Himalayan rally to hit Kolkata Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY
The Himalaya Classic Car Rally 2006, from Islamabad to Kolkata via Kathmandu, was expected to reach Kolkata on April 10. The event had been designed to be a driving adventure for classic cars and the route undertaken would take participants to a number of places still untouched by commercialisation. The rally was flagged off by G G Jamal, Pakistan's minister for tourism, on March 15 and entered India through the Wagah border on March 21. The participants in the rally included 18 vintage cars dating from 1936 to 1939, and classic cars built between 1940 and 1970. The rally was flagged off by G G Jamal, Pakistan's minister for tourism, on March 15 and entered India through the Wagah border on March 21. The participants hailed from UK, USA, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Germany, Korea and India. Of the four Indian participants, three were from Kolkata.
Air Deccan links Ranchi with Kolkata and Delhi Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY
Air Deccan, will soon connect this burgeoning Jharkhand capital with New Delhi and Kolkata. The government last year floated a tender inviting the airlines to bid for starting services on the route. Of the six airlines that took part in the bid, the government chose Air Deccan.
Hearing of an oldest pending case in a few days Friday, March 31, 2006 | AY
A local court here is repening the country's oldest pending case 173 years after it was lodged. The case is regarding the ownership of the thousands of acres of land, historic buildings and temples spread across the city. In the late eighteenth century, British Governor-General Robert Clive ruled that the property should remain in the custody of Raja Naba Krishna Deb, a major Bengali royal of the Sovabazar court. The only condition for his continued rule was that he should pay a tax of one rupee per day, a duty still being collected by the state. The property was divided among family members after Deb and his son died. The case first came to court in 1833, after pondering over the case for over 22 years, judges appointed a British lawyer to oversee the property. In 1862, control was passed to a "temple committee" made up of members of the Sovabazar family, British officials and leading citizens. The committee lodged Rs 10,000, now worth about $225,000, with the court.
Bengali news channels fill the TV Wednesday, March 29, 2006 | AY
Two Bengali news channels have launched in the last 48 hours, and at least one more is in the pipeline. Kolkata TV is a new channel from the Xenitis group, which is better known for providing low-cost personal computers, while the other one, Chobbees Ghanta, is a 60-40 joint venture of Zee News and Akash Bangla. Add the two news channels that are already dishing out 24-hour Bengali news — Tara Newz and Star Ananda . A fifth news channel is on the cards from producer Dibyojyoti Basu who plans to replicate the successes of shows like Khoj Khabar and Khaas Khabar on a full-fledged 24-hour newswheel. Star Ananda is a joint venture between Star and the ABP group.
American chamber of commerce in Kolkata Wednesday, March 29, 2006 | AY
After 14 years of setup in India, The American Chamber of Commerce, has entered Bengal. The opening of the Kolkata chapter, Amcham’s sixth office in the country after Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, is part of US efforts to open up the Indian economy. The organisation will help create linkages with worldwide Amcham organisations and serve to attract broader interest to east India. According to Amcham executive director Ramesh Bajpai, the chapter is starting with a core group of 12 companies, like American Express, Ernst & Young, Ixia, Labvantage, Netguru, PwC and Skytech, while several other US joint ventures would join subsequently. Currently, close to 25 US companies are operating in West Bengal.
GRSE expands in Kolkata Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | AY
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), is in the process of firming up expansion plans for augmenting its capacity by around 40 per cent. The project in Haldia would mainly focus on repairing activity of merchant vessels. GRSE has already initiated talks with the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) for the land in Kolkata. The order book position for GRSE was around Rs 3,500 crore, which was to be delivered over the next six years. The Indian Navy has earmarked funds worth Rs 4,700 crore for fleet acquisition.
Kalyan in Bengali Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | AY
The second directorial venture of Pawan Kalyan's 'Satyagrahi' created a sensation of sorts. The ceremony was star studded and a revelation by AM Ratnam that the film apart from hindi and telugu would be either remade or dubbed into bengali, drew applause. This is because the film seems to have a universal appeal. Coming to bengali films you can recollect that in the film Kushi, Kalyan's origins are bengali and he plays the role of Siddardh Roy..the royal bengal tiger.
Tech converts aircrafts into stealth jets Monday, March 27, 2006 | AY
The Kolkata-based Indian Association for Cultivation of Science (IACS) has developed a technology to convert ordinary light combat aircraft into stealth jets that would go undetected on radar. The first stage of the experiment, which commenced in 1999, has been successfully concluded. The defence ministry has approved the technology and has given the go-ahead for "full-scale production" to begin. It is expected to start in about six months’ time. The technology uses a special material to construct a shield on the plexi-glass canopies. It is the glass cover of the cockpit that usually betrays the presence of an aircraft as it reflects the laser beam that is emitted to catch them on the radar. The shield will cover the cockpit and deflect the laser beam on the shield in all directions.
