KMC sets up its first EV charging stations

KMC sets up its first EV charging stations

Posted on August 8, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

On August 6, two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were inaugurated by the Mayor in Dhakuria. These are the first EV charging stations built at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) initiative in collaboration with the CESC.

Two more EV charging stations will be coming up – adjacent to the Maa Flyover and AJC Bose Road Flyover.

Rule to encourage electric vehicles

The KMC has taken the initiative to encourage the use of electric vehicles to keep a lid on pollution from vehicles run on conventional fuel.

Towards that end, the Mayor said, the Corporation will introduce a rule that will make it mandatory for big housing complexes to keep aside space in the parking area for setting up charging points. The meters will be set up by the CESC

Currently, there are 40 electric buses running in Kolkata, with their EV station located at the Nabanna bus stand.

Replacing coal-heated ovens

Another recent decision by the KMC to prevent pollution, the Mayor said, was to replace with electric ovens the coal-heated ovens used at roadside eating places and ironing stalls. The civic body will provide subsidy for buying the ovens.

All these efforts are towards making a greener and cleaner Kolkata, wherein the cooperation of the city’s citizens ia also called for.

Source: Bartaman, Millennium Post

‘Didi Ke Bolo’ a huge hit – over 1 lakh calls to toll-free number

Posted on August 2, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The toll-free number inaugurated recently through the website, www.didikebolo.com has received a huge response. More than one lakh calls have been received in just a few days.

The number is 91370 91370. People can also send their suggestions and complaints through the website, which has provision for attaching documents as well.

More than 250 personnel have been engaged for taking the calls, who are working 24 hours a day.

Party leaders are also going door to door to listen to complaints. Wherever possible, they are providing solutions on the spot.

These new channels have been extremely successful. Many more calls are expected in the coming days and months.

Source: The Statesman

Comprehensive plan for improving healthcare for mothers & infants in Bangla

Posted on August 2, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The Bangla Government has taken up a comprehensive scheme for the upgrading of maternal, newborn and paediatric services at 68 tertiary and secondary healthcare facilities across the State with an aim to provide better treatment to expectant mothers and infants.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has laid great stress on infrastructure-building at various healthcare facilities run by the State Health Department in the districts.

Infrastructural upgrades

The 68 tertiary and secondary healthcare units that have been selected for infrastructural upgrade are all ones that conduct more than 3,000 deliveries in a year.

The plan includes upgrading of labour rooms, operation theatres, toilets, and power backup and drinking water facilities.

Mother and Child Hubs

The Health Department has also initiated the process to setting up 14 Mother and Child Hubs (MCH) at different facilities across the State for ensuring qualitative and quantitative improvement in maternal and child services at various hospitals. Out of the 14, nine are operational.

The remaining five are coming up at Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, Silampur Block Primary Health Care, Sujapur Primary Healthcare Centre in Malda district and Anupnagar Rural Hospital in Murshidabad in the current financial year.

Waiting Huts

Twelve Waiting Huts for pregnant women have been set up to facilitate safe delivery of infants in remote areas. All of them are currently functioning. The Health Department has a plan to set up five more Waiting Huts.

Waiting Huts have turned out to be extremely essential for the people, who had to travel long distances to reach hospitals.

Significantly, the Committee on the Empowerment of Women, a parliamentary committee for studying women’s issues, in a report titled ‘Women’s Healthcare: Policy Options’, tabled in Parliament on January 3, 2018, had proposed the creation of Pre-Delivery Hubs across the country, on the lines of Waiting Huts.

IMR and MMR going down, institutional delivery going up

Both the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rates (MMR) in the districts have gone down considerably in the past seven-and-half-years due relentless efforts taken by the State Government. This new set of projects will bring down the rates further.

It may be mentioned here that the maternal mortality rate in the State has reduced from 113 per 1 lakh mothers in 2011 to 101 in 2018 which is much below the national average of 130.

Infant mortality rate has reduced to 25 per 1,000 live births, which is also much lower than the national average of 34.

What is also significant is that the state government has increased institutional delivery from 65 per cent in 2010 to 97.5 per cent in 2018-19.

Budgetary allocation gone up

The Bangla Government has increased the budgetary allocation for Health Department from Rs 8,773.52 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 9,556.69 crore in 2019-20.

Source: Millennium Post

Political vendetta and agencies should not destroy the future of the country: Mamata Banerjee

Posted on July 31, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Following the incident relating to the death of V G Siddhartha, founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a post on social media, termed the incident as sad and unfortunate.

Below is the text of her full post:

“I am deeply shocked by the incident relating to V G Siddhartha, Cafe Coffee Day founder. It is indeed very sad and very unfortunate.

