Seige enters fifth day, Lalgarh remains cut off

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayern Munich to set up football academy in Kolkata

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

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

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

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

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

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

WB govt to support ailing steel and sponge iron units

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

West Bengal seeks more Central forces from Home Ministry

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maradona to arrive in Kolkata on December 5

Kolkata,10 Nov,2008:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Metro Cash & Carry to open outlet on Dec 4

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

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

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

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

Hyundai to launch small car by 2011

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

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

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

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

Cine Central to screen world cinema at Kolkata film fest

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

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

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

Nobel testimony to be heard in town

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE TELEGRAPH

Maoists own responsibility for Nov 2 blast

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

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

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

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

WB govt to set up new industries at Singur : Buddhadev

7 Nov 2008, 1842 hrs IST, PTI

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

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

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

West Bengal universities tie up with Italian institutions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

US diplomat praises West Bengal, wants closer cooperation

Kolkata, Nov 5 (IANS): Praising the West Bengal government for creating a congenial atmosphere for foreign investments, a top US diplomat Tuesday expressed her keenness to work more closely with the state to strengthen bilateral trade between India and the US.”My impression after three months here is that the government of West Bengal is very interested in bringing important American investments to the state. So I look forward to working with the government on ways of making those connections with the American investors,” Beth A. Payne, consul general at the Consulate General of the US said here on the sidelines of a conference by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce.

“It is important that the American investors have good understanding of here so that we can bring more investments here,” Payne said. She also welcomed Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to visit the US. Asked how the US is so comfortable doing business with a state ruled by the Left Front, Payne said: “We look beyond these labels nowadays. The Cold War ended a long time ago.”

However, she added: “American investors are watching very closely how the government resolves issues surrounding land acquisition for large investment projects, and would like to see signs of assurance that future investment projects in this state would be free from disruptions caused by political disagreements.”

Last month, the state had to wash its hands off Tata Motors’ Nano small car project due to prolonged furore over farmland acquisition between the state government and the principal opposition party Trinamool Congress.

Bilateral trade between India and the US in the manufactured goods reached over $41 billion in 2007 and is estimated to grow to over $50 billion this year. In 2007, imports from the US registered an increase of 75 percent over the previous year, while exports to the US grew over 10 percent.

Talking about recent economic crisis and students being denied scholarships by few universities, Payne said: “May be it is harder to get scholarship now than it was before. This is natural whenever there is any financial change like this. That does not mean there aren’t any opportunities.”

WBSEDCL aims Rs 7,500 cr busines in 2008-09

Press Trust of India / Kolkata

November 5, 2008, 20:39 IST

The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) today said it was aiming at a total revenue of Rs 7,500 crore and a surplus of between Rs 500 and Rs 600 crore during the current fiscal.

"We had achieved a revenue of about Rs 6,500 crore and earned a surplus of Rs 131 crore during 2007-08. In 2008-09, the total revenue is expected to be Rs 7,500 crore with a surplus of Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore, if coal supply to power plants remains smooth," WBSEDCL Chairman M K De said here. Interacting with the members of the Merchant Chamber of Commerce, De said the projected power export could have been possible then the profit would have been another Rs 400 crore more.

The West Bengal State Transmission Company posted a profit of Rs 78 crore from a revenue of Rs 436 crore. The company was projecting a turnover of Rs 446 crore during 2008-09 financial year. "We have been able to export only 895 million units as against projection of over 5,000 million units during 2007-08. This is due to failure of the new power plants commissioned during the year," De said.

During the year, the West Bengal government had projected to add 1,570 MW. However, during the current year so far, only 1,000 MW capacity has been added to the system. Owing to failure to meet the targeted export due to commissioning of new plants and shortage of coal, WBSEDCL has slashed power export projection to 2,600 million units."Given the coal supply situation, we do not hope to meet even this target," De said.

Buddhadeb insists on new mining technology

Kolkata, November 5 : ninth four-day International Mining and Machinery Exhibition 2008
With the rising demand of coal in the country, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee insists that the mining sector uses new technology and innovative scientific measures to use the coal seams at greater depths.

At the ninth four-day International Mining and Machinery Exhibition (IMME) 2008, inaugurated in the city on Wednesday, the chief minister stressed that instead of mining the coal seams directly, new technologies might be introduced to extract the combustible gases present in coal, which could be used as fuel or feedstock for chemicals.

“We have huge coal reserves in the state, which ranks fourth amongst the coal-bearing states of the country. There is, however, a need for augmentation of coal reserves in the state,” said Bhattacharjee. At present, there are five coal companies engaged in coal production in the state. Despite the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation being allotted six coal blocks where pre-mining activities have commenced, Bhattacharjee claims that new coal blocks need to be allocated by the Union Ministry of Coal. Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with the Ministry of Mines and Coal and Cola India Limited, the exhibition saw the participation of both domestic and international players.

Spread over an area of 50,000 sq m, with over 300 exhibitors from 15 countries, the exhibition has a 60 per cent presence of international players. Germany — partner country at IMME this year — is expected to put up the largest ever exposition of latest equipment and engineering technologies for the mining sector.

Apart from Germany, the exhibition will witness participation from China, Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, UK, Ukraine and US, among a host of others. While special focus will be on mining construction, material handling and mineral processes, a number of new products for the mining construction and mineral processing sector will be launched during the exhibition.

“It is a challenge for the mining industry of our country to implement suitable technology so that deep-seated coal deposits can be exploited. The coalfields of Raniganj are predominantly deep-seated mostly exploitable by underground method but past performance of underground mining in India is rather poor,” said Bhattacharjee.

Besides the exhibition, a Global Mining Summit, which will have 350 delegates, will also be held concurrently with the IMME. In addition, a buyer-seller meet has also been planned for manufactures and service providers to interact with potential buyers in the mining sector.

Buddha welcomes Obama as US president

Kolkata, Nov 5 (IANS): West Bengal's communist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Wednesday welcomed the election of Barack Obama as US president, expressing happiness that an African American was taking over the mantle at the White House.

'This is the first time in the history of the United States th a black president will enter the White House,' Bhattacharjee told newspersons during a function here. 'Some of you must have already heard that Obama has won the US presidential election,' the chief minister said with a smile before he began his speech at an official programme.

Seven West Bengal police officials served notices for security lapses

Kolkata, Nov 5 (IANS): The West Bengal government Wednesday issued notices to seven police officials for security lapses during Sunday’s landmine blast that targeted Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and two union ministers, the police said.”Two district deputy superintendent of police, a district intelligence officer, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), the officer-in-charge of Salboni police station, the circle inspector and one additional police superintendent have been issued notices,” Inspector General of Police Raj Kanojia told reporters here.

“Explanation has been sought regarding their negligence in supervising the security set up Sunday at Salboni,” he said. Bhattacharjee and central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada had a narrow escape in the landmine blast, which occurred near a culvert as they were returning after the groundbreaking ceremony of the JSW Bengal Steel project in Salboni. Six policemen in Paswan’s pilot car were injured in the blast.