PM and Sonia campaigns in Bengal Monday, March 27, 2006 | AY
PCC chief Pranab Mukherjee, said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi will campaign for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. Mukherjee said that he himself would begin campaigning from April three for the first phase of the elections to be held in the West Midnapore, Bankura and Purlia districts plagued by maoist violence. In reply to a question, he said that the party's central election committee would meet tomorrow to decide on the second list of Congress candidates for the assembly elections. The names would be later announced by the AICC.
Steel houses in Kolkata Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY
Kolkata is in part of the campaign to promote the use of steel in housing projects. This will make Kolkata one of the two global destinations where Living Steel is setting up its prototype houses to tell the world that steel is a sustainable alternative to concrete and other building materials. The idea behind picking Kolkata and Warsaw is that they two cities represent diagonally opposite weather format. One is hot and humid and the other cold and dry. The project will come up in New Town, Rajarhat, and will be a residential complex with 6-8 apartments. A steel construction would be 4-5 per cent costlier than the conventional one, but the metal comes with a lot of other advantages. Its biggest USPs are its green tag in terms of air and sound pollution and the speedy construction time, given that most of the constrution is pre-fabricated off-site.
Amitabh fails to come to Kolkata Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has cancelled his one-day Kolkata tour scheduled for tomorrow on health ground. Director of Emami Limited, Aditya Agarwal, who organised a programme with the 'Big B' at a city hotel here tomorrow, said Bachchan had not mentioned in his intimation as to when he would make himself available for the programme which has been cancelled.
Anil Biswas expired Sunday, March 26, 2006 | AY
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Anil Biswas, who had suffered a massive brain haemorrhage on March 18, died on Sunday evening. He was 61. Biswas, a member of party's politburo and CPI(M)'s West Bengal state committee secretary, was admitted to a city nursing home and underwent two surgeries for removal of blood clots in the brain. The condition of Biswas, who had been kept on life support, began deteriorating since Saturday morning.
Paper leak found at a school Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY
Early this morning a packet containing Mathematics and Life Science question papers for internal school exams reached the headmaster’s room at Hare School. Some parents had bought the papers outside the school grounds and brought them to the headmaster as proof. On 16 February the same parents and some teachers had complained to the headmaster that a group of school staff was selling question papers in the area. The headmaster had asked for some proof. According to a teacher of Hare School, question papers of annual tests being leaked is a common affair. The school’s annual exams began on 16 March and Mathematics and life science examinations were scheduled to be held in the next week.
British companies eyeing Kolkata Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY
British IT companies are eyeing up India as a destination for development centres in the hope of creating a gateway to the South East Asian market. There is a high probability of UK firms setting up manufacturing units in the eastern region, and Kolkata specifically, for the outside market. Mr Mark Dolan, director of the UK Inward Investment Group, said the British government is drawing up new strategies to market the UK’s commercial and industrial strengths. Key areas for investment are mainly within the knowledge based industries, including information and communication technology, software, BPO, pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare and engineering services. To assess the possibilities of trade and investment between India and UK a nine member parliamentary delegation of the British Labour Party is scheduled to come to Kolkata in the first week of April.
Lufthansa Systems eyeing on Kolkata Saturday, March 25, 2006 | AY
Lufthansa Systems, leading IT service providers for the airline and aviation industries worldwide, is keen to establish an IT centre in India and is examining opportunities in Kolkata. The wholly owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa group has sought information on availability of space in the city. The move follows a recent visit of state's IT secretary G.D. Gautama to Hannover in Germany to participate in the CeBIT fair where he met with Lufthansa Systems board member Bernd Appel.
Air India changes timings Friday, March 24, 2006 | AY
Air India announced changed timings for its international and domestic flights to and from Kolkata that will be effective on 26 March. On the Kolkata-London route, AI-151 will leave Kolkata at 1.30 pm and arrive in London at 7.50 pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays while on Thursdays AI-151 will leave Kolkata at 1.40 pm and arrive in London at 8 pm. On the London-Kolkata route, AI-150 will leave London at 10.30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive in Kolkata at 12.50 am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On the Dhaka-Kolkata route, AI-531 will leave Dhaka at 11.40 am and arrive in Kolkata at midnight on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. AI-681 will leave Kolkata at 2.30 am and arrive in Mumbai at 5.05 am on Thursdays, AI-680 will leave Mumbai at 1 am and arrive in Kolkata at 2.30 am on Sundays and AI-681 will leave Kolkata at 3.25 am and arrive in Mumbai at 6.00 am on Sundays.
