Posts Tagged ‘West Bengal’
Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress legislator Sikha Mitra Wednesday admitted being apprehensive about attending the West Bengal assembly following fisticuffs between members of her ruling party and the opposition.
“I don’t know which party was involved, but whoever has done it is highly deplorable. It was a heinous act and should be condemned. After the incident, I am highly apprehensive about attending the assembly,” said Sikha Mitra, who is the wife of Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra.
Mitra’s comments come a day after the assembly witnessed a scuffle between ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition Left Front members that left three legislators hospitalised.
The legislator from Chowringhee constitency in Kolkata also refused to abide by the party’s diktat that important functionaries, ministers, parliament and assembly members seek permission in advance from the party before speaking to the media. She called the directive “a Talibani fatwa”.
“I do not live in a land where I will have to abide by a Talibani fatwa. I am not sorry for my comment and I stick to what I said. I stated the truth and have no qualms in saying what is true. There are many such truths to be said,” she said.
“Why should I be sorry? I am answerable only to the people who have elected me and no one else. If we the elected representatives indulge in fistfights, then how can we have the moral right to judge the wrongs committed by the common man? Who will judge our follies?” Mitra added.
“I have not received any official communication as of yet and can only comment after I get it,” Sikha said about media reports which claimed she was suspended from the party for her outburst.
The legislator earlier attracted the party’s wrath when she filed a defamation case against her party leader and state industries minister Partha Chatterjee.
Chatterjee allegedly had made defamatory remarks earlier this year against Sikha Mitra after she attended a programme at the rival Congress’ headquarters in the city.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Coal India Ltd. (CIL) Wednesday said it would appoint an independent international agency to check the quality following a long brawl with India’s major power producer NTPC over its coal quality and signing the fuel supply agreement (FSA).
“We will appoint a third party for sampling and quality check of coal for the first time. The agency will be an alternative for joint-sampling, which we currently do with all of our customers,” CIL chairman and managing director S. Narsing Rao told reporters after the coal major’s board meeting here.
“This will not just be the case with NTPC but with all customers. Within the next two-three months we will invite bids to appoint the international agency in this regard,” Rao said.
Power major NTPC had earlier repeatedly raised its concern over various quality issues and “inflated prices” of the coal behemoth.
After a long tussle with Coal India, NTPC, however, two days ago decided to enter into FSA with the firm within a month.
The public sector power utility’s move came irrespective of any major breakthrough in the company’s demand for a revision in FSA terms. However, Rao maintained Wednesday that as far as the FSA was concerned, there would be no change in the draft.
Although the Prime Minister’s Office had set a deadline for power producers and the public sector CIL to sign the FSA by November, only 33 companies have signed the accord till now.
Meanwhile, Rao said Coal India was awaiting a green signal from the central cabinet to allow it to extract coal-bed methane (CBM) gas from its leasehold mining areas.
“There are a series of discussions in the ministries to entrust it (extraction of CBM) to CIL and we would be doing it. The process requires approval from cabinet,” he said.
On the extraction of CBM gas, the new area of operation that the CIL may soon venture into, the CMD said it has already suggested to the central government that the company was not in favour of allowing other firms to extract the gas from its own leasehold mining areas,” Rao said.
“While the marketing aspect would be regulated by government policy, for extraction we have suggested that there would be no other bidder. CIL authorities are already doing mining within their leasehold areas and there are practical problems and issues of safety if somebody else comes in,” he added.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Admitting that the state police had made “some mistakes”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday urged people not to brand them as bad but praise their good work instead.
“No matter how much good they (police) do, if they commit even a slight wrong, people criticise them and ignore the good they do,” Banerjee said here at a state police programme.
“Good deeds should be praised and wrongs should be condemned, but it is highly unacceptable that people often ignore the good and brand the police as bad by citing only their follies,” she said.
She said police firing in Nadia district last month which claimed a life and police action against villagers in Birbhum district in which over 30 people were injured were “mistakes”.
“Barring these two incidents, can anyone point out any wrong police have done? They work in rain, fire and all kinds of adverse situations. When they do something good, people should praise them,” she said.
She also highlighted the “embarrassing” low strength of police and blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for the lack of modernisation, which the force badly needs.
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Coal India Ltd (CIL) Wednesday said it would appoint an independent international agency to check the quality of coal following a long brawl with India’s major power producer NTPC over its quality and signing the fuel supply agreement (FSA).
“We will appoint a third party for sampling and quality check of coal for the first time. The agency will be an alternative for joint-sampling, which we currently do with all of our customers,” CIL chairman and managing director S. Narsing Rao told reporters after the coal major’s board meet here.
“This will not just be the case with NTPC but with all customers. Within the next two-three months we will invite bids to appoint the international agency in this regard,” Rao said.
Power major NTPC had earlier repeatedly raised its concern over various quality issues and “inflated prices” of the coal behemoth.
