[COLOR="Navy"]The unplanned and unchecked real estate growth on EM Bypass and its adjoining areas, sans basic civic amenities, could spell disaster across the city, says a World Bank report submitted to the state government.
It outlines how climate change and global warming are pushing these areas “to the brink of civic disaster”.


Yet another "study".

Saw this today on TOI-Kolkata.

While many of these plans apparently look like a distant dream for Kolkatans,but the initiative is undoubtedly commendable. Its high time that some mass movement like this,is initiated at this moment to save the city from further degradation.

But,one thing is really disappointing. It is being seen that who-so-ever takes charge of the municipal corporation/administration,the issue of illegal encroachment on footpaths,is always been overlooked on the name of terming it as a 'social issue'. Over the years,this apathy from the administration, has just led to the cancerous growth of this problem in every other part of the city. Nowadays,not a single footpath in Kolkata stands encroachment-free and the city bears a shabby look everywhere.

Shall we never be able to rise above our political interests and really put a serious thought in this direction? Even if I start thinking that all the initiatives as cited above, get implemented by some day,I would still have doubts about the idea of dreaming about a ''hawker-free'' or rather ''hawker-controlled'' Kolkata someday in my life!

Kolkata will never be encroachment free because the police and politicians make money out of encroachments. No political party be it the sarbahara party or the ma mati manush party will ever have the guts to stop the slumification along the roads and in any available open space. Infact they encourage it in the hopes of getting votes and money.

Saw this today on TOI-Kolkata.



But,one thing is really disappointing. It is being seen that who-so-ever takes charge of the municipal corporation/administration,the issue of illegal encroachment on footpaths,is always been overlooked on the name of terming it as a 'social issue'. Over the years,this apathy from the administration, has just led to the cancerous growth of this problem in every other part of the city. Nowadays,not a single footpath in Kolkata stands encroachment-free and the city bears a shabby look everywhere.

Shall we never be able to rise above our political interests and really put a serious thought in this direction? Even if I start thinking that all the initiatives as cited above, get implemented by some day,I would still have doubts about the idea of dreaming about a ''hawker-free'' or rather ''hawker-controlled'' Kolkata someday in my life!

True sourav, encroachment seems to be a part and parcel of the city, if its
hawkers in the day time, at night (especially after 10pm) one and sometimes even two lanes are encroached by the trucks, buses, who use these places as their parking zone!!!:nuts:not even leaving a space for a car to move properly. This is common problem in city suburbs, where WBP is in control. They just accept few hundred bucks, and when an accident takes place, police just comes to show that they are very active!!!...had they really been so active, then there wouldnt have been any encroachments at the first place!!!
Also we have to take into consideration that our netas, belonging to all parties at least in the hawkers point of view they are all same. They are always with the hawkers and the so called "aam admi". I remember i was one listening to fm while going to my workplace, where a minister of state assembly litterally challenged the RJ just because he started a movement to stop a strike against price rise, where the radio channel on behalf of the citizens would file petition so that the stike could have been stopped and instead the fare gets hiked. The minister was overheard saying " Amio dekhenebo, kotojon sign kore!!!!"
If this is the attitude of a minister, then its natural that the citizens are bound to have 'chalta hai' attitude!

Convent Corner

www.belanis.com

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5712/conventcornerkolkata.jpg (http://img824.imageshack.us/i/conventcornerkolkata.jpg/)

too high price compared to the area

Hiland Woods looks nice. :cheers:Also good to see the basement parking designed to cover a larger area ( and not just the basement portion of the buildings). This is normally the norm for large constructions in Bangalore and Mumbai and it is good to see Kolkata following their footsteps.

what about the price these people want, too high and not worth

What i want from my city is nothing cutting edge,just the basics.
1.Roads,not concrete not even road marking,mastic nothing just roads made to the proper standard specifications.
2.Pavements something i guess that was invented in the roman ages,i want a pavement on which i can walk without stepping over someone,doing f1 likes moves of overtaking and evading people and not taking recourse to walking on the road.
3.An efficient poor distribution system,reduction in transmission losses will itself go a long way in reducing power deficits.
4.Maintaining cleaniness in civic upkeep of buildings and garbage collection system.
5.A little effort from the people in power to plan for this city,for its future and its citizens.

The V, Kolkata
1Nf2z2Pw48w

^^Live life King Size....:lol:

The V, Kolkata
1Nf2z2Pw48w

nice find Tod
the towers look strikingly similar to one of the renders that we had for Westin. the difference being that these are triangular in shape

^^
Its the same. One of the two towers of the Shristhi towers is made for residential purpose and called the V, the other one being Westin Hotel or Shristhi Hotel whatever you call it.

sometime back(may be two - three months back) a news article was published on that.

oh yes yes yes yes..remember it now. and the other is surely a westin but built by shrishti

LIC to invest Rs 1,000 cr in Mohali complex
Press Trust of India / Chandigarh September 3, 2010, 16:49 IST

Insurance major Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) today said that will invest a sum of Rs 1,000 crore to develop a mall-cum-office complex at Mohali.

"The expected investment in developing a mall-cum-office complex in Mohali will be Rs 1,000 crore and it may be ready within one-and-a-half to two years," a senior LIC official, who declined to be identified, told reporters here.

On 9.6 acres of land LIC has proposed to build 6 lakh square feet of area for this project. "Three lakh square feet will be developed for shopping and a mall while remaining 3 lakh square feet area will have offices," he said.

Currently, LIC is in the process of hiring an architect for this ambitious real estate project. Consultancy agency IL & FS has also submitted its report on how to go about this project, he revealed.

LIC had bought 9.6 acres of land at a prime location through auction, which was conducted by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority in 2008 by shelling out Rs 465 crore.

Interestingly, throughout the auction, LIC remained the sole bidder for this project and paid just over Rs 1 lakh per square yard, which was the highest ever rate in the region at that point of time.

LIC has already developed real estate projects in Mumbai and Bangalore. "LIC has also plans to develop a shopping mall in Kolkata where it possesses 5 acres of land," he further said.

Besides, LIC has 3.6 acres of land in Ludhiana which it bought in September 2008 at a sum of Rs 228 crore.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lic-to-invest-rs-1000-cr-in-mohali-complex/107631/on

LIC has already developed real estate projects in Mumbai and Bangalore. "LIC has also plans to develop a shopping mall in Kolkata where it possesses 5 acres of land," he further said.

^^

I guess they are mentioning the plot they bought off EM Byepass.

As far as i remember they planned a 50 storied iconic building there initially.
If this Mall thing comes up instead it will be such a let down.

LIC has already developed real estate projects in Mumbai and Bangalore. "LIC has also plans to develop a shopping mall in Kolkata where it possesses 5 acres of land," he further said.

^^

I guess they are mentioning the plot they bought off EM Byepass.

As far as i remember they planned a 50 storied iconic building there initially.
If this Mall thing comes up instead it will be such a let down.

I guess.....they can do both.......Retail.....Commercial/office........n.....Residential/hospitality as well......all stacked up n use dat money for 50+ building.....:dunno:

Anyone gone to the new Starmark at Mani Square?

link to photos/ (http://researchdesignoffice.com/design/starmark-mani-square/)

Anyone gone to the new Starmark at Mani Square?

link to photos/ (http://researchdesignoffice.com/design/starmark-mani-square/)

I visited it a couple of days back. One of the larger book outlets in Kolkata. Seemed to have a lot of variety of everything.

I guess.....they can do both.......Retail.....Commercial/office........n.....Residential/hospitality as well......all stacked up n use dat money for 50+ building.....:dunno:

^^Does anyone know the location of the plot? It says opposite Science city but where exactly?

I still think they would go ahead with the 50 storey high-rise.The last I read it would have a mix of retail, commercial and service apartment options.

I wonder where is there land opposite the science city to build that.Most of it is taken by the milan mela.

I wonder where is there land opposite the science city to build that.Most of it is taken by the milan mela.

It could be the other side - energy park/PC chandra park area

It could be the other side - energy park/PC chandra park area

probably next to the water treatment plant of dhapa.....

It could be the other side - energy park/PC chandra park area

I would think so, since it says Bypass while Milan Mela is on PC connector. I passed by the energy park, however could not figure out anything. Also it is difficult to notice much since a ~300 m stretch has been barricaded by HCC for the past few months where the first pillars of the flyover are coming up.

Coal India Green building U/C @ AA1, New Town - this is the plot adjacent to the DLF towers

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/2906/coalindia.jpg

DLF Galleria Mall U/C @ AA1, New Town

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/554/dlfgalleria.jpg

Getting painted - Eastern High apartment @ AA1, New Town

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/6571/easternhigh.jpg

Merlin Infinity, U/C @ Sector V - this is coming up on the plot adjacent to Srijan Tech park

Render
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1999/infinityr.jpg

Update
http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/1092/merlininfinity.jpg

Videocon IT park U/C @ Sector V

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/2838/videoconitpark.jpg

Novotel (Salapuria) hotel U/C @ AA1, New Town

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/7358/novotel.jpg

Ohio hospital U/C @ AA2, New Town[/I] - this is coming up adjacent to Tata cancer hospital

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9418/ohiohospital.jpg

Very nice updates ArijeetB!

:banana:

Science & nature in southern park
SUBHAJOY ROY

A science park in Hong Kong that has bagged awards for its “green” design
The National Council of Science Museums has planned an 8-acre, Rs 20-crore science park with stress on nature study in Baruipur, on the southern fringes of the city.

The state government handed over a plot for the project to the council, an autonomous society under the ministry of culture, in the last week of August. Work will start once basic infrastructure is in place and is expected to be completed in three years.

“Our aim is to spread science awareness among students. By building this park on the fringes, we want to reach out to the suburban people,” said G.S. Rautela, the director-general of the council.

The exhibits will be different from the ones at Science City on the EM Bypass. “The Science City exhibits mostly illustrate principles of physics and mechanics. But in the Baruipur park, the exhibits will be based on nature,” added Rautela.

Many of the enclosures in the park will be underground. “The campus will be lush green. There will be no multi-storeyed buildings,” added Rautela.

In the climate change section, an exhibition on how snow melts because of global warming and finally affects our climate will be on display. “We want to make the visitors aware of the nature around us.”

In the biodome section, climatic conditions different from Calcutta’s will be artificially created. “We have plans to create a tropical rainforest,” said Rautela.

Plants that grow without soil will be exhibited in the hydroponics section. “The attempt is to showcase aspects of soil-less vegetable farming.”

City schools have welcomed the move. “The interest of students in natural science is on the wane. A visual experience will increase their interest in general science,” said Malini Bhagat, the principal of Mahadevi Birla Girls Higher Secondary School.

The council also has plans to set up a research and development unit on the campus. “The research and development wing of the council works on preparing exhibits for the science museums in the country. We may even throw open parts of the R&D unit to the public so that students can witness the science behind the creation of the exhibits,” said Rautela.

An amphitheatre will also be built, where demonstrations on science will be organised.

arijeetB great updates.

DLF Galleria Mall U/C @ AA1, New Town

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/554/dlfgalleria.jpg
what will this mall look like? does anyone have renders?

nice updates arijeet :cheers:
also have you seen any progress of the Sonar 2?

http://www.dlf.in/dlf/wcm/connect/bc5d82004cbafd77b2f8b2bf37b28778/the_galleria_kolkata_perspective_sml.gif?MOD=AJPERESwhat will this mall look like? does anyone have renders?

nice updates arijeet :cheers:
also have you seen any progress of the Sonar 2?

thanks. Yes, I could see cranes but nothing visible from outside

@suncity, tod :cheers:

As always great update from Arijit
Want more. :)

As always great update from Arijit
Want more. :)

thanks Samit - I have a few more to upload:)

@ arijeet thanx for updating on the new projects of R'haat and sec-v...:)

@ arijeet thanx for updating on the new projects of R'haat and sec-v...:)

thanks studd:cheers:

Eden Court from Tata Housing U/C near AA2

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/2047/tataedencourt.jpg

thanks Samit - I have a few more to upload:)

Very nice updates Arijeet.

Most of the big-ticket projects in New Town seem to be running on track.last Saturday when I had been to the place,I saw that both the lanes of the road in front of Tata Cancer Hospital,have been thrown open to the traffic. Also,the road leading to the Uniworld City, seems to have got almost completed,although there was no street lamps on that entire stretch! It was quite strange to find that that entire area around Uniworld City/Rosedale going dark after the evening.

Work on the flyover over the main arterial road of New Town (the one opposite to the Home Town Mall) was found to be going on,although at a very slow pace.Some pillars were seen to have come up over there.

I would think so, since it says Bypass while Milan Mela is on PC connector. I passed by the energy park, however could not figure out anything. Also it is difficult to notice much since a ~300 m stretch has been barricaded by HCC for the past few months where the first pillars of the flyover are coming up.

You are absolutey correct.

Well,I doubt whether it would be exactly on the main Bypass,as there is literally very little space left in between the PC Chandra Garden and the Energy Education Park,for any big project of this level to come up. Also,I had read it somewhere that Rahul Saraf is planning to come up with the biggest mall of Kolkata (probably named as Forum II) somewhere near that place only (or may be at plot of PC Chandra Garden only).

In the meantime,a new IT park project is coming up on the opposite lane (just beside the Science City and the Ambedkar/Dhapa Bridge) of Bypass.

The V, Kolkata


This is amazing! If something like this comes up in New Town,it would be the talk of the town and a real good project to enhance Kolkata's image,specially considering the fact that it is right on the road leading to the main city ,from the airport!

You are absolutey correct.

Well,I doubt whether it would be exactly on the main Bypass,as there is literally very little space left in between the PC Chandra Garden and the Energy Education Park,for any big project of this level to come up. Also,I had read it somewhere that Rahul Saraf is planning to come up with the biggest mall of Kolkata (probably named as Forum II) somewhere near that place only (or may be at plot of PC Chandra Garden only).

In the meantime,a new IT park project is coming up on the opposite lane (just beside the Science City and the Ambedkar/Dhapa Bridge) of Bypass.

^^yes, Forum projects is coming up with a 1 million sqft mall in Kolkata. Regarding the IT park, I think the area is quite small and approach wise one has to take a U turn from below the dhapa bridge. Anyway good news!

Very nice updates Arijeet.

Most of the big-ticket projects in New Town seem to be running on track.last Saturday when I had been to the place,I saw that both the lanes of the road in front of Tata Cancer Hospital,have been thrown open to the traffic. Also,the road leading to the Uniworld City, seems to have got almost completed,although there was no street lamps on that entire stretch! It was quite strange to find that that entire area around Uniworld City/Rosedale going dark after the evening.

Work on the flyover over the main arterial road of New Town (the one opposite to the Home Town Mall) was found to be going on,although at a very slow pace.Some pillars were seen to have come up over there.

Yes, Hidco is investing resources in developing AA2 which is good! Regarding the flyover from what I saw ( i will upload a couple of pics) the pace has increased now.

An office building in Infospace SEZ

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/585/infospacesez.jpg

A office buliding in Infospace SEZ

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/585/infospacesez.jpg

^^Notice the crane on the extreme left - that is where the Mariott is under construction

thank you very much arijeet. As usual you are a great contributor SSC threads:cheers:

^^Notice the crane on the extreme left - that is where the Mariott is under construction

So, Marriott is also coming up? Dats really a great news, along with Westin.

OT: A couple of days ago i was viewing rajarhat on wikimapia, where i found the land opposite to Westin hotel has been marked as 'proposed hospital' and just beside the Convention centre its marked as Golf course (i.e. @the turning). Any idea regarding this?

@sourav2010 The V,is in New Town.Its one of the towers of the Westin/Shristhi Project.

Lovely pics there arijeet thanks!Infospace looks really good a nice fresh design.

So, Marriott is also coming up? Dats really a great news, along with Westin.

OT: A couple of days ago i was viewing rajarhat on wikimapia, where i found the land opposite to Westin hotel has been marked as 'proposed hospital' and just beside the Convention centre its marked as Golf course (i.e. @the turning). Any idea regarding this?

yes, I saw that too. The golf course may be part of the convention center which is all of 40 acres but I could be wrong.

Grotesque gold on white landmark (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100907/jsp/calcutta/story_12905986.jsp)


http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1167/96869315.png
Metropolitan Building is being defaced. Not by political graffiti, but by paint. The pristine white landmark in the heart of the city is suddenly breaking out into gross golden spots. Why? Metro peels off the paint

What is Metropolitan Building? A century-old building, one of the most visible on Chowringhee adjacent to Metro cinema. It once housed the biggest department store named Whiteaways (Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co). It now houses Big Bazaar. It belongs to the Life Insurance Corporation of India and was declared a heritage building by the heritage conservation committee of the CMC to safeguard it from demolition.

What condition is it in now? A few years ago the building had been repaired. But not before its Italian marble floors had been removed and its wealth of stained glass destroyed. Now, parts of its structure have become quite unstable, its plaster is flaking off and it has become patchy. Why? The repair work was not done scientifically, in accordance with conservation norms. Appropriate material was not used.

Why is it changing its spots? Suddenly, Metropolitan Building is being repainted. Without structural repairs that are urgently needed. And to grotesque effect. The building has always been a pristine white. Now it is being capped with gold — on its cupolas, the procession of urns on the terrace and the acanthus on top of each Corinthian column.

Can’t the heritage conservation committee of the CMC stop this? Not really, because no structural change has been made. There is no law against the owners turning a beautiful building ugly. But in the West, the colours of old buildings cannot be changed arbitrarily, particularly in a heritage zone. Public consensus is a must.

What does the mayor, who heads the committee, have to say? When Metro called mayor Sovan Chatterjee on Monday, he was at a loss. “Which is the Metropolitan Building,” he demanded. :bash: On being told which one it was, he responded that as the golden look is “not creating environmental pollution” and no one has complained about it being “visual pollution”, the committee cannot take it up.

What about Calcutta’s aesthetics? Ganesh Pyne was “aghast” at Metropolitan Building being imparted a golden glow. “We have no convention of painting the exterior of such a building in gold. People will rubbish it,” said the artist.

@sourav2010 The V,is in New Town.Its one of the towers of the Westin/Shristhi Project.

Lovely pics there arijeet thanks!Infospace looks really good a nice fresh design.

thanks avishar:cheers: yes, Infospace is one of the kind that has made IT fraternity in Kolkata proud. The remaining blocks/towers are in various stages of construction now and the upcoming Mariott hotel will complete the picture!
Some of the biggest employers here such as Capgemini, Genpact and now TCS and Wipro are operating from this park.

Metropolitan building and Esplanade mansion are the two building that gave the entire Esplanade area a very European look and city got the nick name city of palaces in the East. That was early nineteen hundred when all the movers and shakers of the subcontinent used to hang around here. It is shocking to see Kolkata’s mayor don’t know what Metropolitan building is! How far down slide we are going to have under this lumpenocracy?
A few months ago I commented that LIC have erected its own logo on the top of Esplanade mansion. I demand this has to be removed. LIC must be directly accountable for the up keeping and maintenance of these two heritage structure or else! Last time I visited Esplanade area there was a vast latrine in front of Esplanade mansion. It is a shame for Kolkata. Wake up all the Bongs and shine with your past glory.

