Dunlop To Recommence Work At Sahagunj Plant On Mar. 6

KOLKATA: Dunlop India on Tuesday said it would withdraw suspension of work at its Sahagunj facility and the plant would commence operation on March 6, reports media.The company declared suspension of work on November 30, 2008, after trade unions rejected the company's proposal for a temporary wage cut and suspension of production to tide over working capital crisis. The company had also approached the West Bengal Government for working capital refinance and a set of fiscal concessions. The company said in a statement that a few bankers have now agreed to meet the working capital requirement for running the plant. Besides, the State Government also said it would it would consider relief and incentives sought by the company.

The company is yet to reach a consensus with the labor unions on pending issues and reopening of the facility and it hopes to sort out all pending issues with the unions after the commencement of repairing and refurbishing of the plant, the release said.The company had initially asked 229 workers (out of a total of around 1,200) of maintenance and engineering division to report to duty. The rest of the workers will be inducted in different departments in a phased manner, once the plant is ready for production.

BIMAN BASU RELEASES BOOK ON DELIMITATION OF BENGAL ASSEMBLY AND LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCIES

KOLKATA: Bengal CPI (M) secretary Biman Basu released at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan, late in the afternoon of 1 march a book on delimitation. The books deals with a brief history of delimitation in Bengal and delineates the changes that the recent amendments had wrought in the shape, size, and population pools of the different Assembly and Lok Sabha segments and units.

State committee member of the CPI (M) and an associate of the Delimitation Commission, Rabin Deb wrote and compiled the book. Biman Basu wrote the all-important political introduction to the 75-page, soft cover document published by the National Book Agency (NBA), and priced at Rs 20.

Introducing Rabin’s book while releasing it to the media, Biman Basu said that the effort merited equal importance with the Prannoy Roy-edited India Decides and Dilip Banerjee’s Election Recorder. Certainly, Rabin’s book is the first of its comprehensive kind for Bengal, and the data used has been brought up-to-date to mid-February of 2009. ‘I have not seen such a detailed work of this kind in the past,’ confessed Biman while praising the smart style of writing, analysis, and compilation of the material that had been marshalled with help from both NBA and the daily Ganashakti.

Te book dwells at some detail on how the 294 Assembly segments and the 42 Lok Sabha seats have been reconstituted by the Delimitation Commission chaired by Justice Kuldip Singh. Bima Basu pointed to the principal contents of the book, which looked like this:

Delimitation—an exercise after 33 years
Population based effects
Reserved seats and changes
The shape and size of the Bengal Assembly 1952-2006
Demographic and other features of each Assembly and Lok Sabha seat
Results of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha polls
Gazette notifications of the Delimitation Commission and of the Election Commission
A multi-coloured map delineating the delimitation results

Biman Basu pointed to the acts of commission indulged in by the Bengal opposition, especially by the Trinamul Congress during the public hearings that the Commission organised at Siliguri, Durgapur, and in Kolkata. The then CEO as well as the chairman of the Delimitation Commission were physically heckled. Work of the Commission was hampered. Unprintable words were thrown at the members of the Commission who were dubbed as ‘stooges of Alimuddin Street,’ and yet the work could be completed thanks to the LF members of the Commission present, which backed the Commission’s work to the hilt.

Later, answering questions on the fact of the lessening of the population profile of Kolkata, that saw Kolkata lose one Lok Sabha seat of three, Biman Basu offered four tentative reasons:

Tenants often went to the suburbs in the houses/flats that they had built and/or purchased
Jobs took people and their families away from the metropolis
Dilapidated houses were sold off and families moved to the suburbia

Those working abroad, and originally khas Kolkatans, now preferred to return to pricey and luxurious flats/condominiums they have come to own in the high-rises that increasingly dot the outer reaches of the city.

CPI (M) WORKER ATTEMPTED TO BE BURNT ALIVE AT NANDIGRAM

NANDIGRAM: In a vicariously cruel incident, Trinamuli goons sought to set fire to Uttam Bera, local committee secretary of the Bhekutia unit of the CPI (M) at Nandigram alive, deep into the night of 1 March. In fortuitous circumstances, Uttam managed to escape what was a sure and terrible death awaiting him.

Uttam himself told us that he was alone in his one-and-a-half stories mathkotha mud hut on that fateful night, his wife having gone to her mother’s place with their only girl child. The roof of the mathkotha is an inevitable and traditional construct of thatched roofing material of dried straw and wooden chips to hold them together.

The arsonists would surreptitiously climb atop the roof as Uttam slept the deep slumber of a daily wage earner, and then quickly spread highly flammable spirits and kerosene plus petrol on the roof and on the wooden window sills. The whole ensemble burst into a ball of flame with a vicious hissing noise.