Tortoise aged above 250 dies Friday, March 24, 2006 | AY
A giant aldabra tortoise thought to be around 250 years old has died in the Kolkata zoo of liver failure. The tortoise, named "Addwaitya" meaning the "The One and Only" in Bengali, was the oldest tortoise in the world but they have not presented scientific proof to back up their claim. Wild Aldabra tortoises are found in the Aldabra island in the Indian Ocean Seychelles islands. They average about 120 kg. It is believed that tortoises are the longest lived of all animals, with life spans often surpassing 100 years.
Project on thunderstorm warning system Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY
The pilot project of a national coordinated programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to develop an early warning system for thunderstorms in the eastern States, is to be launched in April. Observations — one of the most intensive in the country — will be undertaken at various strategic locations in Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Popularly known as "kalbaisakhi," the thunderstorms over the Gangetic West Bengal, Bangladesh and North East India are the most destructive to be recorded anywhere in the sub-continent. The implementation plan for STORM(Severe Thunderstorm Observation and Regional Modelling) 2007-2009 will be prepared after the completion of the pilot phase. STORM's main objective is "to reduce the loss of life and property by warning people of an impending thunderstorm between five to six hours before its arrival. The programme will be implemented by involving scientists and experts of 30 institutions and research and development organisations.
Londone Probashi Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY
A film on first generation Bengalis in Britain – ‘Londone Probashi’ (At home in London), will showcase the successful lives of immigrants from West Bengal. The 50-minute film presented by London-based Indian dancer Bithika Raha will narrate the triumphs and trials of people from West Bengal who have settled in London. The film - shot by Kolkata-based filmmaker Tapas Sengupta and supplemented by Abhijit Banerjee's camera work - is a collage of interviews of Bengalis from all walks of life in London, from the Bengali shopkeeper to professor. The underlying objective is also to sensitise the present generation of Bengalis who are British citizens unaware of their ethnicity.
CEC to visit Kolkata Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | AY
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) B B Tandon with his deputies N. Gopalaswami and Navin Chawla will visit kolkata today to supervise the arrangements for the coming West Bengal Assembly polls. According to the State Chief Electoral Officer Debasis Sen, the Election Commission (EC) would try to deploy as many central government employees as election officers as possible. The State needed around 60,000 election officers for which it had to borrow from the state government employee’s pool. After concluding their two days visit here, the Commission will visit Assam for a day.
Son makes film on father's detective novels Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY
Sandip Ray, the son of India's most celebrated filmmaker Satyajit Ray, is making a film based on one of his father's detective novels. Oscar-winning Satyajit Ray wrote some 35 stories on a detective named Feluda beginning in 1966, in a series that was extremely popular. His new film is based on a story called ``Tintoretto's Jesus'' and it will mark 40 years since the character's creation. Feluda is a detective hero who has lots in common with the middle class men of the 1960s in Calcutta, which fell to communists in the early 1970s amid growing unrest over poverty and unemployment. Satyajit Ray died in 1992, but his films, including some portraying Feluda, remain popular, especially among Bengalis.
Gopi Malya's new projects Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY
Gopi Malya, owner of the seven-year old Malya Films Ltd, the company with a production target of 33 films in 14 languages for 2006, out of which seven would be in Bengali. The first one goes on the floors from April and is to be directed by Nabendu Ghosh’s son Subhankar, who had bagged a National Award for his debut Woh Chokri. The first schedule of the film, with a budget of around Rs 2.5 crore, will be shot in London but thereafter the action will shift to Calcutta, Siliguri or Kalimpong. Actors for the “family-oriented film” are yet to be finalised, but his wish list for the aged couple include: Victor Banerjee and Moushumi Chatterjee. The original story by a Gujarati writer is about the clash of Western and traditional Indian values and an honest evaluation of the changing times.
Sammir Dattani eyed by Rituparno Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY
Newcomer Sammir Dattani has been snapped up by a film production company to star in several of their upcoming ventures as well as by well known Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh for his next film. Color Chips, a Hyderabad-based animation and feature film company currently producing Mani Shankar's espionage thriller "Mukhbir", feels Sammir is the "company's star". Bengali director Rituparno says that Sammir Dattani has great potential. He carries a look of noble vulnerability on his face, which he finds interesting and unique. He wants to cast him in a major role.
Capgemini centre in Kolkata Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY
Capgemini, Consulting technology major, has chosen Kolkata over Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune to open its eighth technology services and business process outsourcing centre in India. Kolkata will be the third city in the country where the company has a presence, besides Mumbai and Bangalore. With an aim to increasing its manpower from the existing 4,000 to 10,000 by the end of 2007, Capgemini has decided to ramp up Kolkata’s capacity to 3,000 within two years. Capgemini will concentrate on areas of outsourcing, like application management, infrastructure maintenance and software development, in the city. The company has more than 100 global customers, General Motors and Texas Utility being some of the noted ones.