Grotesque gold on white landmark (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100907/jsp/calcutta/story_12905986.jsp)

It looks okay to me. Maybe this is some sort of personal issue between two architects. Or maybe Bengal's intellectuals have nothing better to do now so they are debating about dome colours. Instead of gold or not, they should get permission from the Defence ministry and build several nice restrooms/bathrooms for the thousands of people who visit the area.

Ramoji-style film city on Pather Panchali land
Udit Prasanna Mukherji | TNN

Kolkata: This is where Satyajit Ray had shot ‘Pather Panchali’, using the lush countryside as the backdrop for Apu’s coming-of-age tale. Over six decades later, National Film Award-winning art director Nitish Roy is setting up a film city in Boral, where Ray had filmed his masterpiece.
Purple Movie Town, as the state-of-the-art film city has been christened, has generated a fair amount of interest in Hollywood as well. A host of American directors is slated to visit the facility in November to assess if they can work here in future.
If the film city manages to draw the Holly brigade, it will be a major boost for the filmmaking industry in Bengal. Last year, ‘The Truman Show’ director Peter Wier had shot his forthcoming film, ‘The Way Back’, in Darjeeling.
Roy, who has worked as art director in Hollywood movies like the Oscar-winning blockbuster Gladiator and has won three national awards for ‘Kharij’ (dir Mrinal Sen), ‘Mandi’ (dir Shyam Benegal) and ‘Lekin’ (dir Gulzar), has joined hands with Pritimoy Chakraborty’s Finesse Group to set up the film city. A portion of the sprawling complex — construction has already begun — will stand on six acres of land where Ray had actually shot parts of Pather Panchali. A statue of Ray still adorns the spot.
Roy, who designed Hyderabad’s Ramoji Film Studio in the early ’90s, is hoping that his Kolkata venture will draw as much attention and business as the one in the Andhra capital. “As far as I recall, 45 Hollywood films were shot at Ramoji Film City between 1997 and 2000, when I was actively involved. We hope that with proper infrastructure, we can draw the same sort of business here. Hollywood is also looking for cheaper locations. Purple Movie Town will have all the facilities that Ramoji and other leading film cities of the world have. In India, it will be have the best facilities after Ramoji,” he said.
With his vast experience in Hollywood, Roy said that filmmakers there prefer ready sets and concentrate more on ambience created through costumes and other details. “Drawing on my personal experience in Hollywood and Bollywood, we shall ensure that Purple Movie Town will offer end-to-end solutions to movie makers,” he added.
Finesse chairman Pritimoy Chakraborty said that they have had a few rounds of discussions with Hollywood and UK filmmakers. “Around three to four directors will visit our film city in November,” he added. His company has also approached Bollywood and soap producers.
According to Chakraborty, Rs 37 crore is being invested in the first phase. The film city will have locations like hospital, jail, railway station, airport, market area, shopping mall, dummy aircraft, train, temple, police station, college, modern and traditional houses etc.
“We’ll have everything that Ramoji has but in a more compact format, as we don’t have that much of land. We shall be happy if the film city manages to boost the culture of filmmaking in Kolkata,” he added.

UPDATE ON HAUTE STREET MALL TOPSIA ROAD

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6024/08092010432.jpg

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5194/08092010434.jpg

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/7393/08092010435.jpg

Bengal back on IT investment radar:cheers:

Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: Three IT biggies will make their foray in Brand Bengal next week.And chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will lay the foundation for the East Kolkata IT Park to accommodate them.
Rolta India,HSBC and HCL will get 5 acres,3.5 acres and 1.5 acres respectively in the 10-acre East Kolkata IT Park on Wednesday.Bhattacharjee will lay the foundation for the IT park as well as the individual projects at Nonadanga off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.The chief minister seems desperate to discard the setbacks created by recent bandhs.Even as talks were going on with Rolta,HSBC and HCL for the last few years,the IT department,prodded by Bhattacharjee,got all three to finalise their projects overnight so that the foundation could be laid here and now.
Exactly three years ago,on September 14,2007,Rolta Indias chairman and MD Kamal K Singh had signed an MoU in the chief ministers presence at Writers Buildings.But the IT player had put off clinching the final deal ever since.In the meantime,the Left Front government had faced one poll debacle after the other,creating enough political uncertainty to raise doubts about Bengal being the right investment destination.
Naturally,the global market leaders rethink,along with the other two IT companies stepping in,has rejuvenated the IT department.A jubilant IT secretary,Siddharth,said: The IT destination will be the third after Salt Lakes Sector V and the nearby Rajarhat-New Town IT hub.It will be a big event for the states sunshine sector because we would have created a new IT hub after the two known ones.All three IT companies are very big and their presence will be an enormous boost to the investment scenario,which had become somewhat dull,thanks to the recession.
Between the three companies,more than 10,000 people are likely to be employed at the new IT park.
Rolta,a solution provider of innovative information,technology solutions,services and software,will invest over Rs 250 crore and provide extensive facilities for delivery of information technology-based geo-satial services,engineering design services,software development and ERP implementation services worldwide.Rolta alone will provide employment opportunity for around 5,000 technical professionals and domain experts.
HCL,on the other hand,will provide 2,000 openings.Like Rolta,the leading global technology and IT enterprise with annual revenues of $5 billion,will be stepping into the state for the first time.For HSBC,though,it will be a second campus.The group service centre of HSBC Electronic Data Processing India (HDPI),a subsidiary of HSBC,is already operational at Salt Lake;the facility handles the back office requirement of HSBCs subsidiaries worldwide.A similar project will come up on the 3.5 acres given to HSBC at Nonadanga.
The IT secretary said HSBCs expansion in the state would encourage more BPO players to set up base here.I think we are coming out of the lull and the presence of these big IT companies will be enough proof of the fact, said Siddharth.

UPDATE ON HAUTE STREET MALL TOPSIA ROAD



Looks like a top class IT Building:)
Is this only for MALL or Commercial use also?

Shukhobrishti Handover Ceremony - http://savenewtown.blogspot.com/2010/09/shukhobrishti-handover-ceremony.html

A new floor to Studio No. 5 and a complete makeover for the building Four make-up rooms on each floor of the main studio Extra dressing rooms and attached toilets A room for the production manager A sound gallery in the annexe of the new studio Eateries, parking areas, landscaping A new entrance on Mahatma Gandhi Road

Photos - An elevation plan of the new studio; the blueprint of the new-look Technician Studio I; the studio as it stands now

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TIxbmLlP9oI/AAAAAAAAATY/s9h31M1EtaM/1.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TIxbmSDZj9I/AAAAAAAAATc/Liab5F0B9po/2.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TIxbmVS3KyI/AAAAAAAAATg/-hvXDCRxmvQ/3.JPG

Source: TNN (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Fresh-blueprint-for-Technicians-revamp/articleshow/6538581.cms)

Looks like a top class IT Building:)
Is this only for MALL or Commercial use also?

^^Once upon a time not too long ago Haute Street was marketed as India's first Fashion mall. It has been under construction for 3 years. Not sure if the same format holds good now.

Alternative arrangements for bringing power to New Town

ABP reports: Faced with constant opposition from Trinamool Congress for last three years, to erect power transmission towers, the state government has made arrangements for bringing power to the city through the underground route.

This has resulted in higher expenditure. Arrangements to supply 150 mw of power to New Town have been made and this will help meet requirements of some of the major projects that are nearing completion.

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/297/newtownelectricty1.jpg (http://img824.imageshack.us/i/newtownelectricty1.jpg/)
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/4931/newtownelectricty2.jpg (http://img830.imageshack.us/i/newtownelectricty2.jpg/)

Pre Poll Gift for Kolkatans by Trinamool Congress? After opposing water tax, the TMC has more gifts for the janata...

Pre-poll plan to axe property tax
- Cost logic shapes lolly for residents

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100913/jsp/calcutta/story_12912110.jsp

The four-month-old Trinamul Congress-administered civic board is toying with the idea of doing away with property tax as a sop for over 4.55 lakh residents, reducing administrative expenditure at the cost of losing revenue.

Armed with the logic of high administrative and collection costs in realising tax from residential properties, the civic board is busy clearing the decks for a formal announcement of the populist plan. Given the going tax rates, the decision will cost the Calcutta Municipal Corporation coffers over Rs 75 crore every year.

Sources in the CMC headquarters told Metro that the pecuniary arithmetic and the political cost-benefit analysis of the proposed move were being worked out.

“Since a major tax reform after a gap of 75 years is imminent, we are exploring various citizen-friendly options. It is too early to comment on what we will offer,” said mayor Sovan Chatterjee. If implemented, the annual savings of house owners in Calcutta would range from Rs 300 to Rs 12,000.

The civic board is keeping its excuses ready, knowing that questions would be asked. “Abolition of property tax on residential buildings may apparently seem an impossible proposition but in reality it is not so. The revenue loss will be much less than what might be feared,” said municipal commissioner Arnab Roy, commenting on its viability.

According to CMC records, out of a collection of Rs 452 crore as property tax, residential buildings contribute around Rs 75 crore. With over 1,500 employees in 19 collection centres, the civic body spends around Rs 45 crore to maintain the administrative and collection infrastructure.

A similar logic was offered when the Haryana government abolished house tax two years ago. It was forced to reintroduce the tax earlier this month to be eligible to use central funds sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Pre Poll Gift for Kolkatans by Trinamool Congress? After opposing water tax, the TMC has more gifts for the janata...

Pre-poll plan to axe property tax
- Cost logic shapes lolly for residents

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100913/jsp/calcutta/story_12912110.jsp

^^I am sure the jhola of excuses are ready. Once implemented, when the law becomes a drain and tomorrow when money is required for road projects or any investment in public infrastructure they will say that we care more about the jonota, ...so to hell with development. Let us wait n watch!

Around 28,000 dwellers on the protected East Kolkata Wetlands will now be allowed to build houses but in strict accordance with eco-safety laws.

The East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA) has prepared guidelines for how the houses will be built. It was approved by chief secretary Ardhendu Sen at Writers' Buildings on Tuesday.

Among the key aspects dwellers will have to keep in mind are having proper toilets in the houses and ensure that it does not disturb the wetlands ecosystem, said EKWMA chief technical officer Nitai Kundu, who attended the meeting.

The entire wetland has been divided into five core areas for proper management and developing eco-tourism. "No construction will be allowed in core areas I and II where Dhapa dumyard is situated. In the rest, pollution-free activities like horticulture and pisciculture could be done. However, before doing anything, formal approval of EKWMA will be required," said an official.

There are several illegal structures inside the wetland and EKWMA had earlier carried out a demolition drive with the help of the police. "There are still quite a few unauthorised structures in the area and we have already sent notices to them. We are working on plans to carry out more demolition drives to remove the illegal structures," an official said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Houses-to-be-allowed-on-wetlands/articleshow/6556041.cms

Delhi boost for New Town (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100918/jsp/calcutta/story_12950420.jsp)
IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI IN NEW DELHI

Delhi has accorded satellite township status to New Town and agreed to share the cost of development in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s disputed acres despite UPA ally Trinamul being a stumbling block in land acquisition for infrastructure.

“We have agreed to pay nearly 50 per cent of the cost for three infrastructure projects. The agreement between the Centre and the state was to be signed today but got postponed… It will be signed at the earliest,” Ashutosh Joshi, the director of the Union urban development ministry, told Metro on Friday.

The ministry has also set a two-year deadline to put proper infrastructure in place in New Town, which should be music to the ears of those who invested in the Rajarhat dream, only to see it turn into a nightmare over the past year.

Trinamul leaders in Rajarhat have been opposing land acquisition for action areas II and III of New Town. The party is also backing the protests by landowners who claim their plots were acquired by the government for a pittance.

According to Joshi, the ministry agreed to the proposal to bring New Town under central schemes for satellite townships after going through a detailed project report. The ministry is also helping Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu develop satellite townships. The only condition is that Bengal must meet the deadline.

“We want a commitment from the Bengal government that the three projects to be partially financed by Delhi would be completed by 2012,” Joshi added.

Sticking to the ministry’s deadline could be easier said than done as land acquisition has come to a halt in New Town following Trinamul’s victory in the panchayat poll.

Housing minister Goutam Deb admitted that resistance to land acquisition was a “hurdle” and blamed “the Opposition” — without naming Trinamul — for the problem. Although Hidco, the agency responsible for the development of New Town, has dumped water and sewer pipes at several locations in action areas II and III, resistance from villagers has stalled work.

“We are doing everything to sort out the issue,” said minister Deb, whose efforts to involve Mamata Banerjee in New Town’s development haven’t cut ice.

Trinamul’s Saugata Roy may be the junior urban development minister, but local Trinamul leaders seem determined to continue opposing land acquisition.

“The state government will have to return land to the people who were forced to part with it,” said Prabir Kar, Trinamul Congress president of Rajarhat block.

Sankalpa SOS ! http://savenewtown.blogspot.com/2010/09/sankalpa-sos.html

Can someone repeat a Rang de basanti for these ministers n leaders of bengal?

take a lead :lol:

I too "overheard" some guys talking about Accenture. I hope all this points to good news. If Accenture takes up around 1lakh sqft then it will send strong signals and real estate activity will speed up.
Source (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/accenture-to-foray-into-bengal-to-employ-1000-in-first-phase/408666/)
Accenture to foray into Bengal; to employ 1,000 in first phase

Kolkata is all set to have a new entrant in the information technology (IT) space. Global technology and consultancy giant, Accenture, is currently in the process of setting up operations, by way of a software development and delivery centre in Rajarhat.

The company has already started construction work at DLF New Town Heights, located in Rajarhat, where the office would be set up, said a highly placed source within the told Business Standard.

Accenture, which had been was rumored to establish presence in the city for the past two years, has scheduled the start of operations in the city by the end of the year.

“We have been planning to establish operations in Kolkata for a while now, but have plans have faced delays. The plan now is to start operations by the end of the year. In the first phase, we will hire about 1, 200 professionals”, said the source.

For this purpose, employees from Hyderabad and Bangalore, interested in transfer to Kolkata have already been asked to requisition applications.

“We are aware that they are planning to establish a presence in Kolkata by the end of the year, with an initial strength of over 1, 000 employees. They have been boosted by the superior infrastructure and the talent pool that the city offers to IT companies”, said West Bengal minister for IT, Debesh Das.

A team from Accenture was in the city, last week surveying progress of operations, the official said, adding that the Kolkata plan had been in the pipeline for a while but was delayed because of a spectrum of issues ranging from recession to operational requirement fulfillment.

It might be noted that Accenture plans to add around 8,000 people in India by the end of 2010, taking its total employee base in the country to 50,000.

Accenture has a presence in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurgaon, New Delhi, Pune and Chennai across India.

The IT giant has annual revenues of $21.58 billion for fiscal 2009, has earlier announced its focus on strengthening clients in telecommunications, pharmaceutical and energy sectors in the country.

List (http://www.calcuttaweb.com/itcomp.php?p=1&srchtxt=&srchby=)of all the IT companies in Kolkata

^^

New Town, Rajarhat does not figure in the list. Does no IT company have their office in new town?

^^

Does no IT company have their office in new town?

There are several IT companies in New Town in DLF I, Infospace, Ecospace.

Source (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/accenture-to-foray-into-bengal-to-employ-1000-in-first-phase/408666/)
Accenture to foray into Bengal; to employ 1,000 in first phase

The company has already started construction work at DLF New Town Heights, located in Rajarhat, where the office would be set up, said a highly placed source within the told Business Standard.
.

^^Brilliant! They have taken up space in DLF02 as pointed out by another forumer.

AllThingsCoolKata presents - Kumartuli Live - http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/kumartuli-live.html

DFID plans to end West Bengal schemes

British funding agency Department for International Development (DFID), which provides financial assistance for development and poverty reduction, will end its programmes in West Bengal after providing it at least £300 million (Rs.2,153 crore at the current exchange rate) in grants over seven years.

The agency, which helped the state government in selling loss-making units and saving money, was dissatisfied with the progress made by the programmes it was funding, said two state government officials, who did not want to be named.

DFID has told West Bengal that its financial support for all state projects will stop in March. Beyond this, the state may still benefit from other British resources, said a spokesperson for the agency.

The agency will continue to provide financial assistance to Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, according to its spokesperson. In Andhra Pradesh, most of DFID’s programmes aimed at reducing poverty have ended; the last programme there ends next year, the spokesperson said.

The public sector enterprises and health department projects in West Bengal have fallen behind schedule because the state government “doesn’t seem to have the political will to implement them”, one of the officials said.

The agency provided grants to various departments of West Bengal, including urban development, health, public enterprises and power, to help build civic infrastructure and revamp state government-owned companies.

A number of these programmes wouldn’t be completed by March.

An official in the state’s health department, which received at least Rs.800 crore from DFID, said the state government would take at least another year to complete the ongoing projects.

“We have so far spent only Rs.459 crore (of funds drawn from DFID),” he said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. “It is impossible to complete the projects by March next year.”

The health department’s projects were to be concluded in May, but due to the delay in execution, it wrote to DFID seeking more time.

The agency, however, has decided to end its support to the state by March.

DFID is yet to decide if it would ask the state government to return unused funds at the end of March.

Its spokesperson said a decision would be taken only after conducting project audits next year, while an official at West Bengal’s public enterprises department said, “It is likely that we would be asked to return whatever we couldn’t spend.” The official asked not to be named.

DFID began supporting the public enterprises department in 2003, and has given it at least Rs.250 crore to restructure loss-making companies.

It had sanctioned around Rs.390 crore, but after the first phase of restructuring, the initiative slowed. The department still has around Rs.16 crore of DFID’s funds it has not been able to utilize.

One of the most celebrated successes of West Bengal’s partnership with DFID was the sale of the Great Eastern Hotel, recalls the head of a consulting firm, who, too, did not want to be named because the state government is one of his clients.

The state government sold the Great Eastern Hotel, a landmark property from the British era in the heart of Kolkata, to Bharat Hotels Ltd in 2005.

DFID helped the state government pay a handsome severance package to workers of the loss-making hotel. Earlier attempts by the state government to sell it failed because of resistance from trade unions.

“It was a landmark event,” says the consultant cited earlier. “Without support from DFID, the state government wouldn’t have managed to sell so many loss-making units in the state, and because it could divest itself of so many bleeding companies, the state government now saves at least a couple of hundred crores (of rupees) every year.”

