Tag: AITC

Making Kolkata clean and green – KMC forms a new department

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Making Kolkata clean and green – KMC forms a new department

For a more integrated approach towards turning Kolkata into a clean and green city and at the same time, to reduce the level of air pollution, the three Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) departments of Urban Forestry, Project Management Unit (PMU) and Parks & Gardens have been brought under a single umbrella.

While announcing this decision, the mayor of KMC reasoned that since the PMU’s work is mostly related to waterbodies, which in turn is linked to green issues, it makes perfect sense to link it with the other two. The civic body is taking a slew of measures for a clean and green Kolkata, and the merger of the three sections will speed up work in this regard.

In a related development, the mayor has held meetings with the Railways and the Kolkata Port Trust, which are custodians of substantial amounts of land in the city, to allow the KMC to take up plantations in vacant plots (which they would not put to use for any commercial purpose) under their ownership.

There is vacant land in areas like Majerhat that is owned by the Railways, and in Kidderpore and the Nimtala riverside area in north Kolkata, under the KoPT.

The KMC will take the opinions of experts to ensure planned and scientific plantation.

Source: Millennium Post

 

Sundarini Naturals to open outlets for organic sweet

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Sundarini Naturals to open outlets for organic sweet

Sundarini Naturals, a food brand of the State Government’s Sundarban Cooperative Milk and Livestock Producers’ Union Ltd (SCMLPL), is going for further product diversification. It will soon come up with organic sweets, to be sold at two exclusive outlets it is setting up in Kolkata – at Kankurgachi and Maniktala.

The cooperative organisation was set up with the blessing of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2015 to give women of the Sundarbans an opportunity for an honest livelihood. In fact, the name ‘Sundarini Naturals’ itself was given by the Chief Minister.

Starting from milk and dairy products, the brand diversified into sweets, aromatic rice and pulses. And now it is the turn of organic sweets.

The two stores are planned to be inaugurated between January 26 and 28. They are being set up in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. App-based delivery to households from these two stores will also be introduced soon after.

According to a senior official of SCMLPL, depending on the demand for such sweets, more such ventures under PPP mode will be started.

The special attraction at the first two outlets will be the ‘fruit delite’ and ‘orange Bangla’ varieties of sweets, that will be priced at around Rs 25 to 30 per piece. The other attractions will be rosogolla, gulab jamun, rajbhog, roshomalai and sandesh varieties like golappatti, barfi and kalakand, priced Rs 12 upwards.

Source: Millennium Post

 

Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar speaks on The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar speaks on The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you, Honourable Madam. I stand here to participate in the discussion on ‘The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016’. At the very outset, I would like to congratulate the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, for already having formed a board for the welfare of transgenders three years back, which is the call of the day. I think the Central Government and all other States should follow this to look after transgenders.

Now, I think that this is a very hastily drafted Bill, and the different clauses mentioned are totally inconclusive. We have to first define what ‘transgender’ means. Here it is written that a transgender person is one who is neither wholly female, neither wholly male, or a combination of female or male, neither female nor male. On this earth, as far as medical science is concerned, there can be no being that is neither a female nor a male. A person’s external sexuality, that is, the phenotype, determined by the internal sexuality, that is, the genotype, which is the combination of the genes; either it is XX or it is XY. A person who is XY is a male while a person who is XX is a female. But sometimes there are three X chromosomes, which person is known as ‘super-female’ or there is a combination of these. So then they are known as true hermaphrodite or false hermaphrodite.

But a transgender is not always a hermaphrodite. A transgender is a person who has the internal genetic code made up in such a way that the sexuality granted to the child after birth is not aligned to his or her mental capability, and gender dysphoria is a kind of distress such a person goes through. This can lead to distress related to eating disorder, suicide, depression, anxiety and social isolation.

None of these are mentioned in the copy of the draft that we have here. This is a hastily drafted Bill. I don’t know who has done it. Doctors are still grappling with it. The American Psychiatric Association, only as late as 2013, has defined this disease, and in this disease, when a person has no discrimination between genotype and phenotype, that is, between the internal and external manifestation of the chromosome, still might feel, being a female, that I am more comfortable being a male – that is an actual transgender, which is not mentioned in the Bill. The Bill is totally null and void in this respect.

A lawmaker’s actual duty is to look at the justice meted out to every kind of human being, as is given by Article 14 of the Constitution of India. We are indebted to the Honourable Supreme Court by the verdict given on April 15, 2014 in which various steps have been directed to be taken by the governments of the States and at the Centre for the welfare of transgenders.

