Tag: TMC

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

Unholy nexus has gripped our nation during this festive season: Mamata Banerjee

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated a Kali Puja in north Kolkata. On the occasion, the CM said that an unholy nexus has gripped our nation during this festive season, which is making her anxious.

Referring to brutal murder of innocent Bengalis in Assam yesterday, the CM said the light of festivities have been marred by the grief over these killings.

She also said that minds which are full of darkness can never see beyond propaganda.

 

Highlights of the Chief Minister’s speech:

  • On one hand we are basking in the light of festivities. And on the other hand, my mind is filled with sadness. Yesterday, innocent people were brutally murdered in Tinsukia, Assam; I can see their faces. They belong to poorest of the poor families. Murderers do not discriminate between the rich and the poor. I am feeling extremely sad.
  • They are evicting Biharis in Gujarat and Bengalis in Assam. An ominous atmosphere is prevailing in this country, which is making me anxious. There is a tinge of grief in our festive spirit.
  • If you ask any businessman how their business is running, they will tell you that they are going through a bad phase. Agencies are threatening them. This situation never existed in the country before. Now an atmosphere of fear rules every household.
  • Many women worship Maa Lakshmi during Deepavali. They celebrate Dhanteras. Earlier, women used to save money in ‘Lakshmi Bhanr’. Now they are scared to even keep piggybanks at home, lest agencies take those away under some pretext. Agencies are threatening people to join some committee of RSS or face the consequences. This is unprecedented.
  • We love this country, hence we are feeling sad. We worship the goddess because we love our country. Our motherland is like our deity. Maa-Ammi-Mother – everyone is the same for us. This is our janmabhoomi, karmabhoomi. If she is not happy, how can we be happy?
  • I have often heard some people say that we have stopped Durga Puja in Bengal. How can someone make such baseless statements? Hinduism is centuries old, much older than these parties. Lakhs of people observe Durga Puja, Kali Puja. We worship multitudes of gods and goddesses. This is the plurality of our culture. Minds which are full of darkness can never see beyond propaganda.

Jatra industry on a path of revival, thanks to Bangla CM

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Over the curse of the last few years, the jatra industry of Bangla is well on its way out of intensive care. Thanks to the special initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the glory days are gradually on their way back.

From 2012, the Bangla Government has been making serious efforts to revive the stature of everyone involved with jatra.

An annual Jatra Festival is held now, along with similar festival in various districts, all of which are organised by the State Government. More and more jatra artistes are getting registered with the government.

The annual remuneration of jatra artistes, provided by the government, has also increased. In 2012, it was Rs 6,000, now it is Rs 9,000. The government also provides some more types of grants.

The annual Bina Dasgupta Memorial Award and Shantigopal-O-Tapan Kumar Award were instituted by the Trinamool Congress Government. The former, an award for lifetime excellence in jatra craft, is being given since 2013 while the latter is being given since 2017.

Besides, two legends, Makhanlal Natta and Chapal Bhaduri, were bestowed the Bangabibhushan (in 2014) and the Banga Bhushan (in 2017), respectively – awards instituted by the Trinamool Congress Government.

 

Bangla Govt observes ‘Sanskriti Dibas’ on the occasion of Rakhi Bandhan

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With the inspiration of Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the State Government is celebrating Sanskriti Dibas today, on the occasion of Rakhi Bandhan, to spread the message of communal harmony.

The State Youth Services and Sports Department is hosting the programmes.

In 1905, Rabindranath Tagore had observed Rakhi Bandhan as a mark of unity between Hindus and Muslims when the British decided to divide Bengal.

Sanskriti Dibas is being observed in 342 Blocks, 122 municipalities, six Municipal Corporations and in all the 144 wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, all district headquarters and GTA.

It may be mentioned here that Mamata Banerjee has time and again spread the message of unity and harmony at various public meetings. She has urged people to uphold the spirit of Bangla which stands for peace, progress and prosperity.

Message of communal harmony at I-Day celebrations at Red Road

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Bangla Government celebrated Independence Day with full honours today. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hoisted the National Flag at Red Road. Parades and cultural functions were held at the venue. The CM was given Guard of Honour.

Bangla Government conveyed the message of communal harmony at this year’s Independence Day parade on Red Road. A tableau based on the theme of ‘Oikotan’ (Harmony) was a part of the parade. Bauls and folk artistes participated in these tableaux which projected the ‘unity in diversity’ in Bangla.

Besides the tableau based on ‘Oikotan’, there were tableauxs on the popular schemes and projects of the State Government, like Kanyashree, Sabuj Sathi, Ruposhree, Sabuj Shree, Khadya Sathi and Safe Drive Save Life.

Mamata Banerjee slams the BJP on NRC issue

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Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack against BJP president Amit Shah on the NRC issue on Tuesday.

Speaking at Nabanna, the state secretariat, she questioned the BJP chief and asked whether his parents had birth certificates.

