New chief secretary elected Thursday, June 30, 2005 | AY
The West Bengal government today effected a reshuffle in the bureaucracy appointing Home Secretary Amit Kiran Deb as the new Chief Secretary in place of Asok Gupta. Outgoing Chief Secretary Asok Gupta said Industrial Reconstruction Secretary Sunil Mitra would take over as Power Secretary in place of Roy, while Sunderbans Affairs Secretary Ardhendu Sen will replace Mitra as Industrial Reconstruction Secretary. Prasad Roy, who is now the Power Secretary, will take over as Home Secretary in place of Deb.
Mantosh Roy passes away Thursday, June 30, 2005 | AY
Legendary bodybuilder Manotosh Roy, the first Asian to bag the Mr Universe title, died at a city nursing home last night. Roy created a sensation when he was crowned Mr Universe on September 1, 1951 at London in the short class. Manotosh Roy had also authored four books on bodybuilding and yoga. Roy was also a former physical instructor of the Calcutta University as also the Law College. He also established the Roy Yoga College and Roy Yoga Centre which have branches all over West Bengal.
Lions gives a free health camp Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | AY
The Lions Club of Cooch Behar is organising a day long free health check-up camp at Sri Jain Bhavan in Cooch Behar on 2 July. Eminent cardiologists, orthopaedics, and neurologists from Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata will provide free advice at the camp. The club will also try to provide prescribed medicines free of cost to the needy.
Yechury & Brinda contesting for RS seat Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | AY
Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat, both members of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), are set to enter the Rajya Sabha. They will be contesting the elections to the Upper House from West Bengal. The elections are due on July 14. Another member of the party's Polit Bureau, Chittabrata Majumdar, will also be contesting elections to the Rajya Sabha for a second successive term. The main Opposition party in the Assembly, the Trinamool Congress (whose strength prior to some MLAs leaving the party was 59) is eligible to put up a candidate for one Rajya Sabha seat from the State.
Hydel projects for hills Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | AY
The West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency is to embark on a pilot project to generate hydel power for a village in Darjeeling’s Kurseong area with Chinese technology. Since Darjeeling is devoid of solar and wind power generation potentials unlike south Bengal districts, it has to settle for micro-hydel power. If the Kurseong pilot project works, the WBREDA will extend the facility to 20 villages spread across the three sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong. The agency will set up 11 power stations with capacities of up to 100 kw.
Transport strike Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | AY
A 24-hour transport strike called by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), supported by all Left unions was observed across West Bengal in protest against the Centre's decision to increase the prices of petrol and diesel. State and private buses and mini-buses were off the road, as were taxis, trams and autorickshaws. Railway and metro services were not affected. CITU-affiliated West Bengal Road Transport Workers' Federation took out a rally in the city.
AIDS has high prevalence in Kolkata Monday, June 27, 2005 | AY
State AIDS prevention and control society has said Calcutta is now among the “high-prevalence” HIV/ AIDS group of cities. A lack of involvement of all sections of society in fighting the disease is responsible for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in the state. Also it was seen that contrary to popular belief, poor people are not unaware of the disease. In fact they have more awareness than their elite counterparts in some cases. A workshop on Media and HIV/AIDS, was jointly organised by calcutta press club and the AIDS prevention society at the club. The workshop discussed how the media and organisations working for HIV/AIDS infected or affected persons should work together to spread awareness about the disease.
Bridge collapse delays dam work Monday, June 27, 2005 | AY
Work on the Teesta low dam project of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) near Teesta bridge in Darjeeling district, about 45 km from here, was today suspended indefinitely after the collapse of a temporary bridge. The bridge collapsed yesterday under the impact of the truck that was carrying 15 tonnes of stones. Six people were feared drowned in the incident. Dismantling of the Iron bridge was supposed to start tomorrow. Work on it has now been put off indefinitely.
Protest against KFC Sunday, June 26, 2005 | AY
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the international group against animal cruelty, is planning to hold a demonstration next week before eastern India's maiden Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet here. The protest is part of an international campaign launched by PETA after negotiations failed with KFC's US-based parent company Yum! Brands, which has refused to implement reforms in its supplier farms worldwide. The 70-seater KFC outlet at the City Centre in Salt Lake was inaugurated by popular actress Konkona Sensharma.
Great Eastern Hotel accepts ERS Sunday, June 26, 2005 | AY
The city's test case of disinvestment, the Great Eastern Hotel, finally closed a 12-year-old chapter of bitter wrangling between trade unions and the state government. The largest union of the hotel, owing allegiance to the Congress's labour arm INTUC, officially announced its decision to accept the Early Retirement Scheme (ERS) proposed by the state government. The decision was made after the government had agreed to re-appoint all employees below 45 years of age, which was one of their primary demands. The draft of the necessary amendments to the law with regard to the sale of the hotel is being prepared by the state law department and will be placed in the coming assembly session, scheduled to begin on June 27.