NTPC’s move came irrespective of any major breakthrough in the company’s demand for a revision in FSA terms. However, Rao maintained Wednesday that as far as the FSA was concerned, there would be no change in the draft.
Although the prime minister’s office had set a deadline for power producers and the public sector CIL to sign the FSA by November, only 33 companies have signed the pact till now.
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata , Dec 12 (IANS) Aditi Ashok blew her opposition away with a stunning three-under 66 that gave her the Billoo Sethi Trophy for the Strokeplay segment of the Usha All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championships here Wednesday.
The 15-year-old Aditi, bidding to retain her National title and also win the Order of Merit, was in awesome form and closed with three birdies in last four holes and had a 36-hole total of one-over 139.
Millie Saroha, who led after the first round, was second with a card of 73 that gave her a two-day aggregate of 143 while Gursimar Badwal (75-72) was third at 147. Ridhima Dilawari (75-75) and Gurbani Singh (74-76) shared the fourth place.
The stage is now set for the Matchplay segment with the top-16 moving into this part of the Championship. All the leading players qualified for this part, though Anisha Padukone had to beat Vidushi Sinha in the sudden death play-off hole to make the cut.
Tags: West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Describing Pandit Ravi Shankar as “full of life”, his family members here Wednesday said it was very difficult to believe that that the sitar maestro was no more.
“Ravi was like my friend, my brother. We spent together a lot of memorable days in childhood. I cannot believe that he is no more,” said Amala Shankar, wife of Ravi Shankar’s late elder brother and legendary dancer Uday Shankar.
Reminiscing times spent with Ravi Shankar, Amala said: “I remember a western dance performance at Monte Carlo. I was 12 years old then and Ravi was 11. It was so wonderful.”
Danseuse Tanushree Shankar, the maestro’s niece and widow of Ananda Shankar, Uday Shankar’s son, said: “At home he was not a musician but a family member who always indulged in mischief and made others laugh with his wit and humour. Even at that age he was so full of life. We had so much to learn from him.”
“He was more than a family member to us. He was like a friend, a guru who always guided us to the right path,” said Mamata Shankar, Ravi Shankar’s niece.
Pandit Ravi Shankar, 92, had been admitted to the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, San Diego, US, last Thursday after he complained of breathing difficulties. He passed away at 4.30 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Sniffing a conspiracy behind a power failure during the assembly session Wednesday, West Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee ordered an inquiry into the matter.
While Power Minister Manish Gupta was answering a question raised by a Congress member about subsidy on electricity, the power went off for five minutes, resulting in the speaker ordering adjournment of the house till electricity supply was restored.
“We have information that there was no such power failure either in the Calcutta High Court or the Raj Bhavan that time. Power to both the buildings, including the assembly, is supplied from the same source,” Chatterjee told mediapersons here.
“The power failed immediately after Left Front members staged a walk out. There is a need to inquire as to why there was a power failure,” said Chatterjee.
In the wake of Tuesday’s scuffle between Trinamool Congress members and the opposition Left Front legislators in the assembly which resulted in three members getting injured and three others being suspended, Chatterjee said: “Security personnel failed to provide security to the members. We will also inquire why they were mute spectators when the demand of the hour for them was to prevent the fracas.”
“Speaker Biman Banerjee has named an official to conduct the twin inquiries and submit a reports within seven days,” added Chatterjee.
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Congress legislators wore helmets to the West Bengal assembly Wednesday, after a scuffle in the house a day earlier between ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition Left Front members left three legislators hospitalised.
Three legislators were also suspended after the scuffle, which occurred on the issue of the operation of chit funds in the state.
Over 20-odd Congress lawmakers wore helmets as they entered the house, but later removed these as Speaker Biman Banerjee asked them to take off their protective headgear.
“This was only a symbolic way to protest the ‘black incident’ that happened yesterday (Tuesday). This (wearing the helmets) was not done to lower the esteem of the house,” Congress leader Manas Bhunia said.
“Prothome maatha tarpore kotha (head first, talks later),” the leader of the Congress legislative party Mohammad Sohrab said.
Following Tuesday’s brawl, three Left legislators — Amjad Hussain, Nazimul Haq and Sushanta Besra — were suspended by the Speaker for the rest of the winter session.
The Congress and Left Front members Tuesday evening met Governor M.K. Narayanan, seeking his intervention in the matter.
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 12 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Bringing the folk music from their countries to the city, artists from Israel and Australia will perform at the Kolkata International Folk Music festival at the Rabindra Sarobar grounds Dec 13.
The two-day festival beginning Dec 13 will witness the participation of music bands Idan Raichel Project from Israel and Wantok Sing Sing from Australia.
