Author: AITC

With the aim of providing better civicamenities to the people of West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress led governmenthas decided to form six municipal corporations from 17 existing municipalitiesacross the state. The legal processes and area demarcation will, includingnecessary notification processes will begin soon.

The issues were discussed at the cabinetmeeting to be held today at Nabanna. Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjeeaddressed the press after the meeting.

Theproposed new municipal corporations are:

• Barasat – Includes Rajarhat-Gopalpur, Madhyamgram,Barasat and NewBarrackpore
• Barrackpore – Includes Barrackpore, Titagarh, Barrckpur North, Bhatpara,Garuliya,Naihati, Halishahar and Kanchrapara
• DumDum – Includes Kamarhati, Khardah,Panihati, SouthDum Dum and North Dum Dum
• Maheshtala – Includes Maheshtala, Pujali and Budge Budge

Corporationswith added areas:

• Serampore – Bansberia, Hooghly-Chinshurah, Uttarpara-Kotrang, Serampore,Rishra, Konnagar Chanpdani, Chandannagar and Bhadreswar will be clubbed withthe Chandannagar Municipal Corporation
• Howrah– Bali will be included in Howrah MunicipalCorporation
• Asansol – Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria added to Asansol MunicipalCorporation

The small municipalities cannot undertakebig projects. Neither are they allowed to change the tax system. They are noteligible to take loans from organizations like the World Bank. Once these areasare brought under a municipal corporation, the citizens will get betterservices.

Today, 26th May 2014 is 115th BirthAnniversary of Kazi Nazrul Islam. At 5 PM today, Hon`ble Chief Minister Ms. MamataBanerjee inaugurated Nazrul Tirtha, a cultural and educational centre dedicated to the Rebel Poet, at New Town, Kolkata.

The Guests of Honour included the descendantsof the poet, Kalyani Kazi, Arindam Kazi and Anindita Kazi. Noted poet JoyGoswami and noted singer Anup Ghoshal were present on the occasion.Representative of Bangladesh High Commission was also be present atthe ceremony.

The architectural style of the NazrulAcademy is similar to the aesthetic European-style heritage buildings. Theacademy will be a complete educational and research centre on Kazi NajrulIslam. It will have an archive, an audio-visual arena, a library, a readingroom and a research centre. It will be a great research site for anyone with aninterest in Nazrul. His works will also be on display and people will be ableto purchase his books. 

The project was initiated by West BengalChief Minister last year on Nazrul Jayanti. The work has been completed inrecord time of one year.

The past Government had done nothing tohonour the Rebel Poet, who is also the national poet of Bangladesh. TheTrinamool Government has set up a university and an airport in the name of thepoet.

Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee`s promise to turn `Kolkatainto London` may have taken one more step with the contract of the Calcutta Eye- a 100 m tall wheel to view Kolkata from the sky – being awarded to a UK-basedcompany.

On the occasion of the declaration of the awarding of thetender, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that “the project willprobably be complete within 18 months after the work begins.”

The state government will set up the Kolkata Eye – modelledafter iconic London Eye – through the public-private partnership model withUK-based firm Sun Consulting and Investments.

Urban development minister Firhad Hakim said on Wednesdaythat the project cost has been pegged at Rs 381 crore, of which the governmentwill pay Rs 81 crore and the UK firm will invest Rs 300 crore. The thirdpartner in the project is Kolkata Port Trust, which will provide the land nearMillennium Park. Hakim said work on the project will start very soon.

Right after coming to power, the CM decided to beautify theHooghly riverfront on the lines of the Thames and some stretches of theriverfront have already been beautified. The government is looking for WorldBank assistance to develop the Hooghly riverfront on a grand scale and isplanning to develop riverine transport by setting up more jetties.

About the project, WB CM wrote on her Facebook page:

“A `Giant Wheel`, like the `London Eye`, will soon come upon the bank of the river Hooghly in Kolkata. It will be an icon of the greatcity of Kolkata and will enrich the ongoing River-front Beautification Project.This project is the first of its kind in size and magnitude in India.”

Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee hassought permission from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to go to Nepalfor expediting rescue operation of mountaineer Chanda Gayen, who remainedmissing since Tuesday while trying to climb West Ridge of Kanchenjunga peak.

Later in the evening, Nepal consul-generalin Kolkata Chandra Kumar Ghimere held a meeting with Ms. Banerjee at Nabanna and assured her that thegovernment of Nepal was making every effort to ensure that the rescue operationwas conducted properly.

“Ms. Banerjee wants to leave for Nepaltomorrow itself if necessary clearance is received. Despite several attempts wefailed to contact officials of the MEA today,” said Youth Affairs MinisterAroop Biswas at Nabanna.