Govt sends IAS official to W.Bengal Saturday, June 25, 2005 | AY
The Government ordered with immediate effect repatriation of controversial IAS official L V Saptarishi, who created a flutter by accusing Election Commissioners of making castiest remarks, to his parent West Bengal cadre, a month before his retirement. The senior IAS official, who was serving as chairman of Centre for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), would now have to report to West Bengal Government for further posting. He retires on July 31.
IOC may drag haldia petrochemicals to court Saturday, June 25, 2005 | AY
Indian Oil Corporation, IOC, is threatening to drag Haldia Petrochemicals to court for not issuing shares. It had issued a cheque for Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) earlier this year with the understanding that 15 crore shares would be issued to it. This would have given IOC an 8% stake in Haldia Petrochemicals. The shareholders of Haldia Petrochemicals, the West Bengal government, the Chatterjee group and its associates, had an extra-ordinary general meeting held in mid-January this year, approved the allotment of shares to Indian Oil. But Haldia Petrochemicals did not draw the money nor did it issue the promised shares.
Gulzar doing a film in bengali Saturday, June 25, 2005 | AY
Veteran filmmaker Gulzar will soon direct a film in Bengali with National Awarded actress Rituparna Sengupta in lead. This will be his maiden venture in Bengali. Yet to be titled the film will be produced by Rituparna Sengupta under the banner of Prism Entertainment Private Limited. The actress had bagged National Award in Rituparno Ghosh’s Dahan (Crossfire).
KFC in kolkata Saturday, June 25, 2005 | AY
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)restaurant chain will increase the number of KFC outlets in the country to "at least 12" by the end of the current calendar year. They have opened a new outlet in kolkata city recently. At present, in India, KFC has five outlets in Bangalore and one each in Pune and Chandigarh. The company is also seeking a presence in Mumbai and Delhi. However, this will largely depend on the price at which real estate will be available in these metros.
Howrah Bridge gets an injury Saturday, June 25, 2005 | AY
The famous Howrah bridge in Kolkata was partially damaged on Friday when the top of a cargo vessel collided with its underside, injuring a crewmember and causing damage worth Rs.15 million. The Kolkata Port Trust workers had to cut off the wheel deck of the vessel to free it. Howrah is an important industrial area and also serves as a railroad terminus of Kolkata. From dawn to dusk, the bridge hums with activity, which makes it the world's busiest bridge.
Going against nature Friday, June 24, 2005 | AY
To the surprise of medical doctors a 15-year-old boy in West Bengal has been experiencing bleeding related to menstruation. During that time, he also suffers from nausea, stomach ache, mood swings and other symptoms of the menstrual cycle seen in women. The presence of female functional endometrial in a male prostate gland can cause this type of abnormality," said Pradip Mitra of the West Bengal Gynaecological Society. He is now under the observation of doctors who will carry out further chromosomal and hormonal tests.
Music free with purchase of fuel Friday, June 24, 2005 | AY
IndianOil has tied up with musical company Sa Re Ga Ma (HMV) to bring out an assortment of cassettes containing popular songs that a customer can pick up for free against the purchase of petrol (XTRA PREMIUM brand), diesel (XTRA MILE) and Servo Lubes. The cassettes will contain Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore songs), Bengali modern songs from the past generation and also songs from renowned Bengali bands. The Hindi cassettes contain films songs from the 1950s to the 80s and also non-film songs and popular remixes. The campaign will continue for the next one month at select petrol pumps in Kolkata and adjoining districts.
University of Whales validates a degree in a college in India Friday, June 24, 2005 | AY
A management degree validated by the University of Wales, Britain,the second largest and one of the four federal universities of Britain - the others being Oxford, Cambridge and London is set to pep up B-school education in Kolkata. British management school TASMAC (Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communications Ltd.) Thursday announced the launch of its Kolkata campus at Salt Lake. TASMAC is validated by the University of Wales to offer MBA programmes in Kolkata besides BA (Hons) in Business Administration. The one-year MBA course would be offered at 3,000 pounds. For the BA course, the cost for three years is 4,950 pounds. The degree certificate that a student receives after studying in TASMAC, India, is the same as that received by students studying within the University of Wales, UK.