Google Earth has updates some sections of south Kolkata

Diamond City South

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2193/diamondcitysouthggl.jpg (http://img825.imageshack.us/i/diamondcitysouthggl.jpg/)

Diamond City West

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/4089/diamondcitywestggl.jpg (http://img832.imageshack.us/i/diamondcitywestggl.jpg/)

Bengal Ambuja Upohaar

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7831/bengalambujaupoharggl.jpg (http://img37.imageshack.us/i/bengalambujaupoharggl.jpg/)

Fort Oasis

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/342/fortoassiskolkataggl.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/fortoassiskolkataggl.jpg/)

Rameswara Mansion

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2439/rameswaramansionggl.jpg (http://img823.imageshack.us/i/rameswaramansionggl.jpg/)

All Things CoolKata presents Momo Mia - http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/momo-mia.html

AllThingsCoolKata now presents - http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/tale-of-two-restaurants-part-i.html

Sun,
Thanks for the recent update. They look gorgous.

I had a look of updated google map of Kolkata. Much of this version is 3D map as a result all the building looks alive. Southern Av. and adjoining area looks really pretty. I noticed a new medical college coming up across Jadavpour University and it has a very elegant building . RK Mission Institute of culture, Meghamallar looks so live as if I could touch them . Both the Science Colleges, Medical college, two major railroad stations and Behala mint looks very different from previous version of google map. There are still pockets of slums scattered around the city but there are evidence of massive urbanization all around. But google did not update NSCBI Airport area perhaps waiting for terminal construction to complete. Behala airport got runway paved and well painted. It could have been extended further. Dhakuria lake area also looks very nice in 3D mode. Please take look of it!

the dumbest tourism minister is in charge of the WB division of tourism.

they could have easily used the CWG as an excuse to lure foreigners into see Kolkata, the london of the east.

and put up a brochure saying why india is a commonwealth nation. I woonder how they get these plush jobs?

Can anybody confirm whether constructon has started or not on the vacant plot next to the twin towers of Fort Oasis(25 floors each) where the 3rd tower ( 43-floor) tower is proposed to be built?

http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/stephen-court-peter-cat-and-rahul.html

Your blogs are awesome man. :cheers:

I miss the chelo-kebob of Peter cat..:ohno:

http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/stephen-court-peter-cat-and-rahul.html

Wood Square Mall Current Status as on 25th September 2010

Source http://www.srijanrealty.com/malls.html

Site Address : 169 NSC Bose Road, Near Bypass, Narendrapur, Kolkata

http://www.srijanrealty.com/status/rainbow/1.jpg

Has it been completed ?

And Yeh kya recession ka shikar ho gaya?
http://www.bengalshristi.com/projects_shristinagar_cbd_itpark.aspx?p=3

http://www.bengalshristi.com/images/banner_project_itpark.jpg

Do it now: Plot to licence in 3 WEEKS
German paper technology giants allotted land, industrial licence in record time by state government
Udit Prasanna Mukherji | TNN

Kolkata: From land allotment to issuing industrial licence — all in three weeks. If you thought it was some place outside Bengal, think again. The admission comes from Wolfgang Wiertz, managing director of Gapcon, the German giants in paper technology that is opening a manufacturing unit in Kalyani, the company’s first venture in Asia.
The land was allotted by the West Bengal Industrial Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC), and is waiting for a pollution certificate from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) to start work immediately after Durga Puja.
W B I I D C MD Nandini Chakraborty said that Gapcon paid 50% of the land cost on Wednesday. “This is a welcome development. Gapcon will start work soon,” she said.
If you thought that such fast work was not possible in the state, neither did the German honchos of the company. They simply did not expect this, especially from a government riddled with several land problems. Gapcon managing director Wolfgang Wiertz admitted that they never expected this in India, leave alone Bengal. “We are really impressed. The response from the government, especially the agency WBIIDC, was really quick. In fact, we never expected this. We started discussions with the government in the first week of this month and WBIIDC has allotted land at Kalyani this week,” he said.
“We hope that the plant will be operational by the end of September 2011. If everything goes as planned, we shall set up another unit in the second phase,” he said. According to him, the company would invest around 9crore to 10 crore in the first phase.
“This will be a unique project, and our first manufacturing unit outside Europe. The company will employ highly technical manpower for the project,” he added. The Gapcon MD pointed out that it had been looking at both China and India for a manufacturing footprint, but finally decided in favour of India as it had a “democratic set-up.
Ranajoy Chowdhury, managing director of the Indian arm, Gapcon Engineering, said all the leading paper & pulp companies in the country, such as ITC, BILT, BK Birla Group, Emami, West Coast Paper, are their client. “We have already appointed Solitaire as the consultants for the Bengal project. Gapcon does not want to waste time,” Chowdhury said.
We have a bad experience with the state authorities. IFA is waiting for more than 3 years for 27 acres of land. We have requested the state government to acquire around 77 acres. It has given 50 acres so far. Our project is still pending for want of the remaining 27 acres Pawan Surekha | CHAIRMAN, INDIAN FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION


This should be the rule. We cannot sit on files. The administration has to be responsive and responsible to get respect. When we are competing with other states, one has to be proactive like this
Sanjay Budhia | MD, PATTON



We are the worst sufferers of land acquisition delay. The German firm’s land requirement was little, but ours was much more. We waited for 4 years but still could not get the entire land. We feel the land wasn’t purchased in the way it should have been. We sought 350 acres but got only 200 Harsh Jha | MD, TATA METALIKS



It is a welcome development and a very good beginning for the state. This is going to boost the image of our state in a big way. We hope more such things would happen in future
S K Roy | MD, PEERLESS GROUP

Do it now: Plot to licence in 3 WEEKS
German paper technology giants allotted land, industrial licence in record time by state government
Udit Prasanna Mukherji | TNN


Wish this sense dawned upon them years ago! It goes to show that if things are done properly and with the right intention, then there is no room for excuses!

Do it now: Plot to licence in 3 WEEKS
German paper technology giants allotted land, industrial licence in record time by state government
Udit Prasanna Mukherji | TNN

Kolkata: From land allotment to issuing industrial licence — all in three weeks. If you thought it was some place outside Bengal, think again. The admission comes from Wolfgang Wiertz, managing director of Gapcon, the German giants in paper technology that is opening a manufacturing unit in Kalyani, the company’s first venture in Asia.
The land was allotted by the West Bengal Industrial Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC), and is waiting for a pollution certificate from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) to start work immediately after Durga Puja.
W B I I D C MD Nandini Chakraborty said that Gapcon paid 50% of the land cost on Wednesday. “This is a welcome development. Gapcon will start work soon,” she said.
If you thought that such fast work was not possible in the state, neither did the German honchos of the company. They simply did not expect this, especially from a government riddled with several land problems. Gapcon managing director Wolfgang Wiertz admitted that they never expected this in India, leave alone Bengal. “We are really impressed. The response from the government, especially the agency WBIIDC, was really quick. In fact, we never expected this. We started discussions with the government in the first week of this month and WBIIDC has allotted land at Kalyani this week,” he said.
“We hope that the plant will be operational by the end of September 2011. If everything goes as planned, we shall set up another unit in the second phase,” he said. According to him, the company would invest around 9crore to 10 crore in the first phase.
“This will be a unique project, and our first manufacturing unit outside Europe. The company will employ highly technical manpower for the project,” he added. The Gapcon MD pointed out that it had been looking at both China and India for a manufacturing footprint, but finally decided in favour of India as it had a “democratic set-up.
Ranajoy Chowdhury, managing director of the Indian arm, Gapcon Engineering, said all the leading paper & pulp companies in the country, such as ITC, BILT, BK Birla Group, Emami, West Coast Paper, are their client. “We have already appointed Solitaire as the consultants for the Bengal project. Gapcon does not want to waste time,” Chowdhury said.
We have a bad experience with the state authorities. IFA is waiting for more than 3 years for 27 acres of land. We have requested the state government to acquire around 77 acres. It has given 50 acres so far. Our project is still pending for want of the remaining 27 acres Pawan Surekha | CHAIRMAN, INDIAN FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION


This should be the rule. We cannot sit on files. The administration has to be responsive and responsible to get respect. When we are competing with other states, one has to be proactive like this
Sanjay Budhia | MD, PATTON



We are the worst sufferers of land acquisition delay. The German firm’s land requirement was little, but ours was much more. We waited for 4 years but still could not get the entire land. We feel the land wasn’t purchased in the way it should have been. We sought 350 acres but got only 200 Harsh Jha | MD, TATA METALIKS



It is a welcome development and a very good beginning for the state. This is going to boost the image of our state in a big way. We hope more such things would happen in future
S K Roy | MD, PEERLESS GROUP


Its just too late, they should have taken this initiative atleast since 2000, if not earlier!

^^ don't blame the government, blame yourself. where were you when the nano protests where going on? why didn't you take up arms against mamata then?

Your blogs are awesome man. :cheers:

I miss the chelo-kebob of Peter cat..:ohno:

Thanks SarafIndian. Where are you based out of presently. Stayed tuned in for more....

Here are two more posts:
http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/french-loaf.html
http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/09/dolly.html

Its just too late, they should have taken this initiative atleast since 2000, if not earlier!

The amount of land needed is small and the land was already there in Kalyani.

The problems are happening when large tracts of land are needed in newer sites. Also this opposition to land acquistion has been bolstered by the politics of Na and No.

^^ don't blame the government, blame yourself. where were you when the nano protests where going on? why didn't you take up arms against mamata then?

Babus of Kolkata are real paracites. Even students from colleges who would have been biggest beneficiary of nano project remained silent. I think those people deserve perpetual unemployment. Prosperity will be a mirage in our Bengal!

Babus of Kolkata are real paracites. Even students from colleges who would have been biggest beneficiary of nano project remained silent. I think those people deserve perpetual unemployment. Prosperity will be a mirage in our Bengal!

As if Nano project would have given employment to all the unemployed youths of Bengal, their children, their grandchildren, and their relatives and neighbours.. :lol:

The problem with Bengal is we tend to blow out such small into soooo big that we dont realise that the Nano wouldnt have saved Bengal. Nano project was important for Bengal. That Nano moved out is a loss to Bengal.. but hang on, did the Tatas really move out completely? The land is still with them. They intent to hold on to the land. May be something will come up there. But irrespective of political opinion, we must understand that what Bengal needs is not just an over hyped project, but numerous projects that help the State grow.

it could have at least helped in changing the perception. oh wait. it prevented the change of perception that the CM was hoping for

^^ don't blame the government, blame yourself. where were you when the nano protests where going on? why didn't you take up arms against mamata then?

Don't blame the government? Why?

Forumers may again term me "biased" but I have my point of view and would love to express that.

Suppose we agree that whatever MB did with the Nano project was solely for her personal political gain. And also the fact that the Nano project moving out of Bengal is a loss.. ok, for argument sake, "huge loss"..

But.. on whom did the buck stop to keep the investors ("investors" - in this case TATA)? The government or a tiny opposition? Agreed that the opposition created a lot of hue and cry, but the government was anyways more powerful than them. The ultimate responsibility to keep an investment is with the government. They failed there. The opposition created trouble. Completely agreed. But that cant be an excuse our government chooses to give!

Also, just to clarify, I am not talking about MB or BB. I am talking about the responsibilities of a government. My view point would NOT have changed had the government and opposition changed seats politically. I would have still blamed the government to a great extent for failure to keep investments intact in the State.

^^ don't blame the government, blame yourself. where were you when the nano protests where going on? why didn't you take up arms against mamata then?

in Santiago,...:lol:

Don't blame the government? Why?

Forumers may again term me "biased" but I have my point of view and would love to express that.

Suppose we agree that whatever MB did with the Nano project was solely for her personal political gain. And also the fact that the Nano project moving out of Bengal is a loss.. ok, for argument sake, "huge loss"..

But.. on whom did the buck stop to keep the investors ("investors" - in this case TATA)? The government or a tiny opposition? Agreed that the opposition created a lot of hue and cry, but the government was anyways more powerful than them. The ultimate responsibility to keep an investment is with the government. They failed there. The opposition created trouble. Completely agreed. But that cant be an excuse our government chooses to give!

Also, just to clarify, I am not talking about MB or BB. I am talking about the responsibilities of a government. My view point would NOT have changed had the government and opposition changed seats politically. I would have still blamed the government to a great extent for failure to keep investments intact in the State.

No matter which party is in power, the government cannot do much if the opposition is pretty strong and is hell bent on preventing something.

It is very easy to oppose and disrupt. It is not so easy to become responsible and positive.

TMC should realize that if MB comes to power the opposition can easily pay back with interest any time.

Anyway as regards to Singur: I would like to see TMC publish a map of the whole site and give in details the 400 acres of plots of land that are "disputed" and also provide a detailed list of names of the "claimants".

As if Nano project would have given employment to all the unemployed youths of Bengal, their children, their grandchildren, and their relatives and neighbours.. :lol:

The problem with Bengal is we tend to blow out such small into soooo big that we dont realise that the Nano wouldnt have saved Bengal. Nano project was important for Bengal. That Nano moved out is a loss to Bengal.. but hang on, did the Tatas really move out completely? The land is still with them. They intent to hold on to the land. May be something will come up there. But irrespective of political opinion, we must understand that what Bengal needs is not just an over hyped project, but numerous projects that help the State grow.


If somebody is making fun out of the Tata Nano project,then I am very sorry to say that he/she doesn't even have slightest idea about how prestigious this project is considered not only in India,but across the world! It is a technological innovation which has strengthened India's image in the global automotive industry...Frankly speaking,when anyone of us in Bengal,shouts against this project even today and tries to question on its ability to generate 'mass' employment, actually we make fun out of ourselves by doing that, because the rest of India laughs on us that how could we let a project of this stature,go out of our state and still remain so indifferent !!! Just have a look on the present situation at Sanand and probably we would understand what this Nano project could have done to the people of Singur and the overall image of Bengal!

It is very easy to say that we should encourage numerous projects that would help the state to grow,but is that equally easy to invite any of the companies here in this state which is already having an anti-industry image for years and where a company like Tata, had to exit amidst immense trouble? It is well known that bringing a big brand automatically encourages other companies to invest in the state....

WB is already an Industry starved state. The present govt had done very little in this direction in the last few decades,during their tenure and the situation had just gone from bad to worse ...but,just when things were seemingly looking bright, to some extent in the recent years,then the major blow of Singur came up..Even if it is agreed that the process of land-acquisition was not proper and people were not compensated well,but my only question is that when the project was almost nearing completion, was it a wise-decision to throw it away from the state??? The govt and the opposition, both are to blame for this biggest blunder in State’s industrial history..

Every sensible human-being knows that it is now impossible to identify the disputed land out of the total plot at Singur and thus, any claim made on this, would lead to nowhere..This land may remain like,this for years to come and we may keep hearing on new promises and gimmicks by every other political party before any election...but,is the fate of lakhs of people of Singur going to be any better than what it could have been, if the project had come up????? NO......NEVER!

If somebody is making fun out of the Tata Nano project,then I am very sorry to say that he/she doesn't even have slightest idea about how prestigious this project is considered not only in India,but across the world! It is a technological innovation which has strengthened India's image in the global automotive industry...Frankly speaking,when anyone of us in Bengal,shouts against this project even today and tries to question on its ability to generate 'mass' employment, actually we make fun out of ourselves by doing that, because the rest of India laughs on us that how could we let a project of this stature,go out of our state and still remain so indifferent !!! Just have a look on the present situation at Sanand and probably we would understand what this Nano project could have done to the people of Singur and the overall image of Bengal!

It is very easy to say that we should encourage numerous projects that would help the state to grow,but is that equally easy to invite any of the companies here in this state which is already having an anti-industry image for years and where a company like Tata, had to exit amidst immense trouble? It is well known that bringing a big brand automatically encourages other companies to invest in the state....

WB is already an Industry starved state. The present govt had done very little in this direction in the last few decades,during their tenure and the situation had just gone from bad to worse ...but,just when things were seemingly looking bright, to some extent in the recent years,then the major blow of Singur came up..Even if it is agreed that the process of land-acquisition was not proper and people were not compensated well,but my only question is that when the project was almost nearing completion, was it a wise-decision to throw it away from the state??? The govt and the opposition, both are to blame for this biggest blunder in State’s industrial history..

Every sensible human-being knows that it is now impossible to identify the disputed land out of the total plot at Singur and thus, any claim made on this, would lead to nowhere..This land may remain like,this for years to come and we may keep hearing on new promises and gimmicks by every other political party before any election...but,is the fate of lakhs of people of Singur going to be any better than what it could have been, if the project had come up????? NO......NEVER!

Completely agree with u.......we need to change our mindset......

If somebody is making fun out of the Tata Nano project,then I am very sorry to say that he/she doesn't even have slightest idea about how prestigious this project is considered not only in India,but across the world! It is a technological innovation which has strengthened India's image in the global automotive industry...Frankly speaking,when anyone of us in Bengal,shouts against this project even today and tries to question on its ability to generate 'mass' employment, actually we make fun out of ourselves by doing that, because the rest of India laughs on us that how could we let a project of this stature,go out of our state and still remain so indifferent !!! Just have a look on the present situation at Sanand and probably we would understand what this Nano project could have done to the people of Singur and the overall image of Bengal!

It is very easy to say that we should encourage numerous projects that would help the state to grow,but is that equally easy to invite any of the companies here in this state which is already having an anti-industry image for years and where a company like Tata, had to exit amidst immense trouble? It is well known that bringing a big brand automatically encourages other companies to invest in the state....

WB is already an Industry starved state. The present govt had done very little in this direction in the last few decades,during their tenure and the situation had just gone from bad to worse ...but,just when things were seemingly looking bright, to some extent in the recent years,then the major blow of Singur came up..Even if it is agreed that the process of land-acquisition was not proper and people were not compensated well,but my only question is that when the project was almost nearing completion, was it a wise-decision to throw it away from the state??? The govt and the opposition, both are to blame for this biggest blunder in State’s industrial history..

Every sensible human-being knows that it is now impossible to identify the disputed land out of the total plot at Singur and thus, any claim made on this, would lead to nowhere..This land may remain like,this for years to come and we may keep hearing on new promises and gimmicks by every other political party before any election...but,is the fate of lakhs of people of Singur going to be any better than what it could have been, if the project had come up????? NO......NEVER!

Completely agree wid u mate...this is till date the most unfortunate thing that has occurred in Bengal's past, IMO worst than abolision of English from Grade schools!

Completely agree wid u mate...this is till date the most unfortunate thing that has occurred in Bengal's past, IMO worst than abolision of English from Grade schools!

People of Bengal must debate the consequences of Mamata’s Singur adventure very carefully in upcoming election. If this issue remains in back burner I would say the entire electoral process is nothing but a festival of vandals/lumpens.

If somebody is making fun out of the Tata Nano project,then I am very sorry to say that he/she doesn't even have slightest idea about how prestigious this project is considered not only in India,but across the world! It is a technological innovation which has strengthened India's image in the global automotive industry...Frankly speaking,when anyone of us in Bengal,shouts against this project even today and tries to question on its ability to generate 'mass' employment, actually we make fun out of ourselves by doing that, because the rest of India laughs on us that how could we let a project of this stature,go out of our state and still remain so indifferent !!! Just have a look on the present situation at Sanand and probably we would understand what this Nano project could have done to the people of Singur and the overall image of Bengal!

