facilities for cleaning, grading, blending and packaging tea. While land for the project has been acquired from the Railways by the West Bengal Government, the Centre would spend Rs16 crore to set up this infrastructure as part of the ASIDE scheme (Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development for Exports).

The introduction of logos to identify tea from specific regions such as Jalpaiguri-Dooars, Darjeeling, Terai would help to denote the brand and help maintain a minimum standard besides checking imitation. The world famous Darjeeling tea, known for its legendary flavour, has been a victim of imitation following reports that tea produced in the neighbouring hills of Nepal were being marketed as Darjeeling tea.

Congress leader in West Bengal to join Trinamool

Kolkata, Dec 15: Senior Congress leader in West Bengal Sudip Bandhopadhyay Sunday said he was quitting his party to join the Trinamool Congress. ‘I took the initiative on my own to talk to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and expressed my keenness to join her party. I will again talk to her Monday in New Delhi on this issue,’ Bandhopadhyay told a Bengali television channel here.

Sitting legislator from Bowbazar assembly constituency and a former member of parliament from Kolkata’s north-west constituency, Bandhopadhyay alleged that the Congress was not giving him ‘due importance’ and he had already informed party president Sonia Gandhi about his decision to quit. ‘It was getting more and more difficult for me to continue as a Congress party member. I was not getting the importance I used to enjoy during the time of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,’ he said.

He said his decision to join the Trinamool Congress was to enable him combat the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the state. ‘I think if we can strategically draw a plan to contest the CPI(M) in West Bengal under Banerjee’s leadership, it would help both the political parties to defeat the communists in the coming general and other state-level elections,’ he said.

CM shares Vision-2010 with industry honchos

KOLKATA:15 Dec 2008, 0321 hrs IST, TNN

It was a Friday evening with that dash of difference. Kolkata's corporate czars converged at a city five-star hotel to participate in a unique interaction with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, organised by The Economic Times. It was the denouement of ET's month-long campaign, Kolkata 2010: The Business Blueprint', in which most of them had shared thoughts on ways to galvanise industry in West Bengal. True to his promise, the CM walked in sharp at 6 pm.

For the next one hour, he took on with aplomb a range of queries from CEOs. Minutes after industries minister Nirupam Sen finished speaking, Bhattacharjee addressed the gathering. He thanked the editorial board and management of ET for organising a "unique event". The evening's moderator, Professor Anup Sinha of IIM, Calcutta, had structured the interaction whereby initially there were two pre-set questions on the all important issues land and infrastructure.

This was followed by an open house Q&A round. The session got under way with Umesh Chowdhary, vice-chairman & MD Titagarh Wagons asking the CM whether the government was considering any proposal to set up a land bank to accommodate industry. The CM said: "The question is whether we will acquire land and create a land bank. We have finally decided to mobilise funds and acquire land in four to five districts. We will then be in a position to offer land for various industries."

The second question to the CM on infrastructure came from Hemant Kanoria, chairman and MD of Srei Infrastructure Finance. "The RBI governor, whom I met a couple of days back, had said infrastructure is the one sector that is unlikely to be touched by the crisis. Power, roads, irrigation for instance," the chief minister noted in his response. The CM also said his government had been internally discussing whether it should invite public-private partnership in the power and road sectors. "We have agreed in principle. But it is at a preliminary stage. We need to experiment with it and work out the modalities. Any PPP for infrastructure is welcome."

Bhattacharjee said the global meltdown and its impact on the state, particularly in the auto and steel sectors, was uppermost on his mind. Around seven steel projects are expected to come up in the state. "I do not know whether they will go ahead or take some more time, given the global crisis," a somewhat anxious CM said.