Jyothi Basu unhappy with UPA govt Friday, June 24, 2005 | AY
Veteran CPI-M politburo member Jyoti Basu today expressed unhappiness at the UPA government for not accepting the alternative suggestions of the Left Parties to absorb the impact of international crude price and said that Leftists would go to the people to put pressure on the government to reverse the recent price hike of petroleum prices. Among the suggestions given in this regard were cancellation of additional cess of 50 paise per litre of petrol for highways, making changes in the excise duty pattern so that it did not lead to retail price hike and doing away with import parity in product price. The Left Parties had suggested the creation of a price stabilisation fund to meet global fluctuation in crude prices with the cess collected on indigenous crude amounting to Rs 5,400 crore per annum.
IT park in W.Bengal Friday, June 24, 2005 | AY
The West Bengal government has plans for setting up a 600,000 square feet IT Park, in Kolkata. The IT park will be called Globsyn Crystals, and it would be promoted by an IT company and a few real estate developers, and it would be operational in the next two years. Decision has been made to acquire 500 acres of land between the New Town and airport, almost an extension of the New Town, to meet with the huge demand of space.
AHA strating soon Thursday, June 23, 2005 | AY
Buoyed by the response in Kolkata, Air Hostess Academy (AHA) would start operations in north-eastern India in a big way. Training institute for aviation, hospitality and tourism sectors, AHA would focus on eastern India in view of the great potential it offered in terms of available human resources for the aviation and hospitality sectors. AHA was also planning to go overseas in 2006 with branches in west Asia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. AHA had already received 2,000 applications at its Kolkata centre for admission to its one and two year training courses for aviation and hospitality industry.
Cong trying to woo Mamata Thursday, June 23, 2005 | AY
The recent Kolkata municipal election results ended in a clear victory for the CPM-led Left Front (75 seats), but it also points out the fact that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is the only formidable opposition force in the Left-ruled state and that the Congress remains a marginal entity in West Bengal. With assembly polls coming up in the state next year congress realises that Mamata still has the potential to draw votes, as a result pressure arises within the Congress to woo the Trinamul chief, either to return to the party or to form an arrangement. Despite CPM’s victory in the municipal elections, the net political worth of Mamata’s own party has not really gone down. This has also driven home to Mamata the point that any defections from TMC to Congress only stand to benefit CPM.
W. Bengal receives IDB funds Thursday, June 23, 2005 | AY
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB)'s latest financing of US$437 million (US$1.00=RM3.80) to aid development projects includes grants from its Waqf Fund, not only to support member countries but six Islamic communities in non-member countries as well. The fund, formerly known as Special Assistance Account, was established in 1979, to provide assistance in line with the IDB's continuing efforts to contribute to the economic growth and social development of member states and Islamic communities in non-member countries. India received a US$150,000 grant to assist in the construction of Maulana Abul Karim Azad Vocational Training Institution in Hallyan, Howrah, West Bengal.
IOC increasing outlets Thursday, June 23, 2005 | AY
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) will be taking the total number of retail outlets in the state from 490 to 520 by 2005. To enhance services at the rural areas, IOC would be opening 50 Kisan Seva Kendras in the state by year-end. IOC is also trying to provide tankers to all its kerosene dealers to enhance services through the public distribution systems. Total of 250 outlets in south Bengal are in the Swagat brand.
SBI workers on strike Thursday, June 23, 2005 | AY
Emplyoees of 57 branches of the State Bank of India, SBI, are on an indefinite strike in West Bengal. They are protesting the transfer of 100 odd employees from these branches. According to the General Secretary of the SBI Staff Association, Ashok Datta, the union of employees will not digest the management's unilateral decision, on moving employees around. Datta said that the notice was also issued to people who were on leave.
Left front wins Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | AY
West Bengal's ruling Left Front yesterday returned to power in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) after five long years, ousting the Trinamool Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance. The Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), won 72 of the 136 seats declared. The Trinamool-BJP team managed to grab only 43 seats in the 141-ward KMC. The United Democratic Alliance led by the Congress party bagged 19 seats. Two seats went to smaller parties.
Film banned as it questions CM's stand on the issue Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | AY
A film made by national award winner director Joshy Joseph on the hanging of rape and murder convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee, has been withdrawn from a state-run theatre, since Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee finds this movie questioning his stand on the issue. The critically-acclaimed film, "One Day from a Hangman's Life" had been running at the Nandan theatre since June 18 and was scheduled for screening till June 24.
Bengal holding tight - Dutta Roy Trophy Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | AY
Last year's runner-up, Bengal gave a stiff challenge to host Tamil Nadu to lift the Dutta Roy Trophy in the 14th National under-21 (inter-zone) football championship here on Tuesday. In a pulsating final, bengal tamed the host 5-4 via tie-breaker. This was Bengal's fifth title win. Bengal 5 (Tarif Ahmed 2, Jaydip Bose 1, Tapan Maity 1, Rajith Ahmed 1) beat Tamil Nadu 4 (Mukesh 2, Durairaj 1, P. Muthuswamy 1) (Regulation time: 1-1).
