Author: AITC

Dharmatala was back to normalcy withinhours after the massive Maa, Mati, Manush Dibas rally ended. A team led byparty MP Mr Subrata Bakshi and MLA Tapas Roy supervised the whole process ofcleaning with a force of three thousand cleaners, employed under the 100 Days WorkScheme. The cleaning party was aided by KMC and its road cleaning machinery.By evening, the whole Esplanade East was spic and span and showed no signs oflitters like food packets, water bottles etc.

Earlier, the same procedure was adoptedafter the January 30 rally at Brigade.

The Kolkata Police did a commendable job tokeep the traffic flow normal, despite thousands of people moving towards therally site through different zones. With the experience of `man management` ,the Kolkata Police managed the crowd as well as the security of the VVIPs with ease.

The total crowd management, which wasdesignated to eight Joint Commissioners and twenty Deputy Commissioners of theKolkata Police, was done with much ease. Around 1800 vehicles carrying party supportershad reached Kolkata by 9 AM in the morning. This made the work easier and didnot clog the main roads. The parking of the cars at Strand Road, CentralAvenue, Hastings and other such places helped in making the main stretches ofthe roads movable.

The Kolkata Police were fully equipped withTrauma Ambulances and other such precautionary measures which came handy whensome supporters were taken ill.

While the rally was in progress, some partsof the Esplanade East were blocked but the Police force had informed the publicbeforehand about traffic restrictions. They also routed the traffic throughother roads.

The Kolkata Police took the help of 18CCTVs to control the situation and maintain a pace in the flow of traffic. Theaerial surveillance system of the Kolkata Police, Durdanto, kept a close eye over the rally site and adjoining areas.

Written by Subrata Nagchowdhury (The Indian Express)

On Tuesday, a significant globalrecognition will come Bengal`s way with the government`s flagship project forgirls, Kanyashree Prakalpa, being presented at the Girl Summit 2014 in London,an event being jointly hosted by the UK`s Department for InternationalDevelopment and UNICEF.

Under the scheme, which offers separateincentives to girls under and over 18 to encourage them to study, those in theage group 13-18 and studying in classes VIII to XII in an institute affiliatedto the state government get an annual stipend of Rs 500, while girls 18 andover who are still studying without getting married get a one-time grant of Rs25,000.

The London summit, part of a globalmovement to end early and forced marriage, will bring together activists andrepresentatives of organisations from across the world. In Kanyashree, UNICEFis a lead technical partner with the government, said Sohini Roy Chowdhury, UNICEFcommunications officer in Kolkata, in an email response.

“It is a proud moment for the government,”Dr Sashi Panja, WCD Minister, says of the London event.

Kanyashreee Prakalpa, launched last year,has already enrolled 1.4 million girls in the 13-18 group, and for most of themthe bank passbook and the deposits are a new possession. Kanyashree-II hasgiven Rs 25,000 to each of 83,039 older, unmarried students, says SharmisthaDas, state joint secretary, women and child welfare. Both schemes are for girlswhose family income is Rs 1,20,000 or under, a condition waived for physicallychallenged girls or residents of social welfare homes and mental institutes.

Rojina Khatoon was six months old when shesuffered severe burns at her Kolkata home. She was in the lap of her mother,who was cooking, when the flames leapt up and injured both of them. Her mother,who worked as a domestic, ensured an education for Rojina, who is now in classX at Garden Reach Nutbehari Das Girls` High School. On August 14, Rojina willstart receiving the stipend of Rs 500. And if she studies two more yearswithout getting married, she will get the one-time grant of Rs 25,000.

Halima Khatoon of Class XI proudly showsher passbook, which records the first deposit of Rs 500 on October 1, 2013,followed by an interest of Rs 3. On December 7, she withdrew Rs 500 for herMadhyamik (class X boards) fees and to have her photographs clicked. “I did nothave to ask for the money from my father, who is a tailor,” says Halima, one offive daughters in a family that also includes a son. “I am not under anypressure to get married. My parents are encouraging me to complete my studies,earn Rs 25,000 and become a teacher.”