Earlier, Nirupam Sen had set the proceedings rolling by urging "enlightened sections of society" and people of the state to carry forward the torch of industrialisation. "In Europe, it was the Renaissance that heralded industrialisation. New ideas, new thinking, new philosophy, rationality, reasoning and understanding all these are key conditions of an industrial revolution,"

he said. Bengal, he said, carries such a heritage. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray and his Bengal Chemicals or companies like National Tanneries and Duckback were set up by intellectuals, not industrialists. "Finally, building a consensus among people could overcome the chasm created by political ideologies. The government will play its role in spurring the process."

CRPF with the help of local people breaks open lock to return to camp

KOLKATA, 14 December, 2008: Local police and jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had to break open the lock to return to a police camp at Ramgarh in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district on Sunday after leaders of the recent agitation against alleged police excesses in the region in possession of the key failed to hand it back despite repeated requests.

The police vacated the camp late last month when the month-long agitation by a section of the local tribal population was at its peak. The return of the security forces is part of the process of restoration of normality in the region, N.S. Nigam, District Magistrate, told Hindu The over telephone from Medinipur.

Leaders of the agitation said they had not been given prior intimation of the return of the police and jawans and the key to the lock was with one of their colleagues who could not be contacted on time. The key was given to them when the police had vacated the camp. The lock was broken after the security forces were kept waiting for nearly four hours.

The stir was called off on December 7 following an assurance by the local authorities that the demands of the protestors, which included action against those policemen guilty of committing excesses local villagers, will be considered. Its leaders will be meeting in Lalgarh on Monday to decide their next course of action.

Officials of the administration as well as the police are now regularly visiting Lalgarh that had remained inaccessible during the agitation due to roads there being dug up and roadblocks set up by the protestors. “We are now in touch with them [the agitators] and discussing matters with them,” Mr. Nigam said.

The agitation was launched by some tribal groups protesting against “police atrocities” on local people during raids to track down those responsible for the blast that narrowly missed the convoy of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on November 2.

Mr. Bhattacharjee, who subsequently told the West Bengal Assembly that Maoists were behind the attack, had regretted the assault on villagers including women in the course of raids by the police in the Lalgarh area following the incident.

Knowledge-based education only weapon to recession, terrorism: Chief Minister

Kolkata, Dec 14, 2008: Economic recession and terrorism are the two major challenges before the world now and creative knowldge-based education is the only weapon to fight the two devils with, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in Kolkata on Sunday. Saying death and destruction do not win the day, Bhattacharjee felt what wins is man's creative spirit and for that education and quality teaching are the two imperatives a healthy society must have.

Quoting from Charles Dickens' 'Tale of Two Cities', the Chief Minister said, ''It is the best of times and it is the worst of times'' to describe the world situation now. Man can utilise it to his good or bad. Speaking at the Golden Jubille celebration of Dinabandhu Andrews College at Garia in the southern part of the city, he cited the example of China saying, "It is a country of 132 crore people - many more than ours - but it has presented itself as an example before the world because of its will to do good for the people.''He said that globalisation has divided the world into two halves - rich and poor - and economic meltdown has aggravated the situation. ''It is hard to guess where we are heading to.''

The Chief Minister also stressed on the need for vocational training so that all students can get a job and contribute towards the development of society. The college's Golden Jubille celebration committee has contributed has contributed Rs one lakh to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Rs 50,000 to the Minority development Fund and Rs 50,000 to the Vidyasagar fund for construction of a hostel for women in Purulia.

Buddhadeb on quality of education

KOLKATA, Dec. 14, 2008: Chief Minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee while addressing the opening session of the annual conference of the All Bengal Teachers’ Association (ABTA) at Kamalgaji in Sonarpur today stressed on the importance of vocational training .

Although West Bengal has made rapid stride in the rate of literacy, the chief minister admitted that the academic standard of some of the schools of the state was not satisfactory. He drew the attention of the teachers to this drawback prevailing. He asked the teaching community to come forward in an endeavour of raising the academic standard of schools.

