Tag: Chief Minister

Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman 2019 registrations now open

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Like every year, the state government will award the best Puja committees across the state for their performance in several segments this year. Puja committees outside Bengal – in India and abroad – will also be honoured.

On Tuesday, Minister of State (MoS) for the Information and Cultural Affairs and Tourism department announced that Puja committees can register for the competition till September 26. He stated that the number of Puja committees winning awards may increase in 2019. He also informed that this year, the Durga Puja Carnival will take place at Red Road on October 11, while the winners will be announced soon after the Puja.

The entry form for Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman will be available from the Kolkata Information Centre. Puja committees across the city can apply online as well. Puja committees in the districts will have to collect the application form from the office of the District Information and Cultural officer and Sub-Divisional Information and Cultural officer. Bengalis across the country and abroad will also participate in the competition like previous years and their applications will be received online.

Water meters to prevent wastage

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To prevent wastage of water, Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to instal water meters inside homes and on pipes. The project has been started on a pilot basis.

Six wards in Borough I have been selected for the pilot. About 7,500 water meters have been installed. For each home, there is a meter inside the home and another on the main pipe which is supplying the home.

Through the meters, officials would have a clear idea of how much water is being used by each household and accordingly find out ways to reduce the usage. The meters would also help officials know if there is a crack through which water is spilling out.

According to KMC officials, the ideal usage of piped water per person per day should be 150 litres (l) but 450 to 550 l is being used. So obviously there is a need for conservation of water.

Singur Dibas: Celebrating the victory of farmers

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September 14 is celebrated as Singur Dibas in Bangla. On this day in 2016, Mamata Banerjee had handed over land deeds (parcha) and compensation cheques to farmers in Singur.

The reason for the celebrations was the passing of the historic verdict by the Supreme Court on the preceding August 31, when it declared that the land acquired in Singur by the erstwhile Left Front Government was illegal and unconstitutional.

Around 9,117 land deeds were handed over in 2016. About 800 compensation cheques were handed over by the Chief Minister and her Cabinet colleagues to those farmers who had to unwillingly part with their land.

Check dams have been constructed and tube-wells set up for irrigation in Singur. Soil testing was done and fertilisers for making the land fertile and cultivable made available for the farmers.

 

Honouring the legacy of Swami Vivekananda

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The great follower of the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is, she has named various schemes and places after this great son of Bangla. She has also ensured the renovation of buildings that have a historic connection to the great sage.

Here is a list of works of the Bangla Government done to preserve the legacy of Swami Vivekananda:

* Making Swami Vivekananda’s famous Chicago address part of the syllabus for schools under the Madhyamik Board

* Giving autonomy and special status to educational institutions run by Ramakrishna Sarada Mission

* Allotting 5 acres and allocating Rs 10 crore for the Centre for Human Excellence and Social Sciences being built by the Ramakrishna Mission in New Town, as a replica of the Art Institute of Chicago, where Vivekananda delivered his famous speeches in 1893; it has been named ‘Vivek Tirtha’ by Mamata Banerjee

* Acquiring and handing over of the premises adjoining Vivekananda’s ancestral house to Ramakrishna Mission

* Renovating ‘Mayer Bari’ in Baghbazar, Kolkata, where Maa Sarada, the wife of Sri Ramakrishna lived, at a cost of Rs 30 crore

* Acquiring Sister Nivedita’s house in Baghbazar and handing it over to Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, and giving it heritage status

* Allocating Rs 2 crore for the renovation of Roy Villa in Darjeeling, associated with Sister Nivedita, and handing it over to Ramakrishna Mission

* Building a skywalk connecting Dakshineswar railway station to the famous temple there; it was named Dakshineswar Rani Rashmoni Skywalk by Mamata Banerjee

* Renaming Yuba Bharati Krirangan after Swami Vivekananda, as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan

* Naming the self-employment scheme run by the Self-Help and Self-Employment Department as Swami Vivekananda Swanirbhar Karmasansthan Prakalpa

* Naming the scholarship for students from economically disadvantaged families as Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship

* Organising Vivek Chetana Utsav from January 10 to 12 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda across the State (January 12 is celebrated as National Youth Day, being the birthday of Swami Vivekananda)

* State Assembly passing Bills for the setting up of two private universities – Sister Nivedita University (Bill passed in 2017) and Swami Vivekananda University (Bill passed in 2019)

Sundarini Naturals’ organic sweets to become widely available through franchises

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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 Assembly passes 2 Bills to set up universities

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The State Assembly passed the Hindi University Bill tabled by the Government on Thursday to encourage Hindi-medium education in Bangla. The State-aided university will be set up in Howrah.

Commenting during the tabling of the Bill, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Bill was introduced because “there are several Hindi-speaking people staying in Bangla” and that it “will show us a new path” and “will stand for harmony and unity”.

She also requested the Education Department to quickly initiate the construction of the university on the land that has been already acquired. The name, she said, will be decided after talking to all communities.

A day earlier, the Assembly had passed a Bill to enable the setting up of a university in the name of Swami Vivekananda.

This self-financing private university will be set up in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas. The proposed university would deal in various specialised fields like science, technology, law, management, social sciences, medicine, education, humanities and performing arts.

Bangla CM to give away Tele Academy Awards today

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be giving away the Tele Academy Awards today. The prize distribution will be followed by a colourful cultural programme with performances by television artistes.

Actors and technicians working in the television industry will be awarded for their outstanding performances throughout their career as well as over the last year. A Hall of Fame recognition has also been instituted since 2015.

The West Bengal Tele Academy Awards cover the entire array of television productions, rewarding excellence in production, programming, photography and technology, among others.

Special cell and helplines for backward communities launched by State Govt

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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 held 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.

It may also be mentioned that the BCW Department has delivered more than 90,000 caste certificates to beneficiaries in the last three weeks, via camps across districts.

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Special cell and helplines for backward communities launched by State Govt

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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.

Bangla the best in financing SHGs

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Bangla is number one in the country in financing self-help groups (SHGs) in the cooperative sector, said the State Cooperation Minister recently at the first conference of the West Bengal Co-operative Bank Employees’ Sangha in Kolkata.

The minister said that the Government’s intention was to enable and empower the rural populace, especially women (since they make up the composition of most of the SHGs) across the State.

He said that in financial year 2018-19, the State provided credit to 97,000 SHGs, far ahead of the number two State. Currently, there are 2.2 lakh SHGs which are beneficiaries of loans provided by cooperative banks.

At a Government function in August, the minister had said that the State Government would be distributing a total loan amount of Rs 180 crore to about one lakh women from rural self-help groups so that they can rear goats, cows and hens for poultry products.

 

Sources: The Statesman, Bartaman