It is very easy to say that we should encourage numerous projects that would help the state to grow,but is that equally easy to invite any of the companies here in this state which is already having an anti-industry image for years and where a company like Tata, had to exit amidst immense trouble? It is well known that bringing a big brand automatically encourages other companies to invest in the state....

WB is already an Industry starved state. The present govt had done very little in this direction in the last few decades,during their tenure and the situation had just gone from bad to worse ...but,just when things were seemingly looking bright, to some extent in the recent years,then the major blow of Singur came up..Even if it is agreed that the process of land-acquisition was not proper and people were not compensated well,but my only question is that when the project was almost nearing completion, was it a wise-decision to throw it away from the state??? The govt and the opposition, both are to blame for this biggest blunder in State’s industrial history..

Every sensible human-being knows that it is now impossible to identify the disputed land out of the total plot at Singur and thus, any claim made on this, would lead to nowhere..This land may remain like,this for years to come and we may keep hearing on new promises and gimmicks by every other political party before any election...but,is the fate of lakhs of people of Singur going to be any better than what it could have been, if the project had come up????? NO......NEVER!

All I want to say is that all the parties involved are responsible for the Singur debacle. Mamata, like what is expected from an uncouth short-tempered, short-sighted person, wreaked havoc purely for vested interest. However, the government, being the more responsible party, could have avoided the trouble and trumped Mamata by shifting the factory to another undisputed place. That would have been a more pragmatic step. I don't think that the Tatas would have disagreed, after all they had to move their factory to a place 1500 Km away and Sanand is not exactly known for its proximity to a big city (one of the arguments in favor of Singur as a location) as such. But I guess the govt wanted it this way so that they can turn this issue into a political one to leverage in the longer run. Its we, the people of West Bengal, are the ultimate looser. The scary part is that the people from both the political camps are also people of West Bengal. May God Save West Bengal!

All I want to say is that all the parties involved are responsible for the Singur debacle. Mamata, like what is expected from an uncouth short-tempered, short-sighted person, wreaked havoc purely for vested interest. However, the government, being the more responsible party, could have avoided the trouble and trumped Mamata by shifting the factory to another undisputed place. That would have been a more pragmatic step. I don't think that the Tatas would have disagreed, after all they had to move their factory to a place 1500 Km away and Sanand is not exactly known for its proximity to a big city (one of the arguments in favor of Singur as a location) as such. But I guess the govt wanted it this way so that they can turn this issue into a political one to leverage in the longer run. Its we, the people of West Bengal, are the ultimate looser. The scary part is that the people from both the political camps are also people of West Bengal. May God Save West Bengal!

The Tatas were shown alternative lands. But they liked Singur.

By moving to Gujarat, Mr Ratan Tata probably wanted to send a message that they don't give into last minute blackmail by politicians.

They should have just said that they are giving 30 days to all sides and will move out if no decision can be taken. That would have been a better step and given some face saving exit route to politicians who don't know when to climb down.

The Tatas were shown alternative lands. But they liked Singur.

By moving to Gujarat, Mr Ratan Tata probably wanted to send a message that they don't give into last minute blackmail by politicians.

They should have just said that they are giving 30 days to all sides and will move out if no decision can be taken. That would have been a better step and given some face saving exit route to politicians who don't know when to climb down.

I think Mr.Tata got disgusted with babus,politicians and Bengali intelectuals in general. Perhaps he is right in not making a large scale investment like Nano project in near future in Bengal. Let economic prosperity be a mirage for babus of Bengal!

The Tatas were shown alternative lands. But they liked Singur.

By moving to Gujarat, Mr Ratan Tata probably wanted to send a message that they don't give into last minute blackmail by politicians.

They should have just said that they are giving 30 days to all sides and will move out if no decision can be taken. That would have been a better step and given some face saving exit route to politicians who don't know when to climb down.

Some experts said that by moving Nano project some Kilometers away in the barren land of the adjoining district the cost of the Nano would have been increased by 50 rupees only..

I think there were some genuine problem. I know a fertile land that a farmer inherit is like a mother to him... Very few would like to give away their 'mother' unless very handsomely paid.. Land acquisition is not a problem of WB only... Nano is a over hyped project .. thats all.. So many proposed core sector projects( one each 100 times bigger than the Nano project) are not being materialized due to land acquisition problem like POSCO, MITTALS JINDALS.. I dont understand how come the JSW group got so many acres of land in Salbony.. It is a Rs 35,000 crore project.. But nobody talk about that .. Still ppl talk about the much hyped Nano project. MB gained some political mileage ok.. But responsibility of failure of Nano project in WB goes to the Government and Mr. Ratan Tata( I respect him as the best Industrialist) who acted like a mere businessman

Some experts said that by moving Nano project some Kilometers away in the barren land of the adjoining district the cost of the Nano would have been increased by 50 rupees only..

There are many "experts" in Bengal who do not know that industry needs water, access to transport network etc. Purulia is no match for Singur. Bengal is in competition with rest of India. Industrialists will go where they are welcomed. They wont come to Bengal where every party from left to right makes them feel unwelcome. Also looks like the Tatas wanted to have the factory near a big city with good infrastructure.

I think there were some genuine problem. I know a fertile land that a farmer inherit is like a mother to him... Very few would like to give away their 'mother' unless very handsomely paid..

The attachment is fine. However the people who were beating up employees of contractors or holding the state to ransom were not farmers but activists of ultra left groups and TMC. The farmers just got exploited by everyone in this game. Also many of the claimants are not real owners of the land.

Land acquisition is not a problem of WB only... Nano is a over hyped project .. thats all.. So many proposed core sector projects( one each 100 times bigger than the Nano project) are not being materialized due to land acquisition problem like POSCO, MITTALS JINDALS..

The same left wing forces are at work everywhere. In case of Singur they found a willing ally in Mamata. In Orissa they have CPI and so on. So their partners change depending on the location.

I dont understand how come the JSW group got so many acres of land in Salbony.. It is a Rs 35,000 crore project.. But nobody talk about that ..

Part of the land was already there. And isn't it here that the ultra left started the trouble by trying to assasinate the CM? So all the talk we hear about the ultra left is emanating from there.

Still ppl talk about the much hyped Nano project. MB gained some political mileage ok.. But responsibility of failure of Nano project in WB goes to the Government and Mr. Ratan Tata( I respect him as the best Industrialist) who acted like a mere businessman

The responsibilty of Nano's failure to take off rests mostly on Mamata's shoulders and her fake claims of 400 acres of disputed land.

Nothing will happen of "TATA Nano" Project debating endlessly.:ohno:
What we have lost,that is lost.
I only care about future.
Donno what will happen post 2011 election:bash:
Probably old wine in new bottle.:down:

If people of Bengal want to enjoy economic stagnation and unemployment, let them have it. Rest of India will pass by and ignore talkative Bengalis. Only smart ones will immigrate to other parts of INDIA/world.

If people of Bengal want to enjoy economic stagnation and unemployment, let them have it. Rest of India will pass by and ignore talkative Bengalis. Only smart ones will immigrate to other parts of INDIA/world.

I have been observing your vitriolic messages towards West Bengal and her people for quite sometime now. I presume that you are a "smart one" and have escaped (given your declared location in this forum) from the miseries of life in West Bengal. Bengal is going through a period of transition and a bit of anarchy (contrary to the popular belief - not so uncommon in the other parts of the country) - every place in this world has been subject to such changes - from the glory days to the days of abysmal miseries. West Bengal ruled the roost for the better part of last century, now other states are coming up too and there are several problems that West Bengal needs to solve now, the primary in my opinion, is the population explosion that happened at least twice last century resulting in the destruction of much of its economic foundations. But, ultimately its the people who matter in the end and I have ample amount of faith and respect to the capabilities of the people of Bengal. I strongly believe they will come out of this temporary phase of anarchy in the near future. The question is, why are you so bothered with the people of Bengal, now that you have made it big outside. If you have really cared for the state and her people then you would rather be here in Bengal and try to do something constructive rather than indulging in pointless criticism - I guess, we all know our drawbacks, but we need people to lead from the front and set good examples. If you look into history then you will see that has been the case for any successful race and geography, including Bengal. So, I would rather welcome you to either provide constructive criticism (staying away from the defamatory remarks about the people in general - yes I took them personally as a person residing in the state) and/or come back and try to lead by example (once more, if you have tried it before).

Hope you wouldn't take this as an offensive mail, but a friendly sharing of thought from a fellow forum member. Apologies if I have sounded harsh anywhere in my mail.

Regards.

PS: I do not wish to carry on with this debate, because I am sure you will have your reasons from your point of view - I shared mine and that's about it. Besides, there is no point in carrying on with this debate in a forum, which has little impact to the people who matter now in Bengal. I would have ignored your comments, but thought of putting forward my displeasure with your past messages related to Bengal and her people, for once.

I have been observing your vitriolic messages towards West Bengal and her people for quite sometime now. I presume that you are a "smart one" and have escaped (given your declared location in this forum) from the miseries of life in West Bengal. ...

I would have ignored your comments, but thought of putting forward my displeasure with your past messages related to Bengal and her people, for once.

niljee, you completely missed the point. the vitriol is sabya99's "style". after having observed the world from his perch at new jersey, he wants to wake us all up by intentionally crude comments. but the basic problem is his "style" can have unintended consequences that he himself may not fully understand.

you can bracket him with the attitude of many probasi bengalis (although kolkata is for everyone, not just bengalis) -- both inside and outside the country. rabindranath had written a song precisely for this kind of attitude (i am unable to translate the bengali lyrics into english, some other forumer may give it a try. thanks):
http://i53.tinypic.com/2pu0fmd.png

debabrata biswas sings for ritwick ghatak in the movie "jukti, takko ar golpo":

KpWhYXaFL-o

People of Bengal must debate the consequences of Mamata’s Singur adventure very carefully in upcoming election. If this issue remains in back burner I would say the entire electoral process is nothing but a festival of vandals/lumpens.

Is the elections in India anything better than that?
Sir, these debates can only help to change the mentality of few %age of urban population that is the youths...say till 35-40....but the story remains same in rural scenario, where people vote not for using their democratic rights but they vote out of fear, and they vote to that person whom they are told to be voted by their village's head, or u may say local leader. So, until and unless we could educate these people, be it Bengal or India, the electoral process will be nothing but a mere joke!!!...:bash:

a new FOB is being constructed near Nicco Park. The base of the structure is through, now we have to wait for the final product to comeup!:cheers:

Some construction work is going on the land beside Technopolis. A gate has come up and many pillars are being constructed now!
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5253/image0788.jpg

cc: Myself

cc: Myself
Sankalp
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4211/image0791.jpg

cc: Myself
again Sankalp (well i guess so)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4496/image0792.jpg

cc: Myself
Sankalp once more
IMO there should have been many more trees like this, all around in Rajarhat, as the temperature out there is at least a degree or two more than the city!
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3831/image0793.jpg

hmm...cant remember about this
cc: Myself
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/9945/image0794.jpg

work in full swing at Shristi site
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/8729/image0795.jpg

thank you Studdmanster for the updates

I have been asked why I bother so much about Bengal since I am settled in New Jersey ? Perhaps the only straight forward reason I could give is I was born and grew up there. Most NRIs are very much attached to their birth place; they don’t need to give any excuse for that! However they tend to view their birth place in same wave length as they view USA or Canada or GB. Here comes all the contradiction between you and me! I want people of Kolkata to think and live like first world people. I hope their wish list must be same as mine. When I see that is not going to happen I get frustrated, sometimes I ask are there intelligent ,smart men living in Kolkata? Some of us even comment let them go anywhere, they don’t deserve prosperity. When someone set fire to his own home in the name of democracy and talk big ,his mental health must be checked. Even some NRIs tend to think babus deserve some shock treatment. Then we start confrontational posting to SSC forums, give moderator headache. But basically our goal is we want you to live the way we live. Believe me, we are not obnoxious and we are very kind and compassionate people. Just somewhat frustrated because we are stunned with the mental inertia of babus.

@studd - thanks for all the visual updates. Looks like you have covered a lot of ground in the white amby:)

I have been asked why I bother so much about Bengal since I am settled in New Jersey ? Perhaps the only straight forward reason I could give is I was born and grew up there. Most NRIs are very much attached to their birth place; they don’t need to give any excuse for that! However they tend to view their birth place in same wave length as they view USA or Canada or GB. Here comes all the contradiction between you and me! I want people of Kolkata to think and live like first world people. I hope their wish list must be same as mine. When I see that is not going to happen I get frustrated, sometimes I ask are there intelligent ,smart men living in Kolkata? Some of us even comment let them go anywhere, they don’t deserve prosperity. When someone set fire to his own home in the name of democracy and talk big ,his mental health must be checked. Even some NRIs tend to think babus deserve some shock treatment. Then we start confrontational posting to SSC forums, give moderator headache. But basically our goal is we want you to live the way we live. Believe me, we are not obnoxious and we are very kind and compassionate people. Just somewhat frustrated because we are stunned with the mental inertia of babus.

^^@sabya - everyone knows where the problems lie but it is the manner you are expressing it which is causing concern.

If you are angry with the babus of Bengal, go express it to people in the corridors of power , but refrain from making statements like "Are intelligent ,smart men living in Kolkata? Also, trust me it is amusing and a trifle silly how you have gone down the justification route talking about how NRIs are , since no one on this forum has any issues with NRIs. But let me tell you that many forumers here probably have an option of working in kolkata or bangalore or NJ, but for some reasons they are here.

It does not take long in SSC to mobilize public opinion and invite a brig/ban ..so please use other channels to express your frustration

I have been asked why I bother so much about Bengal since I am settled in New Jersey ? Perhaps the only straight forward reason I could give is I was born and grew up there. Most NRIs are very much attached to their birth place; they don’t need to give any excuse for that! However they tend to view their birth place in same wave length as they view USA or Canada or GB. Here comes all the contradiction between you and me! I want people of Kolkata to think and live like first world people. I hope their wish list must be same as mine. When I see that is not going to happen I get frustrated, sometimes I ask are there intelligent ,smart men living in Kolkata? Some of us even comment let them go anywhere, they don’t deserve prosperity. When someone set fire to his own home in the name of democracy and talk big ,his mental health must be checked. Even some NRIs tend to think babus deserve some shock treatment. Then we start confrontational posting to SSC forums, give moderator headache. But basically our goal is we want you to live the way we live. Believe me, we are not obnoxious and we are very kind and compassionate people. Just somewhat frustrated because we are stunned with the mental inertia of babus.

The only way you can change the systems is when you are in the system. People of Bengal needs to see that there are political choice other than "Gherao" and "aborodh" and "Andolon". You have to come to Bengal and fight it out in Power politics. That is the only way you can change the perception, there is no way you can do it in SSC forums.

Swarna Mani..

Not sure if the picture is for the project... but in case it is .. few more highrises beside Silver Spring...

http://property.magicbricks.com/microsite/buy/kishore-baid/swarna.html

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101005/jsp/calcutta/story_13016283.jsp


Ireland eyes business in town
SUBHRO SAHA

Ireland is keen to engage Calcutta in business ties across sectors, after supporting local NGOs and education projects for the poor here for decades.

“We are conscious of the fact that Calcutta has the strongest Irish connection among Indian cities, but we have never really done justice to that chemistry. It’s time for a course correction, since we believe that the needy image is only a caricature of this wonderful city,” Kenneth Thompson, the ambassador of Ireland to India, told Metro on Monday.

Dairy and agriculture, information technology, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, telecom, financial services and higher education are some of the domains where Ireland is confident of achieving “meaningful business collaboration” with counterparts in Bengal.

As a first step, the third-largest island in Europe with a population of 4.4 million is opening a diplomatic window in town on Tuesday, with Keventer Agro chairman M.K. Jalan taking over as honorary consul of Ireland. Jalan was earlier the honorary consul of France.

There are around 50 Irish enterprises with presence in India at the moment, mostly clustered in Bangalore, Pune and Delhi, and the ambassador feels Bengal will be on the biz roadmap of Ireland Inc soon.

“We are in dialogue with Irish dairy tech giant Keenan for possible sharing of technology, which can increase milk yield in cows by 30 per cent,” said Jalan, whose company is also in talks with Kerry, another Irish dairy and food tech firm, exploring collaboration avenues.

Ireland is credited with having an advanced dairy technology, with every cow having a passport to monitor relevant details. Software for various services and medical equipment are other areas where the diplomat expects handholding with the state.

“The Loreto Order and the Christian Brothers came to this city back in 1841, and we have been supporting Sister Cyril and some voluntary outfits for many years. We feel this state is now ripe for us to move on to a new plane,” Thompson stressed.

To explore collaboration routes in higher education, a team from the Trinity College, Dublin, will visit Calcutta soon, while the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, is also sending a delegation to work with Indian doctors. The land of WB Yeats, James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw will also focus on boosting cultural ties with Calcutta, the ambassador said.

Swarna Mani..

it is mentioned at http://www.pioneerproperty.in/

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2145/swarnamani.jpg (http://img80.imageshack.us/i/swarnamani.jpg/)

@studd - thanks for all the visual updates. Looks like you have covered a lot of ground in the white amby:)

yep!!!.....the sarkari gari....:P

thank you Studdmanster for the updates

thnx Samrat!!...:)

it is mentioned at http://www.pioneerproperty.in/

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2145/swarnamani.jpg (http://img80.imageshack.us/i/swarnamani.jpg/)

pretty neat :cheers:

http://i53.tinypic.com/2pu0fmd.png

debabrata biswas sings for ritwick ghatak in the movie "jukti, takko ar golpo":

KpWhYXaFL-o

Very apt citing mountaincloud! Thanks!

Work on Bengal Shriram's Uttarpara project to start by November
BS Reporter / Kolkata October 6, 2010, 0:52 IST

Construction of Shriram Properties, promoted by Rs 6,000-crore Bengal Shriram Hi-Tech City at Uttarpara on the outskirts of Kolkata, is set to begin by the end of November.

Shriram Properties, real estate arm of the Chennai-based Shriram Group, will invest Rs 400 crore in setting up an information technology (IT) park and a residential complex, in the first phase, to be copmplete in three years.

“We will set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) and a residential township at Uttarpara, which will be developed on 4 million sq/ft,” said Debashish Som, CEO, Bengal Shriram Hi-Tech City.
The project that was envisaged in 2007, has faced delays due to formalities with the process of licensing, land schedule problems, appointment of independent surveyors and environment clearances.

Delays in the project have led to an increase in the initial estimated cost, which was projected to be Rs 5000 crore. Som, however, did not attribute this increase in cost to the delay.

For the project, promoters engaged financing from two US-based private equity (PE) firms- Walton Street Capital, based in Chicago and Starwood Capital, based in Greenwhich.

“Although it is true that the initial estimated project cost was pegged at Rs 5000 crore, it was increased later, especially since the initial estimates were devised on rough approximation,” Som said.

Despite the increase in project costs, Shriram Properties is not looking at additional investors. The additional financing requirements of the project will be fulfilled through debt and internal accruals.

