Centre not sending 100 Days’ Work funds on time: Mamata Banerjee

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Assembly recently that the Centre is not giving the money to the State Government for paying the workers under the 100 Days’ Work Scheme on time.

She said that Bangla is the best in 100 Days’ Work, rural road construction and housing for the poor. She said that the Irrigation, Forest, Environment and Fisheries Departments are providing a lot of work in this regard. Three lakh ponds have been dug.

Suggestions of Mamata Banerjee to the Centre:

· If workers under 100 Days’ Work are employed for planting trees, it would increase their incomes
· Those working in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme should also be brought under 100 Days’ Work

State Govt introduces luxury houseboat for corporate events

The State Tourism Department has introduced a luxury houseboat for hosting corporate events while floating on the Hooghly. Apart from business meetings, the houseboat is also ideal for hosting birthday parties or similar social functions that do not involve a very large gathering of people.

The houseboat has a capacity for 30 people, and has facilities like a conference hall and a dining space for providing corporates a unique experience. West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDCL) will be managing the whole operation.

A senior official of WBTDCL said that the Government is giving special emphasis on river cruising in an effort to boost the waterway sector.

The official added that the booking tariff is Rs 5,000 per hour with the minimum chartering duration being three hours. In the beginning, there will be a discount of 15 per cent except on weekends and national holidays.

The reporting place for availing the houseboat is the Babughat jetty while the place for booking the same is the booking office located at the Tourism Centre in BBD Bagh. WBTDCL will soon introduce online booking facility.

Besides the houseboat for corporates, WBTDCL also operates a vessel for conventional cruises called Sumangal. It can also be booked at and boarded from the same spots. Sumangal can carry 80 people, and the cost per person and minimum chartering duration are the same as that of the houseboat. Sumangal has an additional facility in the form of a kitchen, the charge for which is Rs 1,000.

The official said that WBTDCL will soon go for a massive publicity campaign about the houseboat as well as their conventional cruise, Sumangal.

Slums in Kolkata to be developed as model slums

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to gradually improve the infrastructure of all the slums within its jurisdiction to transform them into model slums.

Till now, only selected slums were being developed as model slums. But now it has been decided to encompass all the slums in Kolkata under the scheme.

The first slum developed as a model slum was Hatgachia-1 in Ward 58, the work for which started in 2015. The work for redeveloping several more slums has started.

Since the areas and geography of slums are not uniform, the development would take place according to the conditions available.

In the current phase, 20 slums in the northern part of the city have been selected – 15 in Ward 3 (Belgachhia) and five in Ward 32 (Maniktala). Rs 1 crore has been allotted for each slum.

Among the aspects to be given stress are toilets, sewerage system (drains), drinking water, roads and pavements (using paver blocks) and lighting system (using LED lights). Gardens would be created to beautify the slums.

Bangla Govt celebrates anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic Chicago speech

Today, September 11, marks the 126th anniversary of the famous address by Swami Vivekananda at the World Parliament of Religions, held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1893. This address set the tone for the worldwide fame of Swami Vivekananda and the spreading of Vedanta philosophy across the world.

The Bangla Government is organising programmes to mark this historic day, in association with the Ramakrishna Mission. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be leading the celebrations.

Various programmes including seminars in public halls and schools would be held to uphold the ideals of Swami Vivekananda, which are relevant for all times.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE HISTORIC SPEECH DELIVERED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1893, AS WELL AS THE FIVE OTHER SPEECHES DELIVERED AT THE PARLIAMENT OVER THE COURSE OF 16 DAYS

Green City Mission: Smart LED street lamps being installed in municipalities

The State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department has started installing power-saving LED streetlights in municipalities across the State as part of the Government’s Green City Mission. The Department has tied up with a reputed private company to instal the streetlights.

As a first step, the Minister in charge recently announced that around one lakh LED streetlights will be installed in the areas under Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. He said that this was another milestone towards achieving an energy-efficient State.

Approximately 60,000 LED lights are being installed in Bankura, Beldanga, Budge Budge, Khardah and Durgapur.

The lights will reduce carbon emissions by 8,500 metric tonnes and will save 12.2 million units of electricity annually. Citizens will also get better service as the maintenance will be through centralised control and monitoring system (CCMS) technology, which will be provided by the private vendor.

Source: Millennium Post

 

Sundarini Naturals’ organic sweets to become widely available through franchises

For the last few months, the State Government’s brand, Sundarini Naturals, has been selling organic sweets in Kolkata. The sweets have started earning a name for themselves for their taste and quality.

Being organic, that is, free from chemicals, the cost of manufacturing and consequently, the prices of the sweets are a little more but they are definitely worth the while.

To make these sweets widely available, the Government has decided to adopt the franchise model. Advertisements have been placed in newspapers, asking interested parties to become franchisees.