Nater Guru Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | AY
Director Haranath Chakraborty has casted Ranjit Mallick, Jeet, and new comer Koyel Mallick in his next venture "Nater Guru". This film is based on a story of famous novelist Samaresh Basu’s novel. It’s a love story with lots of fun and twist. Ranjit Mallick playing the lead role. As he is behind every incidence.
Aalo Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | AY
Tarun Majumdar in his new movie "Aalo" has casted Rituparna Sengupta, Abhiskek Chatterjee and Swastika. The film is based on Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhyay’s novel Kinnor Dal. Its all about a girl who sacrifices her materialistic comfort and devotes her life for the enlightenment of the village woman in rural Bengal.
HS council reshuffles subject groups Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | AY
The West Bengal Higher Secondary Council has once again reshuffled its subject groups this year for a more ‘rational’ and ‘balanced’ groups of elective subjects, ensuring that examinees, particularly from the humanities stream, get a chance to opt for scoring subjects. It has also dropped four subjects — botany, zoology, physiology and public administration — on the plea that not enough students were opting for them. While the number of subject groups, that is nine, has remain unaltered, philosophy has been put in the same group as mathematics while history, which was put in the same group as computer science and modern computer application last year, has been shifted to its original group with chemistry and accountancy. This reshuffle will enable students with geography as an elective subject to opt for philosophy. Students of humanities will now be able to opt for the more scoring subject, modern computer applications as well as history.
Petrol dealers may go for indefinite strike Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | AY
The West Bengal Petroleum Dealers’ Association has threatened to go on an indefinite strike from 17 July if their demands are not met, Mr Joydeb Sarkar, general secretary of the association, said. Apart from uniform price rate, the association demanded that price disparity of petrol and diesel must be removed. It is also included in their five-point charter of demands that smuggling of petroleum across Bangladesh border should be stopped and 5 per cent commission on invoice value to be implemented soon. Petrol pumps across the state today remained closed because of the 24-hour token strike called by the West Bengal Petroleum Dealers. The state transport minister, Mr Subhas Chakraborty, today protested against the price hike of petrol and diesel and demanded transparency of the system of fixing fuel price.
Cottage industry comes to an end Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | AY
An ancient cottage industry in Bengal suffered a major set back as about 200 families in Sutaganchi village have become jobless. The hand towel, known in local parlance as gamcha, is produced in a large-scale in Mathurapur of South 24-Parganas over the last 100 years. Earlier, these artisans used only cotton fabric for the purpose,later they started using terrycloth for making these products. It had a high production boom and they supplied it outside the state also. A section of people, raised an objection about the use of terrycloth along with cotton fabrics and wanted to retain the ancient type of gamcha made of cotton,which brought about a loss because cost price of cotton towel has increased to Rs 50 per piece, as a result the selling price has increased about Rs 60 per piece. And the customers who are mainly poor people do not want to spend so much from their income.
Left leading in Kolkata polls Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | AY
Counting for the hotly contested civic bodies of Kolkata, Salt Lake and Uttarpara in West Bengal began today with reports suggesting that the Left front may sweep the polls. According to initial reports, the Left front is leading in 18 out of 23 seats in the Salt Lake municipality while in Uttarpara Trinamool has taken the lead. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Uttarpara Municipality have been a Trinamool stronghold for the last five years, while the Left had run the Salt Lake Municipality.
Basu pacified Tuesday, June 21, 2005 | AY
West Bengal's ruling CPI (M) on Monday began a damage control exercise after its veteran leader Jyoti Basu launched an unprecedented attack on the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Government for police "excesses" on party leaders and workers during Sunday's election to the Bidhannagar municipality. CPI (M) State secretary Anil Biswas rushed to the former Chief Minister's residence at Salt Lake to assure him that the Government had made heavy security arrangements at Bidhannagar to ensure free and fair polls.
Specialised centre for cancer and neuro therapy Monday, June 20, 2005 | AY
After setting the trend for new-age multi-speciality hospitals in the city, Ruby General Hospital, on the EM Bypass, is all set to venture into super-specialised neuro and cancer care, two areas of marked deficiency in Calcutta’s healthcare delivery system. Work on a 200-bed super-speciality hospital on a 2.3-acre plot adjacent to the existing facility, to house “state-of-the-art neurology and oncology wings”, have begun. While the outpatients departments are slated to open by 2005-end, all the seven floors of the 140,000-sq-ft centre are expected to become functional by the first quarter of 2006.