Sanghamitra Bhattacharya, assistant headteacher of Nutbehari Das Girls` High School, says: “This is known as a schoolof the have-nots. Over 85 per cent of the girls are from Muslim families, and amajority are daughters of daily wage earners, domestic helps and tailors. Witha little financial help, most of these families are now urging their daughtersto continue studying till at least age 18.”

Renuka Khatoon is in Class IX. Her fatherSheikh Mustafa is encouraged by the Rs 25,000. “We can then think of marryingher off. We have to keep in mind that if our girls are too educated, they willnot find a match.”

Minister Panja says the government`s nextstep will be a house-to-house survey on the implementation of the scheme andits impact. A subsequent mid-level survey will be taken up in collaborationwith UNICEF. The government plans budget provisions of Rs 417 crore for 2014-15and Rs 626 crore for 2015-16.

There are still bottlenecks. In some cases,formalities were completed long ago but bank passbooks have not been generatedyet. The government estimates that eventually 1.8 million girls will benefiteach year.

Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee, who hassome repute as an artist, has designed the logo for Kanyashree project. Sheposted recently on Facebook: “Bengal`s unique Kanyashree Project has receivedinternational acclaim. It is indeed a matter of great pride and recognition forour innovative scheme.”

Image: WB CM giving away Kanyashree certificates to beneficiaries

There was a slice of Biswa Bangla at theShahid Mancha of 21 July rally at Dharmatala. The stage hosted stalwarts fromvarious fields of arts, sports and culture. People from all walks of life cameto the rally in huge numbers to pay tributes to the martyrs of 21 July 1993police firing. That apart, the occasion also marked the victory celebrations ofTrinamool in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.

While celebrity singers like Soumitra Roy,Indranil Sen and Nachiketa Chakraborty enthralled the crowd with theirpatriotic folk songs, the newly elected MP from Ghatal, Deepak Adhikari (Dev)drew applauds from the young generation for his short inspiring speech.

The rally saw faces like Bhaichung Bhutia,Mehtab Hussain, Bidesh Bose, Lakshmiratan Shukla, Jhulan Goswami, Mantu Ghosh,Manas Bhattacharyya and Dibyendu Baruah. Theatre activist and MP Arpita Ghoshalong with State tourism Minister Bratya Bose was present on the occasion.

Authors, poets and artists – MahashwetaDebi, Subodh Sarkar, Arindam Sil, Amiya Chowdhury, Debesh Chattapadhyay, JogenChowdhury, Suvaprasanna – were present on the occasion. Several actors ofBengali film and television fraternity were also present.

The Trinamool Chairperson Ms MamataBanerjee spoke to each of them individually. She said she will bring back the goldenera of Bengal.

Among the audience, the ProgressiveDoctor`s Association set up a camp near the rally site to provide freetreatment to all and provided free medicines when required.

The Esplanade East area saw a colourfuldance performance from the Tusu dancers, who came all the way from Ranibandh inBankura to attend the rally. Performance by Ronpa dancers of Bankura wasanother sight to watch out for. Even tribal dancers and musicians fromJangalmahal won the hearts of the people.

Tusu dancers at Esplanade

Ronpa dancers at Dharmatala

Tribal dancers at Esplanade

Musicians playing Dhamsa-Madol at the rally

Trinamool Chairperson with veteran footballers at the rally

Trinamool walked out of Rajya Sabha today in protest against the Rail Minister's reply on the Budget, passenger/freight fare hike, deprivation of Bengal.

The Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress in theRajya Sabha, Derek O`Brien earlier today spoke on the Railway Budget 2014. At the veryoutset he shared an anecdote about a family that has served the Indian Railwaysfor generations. He lamented that for the first time in 30 years, the RailMantri did not thank the Railway family in the Budget speech.

Mr O`Brien contested the claim of theGovernment that the deficit in passenger fare collection was about Rs 30000crore. He said if all heads were taken into account, the figure would stand atRs 7-8 thousand crore.