The franchisee model would also open up an avenue for people to set up their own businesses, selling first-rate products. Initially, permission for five more stores in Kolkata would be given – at Haltu, Diamond Park, Muchipara, Lake Market and Santoshpur.

The brand is owned by Sundarban Cooperative Milk and Livestock Producers’ Limited (SCMLPL), which is an initiative of State Animal Resources Development Department.

A speciality of the cooperative society is that it is run by women, and all of them are poor villagers from the Sundarbans region. The setting up of the brand, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has enabled them to become self-sufficient. Packaged milk, ghee, honey, rice, sona moong dal, eggs, paneer and several other products are sold under the brand name.

It is worthwhile to mention that on June 1, 2018, on the occasion of World Milk Day, Sundarini Naturals was awarded by the National Dairy Development Board for its superior quality of dairy products.

Source: Ei Samay

 

State Govt to issue digital ration cards from Sep 9 to 27

The Food and Supplies Department has taken up a special programme for issuing, replacing and updating digital ration cards. An advertisement has been issued in this regard.

The programme will run from September 9 to 27. The digital ration cards will be issued from 10.30am to 5pm, except Sundays and public holidays, from the local BDO, municipality and borough offices.

The advertisement has requested all the people who have not yet enlisted themselves under the Khadya Sathi Scheme to come to the designated offices and get their digital ration cards.

 

State Govt gives traditional treatment methods a fillip

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is creating more avenues for traditional methods of treatment to contribute towards health care delivery. The State Government has taken several more initiatives recently in this regard.

Hospitals and courses

A yoga and naturopathy degree college and hospital will be set up in Belur in Howrah district at an estimated cost of Rs 67 crore. It will have 100 beds with an annual intake capacity of 60 students.

A 50-bedded integrated AYUSH hospital is under construction in Medinipur town. It will become functional in this financial year.

The State Government has also given consent to provide 10 acres in the premises of Kalyani TB Sanatorium for a Central Research Institute on Yoga and Naturopathy at Kalyani in Nadia.

Pathological and biochemical tests are now being done free of cost at Viswanath Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya and Hospital in collaboration with private laboratories.

Two new postgraduate courses have been started, each with six seats – ‘Practice of Medicine’ at Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital and ‘Materia Medica’ at Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital.

Benefits

The Trinamool Congress Government has laid enormous stress on the development of infrastructure in the AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, homoeopathy) sector. The AYUSH method of treatment is also cost-effective.

The Government created the AYUSH Branch under the Health and Family Welfare Department. Many AYUSH hospitals have also been constructed in different parts of the State.

Special cell and helplines for backward communities launched by State Govt

The State Backward Classes Welfare (BCW) Department recently launched several initiatives for the redressal of grievances of the people belonging to the backward communities of the State.

A special cell was launched, along with two helplines – a toll-free number and a number for WhatsApp and text messaging. The toll-free number is 1800 5727 730, while the number for text messaging and WhatsApp is 85829 56555.

This measure was adopted in light of the directives provided to the department by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure that the SC, ST, tribal and other backward class communities do not encounter any harassment in attaining their caste certificates.

At a meeting on July 2, 2019 with the Chief Minister and all 84 SC and ST MLAs, irrespective of their political affiliation, the State Assembly had instructed the concerned officials to expedite the process of disbursement of SC/ST certificates, since backward class communities require them for admission into schools and universities as well as for jobs in reserved posts in both the State and Central Government.

The BCW Department has delivered more than 90,000 caste certificates to beneficiaries in recent weeks, via camps across districts. Another 40,000 would be given away soon. The BCW Department has formed a committee comprising 23 senior officials to expedite clearance of the applications.

New fleets of electric, CNG buses flagged off

Twenty electric buses and 20 CNG buses were flagged off recently by the State Transport Minister from Paribahan Bhawan in Kolkata.

Both electric and CNG buses are environment-friendly and hence are being introduced by the government to curb the level of pollution in the State. Several such buses are already running in the State. In February, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had inaugurated 20 electric buses.

While the electric buses will be run by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), the CNG buses will be run by South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC).

Each of the electric buses is 12 metres in length. They are more spacious and have more number of seats. While the electric buses will run in and around Kolkata, the CNG buses will be plying in and around the Durgapur-Asansol zone.

It may be mentioned that the State Transport Department has planned to operate CNG buses all over the State, which will be done in phases.

During the inauguration programme, the Transport Minister said that the State Government will be purchasing 150 more electric buses. Of the 150 e-buses, 25 each will be rolled out in Asansol and Siliguri and 50 each will be rolled out in Haldia and the New Town-Rajarhat zone.

Sources: Millennium Post, The Statesman