Haldia Ammonia Project
The Rs 1,600-crore ammonia gasification project that was slated to come up by the end of the year, under Ennore Coke, has been delayed due to procrastination in allotment of coal linkages to the company by the West Bengal government.

“There is a need for a proactive government. The government of West Bengal, through the (West Bengal) Mineral Development and Trading Corporation, has the power to allocate coal linkage for the project, and yet the application for the same has been pending for the past year,” said Ganesan Natarajan, president and CEO, Ennore Coke.

Natarajan said that the project could not be implemented in the absence of the allocation of local coal linkages.

“It is impossible for the project to be implemented in the absence of linkages, because with coal imports, the cost effective equations do not work out,” he said.

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8167/stem.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/i/stem.jpg/)


Source: The Statesman

http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/10/mega-feast-on-mahalaya-day.html

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8167/stem.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/i/stem.jpg/)


Source: The Statesman

i could be heading up this department. i just took a class on this subject.

i could be heading up this department. i just took a class on this subject.

That will be real good as many health related suffering of people can be reduced with stem cells... it would be like what vaccine was for 20th Century.

http://allthingscoolkata.blogspot.com/2010/10/mega-feast-on-mahalaya-day.html

I like your cool blog.

http://indian-writer.blogspot.com/2010/10/ma-durga-calling.html

another kolkata project coming up....

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101010/jsp/frontpage/story_13040593.jsp


Mumbai, Oct. 9: When the good professor took to begging on Mumbai’s local trains, his family, friends and even colleagues at the charitable trust he runs were aghast.

“But I believe that no route is small if the cause is an honourable one — and I wanted to raise funds to build a rural school. The response has been overwhelming,” says professor Sandeep Desai.

Six months after he started off, Desai, 50, is an icon of sorts on the city’s commuter rail network. Daily passengers seek him out to drop their tiny contributions into his donation box as he waits at Goregaon station to board the 11.30am slow. He makes about 7-8 trips between Goregaon and the Churchgate terminus till 5.30pm, collecting money.

“I do not work in the rush hours, because I have found that people are wary of opening their wallets and taking out money during this time for fear of pickpockets. Besides, they absorb what I have to say better and respond more warmly when they are relaxed and the trains are not overcrowded,” says Desai.

A trained marine engineer from the Marine Engineering College, Calcutta, Desai is also a qualified MBA and used to teach at the S.P. Jain Institute of Management in Mumbai.

“When I started off, many perceived me as a con man. My fellow trustee and college friend Noorul Islam would accompany me those days and stay incognito in the crowd to pick up feedback. It was difficult to seek donations from strangers and I just froze on the first-day first trip,” he remembers.

On Thursday, Desai is treated like an old friend by commuters, with many asking him about the progress of the school he is collecting donations for. Many of them have become regular donors —pushing in notes of ten, twenty and even five rupees into the small plastic box Desai holds out.

Some of the donors are poor; some are well off. Some have even visited a school for poor children he already runs in the Iraniwadi slum of Goregaon. The school was set up with money that Desai and his friend Islam, both bachelors, raised by giving lectures on management and creativity across India.

“We had approached many top companies for money but none came forward. So we decided to raise the money through the lecture circuit we were already part of,” says Desai.

Islam, an alumnus of Calcutta’s Hotel Management Institute, is an advertising professional and has served several times as chairman of the training & professional development committee of the Advertising Agencies Association of India.

After running the Goregaon school successfully for half a decade, the two realised that if they wanted to replicate the success and make it sustainable, they needed public participation.

“The school I am raising money for now is under construction in the backward village of Zadgaon in Ratnagiri. We have a small network of volunteers we call vidya sevaks. They help procure the land with participation of local people, oversee the work and teach at the schools. You will be surprised that my drive on the trains has not just raised money, people have volunteered to be vidya sevaks as well,” he says.

Desai started off with a daily collection of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 which later went up to Rs 3,000-4,000. But things changed dramatically last month.

“I was on my way to the station in the morning when suddenly I got a call from a person who claimed to represent Bollywood star Salman Khan. He said Salman had come to know about my drive from someone and was keen to contribute. I thought of it as a prank call,” remembers Desai.

A couple of hours later, as he was going from compartment to compartment collecting money, the same person called and said Salman wanted to talk to him. As Desai waited, Salman’s unmistakable voice rang on the other end.

“Kamal kartey ho professor saab aap — aap to duniya palat rahe ho,” Salman told him.

“He said he wanted to contribute. He wanted to know how much I had collected so far. I said Rs 4 lakh. He said he would contribute the same amount,” Desai said.

Before he hung up, Desai had a small request for Salman.

“I told him I was on the train and it would be nice if I could put him on the phone’s loudspeaker and he could tell the commuters I was not a fraud. Some nasty comments still come my way,” Desai said.

Salman agreed and spoke in his inimitable style to the commuters, which made the crowd go crazy. “Since that day, I have been collecting about Rs 8,000-9,000 a day and one Saturday, I collected Rs 14,000,” said the professor.

Salman has put in Rs 4 lakh in Desai’s trust account with the promise of contributing Rs 20 lakh annually to help him build one rural school in any part of India every year.

“We have now announced that if any village can come up with at least five vidya sevaks and arrange for land, we will help them build a school that is properly run,” Desai said.

Desai and Islam plan to bring the drive to Calcutta. “We have an emotional link with the city as Noorul is from Bengal and we both studied in Calcutta. We are in the process of finding a backward village where we can have vidya sevaks to see through the work and run it with commitment,” Desai said.

He will be on Calcutta’s local trains soon, he promises, and is confident that “the city with the most generous heart will not disappoint” him.

Calling: More architects to Bengal with green building knowhow

Joining the world in fighting back global warming, the state government is emphasising on churning out more architects with proper knowledge and skills to build green buildings in Bengal.
Last month, the Association for Development and Research on Sustainable Habitats in association with The Energy Research Institute and West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation (WBGEDC) conducted a three-day training workshop in which 35 city architects had participated. “There are plans to conduct such training programmes at least once a year to impart knowledge to young architects on ways to make green buildings,” said WBGEDC managing director S P Gon Chaudhuri.
Developing sustainable habitats is one of the main points of the national climate action plan that the state government will reportedly work on for the next five years. “The target can be fulfilled if we have more architects with the required knowledge and skills,” said Gon Chaudhuri. Several houses were damaged and washed out in the Aila storm that occurred in Sunderbans last year and the state government was already working to set up ecofriendly sustainable habitats in the Sunderbans which will be resistant to such destructive storms like Aila in the future.
Gon Chaudhuri said that at present, green building evaluators come from Delhi to certify sustainable buildings as green buildings that helps to cool down surrounding temperatures. “Very soon Kolkata will get such a certifying system of its own which will help the developers to get their building certified more fast,” he said.
At present, there are three green building structures in the city — ITC Sonar Bangla hotel building at Parama Island, Technopolis structure at Sector V and Paribesh Bhavan off EM Bypass at Salt Lake, and soon four others will come up. “These will be a state science and technology department building at Salt Lake, a renewable energy college building under IGNOU to be set up by Tripura group, a new building at Jadavpur University and a four-storied private structure at Belghoria. Work on the Science and Technology building have already started,” Gon Chaudhuri said. The WBGEDC was also taking initiatives to install more and more solar panels in the existing highrise buildings in the city.
One of the main criteria to construct green buildings is to use low-energy consuming material such as bamboo sticks and straw. The builder also has to make sure that sunrays do not enter the structure, reducing the load on air-conditioners. The windows should be double-glazed and maximum use of waste material must be made during construction. Besides, developers have to make provisions for use of LED lights, solar lights and solar hot water systems as far as possible to minimise the use of conventional energy.
Gon Chaudhuri said that encouragingly, about 10 to 12 private real estate groups had recently approached WBGEDC, asking as to how they can get green building certification for the building complexes that they were constructing. “This is a very positive and encouraging. We need more such private initiatives so that we can achieve our targets of the national climate action plan of developing sustainable habitats. TNN

http://epratidin.in/Details.aspx?id=5158&boxid=21741515
Sorry for not providing translation.
Will do after sometime.
Someone can please translate in the meantime if possible


http://epratidin.in/epaperimages/11102010/11102010-md-hr-7/21741515.JPG

Kolkata: The country’s second financial hub after Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), that will come up in Rajarhat, will help Kolkata become the next economic destination of the country. Rajarhat is being tipped as the gateway to the Southeast. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will lay the foundation stone of the hub on Wednesday.
H o u s i n g Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) managing director Saurabh Das said they were very excited at the hub’s bu s i n e s s prospect. “At present, there is no financial hub between BKC and Singapore. At the least, we expect to have financial exchanges with all South Asian countries and bring in investments worth around Rs 16,000 crore,” Das said.
There are plans for the financial hub to be named ‘Dalhousie’. The Hidco authorities had come up with the proposal to set it up in the lines of BKC and had sent the proposal to Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier this year.
According to the plan, the financial hub will come up on nearly 300 acres and house several banking and financial institutions, stock exchanges and insurance companies apart from hospitality and educational institutions.
The state finance department will act as the nodal agency for developing the hub and Hidco will help set up the infrastructure. The hub has the advantage of a strategic location and good connectivity, including access to the upcoming E a s t - We s t Metro.
The city’s business fraternity welcomed the move. “This will be a welcome image change for the state. The banking and insurance sector will get a tremendous boost once the hub comes up,” said Indian Chamber of Commerce president Jayanta Roy. According to Merchant Chamber of Commerce secretary Sunirmal Roy and Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sunil Dasgupta, the hub will give a huge boost to the state’s image in terms of commerce and industry.

Source: Times of India (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/10/12&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00504&AppName=1&FontSize=g2)

^^ we can only hope that the financial hub materialises ???
however, it is hard to think so with the tmc opposing almost every development project in bengal???? :ohno:
I am only waiting for the next elections to take place till which we can't hope of having any sort of development...

GRSE hopes to complete modernisation by next year

The Kolkata-based shipyard under the Defence Ministry, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), is modernising its shipbuilding facility at a cost of Rs 600 crore. The modernization project is expected to be completed by December 2011. With the acquisition of Rajabagan Dockyard from Central Inland Water Transport Corporation in July 2006, the shipbuilding capacity of GRSE increased significantly. The present order book position stands at Rs 7,500 crore covering various types of combat vessels including patrol boats, and fast interceptor boats.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/

GRSE hopes to complete modernisation by next year

The Kolkata-based shipyard under the Defence Ministry, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), is modernising its shipbuilding facility at a cost of Rs 600 crore. The modernization project is expected to be completed by December 2011. With the acquisition of Rajabagan Dockyard from Central Inland Water Transport Corporation in July 2006, the shipbuilding capacity of GRSE increased significantly. The present order book position stands at Rs 7,500 crore covering various types of combat vessels including patrol boats, and fast interceptor boats.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/

This is indeed a great news! Thanks rupakd for sharing this. With a shipping(?) or port minister from Bengal this was in order I guess. Hope they will work towards the rejuvenation of the port and shipping business in Bengal..one of the historically strong points of Bengal.

Any news of the Lalit Great Eastern? Are they opening this month?


The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata to reopen by October 2010

Friday, July 24, 2009, 13:00 Hrs [IST]
By PT Staff | Mumbai

Lalit Group’s, The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata is expected to re-launch with a new look. The five-star heritage hotel is scheduled to open by October 2010. This 165-year-old hotel, which was commissioned in 1840, is known as the ‘Jewel of the East’. It will host modern facilities including a health club, a mall and a swimming pool.

The recent economic downturn has caused the cost of the renovation to shoot up from Rs 120 Crore to Rs 250-300 Crore. After renovation, Great Eastern will house a huge indoor conference hall and the number of rooms will go up from 213 to 250. In Phase I, 150 rooms will be thrown open for customers with banquets and other facilities. The remaining 100 rooms will be ready for use in Phase II.

i think they are going slow on the renovation. every time I visit their website I see the date getting extended.

Q&A: Jyotsna Suri, CMD, Bharat Hotels

Bhupesh Bhandari | 2010-10-04 02:40:00

Aren't your hotels taking too long to build? Work on the Great Eastern in Kolkata has been going on for a while.

The Great Eastern is not a hotel; it is national heritage. It's a jewel. I don't allow it to be referred to as a hotel. You can't play around when you are restoring something like it. We took 500 truckloads of dirt from the hotel in three months. After that, we had to build a three-level car park. For that, we had to go underground. Then two main heritage blocks started shaking. We had to stop work for one year. We then got the right structure so that the blocks are not damaged. Yes, it has taken much longer than it should have. But it was worth it. It will be opened next year. I am extremely pleased with the progress. Otherwise, we complete most of our hotels within three years. Sometimes you get involved in a technicality which you just can't help.

it was handed over the Bharat Hotels in 2005?

it was handed over the Bharat Hotels in 2005?

Yes, I think so. Bharat Hotels is headed by Lalit Suri - they run the Lalit group of hotels across the country.

Q&A: Jyotsna Suri, CMD, Bharat Hotels

Bhupesh Bhandari | 2010-10-04 02:40:00

Aren't your hotels taking too long to build? Work on the Great Eastern in Kolkata has been going on for a while.

The Great Eastern is not a hotel; it is national heritage. It's a jewel. I don't allow it to be referred to as a hotel. You can't play around when you are restoring something like it. We took 500 truckloads of dirt from the hotel in three months. After that, we had to build a three-level car park. For that, we had to go underground. Then two main heritage blocks started shaking. We had to stop work for one year. We then got the right structure so that the blocks are not damaged. Yes, it has taken much longer than it should have. But it was worth it. It will be opened next year. I am extremely pleased with the progress. Otherwise, we complete most of our hotels within three years. Sometimes you get involved in a technicality which you just can't help.

niljee, thanks for this info. looking forward to seeing the hotel in its new avatar. the entire dalhousie square needs careful renovation. right beside great eastern was frederico peliti's famous italian restaurant, currently in a very sad state after years of neglect. needs renovation.

from "The Calcutta Cook Book. A Treasury of Recipes from Pavement to Palace" by Minakshie Das Gupta, Bunny Gupta and Jaya Chaliha, published by Penguin Books India in 1995

Peliti's and Firpo's are synonymous with the "good old days". "By appointment to the Viceroy of India, HRH The Price of Wales, HRH The Duke of Connaught", Peliti's was the best appointed of the "By Appointment" institutions of the time. It was to Peliti's that the business fraternity of Clive Street has been turning for the traditional Friday lunches since 1890. Chevalier Frederico Peliti was himself a great confectioner and won an award at the Calcutta International Exhibition for his twelve foot tall Eiffel Tower, "a miniature marvel in sugar". The building on Old Court House Street on the eastern side of BBD Bagh, where the marble staircase leads up to a newspaper office, was once Peliti's.

Hello people in my last trip to Kolkata i had visited the great eastern hotel and rest be assured the work is going on at a fast pace.The have built quite a lot and its a huge construction.Unfortunately the pics are in my phone and i cant get it to transfer to my comp!

Thank you for the information avishar.

But how you have had a trip to Kolkata as you are located in Kolkata! have you recently shifted elsewhere from Kolkata?

I study in bangalore and visit kolkata every 6 months or so!But did not have the heart to right the place as anywhere else other than kolkata..:)

Guys - I've been wondering. Its great to see all the new projects coming up around Kolkata - I was more curious if any efforts have been made to spruce up Kolkata city itself? Like the Slum Rehabilitation Schems in Mumbai - any such plans going on to clear the numerous shanties and slums Inside Kolkata City?

Few photos of Axis and Bioscope Mulptiplex:

http://www.priyaentertainments.com/theatre_album.php?t=8





.

HCC ties up loans for Rs 33 bn projects

Economics Times

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has tied up three separate, but parallel, loans for its three projects in West Bengal. The Rs 33 billion projects were bagged by HCC in last March, and had a debt component of Rs 16 billion. All of them will be executed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The debt has been tied up with five banks. ``The total loan tenure is 12 years and the interest rate is 10.8%. Yes Bank was the sole debt arranger and syndicator of the debt. Other financial institutions are India Infrastructure Finance, Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce,`` said a senior official from HCC, requesting anonymity.

HCC ties up loans for Rs 33 bn projects

Economics Times

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has tied up three separate, but parallel, loans for its three projects in West Bengal. The Rs 33 billion projects were bagged by HCC in last March, and had a debt component of Rs 16 billion. All of them will be executed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The debt has been tied up with five banks. ``The total loan tenure is 12 years and the interest rate is 10.8%. Yes Bank was the sole debt arranger and syndicator of the debt. Other financial institutions are India Infrastructure Finance, Dena Bank, Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce,`` said a senior official from HCC, requesting anonymity.

Any idea on which are these three projects?

Any idea on which are these three projects?

BANGALORE: Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has tied up three separate, but parallel, loans for its three projects in West Bengal. The Rs 3,300-crore projects were bagged by HCC in last March, and had a debt component of Rs 1,600 crore. All of them will be executed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.

The debt has been tied up with five banks. “The total loan tenure is 12 years and the interest rate is 10.8%. Yes Bank was the sole debt arranger and syndicator of the debt. Other financial institutions are India Infrastructure Finance , Dena Bank , Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce,” said a senior official from HCC, requesting anonymity.

The projects include converting the existing two lanes into four lanes between Baharampur and Farakka on NH 34, covering a distance of 103 km. The second and third contracts are for the development of existing two lanes into four lanes between Farakka and Raiganj (103 km) and between Raiganj and Dalkhola (50 km), also on NH 34. Land has been acquired and work on the projects will begin next month. They are scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2013.

The company has an order book of Rs 20,000 crore and currently operates four build, operate and transfer projects worth Rs 3,000 crore. The company is planning to grow its portfolio to Rs 25,000 crore by the end of this fiscal and is evaluating opportunities in hydropower, water and urban utilities. The firm’s stock closed 2.48% up at Rs 64.15 on BSE on Thursday.

There you go.
Good to see the NH-34 being widened.

There you go.
Good to see the NH-34 being widened.

Indeed! Thanks Avishar. Hope they do the same for the for the other parts of the highway as well...its probably the worst of highways in the stretch between Kolkata airport and Kalyani! It's surprising to see how the authorities have been least bothered so far, given that NH-34 is the main arterial road between north and south Bengal!

Tatas home in on housing projects

Tatas have moved on, leaving behind bitter memories of Singur. Even as it gives the state hope of a fresh beginning with new projects on the land initially acquired for Nano, the company dreams of widening its base in the housing sector. Already building luxurious apartments in

Rajarhat, Tata Housing Development Company Limited (THDC) now looks forward to acquiring 40-50 acres in the vicinity of Kolkata for setting up more residential and commercial complexes.

THDC managing director and CEO Brotin Banerjee said they were in touch with Bengal government and were hopeful of getting land around the city's periphery. "We have plans to set up more residential and commercial complexes within the surroundings of Kolkata. It does not necessarily have to be in Rajarhat. It could be anywhere within the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA). We expect things to fall in place by early next year," Banerjee said.