“If you are serious about reforms, look atthe passenger fares distribution. The heads under which passenger fares arestill calculated, were formulated in the 1920s. 95% of the passenger fares havenothing to do with Rajdhani or Shatabdi,” Derek said.

“The Minister talked about China a lot. Hemust know China does not touch base fares. In China, Govt funds major projects,”he added.

He also said that while the Leader ofOpposition said this Railway Budget was a copy paste of the 2013 Budget, the2013 Budget was a copy-paste of the Budgets presented by Railway Ministers fromTrinamool. He cited examples too. Bullet trains, for instance, were mentionedin the Vision 2020 document by Mamata Banerjee, Derek said.

“There is no dilemma in choosing betweensocial viability and commercial viability. Social viability comes first. If youdon`t want to do populism, why did you announce 58 new trains, which wouldrequire 1000 new wagons?” he asked.

Mr O`Brien was vocal about the disparity inbudgetary allocations for the projects in Bengal. “The Railway Ministerallocated Rs 1000 for a Rs 176 crore project at Adra. For a Rs 100 croreproject at Kharagpur, you allocated Rs 1000” Derek said.

Bengal does not want alms from the Centre,Derek said while elucidating how the Railway Minister allocated a paltry sum ofRs 500 crore for Kolkata Metro projects worth Rs 10000 crore. He also made itclear that Trinamool was against FDI in Railways. He cautioned the Rail Mantriagainst linking fares to diesel hikes.

Regarding freight, Derek shared somesuggestions with the government. He urged them not to consider roads as acompetitor, but to treat them as partners in freight. He suggested the RORO(Roll On Roll Off) model.

On the security front, Mr O`Brienhighlighted the importance of anti-collision devices. He also urged thegovernment to ensure the safety of elephants in the Jalpaiguri-Alipurduarcorridor.

The 21 July Martyr`s Day rally is a mass rally organized bythe All India Trinamool Congress in remembrance of 13 people shot dead by WestBengal Police in Kolkata during a protest movement by the West Bengal YouthCongress under Ms Mamata Banerjee on 21 July 1993.

Ms Banerjee, then West Bengal State President of YouthCongress, had organised Writers` Chalo Abhiyan(march towards Writers` Building) demanding that the voters` identity card bemade the only valid document to verify voters in order to put a stop to rampant`scientific rigging`.

The party workers gathered at five different points acrossthe city on that fateful day. They began marching towards their destinationalong Brabourne Road and were stopped by a large contingent of police officialsnear the Tea Board office, barely few minutes y awafrom the Writers` Building.The police force started beating up the crowd mercilessly in order to drivethem away from the vicinity of Writers` Building.

The Youth Congress supporters who were peacefully rallyingrefused to stop and walked ahead. Many rounds of teargas shells were fired butthe supporters kept moving forward. Despite Ms Banerjee`s efforts to establishpeace, the police went berserk in a spate of revenge and did not even spareher.

The place transformed into a battle zone. People startedrunning across Curzon Park. The police opened fire, killing 13 supporters andleaving hundreds severely injured. Surprisingly, the police aimed for the headsand the chests of the supporters, something unheard of in any civilisedcountry.

Since then, an annual rally is held on this day every year, dedicatedto the memory of these 13 martyrs.

 On the politicalsignificance of this day, the Trinamool Congress Chairperson Ms Mamata Banerjeesays in her book, My Unforgettable Memories, “It is the day when we rememberand offer our respect to the hundreds of people who are fighting death everyday, whose lives are a living death, who have lost life and limb in thisstruggle. For us, it is a day of sorrow and shame.”

Mr Sisir Adhikari, who was an eyewitness to the goryincident, said “Even Mamata Banerjee who was leading the rally was injured. Oneof our party workers from Midnapore, Jaidul Khan, realized what was happeningand rushed Didi to a safe destination. The CPI(M) bosses definitely knew whatwas happening as they had orchestrated the killings at Nandigram five yearsago. But now there is a commission and a probe will tell the real story.”

The main organisers of the 1993 rally ultimately broke awayto form the new party, the All India Trinamool Congress, which took on themantle of holding the Martyrs` Day rally over the years.