New health project in the city Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | AY
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has bagged another mega health project for the state. Renowned cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, who runs the Rabindranath Tagore Heart Research centre at Mukundapur near Kolkata, today met the Chief Minister and gave him the proposal of a health city near Mukundapur, which will have two hospitals with 5,000 beds. While the first hospital is meant for people from the upper echelons of society, the second, to be completed in the second phase, will be open for the middle class and the poor. They have requested for 20 acres of land and are going to invest Rs 1,000 crore for the project. The first hospital will be of international standard where they expect patients not only from neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh and Nepal, but also from countries in Europe and the Middle East. Shetty said that the second hospital which is meant for the general public, rates for different services will be within the reach of the common man.
United opposition move falls apart Sunday, March 19, 2006 | AY
The talks between BJP and Trinamool Congress on seat sharing failed in West Bengal as Mamta Banerjee and Arun Jaitley failed to reach a concensus on the seat sharing for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. "We have narrowed down the differences and are hopeful of reaching an understanding very soon," Jaitley said after holding one-and-half-hour parley with Banerjee. Jaitley also said that as per understanding earlier, TC has announced candidates for 201 seats and BJP for 14 seats. The 294 seat West Bengal assembly would go to polls in a five phase election next month. BJP had demanded 35 seats while Mamata had said her party was negotiating on 23 seats. Banerjee had also not given any candidates for the 26 seats won by the congress in the last election just keeping the door open for a tie-up with the party.
11th European film festival held in Kolkata Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY
The 11th European Film Festival starts today at the Nandan and will showcase some of the finest films made by European directors. The festival will feature 17 films most of which have won prestigious prizes in recent years like Kolya (which won an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film) and Hector, (which won an award for Best Movie and Best Actress at the festival of Malaga). Started in 1986, the EU Film Festival is organised every two years by the Delegation of the European Commission in collaboration with the EU member states’ missions in India and the Directorate of Film Festivals in the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This year the festival travelled to Kolkata from Delhi and then will head for Chennai, where it will be held from March 24 to 31, and Thiruvananthapuram, from April 4 to 11.
Soccer captain chose as Nike ambassador Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY
Indian soccer team captain Baichung Bhutia is the new brand ambassador of Nike for five years. Nike also announced its partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to bring the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) to India every year. The aim of this event is to popularise the sport at the grass-roots level and encourage young talents by giving them an opportunity to participate in a global tournament.
Govt promotes breeding ornamental fish Saturday, March 18, 2006 | AY
The trade in ornamental fish is estimated at about $5.3bn, with an average 6% growth a year, and Singapore being the the top exporting country. Right now, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are the major ornamental fish breeding centres in the country, with West Bengal alone contributing close to 80% of the total production. The Golden Rivulus, the Albino Paradise, Black Molly, Black Sailfin Molly, the cute Guppy, the seemingly dangerous Swordtail, the exotic Red Tuxedo or the Black Angel Fish, name itself glitters. Bio-technology has made it possible to genetically engineer certain varieties that are also becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Abhijit Mitra, senior lecturer, department of marine sciences, Calcutta University says that they are even going to mix a pigment called astaxanthin with the fish feed, which will increase lustre and change the colour of the fish. Rs 106 crore have been allocated for fisheries in West Bengal, out of which a part will go towards the ornamental fish business.
Byatikromi Thursday, March 16, 2006 | AY
Bengali film “Byatikromi” is a straightforward story that deals with the apparent insane obsession of Anuradha (Rituparna Sengupta) for her brother-in-law Ratul (Badshah Moitra.) Anuradha is estranged from her husband Nayan (Bhaskar Banerjee), but in her abnormal state, believes Ratul to be her husband. Ratul, married to Anuradha's older sister Radha (Nandini Ghosal), is drawn into Anuradha's world of obsession and unwittingly succumbs to it. A single sexual encounter between Anuradha and Ratul, changes the lives of both.
Old vehicles free to move in the city Thursday, March 16, 2006 | AY
West Bengal Government had notifies earlier in January to ban public vehicles which are 15-years and older from the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA). Justice Jayanta Biswas from the Kolkata high court, upholding an appeal by the Bengal Bus Syndicate against the notification banning such vehicles, including buses, taxis and trucks to bring down pollution in the metropolis, and struck down the notification.
