Bengal Govt to open 50 tourist information centres across Bengal

To make information to tourists easily available, the Bengal Government has decided to open as many as 50 tourist information centres across the State.

Though aimed primarily at tourists from other parts of the country as well as from across the world, the information centres would cater to tourists from the State as well. All information related to a particular area would be available at each centre. These would be run by the Tourism Department.

These tourist centres would play a major role in making Bengal more tourist-friendly. As it is, it is one of the top States in terms of tourist arrivals, both nationally and internationally. This project would take Bengal significantly higher in the rankings.

Where to stay, what to do, what to eat, what to buy, what are the specialities of a particular place or area – information of every kind would be available at these centres. Guide books would be available in English, Hindi and Bengali. They would contain detailed information about the history, geography and culture of a place.

These centres are already running at the airports in Kolkata and Bagdogra. Soon they would come up in four other places in Kolkata (Kolkata and Sealdah railway stations, Rabindra Sadan and Madhusadan Mancha), Howrah and Santragachi railway stations, Kakdwip and Diamond Harbour railway stations (South 24 Parganas district), Murshidabad, Malda, Bankura, Birbhum district, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and other places to cover all the districts.

The information available at the centres would also help tourists to decide how and where to go next. All in all, the tourist information centres would act as one-stop centres for all tourists visiting Bengal.

Source: Sangbad Pratidin

Bengal Govt to operate small aircraft to improve regional connectivity

The State Transport Department, in collaboration with private airlines operators, has decided to operate small aircraft to increase regional connectivity.

The aircraft will be operated from Kolkata to Andal, Cooch Behar, Bagdogra, Malda and other small airports. Each aircraft will have seating capacity of 10 to 25 people. Among the airports, Bagdogra, Balurghat and Cooch Behar have been renovated by the government for operating small aircraft.

The State Government has also decided to spend Rs 300 crore for infrastructure development of Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal near Durgapur including better sewerage and drainage system, transport system as well as for providing better services to air passengers.

আঞ্চলিক যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থা আরও উন্নত করতে সরকার চালাবে ছোট বিমান

 

রাজ্য পরিবহণ দপ্তর সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে আঞ্চলিক যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থা আরও উন্নত করতে বেসরকারি বিমান সংস্থার সঙ্গে যৌথ উদ্যোগে সরকার চালাবে ছোট বিমান।

এই বিমান চলবে কলকাতা থেকে অন্ডাল, কোচবিহার, বাগডোগরা, বালুরঘাট, মালদা ও অন্যান্য ছোট বিমানবন্দরে। প্রতিটি বিমানে থাকবে ১০ থেকে ২৫ জনের বসার জায়গা। এই কারণে, বাগডোগরা, বালুরঘাট, কোচবিহার বিমানবন্দরগুলির সংস্কার করা হয়েছে।

রাজ্য সরকার সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে দুর্গাপুরের নিকটস্থ অন্ডাল বিমানবন্দরের পরিকাঠামোগত উন্নয়নের জন্য ৩০০ কোটি টাকা ব্যয় করবে।
Source: The Statesman

WB CM once again shows her humanistic side

En route to Bagdogra Airport from Darjeeling today, in Sonada in Darjeeling district, one of the cars in the Hon’ble President Pranab Mukherjee’s convoy, a convoy which included West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee, skidded off a hilly highway into a gorge. Six among the President’s security team were travelling in that car.

The Hon’ble President and the Chief Minister were thankfully unharmed.

The Chief Minister, ever the helping hand, immediately got into the act of overseeing the rescue operation. Wielding a mike, she walked around the accident site and passed about instructions to ensure a coordinated response to the accident. All the six people inside the car were rescued and taken to hospital. There were no serious injuries – a few cuts and bruises, and a fractured arm.

This incident has once again highlighted the humanistic side of Mamata Banerjee. She has time and again got into such selfless acts, of helping people needing attention, a recent incident being ensuring a man injured in an accident near the Akashvani Bhawan in Kolkata got proper medical attention.