NRI comes up with a multicuisine restaurant Monday, June 20, 2005 | AY
Scandinavia- based Bengali hotelier, Bicky Chakraborty, is all geared up into restaurant business in the city with a multicuisine restaurant named Cinnamon. The unit is coming up at a property at the Park Centre, at the crossing of Park Street and Camstreet. Cinnamon will serve high-end multicuisine and for the first time in the city, will include an array of Scandinavian delicacies especially from Sweden, where Chakraborty is currently based. Chakraborty owns the Elite chain of hotels all over Sweden which has 17 hotels housed in restored buildings and has also participated set up the Westbank Hospital in the city. Chakraborty is also one of the bidders for the Great Eastern Hotel property being privatised by the government of West Bengal.
Fish - a remedy for malaria Monday, June 20, 2005 | AY
Two diminutive species of fish, the guppy and gamusia are helping to fight the scourge of malaria. India has been reporting 2 million to 2.5 million cases and about 1,000 malaria deaths every year. Orissa is one of India's high endemic states followed by West Bengal. Fish is a popular food item in Orissa. But the two mosquito-eating species are bitter in taste and are not eaten. However, the five- centimetre long fish die in extreme temperatures. The fish are bred in tanks at the VHA office and are sold to be released in water bodies to keep the mosquito population under control. They mature when they are about four months old and produce about six broods of about 60 fries each a year.
Rajasthan Patrika next edition in Kolkata Monday, June 20, 2005 | AY
Rajasthan Patrika, the eight largest read publication (NRS 2005), is now all set to launch its eighteenth edition. The city of choice is Kolkata. And, West Bengal is not the first non-Hindi speaking state where Rajasthan Patrika is launching its editions. The publication already has editions in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, besides Delhi and Rajasthan. As per the the latest NRS figures, there are some 3.31 lakh Hindi newspaper readers in Kolkata. The Marwari business community in Kolkata is also a very important constituent of the Hindi speaking population.
CPM victory triggered protests by Trinamul Congress Sunday, June 19, 2005 | AY
Trinamul Congress workers fought a pitched battle with CPM activists in Malda town this afternoon over the election of Left Front-supported Independent Nihar Ghosh as the Englishbazar municipality chairman. Ghosh got 13 votes, while Trinamul nominee Sandhya Das got 12. The victory triggered protests from Trinamul, which alleged that the Left Front does not have the numbers required to claim the chairman’s post. The Left Front has 11 councillors in the 25-member board, Trinamul 8, Congress 4, and the BJP one. One councillor is an Independent. CPM activists were attacked by Trinamul Congress supporters when they were taking out a victory procession. CPM state secretary Anil Biswas said in Calcutta that Ghosh was elected with the support of two Opposition members. Krishnendu Chowdhury, the outgoing Trinamul chairman, alleged that party councillor Babla Sarkar and Biswanath Guha of the Congress voted for the Left Front.
Maiden London flight launched Sunday, June 19, 2005 | AY
Air-India marked an “historic” moment when its maiden non-stop flight to London took off this afternoon. The flight will operate on the Delhi-Dhaka-Calcutta-London route thrice a week — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Air-India is offering a Calcutta-London round trip ticket for Rs 25,810 in the economy class. Passengers will get state-of-the-art facilities on this new flight, which is a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. Apart from flat bed-type seats in the First Class category, in-arm-video systems with LCD display and multi-channel audio systems are available in all classes.
Shatruta Sunday, June 19, 2005 | AY
Anoop Sengupta in his movie "Shatruta" has a cast of Ranjit, Prasenjit, Aviser, Sumanta, Anuradha Roy, Satabdi Roy, Debika and others. Krishna Narayan Daaga has produced it under the banner Aradhana Enterprises. Kumar Sanu, Md. Ajij, Purnima has sung for the movie. Abhijit Chowdhury, the proprietor of Chowdhury Industries, became imprisoned due to false allegation of murder of Sekhar Das, an employee of Abhijit's factory. The murder was made by the manager Abinash Ghosal to grab the whole property of Abhijit Chowdhury. Later as time goes by ,widow of Chowdhary, Sunanda,becomes rich again by her effort. Her son Bejoy returns from london and falls in love with Anki ,daughter of Abinash. On the other hand shekhar's wife and son live in a slum and he was on the look out for his fathers murderer.After a series of misunderstanding,trith comes to light, reunion was made between Raja and Bejoy. Abhinash was taken into the custody of police.
New face for Kolkata airport Sunday, June 19, 2005 | AY
Union minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said French consultants, Aeroport de Paris is busy finalising plans to modernise Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. The civil aviation minister said that upgradation of the existing airport infrastructure has become essential as the number of flight both domestic and international are steadily increasing. The Indian aviation sector will witness an investment up to $ 25-30 billion in the next five years for modernisation and fleet expansion. Stating that lack of infrastructure was the biggest obstacle to the expansion of aviation sector, he said Rs 50,000 crore would be invested up to 2009 for modernisation of the country’s airports in public-private partnership model.
