Make less excuses, work more: WB CM at Bankura

Make less excuses, work more: WB CM at Bankura

Posted on August 1, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms MamataBanerjee inaugurated 166 projects and laid the foundation stones for another110 projects for the Bankura district today at a public meeting.

Thewave of development in Jangalmahal – thanks to the initiatives of the WestBengal Chief Minister – has not only resulted in the return of peace in theseareas, once synonymous with terrorism activities by left-wing extremists, butalso spread the light of development in these backward regions.

Thenumerous projects the Chief Minister inaugurated today include severalpolytechnic colleges, girls' schools, girls' hostels, bridges and roads underPMGSY, a model school, a laboratory, a pipelined drinking water supply project,an irrigation project, several Karma Tirthahubs across South Bengal among others.

TheChief Minister also laid the foundation stones for several projects like Krishak Bazars, ITIs, minority hubs, Pather Sathis (motels), SkillDevelopment Centres, youth hostels, road projects under PMGSY and several otherprojects. The Chief Minister also distributed grants and aids like Kanyashree, land pattas, pensions to folk artistes, farm machineries and a host ofother such benefits.

TheChief Minister will wrap up this leg of district tours by the end of August.Her next visit will be to Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur districts in North Bengal.

Excerpts from the Chief Minister's speech:

Small and medium scale industries areprogressing. Many unemployed youths will get employment. We have inaugurated Karma Tirtha marketing centres today. Weare in the process of 500 marketing hubs. 48 have been inaugurated today. Wewill generate employment. 166 projects have been inaugurated and foundationstones for 110 projects have been laid today.

Bankura is a land of talented students.They are the best among all districts. I ask all of you to enrol for Kanyashree scheme. We are going toobserve 14th August as Kanyashree Dibas.We have started Sikkhashreescholarships for SC/ST students.

We have also started Yuvashree scheme to give employment to unemployed youth. We aretying up with Samsung/Raymonds to provide skill development training. UN hasdecided to set up a Centre of Excellence for skill development in Bengal.

The Left incurred debts and now the Centreis taking our revenue in the name of instalments. We have conducted 65administrative review meeting at block level. Bankura is No. 1 district in 100Days Work Scheme. We are No. 1 in 100 Days Work and MSME sector. We mustprovide more employment opportunities to the self-help groups.

We have started onion cultivation in thedry lands of Bankura to become self-sufficient in onion production. Even thefish in Bengal comes from other States. We have to increase our fish production.Hard work always pays. You must work hard.

We are focussing on home tourism. This ispopular in Darjeeling. It will also boost the economy. Our local folk artistesare very talented. We are giving them allowance and making them perform in Govtfunctions.

We have supported the youth in Jangalmahal.We have distributed land pattas tothe homeless. The Left set up only 2 universities in 34 years. We have set up 8new universities in 3 years. Bengal had only 1300 medical seats till 2011. Wehave raised that to 2700. We are setting up 34 new multi super-specialityhospitals.

We have started a project worth Rs 1200crore for drinking water supply. Bankura will become the best district inBengal. Law and order is really good here. If you have any good suggestion, doshare with us. I am always welcome to new ideas. From baluchari saris to terracotta, Bankura district has a lot ofpotential for handicrafts. Bankura is a great tourism destination.

A leader must work with everyone,irrespective of caste, creed, religion. We are all humans. We must notdiscriminate. Icons like Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Rabindranath have taughtus to respect the plurality of culture. The Maa,Mati, Manush of Bengal are my pride. They are my assets. Service of peopleis my duty. Our culture teaches us about renunciation and realisation. We mustnot look down upon others.

Lifestyle has changed. There is a lot oftension. We must spread more love. The youth today is very impatient. You mustunderstand that several opportunities will come up despite failure one time. Ialways pray for the well-being of my people. I visited Tripureshwari Mandir fewmonths back. The priest asked me my gotra.I replied, Maa, Mati, Manush gotra.

Some people believe in the politics ofmoney power and divisive politics of religion. No. Politics means service ofpeople. You have heard “kotha komkaj beshi“. Now I tell you, follow “faki kom, kaj beshi“. Life is a mix of sadness and happiness.We must tide over sadness. Only then we will succeed in life. Today's younggeneration will become the leaders of tomorrow.

All You Need To Know About Encephalitis

Posted on August 1, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

Encephalitis is inflammation of thebrain. The inflammation is caused either by an infection invading the brain(infectious); or through the immune system attacking the brain in error(post-infectious or autoimmune Encephalitis).

Japanese Encephalitis

Japanese Encephalitis virus istransmitted between small birds by mosquitoes, called 'Culex' mosquitoes.Additionally, when pigs are infected, they can make a lot of the virus and thiscan then infect a lot of mosquitoes. Humans become infected by mosquitoes coincidentallyand are not part of the natural cycle.