CAS to be installed soon Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | AY
The delhi high court has judged for the implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS) within four weeks in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The 'do-it-now' order will severely test the ability of the government, multi-system operators, cable men and consumer activists, as they have to meet the demand of immediate implementation of CAS in the above mentioned cities. There is resistance from government representatives who view the system as anti consumer and pro-industry, citing to the plight of slum dwellers who currently pay Rs 60 per connection. The Normal Cable paying system, the spirit of CAS is defeated since most of the pay channels are being offered in bouquets where consumers pay for all the channels in the bouquet. Under CAS, the consumer can choose to subscribe just to Zee Cafe or Zee TV. CAS, which is a proprietary encryption process that scrambles a video signal to make it incomprehensible for anyone without a set-top box to watch a channel. A microchip smart card in the set-top decodes the feed and allows the subscriber to access exclusively those channels that he has paid for. All the free-to-air channels, however, will not require a set top box.
Baul Gaans Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | AY
Baul Singer Parvathy Baul says that Baul is one of the widely known kinds of folk music in Bengal and believed to date back to the 15th century. Baul gaans are allegorical in nature, describing the state of separation existing between the souls of men and the spiritual ground. Baul singing is different from Sufi singing only in terms of its origin. The latter is basically Islamic in origin while the former has its roots in Hindu tradition. Singing the two provides spiritual satisfaction not only to the singer but also to the audience. The younger generation is increasingly taking to it, since it gives you innate pleasure and peace of mind.
A tribute to the past heroines from Bengal Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | AY
Kolkata Film and Television Institute is planning to pay a tribute to the past through the future. Students of the institute will perform to felicitate three film greats from Bengal — Sharmila Tagore, Sabitri Chatterjee and Aparna Sen. Nachiketa will sing and Saumitra Chatterjee will recite, and the dance programme featuring the students and their mentor, Indrani Halder. It will be a collage of old Bengali film songs presented in a narrative form. The narration in between the songs will be in the form of a drama. The proceeds from the show will go to the benefit of the thalassaemia-affected.
Yet another IT giant enters Kolkata Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | AY
Another global consulting and technology outsourcing company, Capgemini, is all set to put up its office here. The global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing, and local professional services will start functioning in a built-in IT space at Sector V from 20 March. Initially it will start with a head count of 2,000, which will soon increase. Capgemini will add another to Kolkata’s IT majors such as Wipro, Satyam, ITC infotech, Tata Consultancy Services, Congnizant Technology Solutions and HSBC. Headquartered in Paris, Capgemini operates in more than 30 countries employing around 60,000 people. The company helps businesses implement growth strategies and leverage technology.
Refugee Monday, March 13, 2006 | AY
After the superhit action drama Pratibad in 2002, Haranath Chakraborty, Shree Venkatesh and Prosenjit have joined hands to try and serve up a blockbuster, tentatively titled 'Refugee'. Starring south Indian actress Rambha, Refugee revolves round a family of two brothers and their mother in Bangladesh who are separated during the Partition of Bengal. Having migrated to Bengal, elder son Shiva (Prosenjit) settles down in the port area as a refugee, where he struggles to work his way up. In action films, heroines don’t have much to do. But in Refugee it’s slightly different. Rambha plays a bar dancer who loves this man who is least bothered about her.
CM does a good deed Monday, March 13, 2006 | AY
West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has pledged to donate his body after death for the purpose of scientific research. Bhattacharjee signed a bond on March 8 to pledge his body to Gana Darpan in the presence of state industry minister Nirupam Sen and CPM leader Madan Ghosh at Alimuddin street party headquarters. Till date, the organisation has received 700 bodies to further studies in medical science.
A film city in North Kolkata Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY
Zee Telefilms Ltd of Subhas Chandra has decided to build a film city in Rajarhat, the new development coming up to the north-east of Kolkata. According to Zee insiders, Chandra aims to challenge the Film City of Ramoji Rao, the Hyderabad-based television baron. It seems that the chief minister has accepted Chandra’s proposals, and is ready to offer a 100-acre plot at Rajarhat, an area being developed by the government agency Housing Infrastructure Development Co. The state government has already backed Zee’s proposed tieup with the pro-Left TV channel Akaash Bangla for a 24x7 news channel in Bengali.
MS course in science communication Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY
The National Council of Science Museums, is now introducing MS Course in Science Communication. The course, a collaboration of the NCSM with BITS, Pilani, is one of its kind in Asia. To supplement the expert faculty of NCSM and BITS, Pilani will be visiting faculties from Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, IIT Mumbai, IIM Calcutta, NID Ahmedabad and Jadavpur University. Science Communication is more than just a mere scientific know-how. The package covers other diverse spheres, including effective management of science museums, science writings, making scientific films, ways to evolve scientific activities and evolution of scientific knowledge. The two-year course spans over four semesters, where each semester has only four weeks of contact session where the students get to interact with the faculty. After the contact sessions, the students go back to their respective fields of work. They are then expected to implement this newly acquired knowledge in their respective spheres.