WB govt will not allow to invest on Basell Inc till share transfer Sunday, June 19, 2005 | AY
West Bengal government would not allow The Chatterjee Group (TCG) to invest in Basell Inc through Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) until the share transfer is complete, state's commerce and industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen said. The stake transfer would not affect the relationship of the state government to HPL. HPL currently produces over 1.5 million tonnes of polymer and chemicals. India's second largest integrated petrochemical complex, about 125 km away from Kolkata at Haldia, was promoted jointly by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the Chatterjee Petrochem (Mauritius) Co Ltd and the Tatas. Total investment in the project is around $1.2 billion and present turnover is $ 1.4 billion.
Thrice a week flights in Kolkata-London sector Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
Beginning this summer, Air India (AI) will operate thrice-a-week flights on the Kolkata-London sector. At present, it operates two flights per week on the Kolkata-Mumbai sector with a through check-in facility to London as well. A third flight on the Kolkata-Mumbai sector will also be introduced. This flight would also offer connectivity to destinations such as London and New York, according to airlines sources.
Heat kills 24 in West Bengal Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
The country as a whole and specially the north is going through a rough patch due to the high tempratures in most of the places. A searing heat wave has claimed 24 lives in two days in West Bengal, with the mercury touching 50 degrees in an industrial town.In fact, schools across the state have been forced to extend the summer vacations and power outages, which had practically disappeared from Kolkata, are beginning to hit the city again, worsening the situation. South Bengal sizzled as 18 people succumbed to the heat wave on Thursday. Six deaths were reported Wednesday from the state. Of the 18 people who died Thursday, eight deaths were reported from Asansol town in Burdwan district, official sources said, where the mercury touched 50 degrees centrigrade. There was one more death at Durgapur in the same district. The dead included a goods train driver.
Smoking ban makes no sense, Shyam Benegal Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
The Health Ministry's recent order censoring all scenes showing leading characters smoking in films and TV shows has triggered a huge debate. Censor Board Chairperson Sharmila Tagore has called the ban "hasty" and "difficult to implement" and leading film personalities have flayed it. While eminent film director Shyam Benegal said the ban "makes no sense" to him, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt termed it "childish" and "insane". Sports channels are worried about the fate of events such as Formula One racing that are sponsored by tobacco companies. "How can we avoid showing a brand or the logo in an international event," asks a sports channel official. Last year, Doordarshan could not acquire the rights to Formula One events because of this reason.
New bridge being set up Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
Suburban train services are set to get a boost with a new rail bridge coming up on the Hooghly between Bandel and Naihati. The Rs 106-crore span, which will replace the existing Jubilee Bridge, constructed in 1887, will be completed in three years. The Jubilee Bridge being single line, the railway is unable to run as many trains as it would like to. It can take the pressure of 40 to 45 trains a day. Over 200 trains would take the new bridge, which would be double line. A senior railway official said: “The foundation of the existing bridge has been weakened over the years and its pillars hardly have any grip length now.”
Schools remain shut till monsoon Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
Students have been granted respite from the heat, with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee declaring that state-aided schools should stay shut till the monsoon arrives. This was decided after the meteorological department, which issued a heat-wave alert on Thursday, confirmed that the monsoon was not expected for another week. Institutions where examinations are being held, however, will remain open. The mercury shot up to 39.9 degrees Celsius around 2.30 pm on Friday.
Merging of IISCO and SAIL Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today welcomed the union cabinet's decision approving the merger of the IISCO with the SAIL. The Chief Minister said the approval could be a milestone in the industrial scene of the state. It would not only save the workers but also the ancilliary units and its employees. Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said the state government had already given concessions to the IISCO to the tune of Rs 300 crores. He said the state government would also urge the centre to consider the case of Kulti unit of the IISCO at a later date.
Basu slashes at Congress Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
CPI-M politburo member Jyoti Basu accused the West Bengal Congress of having a tacit understanding with the BJP at some places in defiance of the party's policy at the national level. He said that throughout the last five years, the Congress had lent support to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's Trinamool Congress-run board of which the BJP was a part. Congress is even taking the support of the BJP to run some municipalities in the state like the one at Englishbazar in Malda district. Basu also blasted the Trinamool Congress for giving a toe-hold to the BJP in state politics.
Durgapur power project coming up Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY
Philips Carbon Black, an RPG group company is now in the process of preparing a plan for raising finance for the proposed 30-MW power project at Durgapur in West Bengal.The project is estimated to clock a conversion cost of 10 paise per unit, while sale price has been tentatively estimated at Rs 2 per unit. The project is likely to cost around Rs 100 crore. The company wants to sell the power to a power trading company which will offer the best price.