The students coming from economically challenged families should be helped as well, Mr Bhattacharjee said.“There are some good schools as well as schools where the teachers are found to be negligent. I cannot ask the teachers not to undertake private tuition, but the time has come when they must think about how to uplift the economically backward children,” he added

Calcutta HC directs WB govt to close down tanneries in Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 12: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to close down all tanneries in the metropolis by Wednesday in accordance with a Supreme Court order of 1997. A division bench comprising Chief Justice S S Nijjar and Justice S Banerjee directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, South 24 Parganas, to assist the administration in closing down nearly 70 tanneries still operating in Tiljala and Tangra areas in east Kolkata.

The court-appointed special officer and senior counsel Jaideep Kar submitted his report after inspecting the localities. A leather complex was set up at Bantala in South 24 Parganas district to house all tanneries in the city some years ago to prevent pollution in residential areas. Petitioner Maqbool Ahmed, a resident of Tiljala, had claimed on December five that the 1997 order of Supreme Court to shift the tanneries to the leather complex had not been carried out. The petitioner had also annexed a letter by the chairman of the state Pollution Control Board of June 19 this year to the West Bengal chief secretary that the apex court order was being violated and several tanneries were yet to shift to the complex.

Advocate General Balai Roy submitted that despite the Supreme Court order to shift the tanneries to the leather complex at Bantala, around 70 of them were still operating by using domestic water and power connections illegally. After raids, they simply shifted to some other place in the locality and continued to function, he said.

JSW Steel gets coal reserves for West Bengal project

KOLKATA, 13 December, 2008: Steel manufacturer JSW Bengal Steel has been allotted three reserves in West Bengal to source coal for its 10-million-tonne steel plant project at Salboni in the state, a top official said here on Saturday.

"Hard coking coal has to be imported from Australia and China, and we will get soft coking coal from Kulti and Sitarampur reserves. From Ichhapur, we will be getting thermal coking coal," the company's joint managing director and chief executive Biswadeep Gupta said on the sidelines of a panel discussion organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

At present, prospecting work is being carried out by the Geological Survey of India for these reserves. He said coal in these reserves contains high methane gas and water, making continuous mining a problem due to geological disturbances. Kulti and Sitarampur together have a reserve of 300 million tonnes of soft coking coal and Ichhapur has 110 million tonnes of thermal coking coal.

"We got one more reserve at Gourandih. Fifty percent of the total reserve there will be shared with Himachal-Emta," Gupta said, adding: "This reserve has approximately 100-120 million tonnes of thermal coal". Himachal-Emta is a joint venture between the Himachal Pradesh government and the Kolkata-based Eastern Mineral and Trading Agency (Emta).

‘Opposition in West Bengal irresponsible’

Improve infrastructure to attract FDI: Buddhadeb

KOLKATA, 13 December, 2008: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday said an “irresponsible Opposition was opposing everything for the sake of opposition and ultimately the people of the State will suffer.”

Presiding over the 69th annual session of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), he said: “I am facing problems in land acquisition, as an irresponsible Opposition is opposing everything. But I assure you that we are in dialogue with the Opposition.”

Mr. Bhattacharjee said this in response to a comment by Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways K.H. Muniyappa, while inaugurating the session.

The Union Minister said land acquisition was proving to be a problem in the State. Projects started in 2001 could not be completed due to problem over land acquisition over a four or five km stretch. “I seek the support of the West Bengal government and people to complete roads for the country’s development.”

The Chief Minister said that in the current financial meltdown, infrastructure would perhaps be the only sector that would not be hit and he had been advised by the Reserve Bank of India Governor “not to miss this chance.”

“It is high time we improved infrastructure,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said, adding that unless India improved infrastructure, it would fail to attract foreign direct investments.

“It is through infrastructure that China has attracted FDI.” He exhorted the 2,000-strong gathering of delegates to discuss ways to improve road connectivity in India, in the backdrop of the global financial crisis to compete with China.

Noting that the United Progressive Alliance government was trying to complete the golden quadrilateral project started by the National Democratic Alliance government, he said it was important to connect sea and airports. Otherwise, international trade would suffer.

