Maoists kill school teacher in West Bengal 
  Kolkata, September 4, 2010 (IANS): A school teacher, who was a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), was Saturday shot dead by Maoists in West Bengal's West Midnapore distruct, police said. Dibakur Mahato, a CPI-M member of Aguboni local committee and a teacher of Salboni Primary school, was shot dead during school hours Saturday morning, said Superintendent of Police (Jhargram) Praveen Tripathi. According to locals, a group of five-six armed rebels came to Salboni school on motorbikes and dragged Dibakar out of the classroom, took him to the highway number 9 and shot him dead. 'His body was found on the State Highway-9 between Jhargram and Lodhasuli. We were informed by the locals and his body was recovered,'Tripathi said.
   According to a senior police officer, the Maoists are trying to capture the Aguboni area but are not able to venture into the area because of the resistance put up jointly by the CPI-M cadres and villagers. On Sep 1, Maoists shot dead Abinash Mahato, the CPI-M zonal committee secretary of Beliabera, and branch committee secretary Nirmal Bag near Lodhashuli in Jhargram.
  Drought-hit Bengal faces famine
  Bankura, August 25, 2010 :Drought has taken into fold 11 out of 18 districts in the West Benga. The state, one of the country?s largest rice producers, has received 30 per cent less rainfall so far, which has turned the otherwise lush landscape into parched patches, of withering crops.
 Barui had survived the Bengal famine of 1943 that killed over three million people of starvation. He claims that he remembers the calamity and foresees a similar situation in the days to come. I have not witnessed such a drought in the last 60 years, when large swathes of farms have turned into barren fields. Survival is difficult, he says. Agriculture accounts for almost 70 per cent of the district's income and about 80 per cent of the farmers have small and marginal income. Paddy is the main crop in the area, but this year not even five per cent of cultivation has taken place, leaving farmers in a lurch. 
  A majority of the farmers in the rice belt of the state cultivate paddy for their own consumption, with the only savings being the produce from last year's cultivation. " We have sold our entire paddy and don?t know what we will eat after two months," says Nepal Seat of Inpur village in the district. Recently, the state government had announced a Rs 50-crore aid for farmers in the drought-hit districts, to be used for free seeds, tubewells and a subsidy for running diesel pump sets to irrigate land. Yet, for farmers the help means little, as none of the measures entail direct monetary benefit. "We have been hearing that the government has announced Rs 50 crore for us. Even if we get 50 paise, we will be blessed," quips Dukhuram Barui of Ghoramuli. Also, the aid seems to be too little and too late. As a rule, Aman, or the summer paddy, takes about 145 days to mature, with rains mandatory after 30 days of preparing the dry seed bed.
  This year, more than 70 days have passed so far, with no rains. Even if rain occurs now, the yield would be less than half the average, according to Anirban Mondal, assistant director (agriculture) of the Chhatna block in Bankura. In addition, rice blast, a disease occurring in paddy, has infected seeds that have been transplanted due to a less-than-normal humidity and high temperature. 
No MNREGA work, no BPL cards : At a time when farmers in West Bengal are in dire need of employment,
work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has come to a halt in the state. State Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Anisur Rahaman confirmed NREGA work had been stopped at most places in the state and schemes like the Prime Minister?s Grameen Sadak Yojana were hardly being implemented, as the central government had stopped releasing any further grant.
  This year, no fund has been released by the central government so far under the scheme. The state government says that about Rs 1,000 crore has been due this year, and it needs Rs 300 crore per month to keep the scheme going. Under NREGA, a household is entitled to 100 days of work in a financial year and the minumum wages should not be less than Rs 60 per day. Interestingly, the Act provides a scheme for drought management, which elaborates early warning systems and remedies on it. 
  The issuance of Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards has also sparked widespread agitation amid drought. The card facility allows each BPL family to purchase rice at Rs 2 per kg. Caught between political brawl and furies of nature, for farmers in Bengal, the images of the great famine of the 1940's has deposed the memoirs of land reforms of the 1970?s, something that kept the Left Front government going for the last 34 years.
Source: Business Standard 

  Nine spotted deer die in West Bengal
  KOLKATA, August 20, 2010 (IANS): Six spotted deer died of exhaustion while being transported to another park in West Bengal Thursday, a senior forest official said. Three other spotted deer died in another incident. The state's chief principal conservator of forest (Wildlife and Bio-Diversity), SB Mondal said: "Six deer died of fatigue while being shifted from the Parmadan Deer Park in North 24-Parganas to Doibanki Deer Acclimatising Centre in Sunderbans, while the rest three died after fighting among themselves in the Parmadan Park."
  According to forest officials, around 26 spotted deer were being shifted to Doibanki to be released in the Sunderbans Bio-sphere to increase the prey base for the Royal Bengal Tigers. With an increase in incidents of tigers straying into human habitation in search of food, experts and senior forest officials have concluded that the big cats were moving into villages due to scarcity of prey in the forests. So, a decision has been taken to release deer or wild boar in the core area of the Sunderbans. Mondal said, "Six of the 26 deer died because of fatigue due to the long journey."