The state chief secretary has written to MrS Rao, Indian High Commissioner in Nepal assuring that all expenses for therescue operation will be borne by the state government.

Mr Biswas said the two-member rescue team,comprising climbers Ujjwal Roy and Devdas Nandi, the state government had sentreached the Kanchenjunga Base Camp by helicopter this afternoon. “The team willbe accompanied by Tashi, the sherpa who was with Chanda and three others duringtheir climb to the Kanchenjunga main peak last week,” Mr Biswas said.

After meeting the chief minister, MrGhimere said search and rescue operations were continuing to trace her. “TheNepal government has put in its best efforts to rescue the mountaineer,” hesaid.

Mr Ghimere said the part of MountKanchenjunga in Nepal from where Chanda had gone missing was “the mostcomplicated region” and it required a special team and infrastructure.

The inclement weather hampered the searchoperation earlier but since then weather condition had improved and operationswould continue tomorrow. 

Ms. Banerjee visited the climber`s house atDasnagar in Howrah in the evening and spent about half an hour with her familymembers.

—

শুক্রবার দুপুরেই ফেনে একপ্রস্ত কথা বলেছিলেন। তার পরে সন্ধ্যায় ছন্দা গায়েনের বাড়িতে হাজির হন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। ছন্দার মা জয়াদেবীকে আশ্বস্ত করে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বলেন, নেপাল সরকার উদ্ধারকাজে বিশেষ বাহিনী নামিয়েছে। উদ্ধারকাজ চলছে। রাজ্যের দলও এই কাজ তদারকি করছে। মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর কথা শুনে কিছুটা আশ্বস্ত হয়েছে বলে জানিয়েছে ছন্দার পরিবার।  

এ দিন সন্ধ্যা সাতটা নাগাদ হাওড়া কোনা বাগপাড়ায় ছন্দার বাড়িতে হাজির হন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। সঙ্গে ছিলেন শিক্ষামন্ত্রী ব্রাত্য বসু, যুবকল্যাণ মন্ত্রী অরূপ বিশ্বাস, পুরমন্ত্রী ফিরহাদ হাকিম এবং তৃণমূলের হয়ে লোকসভা নির্বাচনে প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বিতা করা দুই গায়ক সৌমিত্র রায় ও ইন্দ্রনীল সেন।

ছন্দার মা জয়াদেবী ও অন্যদের সঙ্গে প্রায় আধঘণ্টা কথা বলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। পরিবার সূত্রের খবর, উদ্ধারকাজ শুরু হয়েছে বলে তাঁদের আশ্বস্ত করেছেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। দুই এভারেস্টজয়ী উজ্জ্বল রায় ও দেবদাস নন্দী–সহ রাজ্য সরকারের তিন সদস্যের প্রতিনিধি দল সেই কাজে তদারকি করছে বলেও তিনি জানান। ছন্দার পরিবার সূত্রে জানানো হয়েছে, মুখ্যমন্ত্রী কাঞ্চনজঙ্ঘায় যেতেও ইচ্ছুক ছিলেন। কিন্তু বিদেশ যাত্রার ক্ষেত্রে অনুমতি পাওয়া–সহ নানা সমস্যায় তা হয়নি বলে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী তাঁদের জানিয়েছেন।

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Fridaydropped in at the Presidency Correctional Home.

She inspected the infrastructure of theCorrectional Home and instructed the superintendent to renovate the wards. Shemet the inmates of the Correctional Home and interacted with them. She alsoinstructed the officials to ensure that the inmates do not fall prey todepression.

There have been a few instances of death ofprisoners at Presidency Correctional Home. WB CM instructed the officials toensure no such incidents happen in the future. The inmates also complained toher about the lengthy judicial process.

Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee on herway to Nabanna also dropped in atAlipore Central Correctional Home on Thursday. Ms. Banerjee went to thecorrectional home around 11.45 AM.

She asked the superintendent of AliporeCentral Correctional Home, Mr Chittaranjan Ghorui about the infrastructure ofthe place.

In a major development in the transportarea, the State Transport Departments of West Bengal and Bihar signed an agreementon Wednesday to introduce inter-state bus services. Around 1,000 new buses in46 routes from the State to Bihar would be introduced, Mr. Madan Mitra, WestBengal Transport Minister said.

“People who used to go home in Bihar ortourists travelling to the neighbouring State had to face lots of problems. Nowthey will get good bus services,” the Minister said. Some of the new routes tobe included are Kolkata to Purnia, Howrah to Patna and Muzzafarnagar, Malda toSultanganj, and Kolkata to Biharsharif, Gaya, Sasaram, and Aurangabad, Mr.Mitra said.