 

আরও একবার মমতার মমতাময়ী রূপ

আজ দার্জিলিং থেকে বাগডোগরা বিমানবন্দর ফেরার সময়ে দুর্ঘটনার কবলে পড়ল রাষ্ট্রপতি প্রণব মুখোপাধ্যায়ের কনভয়ের এসকর্ট কার। পিছনেই ছিল মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের কনভয়। সোনাদার কাছে মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর গাড়ির ঠিক আগে থাকা একটি গাড়ি খাদে পড়ে যায়। এই ঘটনায় আহত হয়েছেন ওই গাড়িতে থাকা রাষ্ট্রপতির নিরাপত্তার দায়িত্বে থাকা ছয় নিরাপত্তাকর্মী।

সৌভাগ্যক্রমে রাষ্ট্রপতি ও মুখ্যমন্ত্রী অক্ষত রয়েছেন।

দুর্ঘটনার পর মুখ্যমন্ত্রী নিজেই গাড়ি থেকে নেমে সঙ্গে সঙ্গে উদ্ধারকাজের তদারকি করেন। একটি মাইক নিয়ে পুরো উদ্ধারকাজ পরিচালনা করেন এবং দুর্ঘটনাস্থল থেকে প্রয়োজনীয় নির্দেশ দেন উদ্ধারকারী দলকে। যে ছয়জন আহত হয়েছেন তাদের সকলকে উদ্ধার করা হয়েছে এবং সকলকে হাসপাতালে পাঠানো হয়েছে। কোনরকম গুরুতর আঘাতের খবর পাওয়া যায়নি।

এই ঘটনা আবারও মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের মানবিক দিককে তুলে ধরেছে। সাধারণ মানুষের জন্য তার উদ্বেগ চিন্তা ও সচেতনতা এই ঘটনা আরও একবার প্রমাণ করে দিল। কয়েকদিন আগেই কলকাতার আকাশবাণী ভবনের কাছে একটি দুর্ঘটনায় আহত ব্যক্তিকে তিনি এসএসকেএমে নিয়ে গিয়ে তার যথাযথ চিকিৎসা করান।

‘Biswa Bangla’ brand to be taken overseas

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said the ‘Biswa Bangla’ brand, under which all handloom and handicraft products of the state are being sold, would soon be taken overseas.

Stores selling products under the brand would be opened in London and China and talks are on in this regard, Ms Banerjee said after inaugurating a ‘Biswa Bangla’ store at Bagdogra airport near here.

This is the fifth ‘Biswa Bangla’ store. The first four had been opened in Kolkata – at the NSC Bose International Airport, Dumdum Domestic Airport, Dakshinapan shopping complex and Biswa Bangla Haat at Rajarhat.

These stalls would revive handloom and handicrafts industries of the state and those involved in these industries would be benefited, Banerjee said.

“Biswa Bangla has achieved success. Foreign and international tourists are buying its products from the stall in Kolkata airport,” she said.

Products like dress materials and readymade garments in traditional Bengali handloom, household items, food and sweets, Darjeeling tea, handicrafts from various districts of the state other items are being sold in these stores.

Earlier, these items were sold by various organisations under different brand names. The Mamata Banerjee government has brought them under a single umbrella organisation and brand name, ‘Biswa Bangla’.

WB CM inaugurates Biswa Bangla store at Bagdogra Airport

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the outlet of the Biswa Bangla chain of stores at Bagdogra Airport today.

The government-run chain of stores is the brainchild of West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee and has been set up by the Micro and Small-scale Enterprises and Textiles Department to showcase all handicrafts, handloom and other traditional and famous products of the State.

For the first time, all exclusive products of Bengal, from sweets to muslin saris, have been made available under one umbrella. The marketing strategy is different from the familiar Manjusha or Tantuja stores.

Products

Sweets: Rosogolla, nolen gurersandesh, langcha and mihidana are the popular picks here.

This and that:

  • Darjeeling tea, apparel, amsotto and kasundi (both from Maldah), jute bags and brass and silver jewellery are available.
  • Jute bags with an ‘I love Bengal’ logo on them have been specially designed for the store.
  • Indigo-dyed saris are being produced by weavers in Nadia’s Phulia. The hand spun and hand-woven yarn is dyed in indigo and then woven into Jamdani saris.
  • Khadi shirts for men, silk kurtis for women, Kantha and Jamdani matka saris, and shawls are available at the store.
  • Special-edition CDs of Bengali folk music, Tagore, Nazrul and baul songs, and Mahsishasur Mardini have been produced for the store.