  Mig-27 crash kills one, twenty five injured in Jalpaiguri 
 Jalpaiguri, July 24, 2010: A MiG-27 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Bhotputti village in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district today, killing one and, injuring the pilot and 25 villagers on the ground. The pilot, Saket Verma, ejected from the aircraft but was injured and has been hospitalised, Superintendent of Police Anand Kumar said. Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) Ranveer Kumar said that a farmer, B Rai, who was cultivating his field was killed when the MIG crashed between Moynaguri and Chengrabandha. The SP said that 25 people were injured when the aircraft crashed, of whom 5 were in a serious condition. This is the second Mig-27 crash in the eastern sector. source: NDTV  
  Anti-collision device that could have saved lives
  Kolkata, July 19, 2010: An indigenous technology approved by the rail board may have saved 62 lives had the railways delivered on Mamata Banerjee?s promise to Parliament of ?zero tolerance to accidents?. Senior rail officials and passenger safety experts told The Telegraph the Uttar Banga Express may not have rammed into the Vananchal had the locomotives been fitted with an anti-collision device (ACD) the railways developed after the 1999 Gaisal accident killed 268 people.
  During her stint as railway minister in 1999, Mamata Banerjee herself had encouraged me to develop the system. She had even briefed Parliament about its effectiveness,? said B. Rajaram, an IIT Kharagpur-trained engineer, who developed the technology and fine-tuned it for use in the Indian Railways. 
  Speaking from his residence in Herndon in Vermont in the US, the former managing director of Konkan Railways said the technology had been ready for use since 2003. The use of such devices is an integral part of any modern railway system. The Japanese and the US railway networks have minimised human error with the use of such technology.
  In her budget speech on February 24, Mamata had stressed the need to install cutting-edge equipment to prevent accidents. Vision 2020, the ministry?s statement of intent, aims at making railway operations free of accidents, be it derailment, collision or fire on trains. But senior railway officials said that the project of extending use of safety tools in different zones was yet to take off. Source: The Telegraph 
  Closure notice to polluting chemical units on BT Road
  KOLKATA. July 8, 2010: The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (PCB) has ordered Hindustan Heavy Chemicals, a firm that runs a chlor-alkali factory and a sulphuric acid plant on BT Road in Khardah, to close its units from July 30 for repeatedly failing to comply with environment norms by discharging excess amount of mercury as effluents. The order was issued on June 30.The deferred notice for closure has been issued to the company to allow it to duly stop all operations in a safe manner, avoiding any occurrence of accidental discharge. PCB had earlier received complaints against the industry, alleging it was not following pollution norms. After an inspection, PCB found that the industry had repeatedly failed to comply with the standard of mercury in the discharged effluents.
  Also, the industry was supposed to convert its mercury cell process to membrane cell based on certain recommendations, but no record of this was available. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), too, did an
inspection in November last year and directed that the industry should discontinue operations till it submitted a time-bound action plan. Source: The Times of India
  New rules to stop corporal punishment in schools
  Kolkata, July 01, 2010 (IANS): Emphasising that physical and mental torture of students hindered their natural development, the West Bengal government Thursday said it has formed new rules for schools to stop corporal punishment. Making a statement in the state assembly on the suicide of a class 8 student, Rouvanjit Rawla of La Martiniere School for Boys, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee claimed that some schools were indifferent to the need of protecting their students. 
  "Physical and mental torture on students are against their natural development. It is mandatory in the overall interest of students to ensure that the school's atmosphere does not give rise to fear among them," he said. Bhattacharjee said that incidents "keep happening" which made one feel that some school authorities and their teachers were loath to attaching the necessary importance to the issue. 
  West Bengal hit by strike against fuel price hike
  Kolkata, June 26, 2010 (IANS): Normal life was badly hit in West Bengal as buses, taxis and autorickshaws went off the roads Saturday in response to a public transport strike called by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) against the fuel price hike. Despite being a holiday for government employees, commuters were inconvenienced as a handful of taxis and autorickshaws that plied made a killing by charging exorbitant fares. Ferry services on various rivers across the state also did not operate.
  The strike was called by CITU, the labour arm of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), hours after the central government Friday ended government curbs on petroleum pricing and hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas. The price of diesel went up by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder. The prices of petrol will now be costlier by about Rs 3.50 per litre.  Metro Railway services in the exempted category functioned normally. There are no reports of any untoward incident.
  Gorkha group withdraws shutdown call in Darjeeling
  Kolkata, June 25, 2010: The pro-Gorkhaland Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) Thursday withdrew its indefinite shutdown call in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district in northern West Bengal. The GJM had called the shutdown from June 19 in protest against alleged police harassment of its frontal organisation, Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP), and a slew of other demands. It later relaxed the shutdown for 48-hours starting June 23.GJM press and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri said: 'The decision was taken in today's (Thursday) central committee meeting of the party.'
  La Martiniere bans corporal punishment 
  Kolkata, June 18, 2010 (PTI): Under pressure from all quarters following the alleged suicide of a student after being caned by the principal, the premier La Martiniere School for Boys here today banned corporal punishment. "No child will be subjected to physical punishment and mental torture and whoever contravenes such provisions, shall be construed a major violator of rules and if found guilty, shall be liable for disciplinary action," the school's board of governors said in a notification.
  Board member Lt Gen (retd) J R Mukherjee said that under the service rules, which has been amended with immediate effect, violators would attract halt to increment, promotion and even removal and suspension. The school authorities decided to form a committee for students to file complaints and counselling for them shortly.
  The father of La Martiniere student filed FIR named principal and five teachers
  KOLKATA:, June 9, 2010: The father of La Martiniere student Rauvanjit Rawla has named principal Sunirmal Chakraborty and five teachers junior school head L G Gunion, English teachers Partho Dutta and Gomes, and mathematics teacher David Ryon in an FIR he filed in Shakespeare Sarani police station late Monday night. The 13-year-old boy took his life on February 12 after returning home from school where he had allegedly been humiliated, harassed for days on end and even caned for alleged indiscipline. 
  Police have started a case under Section 305 IPC, which carries the death penalty or a jail term extending from 10 years to life. Rauvanjit's father Ajay Rawla said: "We told the National Commission for Protection of Children's Rights (NCPCR) team about the incident. I also handed over an audio recording in which the principal admits to beating up children. I do not want this to happen to anyone else. Having gone through tremendous pain and agony, I can't let a similar incident happen to another student."  "The trauma of losing a child is too hard to bear. That is why it took me a few months to lodge an FIR against the accused. I realized that if something wasn't done, the school authorities would get away with it," he said.  Source: The Times of India
  Trinamool Congress an electoral sweep of the civic polls
  Kolkata, June 02, 2010 (IANS): The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday wrested control of the prestigious Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in an electoral sweep of the civic polls that saw it humble West Bengal's ruling Left Front across the state. The state's urban voters gave the thumbs down to the Left, which
suffered a humiliating defeat although the major opposition parties, the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, failed to come to an electoral understanding. 
  The results have come as a big boost to the Trinamool, which defied exit poll predictions of a close contest and improved its bargaining power vis-a-vis the Congress which performed dismally. Trinamool candidates won 95, the Left Front bagged 33, Congress got 10 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched three of the total 141 wards in the KMC. 
  The Left has controlled the KMC since 2005. However, the Trinamool had run the board between 2000 and 2005, after 20 years of Left rule in the civic body since 1985 when the new municipal act came in place. Among the municipalities the Trinamool won were Memari in Burdwan district and Bolpur in Birbhum district as well as Khardah, Baranagar and Naihati in North 24 Parganas district. The Left Front retained Bally in Hooghly district and Toofanganj and Dinhata in Cooch Behar district in northern West Bengal. The Congress retained the Katwa Municipality in Burdwan. 
  Train derailment a political conspiracy, CBI to probe: Mamata
  Midnapore, May 29, 2010: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that there was a political conspiracy behind the Gyaneswari Express disaster in West Midnapore and said the Centre has agreed for a CBI probe into it. "From the Railways, we have requested the Union home ministry for a CBI investigation into the incident since it was in Jangalmahal where joint operation (against Maoists) is on. We have already sent a letter and the Centre has agreed to order it," Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata.
  Several trains that ply through the Maoist belt at night have been rescheduled in Bengal a day after at least 114  passengers were killed and 200 injured when 13 coaches of Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express derailed in West Bengal's West Midnapore district.
  Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee urges PM to stop auction of Tagore paintings
  KOLKATA, May 20, 2010: A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presides over a meeting with  eminent personalities from the world of art and culture to chalk out celebration plans for Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has shot off an SOS to Singh, urging him to stop the auction of rare paintings by the poet laureate scheduled at Sotheby's in London next month. 
  On Monday, auction house Sotheby's announced sale of the exceptionally rare works by the celebrated Bengali artist and poet in its annual sale of Indian Art in London on June 15. The 12 paintings were presented for sale by the Dartington Hall Trust, a charitable organisation based on the Dartington Hall estate, near Totnes in South Devon. Funds raised will be used to support the Trust's ambitious plans to expand its charitable programmes in arts, social justice and sustainability. 
  The news of Tagore's works being put under the hammer sent shockwaves in Kolkata and Santiniketan, triggering protests from numerous celebrities and prompted Bhattacharjee's letter seeking the PM's intervention to stop the sale. Source: The Times of India 
  West Bengal polls to be held next year
  KOLKATA, May 17, 2010: Scoffing at Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee's claim that the West Bengal assembly polls would be advanced to October, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday said only the state government has the right to decide on whether to hold the elections earlier. The state will go to the hustings as scheduled next year, Bhattacharjee told media persons here.  "The elections will be held according to schedule next year. As per the  constitution, only the state government can propose whether to advance the poll. No one else can. No one else has the right," he said. The chief minister categorically said his government was not even toying with the idea of advancing the elections. 
  Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary
  Kolkata, May 8, 2010: The country will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on May 9, Kolkata-based St. Xavier's School and College will join in the celebrations for its former student. Rabindranath Tagore studied at the school for almost two years and penned down his memories of the period on several occasions. Tagore was admitted to the fifth standard in 1875, at the age of 14, along with his elder brother Somendranath Tagore and nephew Satyaprasad Gangopadhyay. The St. Xavier's was the fourth and last school he attended before his father decided to home-tutor him.Tagore had pleasant memories of his time as a student at St Xavier’s School, which finds mention in his writings. 
  While Tagore left the school in 1877, he came back to his alma mater in 1931 to preside over a function organised by the teachers and students to collect funds for people affected by the devastating floods in Bengal that year. 
  Big celebrations have been lined up for the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi and the union culture ministry joining hands to mark the occasion. A three-day event titled "Rabindra Pranati" beginning Friday will take place in 
Rabindra Bhavan in Delhi. May 9 is the poet's birth anniversary.On the first day, there will be a book exhibition on Tagore. To be held at the Sahitya Akademi, "Tagore's Treasures", as the exhibition is titled, will see books such as "Renderings of Gitanjali" in different Indian languages by eminent poets. 