Mr Mitra also informed that the statetransport department will rent out helicopters. The department will charge Rs 2lakh for an hour as rent. Industrialists will be befitted by this service, MrMitra said.  The transport departmentwill hire the helicopters from a private organisation.

New buses for city commuters

West Bengal State Transport Department isplanning to introduce more than 150 air-conditioned buses in the city by July,with the first lot of 41 hitting the streets by the end of this month.

By the end of June, 22 more such buses willbe added to the fleet. All 63 AC buses to be rolled out in the first two phasesare manufactured by Volvo. Ninety more low-floor and semi-low floor AC buses,some of them manufactured by other companies, too, will join the fleet in July.

The existing AC bus fleet in the city is 92strong. Sixty of them are Volvos.

The state government will be introducingthe air-conditioned buses from May. Over a period of six months, the governmentwill deploy more than 230 AC buses in Kolkata, Transport Minister Madan Mitrasaid.

The buses, priced around Rs 1.1 crore each,will ply along old routes as well as a few new ones within the city and itsadjoining areas. In keeping with the demand, the transport department has drawnup some new routes for the AC buses – such as Nabanna-New Town, Parnasree-NewTown, Garia-Airport and Golf Green-Dakshineswar.

Buses at a glance

Present AC fleet: 92 buses

Current Volvo strength: 60

Number of AC buses to be added by July:About 150

Total AC buses to be introduced in Calcuttain another six months: 234

AC bus fare: Between Rs 15-Rs 75

New routes for AC buses: 7

 

A new anti humantrafficking task force is being set up by the State Government to stoptrafficking of girls and rehabilitate the survivors. Christened as `3R`, thetask force will consist of police and CID officials, representatives from theBangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata.

The West BengalGovernment has already taken a series of steps to combat human trafficking.From extensive campaigns to immediate administrative actions, what is needed isbeing done effectively.

Magnitude oftrafficking

• West Bengal accountsfor 86.0% (49 cases out of 57 cases) of the total cases of Selling of Girlsfor Prostitution and
• 17.2% (41 cases out of237 cases) of the total cases of `procuration of minor Girls for Prostitution`NCRB 2009)

Integrated Responseof the State Government to Combat Trafficking

A number of steps havebeen taken by the Government to combat trafficking of women. The Stategovernment has already recruited village volunteer forces.CID has also formed aspecial cell to combat trafficking.

Rehabilitation throughUjjwala – two homes has beensanctioned under the Rehabilitation component, one at 24 Parganas (S) and theother at Jalpaiguri. Rehabilitation work is going on through vocationaltraining like tailoring, computer training, sholawork, beautician course etc.

The West Bengal Cabinet met earlier todaywhere several pending investment proposals were cleared. Dr Amit Mitra, theMinister for Finance and Commerce and Industry, held a press conference afterthe meeting and informed the press about the projects that have been cleared.

The Gems & Jewellery Park in Ankurhati,Domjur has already received 32 applications from investors, out of which 5 havealready been cleared, the Industry Minister said. 25,000 sq feet modules ofland have already been allotted for the project. The 32 applications wouldrequire another 1. 25 lakh sq feet space in the said park.  A new tower will be set up to meet the futuredemands.

The biggest investment cleared today was forVidyasagar Industrial Park in Kharagpur, where Biyani Group will invest Rs 500 crore.15,000 people will be employed in this food processing unit in the first phase.Around 1.5 lakh farmers will be benefitted by the Mega Food Park at Kharagpur.Around 25 companies will be a part of this food park.

The Food Parks in phase II and III havealso received 14 investment applications. Sugar & Spice has been allottedspace in Food Park III at Sankrail and will provide employment to at least 500people. The Rishi Bankim Industrial Park in Naihati has received a proposal foranimal feed.

Due to the two and a half month long LokSabha elections and Model Code of Conduct, the administrative decisions werepending. This is the first time the Cabinet met after Model Code of Conductlapsed.

On the eve of the third anniversary of Trinamool coming topower, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee thanked the people Bengalfor reposing their faith on Trinamool in the recently-concluded Lok Sabhaelection.

She posted on her Facebook page: “On the momentous occasionof completion of three years in office tomorrow, we express our deep gratitudeto `Maa, Maati, Manush` of Bengal for giving us their overwhelming mandate toserve them.”

She said that history has repeated itself. “Once again, thepeople of Bengal have reposed their trust and confidence on us through theirhuge mandate in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election. We are grateful tothem.” She wrote that to mark the occasion, the state government willconfer the state`s highest civilian awards – Bangabibhusan and Bangabhusan– to 33 individuals for outstanding contribution in their respective fields.