Uttam woke up with a start at the sudden change in temperature (nights are chilly yet in east Midnapore), and had the presence of mind, and the deep courage, to leap down to the ground floor by jumping though the fatal ring of fire that was his nearest window. He identified in the bright light, as his much-beloved self-fabricated house burnt to cinders, the Trinamuli goons who had come in their dozens and who could flee in the dark of the mid-night.

Uttam has been target for long, says CPI (M) leader of the district secretariat Ashok Guria for Uttam is a popular Party organiser. We recall with regret the series of murders the Trinamulis have committed in 2008 of CPI (M) workers at Nandigram since they won the rural polls in the district.

21 May 2008 Khalek Mullick

6 August 2008 Niranjan Mondol

7 August 2008 Dulal Garudas

Besides, Joydeb Paik of Sonachura was shot thrice on 5 August 2008 but he somehow managed to survive, although the wounds had left him half-a-man that he was as far as strength and stamina are concerned. Biman Basu, state secretary of the CPI (M) has castigated the attempted murder of Uttam Bera in strong language.

Elsewhere we learn that more than 300 CPI (M) workers and sympathisers have been driven from home and hearth of late by the right-left combination at Nandigram in the area of the Sonachura and Kalicharanpur Gram Panchayats in a shocking replay of the fateful weeks and months of 2007.

BISHNUPUR WEST SEAT RESULT

KOLKATA: On the defeat of the CPI (M) candidate in the Bishnupur west Assembly seat, Biman Basu said that the greater factor was not the alliance between the two Congresses, Pradesh, and Trinamul, for the former could garner less than ten thousand votes the last time around. The defeat has to be judged in the success or lack of it on the part of the organisation to carry the campaign of the CPI (M) deep enough among the masses of the people.

In addition, Biman was confident that the results of an Assembly by-elections were dominated by factors and conditions that would never apply when it came either to the general elections to the Assembly or to the Lok Sabha. For the record, the CPI (M) had won the seat the last time around after garnering 44% of the votes polled. This time, the figure was but one per cent less – and that made the difference.

Maoists-Jharkhandis Burn Alive Three-Year Old

DHANIAKHALI(HOOGHLY): Three-year-old Sumana Mandi, daughter of CPI(M) panchayat member Loncho Mandi was burnt to a horrible end with a mixture of petrol and kerosene lit with a fatal matchstick. The child died screaming in extreme pain.

The incident took place on February 22, 2009 at a small hamlet in Dhaniakhali in Hooghly. Sumana’s mother Jharna could be of little help as she too had been set upon, bound up, and then lit up with burning fuel in another corner in the hutment. She is at present fighting for her life at a local hospital.

It was to be an otherwise peaceful country evening with the reverberating sound of conchshells welcoming the evening. Loncho, a khet mazdoor, escaped as he was away attending to some urgent panchayat business. The attackers came in an armed group of fifteen.

Biman Basu, senior CPI(M) leader said that the heinous act proved how desperate the right-left opposition had become as the Lok Sabha elections approached. CPI(M) leaders Mitali Kumar and Bharati Mukherjee rushed to the spot and condoled the death in the bereaved family and also looked after the treatment of the burn injuries of Jharna. Statewide protest rallies have been held to castigate the inhuman act. It is learnt that the Disam group of the Jharkhandis were involved in the attack along with Maoists and Trinamulis.

Elsewhere at Raina in Burdwan, Comrade Nurul Islam, a CPI(M) worker, succumbed to his fatal injuries after battling for life for seven days. Comrade Nurul had been brutally attacked by goons in the hire of the Trinamul Congress. Comrade Nurul led the resistance but was felled by many bullets.

CPI(M) Calls For Struggle Against Separatist And Divisive Forces

KOLKATA: IN its latest meeting of the state committee, held on February 24, 2009 the Bengal unit of the CPI(M) has called upon the mass of the people to stand guard against forces of reaction and their political patrons. A ceaseless campaign-movement must be waged against these anti-people and anti-poor elements. Presided over by central committee member Benoy Konar, state secretary Biman Basu made an important address, on the political-organisational reality and tasks.

Biman Basu said that a move had been started for some time now to cobble together an unprincipled mahajot’ or grand alliance comprising a rainbow opposition from the reactionary right to the sectarian left. To counter their moves, the CPI(M) must deepen mass contact and build up an intense political campaign at all levels, keeping in mind the interest of the masses. The unity of the Left Front must be augmented even further in all districts.

The meeting saw state committee members report on different political organisational issues. They said that the acceptability of the Party had continued to increase and the rallies at the call of the Party at the district level were bigger than ever. The resistance of the people is on the rise against the continuum of efforts by the separatists to try to create mayhem and chaos.

