January 2006

Hardware production soon to commence in Kolkata

Tuesday, January 31, 2006 | AY
For the first time in the Eastern region, a Kolkata-based company, The Global Concept (GBC), will manufacture computer hardware, in collaboration with, TXYCO, a Chinese company. Apart from producing hardware, the GBC will start making of desktop and laptops in collaboration with TXYCO. There are already two companies in West Bengal, which have been manufacturing computers. But they assemble the hardware from foreign countries like China and Korea. General manager, TXYCO said the joint venture company, will sell 50,000 computers in the first year of production. Initially the company will invest around Rs 50 crore, they said. The GBC will invest Rs 20 crore. The prices of desktops, which the company will produce, vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.

WB Governor appointed as Governor of Bihar

Tuesday, January 31, 2006 | AY
West Bengal Governor, Gopal Gandhi, will be taking the oath of being the Governor of Bihar following the resignation of Buta Singh after the Supreme Court indicted him in the dissolution of state Assembly. Gopal Gandhi inspected a guard of honour at the airport. Later he went to the Gandhi Maidan where he garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 58th death anniversary. He also paid a visit to the Gandhi Ghat. Chief Justice of Patna High Court J N Bhatt would administer the oath of Governor of Bihar to Gopal Gandhi at 9 am on Tuesday at Raj Bhavan. President APJ Abdul Kalam had accepted Buta Singh's resignation and had asked West Bengal Governor, Gopal Gandhi to assume the additional charge of Bihar.Buta Singh was appointed as the Governor of Bihar after the UPA came to power in the Centre.

Aranyak film festival commenced today

Saturday, January 28, 2006 | AY
The third Aranyak Wildlife Film Festival was inaugurated today by the chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The Aranyak authorities have incorporated an exhibition of handicraft items made by forest villagers of North and South Bengal and the Sunderbans. The Aranyak Wildlife Film Festival, to run in Nandan I, II and III, will screen around 40 films and documentaries depicting breathtaking sights and sounds of nature. The festival will end on January 30. The inaugural film screened today was Naresh Bedi’s Cherub of the Mist, a movie on two red pandas. Seven wildlife film-makers were felicitated for their work showcasing the magnificent flora and fauna of the world. Those felicitated were Naresh Bedi, Harry Marshall, Alka Tomar, Dr Sunita Pradhan, P Balam and E Diwakar. The films to be screened at the festival have been sent by National Geographic Channel, Royal Society for Protection of Birds, Bedi films and so on.

Roopa bags Dhaka award

Saturday, January 28, 2006 | AY
Iran and India have shared a bulk of the top prizes at the 9th Dhaka International Film Festival. Kolkata-based Sekhar Das’s Bengali political drama, Krantikaal, picked up two of the main trophies – the International Jury Director’s Award and Best Actor (Female) for Roopa Ganguly. Last year, she had won an acting prize at Osian’s-Cinefan – 7th Festival of Asian Cinema. Krantikaal, Das’s second feature, probes the psychology that propels secessionist movements across the length and breadth of a culturally diverse country. The best films and performances were adjudged by a three-man jury which included Indian filmmaker Anwar Jamal.

School mentions particular brand in uniform- Annoyed parents

Saturday, January 28, 2006 | AY
A Kolkata school issued a notice last week making it mandatory for students to buy shoes of a particular MNC brand. A group of nearly 30 parents sent a letter on Thursday, bearing their signatures, to protest the school’s decision. The shoes are priced between Rs 890 (for pre-schoolers) to Rs 1,050 (for adults). Parents complain that the school has all rights to mention specifications of uniform, but no right to mention the brand. The move smacks of commercial motives,” said a parent on condition of anonymity.

Computerised ticketing in Kolkata buses

Saturday, January 28, 2006 | AY
A fully automatic, computerised ticketing system has been introduced for long-distance bus services in West Bengal. Subhash Chakrabarty, transport minister of West Bengal, inaugurated the 'Palmtec' ticketing system for the 'Whiteliner' buses operated by Pirojiwal Infrastructure Limited (PIL), in association with West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC). Bus service would be started on long distance routes to Bokaro, Deogarh, Cooch Behar, Dhubri, Mukutmanipur, Hasnabad, Hazaribagh, Guwahati and some other places in Assam. Most buses would be air-conditioned (AC) and would sport features like personal announcement systems to announce stoppages, seats with snack tray and water bottle holder. A vehicle tracking system based on GPS technology would be used for tracking buses. Palmtec was a re-chargeable battery-operated, hand-held computer with in-built printer which, said Chakrabarty, would help conductors track fares collected better.

Restored Ray films

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | AY
Satyajit Ray is big in Bengal and Bengalis everywhere take great pride in his Lifetime Achievement Oscar. His film production and distribution company, Priya Entertainments, has digitally restored the prints of three of Ray’s films 'Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne (1968), Aranyer Din Ratri (1969) and Pratidwandi (1970),and released them commercially in four Kolkata theatres on January 13. Of the three, Goopi Gyne... and Aranyer... are probably Ray’s most popular films. The former is a children’s classic. Aranyer, in contrast, is for adults only. For now, each film will run at a theatre for a week, after which they will travel to the other four. Beyond that, “It will depend on the people of Calcutta.” In 1968, Goopy Gayne... had a 51-week run at the theatres, quite exceptional for Bengali films.

Tender for second Kolkata airport

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | AY
The West Bengal government is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) in February for the proposed greenfield second airport for Kolkata, located close to the existing airport at Dumdum. The chief minister also invited the infrastructure companies of Singapore and Dubai to participate in the airport project. The chief minister also invited Dubai-based companies for investing in proposed health city near airport.

Share this in Facebook

Read Message! Post Message! My-WestBengal Forum! Premier WestBengal Forum! Click Here!