So this Bill does not cater to those provisions. The American Psychiatric Association has described in detail the clauses that have to be brought into Bill in order to make it into welfare Bill for the actual transgenders. As far as their educational help is concerned, there should be a third column during admission – that is, male, female or third gender. They should be given reservation in jobs. Since they feel differently, and so might dress differently, the provision must be there. The social milieu must be such that society is compassionate to their diseased condition. This condition takes place because of their testosterone dysfunction.

So it appears, Honourable Madam, that this Bill has been very hastily drafted, and the opinion of specialists has not been taken, because it says that even after a person has been identified, they have to go to the municipality and then take a certificate from the municipal doctor. When the American Psychiatric Association has only described this in 2013, how will the municipal doctor be informed of the latest disease? We don’t take a transgender person as an abnormality any more, this is just a diseased condition. The disease has to be studied. So, a specialist board has to be formed and the person has to be certified through that specialist board whose members should be duly qualified.

It appears that while drafting the different clauses of the Bill, proper attention was not given. So this Bill has to be recalled and a properly drafted Bill has to be tabled.

Thank you, Madam.

Bangla Govt to implement pilot project on battery energy storage system

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Bangla Govt to implement pilot project on battery energy storage system

The Bengal Government, through the Power Department, is going to implement battery energy storage systems (BESS) on a pilot basis.

A battery energy storage system is a system which stores energy through the use of a battery technology with a purpose of using it in future.

The project has been structured into two phases, with a total duration of three years. The project would be implemented in association with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Phase I would constitute the research work leading to the development of guidelines in this regard. Phase II would facilitate integration of a BESS as a pilot installation at the distribution level and assist the power distribution utility in the implementation of the pilot project.

Source: Millennium Post

 

School students will receive diaries for better evaluation of work

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on School students will receive diaries for better evaluation of work

The State Government has decided that every school student (in government schools), from the next academic year, will receive school diaries.

In these diaries, the students will note down whatever work has been given to them by their teachers as well as the work done by them. Results of class exams will also be noted down in the diary, by the teacher concerned

All students from classes I to XII will each received a diary. These diaries will enable guardians as well principals to keep a tab on the quality and quantity of work done, both by the students and the teachers. Thus a proper year-round evaluation can be carried out in every school.

School inspectors can also take a look at the diaries during their evaluations of schools.

Source: Aajkaal

Fish production on the rise in Bangla

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Fish production on the rise in Bangla

While answering a question on fish production in the Assembly on November 22, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the overall production in the State was 17.42 lakh metric tonnes last year.

The State Fisheries Department has also prepared a roadmap for increasing the production of fishes in the next couple of years. A committee comprising seven to eight departments has been set up for the purpose. The plan is to make Bengal self-sufficient in fish production.

Under the Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Scheme, 2.5 lakh ponds have been dug to encourage pisciculture. Further, she said, initiatives have been taken to produce big fish, which take two years to grow, in 700 ponds. Unused waterbodies are being utilised for pisciculture.

A pisciculture research centre has been set up for further development of the sector. Initiatives have also been taken for production of hilsa in the state itself, she added.

Source: Millennium Post

We want everyone in our State to be happy, this is the world of Maa-Mati-Manush: Bangla CM in Bajkul

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on We want everyone in our State to be happy, this is the world of Maa-Mati-Manush: Bangla CM in Bajkul

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present today at a public function at Bajkul in Purba Medinipur district. She inaugurated a number of projects and laid the foundation stones of many more. She told the residents of the newly-created district that the State Government is committed to the development of the district.

Salient points of her speech:

