Author: AITC

Damodar Valley Corporation's (DVC) Rs5000-crore phase I unit of Raghunathpur Thermal Power Plant in Purulia came onstream with full load at 8.02 PM on Sunday, state commerce and industriesminister Amit Mitra said.

“Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee's effortto set aside various hurdles has finally paid off. Buoyed by this success, DVCcan now embark on its 1,320MW (660MWx2) phase II project with ease. The Rs 10000-croresuper-critical phase II project is much bigger,” added Dr Mitra.

According to him, the development holdssignificance as this would provide an easy power gateway to the power-intensivecement and ferro-alloy industries at Raghunathpur and Barjora industrial parks.

An Anil Ambani firm and Emami both haveacquired 100 acres each for setting up cement plants in Raghunathpur IndustrialPark with an investment of Rs 600 crore and Rs 500 crore respectively. Justbefore her Singapore trip, the chief minister inaugurated OCL India's cementplant at Salboni.

The phase II project got stuck and powergeneration could not be commenced as DVC was not able progress with the 10 kmwater corridor pipeline for the plant owing to law and order problem. Work hadalso resumed for ash pond and water corridor which is needed for first andsecond phase of the project.

However, the state-run power generationfirm has already started its Raghunathpur phase II project with the civil workfor boiler of the first unit of 660MW, which will take not less than two yearsto complete. In November, DVC was reportedly planning to shift the project fromWest Bengal after officials were attacked by locals in protest.

Kolkata Police is taking several measuresto boost security before the Pujas. It will unveil a fleet of eight patrolvehicles to tackle street crimes and deploy more personnel, includingpolicewomen, on the streets.

The new patrol vehicles will help respondto a crime in the quickest possible time and act as the facilitator betweenlocal police and the victim. For now, each police division will get one suchpatrol vehicle with the numbers increasing over time.

A separate police fleet is likely to startpatrolling market areas a month before Durga Puja.

They will help the dedicated patrol teams,which will be stationed in the market areas, function more effectively.However, patrolling cannot begin before September on account of manpowershortage, said sources.

“The patrol vehicles have been asked tofollow a dedicated route and serve key areas like Bowbazar, New Market,Shakespeare Sarani, Park Street and Bhowanipore, which are traditionallythronged by women,” said an officer. The control room directly monitors themovement of these vehicles.

In addition, over 500 extra cops will bedeployed all across the city. The Chandni Chowk-Park Street stretch alone willsee an extra deployment of over 100 cops day and night till the end of theentire festive season, starting from September.

The Reinforce City Patrol (RCP) — in whichpatrol vehicles will have only women cops in them — was inaugurated by policecommissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha on Wednesday. Lalbazar sources said theywill now deploy more policewomen after stand-down — that is, after 11 PM.

Headed by DC (Women Police) Debasree Roy,three “women-only” vehicles have been launched initially. These will be manningthree spots in the city — J L Nehru Road, Rashbehari Avenue and near AkashvaniBhawan.

Police said they have also made elaboratearrangements for technical surveillance in Esplanade. “We had approachedseveral private companies, five star hotels and shopping centres in the areaand requested them to realign their CCTV cameras.

Many of them, like the Oberoi Grand,CitiMart and Peerless Inn, have responded favourably.

The cameras that were previously capturingimages of the entrance to these buildings are now facing the pavements. As aresult, all pavements on main roads and entry points to the business districthave come under surveillance,” said a top officer of central division.

Police have also decided to use the videocameras provided to each police station to maximum utility. “At present, wehave motorcycle patrolling teams that use these cameras.

We have devised a plan under which a 1.5 kmradius will be covered by each patrol party who will record suspiciousmovement,” added the officer.

The traffic police have also identified 20spots that are prone to jams during the Pujas. “We will ask 4,000 traffic copsto be on the streets in three shifts on each Puja day,” said an officer.Another 2,000 home guards will also be posted during the Pujas.

Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee's dreamproject Kanyashree has played a crucial role in curbing crimes liketrafficking of women and children and child-marriage, the joint secretary ofthe women and child development and social welfare department, Sharmistha Das,said.

Using Kanyashree as a weapon, the stategovernment is now urging the police and non-government organizations to goahead to the micro level to generate awareness so that such crimes areminimised in the state.

In a special training programme for police personneljointly organized by the district police, district legal services authority(DLSA) and an NGO, the joint secretary emphasised on the utility of Kanyashree.

The joint secretary, in her session on 'Kanyashree project as tool for preventing child trafficking' said, “WestBengal is home to 88.34 lakh teenager girls as per the National Crime RecordBureau (NCRB). Most of these girls are vulnerable to child trafficking in theform of child marriage and other forms of coercion. Kanyasree project, aninitiative of the government of West Bengal, is an exclusive scheme to save thevulnerable girls.”