Mr. Muniyappa said the IRC was set up in 1934 as the premier body of highway engineers. To enable rural people, cyclists, pedestrians and tractor drivers to use the network, the Centre had approved the creation of service roads alongside the six and four-lane highways, especially where there was a concentration of rural people.

West Bengal’s first private airport in Bardhaman district to be operational by 2011

DURGAPUR: Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd's. (BAPL) first private airport in Bardhaman district in West Bengal is likely to be operational by end of 2011. According to a report in Projects Today, the project, which is a part of the USD 2.5 billion (approximately Rs 12,500 crore) Durgapur Aerotropolis, has got an approval from the West Bengal government and has also overcome the objections raised by Coal India Ltd. (CIL).

Besides the airport, the project also includes an industrial park, logistics hub, IT Park and a township. BAPL is the promoter of the Aerotropolis in association with Singapore's Changi International Airport. An agreement was signed in February this year for technical services and as operator of the proposed airport.

BAPL is likely to complete the acquisition of 2,362.84 acre for phase I by June 2009. The state government will be completing the land notification shortly. The phase I of the project involves an investment outlay of Rs 2,200 crore. The company has achieved financial closure for Rs 600 crore comprising part of phase I -the airport and land acquisition cost.

ADAIVASI YOUTH CLEAR ALL ROADBLOCKS PUT UP BY MAOISTS IN PURULIA-BANKURA

BHULABHEDA (WEST MIDNAPORE), 12 December, 2008(INN):The entire network of what are non-arterial links between the main roadways is now free of felled trees, ditches, and boulders. Traffic of all sorts’ moves freely. As we return from the red earth of Purulia via Bankura and onto Midnapore west, we see militant processions of adivasi youth, men and women, occasionally children in tow, the Red Flag fluttering in the chill of the first and late wintry breeze from the north-west, as they stride along boldly, arms swinging gaily, slogans emanating from the chapped lips, conviction of courage written all over their faces, along both sides of the roads. ‘We do not want the Jharkhandis and the Maobadis to ruin life for us anymore,’ is the general refrain. The awesomely large and cavernous kettledrums thudded out a thunderous resonance, and the horns sounded the timbre of the forest.

Entering Bhulabeda, I was quite thrilled to see another sight – a sight long, long overdue. Thousands upon thousands of adivasis -- and this time the vast crowd is a happy mix of tribals and non-tribals, of the villages and the townships – all united under the Red Banner. What the self-proclaimed Maoists and their in-closet friends and associates, and patrons in the corporate world should note is the chilling fact, for them and for persons of their ilk, here and abroad, the scorn and hatred the tribal-non-tribal rally-- I would not call it a joint rally, it was a peoples’ rally, vast and moving – exuded for the criminals and the assassins-- all the way. Somehow a feint sense emanating of a feeling of guilt and a sense of having been betrayed earlier all those decades could be felt in these old bones from the otherwise militant ambience around all the time as I alighted from the vehicle I have been travelling in and, in a second, mingled fadelessly yet seamlessly into the power and glory of the people’s march.

The rally culminated in a vast assemblage held under the aegis of the two very organisations that had been in the past bitterly misled and alienated from the mainstream of the struggles of the forest people by the Maoists and the Jharkhandis – the all-India Jakat Majhi-Marhwa association and the Bhumija Munda Kalyan Samity. The rally iterated in strong language and firm tone what has been going around the villages and the hamlets, the gunjes and the townships the last few weeks and months.

The likes of Jharkhandis and Maoists must not find any toehold in the red clay zones. They are not to cross over from the neighbouring districts to where they may continue if the people there so allow, doing the misdeeds of their uniquely anti-people sort. They must not try to communicate to the people this side of the state border in any way. They should not expect any safe haven awaiting them – rather the contrary. They should also come out with a public explanation why they killed so many people-- tribal or non-tribal is not of importance as a point of distinction, the ‘reason why’ is. Every speaker strongly emphasised the public confessional aspect, I did not fail to note despite the slight inadequate fluency in Bengali of the comrade who translated the Santhali for me.