The issue of Lok Sabha candidates was discussed and it was decided to allocate the responsibility in this regard to the state secretariat. A meeting of the Bengal Left Front would be convened after all the partners had finalised their list of LS candidates. The comprehensive list of Left Front candidates shall be declared from that meeting of the state Left Front.

LF SURE TO DEFEAT EVEN COMBINED OPPOSITION: BUDDHADEB

BENGAL chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, addressing two meetings at Howrah and in Burdwan asserted that the Bengal Left Front would emerge victorious in the coming elections even if the opposition combined. He also asserted that industrialisation was the most suited way for creating jobs for the unemployed in Bengal.

The task before the Left would be to go deep amongst the masses and disseminate the Left’s political point of view in the backdrop of the evolving reality. The Left unity must be further strengthened. The crude face of capitalism-in-crisis must be unmasked relentlessly. He pointed out how the proponents of the ‘all-powerful market’ across the world were now reading Marx and extolling the virtues of the demand side economics of John Maynard Keynes. Socialism remains all powerful but it would be too early now to write off capitalism as a force to be reckoned with.Speaking in some detail about the danger emanating from the Trinamulis centrally aiding and abetting all kinds of forces of separatism, division, and religious fundamentalism, Buddhadeb emphasised that the issue central to the industrial policy of Bengal was the creation of jobs. Land is a prime requisite for the process to fructify. The LF government shall move forward with more discretion in the days to come and with a more organised approach in the task of land acquisition. At the same time, the ongoing process of democratisation and popular participation n governance shall move ahead.

EC FOR AN ADDITIONAL
11,000 POLLING BOOTHS

In one of its recent decrees, the Election Commission (EC) has called for reduction of voters per booth in Bengal. According to the EC, one booth will not include in its list more than 1200 voters. This translates to setting up of more booths than earlier. The state election department calculates that this will mean an additional of 11,000 booths, come the LS polls. At present the number of polling booths in Bengal number 51,919. After the EC ruling is put in place, sources in the state EC tell us, the number is likely to cross 64,000. The first experiment with the new figures of around 1200 per booth will be done at the Bishnupur west by-elections come February 26, 2009.

We learn from the EC that the argument behind the call for increase in the number of booths is quite straightforward. In Bengal where the political consciousness of voters is widespread, elections are held as almost a sacred event with voters coming out in their millions to vote in instances of assembly or Lok Sabha polls. Even in by-elections, the voting percentage is seldom below 70-75 per cent. Thus, long queues are formed even after darkness had fallen.

The average number of voters per booth now is between 1500 and 1600. The last assembly elections saw Bengal EC suo motu reduce the number of voters per booth to 1400. This time the number, as we said, would work out to 1200-odd. An additional and complex burden that the Bengal election machinery shall have to bear would be the additional components of election workers and security personnel who have to be brought in this time around, or, shall we say, from this time around.

12% INCREASE OF VOTERS AT NANDIGRAM VERSUS 2% AT KHEJURI

The Lok Sabha elections approach fast. One seat that the Trinamul Congress aims to wrest from the CPI(M) is Tamluk. Nandigram assembly segment is a part of this constituency that shall play a crucial role in the final outcome as would Khejuri. Data of the state election commission reveals something very disturbing – in an unprecedented electoral event for Bengal, there has been an increase of 12 per cent of voters in Nandigram assembly segment over the past two years of disturbance at the behest of the right-left combo. The concomitant rise in voters’ strength is a norm hovering around less than 2 per cent.

Subhendu Adhikari of the Trinamul Congress and their candidate designate from Tamluk has already started to boast that he would win the seat by an unprecedentedly huge margin. Let us take a look at a few statistical scenarios. Since the panchayat polls, the voters’ list has puffed up to stand at 12 per cent more than it had been during the past two years. How did this happen?

From January of 2007, the right-left combination let loose a veritable reign of terror in the entire Nandigram blocks, perhaps except Nandigram III. During the whole of 2007 and part of 2008, the voters’ list was revised in the appropriate manner by the Maoists and the Trinamulis with help from SUCI. They played political ducks-and-drakes with the entire process. At the end of the exercise we are now confronted with a hugely inflated voters’ list – 12 per cent worth of increase in less than two years. The whole development has thrown an additionality of challenge to the CPI(M) and its mass base, come the Lok Sabha elections.

LF GOVT GOES IN FOR RS 5106 Cr WORTH OF INCOME GENERATION, ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT

The Bengal Left Front government has declared a plan for additional generation of income and employment especially amongst the poor. This is a step to fight the recession that has spread its hydra-headed tentacles around the Indian economy.

