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On February 20, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged off a new taxi service called Pink Taxi Services. These taxis would be driven exclusively by women. Both female and male passengers, though, can board the taxis.

To make it easier for women to become the owners, under the Gatidhara Scheme, they will get a subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh, instead of the Rs 1 lakh for other cars. That is, Rs 1.5 lakh of the cost of the car would be given by the State Government.

This was announced by Mamata Banerjee during the course of her speech at the inauguration at Nabanna. She also said that the government has plans to enable the introduction of 1,000 such taxis in Kolkata.

This is a positive move by the State Government as it would empower women by making them self-employed. It may be mentioned in this connection that more than 36,000 youths has already been provided subsidy under the Gatidhara Scheme.

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The Bangla Government is developing a tourism circuit centred on Siliguri, which is surrounded by lush forests and hills, said the State Tourism Minister recently.

As a result of measures taken by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress Government, tourist footfalls have been increasing steadily and at the same time, new destinations and infrastructure have come up, all over north Bengal.

Tourism is now no longer limited to the few traditionally well-known spots. Lesser-known locations have been drawing many tourists too. The State Government is thus ensuring the socio-economic development of the whole region, the minister said.

The Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animals Park and Bhorer Alo in Gajoldoba, one of the largest eco-tourism hubs in Bangla, both Tourism Department projects and both not too far from Siliguri, are drawing a lot of tourists.

Underground cottages like the houses of the Hobbits in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rrings, which are also famous due to the films based on the novel, and elephant shelters would be constructed at Bhorer Alo, and adventure activities like rope ladders and ziplines would be introduced, at a cost of Rs 1.65 crore, said the minister.

The Forest Department is developing a cycling and trekking circuit from Saraswatipur to the safari park (Bhorer Alo), a stretch of around 9km, through the Baikunthapur forest.

The Tourism Department will also build 15 cottages in the Laltong and Chamakdangi villages near the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. Cottages and watchtowers would be built in Sevoke too.

As per other plans, the Tourism Department will set up parks for butterflies, moths and snakes, as well as cottages and restaurants, near the Mahananda Barrage.

The irrigation and Waterways Department has already constructed parks on the left and right banks of the barrage. A ropeway service is in the pipeline there.

Some projects have also been taken up by the government near the ancient Bhamri Devi Temple and Devi Choudhurani Temple near the town of Jalpaiguri.

Source: The Statesman

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The Bangla Government’s Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) Department, in association with the State Social Welfare Department plans to launch a drive to make government and public sector websites accessible to visually challenged persons.

The plan is to create read-aloud versions of the existing websites by adding ‘read aloud’ extensions to the websites, compatible with internet browsers like Google Chrome, that convert text to speech, said a senior official of the IT&E Department.

For images, the plan is to add alternative text-based information which can be read aloud by software.

The official further said that to facilitate comfortable viewing for those with low vision, the plan is to have all content navigable by arrow keys and images with large contrast ratio between background and foreground colour.

The project would be accomplished with the help of the State Government’s agency for technology development, WEBEL.

Source: Millennium Post

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The State Consumer Affairs Department has been working successfully towards ensuring the implementation of laws related to consumers’ rights and awareness of consumer rights.

The Right to Public Services Act: The State Government is ensuring the proper implementation of its mandated services to the people through the Right to Public Services Act, 2013. The Consumer Affairs Department is the nodal department for this purpose.

A central complaints centre has been opened in Kolkata, which enables pre-case settlement of complaints so that people don’t have to undergo the hassle of court cases. Regional centres were already operating, and now a central centre has been opened.

Five new regional centres have been opened – in Siliguri, Bidhannagar, Alipurduar, Kalimpong and Jhargram. Several offices at the subdivisional level have been opened too.

The topic of consumer rights has been included in the State school syllabus for classes six, seven and eight, so that awareness is generated right from a young age.

The State Government has started a mass consumer rights awareness campaign. This has created widespread awareness among people about the fact that consumer forums can indeed help them in getting their grievances addressed.

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The annual Kreta Suraksha Mela (‘Consumer Protection Fair’) has begun at the Netaji Indoor Stadium today. It will continue till February 26. The timing is from 2pm to 9pm. The consumer fair is being organised by the State Consumer Affairs Department.

The fair aims to create awareness among consumers about the Consumer Protection Act. Last year, it was a two-day affair. Due to the huge number of attendees, numbering hundreds, it has been made a three-day affair this year.

There is a need to strengthen the consumer protection movement because if the consumers are aware of their rights then companies cannot take them for a ride.

The Consumer Affairs Department takes prompt action whenever it gets complaints. To create awareness it runs regular print, outdoor and audio-visual advertisements. Television commercials are run regularly in Metro stations. The department also sets up stalls at the Kolkata Book Fair.

Source: Millennium Post

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The Calcutta Leather Complex (CLC) in Bantala, a shining star of the Bangla Government, is scripting a success story, and a comprehensive one at that – it is attracting investments worth Rs 5,000 crore and at the same time addressing environmental concerns.

This is being achieved by augmenting the capacity of a common effluent treatment plant in order to treat waste water chemically, mechanically and biologically before releasing it in canals, and planting thousands of trees.

Going by a rough government estimate, the biggest leather complex in Asia is set to generate up to three lakh jobs in the next five years.