Sixty police personnel who attended theprogramme were explained on how to take action against trafficking of teenagersand prevent banes like child marriage.

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms MamataBanerjee today met representatives from various bus owners' organisations andgave a patient hearing to their grievances. In the meeting that lasted for about40 odd minutes, it was decided that bus fares would be hiked by Re 1 at everystage over the current fares.

Addressing the press at Nabanna, Ministerfor Legislative Affairs, Dr Partha Chatterjee, said that the CM has alsodecided to form a task force to coordinate with the bus owners and look intothe problems faced by them. He said that the task force would also try toevolve a mechanism as per which bus fares will be hiked or decreased every timediesel prices increased or come down.

The task force on transport, which wouldconsist of government officials as well as representatives of various busowners' organisations, will start functioning from Poila Boishakh next year.

“WB CM has always made it sure that commonpeople are not burdened by hike in fuel prices. We have tried to balance theneeds of the bus owners without inconveniencing the common man,” said Dr ParthaChatterjee.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday met WestBengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna and praised the Bengalgovernment's “positive approach” on the goods and service tax (GST).

Mr Jaitley arrived at Nabanna at 6.10 PM and the discussionslasted for 50 minutes. Ms Mamata Banerjee handed the Union Finance Minister alist of projects that are stuck because the Centre is yet to release funds.”The matter will be discussed when the state finance minister comes to NewDelhi. All the related departments will be called to the meeting to discuss thematter,” Jaitley said, adding that the Centre was aware of problems the statesface.

Chief minister Ms Mamata Banerjee has been repeatedly stressingon the issue of the Centre not releasing funds for different projects andschemes and the moratorium as the state is facing a tough time on repayingdebt.

Only this month, the CM on her Facebook page said that theCentre has not released its full share of funds to the state and that nearly Rs885 crore was still pending on the 100 days work scheme under the MGNREGAscheme.

Mamata Banerjee has also been complaining since the UPA-IIgovernment's time that the Centre was taking away all money from the state'scoffers for debt servicing.

After the change in power at the Centre, Mamata expressedhope saying that the state will be waiting to see what the Centre does on theissue of moratorium. She also said that the state government was waiting forthe report of the 14th Finance Commission on the state's financial demands.

Reputed for its exquisite collection of heritage textiles,the 60-year-old Tantuja – handloom weavers' co-operative under the West Bengalgovernment – will make its unique products available to global shoppers via itsmaiden e-commerce venture from September.

This would be the West Bengal government's first onlinetextile venture. In sync with sartorial trends, designers for the enterprisehave aesthetically incorporated a dash of neon into the indigenous fabricscrafted in Bengal's remote and ancient textile clusters, including thedistricts of Nadia (cotton from Shantipur, Phulia) and Murshidabad (asericulture hub).

The e-service will initially begin with 100-150 items,mainly sarees. A tie-up with an e-marketing firm is on the way and the expecteddate of launch is September 1. Connoisseurs will have access to the famedShantpuri-Phulia cotton sarees and Jamdani and Tangail six yard wonders inMurshidabad silk and cotton, among a plethora of others. The centuries-old artof weaving Jamdani has been declared by UNESCO as an Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity.

In addition to the earth-toned and pastel sarees adornedwith customary Kolki motif (an S-shaped design) so synonymous with Bengal andinspirations from nature (foliage, climbers and the banyan tree), the onlineshop will also include a few selections by Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee.

A whole new range of pure silk kurtis will also be madeavailable online. So far in the last two years, Tantuja's products like stoles,scarves and kitchen linen have bagged export orders from European countrieslike Germany and France. The US also is on the list of clients, while Israeland Finland are the next in line. Domestically, it has been supplying weaves toKerala for the last three years. It will soon also tap into the Assam andAndhra Pradesh markets.

From the US and Germany Tantuja has received orders of $ 6,000.With the online service, it will increase the sales and local craftsmen whoseproducts sell the most will profit well.

The state tourism department has launched a new web portal foronline booking for several tourists' locations in West Bengal. “Touristscould now book forest departments' bunglows through this website,” TourismMinister Bratya Basu said.

Users can type in www.wbtdc.gov.in or www.wbtourism.gov.in and make their bookings for their choice of lodges/package tours.

The tourism department also has 27 lodges in West Bengalthat could be booked through the website. Mr Basu said the tourism departmenthas also spoken to the home department for deploying a special police team atseveral tourist locations.

The tourism department will also arrange package tours thisyear for puja pandal lovers, who could visit several pandals of Kolkata and theoutskirts. Buses will be available from Mahalayato Nabami.