Finance minister Professor Asim Dasgupta would prefer to describe the plan as a move towards farther empowerment of the mass of the people in distressing times. The plan aims at carrying beneficent economic and financial measures to the poorest of the poor as part of the LF government’s policy outlook.

The measures set in motion can thus be summarised:

1.Rs 1000 crore earmarked for non-BPL rural poor for housing
2.BPL families to get ration at Rs 2 for a kg of rice
3.Self-help groups to receive loans at a rate of 4 per cent from banks
4.Rs 50,000 to be disbursed as compensation to farmers whose potato crops have been affected with disease
5.All districts to have decentralised set up of godowns with a capacity of two lakh MT
6.Rs 500 crore allotted for land banks for medium and heavy industries
7.Rs 55 crore allotted for the handloom sector
8.One thousand vocational centres to be set up
9.Two new universities to be set up at Purulia-Bankura, and Jalpaiguri
10.50,000 primary school teacher posts to be filled up
11.Increase in the pay of para-teachers, school and college part-time teachers, and secondary education centres
12.The pension of workers of closed factories and closed tea gardens to be increased to Rs 1000 from the existing Rs 750
13.Increase of pension of the old, the widows, the physically challenged, as well as of kisans and workers

SPREAD OF EDUCATION IS FACILITATED BY THE USE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE

In order to ensure a fast spread of education, especially scientific education amongst the people, the use of the mother tongue is essential. This was stated by CPI(M) leader Biman Basu while addressing a seminar on ‘study of science in Bengali’, on the occasion of the international mother language day in Kolkata on February 21, 2009. The Bangiya Sakhsharata Prasar Samity (BSPS) organised the seminar at Kolkata University.

Biman Basu said that language had always played a central role behind the process that led to the formation and growth of States. Bangladesh is a potent example of this tenet. Imperialism was at work in ensuring that languages became fewer and fewer and diversity was done away with. This must be resisted.

Bengali language, too, was under attack from the forces of imperialism and their lackeys. The role emoted by such stalwarts in the development of the Bengali language like Vidyasagar, Madhusudan Dutta, Akhshaykumar Datta, Ram Mohan Roy, the Tagore family, J C Bose, and P C Roy were mentioned. Their tradition must be carried forward.

The occasion also saw the celebration of the 18th year of the organ of the BSPS, Lekha O Pada.

Three ministers, 18 new candidates in West Bengal’s Left Front list

Kolkata, March 3: Three ministers and 18 new faces figure in the list of candidates announced Tuesday by West Bengal’s ruling Left Front for the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with Front chairman Biman Basu conceding that the alliance which has been ruling the state for 32 years faces a tough battle.

The ministers in fray are Sailen Sarkar from the newly created constituency Malda (North), Anisur Rehman from Murshidabad and Manohar Tirki from Alipurduar. While Sarkar and Reham belong to Left Front major Communist Party of India (Marxist), Tirki represents the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).

Keeping intact the seat-sharing formula among the Front partners, the CPI(M) will contest 31 seats, Forward Bloc and RSP four each, while Communist Party of India (CPI) will field their candidates on three seats.

Bolpur, the seat which Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had won seven times consecutively on a CPI(M) ticket, will see Ramchandra Dom as the party’s candidate. Last time, Dom was elected from the neighbouring Birbhum constituency. Chatterjee, expelled from the CPI(M) for refusing to toe the party line and continuing as speaker during the Lok Sabha trust vote triggered by the left parties’ withdrawal of support to centre’s United Progressive Alliance dispensation over the India-US civil nuclear deal in mid last year, has announced his retirement from active politics.

But even if he had decided to seek re-election, Bolpur would have been out of bounds for the veteran parliamentarian as it has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate. Former Asian Games gold medallist and sitting MP from Krishananagar Jyotirmoyee Sikdar has been renominated from the seat.

Veteran Congress leader and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee would be up against newcomer Mriganka Bhattacharya of the CPI(M) in Jangipur, while Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee faces an old rival in CPI(M)’s Rabin Deb in Kolkata South.

Among the party’s high-profile current MP's, Mohammad Salim will seek re-election from the new constituency Kolkata (North), while sitting MP Laxman Seth has being renominated from his Tamluk constituency, that includes the trouble-torn Nandigram.

CPI’s vocal Lok Sabha member Gurudas Dasgupta will seek the people’s verdict from Ghatal. In the 2004 Lok Sabha election, the Left Front had bagged 35 seats, while the Congress got six and the Trinamool Congress one.

Releasing the list, Basu said the alliance was waiting to see whether the Congress and the Trinamool can successfully conclude a seat-sharing arrangement in the coming days. “It will be a tough battle for us. We have to surmount a mountain of obstacles,” he said.