In December last year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the State has received around 1,000 applications from investors willing to set up business at the leather complex. Currently, 400 tanneries employ close to 1.5 lakh people.

On February 15 this year, a note from the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Textiles Department to the CEO of CLC had confirmed that the State had decided to shift all IT/ ITeS and telecom firms from Bantala to Bengal Silicon Valley in New Town. The shift was decided so that the entire area of CLC could be used for leather industry, given the huge demand from tanneries across the country.

Three big-ticket investors from UP, Tamil Nadu and Bangla were allotted token land at the CLC during the Bengal Global Business Summit two weeks ago.

The leather complex has also started a pilot project in collaboration with the Central Leather Research Institute to generate biogas from solid waste.

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The Bangla Government has eased the process for inheriting land in the State. On Thursday, February 21, the State Cabinet announced its decision to waive off mutation fees for those who will inherit land from their predecessors. This was informed by the Land and Land Reforms Minister after the Cabinet meeting.

She further stated that the existing mutation fee was a ‘double charge’ as the current owner had to pay a fee on the land, already bought (and hence paid for) by his predecessor. This decision will come as a huge benefit for the common man since procurement and sale of land will be made much easier.

The minister also informed that the existing app for land-related matters, ‘Bhumi Bangla’ would be redeveloped and relaunched as ‘Jamir Katha’ and will incorporate all details concerning a piece of land such as its status, details regarding fees paid, its exact location, any dispute or litigation connected with the plot, etc.

It may also be mentioned that it is due to the efforts of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that land fees have been waived off for farmers to ease purchase and sale of farmlands. Moreover, the government has already created an online process for land mutation, thus making the process faster and easier and reducing complaints of harassment by brokers.

In another new step towards making the mutation process easier, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will also set up block land and land reforms offices (BLLRO) in its offices in the wards 101 to 144 from April. Furthermore, from April 1, no-objection certificates required from the office of BLLRO will be available at civic offices.

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The State Transport Department has introduced smart prepaid cards for ferries sailing on the Hooghly, in and around Kolkata. With this, ferry commuters will no longer have to wait in long queues at the jetty ticket offices, and the system would prevent chaos at the entrance to ferries.

The Automatic Fare Collection and Passenger Control (AFCPC) System, as it is called, was thrown open to the public on February 15 at the Howrah, Shipping and Fairlie Place ghats. Other ghats would follow gradually.

The three have been chosen because of the footfalls at those places, which is 20,000 daily on an average.

Besides making it easier for commuters, the new electronic system would also help prevent leakage of revenue as only those with tickets would be able to board ferries.

The AFCPC System works with both coupons and smart prepaid cards. Around 10,000 machines for scanning coupons and eight for scanning smart cards have been installed at the three ghats together. The machines are in the form of gates, similar to those found in metro stations.

A smart card can be purchased with a minimum amount of Rs 200, of which Rs 50 would count towards the cost of the road. The smart cards are available at 15 counters in Kolkata.

While the smart cards are valid for State buses and trams as well, the coupons are valid only for ferries. The Transport Department is creating the setup for enabling these cards to be used in metro stations too.

Part of the AFCPC System at each ghat is the set of special head-counting cameras which have been installed at the gates (in addition to the CCTV cameras for security), which would prevent overloading of ferries.

The cost of the whole project of Automatic Fare Collection and Passenger Control System is Rs 2.74 crore.

Another initiative being taken by the Transport Department is allowing booking of tickets for State buses through mobile phones. Pre-booking tickets would also save people the hassle of handing over small change to conductors, often in overcrowded buses.

Source: The Statesman

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The State Agriculture Department has set up a special cell to help people with the Krishak Bandhu Scheme.

The cell is being manned by a senior official of the State Agriculture Department. A system has been set in place so that even if the official retires, another would be appointed in his place immediately.

The work on the scheme is being carried done on a war footing. Cheques are being regularly distributed to farmers from panchayat offices. Rs 4,000 crore has been allocated for the last two months of this financial year, that is, 2018-19.

It is being ensured that there is no lag in the implementation of the scheme. There are two parts to the scheme – one, a one-time payment of Rs 1 lakh to the family of a farmer in case of his or her death, and the other, a payment per acre of land.

A helpline for the scheme, started by the State Government, is already in operation, the toll-free number being (033) 22635795. It is available every day, even on public holidays, from 10am to 5pm.

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The first government-owned setups under the State Government’s Taantshree Scheme are coming up in the villages of Srirampur (in Parbasthhali-1 block) and Dhatrigram (Kalna block), in the form of two Taant Haats, or ‘cotton weavers’ marketplaces’.

The ‘haats’ or marketplaces would make available for weavers varieties of cotton threads, colours, tools for weaving and cotton cloths.

This is the manifestation of a long-held dream of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had announced the project back in 2016. The marketplaces started taking shape in 2017, and are now almost complete. These information were conveyed recently by Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles Minister.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Kalna and Katwa subdivisions in Purba Bardhaman district are directly and indirectly linked to the profession of weaving. Even counting only weavers, there are more than a lakh of them.

Hence these Taant Haats would be of immense help for the people of the region. The one in Srirampur is coming up at a cost of Rs 7.31 crore. It would also have a branch of a nationalised bank, as well as a guest house and a modern public toilet. Hence, buyers and sellers from far-off places would have no problem at all.

Source: Aajkaal

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