With rapid urbanisation taking place in the upcoming Baruipur township, Garia and Sonarpur, the company may get some land in these areas. The Tatas are reportedly keen on developing middle income group housing segments with commercial space in them.

Officials believe that Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), which is planning the development of periurban areas of the city, will be more than happy to engage the Tatas and, therefore, land for setting up housing complexes will not be difficult to come by. "If the company gives us a concrete proposal for land in Rajarhat, it could be considered," said Hidco managing director Saurabh Das. TNN

cc: the Telegraph

Coming soon is destination No. 11 on Calcutta’s fast-growing multiplex map.

Broadway — a four-screen plex from the entertainment arm of realty giant HDIL — will throw open its doors to the city in the first week of December.

Located in Salt Lake’s Sector III and spread across around 30,000sq ft, this will be the multiplex chain’s first property in the city.

“Ever since the entertainment division of HDIL was set up three years ago, we have been aiming for a pan-India presence. With Calcutta being an upcoming entertainment hub, we thought of coming here before going anywhere else,” says Mukesh Gupta, chief executive officer, HDIL Entertainment.

With 23 screens spread across Mumbai’s Vasai, Andheri and Goregaon, Broadway is also setting up shop in Indore in November.

The four-screen property in Salt Lake will screen the latest Holly, Bolly and Tolly blockbusters. “Despite so many multiplexes in the vicinity, we decided to come to Salt Lake because we feel that the demand for good movie-going facilities in that area far outstrips supply,” says Gupta.

Originally scheduled to operate from November, the delay in procuring the requisite licences have pushed the Broadway opening to December.

While last-minute details are still being worked upon, Broadway’s distinguishing factor will be its “competitive” price point.

“Our ticket rates will never be upwards of Rs 150, while most of our shows will be priced below Rs 120,” says Gupta.

Construction of new terminal building at NSC Bose Airport:

http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/6564/getimagex.jpg (http://img816.imageshack.us/i/getimagex.jpg/)

Source: TOI

^^ Nice update :cheers:

Construction of new terminal building at NSC Bose Airport:

http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/6564/getimagex.jpg (http://img816.imageshack.us/i/getimagex.jpg/)

Source: TOI

The sheer size is coming out clearly.:cheers:

The sheer size is coming out clearly.:cheers:

No doubt that this is indeed a great development! But any idea who will manage and maintain the facility once complete? Will that be still with AAI or go to some private company? A major factor behind the smooth functioning of Delhi/Mubai/Hyd airports has been private mode of operation. Anybody who has experienced the current quality of service and attitude from the AAI officials wouldnt be too hopeful!!

No doubt that this is indeed a great development! But any idea who will manage and maintain the facility once complete? Will that be still with AAI or go to some private company? A major factor behind the smooth functioning of Delhi/Mubai/Hyd airports has been private mode of operation. Anybody who has experienced the current quality of service and attitude from the AAI officials wouldnt be too hopeful!!

^^what you have stated is a fear that is already lurking in everyone's minds. Owing to strong unionism amongst third and fourth level staff senior folks at AAI are scared to reprimind them for raising the bar when it comes to maintenance. Having a private operator do a chunk of the maintenance will lead to protests for sure...so to summarize there is a lot of uncertainty in how the new terminal would be maintained

The Telegraph

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/671/09112010529003.jpg

cc: TNN

The state’s premier health institute — SSKM government hospital — and St Xavier’s College will soon get land from Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) to set up their second campuses in Rajarhat New Town. A foundation-stone laying ceremony for the same will reportedly be held on Thursday.
“We will be handing over the land to the institutes. We want more and more schools, colleges and hospitals to come up in New Town,” said housing minister Gautam Deb.
According to the plan, SSKM hospital will get 20 acre to construct their second building, whereas St Xavier’s College will get a 2.5 acre plot for their second campus. Also, a 5-acre plot has been earmarked for a government college and another 2 acre for a government school. While several state-ofthe- art private hospitals and educational institutions are already coming up in Rajarhat New Town, Hidco plans to set up a hospital like AIIMS.

cc: The Telegraph

The Trinamul-run civic body wants to buy Uttam Mancha on Manoharpukur Road and take over the management of Ahindra Mancha which is now looked after by the information and culture department.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said talks on both halls were on.

Uttam Mancha was built in memory of Uttam Kumar following his death in 1980. But the ownership went to a nationalised bank after its private owners failed to repay their loan.

Sources said the Calcutta Municipal Corporation would have to pay as much as Rs 2 crore to buy the hall, which has around 800 seats. “We hope the bank will offer us some concession,” the mayor said.

Trinamul state president Subrata Bakshi is said to have prevailed on the mayor to buy the hall in his locality.

Ahindra Mancha, named after stage actor Ahindra Chaudhury, was built by the Calcutta Improvement Trust in 1978. It had a revolving stage that stopped moving a decade ago.

Municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya said the mayor had approached him on the hall but added that “everything depends on the culture department”, which remains the chief minister’s fief. Mayoral council member Firhad Hakim said an overhaul of the hall would cost Rs 50 lakh.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd. is to join hands with global rail equipment major Bombardier Transportation India Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bombardier Inc to jointly bid for Indian Railways' projects. It would form a consortium and submit a joint bid in response to the global request for proposal under public-private partnership for manufacture and supply of 800 electric locomotives of 1,200 horse power over a period of 11 years and undertake maintenance for 15 years.

Source: Projects Monitor (http://www.projectsmonitor.com/RAIL/texmaco-bombardier-to-bid-jointly-for-rlys-projects)

Season's Greetings!

Some new developments in Kolkata which i saw in the last 2-3 months and thought of sharing with you all.

Arch Waterfront - Sec-v

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/3345/16082010776large.jpg

Multicon Estelle - P A Shah Road (to be precise on the approach road to Lake Gardens Flyover on the R.H.S. Its going to host "Mannar Khaabar" - local eatery.

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6489/multiconestellelarge.jpg

Novotel - Kolkata - next to Axis Mall

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2545/novotelkolkata05.jpg

The Sun played spoilsport in this pic
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/3738/20102010819large.jpg

nice updates Abhishek :cheers:

Abhishek is the last pic, where the sun played a spoilsport, of Novotel?...and where is this Arch Waterfront coming up in Sec-5?

Thanks Sidney.

@ Studdmaster.

Ya, thats the Novotel.

Arch Waterfront is located next to Sugam Park on the turning (near Sec - v Fire Station).

Thanks Sidney.

@ Studdmaster.

Ya, thats the Novotel.

Arch Waterfront is located next to Sugam Park on the turning (near Sec - v Fire Station).

^^abhishek , thanks for the updates!:cheers: I did see something u/c next to Sugam but was not sure that it would be a high-rise as we see in the render

Thanks Sidney.

@ Studdmaster.

Ya, thats the Novotel.

Arch Waterfront is located next to Sugam Park on the turning (near Sec - v Fire Station).

@Abhishek: Very nice updates!

Kolkata: Bengal is set for a big leap in cutting-edge scientific technology — one that could transform the state into a centre for futuristic research. A high energy, third generation synchrotron source, only the fifth such in the world, will be set up on a new campus of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP).
It will bring an investment of at least 6,000 crore to the state — almost twice that of the Tata Nano project in Singur, say sources.
The synchrotron will aid ahead-of-its-time research on nanotechnology and biological and material studies, with a wide range of applications from the manufacturing industry and engineering to basic sciences and medicine.
“Just four such synchrotrones now exist in the US, France, Japan and Germany. Once we have the facility, India will step into the big league of scientific research. It is going to be India’s CERN,” said Milan Kumar Sanyal, director of SINP, referring to the world’s largest particle physics laboratory in Switzerland where the Big Bang experiment is being carried out. A team of scientists has been formed to supervise the setting up of the synchrotron facility that might take 12 years to turn fully functional. It will require 150 acres of land.
Cutting Edge
The high energy synchrotron will only be the fifth of its kind in the world
It will bring investment of 6,000 crore to the state
The facility will require 150 acres of land
It might take 12 years to turn fully functional though SINP hopes to start operation in a small way by 2017
India now has a low-energy synchrotron facility at Indore SINP project: Spadework may begin after two years
Kolkata: The department of atomic energy (DAE) has sanctioned the synchrotron project in principle and asked for a blueprint and feasibility plan from SINP. The Kolkata-based institute organized a two-day closed-door meeting with top synchrotron experts from around the world on Thursday and Friday — including German material scientist Hermut Dosch, Gopal Shenoy from the Argonne National Laboratory, USA, and Japanese scientist Wakatsuki — to discuss the project.
SINP will soon start building capacity for the centre and hopes to start functioning in a small way by 2017. India now has a low-energy synchrotron facility at Indore. But it has a dated technology and is no match for the new centre that is now being planned.
“Our team has started working on the plan. It is a huge and prestigious project, the first step for which has been taken. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said an SINP scientist. Work has started on the feasibility report. The team has received inputs from experts from across the world.
Spadework is not expected to commence before 2012. “It will be spread across two fiveyear plan periods. There could be various issues involved and land acquisition is surely a contentious one. Considering the scale and importance of the project, we expect cooperation from all quarters. Hopefully, the project will stay in West Bengal,” the scientist said. The location for the facility is yet to be identified but SINP scientists have pitched for a spot in or around Kolkata.

Source: TNN (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Bengal-may-get-Rs-6000cr-lab-for-futuristic-research/articleshow/6917732.cms)

Kolkata: Bengal is set for a big leap in cutting-edge scientific technology — one that could transform the state into a centre for futuristic research. A high energy, third generation synchrotron source, only the fifth such in the world, will be set up on a new campus of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP).
It will bring an investment of at least 6,000 crore to the state — almost twice that of the Tata Nano project in Singur, say sources.


I am sure somebody will come out opposing this one saying that electrons could possibly come out of sychrotron and hit them hard!! Hope the center intervenes this time and keeps the two "children" out of the loop....but then again there are instances like Haripur! If only science could cure these imbeciles! :bash:

I am sure somebody will come out opposing this one saying that electrons could possibly come out of sychrotron and hit them hard!!

They don't have to be so creative..... the project requires 150 acres of land!!!!:lol:

Kolkata: Bengal is set for a big leap in cutting-edge scientific technology — one that could transform the state into a centre for futuristic research. A high energy, third generation synchrotron source, only the fifth such in the world, will be set up on a new campus of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP).
It will bring an investment of at least 6,000 crore to the state — almost twice that of the Tata Nano project in Singur, say sources.
The synchrotron will aid ahead-of-its-time research on nanotechnology and biological and material studies, with a wide range of applications from the manufacturing industry and engineering to basic sciences and medicine.
“Just four such synchrotrones now exist in the US, France, Japan and Germany. Once we have the facility, India will step into the big league of scientific research. It is going to be India’s CERN,” said Milan Kumar Sanyal, director of SINP, referring to the world’s largest particle physics laboratory in Switzerland where the Big Bang experiment is being carried out. A team of scientists has been formed to supervise the setting up of the synchrotron facility that might take 12 years to turn fully functional. It will require 150 acres of land.
Cutting Edge
The high energy synchrotron will only be the fifth of its kind in the world
It will bring investment of 6,000 crore to the state
The facility will require 150 acres of land
It might take 12 years to turn fully functional though SINP hopes to start operation in a small way by 2017
India now has a low-energy synchrotron facility at Indore SINP project: Spadework may begin after two years
Kolkata: The department of atomic energy (DAE) has sanctioned the synchrotron project in principle and asked for a blueprint and feasibility plan from SINP. The Kolkata-based institute organized a two-day closed-door meeting with top synchrotron experts from around the world on Thursday and Friday — including German material scientist Hermut Dosch, Gopal Shenoy from the Argonne National Laboratory, USA, and Japanese scientist Wakatsuki — to discuss the project.
SINP will soon start building capacity for the centre and hopes to start functioning in a small way by 2017. India now has a low-energy synchrotron facility at Indore. But it has a dated technology and is no match for the new centre that is now being planned.
“Our team has started working on the plan. It is a huge and prestigious project, the first step for which has been taken. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said an SINP scientist. Work has started on the feasibility report. The team has received inputs from experts from across the world.
Spadework is not expected to commence before 2012. “It will be spread across two fiveyear plan periods. There could be various issues involved and land acquisition is surely a contentious one. Considering the scale and importance of the project, we expect cooperation from all quarters. Hopefully, the project will stay in West Bengal,” the scientist said. The location for the facility is yet to be identified but SINP scientists have pitched for a spot in or around Kolkata.

Source: TNN (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Bengal-may-get-Rs-6000cr-lab-for-futuristic-research/articleshow/6917732.cms)

well, there goes another one...good that they're keeping their fingers crossed...anyway, all we can do is wish them good luck

If only science could cure this imbeciles! :bash:

:lol:

Well, it can cure them, provided these politicians (across the spectrum) realize that they have some mental problems and need professional help to cure their addiction to conspiracy theories or hatching conspiracies against each other.

some good news at least for the centre

Tax collection: Lucknow tops with highest all India growth

An analysis of India’s latest tax report card throws up some new leaders in terms of growth rates. Lucknow has emerged ahead of past leaders like Guwahati and Bhopal as the region with the highest all India growth rate. Kolkata is the most impressive metro, reports CNBC-TV18’s Ashwin Mohan quoting sources.
It is learnt that if one looks at the overall all India collection figures those are pretty impressive. All India collection figures on a whole are up by a healthy 17.2% but let’s take a look at the city wise split.

In the past we have had the likes of smaller cities like Bhopal and Guwahati emerging as all India leaders in terms of growth rates but this time around we have a new leader and that’s the city of Nawabs Lucknow. Lucknow registering the highest all India direct tax collection growth rate of 55.6%. Lucknow’s tax collection stood at Rs 2170 crore versus Rs 1394 crore.
On the flip side you had Jaipur recording the lowest all India direct tax growth rate of minus1.2%. If you shift focus to the metros they also sprung up a new leader and that’s Kolkata. Kolkata’s collections is up by 28.8%, its collection as a whole stood at Rs 9375 crore versus Rs 7558 crore.
The FM’s backyard that’s Delhi is also doing pretty well. Delhi’s collection is up by healthy 17.8% but it’s Mumbai that continues to pose a concern. It’s the main stay as far as revenue collections are concerned but its growth rates are not particularly as good when you compare it to the other metros.
Mumbai collections up by only 8.8% but sources are indicating that possible revenue receipts from the Vodafone litigation, the Harshad Mehta litigation and healthy December advance tax numbers could help Mumbai’s case. If you move further down south you have the likes of Chennai, its collection is up 18.3%, Bangalore’s collection is up 19.1% and Hyderabad’s collections is up by 17.6%.

source (http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/tax-collection-lucknow-topshighest-all-india-growth_499024.html)

Kolkata: After Singur and Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee’s new battleground is Rajarhat.
The Trinamool chief has questioned land acquisition for setting up housing projects and commercial complexes, exorbitant prices of plots on sale without necessary infrastructure, and the price given to farmers from whom the state took land. She also has a demand — return 10% of the developed land at Rajarhat to deprived farmers. Addressing a huge gathering at Rajarhat on Saturday, Mamata said her party will conduct a thorough probe into land deals. “I will see to the end of it (shady deals),” she said.
Mamata has no problems with IT campuses coming up at Rajarhat, offices of NGOs, or art and drawing centres. Her objection is to mushrooming apartments and shopping malls coming up on acquired land. She had a warning for buyers, too. “Remember, there is neither water, nor electricity nor sewerage here,” she said, asking the common man to think twice before buying property at Rajarhat.
Brandishing bundles of papers that she said were applications from aggrieved people from whom land had been acquired forcibly, Mamata promised the Trinamool would explore avenues to find legal redress. She also promised a probe into the distribution of 300 acres of land under ministers’ quota without public notification. “Who are you to distribute land, is it your land?” she asked, in an apparent dig at state housing minister Gautam Deb, who has been inviting her to programmes at New Town time and again. ‘Land acquired, but where’s the industry?’
Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee led a 5-km march from Rajarhat’s interiors to the venue of her public meeting on Saturday. Multitudes of people walked with her. “I have come prepared to Rajarhat,” she said, waving copies of mass petitions that she said were from people from whom land had been forcibly acq u i re d . “Where are the industries in Rajarhat?” she said, charging that land was a c q u i re d breaking rules in the name of setting up industries.
She said plots acquired at 6,000 were sold at between 20 lakh and 40 lakh by cohorts of CPM leaders. Promoters had a free run. Farm land was converted and waterbodies were filled up illegally. “What is the public purpose here, if land was acquired in the name of public purpose,” she asked. About 25,000 acres were acquired, affecting nearly 250,000 people. Many people were forced to accept compensation, many others had not yet accepted compensation money.
Mamata promised to stop any further filling up of waterbodies at Rajarhat and threatened that the Hidco office would be gheraoed if it prevented the panchayats from functioning in the area and ensuring basic a m e n i t i e s such as electricity and water.
She asked a few senior members of the party to form a committee and examine how the landlosers in Rajarhat could be given justice. Trinamool will get in touch with lawyers and move Supreme Court if necessary, she said.
As Mamata led a procession of boisterous Trinamool supporters waving party flags and shouting slogans, a small group of SFI supporters stood with grim faces at the gate of Derozio Memorial College, watching. A posse of policemen cordoned off the SFI rally.



Damn that woman! She is actually discouraging people from buying flats in rajarhat!
Also 10% of developed land to be returned?For what?To let the villagers back into pockets of rajarhat so that they can create slums?

And she complains about infrastructure not being in place,when it was her own party which was instrumental in stopping construction of electricity transformers.

Damn that woman! She is actually discouraging people from buying flats in rajarhat!
Also 10% of developed land to be returned?For what?To let the villagers back into pockets of rajarhat so that they can create slums?

And she complains about infrastructure not being in place,when it was her own party which was instrumental in stopping construction of electricity transformers.



Sometimes it feels as if we are living in a jungle, where one has the liberty of doing anything and there is no law of the land or responsibility towards other inhabitants!

It seems that these politicians would never let Bengal hold its head high infront of others, not in a single field! Now,that after all the backlashes in recent past,Rajarhat is probably one of those few places in Bengal,which holds the potential of being developed into a modern township which the entire nation may become proud of,politics is spreading its dirty arms there also! I get surprised nowadays whenever I see the RM doing all this, thinking that now when she is been seen the next CM of this state and may take position in next few months, doesn't she think about the Boomerang that she is going to face during her tenure ,from this fire of all these disputes related to land-acquisition, which she in infusing everywhere??? As a CM, will she be able to handle the situation then, when every other action of hers, may face an opposition in same manner as she is doing now....Where are we living, God save all of us...Provoking the poor common people of our villages/towns, these politicians are pushing them to a dark future, but nobody seems to be aware of that or raising voice against this type of extremely irresponsible politics! Compensation might have been a problem at Rajarhat,but does it make sense to take this issue out of the coffin,after all these years, when things were settled to much extent and development work had started.....Now, when the main issues should have the much needed infrastructure at New Town, like water,electricity,roads etc,rather than fighting for these, the politician are more interested in infusing fire everywhere! now,if the development work slows down at New Town,will these people take the responsibility of the ill-fate of lakhs of people (including the poor villagers of Rajarhat) who would be deprived of their possessions/work, as was in case of Singur??