However, he said this alliance was not new. “Earlier, we used to fight the united Congress. Then Trinamool came out of it. Now the two parties and some other outfits are trying to form a Mahajot (grand alliance).”

“Whichever party forms an alliance, we are ready. We fight elections to safeguard the interests of the masses,” he said, after a Front meeting at the state headquarters of the CPI(M) at Alimuddin street.

Candidates List of the Left Front for Lok Sabha Polls-2009

Const No.
Name of Constituency
Name of Candidate
Name of The Party
1
Coochbehar (SC)
Nripen Roy NEW
AIFB
2
Alipurduar (ST)
Manohar Tirkey NEW
RSP
3
Jalpaiguri (SC)
Mahendra Roy NEW
CPI(M)
4
Darjeeling
Jibesh Sarkar NEW
CPI(M)
5
Raiganj
Bireswar Lahiri NEW
CPI(M)
6
Balurghat (SC)
Prasanto Mazumder NEW
RSP
7
Maldah Uttar
Sailen Sarkar
CPI(M)
8
Maldah Dakshin
Dr. Abdur Rezzak NEW
CPI(M)
9
Jangipur
Mriganka Bhattacharya NEW
CPI(M)
10
Murshidabad
Anisur Rahaman NEW
CPI(M)
11
Baharampur
Pramathesh Mukherjee
RSP
12
Krishnagar
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar - F
CPI(M)
13
Ranaghat (SC)
Dr. Basudeb Barman
CPI(M)
14
Bangaon(SC)
Dr. Ashim Bala NEW
CPI(M)
15
Barrackpur
Tarit Baran Topdar
CPI(M)
16
DumDum
Amitava Nandy
CPI(M)
17
Barasat
Sudin Chattopadhay NEW
AIFB
18
Basirhat
Ajoy Chkraborty
CPI
19
Joynagar (SC)
Nemai Barman NEW
RSP
20
Mathurapur (SC)
Animesh Naskar NEW
CPI(M)
21
Diamond Harbour
Samik Lahiri
CPI(M)
22
Jadavpur
Dr. Sujan Chakraborty
CPI(M)
23
Kolkata Dakshin
Rabin Deb
CPI(M)
24
Kolkata Uttar
Md.Salim
CPI(M)
25
Howrah
Swadesh Chakraborty
CPI(M)
26
Uluberia
Hannan Mollah
CPI(M)
27
Sreerampur
Santashree Chatterjee
CPI(M)
28
Hooghly
Rupchand Pal
CPI(M)
29
Arambag(SC)
Sakti Mohan Malik NEW
CPI(M)
30
Tamluk
Laxman Seth
CPI(M)
31
Kanthi
Prasanta Pradhan
CPI(M)
32
Ghatal
Gurudas Dasgupta
CPI
33
Jhargram (ST)
Dr. Pulinbehari Baske NEW
CPI(M)
34
Medinipur
Probodh Panda
CPI
35
Purulia
Narahari Mahato
AIFB
36
Bankura
Basudeb Acharia
CPI(M)
37
Bishnupur (SC)
Susmita Bauri - F
CPI(M)
38
Bardhaman(Purba) (SC)
Dr. Anup Saha NEW
CPI(M)
39
Bardhaman-Durgapur
Saidul Haque NEW
CPI(M)
40
Asansol
Bansha Gopal Choudhury
CPI(M)
41
Bolpur (SC)
Dr. Ramchandra Dom
CPI(M)
42
Birbhum
Braja Mukherjee NEW
CPI(M)

Tata Nano all set to hit the road on 23rd March

Kolkata, 27th February: FINALLY THE long wait of the middle class people for the Rs one lakh Tata Nano car seems to be coming to an end. On Thursday (February 26), Tata Motors announced that the Tata Nano will be launched at a glittering function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

According to company sources Tata Nano cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealership from the first week of April 20009. From the second week of April 2009 people can book the dream car. Tata Motors said that the booking process and other details of the Rs one lakh car will be announced on the day of the launch.

Meanwhile, the company is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that interested customers can conveniently avail booking facilities at their locations, across India. Touted as the world’s cheapest family car, Tata Nano car was first unveiled at the auto expo in Delhi on January 10, 2008. Since it’s unveiling, the car has evoked unprecedented interest in the country.

The official website of Tata Nano has recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and at the same time over 6,000 interest groups and communities have been created. However, due to rift between Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress Party and West Bengal government, Tata Motors had to relocate its manufacturing plant from Singur to Sanad in Gujarat.

Tata Motors ambitious project Tata Nano has became the centre of attraction for middle class people, who were earlier not able to buy four wheelers. Let us see, how much interest people show n buying the car, as the whole country has been badly hit by recession.