Direct flights to WB from Kunming, China Saturday, June 18, 2005 | APA
PTI: Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, is keen to start direct flights to West Bengal and hopes that India will proactively consider the reopening of the old Stilwell Road linking northeastern India with southern China to enhance Sino-Indian trade, local officials said here today. "We have initiated talks with West Bengal to start a direct flight to Kunming. We hope we can start the flights at an early date which is conducive for the further strengthening of our bilateral ties," Vice Secretary General of the Yunnan Provincial Government, Cui Zhitao told the media here. The land-locked Yunnan province is geographically very close to West Bengal and the northeastern states of India and relations between the province and Indian enterprises are starting to bloom, Deputy Director General of the Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, Li Jiming said. Supporting greater cooperation between Yunnan and India, the Vice President of the Institute for South Asian Studies under the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, Professor Ren Jia said that since both sides enjoyed complementarities, India and China should take further initiatives to improve their communications and understanding.
IIT status for Bengal universities Friday, June 17, 2005 | GP
The Union ministry of human resources development has decided to upgrade BE College (now university) and Jadavpur University (faculty of engineering and technology) to the level of IITs. Five other universities across the country have been chosen for the honour. West Bengal is the only state to have more than one university on the list. The MHRD had created what was popularly called the `Joshi Committee` a year ago to identify technological education institutions that could be upgraded to IIT status. The report was recently submitted to the ministry. The seven institutions have been ranked according to merit. BE College has been ranked third and Jadavpur University, fourth. The list is headed by Institute of Technology-Benaras Hindu University, followed by University College of Engineering-Osmania University. Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology-Aligarh Muslim University, College of Engineering-Andhra University and Cochin University of Science and Technology have been ranked fifth, sixth and seventh. The report clearly states why the selected institutions will get the status of an "institution possessing best potential for upgradation to level of IITs", and not branded as "IITs".
Cambridge University to target West Bengal Friday, June 17, 2005 | GP
University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) will be concentrating in India, mainly the eastern region for expanding its base, Mark Bartholomew, regional manager, CIE said. CIE is expecting to tie up with at least 100 schools by June 2005 and 200 by the year end for their several international examination.“We will be looking specially at West Bengal because of the standard of education in the state and are looking forward to tie up with 15 schools in the state by July 2005,” said Bartholomew. At present, CIE has affiliated 6 schools in the state for their examination.CIE has set a long term goal of being associated with 1000 Indian schools by 2010.Examination conducted by CIE are not only recognised across the globe but are also recognised by all major Indian universities, engineering and medical colleges including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), assured Bartholomew.
Will 'Prince of Kolkata' keep the captaincy? Friday, June 17, 2005 | GP
The question seems to be in every cricket fan's mind in India as India is getting ready for another gruelling session starting from August with the three nation one day tourney in Srilanka. Saurav Ganguly is currently facing a six match ban by the ICCI for slow over rate in Indo Pak series. Board of Control for Cricket in India president, Mr Ranbir Singh Mahendra, admitted that the form of the Indian captain is a matter of concern and the “selection committee is definitely going to look into it.” Asked if he thought it was time to end Ganguly’s reign as the Indian captain, Mr Mahendra told Karan Thapar in BBC World’s Hardtalk India programme, to be telecast later, that it was a matter which would be decided by the selection committee. “Well, the replacement of Sourav Ganguly is to be considered by the selection committee, but definitely as far as the performance... I tend to agree that he has to improve... in the sense that he has to score.” Mr Mahendra added that Ganguly had said he would try to improve. Will it be the last chance to improve. Lets wait and watch.
Indegenously built cranes for railways Friday, June 17, 2005 | GP
India successfully built crane of capable of hauling a 140-tonne weight at a cost of only 7 Crore rupees when a similar one imported from Geramany will cost 12 crores. The minister of state for railways, Mr Naranbhai J Rathwa, while dedicating the indigenously-built crane capable of hauling a 140-tonne weight to the nation at Rampurhat station complex said, “Commissioning these cranes is part of the comprehensive disaster management plan adopted by the ministry. These cranes can be pressed into service during any rescue operation. Since we need to start relief work on a priority basis, these cranes should be close at hand at the nearest possible location”. The cranes are capable of hauling objects weighing maximum 140 tonne with a radius of 8.5 metres and can work over a radius of 18 metres.
Kolkata limps due to power break down Friday, June 17, 2005 | GP
The city of joy witnessed unannounced power cuts on wednesday and thursday morning. Officials say, the power break down was due technical failure in the Budge power plant. The power plant tripped on Wednesday night following a tube leak leading to a power shortfall of 200 mw in the city, senior CESC official said news agencies. The problem compounded as the state grid also faced some problems in the same time , making it mandatory to cut power in certain areas.