Guys this is my first post on this forum. I follow this forum regularly. I like to believe that I do not have any political affiliation.
And I think that for any place to grow there has to be inclusive growth. Inclusive growth will ensure less disruptions to economic growth. Rajarhat has seen considerable land grabbing and despite promises of development is years behind schedule.
I kind of visited Rajarhat a few times in the past few years and feel that it is only housing that has benefitted and not industry. It is time to get industry (which was the primary objective) , protect the wetlands (which have been exploited by quite a few builders) and then let housing sector (maybe in parallel) develop in a planned manner. The pace of development has been very slow by all standards (sincerely hope that the promises our RM is making will be honoured if she comes to power).
At least the landlosers can be compensated adequately OR they should be part of the development process. They should enjoy certain privileges (maybe reservation in colleges, medical facilities, housing, monetary compensation or alternate employment. Conflict resolution between stakeholders is a basic requirement of any government.

Confilct resolution between stakeholders is a basic requirement of any government.

I like this last sentence. Generating consensus is a part of the job, not outside it. No political party -- whether Trinamool or CPIM -- can shed tears that the opposition is not letting them develop the state. This point should be driven home to the politicians loud and clear. They are making democracy like a spectator sport. Everybody watches the daily street tamasha and goes back home.

Miss Bannerjee is a politician first. Since Singur and Nandigram are a little old for the next elections, she is targetting Rajarhat for the next round of problem creation. It is a very clever move from political point of view. Violence and anarchy are sureshot ways of getting sympathy and popularity (no wonder that is the adopted path of so called freedom fighters in a northern state or the separatists in a northern district or maoists in the jungles of India).

A lot of people love a "fighter" fighting against "establishment". Everybody likes a drama of good vs evil, the small man vs the mighty government. I can bet you that hundreds of NGOs, social activists and journalists will now descend in Rajarhat and enter into a half truth fabrication frenzy. The pot will be kept boiling for some time to come - at least till the elections. Rajarhat is also a good location - very near to the airport for frequent flier activists to commute easily.

We will have to wait and see if Miss Mamata Bannerjee is as "successful" as she was in Singur by throwing out the "big bad" corporate Tatas who were going to manufacture polluting cars and pollute our lovely green Bengal. Will she throw out all India "promoters" like DLF, Unitech, Tata Housing, Ambuja Realty, Shapoorji from Rajarhat?

Did Mamata Bannerjee really receive complaints from 2.5 lakh farmers in regards to Rajarhat? We have still not seen a complete list with proper documentation in public domain from her and her lawyer friend about who are the 400 acress affected farmers. Apparently she will publish the list of 2.5 lakh affected farmers in Dharmatala. But who has "verified" this list?

Unfortunately the media will not analyze such issues honestly. Many of them think that they are the catalyzers of winds of change - the kingmakers. Apparently some of them are so naive that they don't know that man of India's "grand new cities" have been under development for ages and many have not even been able to do any better than Salt lake.

However the thin cows of Rajarhat are definitely happy. Miss Bannerjee had wept at their plight. If all of Rajarhat is demolished and is converted back into farmland, the cows will be fat and healthy. There will be white revolution in West Bengal just like in Gujarat.

^^ cool down sun!

^^ cool down sun!

:lol:

^^ this was the most cool comment :rofl:


However the thin cows of Rajarhat are definitely happy. Miss Bannerjee had wept at their plight. If all of Rajarhat is demolished and is converted back into farmland, the cows will be fat and healthy. There will be white revolution in West Bengal just like in Gujarat.

I kind of visited Rajarhat a few times in the past few years and feel that it is only housing that has benefitted and not industry. It is time to get industry (which was the primary objective) , protect the wetlands (which have been exploited by quite a few builders) and then let housing sector (maybe in parallel) develop in a planned manner.

Welcome to the forum!

I think the Govt of India industry site rules allow for setting up of only non polluting industries in places like Rajarhat - IT, electronics, printing etc. The Government has definitely tried to get IT companies to set up shop in Rajarhat. Now whether it has been successful or not is a different question. There is DLF-1, DLF-2, Ecospace, Unitech Infospace as of now.

New Town's major objective was always housing with plans to accomodate about 1 million people.


The pace of development has been very slow by all standards (sincerely hope that the promises our RM is making will be honoured if she comes to power).

Navi Mumbai was started in 1972. It is still being built (and it is huge). It has not been able to rival Mumbai. Even in 2001 it only had a population of 7 lakhs while across the bridge the population is 12 million!

Gurgaon however has a had dramatic growth - almost sprouting up from nowhere.

New Town could definitely take some lessons from Navi Mumbai and Gurgaon and find a better balance.

Politicians can make many promises (absurd ones too). It would be naive to believe a politician who claims that one million jobs can be created by setting up a few railway factories. Haldia and Bakreshwar were supposed to generate so much employment. However that doesn't mean that the politician doesn't have good intentions.

A project which I found to be interesting:

Howrah-Forum Pravesh/ Forum Rangoli 12 Towers (G+12)+ Shopping Mall (Rangoli)-UC

Website: www.forumpravesh.com

This happens to be the first combined residential+commercial project of Forum group
in Belur/Howrah area.

Have initiated a thread for the same

@Suncity

I think on the whole rajarhat is actually progressing at a fair clip.If you look at the number of housing projects that have/are being constrcuted it is easily able to absorb 10,000 people,along with individual house to adding more.

Also it has been able to attract not just high end projects but also mass mid-low end projects like shapoorjee one,which IMO is a big plus.

There are also educational institutions,colleges,hospitals all of them straddling the lower and higher end spectrum.Research labs will soon come up too.

Then hotels super high end like westin to reasonable like novitel.

Tremendous addition of IT space which is fast getting filled,providing a read market to cater too.

All it needs is to sold transportation and infrastural problems like water supply and electricity.

I firmly believe of all the planned cities we have seen,rajarhat has got a good headstart.

I am actually happy that its developing rather slowly unlike Gurgaon.
Apart from a high street and some glitzy looking buildings it a load of crap as far as the city planning is concerned. The infrastructure is crumbling

@Suncity

I think on the whole rajarhat is actually progressing at a fair clip..

I am not complaining too much. Some media "experts" are complaining.

Hi all...
I am trying to find out if there is a forum anywhere for the Gateways apartment by Unitech at Santragachi Howrah, so that the people who bought apartments there can keep in touch and address issues or grievances in a unified manner.
Thanks

Centre nod to VIP Road flyover
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Ride to the airport is expected to get much smoother after 2013. For, the PWD has got the JNNURM authorities’ nod for a new flyover that will ease airport-bound traffic. The 1.65-km flyover will come up between Kestopur and Joramandir.
The Centre will pay 35% of the project cost as per JNNURM norms. The flyover will take two years and six months to come up and will cost Rs 213 crore.
However, with the state government facing a financial crisis, the project might get delayed due to paucity of funds. State officials felt the state finance department will not be in a position to release 65% of the total funds for the construction of the flyover.
Chief secretary Samar Ghosh on Monday held a meeting with the urban development department officials and those with KMDA to take stock of the ongoing projects. It was found that some of the projects were much behind schedule. The state government had not even been able to spend central funds meant for JNNURM projects, as the rest of the money could not be provided by the state.
The flyover was in the pipeline for over a year. The state government had declared the construction of the flyover after an accident at Kestopur, but it took a long time to get the clearance. However, once it comes up, the mess on the way to the airport is expected to be relieved to some extent.
State PWD secretary A R Bardhan, however, said construction of the new flyover on VIP Road is expected to start soon. He added that in order to accelerate traffic along BT Road, they would set up some elevated roads for U-turn, so that traffic is not stopped when some vehicles do so.

Centre nod to VIP Road flyover
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Ride to the airport is expected to get much smoother after 2013. For, the PWD has got the JNNURM authorities’ nod for a new flyover that will ease airport-bound traffic. The 1.65-km flyover will come up between Kestopur and Joramandir.
The Centre will pay 35% of the project cost as per JNNURM norms. The flyover will take two years and six months to come up and will cost Rs 213 crore.
However, with the state government facing a financial crisis, the project might get delayed due to paucity of funds. State officials felt the state finance department will not be in a position to release 65% of the total funds for the construction of the flyover.
Chief secretary Samar Ghosh on Monday held a meeting with the urban development department officials and those with KMDA to take stock of the ongoing projects. It was found that some of the projects were much behind schedule. The state government had not even been able to spend central funds meant for JNNURM projects, as the rest of the money could not be provided by the state.
The flyover was in the pipeline for over a year. The state government had declared the construction of the flyover after an accident at Kestopur, but it took a long time to get the clearance. However, once it comes up, the mess on the way to the airport is expected to be relieved to some extent.
State PWD secretary A R Bardhan, however, said construction of the new flyover on VIP Road is expected to start soon. He added that in order to accelerate traffic along BT Road, they would set up some elevated roads for U-turn, so that traffic is not stopped when some vehicles do so.

:bash:Damn the state govt -their coffurs are empty after providing subsidies and funding their party fund. This flyover seriously needs to get built. VIP road is a nightmare for fliers and citizens.

On another note, I think they have cordoned off a small area on VIP road for the construction of the "right turning" flyover leading to the intergrated terminal

go to http://kmomamuseum.org/
click on skip intro
click on "artistic impressions" on the left


The architects are Herzog & de Meuron who designed Beijing's "bird's nest" stadium

Brilliant. Will be a landmark structure in the country if gets built :banana:

:bash:Damn the state govt -their coffurs are empty after providing subsidies and funding their party fund. This flyover seriously needs to get built. VIP road is a nightmare for fliers and citizens.

On another note, I think they have cordoned off a small area on VIP road for the construction of the "right turning" flyover leading to the intergrated terminal

have they started work for he "right turning" flyover leading to the integrated terminal

go to http://kmomamuseum.org/
click on skip intro
click on "artistic impressions" on the left


The architects are Herzog & de Meuron who designed Beijing's "bird's nest" stadium

any updates on this project?...has the earth started moving out there?

del

Signature Tower

http://www.nkrealtors.com/downloads/Newsletter__October_2010_42.pdf

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/5992/signaturetwoerkolkata.jpg (http://img571.imageshack.us/i/signaturetwoerkolkata.jpg/)

http://www.nkrealtors.com/residential_services.php?ID=1&PaSubID=4

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/7346/signaturekolkata.jpg (http://img718.imageshack.us/i/signaturekolkata.jpg/)

The Telegraph

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6644/17112010019003.jpg

Alipore zoo has started an ambitious makeover, as part of which it will get a nature interpretation centre, a 200ft wide glass panel for the tiger enclosure, a food court and a multi-tier parking lot in the next few months.

A dilapidated structure built in the 1880s on the Alipore campus is being overhauled to set up the nature interpretation centre, which will have large touch screens and screens for audio-visual presentations.

“We want to change the image of Alipore zoo as a venue for family get-togethers and picnics in winter. The zoo would rather welcome animal lovers who want to observe wildlife in peace. Students should attend a session at the nature interpretation centre before visiting the enclosures,” said zoo director Raju Das.

The 75ft-high toughened glass panel will replace the iron mesh through which tigers are viewed now. The other side of the enclosure will continue to offer a view of the tigers in the open.

“We decided on the glass panel after consulting experts. There is no threat to security. A full-grown tiger weighing around 250kg and running at 25 miles per hour can damage the glass. So we will create a hump in the enclosure that would serve as a speed-breaker should a tiger try to run at the glass,” added Das.

Zoos in Australia and Germany and other countries use glass to showcase big cats.

Zoo insiders said two Indian companies that specialised in toughened glass had been asked to submit detailed proposals for the project. The glass panel and the other changes are expected to be in place by January, according to Das.

The food court is being constructed at the northern end of the 45-acre campus following green building norms. Once it is ready, food stalls that are spread across the premises will be removed. The move is expected to minimise littering.

Also in the offing are two aviaries, a facelift for the reptile home and a souvenir shop where a monkey enclosure now stands. Tickets — the price of each will go up from Rs 20 to Rs 30 — can soon be purchased online, said an official.

The zoo authorities have planned the parking lot on 2.5 acres beside the aquarium. “It will be built on a public-private partnership basis. An aero-bridge will link the lot with the zoo,” added the official.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TONgOmkIHuI/AAAAAAAAAVY/VW37bNLQzXA/untitled.jpg

Source: The Telegraph (http://telegraphindia.com/1101117/jsp/calcutta/story_13111872.jsp)

http://www.nkrealtors.com/projects/96.JPG

Ideal Grand
Near Foreshore Road

Source: NK Realtors Website- Forthcoming Projects

any updates on this project?...has the earth started moving out there?

^^I do not think so

Godrej housing plan

Calcutta, Nov. 17: Godrej Properties is going to launch the second phase of its flagship residential project in Bengal at Sodepur, which is around 18km from Calcutta.

The new phase is going to be five times bigger than the first one of 4 lakh square feet.

“Looking at the response to the first phase, we are coming up with Prakriti phase II, which will be spread over 2 million square feet,” Pirojsha Godrej, executive director of Godrej Properties, said.

The developer will offer around 1,500 units in this phase against 450 in the first. Godrej said around 80 per cent of the initial lot had been sold.

In the first phase, G+13 towers are being built. The second phase will have G+19 towers, bigger spaces and improved specifications.

According to real estate analysts, property value has appreciated around 20 per cent since the project was launched. It is now being sold between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,300 per square feet.

Jitendra Khaitan, director of real estate broking firm Pioneer Property Management Ltd, said the Barrackpore Trunk Road was attracting big-ticket investments.

Sodepur, which is on BT Road, was the site of the first large-scale housing project in Calcutta’s northern suburbs, when Peerless Abason set up its project in the 90’s. The Godrej project will have a mall and a hospital.

The company is also looking for land in the city. It is developing two IT parks — Waterside and Genesis — at Salt Lake’s Sector V.

Infy sign MoU with HIDCO for Kolkata campus (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/Infy-sign-MoU-with-HIDCO-for-Kolkata-campus/articleshow/6976868.cms)

KOLKATA: In a major boost to West Bengal's industrialisation drive, IT major Infosys Technologies today signed an MoU with WBHIDCO for a 50-acre plot to open a campus in Kolkata to provide job opportunities to nearly 15,000 people.

"Infosys today signed an MoU for a 50-acre plot close to Wipro site at Rajarhat for a total cost of Rs 75 crore," State Housing minister and West Bengal Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) Chairman Gautam Deb said here.

Comments from Infosys were not available. State's IT minister Debesh Das said as the completion of the connective road to the plot is pending the government has offered a relief to Infosys in paying instalments.

"They (Infosys) will pay 25 per cent as first instalment and rest of the instalment will begin after road connectivity is completed," Das said.

Wipro and TCS had already taken the possession of plots at Rajarhat in December 2009. With the formal entry of Infosys, Bengal gets all the IT majors in the state.

Das said Infosys has promised to begin construction work of the campus very soon.

Last year Infosys had postponed the investment plan in Kolkata campus due to global economic slowdown, but the project was never abandoned.

According to earlier announcements, Infosys had planned in 2004 to invest some Rs 500 crore to set up a development centre in Kolkata housing 5,000 people.

The project got delayed and in June 2009 an IT township project in Salt Lake, Kolkata, was scrapped by the West Bengal government following a controversy on alleged forced land acquisition.

^^HIDCO will soon be richer by 75 crore ! They should use the money to develop core infrastructure in AA2 and AA3.

Where is the Wipro and Infosys plot in rajarhat?Can someone point it out in google maps?

Kolkata, Nov 23 (PTI) In the midst of corruption charges by the Trinamool in land acquisition at Rajarhat, the West Bengal Government today allotted plots to various private and government sectors like IT, defence, education and others.
State agency HIDCO at its board meeting decided to allot land to IT giant Infosys, besides DRDO, Coast Guard, CBI, NTPC, Bengal Science and Technical University (BESU), Housing minister Gautam Deb told reporters here.
The DRDO would open its research laboratory for the first time in the eastern region, while CBI was given land to build its officers'' quarters, he said.
Land was also allotted to Coast Guard to construct an establishment here, he said, adding that NTPC was given plot for its regional headquarters, besides 10 acre for the second campus of BESU.
"HIDCO also decided to allot land to biotech company TCG Life Sciences and Jindal steel," he said.
The agency also allotted plots to five joint-sector companies to develop a central business district in Rajarhat.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has alleged that there was a massive land scam in land acquisition at Rajarhat over the years.

Good,good more and more commercial offices in rajarhat.

Good,good more and more commercial offices in rajarhat.

Also..


Rajarhat to house NSG commandos for Kolkata & region

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Rajarhat-to-house-NSG-commandos-for-Kolkata---region/714369


Just five days ahead of the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack, the two-year-long search for a training centre for the elite National Security Guards (NSG) came to an end in Kolkata with the hub set to come up on a 300-acre plot of land at Jagadishpur-Rajarhat area near the Dum Dum airport.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is paying Rs 600 crore to the state government to acquire the land. It is to be based on the model of the NSG hub in Manesar.

Well, very soon rajarhat to become rice and potato fields again and will regain its past glory..

Well, very soon rajarhat to become rice and potato fields again and will regain its past glory..

With so many intellectuals wanting to do farming there should not be any lack of intelligent manpower for farming in Rajarhat. I think the new Government should train all the pragatisheel and paribortaner er pokkhe intellectuals on how to do farming without tractors and milk the Rajarhat cows. They should give up their jobs of organizing press conferences and put their working hands in the place where their hearts supposedly beat for. Some intellectuals should also be sent to Singur to make jams and jellies instead of wasting public money by wearing silk kurtas and posing for photo sessions at railway kitchen inspections.

Some Media people don't seem to be happy with the Infosys Deal. See the "sarcasm" in the report. They are probably praying that something happens to abort this project. Then they can crow from every rooftop.

When in distress, dial Infy
Rajarhat deal as Mamata warms up

The Bengal government today announced that Infosys had bought 50 acres in Rajarhat to set up a development centre, holding the deal aloft as a “major boost” just when the Trinamul Congress was rolling up its sleeves for a land campaign in the township.

Keen to live down its Singur reputation, Trinamul too claimed credit, saying Mamata Banerjee’s pressure had forced the government to wake up and act. The party had already said it was not against IT hubs in Rajarhat.

The information technology company confirmed the move that has ended a six-year wait for Bengal but was far more guarded than the state government.

“Infosys has been allocated 50 acres of land in Rajarhat by the West Bengal state government. The state government has assured us of their support in this project,” the company said in a statement.

Sources in Infosys told The Telegraph that the company was yet to firm up any project plan for the plot, which was acquired “just to keep an option open for future expansions”.