Japanese Encephalitis virus has alwaysbeen recognized as a killer.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Encephalitis can rangefrom mild to severe. Each type can have its own particular set of symptoms.

Mild:

Fever

Headache

Neck stiffness

Lethargy

General feeling of being unwell

Headache will continue to get moresevere

Vomiting

Severe:

Very high fever

Confusion

Drowsiness

Hallucinations

Slower movements

Coma

Seizures

Irritability

Light sensitivity

Unconsciousness

Severe dementia

Symptomsin very young children:

Vomiting

Bulging fontanel (soft spot in thescalp)

Non-stop crying

Body stiffness

Lack of appetite

It is very important to go to aphysician immediately if any of the above symptoms are present.

Prevention

There is no specific treatment forJapanese virus Encephalitis. Current management consists of treating thecomplications of the disease such as high fever and aches, low blood pressure,blood loss, convulsions (fits), or raised intra-cranial pressure.

Wear loose, light-coloured, long-sleevedtops and trousers, and apply effective insect repellents containing DEET toexposed parts of the body & clothing.

Use mosquito screens or bed nets whenthe room is not air-conditioned.

Apply household pesticide to kill adultmosquito with a dosage according to the label instructions. Do not spray thepesticides directly against functioning electrical appliances or flame to avoidexplosion.

Place mosquito coil or electric mosquitomat / liquid near possible entrance, such as window, to prevent mosquito bites.

Prevent the accumulation of stagnantwater

a. Put all used cans and bottles intocovered dustbins.

b. Change water for plants at least oncea week, leaving no water in the saucers underneath flower pots.

c. Cover tightly all water containers,wells and water storage tanks.

d. Ensure air-conditioner drip trays arefree of stagnant water.

e. Keep all drains free from blockage.

f. Top up all defective ground surfacesto prevent the accumulation of stagnant water.

Birds like storks and animals,especially pigs are responsible for the Japanese Encephalitis Virus. If thereare pig sty in the locality, use Neem leaves in the sty among otherdisinfectants. Try to sleep as much away as possible from the sleeping placesof animals and birds.

Trinamool raises the UPSC language issue in Rajya Sabha

Posted on August 1, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

The Trinamool, along with other Opposition parties,today raised the issue of regional language aspirants having a disadvantage inCivil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) leading to two adjournments during Question Hour.

Immediately after the obituary reference toPune landslide victims, opposition members were on their feet raising the issueof UPSC examination pattern. The government had said on July 25 that it hadsought a report within a week from a three-member panel headed by formerSecretary of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Arvind Varma, lookinginto the issue.

AITC MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy spoke on theissue in the Upper House. He asked for equal importance for all languages inthe UPSC exam. He also urged the Government o take a speedy decision on UPSCrow and asked if police will take action against protesting students.

Civil services aspirants are opposing thepattern of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) which they believe gives anunfair advantage to English-speaking students while leaving candidates fromHindi or regional languages background at a disadvantage. They want CSAT to bescrapped. The preliminary entrance exam is scheduled for August 24.

Leading UN agency to set up a unique Centre of Excellence in Entrepreneurship Training in Kolkata

Posted on July 31, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

United Nations' leading agency, UnitedNations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has announced to set up aunique Centre of Excellence in Entrepreneurship Training in Kolkata inassociation with EMPRETEC and West Bengal Government. WB CM Ms. Mamata Banerjeewrote about this development on her Facebook page on July 31, 2014.

“This Centre will be the first of its kindin the world, connecting not only all the States of India, but also thedeveloping and developed Nations of the world, to nurture and handholdentrepreneurship.

It will provide training, education, skilldevelopment along with access to finance to our aspiring entrepreneurs. Thisinitiative would help to create young entrepreneurs, thereby more jobs and giveeconomic activity in the region a significant boost,” she said.

Will provide training for skill development to the youth of Bengal: WB CM in Purulia

Posted on July 31, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister addressed a public rally at the Telecom Ground in Lalpur, Hura, in Purulia district today.

She reached Purulia on July 30, 2014 and held ameeting at the Purulia Circuit House with the district officials in theevening. She also held an administrative review meeting with all the districtofficials and the officials from the State Secretariat, who are a part of herentourage, on Thursday at the auditorium of the Purulia Zilla Parishad.

The Chief Minister had been insistent onall round development of the Jangalmahal area and the Government has beenworking in a peaceful manner to help the people in the area receive properfacilities.

To keep up with the pace of developmental works, the Chief Ministerinaugurated sixteen projects which include the administrative building of the Sidhu Kanu Birsa University, several girls' hostels, SNCUs, a mother & child hub at Deven Mahato Hospital, a fair price medicine shop.