No decision yet on post-poll support to Cong.: Basu

KOLKATA, 27th February, 2009 : The Leftfront may face a tough battle in West Bengal if the Congress and Trinamool join hands in the coming Lok Sabha elections, party patriarch Jyoti Basu on Friday said while maintaining that it has not taken any decision on extending support to the former after the polls.

"We cannot say it at this stage. No decision has been taken by the party in this regard," 95-year-old Basu said when asked if the CPI(M) would extend support to the Congress after the parliamentary polls.

Basu, who came to attend the CPI(M) State secretariat meeting at the party's Alimuddin Street headquarters, told reporters that the party would face a tough battle if Congress and Trinamool Congress forged an alliance in the LS polls in West Bengal and might get less seats compared to what it had won in the 2004 election.

Asked what strategy the party would adopt in the coming election, he replied, "We will go to the people and explain". The State secretariat meeting assumed significance as it was authorised by the CPI(M) State committee to approve the party's list of candidates for the LS polls.

West Bengal, Emami in pact for pulp, paper project

Kolkata, Feb 27: West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) and the city-based Emami Group Friday inked a pact for setting up a greenfield integrated pulp and paper project at an investment of Rs.22 billion (Rs.2,200 crore).The proposed project at Kutikri in West Midnapore district will be part of a Paper and Allied Products Park being developed by WBIDC.

“There will be a high-end printing and writing paper plant with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes per annum. The plant will be developed using the state-of-the art technology from Scandinavia and Germany,” state Industries Minister Nirupam Sen said at the signing of the pact, where Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was also present.

R.S. Agarwal, joint chairman of the Emami Group, said around 1,415 acres will be required for the project, which is likely to be commissioned 42 months after the company got possession of land.

Asked whether acquiring land could pose problems in view of the recent controversies over land acquisition, the chief minister said “No”. The project is expected to generate captive power of around 40 MW and employ around 1,000 people directly and 4,000 indirectly.

“To conserve energy, the plant will utilise the spent liquor from the process to generate steam and power for their captive use,” Agarwal said. The project also envisages setting up of social infrastructure, including hospitals, school and market facilities, for the employees and the local population.

BDR mutiny hits India-Bangladesh trade

Kolkata, Feb 27 : At least 500 trucks ferrying goods to Bangladesh, were stranded at the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Petrapole Friday as exporters feared a loss of Rs.2 billion ($38.83 million) following the mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troopers. “As of now, at least 500 trucks with both perishable and other goods are stuck at the border,” Raja Roy, general secretary, Calcutta Goods Transport Association, told mediaperson.

West Bengal Exporter Coordination Committee secretary Ujjal Saha said: “In north Bengal, there could be a loss of Rs.2 billion. Vegetables and fruits are becoming stale”. India shares a 4,095 km-long border with Bangladesh, of which the longest stretch - 2,216 km - is in West Bengal.

After the mutiny, vigil was stepped up all along the border. The Border Security Force asked people to keep distance from the border and the authorities restricted movement of vehicles. The administration on the Indian side suspended operations at the three land customs stations (LCS) in West Bengal - at Mehadipur in Malda district, Hili in south Dinajpur and Chengrabandha in Cooch Behar districts.

The international check post at Petrapole had remained closed for about six hours Thursday following fears that the Bangladesh army personnel could be arriving to take over the outposts at Benapole on the Bangladesh side from the BDR.

The stalemate continued till 3 p.m., and even the two Dhaka-bound buses from Kolkata had to wait. Later on, the buses were allowed to cross over to Bangladesh. “But till now trucks are not being allowed to go by the customs authorities,” Roy said, adding he hoped something positive will happen in a day or two and the normal pace will be restored. As per a rough estimate, trade worth Rs.3 billion takes place with Bangladesh through West Bengal daily.

An official at Mehadipur said 200 trucks carrying perishable goods were still stranded at the border. Gunfights broke out inside the BDR headquarters in Dhaka Wednesday morning as BDR troopers mutinied to protest poor wages and frequent transfers.

The government held talks with a delegation of the mutineers Thursday and an agreement was reached but by that time, the mutiny spread to other BDR camps located all over the country. The revolt ended in the face of an imminent attack by the Bangladesh Army which moved tanks into position outside the BDR headquarters. The mutineers then laid down their arms.

Eighty-two percent polling in West Bengal by-election

Kolkata, February 26,2009: Eighty-two percent of the electorate cast their votes in Thursday’s by-poll to West Bengal’s Bishnupur (West) assembly seat, officials said.They said there were no untoward incidents and polling in in the constituency in South 24 Parganas district passed off peacefully. The votes will be counted March 1.

Trinamool Congress nominee Madan Mitra is pitted against Communist Party of India(Marxist)- CPI(M) candidate Dr. Iskandar Hussain. The Congress had withdrawn its candidate in favour of Madan Mitra.