  Kolkata recorded 41 degrees C
  Kolkata, April 12, 2010: Purulia recorded 44 degrees and Kolkata 41 degrees C, five notches above normal. Heatwave warnings were issued in West Midnapore, Birbhum, Bankura, and Burdwan. Many areas suffered blackouts with several units of Kolaghat, Bakreshwar and Purulia power generating stations breaking down. Tata Motors pays Rs. 1 crore lease rent on Singur land
  Kolkata, April 4, 2010 (PTI) : The disputed Singur land in West Bengal after its closure. Tata Motors has paid the lease rent of Rs. 1 crore till March next year for its land at Singur, where the company’s small car ‘Nano’ was initially scheduled to roll out from. Officials of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) said the company paid the advance annual lease rent of Rs 1 crore last month for the year 2010-11.
  Tata Motors had withdrawn the ‘Nano’ project from Singur in West Bengal in October 2008 and shifted it to Sanand in Gujarat as it faced opposition from displaced farmers.When asked whether Tata Motors was willing to retain the land, a company spokesman said, “Paying the rent indicates that the land is with us on lease“.
The West Bengal government had sought the return of the Singur land from the Tatas for the purpose of having an alternate project as proposed by the Railways Ministry. However, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata had categorically stated that the land would be returned only if the company was adequately compensated for the lost investment it had made at Singur. 
  Fire at Stephen  Court in Kolkata toll rises to 43
  Kolkata, March 29, 2010: The fire at Stephen House building on the busy Park Street in Kolkata broke out at the fifth floor of the building and spread to the sixth. The death toll in Tuesday’s fire that destroyed portions of the multi-storeyed building on Park Street mounted to 43 as 8 skulls were found on Monday. Still some people remain untraced. The bodies of 17 persons who were burnt alive were discovered by firemen in the staircase between the fifth and sixth floors of the building in the wee hours of the day after the flames were finally doused, an official of the fire services said. A six member forensic team visited the building to carry out investigations. Several commercial units besides residential apartments are housed in the building. 
  Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, also visited the spot and instructed the officials of the fire services to rescue any who may remain trapped in the affected floors. The sixth and seventh floors were constructed without proper sanction and were regularised later. Fire safety rules and building norms had been grossly 
violated, a fire official said. 
  Pawar will provide  Bengal farmers the potato subsidy
  New Delhi, March 18, 2010 ( BS Reporter): Acting on a request from Left leaders, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawarr will provide transport assistance to the farmers of West Bengal to help them export potatoes in a competitive international market.The Uttar Pradesh government — led by UPA’s political opponent BSP — has also forwarded a similar request to the Agriculture ministry and Pawar may oblige Mayawati with a one-time subsidy as well, said sources.
  This year, both West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh witnessed a bumper production of potatoes. In West Bengal, the yield is expected to reach 95 lakh metric tons. The Left-front government immediately followed it up with a request to Pawar asking him to provide a transport subsidy to potato farmers. This, according to CPI(M) leader in Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharia, will help the farmers compete at the international market’s 
competitive bidding. After a few rounds of negotiations, Pawar has agreed to provide a transport assistance of Rs 3 per kg of potato. Pawar informed Acharia today that he has already released Rs 10 crore on this account in the first installment. The next installments would be released by the Union government after  assessing the exports.
  The Left leaders had pointed out to Pawar that to arrange regular supplies to all these countries, the farmers would require at least 10 refrigerated containers daily and a minimum of 200 such containers would be required to meet all export orders. As the state government doesn’t have its own containers, it had requested the Union minister to give financial assistance to hire the containers.
  Huge fire breaks out in Kolkata slum 
  KOLKATA, March 5, 2010 (IANS): A huge fire broke out in a slum area on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata on Friday, a state fire department official said. No casualty has been reported in the incident so far.  According to fire department sources, at least 20 fire engines were pressed into service to douse the flames at the slum on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass near Science City auditorium. "The slum was full of combustible items and leather products, which aggravated the fire at a massive pace. The fire broke out at around 11.30 am," a fire department source said. 
  ‘Sanskriti’ Express to Mark 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore
  Ministry of Railways, February 24, 2010: The Indian Railways will run special train Sanskriti Express across the country to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore and to disseminate his legacy to the young generation. This was announced by the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata  Banerjee in the Lok Sabha today while presenting the Railway Budget for the year 2010-11. The Minister said, Tagore is the only poet in the work whose poems have been adopted as National Anthems by two countries – Amar 
Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh and Jan Gana Mana for India. 
  Buddhadeb announces 10 pc quota in govt jobs for poor Muslims  
  KOLKATA, February 9, 2010: The Left Front in West Bengal on Monday attempted to hijack the minority quota move of political competitors by appropriating a part of the Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendations and announcing a 10% quota in state government jobs for Muslims. 
  However, the Left’s anxiety to skirt constitutional hurdles prompted the government to broaden the OBC quota for implementing the promise. “Ten per cent of jobs in our government will be kept reserved for members of the minority community who are educationally, socially and economically backward in our state,” chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announced at the Writers’  Buildings. He also said his government had taken a further step of identifying such people among Muslims, and “after the process of identification is over, we will provide job reservation for them” . 
  In West Bengal already 22% government jobs are reserved for the SC, 6% for the ST and 7% for OBCs. Another 10% reservation for backward Muslims will lead to a situation in which 45% of the government jobs 
will be kept reserved and general community people will now have 55% of government jobs left for them. Source: The Economic Times 
  Grant for memorial in Kolkata
  Kolkata, February 5 , 2010: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 105 crore for the upgrade of the Hooghly banks in the state, as well as the Nimtala burning ghat and the adjoining Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Garden. The  CMDA will execute the projects, with the Centre bearing 70 per cent of the cost and the state paying the rest. Of the total grant, sanctioned under the National Ganga River Basin Authority, Rs 14 lakh has been earmarked for the revamp of the crematorium and the garden.
  “Work on the expansion of the Nimtala burning ghat and the memorial garden will start on Tagore’s birthday,” said urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, who also heads the CMDA. The other projects under the scheme include riverfront development in Howrah, Khardah, Serampore, Naihati, Chandernagore, Rishra, and Baidyabati. Source: The Telegraph
  Railway connectivity, Mamata's gift to Nandigram 
  Kolkata, January 31, 2010 (IANS): Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday inaugurated a project for laying 17 km of railway tracks in West Bengal's Nandigram and promised jobs or houses to those whose land may be acquired for the project.   'The 17-km long railway track will connect Nandigram with Deshapran railway station in East Midnapore district. The railway track construction work would be completed within  one-and-a-half years. The project has already been sanctioned and tenders issued for the first phase. 
'If we get the required land early, we might finish the project within one year also,' Banerjee told the gathering, adding that her ministry will provide proper compensation to seven families in Nandigram whose land will be acquired for the project. 
   She said: 'We will build houses or get them jobs in the Indian Railways, if we find it necessary.'  Banerjee also promised rail connectivity in the near future to Nandigram's adjoining Khejuri area. 'We have a plan to connect both Nandigram and Khejuri with the neighbouring Haldia township and with the rest of India. A computerised ticket reservation counter will also be set up in Nandigram next month,' the minister said. 