Bengal can avail the interest rate rebate Sunday, March 12, 2006 | AY
West Bengal might be the only state in India to avail the interest rate rebate on loan under scheme by the ministry of power, Mrinal Banerjee. Banerjee said that the scheme announced in March 2004 said that the three per cent rebate on the loan interest rate would be provided to the state which would be able to augment power generation by March 2007. Under the scheme, we will be able to avail the interest rate rebate as we will complete 1,570 mega watt (MW) power generation project in Santaldihi, Sagardighi, Durgapur and Bakreshwar by March 2007, said the CM. The loan amounting to 90 per cent of project cost was provided by Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation. Banerjee claimed that they will be able to provide electricity to all villages in the state. They shall be able to provide electricity connection to all the households in the state by 2010.
Kolkata TV to be launched soon Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY
SST Media, a Xenitis group company, is all set to launch ‘Kolkata TV’, a 24x7 infotainment Bengali channel, on March 27. The channel has entered into a strategic alliance with news providers, such as APTN, ANI and Reuters. Eminent film star and director Aparna Sen, who is the creative director of the channel, will host a show every Sunday on the channel. Kolkata TV’ will be placed in the S-20 mid-band by the multi-system operators like Siti, Manthan and CableComm.
Malaria returns in W.Bengal Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY
Hundreds of people in the villages of small town of Naxalbari have been struck by the disease Malaria. According to some estimates, at least 360 people have tested positive for Malaria in the region which is famous for being the site of a revolutionary peasant uprising in 1967. Health officials said that Naxalbari block and other areas of the region are prone to Malaria and they were doing their best to contain its spread. The department had launched awareness campaigns among locals to weed out causes of the disease. Nearly 1,000 people, mostly children die in the country every year due to the disease caused by Anopheles mosquito.
CM's plane suffers tyre burst Saturday, March 11, 2006 | AY
An aircraft of Indian carrying West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and his predecessor Jyoti Basu suffered a tyre-burst on landing at the Delhi Airport on Thursday night. The IC 201, which is also learnt to be carrying Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, had landed at around 20:30 hours, with all the passengers safe.
A library for the blind Thursday, March 9, 2006 | AY
Thanks to a kind-hearted NRI, the visually-challenged will have a library at a close proximity to the city from March 18. It will be housed on the ground floor of Baidyanath Mukherjee Memorial Bhaban. Baidyanath Mukherjee, who died a few years ago, wanted to donate this place for a “right cause”. The library is meant for Braille books, CDs and audio cassettes. Most of the books in Braille are sourced from abroad. They include Encyclopaedia America in 172 volumes. The autobiography of Keller — Story of My Life — in Braille is brought out by the Blind Persons’ Associations in the press at Bidyapalli.
Star of one time fights cancer Thursday, March 9, 2006 | AY
Kajol Mukherjee, the finest ball players from the state, is fighting the toughest battle of his life. The footballer is battling lung cancer since being detected with the dreaded disease in November last year. Mukherjee, who started his career in 1959, had a brief two-season stint with Mohun Bagan. Mukherjee — who had participated in 130 international matches for India between 1963 to 1973 — trained promising juniors in Jadavpur for 19 years. The ace footballer, who opted for VRS in 2001 from State Bank of India, however, appreciated the state sports minister Subhas Chakrabarty and minister for Sundarban development, Kanti Ganguly for their sincere efforts. Mr Ganguly has also provided financial help.
Ambulances at students services Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | AY
Students taking the Higher Secondary examinations need not worry about their health, because help is at hand in the form of ambulances. Four ambulances with emergency medical equipment as well as trained medical staff will be ready at hand for the examinees. Oxygen cylinders, ECG machines and other equipment will be available at the ambulances. The ambulances will cover all 48 police station areas in Kolkata. It is common for students appearing for such examinations to be very tense. Many of them fall sick on their way to the examination centre, at the centre itself or even on their way back. The phone numbers of the NGO has been distributed at a number of schools which also serve as examination centres. In case of an emergency being too critical, the student will be rushed to the local hospital.
Luftansa airlines yet to be approved in Kolkata Wednesday, March 8, 2006 | AY
German airlines company Luftansa's board is yet to approve flight operations to Kolkata. The airlines company is however happy with the market potential in the region. The actual problem for Luftansa's connectivity with Kolkata is the availability of aircrafts. Speaking about Indo-German business, the Consul General Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) said, India stood at around Rs 17,000 crore and is growing at the rate of 16 per cent, while the country's exports to India stood at 4,200 million Euros and growing at the rate of 37.7 per cent. He hoped both the countries could explore business opportunities in packaging materials for food processing sector, auto components, business process outsourcing and tourism.