  • I am extending my welcome to all of you to this public meeting
  • We want, along with boys, girls too to rise up in society
  • Medinipur is the birthplace of stalwarts like Vidyasagar, Matangini Hazra and Khudiram; this region carries a lot of historic legacy.
  • I have never forgotten the infamous incidents that took place in Medinipur, Heria, Patashpur, Egra and Panskura. We have not forgotten how our party’s worker, Sujata was tortured and killed in Khejuri. I was detained in Chandipur, where people were waiting with acid bulbs. My car was blocked with bamboo poles in Kolaghat, and sweared at – I have been tortured in various ways.
  • If anyone tries to scare me, I roar back. I love to protest. Once the governor (Gopal Gandhi) sent me a message through an intermediary that I would be killed, still I went to Kolaghat. IMy way was blocked all through the night. I was tried to be prevented with all their strength from reaching Nandigram, but I still went there. We couldn’t save many people. Many were killed and their bodies floated down the Haldi river. Many were never heard from again.
  • We will never forget the incident of Netai, where seven people were shot dead one after the other, and then women were forced into slavery. In Chhoto Angaria and Benepukur, people were killed and their bodies buried inside walls. Many people still don’t know about these. But the people of Bangla will never forget these incidents.
  • A six-month-old child was snatched from the father, a person’s hand was hacked off at Kandua in Amta, our party workers’ eyes were gouged out in Daspur because they had painted posters. They burned alive 19 Ananda Margis on Bijon Setu. In Jangalmahal, every year, 400 people used to be killed.
  • We have rescued the people of Bangla from the hands of the harmads of CPI(M). These harmads have now shamelessly joined the BJP.
  • Of which party is he a leader, the one who lead the murder spree in Nandigram? I don’t want to spell out the name. There is no place for harmads in the Trinamool Congress. When people used to be carried away by floods in villages in Kapaleswar and Keleghai, where were these leaders? They just know how to talk big.
  • Now a university named after Mahatma Gandhi is coming up in Tamluk and a medical college has already come up. A lot of developments have happened in Digha – international convention centre, Biswa Bangla Park, roads, polytechnic college, ITI, multi-superspeciality hospital, food processing centre. A drinking water project is coming up at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore. A power plant has come up in Kolaghat.
  • The Centre is denying the implementation of the Ghatal Master Plan for a long time. If the plan is implemented, flooding would largely be reduced.
  • A 120-bed hospital has come up in Contai.
  • When I was railway minister, I ensured completion of the Digha-Contai railway line in nine months. Today the people of Bajkul are going on that route regularly.
  • I had planned a line till Nandigram, but the Centre us delaying. If we come to power at the Centre, we will ensure completion.
  • About 20 Karmatirthas have come up, seven more are in the offing.
  • Seven Kisan Mandis have come up, cold storages too. Fish cultivation in the village of Moyna has been accepted as a model for Bangla.
  • We give free-of-cost chickens, ducks and goats to the poor. We want to set up big duck farms like chicken farms. Those interested please contact your respective BDPOs and gram panchayats.
  • Kanyashree beneficiaries earlier used to get Rs 750 per year, now it is Rs 1,000. If they remain unmarried till the age of 18, they get an additional one-time grant of Rs 25,000.
  • Under the K3 level, Kanyashree-enrolled girls, if pursuing postgraduation, get Rs 2,000 per months for arts streams and Rs 2,500 per month for science streams.
  • Already 50 lakh girls have enrolled under Kanyashree. This is set to increase by many times.
  • Under the Sikshashree Scheme, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students from classes V to VIII are getting scholarships; about 75 lakh get scholarships.
  • 1.7 crore students from minority communities are getting scholarships.
  • Kendu leaf-pickers have been brought under the Samajik Suraksha Scheme.
  • For every child born, the mother is being given a sapling. This will grow up along with the child. When fully grown, the tree will be worth Rs 2 lakh. The tree can then be sold to help the child with the money.
  • Under the Rupashree Scheme, those families with annual income of less than Rs 1.5 lakh will get a grant of Rs 25,000 for their daughters’ wedding.
  • Under Samajik Suraksha Scheme, unorganised workers are provided a pension of Rs 1,500 when they cross 60, Rs 6,000 is given for their children’s studies and a one-time grant of Rs 2 lakh is given. If someone dies a natural death before crossing 60, the family gets Rs 50,000 and for an unnatural death, the family gets Rs 10 lakh. Folk artistes who are beneficiaries under Lok Prasar Parkalpa also come under this scheme.
  • Under the Lok Prasar Prakalpa, a grant of Rs 1,000 per month is given. Then, their talents are used for advertising all government schemes.
  • Under Mabhoi Scheme, journalists are provided medical insurance and pension after retirement.
  • The retirement ages of contractual and casual workers, ICDS and ASHA workers, and civic volunteers have been increased to 60. They have also been included under the Swasthya Sathi medical insurance scheme.
  • Earlier, the Centre used to give 90 per cent of the salary of ICDS workers, now it gives 30 per cent. As a result, the State Government has to spend Rs 1,000 more per person per month. The salary of ASHA workers has also been raised by Rs 1,000, of civic volunteers by Rs 5,000 (3,000 to 8,0000). The salary of para-teachers and contractual teachers has also been increased.
  • The Pranimitras used to get Rs 400 per months under the Left Front Government, now they get Rs 1,500.
  • The people of our State buy rice at the rate of Rs 2 per kg, which is availed by almost 8 crore people.
  • Treatment id free in government hospitals. Under Swasthya Sathi, up to Rs 5 lakh is provided for treatment is private hospitals. Mid-day meals, and steel plates and glasses are given to children. Under the ICDS, mothers are given treatment for free.