   Pay your tributes to CPM leader Jyoti Basu 
                                                
  Jyoti Basu's last journey
  Kolkata, January 19, 2010: Thousands of people tried to break police barricades for a last glimpse of their leader Jyoti Basu, as the flower-bedecked body of the Communist patriarch was brought to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) West Bengal state headquarters in Kolkata on Tuesday. Tearful CPI-M politburo members, including general secretary Prakash Karat and chief ministers of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, carried the body on their shoulders from the hearse and placed it on a makeshift platform, as slogans like 'Jyoti Basu amar rahe' and 'Long Live Jyoti Basu' rent the air.
  Six pall bearers drawn from the three wings of the Defence forces took the body of CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu from the assembly premises, where it was lying in state, to a gun carriage for the last journey to Mohur 
Kunj today. The pall-bearers carried the body, draped in the national tri-colour, to the gun carriage at the north gate. The body was placed on the gun-carriage draped with a red cloth and as it began moving soldiers with reversed arms marched beside it to the roll of drums.
  The grand daughters of the former state chief minister - Koel, Doel and Payel - broke down as they garlanded Basu, who died at a private city nursing home Jan 17 after a long battle for life. The atmosphere at the 31, Alimuddin Street office was sombre as senior leaders of the CPI-M and other partners of the Left Front looked crestfallen, some of them sobbing, as they filed past the body covered with a red party flag. The party headquarters, constructed in 1982, was a part of Basu's daily itinerary, till old age and ill health confined him to his Salt Lake home.Earlier, Basu's last journey started amid shouts of 'Comrade Jyoti Basu lal  salaam', when his body was taken out of the funeral parlour 'Peace Haven' - where it had been kept since Sunday and placed in a hearse. Kolkata police sergeants and three pilot cars were the vanguards of the cortege,  with four other sergeants providing side cover to the hearse - fitted with transparent fibre glass for people to have the last glimpse of the mass leader. Six red flags at half-mast were on the hearse; inside which sat some leaders including Basu's long time aid Joykrishna Ghosh.
 Veteran Communist leader Jyoti Basu, who was West Bengal's chief minister for 23 long years, died in Kolkata on Sunday, the 17th January, 2010 after a prolonged illness. Jyoti Basu (1914-2010) was 95. He was an astute politician, able administrator, reformist and a record setter in many respects. Jyoti Basu resigned from active politics in 2000 but continued to guide the communist movement in India. 
  The last of nine politburo members who founded the CPM in 1964, Basu was described as a "great son of India" by none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Born in 1914 in Kolkata, Basu became chief minister of West Bengal in June 1977 and held the post, uninterrupted, until stepping down voluntarily on health grounds in November 2000. He was a politician of high credibility whose loss will be felt by the entire nation. 
  The President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, on Sunday condoled the passing away of the former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. In her condolence message, Patil said: "Shri Jyoti Basu earned the unique distinction of being the longest serving Chief Minister of any state from the late seventies to the year 2000. 
  "During his political career he displayed his abilities as a leader of the people, an able administrator and an eminent statesman. In the years after he relinquished the Chief Ministership, he continued to be looked upon as an elder statesman, whose advice was sought by many political leaders in the state," she  added.  "In his passing away, the nation has lost a veteran and an eminent public figure," the statement concluded.   

  Trinamool Congress vows to do Nandigram in Haripur
  NEW DELHI, January 15, 2010: A day after the Centre announced environmental clearance for the Haripur nuclear power plant in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has vowed a Nandigram-type resistance against the project. Ms Mamata Banerjee’s party, which is aggressively matching the obstructionist politics of the Left, has said that it will organise local resistance against the plant in the power-starved state. “The people of the area will not allow such a project to come up. How can the Centre and the state government go ahead when they are fully aware of the people’s opposition to the project,” minister of state for rural development Sisir Adhikary asked. What is bizarre is the declaration of a Nandigram re-run was made by a central minister. “The villagers are prepared to resist land acquisition for the project as done in Nandigram,” Mr Adhikary said. The Trinamool minister represents the Kanthi constituency, which is home to Haripur, in the Lok Sabha. Raising objections to the clearance, Mr Adhikary said that no environmental impact assessment had been done.
  The Trinamool, which is a member of the UPA government, has often accused Congress of ‘sidelining’ it and ‘consulting’ the Left on issues relating to West Bengal. On the Haripur clearance, Ms Banerjee’s party trotted out its pet peeve once again. “The Centre has not discussed the matter with us. The environment minister has spoken on the basis of what the state government has reported. We are running the Centre g and not Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The Union government should respect the people’s views,” Mr Adhikary said. The party claims that the Geological Survey of India has not yet prepared map of ‘mouzas’ of the site where the project was proposed to be set up. It is being argued that the proposed nuclear power plant will endanger the 
livelihood of nearly 42,000 small and marginal farmers and 50,000 fishermen. 
  The proposed plant is to be developed with Russian assistance. The project was allocated to the Russian state-owned nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, Atomstroyexport last year. 
Source: The Economic Times 

 Jyoti Basu condition continues to be critical 
 Kolkata, January 14, 2010 (PTI): CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu continued to remain in a critical condition today with doctors attending on him saying that lack of any improvement in his health was "not a good sign". "It is not a good sign. We  expected a bit more improvement, but there has been no change in Basu''s health. A patient staying in ICU without any improvement is a bad sign," medical board member Dr Susrut Bandyopadhyay told reporters here today.
 According to hospital sources, 95-year-old Basu''s blood pressure has been normal and he has been responding to broadspectrum antibiotics. The oedema, which is accumulation of fluid, in Basu''s brain has been arrested, doctors said, adding that he has been able to take in 40 per cent of the supplied oxygen.
  Doctors said they were unsure of Basu''s health if the three external supplies - partial ventilation, oxygen supply and food - were withdrawn. Doctors are taking measures to prevent bed sores as the former chief minister remained confined to bed in ICU, sources said. Basu was admitted to the hospital 11 days ago with pneumonia.

  Jyoti Basu remains critical
  KOLKATA, January 9, 2009: Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan and Meghalaya CM D  D Lapang were among the dignitaries who visited Jyoti Basu on Friday. Basu's heart rate and blood pressure are not yet satisfactory and he is still on ventilator. "A person whose blood pressure has to be kept normal with medication is always critical," said Susrut Bandyopadhyay, critical care consultant and a member of the medical  board. Blood tests have revealed that Basu is infected with salmonella and acinetobacter bacteria. 
  Eight specialists from AIIMS, including pulmonologist R Guleria, cardiologist V K Bahl and neurologist Tameshwar Prasad, spoke to Basu's medical board and reportedly expressed satisfaction with the line of treatment. The meeting was arranged with the help of the Prime Minister's Office and chief minister's secretariat. The video conference was a glitched affair, though, with the link failing twice. Doctors later held a tele-conference.   Source: The Times of India

  Jyoti Basu’s condition critical 
  KOLKATA, January 7, 2010: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday paid a visit to 95-year-old Marxist veteran and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, who is in a critical condition at a hospital in Kolkata following a pneumonia attack. Manmohan Singh reached the private hospital in Salt Lake at around 1 pm and headed for the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) where Basu is being treated. He was at the hospital for over 20 minutes. He was accompanied by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who also received him at the airport. Basu was admitted to the hospital near his Indira Bhavan residence Jan 1 and is on ventilator support. 
  The prime minister had arrived in Kolkata from Delhi in a special aircraft around 12.30 pm only to visit Basu. After the brief one-and-a-half hour visit to the city, he left from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport. Entry was restricted to the hospital ahead of the prime minister's visit and traffic was diverted on nearby roads. Jammers were installed and Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel threw a security cordon around the hospital. The state government deployed a large number of armed policemen, Special Action Force (SAF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel to ensure foolproof security for the Prime Minister. Even the doctors had to undergo security checks before being allowed to enter the hospital on Thursday morning. Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Shyamal Chakraborty had  earlier requested political luminaries and other dignitaries wishing to visit Basu to stay away from the hospital during the prime minister's visit.