The election has assumed importance as it would be the last trial of strength between West Bengal’s ruling Leftfront and the opposition before the April-May Lok Sabha polls. The death of CPI(M)’s Rathin Sarkar, who won the seat in 2006, had necessitated the by-election.

Centrotherm To Build 50-MW Thin-film Plant

KOLKATA: Centrotherm photovoltaics AG has received an order to construct a thin-film plant. Illies Renewables GmbH, Hamburg, has ordered a 50-megawatt (MW) production line for thin-film modules based on CIGS technology for its production location at Magdeburg-Rothensee, Germany.

The order value is in excess of €60 million. Delivery of the lines will begin prospectively in the first half of 2010. Illies Renewables is a project development company active in the renewable energies area.

"It gives us great pleasure to support Illies Renewables in their entry into thin-film technology," said Hans Autenrieth, member of the board of centrotherm photovoltaics AG. "This order provides further confirmation that we have backed a pioneering technology in CIGS."

Last year, Renewable Energy World Magazine reported that centrotherm plans to set up a 5000 tonne capacity polysilicon processing factory in the state of West Bengal in eastern India at an investment of US $3.18 billion. The factory is likely to be the first such plant in India and the state government has already allotted a quarter of the land needed for the 790-acre project. The factory will produce both electronic and solar grade silicon and will be equipped with a 100 MW captive power plant.

FDI inflow from NRIs steady despite recession

NEW DELHI: Global recession had no impact on Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) from Indians abroad as it has registered a rise in the current fiscal, the Lok Sabha was informed. Highlighting investment figures from the states, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said: "There has been no decline in investment due to global recession during 2008 as compared to 2007." Goa and West Bengal figured as the highest investment attracting states with the former receiving Rs 30 crore and the latter Rs 20.3 crore in FDIs.

NRIs, Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCB) accounted for FDIs and Foreign Technology Cases (FTC) worth Rs 70 crore during January to September 2008 in comparison to Rs 65.8 crore for the period January to December 2007, Ravi told the Lok Sabha.

Paramount Airways to fly to Kolkata by June

Kolkata: After entering the southern and western markets of the country, private carrier Paramount Airways is now planning to launch services to the eastern sector by June. “We are looking at June to begin operations to and from Kolkata,” the Chennai-based company’s managing director M. Thiagarajan told the media here Wednesday. Thiagarajan said initially the airlines will operate two to three flights between Chennai and Kolkata. “Later, we will connect Kolkata with all the southern cities via Chennai.”

He said his company was ready to get into the northeast too. “For instance, we can launch a service to Dibrugarh.” Thiagarajan met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Wednesday. “He requested me to operate services from Coochbehar, and promised all support.”
The airline now operates from three destinations in western India - Pune, Goa and Ahmedabad, and is the market leader in the south, with a 26 percent share.

He said by 2010, Paramount will operate flights in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. “Post-2011, we will look at flying on international routes,” Thiagarajan said. The company now has five aircraft, and has plans to buy three more by March-end. By 2009-end, the total number of aircraft will go up to 11.

“We will buy 10 numbers of either Boeing 787 or Airbus 350 once we start operating on the international route,” he said. Thiagarajan claimed that while the other airlines lost 8-10 percent of their passengers last year due to the slowdown, the number of Paramount’s passengers increased 5-6 percent.

Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) in West Bengal cleared by Union Cabinet

New Delhi : With the union cabinet clearing proposals of the West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat governments for setting up Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) in their territorial domain, a major hurdle has been removed in the way of investment worth more than Rs 4,50,000 crore in PCPIRs, chemicals minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

“With the cabinet clearing the proposals for three PCPIRs, I believe investment would now start flowing in these regions. Going by their (the states’) estimates, investment worth Rs 4,50,000 crore should start happening there,” Paswan said. The PCPIR policy notified in April 2007 seeks to ensure adoption of a holistic approach to the development of global scale industrial clusters in the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment-friendly manner. “They would have high-class infrastructure, and provide a competitive environment conducive for setting up businesses. They would thus result in a boost to manufacturing, augmentation of exports and generation of employment, all needed to counter the effects of the global economic downturn,” the minister said.

As per the policy, 40 per cent of the area would be a processing zone, while the remaining would be the non-processing area consisting of residential, commercial and other social and institutional infrastructure. In terms of the policy, the state government is only required to notify and not acquire the entire area. A PCPIR includes SEZ(s), Free Trade and Warehousing Zones, Industrial Parks and existing industrial clusters. All existing labour laws would be applicable in the PCPIR and SEZs, in the region, if any, would be governed by special laws.