From what he has expressed, it appears that he was greatly depressed due to harassment and pressure from different agencies for which he could not run his business in a peaceful manner. This he could not resist.

I hear from different sources that captains of industry in the country are under pressure; some of them have left the country and some are contemplating to move out.

All the opposition political parties are afraid of horse trading and harassment with political vendetta.

On one hand, the economic growth of the country has nosedived to as low as 5.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018/19, the lowest in the last 5 years, and unemployment has increased to the highest level in the last 45 years.

On the other hand, central government is actively pursuing disinvestment of government assets, from Ordnance Factory Board to BSNL, from Air India to Railways, from Chittaranjan Locomotive Works to Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur and about 45 more public sector undertakings.

The overall economy is in bad shape with the common people suffering the most.

Industry and agriculture and creation of employment is the future of our country. If industry is demoralised, then there will be no economic and employment growth. As a result, more and more people will become jobless.

My appeal to the government is that when you have been elected, you have to work in a peaceful manner so that people are confident and that political vendetta and agencies do not destroy the future of the country.

I express my deep condolence to the family members of Siddhartha. I feel really sad to hear the news.

I thought of sharing my feelings and thoughts with all of you.”

I am deeply shocked by the incident relating to V G Siddhartha, Cafe Coffee Day founder. It is indeed very sad and very…

Mamata Banerjee यांनी वर पोस्ट केले बुधवार, ३१ जुलै, २०१९

Bangla has given highest amount in loans to SHGs: Central report

Posted on July 31, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The latest NABARD report has painted a bright picture about self-help groups (SHG) in Bangla. The Central Government-run agricultural bank has reported that the State’s performance in credit linkage of SHGs in the cooperative sector in financial year (FY) 2018-19 has been the best in the country.

As per the report, Bangla provided long-term loans to 97,535 SHGs, which is the highest, leading to huge employment and income generation, mostly among women.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently announced a yearly aid of Rs 5,000 per SHG for their empowerment. SHGs registered for a period of one year or more will be entitled to the benefit. The government will spend Rs 500 crore for this purpose, said an official of the State Cooperation Department.

Bank loans disbursed to SHGs has gone up noticeably under the Trinamool Congress Government. What was Rs 553 crore in FY 2010-11 went up to Rs 7,000 crore in 2018-19.

The State Government is also providing a subsidy so that SHGs have to pay only 2 per cent of their bank loans. The number of SHGs, which was 4.72 lakh in FY 2010-11, has also more than doubled.

Source: Millennium Post

Super-specialty blocks in Bengal Govt. hospitals

Posted on July 31, 2019 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

To enable improved access to super-specialty services at government hospitals, the State Government is bringing all such services in a hospital under one roof.

The first such combined service centre is being set up at the Medical College Hospital in Kolkata. Work on the fully air-conditioned block is almost complete.

There will be nine super-specialty services in the block – nephrology, urology, neuromedicine, neurosurgery, gastro-surgery, gastro-medicine, diabetics, endocrinology and geriatric medicine. Besides these, there will a 40-bed critical care unit (CCU).

There will also be 24 superior cabins spread across two floors, with 12 on each. They have been named Charaka Ward and Susruta Ward, after the two famous surgeons of ancient India. Nine operation theatres and all manners of hi-tech diagnostic services will also be located in the block.

It may be mentioned that such superior quality cabins had been set up earlier at the Woodburn Ward in SSKM Hospital. Being situated at government hospitals, the services cost much less than in private hospitals and yet are of the same high quality.

Source: Aajkaal

Bangla one of the top States for trade, says Australian govt report

Posted on July 26, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Bangla is one of the key States for trade and investment, says a report by the Australian government which was released at an industrial summit in Kolkata, organised by a leading business association, on July 17.

Report

The report, An India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery, has identified four sectors in the State for collaboration: resource and energy (including mining equipment, technology and services), agriculture, vocational education (especially hospitality training) and healthcare, said the Australian consul-general while releasing the report.

As previously said by many other industry leaders and investors, the consul-general too said that Bangla is a gateway of investment to the entire eastern and north-eastern India, and hence has immense potential..

Highlights

The report highlights Bangla as ‘the centre of India’s mining and resources sector’, ‘India’s third largest in terms of mineral production’, ‘significant healthcare hub for eastern India’, ‘gateway to India’s north-eastern states and India’s eastern neighbours’, and ‘a strong agricultural state, including the largest producer of rice, fish, prawns and jute and major producer of tea, potatoes and pineapples’.

