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.