Of the three proposals approved, the Andhra Pradesh government has proposed to set up a PCPIR at Vishakhapatnam-Kakinada-Rajahmundry belt covering an area of 603.58 sq km. The total industrial investment in it is estimated at Rs 343,000 crore including committed investments of Rs 1, 63,890 crore and the envisaged direct and indirect employment in the PCPIR is estimated to be about 5.25 lakh and 6.73 lakh persons respectively. The state has identified HPCL and GMR-led consortia as the two anchor tenants for this project. Similarly, the Narendra Modi administration in Gujarat has proposed to set up a PCPIR at Dahej spread over blocks of Vagra and Bharuch in south Gujarat, covering 453 sq km at an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore.

West Bengal had proposed to host a PCPIR in Haldia in Purba Medinipur district covering the existing Haldia Municipal Area and the adjoining areas of Haldia Development Authority (including Nayachar Island), covering an area of 250.19 sq km. The government has estimated a total investment of Rs 93,180 crore in the proposed PCPIR, including a committed investment of Rs 48,180 crore.

West Bengal: Trinamool seeks tie-up with Congress

KOLKATA: A small section of Congress leaders in West Bengal may be more than keen to strike a deal with Trinamool Congress to fight the Lok Sabha elections jointly, but this cross-section has no role to play in finalising the deal with Mamata Banerjee. The Congress high command will finally decide on the issue.

"We can’t decide on fighting the coming Lok Sabha elections jointly with Trinamool Congress. We have already informed our party high command that we want an adjustment with Trinamool Congress. But a final decision in this regard will be taken by our party high command," leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Manas Bhunia said on Wednesday.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is also aware of the situation which reasons her not attaching too much importance to hold talks with West Bengal Congress leaders. It is learnt that Mamata is holding talks with AICC leaders in Delhi regarding striking the deal with the Congress to take on the CPI(M) in the coming parliamentary elections. Mamata is maintaining silence on the issue and has reportedly assigned some of her trusted leaders to keep a close watch on state Congress leaders to gauge how many of them are serious about the alliance.

The AICC will hold a two-day session in Delhi from March 2 which will be attended by all state Congress presidents, legislative party leaders and party spokespersons. It is expected that the issue of a poll alliance in West Bengal will surface at the meeting and senior AICC leaders will try to ascertain from the West Bengal Congress leaders the electoral gains the Congress could achieve by striking a deal with Mamata Banerjee.

Meanwhile, second-ranking leaders of both the Congress and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal are continuing to run each other down. "Mamata Banerjee may be interested in striking a deal with our party to fight the elections jointly. But, her lieutenants are putting in all efforts to ruin the possibilities of finalising the seat-sharing. I request Mamata to identify her own party leaders who are on a mission to destroy the chances of a deal," Mr Bhunia said on Wednesday.

Mr Bhunia’s target was Partha Chatterjee, the opposition leader and Trinamool Congress MLA, who has made a scathing attack against external affairs minister and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pranab Mukherjee, holding him responsible for helping out the CPI(M) in getting central funds for various developmental projects in West Bengal.

Maoists attack railway station, kill one RPF personnel

Purulia: A Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel was killed and three others were injured, two of them critically, when Maoists attacked the Biramdih railway station in this West Bengal district, opened fire and fled after snatching their rifles.

S R Majhi (24) was critically injured and died at the Bokaro hospital in Jharkhand, where he was shifted along with the other two from Purulia sadar hospital for treatment, Railway sources said.
About 10 Maoists took the RPF personnel by surprise by suddenly opening fire from sophisticated weapons at the station, 20 km from here in the Adra division of South Eastern Railway, Divisional Railway Manager Om Prakash Choubey said.

There would have been more casualty had the station been crowded, sources said, adding luckily for the passengers there was no train in the station when the Maoists struck. The attackers escaped through the common border with Jharkhand minutes after the operation. The leaflets and hand bills left by them were seized by the police.

WB Govt accepts Fifth Pay Commission recommendations

Kolkata: With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the West Bengal Government today announced the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission with certain improvements, which will be effective from April 1 this year.

"The state government has accepted, by and large, the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, constituted by it, with certain improvements," Finance minister Asim Dasgupta said.

Beneficiaries will include ten lakh government employees, teachers and other staff, while the government has to incur an additional expenditure of about Rs 5,700 crore annually, he said.

Dasgupta said that replacing the existing pay scales, a revised pay structure with five Pay Bands and distinct Grade Pay for each of the unrevised pay scales have been introduced.

Giving an example, Dasgupta said a Group-D employee now drawing a basic pay of Rs 2,600 plus dearness pay of Rs 1,300 would get Rs 6,600 as basic pay in the revised pay structure. The highest basic scale in Pay Band-5 will be from Rs 37,400 to Rs 60,000, he said.