The brutal attack came after Mamata Banerjee met a delegation from United Bengali Forum who had come from Assam to highlight their plight over the NRC issue.

“I want to ask Amit Shah, does his mother and father have birth certificates? If you ask me, I do not have my parent’s birth certificates. Would Swami Vivekananda have the certificates? Atal ji is ill now, so I cannot ask him, but I wish I could ask him whether he has all the certificates? One family can keep the record, not all. I belonged to a backward family, certificates were not maintained,” Mamata Banerjee said. She also said, “Would Gandhiji’s family have certificates?”

She went on to call the entire NRC exercise as politically motivated. “This is a political move ahead of the elections. Sometimes they (the Centre) will play India-Pakistan, sometimes they will play India-China. I am also hearing that they are getting the currency notes printed outside the country,” the CM alleged.

She alleged that Bengali-speaking population was being targeted. She claimed a majority of the 40 lakh who did not make it to the Assam draft list were a Bengali-speaking people.

“Of the total 40 lakh, 25 lakhs are Bengali Hindus, 13 lakhs Bengali Muslims and 2 lakh Nepalis, Biharis and others. I have shown you so many documents. People in Punjab and Pakistan speak the same language. People in Bengal and Bangladesh speak the same language. Isn’t Hindi and Urdu widely spoken in the country? If you do not like a particular community, you cannot spread hatred like this. Hasina ji (Bangla PM) is welcome, others not? Didn’t Bengal participate in the freedom struggle? What’s wrong in speaking the Bangla language?” she said.

She further said that even cows should now be given certificates to identify whether a cow is a refugee or an infiltrator. “My question is to all the Gau-rakshaks, is cow a refugee or an infiltrators. Make certificates for cows so that we know whether they are refugees or infiltrators. Amit Shah may not eat Hilsa fish. But people in Bangladesh, Bengal, UP and Bihar eat Hilsa fish. Is Hilsa a refugee or an infiltrator? This is super-emergency,” she claimed.

Trinamool observes ‘Black Day’

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Trinamool Congress observed ‘black day’ in districts and blocks across the state on Saturday to protest against the “detention and manhandling” of its leaders in Assam’s Silchar airport, where they had gone to assess the situation after the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The protest will continue on Sunday too. Carrying placards and sporting black masks and badges, TMC activists shouted slogans against the BJP governments at the Centre and Assam and the final draft of the NRC.

Trinamool Chairperson Mamata Banerjee had alleged that the members of the delegation, including women, were manhandled at the airport and accused the BJP of imposing a “super emergency” in the country.

Party’s Secretary-General Partha Chatterjee had said, “What happened to our party delegation is not only shameful but also undemocratic. Our slogan will be ‘we don’t need this monstrous government any more’.”

Bengal Govt invites applications for second phase of Bonyopran Sathi scheme

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The Bengal Government is ready with the second phase of its highly successful scheme, Bonyo22pran Sathi (Honorary Wildlife Volunteer Service Programme), which offers wildlife enthusiasts the opportunity to venture into core areas of forests, especially in north Bengal and the Sundarbans, to get real-life experiences on how to deal with animals and in the process, learn about them through hands-on experience.

Interested participants for this study-cum-adventure programme of the Forest Department have to submit a form, the last date for which is June 30.

Those who will go into the forests will go as conservationists and not merely as tourists, said the Forest Minister while announcing the dates and other details. He said that this is one-of-a-kind scheme in the country.

After the completion of the programme, the enthusiasts will be expected to spread the message of wildlife protection and environmental conservation in their localities.

As part of the programme, visitors will stay with forest guards in camps, which will also give them the experience of keeping guard in a forest. Before a tour starts, the visitors will be provided a day-long training on how to behave if they come close to animals like tigers, elephants, leopards, deer, etc. during their adventure. A team will be accompanied by two Forest Department officials, who will be experts in handling wild animals.

The first phase drew applications from a lot of enthusiasts, and so has the second phase. Applications have already come from a diverse range of people like school teachers, professors, retired Army personnel and businessmen.

There are six national parks and 15 wildlife sanctuaries in Bengal.

Click here to download the form and details about the scheme.

Source: Aajkaal

Bengal Govt to introduce integrated project monitoring system

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To ensure better execution of projects, the State Government is planning to introduce an integrated online platform for monitoring projects undertaken by its departments.

This was decided at a recent meeting of senior officials of some of the crucial departments of the State Government, including Finance Department, Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Public Works Department. The preliminary tasks for introducing the integrated project monitoring system have already been carried out.

It may be mentioned that, after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011, Bengal has witnessed a lot of developmental work. Moreover, in a bid to ensure that all projects are implemented properly and in a time-bound manner, the Chief Minister visits every district to hold administrative review meetings with concerned officials.

The Trinamool Congress Government has also introduced the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) and it has simplified the system of managing all finance-related issues.

Source: Millennium Post