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.

WB to set up six coastal police stations

Kolkata, Dec 11 (PTI): The West Bengal government is setting up six coastal police stations and 17 coastal outposts, following a central directive for strengthening coastal security after the Mumbai terror attacks."Six coastal police stations will be set up. Of these, five would be set up by Sunderbans Infrastructure Development Corporation and another by PWD. Besides, 17 coastal outposts and check posts would also be set up," Home Secretary Asok Mohun Chakraborty told newsmen after a high-level meeting to review coastal security.

The police stations would come up at Frasergunj, Haldibari, Digha-Demohana, Moipeeth-Krisnamohanpur, Hemnagar and Khejuri-Talpatti.According to Chakraborty, the police stations would operate from available premises till 'appropriate' premises were found and private vessels would be hired for coastal patrolling till the Centre sent launches and hi-speed boats for the purpose.The meeting was attended by DGP A B Vohra, SPs of three coastal districts and other officers. PTI