  • As soon a woman gets pregnant, she is allotted an additional Rs 6,000 for the next year.
  • Maternity leave of a total of 731 days is given, and paternity leave of one month.
  • If a poor person dies, Rs 2,000 is given to the family to conduct the last rites.
  • 1 crore students have been given bicycles as part of the Swasthya Scheme.
  • The people of Bangla are culture-minded, humanists, civilised.
  • Our government has waived off tax and mutation fee on agricultural land.
  • Be it flood or drought, I always stand by the people. We have helped 30 lakh people with a cumulative amount of Rs 1,200 crore.
  • We have set up custom hiring centres for farmers to take on lease agricultural equipments.
  • We are giving grants for farmers to cultivate potatoes.
  • Rice growers’ MSP has been increased from Rs 1,550 per quintal to Rs 1,750.
  • Earlier teachers didn’t get salaries on time, now they get on the 1st of every month.
  • We have provided vocational training to six lakh students, which increase to 12 lakh in the next two years.
  • We are recruiting teachers for providing education in different languages.
  • One lakh civic volunteers are being recruited.
  • Everyone was affected badly by demonetisation. Many people lost their jobs.
  • Many workers were chased away from Gujarat. We don’t do any such thing.
  • They are driving away Bengalis from Assam, Biharis from Gujarat. Names of 40 lakh voters have been deleted in Assam of whom 23 lakh are Bengalis.
  • Where was the BJP then? Now they are suddenly showing faux feelings for Hindus. Did the BJP teach how to do Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Eid? The Hindu religion has existed for thousands of years. So have the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita, Bible, Quran, Granth Sahib existed for many, many years.
  • The BJP is scaring people into submission by offering crores of rupees, and taking out Ravan Yatras all over the country. They are asking people about their religions, castes and gotras. Seems as if someone has given them the responsibility?
  • They are calling Hanumans as Dalits, murdering minorities, chasing away Hindus, torturing Christians.
  • A policeman who was the investigating officer of a case was murdered. We have sympathy for his family. People are being murdered through fake encounters.
  • The BJP leaders are each a dacoit leader, ordering people what to do from their perch of power in Delhi. They do not about Hinduism, nor about Islam or Christianity. Neither are they aware of humanism. They promote hatred in the name of religion.
  • Why did 12,000 farmers commit suicide in a BJP-ruled State? Why do they not respect people of all religions? Why do they kill people and instigate riots?
  • If I am attacked I react. We had led a struggle for 34 years. We have led many movements.
  • Let me tell those CPI(M) supporters who are joining the BJP, we will also defeat you politically. We not let harmads remain here. They are jealous of the fact that people are peacefully living here.
  • I am instructing all panchayat officials to ensure that everyone who is eligible gets rice at Rs 2 per kg and the benefits under all schemes.
  • We have built houses for 40 lakh poor people. We will build more in the coming days.
  • We have to repay to the Centre a debt of Rs 48,000 crore every year, by borrowing from others. Despite this, we are able to provide rice at Rs 2 per kilo, almost free treatment in government hospitals, houses for the poor. Almost 90 per cent of the population are part of one scheme of the other.
  • We want to continue with our good work. Many roads and bridges are being constructed in this district, because of which many more tourists will be able to come. We want to ensure that your children do not have to go out of here to find work by creating opportunities here. We are helping people in Mandarmani to set up homestays for tourists so that they can earn from their own homes.
  • We are trying our best. A rice godown is being built 10km from Bajkul. Hence, as you can see, a lot of work is being done. Do good work, and work together, let there be all-round development of this district.
  • Today, Kanyashrees of the State stop child marriages, protest against crimes, and do many other types of good work for society. Kanyashree clubs have been set up. I want them to be examples for the whole world because they will never bow their heads in fear, they will build society.
  • I want to tell the Sabooj Sathi beneficiaries that Bangla is the first State where scholarships have been instituted for the economically backward. All people get opportunities irrespective of religion. You have to love all religions equally.
  • A lot of industries are coming up in Bangla. A port is coming up in Tajpur, which will lead to further development of the district. Women have to progress more, they will have to have a greater role in building society. The society where women are backward can never progress.
  • Religion is one’s own, festivals are for all. Everyone has to keep this in mind. Those who are spreading hatred in the name of religion know neither Islam nor any other religion. They are finishing off the whole country, looting banks, killing farmers. They want to destroy society through riots. They don’t want to create good people, just brutes. We tell people to be good citizens. We want everyone in our State to be happy. Rural Bangla is our lifeblood. Even those who stay in towns and cities love the village life. Many of us have a connection to some village. This is the world of Maa-Mati-Manush, which has taught us to live happily.
  • I want to know from our Kanyashree girls – you will be world leaders, won’t you? You will have to become doctors; we have a shortage of doctors.
  • We all have to hold our heads high. No work is bad. Rather, those who don’t work become lazy and full of evil ideas. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. If we work, it is but natural for us to fall ill too, but overall work keeps us in a healthy state.
  • Stay well, keep your minds fresh. Jai Hind, Khuda Hafiz, Jai Johar.

