Month: October 2018

Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA) has decided to instal 10 of the best Durga idols of the city at the refurbished art gallery beside Rabindra Sarovar.

This will not only provide an opportunity to those who could not make it to the pandals but also art lovers, as they will be able to witness the same throughout the year.

It may be mentioned that KMDA has given a major facelift to the gallery that was created in 2012 for preserving the best Durga idols. The gallery, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, preserves around 10 idols every year, which are replaced by new ones the following year.

Source: Millennium Post

4The State Self-Help Group & Self-Employment (SHG&SE) Department has collaborated with the Correctional Services Department for a massive education drive through the process of vocational training programmes for the inmates of the correctional homes across the State.

The idea is to develop their skill & expertise, so that they get employment after their release.

The West Bengal Swarojgar Corporation Ltd (WBSCL), an undertaking of the state SHG&SE Department, that imparts skill-based job oriented training to unemployed people, will launch this programme in the correctional homes.

According to a senior official of the WBSCL, the main target group for the training will be those inmates who are slated to complete their prison term within a period of six months to one year.

The inmates after their release will be linked with the flagship scheme – Swami Vivekananda Swanirbhar Karmasanasthan Prakalpa – to support them for self-employment. Around 30 inmates from each of the correctional homes will receive training and will be awarded certificates after successful completion of the training.

It may be mentioned that there are as many as 78 vocations in which the WBSCL provides training. The total cost for the project is around Rs 2 crore and for the first year it will involve Rs 1 crore.

Source: Millennium Post

The State Women & Child Development Minister has said that skill development, greater exposure to technology and better coordination with education and health systems will help address the vulnerability of adolescents.

Speaking at a workshop on October 9, the minister said that nutritional needs of adolescents were being taken care of by the existing government schemes. But areas of self-reliance could be strengthened by linking them with ‘Kanyashree’ and ‘Utkarsh Bangla’, a skill development programme for youth, she added.

A group of adolescents at the workshop described how a pilot programme at a Kolkata Municipal Corporation ward, under the aegis of the department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, has brought positive changes in their lives. The pilot programme had been undertaken at Ward no. 26 to meet the need to create safe spaces for the adolescents.

To boost small-scale industries in the State, the State Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T) Department is going to organise the next Synergy summit in Durgapur. The summit which will be organised on November 15, will cover the districts of Birbhum, and Purba and Paschim Bardhaman.

Three Synergy summits have already been organised, in Siliguri, Malda (covering the north Bengal districts) and Bankura. The summit in Bankura was for the Jangalmahal cluster, and covered the districts of Bankura, Purulia and Paschim Medinipur.

Besides entrepreneurs, the industrial development officers (IDOs) of the three districts will be present at the Durgapur summit.

According to the additional chief secretary of the State Government, local issues will get sorted at the synergy, besides discussions on measures needed for further development of the MSME sector in the region. The entrepreneurs will also get to know about the various supports that the Bangla Government provides them to grow their businesses.

It may be mentioned that Bengal tops among all the states in the country in the MSME sector, and it is creating a huge number of job opportunities. The government is taking all necessary steps so that more entrepreneurs start investing in the MSME sector.

These summits are being organised as the result of a proposal given by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Synergy MSME summit in July, where she suggested holding zone-wise business summits for small-scale entrepreneurs.

Source: Millennium Post

Like last year, this year too the State Food and Supplies Department has decided to introduce a special ration package on the occasion of Kali Puja. Included in the list of products are edible oil, atta and sugar.

The package would be available to people enlisted in the Antyodaya Anna Yojana and those belonging to special categories, both under the National Food Security Act.

About 3 crore people would get the benefits. This package was made available for the Durga Puja too, and ran from October 9 to 23. For the occasion of Kali Puja, it would be run from October 30 to November 13.

A litre of mustard oil would be available for Rs 101 and 500ml for Rs 52. A litre of rice bran oil would be available for 94 and 500ml for Rs 48.50. People can avail 500g each of sugar and atta twice during the 15-day period.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on October 26 laid the foundation stone of a piped drinking water supply project, for supplying water from the river Hooghly.

The project would be constructed by the State Public Health Engineering Department and financed by the Asian Development Bank.

It will benefit about 9.01 lakh people of the Haroa, Rajarhat (both North 24 Parganas district) and Bhangar-2 (South 24 Parganas) blocks by means of 1.3 lakh connections to houses.

This project will ensure a supply of 100 million litres of purified water every day to these three arsenic-affected blocks.

The State Food Supplies Department has created a one-year special food package for pregnant women. As part of the package, 10,000 needy women, during the period of pregnancy as well as post-childbirth, along with their children, will be provided a special food package free of cost.

This was announced by the Food Supplies Minister at a programme held to commemorate World Food Day on October 16.

The package would consist of 2 kg pulses, 5 kg rice, 2 kg flour (atta) and 1 kg soybean. The list of needy women has been prepared with the help of the Women & Child Development and Social Welfare Department. Next year, 10,000 more women would be included in the package.

Source: Sangbad Pratidin

Today is the last day of the three-day Kalimpong Darjeeling Folk Festival. This is the second edition of the festival, being held at the Mela Ground in Kalimpong. Video documentation of the cultural heritage of 16 Hill communities has also been released at the festival.

This festival is another of the series of festivals jointly organised by the State Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T) Department and UNESCO, aimed at upholding the rich cultural heritage of Bangla.

The various communities of the Hills region including Mangar, Dhimal, Tamang, Lepcha, Rai, Khas, Bhutia, Tibetan, Limbu, Sarki, Bhujel, Newar, Gurung, Kami, Damai and Sherpa are showcasing their colourful folk songs and dances. The festivities are taking place from 11am to 5pm.

The video documentation, released in the form of DVDs, contains the cultural brief of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong regions, covering lifestyle, food habits, costumes, scripts and other cultural elements of the communities mentioned above.

With peace and tranquillity returning, tourists are again making a beeline for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills and hence, the festival is drawing huge crowds.

The MSME&T Department has developed 10 Rural Craft Hubs in association with UNESCO, which benefit 3,000 handicraft artisans. It is also in the process of developing Rural Craft and Cultural Hubs (RCCH) across 15 districts, which would benefit an additional 12,000 rural artisans. The endeavours are aimed at strengthening grassroots-level creative enterprises in the State.

With respect to the cultural heritage of the Hill peoples, the West Bengal Khadi and Village Industry Board (WBKVIB) is supporting them through the setting up of Folk Centres. MOUs have been inked with the communities and the process of land identification for the centres is underway.

Source: Millennium Post

Today is the last day of mask festival called Mukha Mela at Kushmandi in Dakshin Dinajpur district. Kushmandi is the centre of the famous wooden mask makers associated with the traditional Gomira dance. It is one of the Rural Craft Hubs developed as a joint venture between the State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles (MSME&T) Department and UNESCO.

About 186 wooden mask artisans, 171 pottery artisans, 63 cane and bamboo artisans and khon mukha artisans from Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur took part in the festival. Hundreds of people from all over the State as well as foreign countries attended the festival.

Folk artistes performed at the festival. These performances were organised by the Mahishbathan Gramin Hasta Shilpa Samabay Samity with support from West Bengal Khadi and Village Industries Board (WBKVIB).

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s special emphasis on the revival of the traditional art forms has revived the mask-making industry. Kushmandi is home to about 250 artisans carrying forward the tradition of wooden mask-making of the Rajbongshi community.

The masks, which started their journey from village dance performances, are gradually finding a place of pride in urban drawing rooms as delectable pieces of art.

Source: Millennium Post (Image Source)