Category Archives: About Kolkata / West Bengal

Turnaround in Jangalmahal region sets a unique example

About Kolkata / West Bengal, Amazing Feats

Lauding the turnaround in Maoist-affected Jangalmahal region, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that the region has turned out to be a ‘unique example before the world’. “In this Jangalmahal region, people were scared to come. They were scared of Maoists,” Ms. Banerjee said, addressing a public meeting at Salboni in Paschim Medinipur district.

Claiming that her government has taken up a lot of developmental activities in the region, she said that the work done here since independence is not ‘even part of what’ has been done by her government over the last three years. “I urge you to maintain peace. I will take care of everything else,” the Chief Minister assured the gathering.

Three districts of Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, and Purulia located in the south-west part of the State were the hotbed of Maoist activities between 2009 and 2011.

The Chief Minister said that the State government had plans to set up eight colleges in the region of which four were inaugurated during the day. She referred to the State government scheme of providing subsidised food grains to all the tribals in Jangalmahal.

“The State government has been ignored in the Railway Budget and the General Budget. We do not want anything from the Centre if they waive our loans,” the Chief Minister said, adding that if the Centre did not do so, the State government would organise a protest against the Centre. She, however, expressed hope that the new government would accept the State’s demands.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – July 15th, 2014

Alipurduar to be 20th district of West Bengal

About Kolkata / West Bengal

Jalapiaguri district will be bifurcated on June 25, says Mamata

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Assembly here on Friday that Jalpiaguri district would be bifurcated on June 25. While two subdivisions – Jalpaiguri Sadar and Mal – would comprise Jalpaiguri district, a district would be carved out of Alipurduar subdivision, which was part of erstwhile Jalpaiguri district. Ms. Banerjee said the bifurcation was the long-standing demand of the people of the district. Alipurduar would be the 20th district of the State.

The Chief Minister said the distance from Jalpaiguri district headquarters to Alipurduar subdivision is 101 kilometre. The distance from the district headquarters to Kumargram block is 143 km and to other blocks like Kalchini, Madarihat, and Birpara, the distance is over 100 km.

She said since certain areas are far from the district headquarters, people face delay in delivery of government services. The Chief Minister said the district has an area of 6,202 sq km and a population of 38.46 lakh as per 2011 census. There are 17 police stations in the district and after bifurcation nine will be in Jalpaiguri district and the remaining in Alipurduar district. The district with significant tribal population has several tea gardens and it shares border with Bhutan and Bangladesh. Senior Congress MLA from Alipurduar Assembly segment D P Roy welcomed the Chief Minister’s statement and said the decision to bifurcate the district would help the people.

Speaking to journalists later in the day, Mr. Roy said the move would help in the development of the State. The Chief Minister during her visit to north Bengal had said that the State government was waiting for the judicial consent before creating the new district.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Special Corrrespondent / Kolkata – June 24th, 2014

Mamata Banerjee to carve out new district in West Bengal

About Kolkata / West Bengal, Uncategorized
Alipurduar will be made a separate district after attending legal and technical issues, Banerjee said at a public meeting in Siliguri. (Source: PTI)
Alipurduar will be made a separate district after attending legal and technical issues, Banerjee said at a public meeting in Siliguri. (Source: PTI)

SUMMARY
Alipurduar will be made a separate district after attending legal and technical issues, Banerjee said

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said a new district will be carved out for Alipurduar, a sub-division of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal.

Alipurduar will be made a separate district after attending legal and technical issues, Banerjee said at a public meeting here.
The CM, who announced setting up a tribal development council in the region, called upon people to resist any attempt to disturb the integrity of North Bengal.

As part of the state’s plan to improve the road network, border roads to Bhutan and Nepal will be re-laid centering Siliguri, the commercial hub of North-East, Banerjee said. This will entail an expense of Rs 14,000 crore, she added.

Referring to reports that 100 days’ work project in the district was not being implemented properly in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar districts, Banerjee said “We need to put emphasis on the project.”

Banerjee informed about setting up medical colleges in Coochbehar and Raiganj towns in future. She said the tourism industry will be overhauled in Terai and Dooars region of Jalpaiguri.

Banerjee said as per developing transport network, a fleet of 50 new buses will come on the roads in North Bengal. She expressed hope the missing mountaineer Chhanda Gayen and her two sherpas could be found one day belying all apprehensions.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India> India-Offer / Press Trust of India / Siliguri – June 02nd, 2014

Kolkata to have its own ‘London Eye’

About Kolkata / West Bengal

It is virtually impossible to enjoy Kolkata from a height of 100 meters owing to thick smog: heritage conservationists

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s promise to turn ‘Kolkata into London’ may have taken one more step with the contract of the Calcutta Eye – a 100-meter tall wheel to view Kolkata from the sky – being awarded to a UK-based company. The company was awarded the contract on Wednesday after it won the bid.

On the occasion of the declaration of the awarding of the tender, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that ‘the project will probably be complete within 18 months after the work begins’. “It is expected to be completed in two years.”

But experts on the heritage structures of the city are sceptical about the Rs. 300-crore project. They feel the ‘Calcutta Eye’ will not enhance the city’s ‘cultural prestige’. The Calcutta Eye is a giant wheel with 36 air-conditioned capsules. It will rotate slowly and tourists boarding any of the comfortable capsules will be able to view the city from a height of roughly 100 meters. However, the heritage conservationists are disappointed with the project.

When contacted, G.M. Kapur, State convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), an NGO that works for the conservation of the country’s heritage, told The Hindu that he has ‘doubts’ about the prospects of the Calcutta Eye turning into a major tourist attraction of Kolkata.

As for the Ferris wheel (a steel structure consisting of an upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying compartments) giving tourists a bird’s eye view of the city, Mr. Kapur wondered “whether the view would turn out to be an eyesore rather than a visual pleasure considering the unplanned concrete jungle that Kolkata is.”

Experts feel that it is ‘virtually impossible’ to enjoy Kolkata from a height of 100 meters owing to the thick smog that covers the ‘City of Joy’. Mr. Kapur also said that ‘instead of copying the icon of another city of a foreign country (London Eye in the United Kingdom), the State government should have focused on something unique that suits the culture of the city’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by Staff  Reporter / Kolkata – May 23rd, 2014