The state tourism department is planning to set up a touristhub in Junglemahal, the minister said. He added that several places ofJunglemahal are very attractive and could attract tourists and a tourist hubwill also create employment for the local people.

The Tourism department is also surveying of Home Tourism inJangalmahal. Home Stays and village stays are already popular in North Bengaland the state has taken initiatives to promote it successfully. Now the sameprospect is being surveyed in the villages of Susunia and Ajodhya, where scenicbeauty is marvelous.

Union Minister of Finance and Defense, Mr Arun Jaitley, today questioned West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee's opposition to FDI in defense and her trip to Singapore to seek foreign investment.

State Finance & Industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra had this to say about Mr Arun Jaitley`s comments on Sunday:

• It is extremely sad that something like this came from Mr Arun Jaitley. Either he is not aware or he made the comment purposefully, even after knowing all that has been happening in Bengal.

• Mr Jaitley came here to participate in a finance-related discussion instead politicized the event.

• The Singapore visit by the Bengal Chief Minister had the participation of around 150 representatives from the business community. They did not participate without any reason.

• Bengal has been seeing investments by Changi, HR Johnson. 10 days back, the West Bengal CM inaugurated a cement factory at Barjora. After all this, such a comment by Mr Jaitley is unacceptable.

• We protest against such comments. Mr Jaitley is doing politics though he is well aware of the situation. West Bengal did not expect this from him.

• It is also shocking that in such sensitive areas as defence, the government is risking the security of the country by allowing FDI. As defence minister, he must be aware that 75% of India's nuclear submarines are produced by the country's top private and public sector companies, whose capabilities would be undermined by the new policy. He may not be aware that cutting-edge technology in defence in US and Europe cannot be transferred to any other country. So, the technology-denial regime exists in defence.

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms MamataBanerjee said that the visit to Singapore was a turning point for theindustrial growth of the State. “Everybody took lot of interest aboutinvesting in West Bengal. We have tried to build and communicate a positive imageof the State in there,” she said after her return to Kolkata after the5-day visit to the island country.

The West Bengal Chief Minister said,”A positive message has already reached the business fraternity ofSingapore and they are also showing keen interest in the State.” She alsopraised the delegation of industrialists from Bengal for their role inpromoting the State at Singapore business summit and other such meets. “13MoUs have been signed and we have initiated talks with several organisations. Bengalwill again see industrial growth,” she added. It is expected that morethan Rs 1500 crores will be invested in the State.

Three major agreements were signed,including that of Singapore-based GIC-invested PE fund's and Kolkata basedrealtor Hiland Group's agreement for a Kolkata Riverside development project,worth an estimated Rs 200 crore. The Singapore-based PE fund is sponsored byHDFC Property domiciled in Singapore.

Two other pacts were signed betweenKeventer Agro of Kolkata and InfraCo Asia of Singapore, for a food park atDankuni worth around Rs 1,000 crore, and between Axsys Technologies and CompassEnergy of Singapore for a collaboration on solutions in ship building and oiland gas exploration. The Axsys-Compass combine is expected to generate 800additional employments in West Bengal in next two years, a West BengalIndustrial Development Corporation Statement said.

Axsys is a Singapore-based engineeringdesign and project management company operating globally from Singapore,Thailand, Europe and the US. It caters mainly to the oil and gas sector.

A report on the Singapore visit is beingmade to make the people aware of the success the State in Singapore.

Ms Banerjee, who had earlier expressedconfidence that in near future the State would have a stronger and more dynamicbusiness relationship with Singapore, met Prime Minister of Singapore Lee HsienLoong and Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam during hervisit. The West Bengal government, in association with the National Universityof Singapore, will create a study paper with focus parameters to facilitateentrepreneurs.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by StateFinance Minister Amit Mitra and a delegation of secretaries from the Statesecretariat.

In an effort to encourage women to approachthe police in Kolkata, the Reinforced City Patrol, where patrolling vehicleswill have only women cops was inaugurated by the Kolkata Police Commissioner onWednesday.

Headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police,Women Police, Headquarter, three vehicles were launched initially which will bemanning three spots in the city – J.L. Nehru Road crossing, south Kolkata's RashbehariAvenue and Akashvani Bhawan incentral Kolkata.

The women police personnel will be workingin two shifts, from 6.30 AM to 12.30 PM and from 12.30 PM to 8.30 PM.

The Kolkata Police have already introducedtechnologies like GIS, Area Traffic Control, City Surveillance etc. that havegiven them a remarkable edge in crime control, law & order and trafficmanagement. The city police force is trying to extend these services to moreareas under its jurisdiction for the benefit and convenience of the public.