The West Bengal Chief Minister alsolaid the foundation stones of seventy projects including the Garpanchakot eco-tourism project, girls hostels, several Pather Sathis (motels), Karma Tirthas (marketing hubs), new roads under PMGSY, two electrical sub stations, irrigation projects etc.

She distributed among the people of the district benefits like Kanyashree, forest pattas, special aid schemes for tribal people and other such aids and grants.

The West Bengal Chief Minister will leavefor Bankura tonight and will conduct a review meeting with thedistrict official after reaching the district. She will hold a public meetingat Beliator College Ground on August 1.

Excerpts from the Chief Minister's speech:

We have taken several initiatives for thePurulia district. A fair price diagnostic centre will come up within a month. Iam thankful to you for waiting here despite the rain. We will celebrateKanyashree Divas across the State in every block. Girls will get scholarshipsfor pursuing education under Kanyashree scheme.

Rs 26000 crore is being invested atRaghunathpur industrial town. 40000 youths will get jobs. We are formingclusters for MSME. Almost 50000 people will get jobs. We are launching IT hubsand Gramin Hubs.

We will set up Chhau Academy, footballacademy, medical college, ITI and polytechnic colleges here. We have alreadystarted educational institutes with Al Chiki as medium of instruction. We aresetting up tribal bhavans in every district. We have started Sikhashreescholarships for tribal students.

We have taken up a drinking water projectworth Rs 1200 crore. Japan Govt is partnering with us. It will be complete by2017. A lot of stress is being laid on tourism in Purulia. We are giving riceat Rs 2/kg to 3.2 crore people in Bengal.

Centre is taking away a major share of ourrevenue. If the CPM didn't incur debts, we would have more money fordevelopment. We have raised our income from Rs 21000 crore to Rs 40000 crore.But Centre is taking a major part of it for debt instalments.

We have set up 31 new Govt colleges in 3years while there were only 34 colleges in Bengal till 2011. In the last threeyears we have increased medical seats by 1300. 5 new medical colleges are beingset up. The Left set up only 2 universities in 34 years. We have set up 8 newuniversities in 3 years.

Purulia has a lot of natural beauty. Thisis an ideal tourist destination and site for film shoots. I urge industrialiststo come to Purulia. Now peace prevails in this district. Earlier people had togo to Kolkata for all work. Now the WB Secretariat comes to the districts toreview progress of work.

Despite the financial crunch we areexcelling in different sectors like 100 Days Work Scheme or Skill Development. Jangalmahalis a model for countering Maoist violence. Peace prevails in Darjeeling. UNICEFpraised Kanyashree project.

We are setting up 500 marketing hubs.Unemployed youths and self-help groups will get shops there. We will trainthose who are enrolled in the employment bank. Samsung/Raymonds have expressedinterest. We have a target of training 10 lakh youths. We will do it in phasedmanner. UN has decided to set up a training centre in Bengal.

Our focus will be skill development andtraining in the next two years. Our responsibility is to serve the poor and thedowntrodden.

WB Women and Child Welfare Minister visits ailing acid attack victim

Posted on July 31, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Minister for Child and Women Welfare DrShashi Panja visited the acid victim in Bardhaman, who is undergoing treatmentat a government hospital in the city and assured her of all help from thegovernment.

Dr Panja who arrived at the hospital around 12:45 p.m.spent close to half-an-hour with the victim and her family. The victim hadsuffered grievous injuries in an acid attack at her home in the Parapukur areaof Bardhaman town last Thursday. She was shifted to a government hospital inthe city with an eye injury requiring immediate surgery. The Minister said thatthe woman has been recuperating.

Dr Panja said that a four-member medical board hasbeen set-up to study her case and that the government would extend all possibleaid to her.

Lok Sabha: Suvendu Adhikari questions the Central Govt`s preparedness for flood management

Posted on July 31, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

Tamluk MP and General Secretary ofTrinamool, Mr Suvendu Adhikari raised several questions regarding the Centre's plans for flood management in different partsof the country, during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha today.

The senior MP from Trinamool Congress raised the question whether the Union Government proposes to take steps in collaboration with concerned States to overcome floods and if so, the details thereof. He also asked for the details of the flood management proposals received from various States including Ghatal Master Plan of West Bengal and the present status of each of these projects, State-wise.

He asked whether the Union Minister of Water Resources, RiverDevelopment and Ganga Rejuvenation would kindly answer whether the Governmentis aware of severe floods taking place every year during monsoon in some partsof the country and if so, the details thereof and the reasons thereof.

He requested the Union Minister to providethe details of the flood management programme under implementation includingfunding pattern to the States and also asked her to place in the House thefunds allocated, released and utilised under the programme during last twoyears and the current year, State/UT-wise.