Bibar Tuesday, March 7, 2006 | AY
'Bibar', the film features Subrata Datta, a National School of Drama (NSD) graduate, as Biresh and Tannishtha Chatterjee, also from NSD, as Neeta. The cast includes Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Dulal Lahiri, newcomer Payel Sarkar and Rita Bhimani in a special appearance. Subrata Datta forayed into Bengali films with Sen’s Swapner Feriwala. In Bollywood, he played a bit role as one of the compatriots of Mangal Pandey in the Aamir Khan blockbuster. Produced by Kamal Bansal, directed by Subrata Sen, the film was shot mainly in Calcutta except a dream sequence in Chandipur-on-sea. Bibar releases on March 10 at the four multiplexes and standalone halls including Mitra, Menoka, Purabi and Metro, which will be screening a Bengali film after quite a gap. The novel tracks the life of Biresh, an executive and a social climber, who seems to be in love with a high-class call girl, Neeta. In desperation to break out of his monotonous middle-class moorings, Biresh has a string of affairs with other women, including a much older socialite.
Human skeletons traded illegally Tuesday, March 7, 2006 | AY
Police in West Bengal say they have uncovered an illicit trade in human bones, with the skeletons of poor villagers whose families cannot afford cremation being taken and sold for medical research. Officers last week stumbled on a "bones factory" in a village on the banks of the Bhagirathi river in West Bengal's Burdwan district, where dozens of human skeletons, treated with preserving chemicals, were laid out in the sun to dry. A cremation can cost up to 9,000 rupees, beyond the means of millions of poor Indians. Instead, impoverished families often dump dead relatives in rivers, many of which are considered holy. Officers are also investigating claims that bones are being illegally shipped overseas after being smuggled to nearby Bangladesh in a trade that can fetch smugglers up to 30,000 rupees for each skeleton.
Bidhaatar Lekha Monday, March 6, 2006 | AY
Half-Bengali, Dia Mirza has signed Raja Mukherjee’s — better known as Rani Mukherjee’s brother — directorial debut 'Bidhaatar Lekha' co-starring Jeet and Priyanshu Chatterjee. It’s quite a female-centric love story. It is a very commercial film. Before Dia goes off to Darjeeling in August to shoot for Bidhaatar Lekha, she has many interesting Hindi films to look forward to.
Joshi believes that seat-sharing issue on the right track Monday, March 6, 2006 | AY
Senior BJP leader and former Union minister for Human Resources Development, Murli Manohar Joshi, today said that “a wind of change is blowing across the state”, which will result in the Left Front being defeated in the ensuing Assembly elections. On the seat-sharing issue with the Trinamool Congress, Joshi said the process was on the right track. He said Arun Jaitley is having parleys with the Trinamool Congress leaders on the seat-sharing issue which will benefit both parties. Jaitley, who is in-charge of West Bengal, is a proven leader in overseeing elections. On the Indo-US nuclear deal which was signed between the two countries during the recent visit of the US President, George W Bush, Joshi said the deal was wrongly inked by the UPA government without understanding both the nuances and the implications of such a deal.
Teacher's training institutes not under NCTEA unrecognised Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY
The Calcutta High Court has restrained the primary teacher's training institutes that do not have the recognition under the National Council for Teacher's Education Act, 1993, from admitting students for the primary teachers’ training course. The West Bengal Board of Primary Education has been directed to issue a public notice informing all the concerned parties that those who are pursuing the training course in unrecognised institutions will be doing so at their own peril. 131 primary teacher's training institutes are running in West Bengal, of which hardly 20 are recognised under the NCTEA. The institutes that are running without recognition are giving certificates to teachers.
Bengal and Vietnam together in a venture Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY
The West Bengal government has proposed to set up an amusement park in Vietnam in a joint venture with a Kolkata-based company. Bhattacharjee told members of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Friday that his visit was to ensure a strong business framework between the two nations. The Indian Chamber of Commerce signed a protocol of co-operation with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The ICC has offered to train Vietnamese industry representatives in areas such as management, legal and financial services, environment management, energy-efficiency, and the English language.
New technology in silk worm project Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY
The National Silk Worm Seed Project at Ramgiri in Gajapati has dispatched better quality cocoon to West Bengal for the first time in 12 years. Latest technology and proper nourishment of silk worms have enabled the project farm to produce 28 kg cocoon. Similarly, the locals have produced another 112 kg using same technology and a total of 140 kg of cocoon was sent to Malda in West Bengal last week. workshop on nourishing silk worm was organised to provide latest know-how as well as encourage locals to go for sericulture.