Bangla no. 1 in preventing parent-to-child transmission of HIV: Mamata Banerjee

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on Bangla no. 1 in preventing parent-to-child transmission of HIV: Mamata Banerjee

Bangla has been adjudged the best State in the country in the prevention of parent-to-child transmission of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which leads to AIDS. On the occasion of World AIDS Day, Mamata Banerjee shared this piece of information on Twitter.

“I am happy to share with all of you that as per the assessment done by NACO for ‘Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV’ programme for 2017-18, Bangla has emerged No. 1 in the country,” the tweet read.

In her tweet, Mamata Banerjee has also said that, with the proper implementation of the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPCT) programme, the State Government has enabled 16.5 lakh pregnant women from Bangla in preventing the transmission of HIV to their newborn children.

It may be mentioned that for those adults and children found HIV positive, the Government provides free treatment through Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centres situated in sub-divisional, district and medical college hospitals.

‘Nocturnal house’ – New Year gift for Alipore Zoo visitors

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on ‘Nocturnal house’ – New Year gift for Alipore Zoo visitors

Come 2019 and the admirers of nocturnal animals are in for a treat at Alipore Zoo. Owls, rodents, porcupines, slow loris, hyena and several other kinds of nocturnal animals will be getting a new ‘nocturnal house’ of their own in January 2019.

As there are no separate enclosures for the nocturnal animals now, the varied collection of these animals have rarely been witnessed by visitors. Hence the decision to create the exclusive enclosure as a gift to the people of the state in the New Year. The State Forest Minister made this announcement recently.

Gubbay House, in the western flank of the zoo, which was till recently home to the monkey collection, is being redeveloped into the nocturnal house. The architecture and lighting is being crafted in a manner to create a night-like atmosphere during the day, so that the creatures remain perfectly at ease and at the same time, the people are also being able to see them properly.

According to a senior zoo official, some of the monkeys that were inside Gubbay House have been moved to zoos in Jhargram and Purulia while some have been moved to another shelter.

Source: Millennium Post

‘Eco fish tourism’ project coming up in Chandanpiri

Posted on | by aitc | Leave a Comment on ‘Eco fish tourism’ project coming up in Chandanpiri

The State Fisheries Development Corporation (SFDC) is setting up a tourism project in Chandanpiri, about 12 km from Namkhana in South 24 Parganas district. The place is located in the UNESCO-recognised natural heritage site of the Sundarbans.

The ‘eco fish tourism’ project, as it has been termed, is located at the estuary of the river Saptamukhi with the Bay of Bengal. It would be completed at the beginning of 2020. These information were provided by the Fisheries Minister. He said this project has been taken up after the success of the recently-developed resorts at Henry’s Island and Fraserganj.

There would be four cottages for tourists at the 5-hectare site. The 600 sq ft structures would be located above the water surface. Each would be able to accommodate two people.

The mangrove forests would provide for a wonderful experience for tourists. A jetty and roads to the site are being constructed. Cultivation of prawn, rohu, catla and mrigel would take place at the site, where tourists would be able to catch them free of cost.

The site would also have a 50-ft watchtower, from where beautiful unimpeded views of the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal can be had. Along with these would be a cafeteria, restaurant and children’s park.

From the resort, tourists would be taken to see tigers and, aboard launches, to the Bhagabatipur Crocodile Project.