It also mentions Kolkata as a major urban market and one of the fastest-growing cities in India (and is being projected to be in the top 10 fastest-growing cities in Asia by 2021), Bangla being the ‘coal industry hub’, the agricultural success of the State (including the NSVA for agriculture sector being 17% and widespread irrigation), and its tourism potential.

Chief strengths, as per the report

The report mentions three current strengths of Bangla:

Strong growth higher than the national average, and capacity for mineral production
Kolkata is a significant healthcare hub for eastern India, with a large number of super-specialty hospitals and diagnostic centres
Digitised land records, high road and rail density and port facilities

Success of Mamata Banerjee’s vision

All these aspects mentioned in the report point to the widespread growth that Bangla has witnessed in so many sectors under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

It needs to be mentioned in this connection that the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), a brainchild of the chief minister, has been one of the most successful business summits in India, with the last one in February 2019 having brought investment proposals worth Rs 2,84,288 crore for State.

Sources: An India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery, The Statesman

Abir Ranjan Biswas makes a Special Mention on the conversion of railway underpass into motorable road

Posted on July 16, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Ranaghat is a very busy and important railway junction, with five important routes passing through it, including an international one connecting Dhaka. The track runs through the middle of Ranaghat municipality, dividing it into two halves, with nearly all public amenities lying on the western half including its court, its police station, the SDO’s office, the tehsildar’s office and all other administrative offices, and also its subdivisional superspeciality hospital which caters to the needs of millions of people of the subdivision and to the populations of contiguous SC-populated administrative blocks of Nadia and the adjoining district of North 24 Parganas, apart from five close-by municipalities, including two SC-populated ones, one of which hosts 90 per cent scheduled castes.

Three railway level crossings hold the passage to cross over from the eastern to the western part to access all the amenities. But because of the busy railway routes, the level crossings are kept closed frequently, specially during the night. The movement of very long freight trains on the international route, carrying goods to Bangladesh, also occur. All three gates remain closed for long periods of time barring access to the hospital. This often has fatal consequences for seriously ill patients and pregnant mothers. A large number of deaths caused due to detaining at the level crossings have made the people very apprehensive and circumspect, fearful about their own lives and of their near and dear ones.

Since the last three years, the people have been demanding a solution through the conversion of a recently constructed underpass into a motorable way, with a little modification, assuring millions of safety and survival.

In support of this demand, there have been continuous rail blockages on a number of occasions, when railway authorities pacified them by giving assurance but delivered nothing to the despair of one and all. Hence, I implore upon the Railway Minister to realise the gravity of the matter and ensure the much-solicited conversion of the underpass into a motorable road.

State Govt takes up anti-trafficking measures

Posted on July 11, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The Women and Child Development and Social Welfare and the Labour Department have come together to check incidents of child trafficking in the State. A State-level action plan has been chalked out to stop and investigate incidents of trafficking.

While placing her department’s Budget for financial year 2019-20, the Women and Child Development said that steps are being taken to identify the placement agencies that are allegedly involved in trafficking.

The Labour Department will conduct probes to ascertain if the agencies involved in trafficking have any registration from it.

During her speech, the minister also said that the budgetary allocation for her department has gone up by 6.6 per cent.

Source: Millennium Post

Bangla ahead of many States, says Economic Survey

Posted on July 9, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

Bangla is ahead of many States in the areas of employment, agriculture, women’s empowerment, school education and rural roads, according to the latest Economic Survey (for FY 2018-19).

The rate of total unemployment in the State is 4.6 per cent, and the rate of rural employment is only 3.8 per cent and of urban unemployment is 6.4 per cent.

In production of paddy, the State is already number one in the country, having produced 15 crore tonnes.

In the production of jute, Bangla is on the top again, and has increased production by 16 per cent over the previous financial year.

Another area of achievement, for which Bangla has been described in glowing terms, is empowerment of women, especially in rural areas. Through various women-centric schemes and through financial strengthening of the MSME sector, the State Government has enabled economic gains for women, which has resulted in their increased role in household decision-making.

In population reduction too, the State has found pride of place in the report, since being on course to having a population growth rate from 2011 to 2021 (when the next census would be held) of just 0.74 per cent. Anything less than 1 per cent is very good.

For the period of 2021 to 2031, the number is predicted to fall to 0.50 per cent and for the period of 2031 to 2041, to 0.14 per cent. This is another strong point for Bangla, as mentioned in the Economic Survey.

In school education, the State’s gross enrolment ratio, ratio of students to teachers in both schools as a whole and in classrooms, and dropout rate are among the best in the country.

In construction of rural roads too, Bangla is among the top States.

Therefore, despite the rants of the Opposition, Bangla under the Trinamool Congress Government has performed in a commendable manner and is contributing in a big way to the India growth story.

Source: Bartaman