“Ever since 1993, every year July 21 brings backexcruciating pain and agony to our memory, of the barbaric act of violence andbrutal firing meted out by the previous Left Front government,” recallsthe Trinamool Chairperson.

“The voice of democratic demand raised in a peacefulprocession was stifled with bullets and violence…Every year, 21st July isdedicated to `Shahid family` (martyrs family) belonging to different democraticmovements,” the Trinamool Congress Chairperson said.

“Let us bow our heads down, pay obeisance and remembertheir invaluable sacrifice and also take a pledge to rededicate ourselves tocontinue to fight for the cause of `Maa Mati Manush` and build a harmonious,peaceful and prosperous Bengal,” she said.

The North Bengal Development Minister Mr Gautam Deb, aftervisiting North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, today said health officialsof seven districts have been alerted to combat the present Encephalitis menace.

North Bengal development minister Mr Deb today visited the Male Medical-I ward of the NBMCH andinteracted with the patients admitted there as well as doctors to take stock ofthe situation.

Speaking to the reporters, Mr Deb said: “A high level meetingwith health officials will be held at Uttarkanya, the branch secretariat, onMonday to combat the present situation in seven districts of north Bengal.”

“We have alerted the district health officials to checkEncephalitis menace that prevails across the region,” he said, adding, “Thereis no need to worry. The state is trying hard to combat the situation. The situationis not alarming.”

“A fever clinic would be set up at the outdoor of the NBMCH.Two medical experts will always examine and guide patients suffering from feverso that they can avail better treatment from here,” said Mr Deb.

The minister said that the MRI machine at the hospital,which was non-functional a few days ago, is now functioning properly andanother CT scan machine would be installed at NBMCH soon.

The West Bengal government will allot10,000 square feet of built-up space in Salt Lake`s Sector V to NASSCOM forsetting up its first incubation centre in the eastern region.

The announcement was made by stateinformation technology minister Dr Amit Mitra at the eastern edition of the NASSCOMProduct Conclave in Kolkata.

The prospective hub, which will be aimed atmentoring start-up companies and fuelling entrepreneurship for productdevelopment, is expected to take shape within 3-6 months. It will require a stronginfrastructure back-up and is likely to draw venture capital funds, seed fundsand top names of the industry as mentors into the state.

Incidentally, software behemoth MicrosoftIndia is in the final stages of setting up a research and innovation centre inSector V to impart its expertise in IT skill training.

“Weare looking at entrepreneurial development. We accept the offer. We will give10,000 square feet ready to start with. We are also building 13 IT parks. Wewould like to request NASSCOM to help us bring IT companies into these ITparks. We want you to promote it for us,” Dr Mitra said at the conclave.

Image courtesy: Anirban Saha

Trinamool Congress will observe Maa, Mati,Manush Dibas on 21 July to celebrate the party`s sweeping victory in the recentLok Sabha polls where it won 34 seats.

In 2011, the party celebrated its victoryin the Assembly polls at Brigade Parade ground after ending the Left Front`s34-year rule. State Trinamool leadership on Friday met MLAs, districtpresidents, different office bearers and chiefs of different party organs atthe Trinamool Bhavan to chalk out the Maa, Mati, Manush Dibas programme alongwith the Martyrs` Day programme.

Mr Partha Chatterjee, party`s secretarygeneral, told after the meeting that on 21 July Ms Mamata Banerjee would showthe party workers the direction for the coming days. He said though theTrinamool Congress had a “thumping victory” in both panchayat and LokSabha polls there was no victory celebration. “So we are going to start ourprogramme by paying homage to the martyrs.” He said family members of martyrsand celebrities are invited to the programme.

Trinamool State president Mr Subrata Bakshisaid lakhs of party activists and supporters will attend the Martyrs` Dayrally. Thousands of party activists and supporters would come from Jalpaiguriand Alipurduarand other North Bengal districts.

People from different districts across thestate, particularly from the Hills and Jangalmahal, will attend the programme.Besides, party supporters from Assam, Manipur and Tripura are also to take partin the programme.