Student uprising rocks W Bengal Thursday, June 16, 2005 | APA
KOLKATA: A baton-charge to break a hunger strike in West Bengal’s Jadavpur University here has snowballed into a virtual student uprising, with about 1,000 of them marching to the state secretariat yesterday. The students, led by the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union of Jadavpur University (FETSU), went in a procession from the campus in south Kolkata to the Writers’ Buildings, the edifice of power of the 27-year-old Left Front government. They demanded justice and the resignation of the university’s vice-chancellor and registrar. At midnight on Friday, the police, who were called in by the university authorities, swooped down on boys and girls, beat them up and even assaulted them after whisking them away to a government hospital to break the protest by FETSU. FETSU, which is driven by Maoist ideology, is demanding withdrawal of the suspension of five compatriots for their involvement in a violent campus protest in 2003. Though the Students Federation of India (SFI), a wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), which leads the Left Front, said examinations would not be boycotted, students at large are joining the boycott. The SFI only holds sway over the arts department of the university. With the entire state having watched on TV how protesting students were pulled and assaulted by the police, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi sought an explanation from vice-chancellor Ashok Nath Basu. The governor reportedly pulled up Basu on Sunday. A damage control exercise saw the vice-chancellor calling a press conference to explain the situation and regretting the police action as “unfortunate”. Many communist leaders, including former chief minister Jyoti Basu, condemned the police action. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee also condemned the incident. With civic polls knocking at its doors, the Left Front seems to be caught in a piquant situation. The campus of Jadavpur University has been in ferment for the past few months with students boycotting examinations and resorting to a relay hunger strike against the suspension of the five students. Though a group of 147 teachers had appealed to the university authorities to withdraw the punishment in a show of solidarity with the students, the protests and unbending stance of the university administration has resulted in a stalemate. It’s an awkward situation for Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattarcharya as he is also home minister, which is in charge of the police. Bhattacharya has all along professed to be against the entry of police in academic institutions and a believer in democratic students’ movements. – Indo-Asian News Service
Student Unions call for strike in West Bengal today Thursday, June 16, 2005 | APA
A 24-hour-strike has been called by five student organisations in West Bengal today in protest of police-lathicharge on students during a hunger-strike at Jadhavpur University on June 6. The student unions have also demanded for the immediate withdrawal of punishment to the students and action against the erring policemen. "We want the Chief Minister to withdraw the suspension of the five students that the university has ordered and also a complete investigation of the incident," said Amit Chakraborty, General Secretary, Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union (FETSU). While the Vice Chancellor, A.N.Basu said, The University will consider withdrawal of punishment if the students submit a written apology and withdraw their agitation. The CM, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, is keeping a close eye over the developments in Jadhavpur University and refused to meet agitating students who marched to the state secretariat but a memorandum of demands has been accepted. Students, meanwhile, will continue boycotting classes and exams till someone is held accountable for what they have labelled as their own "Black Friday". The authorities at the University have refused to take the blame for the violence, passing the buck to the police instead. "We requested the district administration for help. We did not ask them to lathicharge," said Rajat Bandopadhyay, Registrar, Jadhavpur University. The police claimed that minimum force was used to end the hunger-strike. Five students had gone on indefinite hunger strike on June 6 to protest the suspension of five other students who had allegedly manhandled some university officials. Out of the five students punished, Arnab Roychoudhury and Satadal Chakraborty are final-year students who have already secured placements after campus-interviews. They are waiting to clear the semester tests before beginning their professional careers. The other three-Sudipta Sarkar, Samrat Roychoudhury and Arun Kumar Majumdar-are third-year students. (ANI)
Heat kills nine people in West Bengal Thursday, June 16, 2005 | APA
Malda: Nine persons have died in the heat in West Bengal's Malda district in over a fortnight, senior district official said. A-35 year-old agricultural labourer died on Saturday while working in the fields, additional district magistrate B.P.Barat said. He said the deaths have been reported in the district since May 25 with the temperature reaching a high of 45 degrees last week. He said among the dead two were beggars in Gajole and the rest were identified. Barat said the heat has affected the agriculture sector and the water level at Bamangola and Habibpur has gone down and standing maize crop and boro paddy had been affected. There were also reports of immature mango crops drying. Drinking water scarcity was reported from most of the blocks of the district. The situation has been reported to the state government, he added.
Police Assult Stdents Thursday, June 16, 2005 | APA
Police, in a late night operation, beat up students belonging to the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students' Union in an attempt to break up a fast-unto-death agitation that began on Monday. The students were protesting against the suspension of five students for allegedly assaulting some senior university officials last month. Leaders of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have condemned the incident.