  Process to get back Tata land at Singur has begun: WB govt 
  Kolkata, December 26, 2009 (PTI: The West Bengal government has begun the formalities for taking back the land it had acquired for Tata Motors for its small car project in Singur, a senior official said."Yes, we have started the formalisation process," state Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty told newsmen this evening.
"When a land is leased out for a certain purpose and it is not fulfilled, then we have to think of alternatives." The state government acquired about 997 acre of land at Singur for Tata Motors for the Nano car project. The Tatas, however, shifted the project to Sanand in Gujarat following an agitation by farmers led by Opposition Trinamool Congress. 
  Law to take back land from locked units
  Kolkata, December 21, 2009: The government today passed a bill that allows it to acquire from clo- sed and sick mills, factories, workshops and tea gardens land that had been leased out to them. The West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2009, was necessitated by the fact that the land at these units was being used to build commercial and residential complexes and not to serve the purpose for which it had been given on lease.   “With the amendment, land retained by individuals or groups under the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1953, for running factories, mills and tea gardens cannot be used or  developed for any purpose other than for what they had been retained and will be taken back,” says the bill tabled by the land and land reforms minister. The land will then be reused for industry, government officials said. They added that many of the shut jute factories dotting the city and its suburbs are on such land.
  Land minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said the total area of land that had been given on lease under the 1953 act was 4.63 lakh acres. “So far, we have identified 41,000 acres that have closed factories or tea estates. But the process of identification is on.”  “After the bill becomes law, we can immediately begin the process of acquiring this land,” he added.  Source: The Telegraph
  West Bengal seeks firm Railways’ proposed plan on singur
  Kolkata December 16, 2009 (BS)  The stalemate over the Railways’ proposed coach factory at Singur is likely to continue with the West Bengal government on Tuesday indicating that it will wait for a firm proposal 
from the Rail Board before approaching its tenants for terminating the contract covering 997 acres at the former production site of the Tata Nano. 
  Incidentally, the Rail Board, which is the apex decision-making body of the Railways, had earlier said it will 
submit its blueprint for the proposed facility once the state government had recovered the land for the lessees, which include Tata Motors and automobile components manufacturers. “We need to have a concrete idea of what the Railways would like to undertake at Singur before we can terminate the lease. It will be premature to discuss the matter with them (tenants) without this proposal,” West Bengal Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti said here today at a meeting at the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
   BJP bandh hits Kolkata
   Kolkata, November 30, 2009: In BJP bandh on November 30, saffron hoodlums run roit in the city, burning buses, smashing car windscreens and attacking IT offices in Rajarhat to enforece 12 hour bundh. The vandalism in parts of central and north Kolkata and Howarh and on VIP Road went unchecked as the administration looked on.
   BHEL may not set up plant at Singur
   Kolkata November 29, 2009 : Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has expressed its inability to put up the proposed power project at Tata Motors’ abandoned Singur site, in a written communication to the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL). State government sources said the public sector had cited 6-7 reasons. The projects under consideration were a power equipment plant and a super thermal power plant of 2x800 Mw, which would require 1,500-1,600 acres, but the Singur plot was spread over 997 acres. Moreover, the nearest source of water was at least 18-20 km away and coal transportation would also be a problem.
   Mamata promises jobs to those who lose land for projects 
   Kolkata, November 16, 2009: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday that those who lose their land to railway projects will be provided jobs apart from compensation. She also announced a reward and jobs for those warning the Railways of accidents.
   She took out a padyatra through Hooghly and later laid the foundation stone for a double line at the Nalikul railway station. Speaking at the function, she said: "We will not acquire land forcibly. Apart from proper compensation to those from whom land is acquired, we will also give job to one of their family members. To lay tracks we only need 30 metres of land and I hope there will be no problems."
   Flashing the development card at a time when her party has been accused of links with outfits with Maoist leanings, Mamata said: "Haripal, Singur, Pursura, Tarakeswar, Goghat, Arambagh and other areas in Hooghly will be connected through Railways... through development, not terror. We want development, not terror."
   West Bengal to give Rs.2,000 to unemployed auto workers 
   Kolkata, October 19, 2009 (IANS): The West Bengal government will give a one-time grant of Rs.2000 each to bus, minibus, taxi and auto-rickshaw workers who have been rendered unemployed following the ban on commercial vehicles over 15 years old in Kolkata.  Making the announcement at a programme organised by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) here, Labour Minister Anadi Sahu said 25,000- 30,000 workers have been affected due to the court-imposed ban. 
   Sahu also said the government will give a subsidy of Rs.50,000, Rs.30,000, Rs.20,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively to bus, minibus, taxi and auto-rickshaw operators who purchase new vehicles in place of the banned ones.   In July 2008, the Calcutta High Court had ordered a ban on commercial vehicles registered before Jan 1, 1993 from Kolkata Metropolitan Area, which includes parts of North and South 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly districts. The ban was to come into effect Dec 31, 2008, but was put off till July 31 following a government plea. The order was finally implemented from August 1, 2009.
   Apartments for non-railway staff
   KOLKATA, October 13, 2009: For the first time in the history of the Indian Railways, residential apartments for non-railway staff, will come up across the state. The project was mulled by the railway ministry in 2007 and at that time the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) was entrusted with the job of conducting a survey. The construction will start from this December, said a senior official of RLDA in New Delhi. The survey has been completed at several sites in Sealdah division of Eastern Railway and work orders will be issued soon to the firms that have been selected after floating tenders. The proposed sites will be given on long- term lease to the developers and they will be able to sell the apartments or give it on rent to the people. 
  Initially, it was decided that the sites lying abandoned along the station premises and located close to urban settlements would be developed. The residential complexes will come up at Belghoria, Halishar, Ballyghat and Kanchrapara stations, said Mr S Banerjee, deputy general manager (projects), RLDA. Mr Banerjee said, they had identified about 3 hecto-acres of plot near the track depot in Belgharia, two plots measuring 9 hecto-acres at the condemned yard area in Halishar, 4 hecto-acres near Girl School on BT Road in Ballyghat and four plots measuring 0.81 hecto-acres near Kanchrapara station. - The Statesman
  Bengal may allow contract farming
  Barasat October 04, 2009: West Bengal, one of the three states yet to amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act of 1972, is planning to do so in the winter session of the Assembly.Mortaza Hossain, state agricultural marketing minister and a Forward Bloc leader said the government was seriously considering the proposal and would decide soon. The amendment would pave the way for contract farming, which was not allowed in the Act of 1972.
  Hossain said under the proposed model for contract farming, companies would approach self-help groups instead of dealing with individual farmers. He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of West Bengal’s first integrated cold chain plant. State Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said the government would have to act fast as the procurement season had started.
  Today’s announcement is significant as the Forward Bloc-controlled state marketing board had refused to renew the licence of German wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry last year, forcing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to intervene. Reliance Retail was also denied licence.

  Maha Navmi celebrated in Kolkata 
  Kolkata, September 27, 2009 (ANI): Devotees celebrated on Sunday the Maha Navmi festival of Goddess Durga, to mark the ninth and the most auspicious of the nine-day Navaratri festival. The day is considered significant as life is “breathed” into the idol of Durga by priests who perform elaborate rituals amidst chanting of religious verses.
  “Today is Maha Navmi..The ninth avatars of Goddess Durga is Siddhidatri. All gods collectively created Goddess Durga when they were attacked by demons. Durga killed most of the demons on the day of Ashtami.  Meanwhile, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee offered prayers at his family temple at Mirthi in Birbhum district of West Bengal. He has been worshipping here during Durga Puja for the past 20 years. Goddess Durga is worshipped all over the country in different forms. The festival is called Durga Puja in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, while in the rest of the country, it is known as Dussehra and Navaratri. Goddess Durga is depicted as a powerful goddess, riding a raging lion, holding aloft ten weapons of war in her ten hands. Her trident is depicted plunging into the side of a monstrous buffalo, out of whose body emerges a demon symbolising evil.  