“The Idan Raichel Project will bring a blend of African, Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds, while Wantok Sing Sing will showcase log drum orchestras, uplifting choral singing and haunting solo voices,” said Kaushik Dutta, CEO of Song of Soul, the organisation which is holding the festival in partnership with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and the Kolkata Improvement Trust.
Also joining the international folk artists will be singers from West Bengal.
“Mansoor Fakir, Shubhadra Sharma and Lakhan Das Baul will be a part of the show,” said Dutta.
Besides music, the folk culture of West Bengal will be represented by Guba dancers, Ranpa, “lathi khela” (stick fight), glove puppetry, rod puppet, “nautanki” (folk drama), dhak and dhol (drums).
Tags: Kolkata, , West Bengal
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Written by admin on 10 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 10 (IANS) Kolkata has more than 50,000 child labourers, out of which 80 percent are underage girls, says an NGO.
“EIghty percent of the 50,000 child labourers in the city are underage girls. Their families often send them away to earn money but it is seen that they are actually trafficked to other states,” said Samapt Maity of the Jayaprakash Institute of Social Change, a leading city-based NGO involved in social research, training and advocacy campaigns.
Statistics reveal that of 12 million girls born in India, one million do not live to see their first birthday and every sixth girl child’s death is due to gender discrimination.
Besides trafficking, child marriage and child sexual abuse is a burning topic that needs to be addressed, according to sociologist Ruchira Goswami.
“There are so many laws pertaining to marriage, child marriage and harassment but they need to be put on a single platform. People are aware of the laws but they do not follow them,” she said.
Every member of the society needs to pitch in and do their bit to collectively fight violence against women and the girl child, said social workers at the seminar to commemorate ‘SAARC Girl Child Week’ in the city.
“We can not do all the work by ourselves. Violence against women and the girl child is rampant. We want every member of the society to help us out in their own way,” said Sanlaap executive director Indrani Sinha.
According to social workers, one can’t simply blame the police and the government for not entirely solving problems regarding women and children in West Bengal, a state ranking seventh when it comes to child marriages.
“It is a collective effort. Each one of us has to contribute. Be it police, the government or the people. We can’t just blame the authorities for not being able to solve the problem completely,” said Sinha at the district-level seminar held as part of the commemoration.
The seminar, “Girl Child – Their Vulnerability and Our Action”, brought together all the stakeholders of society — the administration, police, civil society organizations, common people, students, academicians, celebrities and industry people who are fighting for the cause.
“It has not been a fair deal for women. We need to change and work against such gender discrimination. Empowerment of women should be made priority,” said Anurag Srivastava, additional district magistrate (development), South 24 Parganas district.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 09 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 9 (IANS) Cricket may be India’s passion, but soccer is still Kolkata’s religion.
While the final day’s play in the India-England Test at the Eden Garden drew only around 3,000 people, a whopping one lakh-plus fans packed the East Bengal ground to watch an exciting clash between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
“Once again soccer has scored over cricket in Kolkata. One may argue that the crowd at Eden was bound to be small as India were on the verge of defeat. But then, what about the previous four days when the crowd never crossed 30,000?” said an avid soccer fan, Kushal Chakraborty.
However, the soccer fans also had to return disappointed as the match had to called off after violence broke out and Mohun Bagan refused to play in the second half.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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Written by admin on 09 December 2012
Kolkata, Dec 9 (IANS) Grandmaster-in waiting Vidit Gujarathi stayed ahead following a draw with local Grandmaster Deep Sengupta in the seventh round of Rose Valley Open International Chess tournament here at Gorky Sadan.
Taking his tally to 5.5 points out of a possible seven, the youngster maintained his slender half-point lead after a spate of draws on top board.
Ten players follow the leader half a point behind. They include GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland, GM Dzhumaev Marat of Uzbekistan and Indians Deep Sengupta and S.P. Sethuraman.
Top seed Wojtaszek was held again as he failed to capitalise on a slightly better middle game advantage against Sethuraman. The Indian defended well and earned a creditable draw at the Alekhine Chess Club.
In notable results for aspiring Indians, Debashish Das, and Swapnil Dhopade came close to earning their Grandmaster norms after another day of hard work. While Dhopade played out a draw with erstwhile leader Marat, Das snatched a half point from Ni Hua of China.
Local star Suryasekhar Ganguly had yet another draw with M. Shyam Sundar who is also on the verge of becoming a Grandmaster from this tournament. After Sunday’s result, Shyam Sundar is just one point shy of attaining the 2500 ELO rating barrier which takes him to the status of Grandmaster.
With just four rounds to come, the event is wild open and only the next two rounds may see a decisive turn around for the higher ranked players.
Anton Korobov – the other 2700 club member apart from Wojtaszek – is also within striking distance of the leaders having 4.5 points and giving him company in this score group are star players like Ganguly, Ni Hua, Sandipan Chanda and Italian champion Alberto David.
Tags: Kolkata, West Bengal
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