State Govt brings relief to passengers, asks app cabs to limit surge fares

State Govt brings relief to passengers, asks app cabs to limit surge fares

Posted on July 6, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Listening to the voice of the people, the Trinamool Congress Government has taken a decision to limit the amount by which app cabs can increase their fares during periods of high demand.

Surge fares, as it is called, can only go up to a level of 45 per cent of the base, or minimum, fares. This will apply for all app cab companies. Usually, the fares go up when the demand for cabs is more and the supply is less.

This and other crucial decisions were made after a meeting between the State Transport Minister and representatives of app cab companies on July 4.

The basic fares of the app cab services have to be announced so that the Transport Department is aware of them and people also come to know the base fare that they have to pay to avail the cabs. The app cab operators have to give a report containing details of the fare slabs to the Transport Department.

There will be no surge pricing during office hours on weekdays, hence higher fares cannot be charged for the 12 hours from 8am to 8pm.

Another decision made was that a portion of the surge fare has to be given to drivers. There will also be a review meeting after every three months.

Earlier, the app cab operators had been directed by the Transport Department to take a certain measures to ensure the safety and security of passengers.

Source: Millennium Post

Cooperatives to offer interest subsidy for long-term loans to farmers

Posted on July 5, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government has decided to give interest subsidy for long-term loans to farmers from cooperatives.

This was a recent suggestion of the State Level Monitoring Committee for Cooperative Sector, a high-powered committee set up last January to look into the matter of extending banking facilities to more rural areas and into other areas to improve the cooperative sector.

Interest subsidy for short-term loans is already being extended to farmers. Now the same would be given for long-term loans. It will ensure further development of the State in the agriculture sector.

The Trinamool Congress Government has given a new lease of life to the State’s agriculture sector. Decisions like waiving tax on agricultural land and helping farmers with modern tools, and many others, have ensured an increase in the yield of numerous crops, helping the State bag the Central Government’s Krishi Karman Award for five consecutive years.

For the welfare of farmers, old-age pension – to those above 60 years – is being given. The number of recipients was recently decided to be increased, as well as the amount – from 69,000 to 1 lakh, and from Rs 650 to Rs 750 per month to Rs 1,000, respectively.

Source: Millennium Post

Two leopards to arrive at Bengal Safari Park

Posted on July 3, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Bengal Safari Park near Siliguri, a popular tourist destination, is going to get two more guests – two leopards, lovingly named Sachin and Sourav. A leopard safari is beginning from the end of June at Bengal Safari Park.

The leopards will be brought from Khayerbari Tiger Rehabilitation Centre, which was set up in 2005 for rehabilitating royal Bengal tigers rescued from circuses. The two leopards were caught at Santali Tea Garden in Kalchini block five years ago. An area of 20 acres has been fenced for them.

Bengal Safari Park is full of animals of various kinds – tigers, black bears, deer, elephants, rhinoceroses, etc. – as well as birds of many species, the latter especially during the winter. It is gradually become one of the best tourist attractions in north Bengal.

Source: Aajkaal

Bengal Govt plans overhaul of unique Patuli floating market

Posted on June 29, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Government agency, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has decided to overhaul the unique floating market in Patuli, adjacent to EM Bypass. A series of changes will be brought about to make the place more accessible. The market has 228 sellers sitting on 114 boats.

The market, the first of its kind in the country, similar to the floating market at Bangkok in Thailand, had started functioning in January this year.

For electricity supply, environment-friendly solar power will be taken recourse to. Solar panels will be installed. The number and arrangements of the lights will be increased too.

Sheds will be constructed for the benefit of the buyers during the monsoon season.

On the request of shoppers, the four zones – for fish, for chicken, mutton and eggs, for vegetables, fruits and flowers, and for grocery and miscellaneous items – will be rearranged so as to place the vegetable and fish zones side-by-side.

The wooden ramps set up on a platform made of sal wood, on which people travel over the surface of the water for shopping in the market, are being repaired with the onset of monsoon.

A toilet will be constructed in an area adjacent to the floating market.

A food court will be constructed on the premises of the floating market, where tea and a variety of snacks will be served at a reasonable price. The market, particularly in the evening, has also already turned into a popular adda zone for the local people.

The seating arrangement in and around the waterbody will also be enhanced, so that people can come and spend time there comfortably.

Two more fountains will be set up in the waterbody.

A waterbody located on the southern side of the floating market will be beautified too.

The Technical Appraisal Committee of KMDA is considering in detail all the proposals. As soon as it finishes that, the construction work will begin.

Source: Millennium Post

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Electronics manufacturing in Bengal to see a lot of change soon

Posted on June 28, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Electronics manufacturing in Bengal is going to see a lot of changes soon. According to the State Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) Minister, the Government is putting a lot of stress on this sector as there is a huge employment potential, with the emergence of automated vehicle, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) across the globe.

The State is fully prepared to take a lead in this sector in the country. The Government is coming up with two electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC) in Kalyani and Falta. They will be ready within a year.

A 107-acre hardware park is already complete in Sonarpur. It has plug-and-play infrastructure with uninterrupted power supply, round-the-clock potable filtered water and top-class drainage and water supply systems.

Also, there are 12 existing IT parks across the State and the third floor in each of these parks is earmarked for electronics.