   Efforts on to retain Wipro, Infosys in West Bengal 
   Kolkata, Sep 11, 2009 (PTI): The West Bengal government is making efforts to provide land to infosys and Wipro elsewhere to retain the IT majors in the state. "We are trying to make some arrangement so that IT giants like Wipro and Infosys can stay back in the state," Housing minister Gautam Deb told reporters after a 
CPI(M) secretariat meeting here today. The Left Front government had scrapped the IT township project at Rajarhat in  North 24 Parganas district following the Vedic Village land deal controversy.Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had termed this as a "failure" of the state government for not being able to allow Wipro and Infosys to set up their units in the state. Congress has said that the government should provide alternative land to the software companies for setting up their units. 
   Bengal scraps IT township project
   KOLKATA, September 07, 2009 (IANS): The West Bengal government on Monday informed IT majors Infosys and Wipro that their projects in a proposed township on the outskirts of this metropolis had been scrapped, according to officials. The proposed IT township at Rajarhat near Salt Lake had become controversial in recent weeks following allegations that land sharks had been involved in acquisition of plots there. Just about a month back, West Bengal IT MInister Debesh Das had declared that the state government had already acquired land for the Infosys and Wipro complexes in the proposed township. 
   Left rally halts Kolkata traffic 
   Kolkata, August 31, 2009: Nearly 500,000 people joined a rally in Kolkata to remember the martyrs of "a movement for food" in West Bengal state 50 years ago. The rally brought traffic to a complete standstill in the eastern city. In 1959, more than 80 people died when police fired at protesters who had gathered to demand food. The rally was the first massive popular upsurge against the then Congress government in the state. It was led by the Communists who now rule the state. 
   State plans 48378 houses for the poor
   KOLKATA, August 29, 2009:  Nine state departments and other agencies, like the West Bengal Housing Board, Hidco, the housing department's joint venture companies and assisted companies, will build around 50,000 dwelling units for the economically weak in about a year. The scheme will benefit backward districts like Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore, where CPM is facing Maoist heat. The housing, forest, Sunderbans affairs, minority affairs, fisheries, panchayat and rural development and the backward classes welfare departments, the Paschimanchal Unnayan Parishad and the Asanasol and Durgapur Development Authority will spend Rs 444.89 crore for the 48,378 dwelling units. "Work will start next month. Most of the houses will be ready in 2009, while some will be completed next year," said Gautam Deb, state housing department. To monitor the project, a committee has been set up under M Chakraborty, former teacher at IIT, Kharagpur. The DMs have been asked to identify people earning less than Rs 6,000 per month. "Holding BPL card is a must for the beneficiaries," Deb said. Source: The Times of India 
  Bengal, Punjab plan to boost farm produce
  KOLKATA, August 25, 2009: West Bengal and Punjab are fine-tuning their existing APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) Acts to attract some of the biggest corporates in the agri-retail spectrum. Issues like contract farming rights for MNCs, direct/private marketing of agri-retail products are expected to be addressed by both state governments. In West Bengal, the state marketing board has reworked the APMC Act and sent it to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for approval. Talking to ET, West Bengal’s agricultural marketing minister Mortaza Hossain said: “Issues have been raised about contract farming by 
MNCs who wish to enter this sector. In the proposed amended APMC  Act, we have made it clear that MNCs will not be allowed to undertake contract farming in the state. Contract farming will either be done by co-operatives or self-help groups and the MNCs can buy the products from them. Otherwise, there is isn’t any major change we have suggested in the proposed APMC Act amendment draft. The draft also deals with direct and private marketing of agri-retail products.” 
  Operations to continue in Lalgarh: WB govt
  Midnapore (WB), Aug 21, 2009 (PTI) The West Bengal government today said the anti-Maoist operations by police and Central para-military forces would continue in West Midnapore district."The operations against Maoists will not end quickly. They are continuing. The Centre has accepted that the security forces need to 
stay in West Midnapore," State Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters here. 
  The state government has also requested Jharkhand to launch operations against Maoists, as they have their bases there from where they infiltrate into West Bengal, he said. Meanwhile, tribal women members of People's Committee against Police Atrocities demonstrated before the police station at Pirakata demanding release of eight PCPA supporters arrested recently by security forces.The eight had been arrested following an encounter between Maoists and security forces, police said.
  Bengal differs on drought 
  KOLKATA, 18 Aug: The West Bengal government seems to be holding different views on the drought situation as the state agriculture minister, Mr Naren De, differed with the report submitted before the Centre by the chief secretary. While the report submitted in Delhi stated that 11 of the state’s districts were facing drought, the agriculture minister today said: “We cannot say that there is drought in any of the districts.” 
Arguing that drought can be declared only if an area receives rainfall less than 50 per cent of the normal. Mr De said the average shortfall was about 23 per cent only. 
Source: The Statesman 
  19 confirmed cases of swine flu in West Bengal
  KOLKATA, August 13, 2009: Six new cases of swine flu were tested positive in Kolkata on Thursday, the highest detected till now in a single day in the state. With this, the cumulative number of swine flu positive patients in West Bengal touched 19. The government indicated this could well be the trigger point for a wider spread of the disease in the state. The state government has also invited private hospitals in the city to set up swine flu isolation wards. "Representative of the private hospitals will meet us on Friday to confirm whether they can set up treatment facilities as per the specific norms. After that, we will  inspect their facilities and declare them as designated swine flu treatment centres," Mr Sen said. 
   No victors in Singur: Amartya Sen 
   KOLKATA, August 6, 2009: There were no victors in the Singur land acquisition stand-off, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen has said, urging political parties to sit together and find a way out for the benefit of West Bengal. "I think the debate has not been resolved. It it not a victory for anyone. It is an opportunity to regroup and find a way out so that this poor state benefits," Sen said while delivering the third Penguin Annual Lecture on "Justice and India" here Wednesday evening. 
  Sen said that in hindsight, it appeared that Tata Motors should have purchased outright the Singur land for their Nano factory. "It would have been less expensive for them than their losses due to Singur." The economist said land acquisition by the government should be the last resort in such projects and not the first. "We need industries in Bengal. We lost a great opportunity... It is very easy to agitate people on such issues," he said, in an oblique reference to the Trinamool Congress-led opposition in West Bengal. "And if the opposition comes to power, it has to address the issue of poverty. They have to say how income can be generated," he added. 
Source: The Economic Times 

  Thousands bid adieu to Subhas Chakraborty 
  Kolkata, August 4, 2009: Tens of thousands of people lined the streets here on Tuesday to bid their last “lal salam” to senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and West Bengal’s Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Services, Subhas Chakraborty, who died at a private hospital, a day ago. He was cremated with full state honours in the evening. Earlier in the day, admirers in overwhelming numbers, from all walks of life, waited to catch a glimpse of their “dear comrade,” some bursting into tears as the hearse carrying his body drove past – a spontaneous 
outpouring of the affection that they felt for the mass leader.
   WB transport minister Subhas Chakraborty dies
  KOLKATA, August 3, 2009: Senior CPI(M) leader and West Bengal Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs, Subhas Chakraborty died at a hospital here on Monday Chakraborty, 68, is survived by his wife and a son. The senior CPI(M) leader, who was suffering from cancer and other complications, was admitted to the hospital last week. He died at 11.35 am, party sources said. 
  After his condition deteriorated on Sunday, a large number of his supporters and admirers thronged the hospital to enquire about his health. Many of them broke down after hearing the news of his death. Several of Chakraborty's ministerial and party colleagues, including CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Left Front chairman Biman Bose, visited him at the hospital on Sunday and early on Monday. An emotional Bose later announced that the body would be taken to the CPM offices at Barasat, Birati and Nagerbazar in North 24-Parganas district on Tuesday. 