Incidentally, a project called IntegratedGanga Mission has been given Rs 2,039 crore in the 2014-15 budget, appearsquite similar to the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) announced in the 1980s for thesame purpose.

Trinamool MP Tapas Mandal speaks in LS on the flood and drought situation in India

Posted on July 31, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

Trinamool MP Tapas Mandal today spoke onthe flood and drought situation prevailing in India. Focussing on the problemsfaced by the dry areas in Bengal, like Purulia and Bankura, he used hisexpertise as a Professor to make suggestions to remodel the irrigation andagriculture system to tide over drought.

He demanded that the MOU between theCentral Ground Water Board and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing to survey thesituation of lands be extended all over India with more outlays. He stressed oncrop management system and asked Govt to promote crop diversification. He saidstress must be laid on growing crops that require less amount of water.

Mr Mandal also asked the Govt to set upbranches of CRIDA all over India, specially in dry areas like Purulia andBankura. He said the Govt must provide assistance to the farming community. Healso suggested the introduction of micro-irrigation system.

Tapas Mandal also talked about therecurrence of floods due to release of water by DVC. He urged the Govt to startdredging to prevent such occurrences in the future.

In the end, he raised an issue in hisconstituency. “In my constituency, the beds of the rivers Ichhamati and Churni areat high level. Every year, the people of this area are affected by floods. Irequest the Minister to take necessary steps to dredge the rivers so that thepeople of the area will be benefited,” said Mr Mandal.

Derek O’Brien makes a Special Mention on the occasion of World Anglo-Indian Day | Transcript

Posted on July 30, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

Mr Chairman, to coincide with the celebrations for World Anglo Indian Day on August 2, here is a humble submission to highlight a microscopic but vibrant community.

Anglo Indian, as defined in the Constitution, refers to persons domiciled or born in India, whose paternal line can be traced to Europe. The Anglo Indian community, interestingly, is the only community in India that has the word ‘Indian’ in its name. It is also the only community that has two representatives nominated to the Lok Sabha by the President under Article 331.

The community has made significant contributions in education, railways, nursing, sports and the armed forces. The community, whose mother tongue is English, continues to play a key role in education. However, the population of the community remains uncounted since the 1941 census. The 2011 census only enumerated Christians as a category, and not Anglo Indians. There are an estimated 500,000 Anglo Indians throughout the world, of which around 200,000 live in India. It is my appeal to the government to make ‘Anglo Indian’ a separate head in the census.

The time is ripe to propose an extension of the special representation of Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha beyond 2020. There might also be a need for a debate on the issue of direct election to the two Lok Sabha seats. I also urge the government to take measures to protect and support Anglo Indian schools and help the community preserve its distinct identity.

I’m sure the Government of India will join me in extending its greetings to Anglo Indians in India and across the world.

Kolkata gets world`s first fleet of `JanBus`es

Posted on July 30, 2014 | by AITC | Leave a Comment

Delhi may boast of a fleet of low-floorbuses, but when it comes to flat floor, single-step entry buses, the city ofjoy has scored over the Capital. Ashok Leyland, manufacturer of buses underJNNURM scheme, has chosen Kolkata over Delhi and other international cities tolaunch its much-awaited 'JanBus' fleet. Though there are bookings from severalcountries, Ashok Leyland launched the smart bus at the state assembly on Wednesday.

“Only an efficient bus-system can decongestthe city. We want to offer passengers a wide array of buses, both AC and non-ACvariants. These smart buses will be an incentive for car-owners to shun carsand use buses for comfortable journey,” said principal secretary (transport)Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Manufactured in Alwar, these buses havemany exciting features like multiplexing, passenger information system andvehicle tracking and infotainment system. But most importantly, its single-stepentry and low floor will prove to be a blessing for city commuters, particularlythe aged and differently-abled people. As many as 24 unique features werepatented for 'JanBus', including multiple options for door placement andseating arrangements.

“The new fleet will revolutionize urbantransport of Kolkata. We are delighted to present a world-class bus, with fourpatents covering over 15 unique features, to the city. 'JanBus' is testimony ofour engineering excellence and I am confident that we will be able to supplyall 449 buses ordered by the Bengal government soon,” said Ashok LeylandManaging Director Vinod K Dasari. Thirty buses will be rolled out in the firstphase.

The capacity of these buses is muchgreater. They have more space than Volvos buses we brought earlier. Lower priceand fuel efficiency will help us to better operating profit. This will take ofa lot pressure off the system.

The state government has pegged the costfor these buses at Rs 500 crore. Besides, it will be purchasing 150 more buseswith its own funds. Of this fleet, 65% will be run by the CSTC, 15% each bySBSTC, NBSTC and the WBSTC.