The IT Minister gave the above information while speaking at a knowledge-sharing workshop on ‘Embedded Technology’ at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre on June 15.

Source: Millennium Post

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Primary Agri Cooperative Societies to be upgraded by Bengal Govt

Posted on June 28, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The around 2,600 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), which are the main deposit mobilising institutions in rural areas, are being upgraded by the State Government by computerising them and connecting them to core banking solution of cooperative banks.

This is meant to further extend banking service to the rural populace in the State, to places which lack proper banks. Thus a PACS would become a customer service point for banking facilities.

The work to upgrade 1,133 PACS to banks has already been initiated. The target for completing the upgrading of all the PACS has been set as the end of financial year 2019-20. Upgrading all PACS would ensure that people in every part of the State can avail banking facilities.

The State Level Monitoring Committee for Cooperative Sector, a high-powered committee set up last January to look into the matter of extending banking facilities to more rural areas, has suggested the above as well as a series of other measures to improve the cooperative sector, which have been accepted by the Bengal Government.

It has recommended that district and state cooperative banks open bank branches in the gram panchayats with no banking facilities. Steps have already been taken to install micro-ATMs in all the PACSs.

The panel has proposed the establishment of 2,000 farm machinery hubs through the best-performing PACS. This has also been accepted by the Government. During 2018-19, 1,000 such hubs will be established; the remaining will be taken up during the 2019-20 fiscal.

Citing the current practice of giving interest subsidy to farmers for short-term crop loans from cooperatives, the committee has suggested that the same facility should be provided for long-term loans as well.

The State Government has also decided to give ad hoc grant to all employees of cooperatives and the amount of the grant is to be raised from Rs 1,000 per to Rs 2,000 per month.

The cooperative employees will also be brought under the Swasthya Sathi scheme of the State Government.

The State Government has also taken necessary steps so that the audit of all cooperative bodies is carried out and corrective measures, if needed, are taken immediately.

Source: Millennium Post

Fairground of international-standard coming up at Milan Mela complex

Posted on June 27, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Last year, the Bengal Government had decided to construct a new permanent fairground at Milan Mela. Now the architect has been decided, and what would come up is a trade fair ground of international standards. The new Milan Mela will come up in two years.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress Government’s concerted efforts over the last few years are gradually turning Kolkata into a favoured destination for many international trade fairs, conferences and tournaments.

The redesigned fairground will have two massive exhibition halls that will together offer 200,000 sq ft space. They will be separated by an area equipped with an auditorium, will be a global cuisine hub.

Covering the walls of the exhibition halls will be an exo-skin architectural membrane on which will be displayed audio-visual content, including films, 3D projections and illumination graphics. This will be a first in the country.

The exhibition halls will be designed in such a way that the crowd would get evenly distributed, without giving a choking feeling. The design has been prepared keeping in mind that at any given point, the maximum gathering could go up to 2.5 lakh.

A road cutting across the fairground will drop off visitors inside and then end at a multi-level parking space.

The centrepiece of the project, however, will be the Biswa Bangla tower. It will be an illuminated smart clock tower capped with a dome. There will be a trade museum underneath it that will tell the history of Bengal’s trade.

Source: The Times of India

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Bengal Govt to provide year-round training to farmers

Posted on June 26, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The State Agriculture Department has initiated steps to ensure round-the-year training programmes for farmers at Mati Tirtha, located in the district of Purba Bardhaman.

The requirement for year-round training was felt to ensure that farmers keep getting regular updates on agricultural activities, including on the latest techniques, and are able to implement the same.

A team of senior officials from the Agriculture Department had visited Mati Tirtha on June 13 and prepared a detailed report on the sort of infrastructure required for round-the-year training of farmers.

Mati Tirtha is the permanent venue of Mati Utsav that takes place in January every year where, among other activities, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee felicitates successful farmers from different parts of the State.

Source: Millennium Post

Bengal Govt to upgrade sub-health centres, recruit more than 5,000 nurses

Posted on June 24, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government has decided to substantially upgrade the 10,357 sub-health centres in the state. Each sub-health centre will be turned into a ‘Health and Wellness Centre’, where staff nurses will be on duty along with doctors. Hence, 5,250 staff nurses will be recruited for the project.

As many as 12 health facilities, including ENT, dental, eye, ante- and post-natal treatments, and treatment of communicable diseases will become possible once the sub-health centres get upgraded.

It may be mentioned that under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Health Minister, the State-run hospitals have improved immensely; the infrastructure has been developed manifold to ensure better service to the people.

Source: Millennium Post

Bengal Govt takes initiative to supply natural gas through pipelines

Posted on June 24, 2018 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Bengal Government has taken an initiative to supply natural gas through pipelines, through a joint venture between Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corporation (GCGSC) and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

The joint venture between GCGSC, which is a State Government-owned company and GAIL will be in the ratio of 74 is to 26. The total investment for the project will be Rs 6,000 crore, with an initial investment of Rs 144 crore.

The project will ensure supply of natural gas through pipelines to households, hospitals and small industries in the area under Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The whole of the area under KMDA would be covered in phases, within a period of two to five years

Through this project, there will be easy supply of gas and that too at the right price. It will also help in reducing pollution, as small industries where coal is still used as fuel, will be using natural gas.

Source: Millennium Post