 
 West Bengal Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs, Subhas Chakraborty 

  Transport strike halts life in Kolkata   
  Kolkata July 24, 2009, (PTI): The metropolis wore a deserted look today as private buses, minibuses and Taxis operators went on an indefinite strike after their meeting with the West Bengal government on a high court order banning 15-year-old vehicles in the city failed. People were seen waiting for state-run buses to reach their destinations especially to the airport, Howrah and Sealdah  railway stations. Packed trains and underground metro have been running normally, officials said.
 The government-run ferry service from Howrah station to the hats on the bank of the Hooghly river was also operating normally. Some auto-rickshaws were also seen plying on shorter routes. Cycle-rickshaw pullers were demanding extra money to ferry passengers. While the taxis are likely to return on the roads tomorrow, bus and minibus operators have threatened to continue the strike "indefinitely" unless they were financially helped by the state government to phase out the old vehicles. The Calcutta High Court order banning all 15-year-old commercial vehicles from the Kolkata metropolitan area would come into force from August one.
  Strike was called off on July 25.

  Mega Mamta rally on July 21
  Kolkata, July 21, 2009: Mamta Banerjee has sounded the bugle for the 2011 Assembly election in a mega rally on July 21. On Tuesday 1.5 lakh supporters stood through a downpour to cheer her. The massive turnout is an indicator to the change in equations that Bengal opposition throwing a credible challenge to the Left Front regime for the first time. 
  The Trinamool Congress huge rally brought traffic to a standstill all over the city on Tuesday.  The human sea at the Trinamool Congress gathering in Esplanade on Tuesday saw the birth of a mature politician -  Mamta Banerjee, weaving Gandhism with Marxism as a viable alternative to the Left rule in West Bengal.
  Her call for change became more credible as writer Mahasetan Devi openly announced from the diqas that she wanted to see Mamta as the next chief minister. Congress general secretary Keshav Rao,  SUCI state seretary Provas Gosh, Asiya Bibi, six MPs from WB and other celebrities  attended the rally. The Ma-Mati-Manush slogan has caught up the common people.  

  Shutdown called by Congress hits life in West Bengal 
  Kolkata, July 17, 2009 (IANS): A 12-hour shutdown called by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee crippled life across the state as hundreds of Congress supporters blockaded roads and staged demonstrations Friday. "The shutdown has been peaceful so far. We've not received any report of untoward incidents in any part of the state," Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS. 
  Sources said a bus was damaged by Congress activists Friday morning at Baguihati near Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. Later, Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed at the spot to bring the situation under control. Train services were also disrupted due to the shutdown. Many long-distance and local trains were halted midway following protests by Congress supporters. A number of short-distance trains like Biswabharati Fast Passenger, 
  Asansol-Haldia Express, Howrah-Purulia Express and Steel Express were stopped at different railway stations due to blockade of tracks. The state Congress leadership said the 12-hour shutdown had been called in 12 of the 19 districts of West Bengal.

  Basu better, may be shifted out of ICCU
  KOLKATA, July 14, 2009: CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu remained stable on Monday, a day after he lost consciousness while brushing his teeth. His vital parameters, such as blood pressure, were normal during the day, though experts monitoring his condition said they still did not know the reason for the "transient loss of consciousness". The former chief minister is likely to be shifted from the intensive coronary care unit (ICCU) on Tuesday if his condition remains stable. 
   A call and a bouquet came from Rashtrapati Bhavan, bearing good wishes from the President. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, railway minister Mamata Banerjee, Forward Bloc veteran Asok Ghosh, state ministers Pratim Chatterjee and Nandagopal Bhattacharya and Congress MP Mausam Noor were among those who visited him. "He has improved," Ghosh said. 