CAB slashes at Greg Chappell Sunday, March 5, 2006 | AY
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has said that Indian cricket team coach Greg Chappell had violated the `Regulation for Players and Team Officials' adopted by the BCCI by making `derogatory statements' about the former captain Sourav Ganguly. The president of the CAB, Jagmohan Dalmiya, said after the meeting that the secretary of the state body will be issuing a official letter to BCCI informing that Chappell had violated the restriction contained in Clause 3.2.9 of the Regulation for Players and Team Officials adopted by BCCI in 2000. When such attacks persist, it makes it, very difficult situation for a player like Ganguly, especially when he is fighting to make a comeback, says the president of CAB.
Computer Associates breaks the tie with TCG Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY
Computer Associates (CA) International of US has decided to exit from the joint venture floated with The Chatterjee Group (TCG) as the firm has set up its own development centre at Hyderabad in India. The JV, CA-TCG, was formed in 1999 for software development at the Salt Lake electronics complex near Kolkata. Since CA was unable to transfer technology to CA-TCG due to intellectual property (IP) issues, the company has decided to set up its own development facility in India. Subsequently, CA set up a software development centre in Hyderabad, which has already become the largest one outside USA. In the JV, CA has 51 per cent equity, while the balance is held by TCG.
Wannabe stars gets training at a historic building Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY
Kolkata Film and Television Institute (KFTI), has set up base on the ground floor of the Radha Studio. The two-storeyed building, which came into being as the cradle of Radha Films Company in 1932, is also part of Bengal’s communication history as the first address of Doordarshan Kendra, Calcutta, when it started transmission in 1975. The actress is head of the acting department that includes Soumitra Chatterjee, Ashoke Mukhopadhyay, Debesh Roychowdhury and Chandan Sen. A year away from the 75th year of its existence, the building is again abuzz with cries of “lights, camera, action”.
Oldest Institute gets college status Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY
The oldest educational institute of undivided India, Calcutta Madrasa, has finally been given official recognition as a college. The Madrasa will henceforth be considered at par with any degree college in the state and will officially be called the Calcutta Madrasa College. The Calcutta Madrasa examinations were being conducted so far by WBBME, but from now the Calcutta Madrasa will itself conduct these examinations in this campus and at other madrasas in the state. A nine-member committee, headed by DPI or an additional DPI and having other experts well-versed with madrasa system of education, is being formed. The Calcutta Madrasa will now control three other “madrasa colleges” in the state, the colleges at Batna (in Malda district), Beldanga (in Murshidabad district) and Furfura Sharif (Hooghly). With the introduction of “modern subjects” including computer application, the teachers for these colleges will now be recruited through the Public Service Commission.
Malayasia keen to do business with West Bengal Saturday, March 4, 2006 | AY
A 21-member delegation from Malayasia was in Kolkata to discuss opportunities for doing trade with companies in West Bengal by providing them with raw materials and manufacturing for various industries. Malaysia which has a large presence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, has expertise in branding, packaging and marketing of goods in the world market. Malaysian businessmen were also looking at investing in the development of hotels, housing complexes and infrastructure in West Bengal. The country is also interested in exporting packaged 'halal' meat to India to cater to the huge muslim market for beef, mutton and chicken. The three reasons they have given to do business with Kolkata are that the people here are educated and have sound technical knowledge, they speak English and don't have a language barrier, and finally, the state government is part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)government at the centre.
Second IISC centre to come in the state Wednesday, March 1, 2006 | AY
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee said that a second centre of the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) will come up near Kolkata with an investment of Rs 500 crore. The Centre, on the pattern of the Bangalore-based institute, will be spread over a 200 acre campus at Kalyani in Nadia district. Urging scientists to maximise the application of jute in geotextiles, he said the natural fibre had immense use in roads, paper industry and embankments. The Chief Minister also urged universities to take research out of the laboratories to land.
Jeep Safari can pose a threat to ecosystem Wednesday, March 1, 2006 | AY
'Jeep safari' has been introduced, for those visiting Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district in addition to the existing practice of using trained elephants for the purpose. Forest department sources said the 'safari' on four-wheeler was introduced since the prevailing practice of elephant ride inside the forest could not cope with the large number of visitors. The 'kunki' (trained) elephant sometimes just refused to budge after getting the smell of tiger in the vicinity, to the apparent displeasure of the eager tourist, mounted atop. However some environment groups, including the Co-ordination Committee of North Bengal Eco-protection clubs, expressed apprehension that the entry of a large number of smoke belching vehicles in the forest interiors will cause serious harm to the eco-system of the area.