The speakers also dwelt at length on the sensitive topic of destruction of the forest resources including the cutting down of boughs as this meant finis to the process of growth of tussar and resham varieties of silkworms. The speakers also appeared quite sheepishly apologetic in their own way about the felling of trees, some of which worth lakhs of rupees, for the purpose of blocking the roadways.

All of them were also in unison on two other issues: the western area of Bengal must undergo faster development, and the police must not enter the villages without the accompaniment of the Jakat leadership. They iterated that the myth that the Maoists had spread around about the Jakat being unwilling to have the authorities arrest and take into custody criminals was just that—a myth. The rally ended in a befitting way as torches were lit and the assemblage burst into a song with a touching refrain that sent a stab to the softest part of the human heart – kam, khai, emaa lem – roughly translated as ‘give us work please, so that we are able to go to sleep on full stomachs....’ .

by B. PRASANT

West Bengal tribal development unparalleled: Biman Basu

Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS): The West Bengal government implemented the maximum number of developmental projects for the tribal communities in its backward districts, Left Front chairman Biman Basu said Friday while reacting to Trinamool Congress allegation that the state did not implement the centrally funded projects.”The way we’ve implemented central government funded projects for the betterment of tribals in West Bengal is unparalleled,” Bose told reporters here.

On Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that the state did not implement the centrally funded projects for the backward classes, he said: “If the centre had any problem with the functioning, they would have consulted the state government directly.” “You cannot even see that much of development for the backward communities in our neighbouring state Jharkhand, which is considered as a tribal-dominated region in our country,” Biman Basu said.

“About 60 percent of the total land reforms, which was distributed among the tribal communities in India, took place in our state,” added Basu. Terming Trinamool supremo’s comment as baseless, Basu said: “One needs to be very careful before passing such comment. If she (Banerjee) has to point a figure at the role of West Bengal government, she must gather proper information on the issue.”

Buddha writes to PM on PTTI deadlock

KOLKATA, Dec. 11,2008: Chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has written to the Prime Minister urging the Centre to allow provisional recruitment of primary teachers from among the pass-outs of Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes (PTTI) which were declared illegal by Calcutta High Court.

The chief minister has assured that the pass-outs would be confirmed only after they had completed a year-long bridge course since the National Council of Teachers’ Education recognises only two-year-long training courses for primary teachers. The Court's directive had also rendered the certificates of those who passed out of theses illegal PTTIs, invalid.

Mr Bhattacharjee has also appealed to the Prime Minister for an early resolution of the PTTI problem which has affected nearly 75, 000 people and snowballed into a major controversy. “Unless this is done, apart from the future of 75,000 students who have already completed the course, the entire structure of primary education in the state will face a serious crisis since 40,000 vacancies in schools already exists and many schools will be without teachers. I seek your personal intervention in the matter,” reads the letter.

The state government had approached the MHRD to make a legislative provision to validate the one year long training course for primary teachers till the academic year, 2005-06. The CM also met the representatives of West Bengal Primary Teachers’ Training Students’ Union today at Writers’ Buildings and discussed the problem.

"We are committed to West Bengal": Premji

KOLKATA, 11 December, 2008: Software major Wipro Technologies Chairman and CEO Azim Premji on Thursday denied that land was a problem for the company's existing facility at Salt Lake, and reiterated his commitment to West Bengal.

"We are committed to West Bengal, committed to growth and committed to your government," Premji told reporters after a 50-minute meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at Writers' Buildings here. Asked if the issue of land figured in his discussion with the Chief Minister, the Premji said "there is enough land in our existing facility at Salt Lake. There is no emergency on that front." The chief minster was not available for comment.

At present, Wipro runs an IT-SEZ facility in Salt Lake where it employs around 4,000 people. The company had earlier announced setting up its second campus in Kolkata near Vedic village off Rajarhat in North 24 Parganas.