   Jyoti Basu hospitalised, condition stable 
  KOLKATA, July 13, 2009: Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu was admitted to a city hospital here on Sunday after he lost consciousness for a while at his Salt Lake residence. Hospital authorities said that his condition was stable. Mr. Basu was admitted to the AMRI Hospitals for “transient loss of consciousness.” He complained of abdominal pain, distension and breathing problems, they said. Mr. Basu was under observation at the Intensive Care Cardiac Unit, according to a medical bulletin issued by the hospital. 
  There were no further episodes of unconsciousness or abdominal pain,  although there were fluctuations in his blood pressure. He was given a liquid diet in the afternoon and he was now comfortable, they said. Among those who visited him at the hospital was Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The former Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee and Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Corporate Affairs Salman Khursheed were among those who visited Mr. Basu. Source: The Hindu
  73 dengue cases registered, lens on civic body
  KOLKATA, July 10, 2009: Even before it has got its act together to combat malaria, Kolkata Municipal Corporation now faces the challenge to curb dengue in the city. The state health department has already recorded 73 dengue cases this year. KMC health department officials conceded that the situation was quite serious in parts of north Kolkata like Kankurgachi, Ultadanga and Manicktala that together account for 45 cases. Other affected areas are Camac Street, Bhowanipore, Dhakuria, Jodhpur Park and Lake Gardens. The health department has asked KMC to take immediate preventive measures to stop the disease from spreading. 
  Malaria threat looms over Kolkata city
  KOLKATA, July 8, 2009: The statistics of by Kolkata Municipal Corporation's health department paint a grim picture malignant malaria hit a whopping 843 Kolkatans between January and June this year, compared to just 93 cases over the same period last year. Malignant malaria can lead to multi-organ failure in a patient. So, watch out for mosquitoes or mosquito-breeding grounds in your locality and take extra caution, more so if you live in north or central Kolkata worst hit by the outbreak. 
  Surya Sen Street's residents are seething in anger over the KMC's failure to destroy mosquito larvae even after their neighbour Uday Das (38) died of malignant malaria last week. Other areas where the disease is spreading rapidly are Hatibagan, College Street, Bidhan Sarani, Amherst Street, Bowbazar, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Ripon Street and Park Circus. More than 600 blood samples collected by KMC health staff from these areas have tested positive. The disease has also hit residents of Cossipore, Dum Dum, Baghbazar, Maniktala and Alimuddin Street. Some of these areas are malaria-prone. 
  Lalgarh operation will continue, says West Bengal 
  Kolkata, July 06, 2009 (PTI): The operation by security forces to flush out Maoists and activists of the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) from Lalgarh and its adjoining areas in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district entered the 18th day on Sunday. The State government wants the Central forces assisting in the operation  to remain stationed in the area till the end of the month. A request has been made to the Centre in this regard. “The operation will continue till normality returns. We want the Central forces to be here till July-end. If the government [the Centre] agrees, then they [the forces] stay,” State’s Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters at Lalgarh.
  Mr. Sen said fresh initiatives for development would not just remain confined to Lalgarh and other areas in Paschim Medinipur. They would be taken up in the entire tribal belt of the region that includes parts of  Purulia and Bankura districts. Besides drawing up development schemes, vacancies at the local level in the departments concerned would be filled up for the proper execution of development plans.
  CPM’s electoral meltdown continues
  KOLKATA, July 2, 2009: The anti-CPM wave in West Bengal since the Lok Sabha elections continued on Wednesday with the ruling party managing to win merely three out of the 16 municipalities that went to polls last Sunday. Results of civic elections were announced on Wednesday and the CPM suffered yet another crushing defeat. Something that clearly indicates the ruling Marxists may not be able to mend the huge dent in their image in the forthcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections scheduled in early 2010, and assembly elections thereafter, in 2011.  As in the Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress and Congress had contested the civic polls jointly and secured as many as 13 of the 16 municipalities. The opposition parties have wrested seven municipalities — Madhyamgram, Dum Dum, South Dum Dum, Maheshtala, Uluberia, Rajpur-Sonarpur and Asansol — from the ruling CPM. - ET
   Maoist stronghold seized
   LALGARH, June 30, 2009: Forty-eight hours after Ramgarh was captured, the Maoist stronghold of Kantapahari, too, was seized by security forces without any resistance on Monday morning. Two armed contingents marched into Maoist stronghold from Lalgarh and Ramgarh, aiming to mow down insurgents from two ends. But barring a mine blast, in which no one was injured, a few felled trees and dug up roads, there was no sign of opposition. Three mines were detected at Shijua, two of which were defused. 
  With Kantapahari now under control, the inner circle of the area that was lost to the Maoists has now been won back. PCPA leader Chhatra-dhar Mahato is believed to have fled to Bankura. With the fall of Kantapahari, the 25km road connecting Lalgarh to Goaltore has now been opened. The major Maoist bases have been conquered, and police have decided to resume bus services in the area. Administrative offices will be reopened while developmental work will begin as well. Source: The Times of India
   Agitators vow to continue fight in West Midnapore 
   Midnapore, June 29, 2009 (PTI): As security forces consolidated their positions a day after reclaiming key Maoist stronghold of Ramgarh, the group spearheading the tribal agitation in West Midnapore district vowed 
to continue its resistance while hundreds of CPI(M) cadres took out a rally. The forces set up two camps between Salboni and Ramgarh- one at Goaltore by the India Reserve Batallion and another at a school at 
Ramgarh. Another camp and a bunker was also set up at the Ramgarh police station, which was burned by the Maoists on June 14, and was visited by the IG (Western Range), Kuldeep Singh this morning. 
   Around 1000 CPI(M) cadre took out a motorcycle rally with red flags fluttering between Chandrakona Road near Ramgarh and Salboni. It was taken out by the Garbeta and Keshpur zonal committees of the party. Keshpur CPI(M) Zonal Committee leader Santan Majhi told that they had taken out the rally to restore peace. 
Security forces were manning pickets every half kilometre on the road between Salboni and Ramgarh, a distance of 43 km. Vehicles were being searched and people were being asked to show identity proof by security men. "We are going to villages surrounding Ramgarh and consolidating our position and reassuring the people that they were now free from the fear of Maoists," ASP, Burdwan, Humayun Kabir told PTI. 
  Three CPI(M) men killed, Maoists form three-tier human shield 
  Lalgarh (WB), June 17, 2009 (PTI): A local CPI(M) leader and two party supporters were gunned down on Wednesday in Bankasole near here where Maoists-backed tribals have put up a three-tier human shield even as the West Bengal government said Central forces were yet to be deployed in the area. The CPI(M) men, who were having tea at a shop this morning after night-long patrol in the forest against the tribal agitators, were shot dead by six unidentified men who came on motorcycles, Jhargram SDO Ulaganathan said. 
  Seven companies of paramilitary forces, including two of a Cobra battalion arrived at Jhargram and were standing by. In Kolkata, Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said the central forces "have not been deployed at Lalgarh as yet. A senior police officer said Maoists armed with AK-47 assault rifles were patrolling the roads between Lalgarh and Belpahari. The Maoists have formed a three-tier human shield to prevent entry of forces into the area with women and children at the forefront. 
  Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee chaired the meeting with the chief secretary, Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen, DGP Sujit Sarkar and IGP (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia. Officials said the Sen left for Midnapore immediately after the meeting to hold discussions with the district administration. A Union Home ministry official said in Delhi that the state administration was asked to deploy its own forces in full strength as "maintaining law and order is primarily the responsibility of the state government". 
   The Centre advised the state government to deploy the East Frontier Rifles, Special Armed Police and the regular armed police to deal with the situation. "The central paramilitary forces have been sent only to assist the 
state police," the official said. On the other hand, Maoist leader Bikash said the people would resist any attempt by the administration to send paramilitary forces into the area. 
  Lalgarh, which is approachable from four different directions by metalled and mud roads, have been cut-off at least from three sides with the road dug up at several places and over one hundred trees cut down to obstruct passage. Meanwhile, according to a senior Left Front leader, Chief Minister Bhattacharjee told a Left Front meeting that a squad of 100 Maoists  armed with sophisticated weapons with some trained at Chaibasa in neighbouring Jharkhand had entered Lalgarh and adjoining areas. Bhattacharjee said he got the information from the Jharkhand government and would take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi on June 19, the leader, requesting anonymity, told PTI. 
  The agitation had started last November following police raids in villages to arrest suspects after Bhattacharjee and two Union ministers escaped a landmine explosion near Salboni while returning from the foundation laying ceremony of a steel plant project. The people had formed the Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities to launch the agitation against the administration and since then had not allowed any government officer or the police into the area. They have been boycotting the administration while demanding that the police should tender a public apology for its 'excesses on the people'.  Last week, the police withdrew from its camps in Lalgarh three of which were torched by the agitators. The tribals also set ablaze CPI(M) offices at Lalgarh and Belatikri. 
    West Bengal plans to have permanent embankments 
  KOLKATA, June 15, 2009: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will place before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a proposal for the construction of  permanent reinforced embankments in the coastal areas of the State, including the Sunderbans, to prevent flooding in the event of a natural disaster. This project will cost about Rs.10,000 crore, according to preliminary estimates. Funds from international agencies can be sought. Mr. Bhattacharjee is expected to meet the Prime Minister on June 19. 
  At an all-party meeting here on Sunday, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of restoration work and provision of relief to the victims of cyclone Aila, which struck parts of the State on May 25. The Trinamool Congress, the principal Opposition, did not attend the meeting, citing the State government’s alleged failure to provide timely and adequate relief to the cyclone affected. It had stayed away from the June 7 all-party  meeting also.  Nearly 90 per cent of relief supplies had reached the victims through gram panchayats, and efforts were being stepped up to ensure that villagers in remote areas were provided for adequately, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, who was present at Sunday’s talks, said later.
  UNICEF relief efforts in three most affected blocks in W Bengal 
  New Delhi , June 7, 2009 (PTI): UNICEF is concentrating on relief and rehabilitation efforts in three most affected blocks in West Bengal ravaged by cyclone Aila late last month. The UN agency, along with its partners Ramakrishna Mission  Lokshiksha Parishad and 12 cluster organisations, has begun moving  in pre-positioned emergency supplies to 10,000 affected families, in the blocks of Sandeshkali-1, Sandeshkali-2 (North 24 Parganas) and Gosaba (South 24 Parganas). 
  The emergency supplies include water jerry cans, water purification tablets, family hygiene kits and packets of oral rehydration salt (ORS), a UNICEF statement said here. Last week, a Rapid Assessment Team from UNICEF's West Bengal office, visited the Gosaba islands by boat and met many affected women and children. Reaching out to these inaccessible villages remains a challenge and safe drinking water, food and shelter are urgently needed, it said  Cyclone Aila, which hit the state on May 25, was accompanied by heavy rainfall, floods and landslides.   
 West Bengal cyclone death toll mounts to 82 
 KOLKATA, May 27, 2009: The city and some districts, devastated by cyclone Aila on Monday, are yet to come to terms with the reality, even as the death toll shot up to 82. Fresh areas in the north were reeling under the impact of the cyclone’s after-effects on Tuesday. More than 2.2 million people have been affected.
  Heavy and incessant rain in Darjeeling triggered landslips, which claimed nine lives. At least six people are reported missing. The highway connecting the hills to the rest of the State was blocked at several  places. While Kolkata limped back to normal, vast areas of the districts hit by the cyclonic storm on Monday were under water that gushed in through breaches in the embankments.
  Army and Border Security Force personnel are assisting in rescue operations in Darjeeling and North and South 24 Parganas districts. Two MI-17 helicopters of the Air Force are airdropping relief materials and carrying out evacuations in inaccessible areas in South and North 24 Parganas. More than 41,000 people, who have lost their homes, have been put up in 109 relief camps. Around 61,000 houses have been destroyed and 1.32 lakh partially damaged, Chief Secretary Ashok  Mohan Chakraborty said here.Certain areas, including Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas district,  remain inaccessible.The Chief Minister visited some of the worst-hit areas in the district. So did Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee later in the afternoon.   

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