Just in June 2010, "sources" had said to the Telegraph that they will not come to Bengal in next six years. Also Mamata was implied as a "deterrent" despite the fact that she and her party having not opposed the Infosys project.

Infy project on political shelf
Six-year jab at both Mamata and Left

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100605/jsp/frontpage/story_12532104.jsp

Infosys has no plans to come to Bengal “at least in the next six years”, an official said today, preparing for a change of guard in the state and factoring in the possibility of political instability.

“We have no plans to go there at least in the next six years. We are not saying it officially but that’s the position,” the Infosys official said on the condition of anonymity. However, officially, the company said discussions were still on.

The software giant has been in discussions with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government for an information technology project in Rajarhat with an expected investment of Rs 500 crore and a potential to create 20,000 jobs.

The specific reference to “six years” may appear to suggest that Mamata Banerjee’s rise is being seen as a deterrent to investment but the official clarified that a comprehensive view was being taken.

“Next one year, Mamata won’t let the Left Front government work. And when she comes to power, the Left will not let her work. That is what we feel. It is a sad situation. But we cannot get in there in such an environment. What to do?” he asked.


Whether the project happens or not is a decision that Infosys will have to take. It is the political and media tamasha surrounding it that leaves a bad taste.

A transformation

photos copyright Diamond Group website

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8485/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/i/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg/)

Infy sign MoU with HIDCO for Kolkata campus (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/Infy-sign-MoU-with-HIDCO-for-Kolkata-campus/articleshow/6976868.cms)



^^HIDCO will soon be richer by 75 crore ! They should use the money to develop core infrastructure in AA2 and AA3.

One of my friend few days ago told me that Infy is buying plot in r'haat, but said that they are not interested, but it went the other way and my friend was right, its a great news for Bengal IT Industry, i guess we now have all the biggies of IT industry in Kolkata, right?

Where is the Wipro and Infosys plot in rajarhat?Can someone point it out in google maps?

Its near SP Infocity, check wikimapia, its being marked!

Also..


Rajarhat to house NSG commandos for Kolkata & region

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Rajarhat-to-house-NSG-commandos-for-Kolkata---region/714369

arrey waah, good news after good news, its raking moolahs for HIDCO!!!...:LOL:

PS: Sun, also cross post these on the Newtown thread!

A transformation

photos copyright Diamond Group website

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8485/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/i/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg/)

WOW...where is it?...wonderful transformation!!!....btw yesterday saw a highrise being built beside Mahajati Sadan!

OMG!! This is unbelievable. Wonderful :cheers:

A transformation

photos copyright Diamond Group website

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8485/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/i/diamondhousekolkata1.jpg/)

More details.

West Bengal clears Infosys land deal in hours.

KOLKATA: IT bellwether Infosys Technologies has decided to enter West Bengal, more specifically Kolkata. A hugely happy Marxist government almost instantly allotted 50 acres to Infosys at Rajarhat at the rate of Rs 1.5 crore per acre. All formalities are completed and work is likely to start immediately.

The first phase is expected to be operational within a year. The sheer speed of execution of the land deal left everybody at Saltlec, the state’s IT hub in the Salt Lake electronic city, dazed. Infosys had formally applied for land earlier in the morning on Tuesday.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s administration blazed into action almost immediately, holding a board meeting of Hidco — the state body which owns and allots land at Rajarhat — clearing all necessary formalities and allotting the land finally within a couple of hours.

The Infosys development is perhaps the best thing to have happened to the beleaguered Marxist government since the days of Nandigram and Singur, which had virtually buried all hopes of an industrial revival in West Bengal.
Infosys will invest Rs 1,000 crore in this project, which is tipped to be the company’s east India hub for IT and ITeS operations.

Debesh Das, IT minister, told ET: “I am very happy. With Infosys finally saying yes to us, I have fulfiled the mandate that was given to me when I had taken over charge of this department.” Indeed, the IT minister’s persistence seem to have paid off.

“Infosys CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan had privately given me a thumbs up on November 10. I knew it was a make-or-break vis-a-vis land. They applied only this morning and I am glad that we have been able to hand over the land within hours,” Mr Das said.

“Mr Gopalakrishnan said that Infosys was ready to start off its expansion plans in West Bengal and therefore operations would start soon. He also said that the project will create some 15,000-20,000 jobs and the first phase will be ready within a year?,” Mr Das added.

The land allotted to Infosys is adjacent to those that were allotted to Wipro and TCS at Rajarhat and at the same rate of Rs 1.5 crore. This segment of Rajarhat is just a 20 minute drive from the Netaji Subhash International airport. Construction work at Wipro and TCS is on.???

In fact, Wipro had announced their second campus plans at Rajarhat around the same time last year, for which they will also invest around Rs 1,000 crore and create some 20,000 IT/ITeS jobs.

Infosys was to earlier have received land in the planned mega IT township adjacent to the Vedic Village site at another extremity of Rajarhat. The Vedic fiasco and the shelving of the mega IT township project had subsequently put all IT/ITeS related plans of the state government completely out of gear.

After the exit of the Tata Nano from Singur and successive mauling of the Marxists in the panchayat polls of 2008, parliamentary elections of 2009 and municipal elections of 2010, the chips for the ruling CPI(M) in West Bengal has been at its absolute nadir. Industrialisation prospects have been ruined and politically, Trinamool Congress has steadily emerged firm favourites for the mother of all electoral battles in 2011: Assembly polls.

At a time when virtually nothing has been going the CPI(M)’s way, the Infosys decision to come to West Bengal is a virtual coup that goes against the tide. As an Infy spokesperson said: “The state government has assured all of us support in this project.”

Undoubtedly, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s government will go flat out to ensure this, and it will perhaps be difficult even for Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool leader who has recently been leading a fairly medium-intensity anti-land campaign at Rajarhat, to do anything that will jeopardise these high voltage IT projects.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/West-Bengal-clears-Infosys-land-deal-in-hours/articleshow/6978557.cms

More details.

West Bengal clears Infosys land deal in hours.

Industrialisation prospects have been ruined

About 262 projects (new and expansion) / Rs 8000 crores (appx $2 billion) implemented in 2009. However about 100 projects are in agro based / food processing industries, 14 in Iron & Steel. 22 in Jute & Textiles, 8 in engineering, 2 in electrical / electronics, 24 in IT&ITES and 83 in chemicals/pharmaceuticals (largest investment chunk thanks to Haldia Petro, IOC and MCC).

Let's hope 2010 is better.

Good. :cheers:

More details.

West Bengal clears Infosys land deal in hours.

More details.

West Bengal clears Infosys land deal in hours.

Wonderful...hope that they could have started it couple of years ago!:applause:

cc: The Telegraph

The Trinamul Congress-run civic body plans to levy parking fees on vehicles on 63 more roads and create legal parking space for around 500 more vehicles.

At present, there are roadside parking facilities on over 275 roads.

Mayoral council member Rajib Deb held a meeting on Tuesday with the assistant commissioner of police (traffic), Sunil Mukherjee, and OC traffic (planning) Nilanjan Banerjee at the civic headquarters and handed over the list of stretches the civic body wants to bring within the ambit of legalised parking. The new stretches include Vivekananda Road (northern flank), Lake View Road, Puddapukur Road, Ironside Road, Raja Basanta Roy Road and Belvedere Road.

The police will study the proposal and get back to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation within seven days. Sources said the police could object to parking on certain stretches if they felt it could affect traffic.

The city now has fee parking space for 7,510 cars. The number will go up to 8,020 cars if the CMC’s proposal is implemented.

The meeting decided that the contractors running fee parking lots would have to mark the stretches clearly. They will draw criss-crossing lines with zinc so that car owners understand whether they are parking in a designated parking zone or not. The markings will have to painted every month, a civic official said.

At the meeting with the police, Deb pleaded helplessness about the fact that the contractors followed none of the norms laid down by the CMC. He urged the police to ensure that the men running the parking lots wore their uniforms and displayed their identity cards.

The operators of the parking zones are entitled to collect fees from 7am to 10pm but on several roads, such as Park Street, they charge fees till midnight.

The CMC earns Rs 6.34 crore annually by distributing parking lots among co-operatives, but insiders admitted that the authorities lacked the will to act against errant operators.

Besides fee parking, the CMC allows roadside night parking (10pm to 6am) and grants exclusive parking zone rights against a payment. For night parking of cars, the rate is Rs 300 a month. A sticker, which is to be displayed on the windscreen, is issued to the owner or the driver. For exclusive parking rights, the civic body charges Rs 15,000 per year for a car.

Deb also drew the police’s attention to illegal parking in the Fancy Market, Kalighat Temple Road, Kankurgachhi, Hindusthan Park and Queen’s Park areas.

The civic authorities have not allotted fee parking lots in these areas but a group of people are collecting money from the cars parked on roads there.

Very much confusing(Everyday news get changed by same news agency):nuts:
IT biggies in no hurry to start operations

Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN
Kolkata: A publicity plank thats all Infosys is likely to remain for the state at least for the next three or four years.The same would apply for Wipro,which has no intentions of starting construction of its second campus anytime soon,officials said.They said both IT majors had made it clear that they were in no hurry to start operations in their Rajarhat campuses in the next two or three years.
Thus,Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may play the Infosys trump card.But the picture is not as rosy as projected.Though,Infosys foray has served a dual purpose.Its being touted as a major investment in the run-up to the 2011 Assembly elections.And the investment proposal has also caught off-guard Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee,who is planning a series of agitations against the alleged Rajarhat land scam.
On being asked by TOI on his companys plans,U Ramdas Kamath,senior vice-president (administration,infrastructure and security),who was here to clinch the socalled Infy deal on Tuesday,replied: Cant say. When will they start work The answer was soon.
Sources said currently,30% of Infosys capacity is under utilised.This means it already has excess establishment all over the country.It sees no way of using 30% of its capacity in the next two years.So,there is no question of increasing capacity further, said a source.
The same applies to Wipro,which had inked a deal to set up its second campus earlier this year by paying the first installment of 18.90 crore for 50 acres in Action Area II (the same place where Infosys has been given land).Hidco officials said they still had dues with Wipro and would not press for Infosys to pay up.
Sources said the IT companies were not likely to begin construction of their campuses in 2011 or for that matter,in 2012.This has nothing to do with a change in government, said a source.
Infosys would keep Kolkata on its radar for a longterm investment plan.For now,it will be willing to shell out only 18.75 crore for the 50 acres allotted.Hidco officials admitted on Wednesday that they had no idea when the rest of the 75 crore would come.An official said,Infosys has told us that it would pay up the rest only if we build the access road and the culvert next to the land.
The state government desperate to tag its name with Brand Infy is not complaining.It had been pleading with Infosys mentor Narayana Murthy to accept the land offer.The latter was here in August to inaugurate the citys first cyber police station.The state government has offered Infosys a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.5 against the standard 2.FAR is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location,or the limit imposed on such ratio.
Whats more,Infosys will be allowed to use 25% of the land for non-IT purposes.All these,plus the land at a concessional price and a minimum advance for clinching the deal were too much for Infosys to resist.

Very much confusing(Everyday news get changed by same news agency):nuts:
IT biggies in no hurry to start operations

I love it when the newspapers keep quoting these unnamed "sources".

I am guessing that these newspapers are probably upset because they had no inkling of this MOU with Infosys. More than Miss Mamta, these newspapers were caught off guard with their "sources" suddenly falling asleep. Now that the "sources" have woken up from the sleep, they are once again in the busines of publishing opinion as news.

With the uncovering of the scandalous role of several journalists and media groups in the 2G scam tapes, there is very little left to trust journalists about their honesty and integrity. These folks are adept at manufacturing news.

But seriously, does anyone really think that the Left Front will survive the next round of elections by signing some MOUs? If the Left Front thinks so then it is stupid and if the journalists think so then they are stupid.

West Bengal has nothing to lose from this MOU. If it gains anything then it is a plus.

Anyway we will have to live with such kind of reporting where there is more sarcastic opinion.

Love the design

http://www.mani-group.com/It_Raj/index.html
http://www.mani-group.com/It_Raj/image/aerial-view.jpg

^^so now Mani group is comming up with an IT Park!

^^so now Mani group is comming up with an IT Park!

http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/index.html
It says,there is existing IT park that is sold out
http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/Images/Manitechgif.gif

http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/index.html
It says,there is existing IT park that is sold out
http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/Images/Manitechgif.gif

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85296574@N00/3676770488/

http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/index.html
It says,there is existing IT park that is sold out
http://www.mani-group.com/manitech/Images/Manitechgif.gif

its an old building, it already exits in sec-5, i have seen it!
btw, both renders are different from each other!

IT cos upbeat on Brand Infy foray in state

Aparajita Gupta | TNN

Kolkata: Though Infosys Technologies chose to remain tight-lipped about starting operations of its facility in West Bengal,all other IT companies are upbeat about the foray of Brand Infy and are expecting more players and recruitment in the coming days in this sector,apart from the 20,000 jobs Infy has announced.
Following the footsteps of Infy,Genpact has opened a new facility at the Unitechs SEZ campus in Rajarhat in the north eastern fringes of the city on Wednesday.The facility is Genpacts second office in the city.This 2 lakh sq ft.SEZ facility has the capacity to accommodate more than 3,000 employees when fully operational,an official of the firm said.
Sources in the IT department said there could be 20,000-25,000 additional recruitment in the next few months from the new players as well as existing ones.States IT sector,which has shown positive growth even during the time of global economic downturn,has recently roped in Accenture.
Accenture has taken 200,000 square feet space in Unitech building.We are expecting around 2,000 recruitments, a source said.TCS is going to hire around 2,800 more,Cognizant,Wipro,Capgemini and IBM 1,000 each and around 200 small companies would recruit another 2,000.All these are engaged in outsourcing.
Following the trend,earlier we have seen around similar number of recruitment in the domestic call centre companies.Hence the number of recruitment will be around 20,000-25,000, the source said.At present,the total IT work force in the state is around 1,05,000.
Almost all the industry players have described Infys entry as a huge step in the right direction by the state government.This was the name that was missing from the states IT list.This has put the state firmly on the IT map of the country and has boosted the confidence of the existing and upcoming IT companies, Webel managing director Tamal Dasgupta said.
Another industry player pointed out that this decision is not only beneficial for the IT companies,it also helps in creating many social infrastructures like restaurants,car showrooms,etc in the adjoining areas.There is a thumbrule that for every additional job in IT sector,it creates another four to five more jobs in other social infrastructure sector,Globsyn Group chairman Bikram Dasgupta said.
Nasscom regional manager (east) Suparno Moitra said it is very important for the state to build a large talent pool to cater to such companies.
Amidst all the good news,an underlying anxiety is ruling a section of people on what would happen to such projects after 2011 Assembly elections,if the government changes in the state.Irrespective of political situation in the state,I think such projects will grow.Infy has boosted the spirit of the players and growth wont stop, Acclaris (India) managing director Kalyan Kar said.

Good news SamitB. I am happy to note the positive reporting. Hope "kisika nazar na lage is IT sector par" specially god keeps all evil eyes away from IT sector and Rajarhat/new town area:cheers:

RVNL awards rail factory construction contract in India to Simplex Infrastructures
Published: 29-Jul-2010
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has awarded a contract to Simplex Infrastructures Ltd, to construct a locomotive component factory at Dankuni in West Bengal, India.
Upon completion in August 2011, the factory would manufacture components for diesel locomotives built at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi. To be constructed at a cost of INR842 million ($18 million), the total area of the factory will be 1,180m x 100m. The project was sanctioned in FY2009-10.
Officials from RVNL were reported stating that while short listing the contractor, they adopted the transparent two packet system. In the two packet system, bidders submit technical and other details in the first packet while in the second they put in their financial bids.

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Source: http://www.worldconstructionnetwork.com/news/rvnl_awards_rail_factory_construction_contract_in_india_to_simplex_infrastructures_100729/
---------
Slightly old article. Not sure whether it was posted earlier. Definitely a positive for Kolkata and suburbs. From sources I understand that construction has already started.

IT cos upbeat on Brand Infy foray in state

"Following the footsteps of Infy,Genpact has opened a new facility".


Isn't that kind of a wrong statement? Infy has just signed a MOU. Genpact is already up and running. It is Infy which is following the footsteps of many other leaders in this case.

"Following the footsteps of Infy,Genpact has opened a new facility".


Isn't that kind of a wrong statement? Infy has just signed a MOU. Genpact is already up and running. It is Infy which is following the footsteps of many other leaders in this case.

^^The media and the state of WB politics are damned:bash: I do not believe the 20-25000 number quoted neither the total number of employees working in the sector. IMO, I do not think MB will jeopardize the infy project by asking for land to be returned. Also I do not think any construction will be planned anytime soon since Infy has excess capacity in other locations that will need to be effectively utilized first.

its an old building, it already exits in sec-5, i have seen it!
btw, both renders are different from each other!

^^yes, this is at College More and have BNP Paribas, SREI etc as its clients

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TPBi-Iq84UI/AAAAAAAAAVw/xiaXgTeAOlI/s512/getimage.png

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TPBi-Iq84UI/AAAAAAAAAVw/xiaXgTeAOlI/s512/getimage.png

^^Selling and effective communication probably never existed in the lexicon of the West Bengal IT dept (WEBEL); this is something which was mastered by Hyderabad over the past decade enabling it to compete with Bangalore in the IT/ITES/BT space.

With the elections round the corner and a fear of losing power, they are now taking baby steps to learn this skill.

There is a lot of question marks Bantala Sez.Who in the right mind would build an IT park next to a Leather complex.Heard CTS is not too happy with the arrangements.Any news,updates or renders of the buildings in Bantala SEZ?

Also any renders of this Nonadanga IT complex?

There is a lot of question marks Bantala Sez.Who in the right mind would build an IT park next to a Leather complex.Heard CTS is not too happy with the arrangements.Any news,updates or renders of the buildings in Bantala SEZ?

Also any renders of this Nonadanga IT complex?

^^You can find some renders here (http://agrawalarchitects.com/). I have not seen any renders of the IT park @ Nonadanga

There is a lot of question marks Bantala Sez.Who in the right mind would build an IT park next to a Leather complex.Heard CTS is not too happy with the arrangements.Any news,updates or renders of the buildings in Bantala SEZ?

Also any renders of this Nonadanga IT complex?

Dalmiya!!!!....in associaton with WB govt!

Genpact inaugurates 2nd operations center in Kolkata

Genpact Limited has achieved another expansion milestone with the opening of a new facility at Kolkata. Genpact was one of the first organizations to set up business process management operations in the city.

This new facility, inaugurated by 'Tiger' Tyagarajan, Chief Operating Officer Genpact is in Unitech’s SEZ campus.

This new center will enable Genpact to cater to growth across a broad range of business process services, technology services and analytical services and meet growing customer needs and new business.

The facility is Genpact’s second office in Kolkata. This 2 lakh sq ft. SEZ facility has the capacity to accommodate more than 3,000 employees when fully operational. The range of work will include Finance & Accounting, Business Analytics and Software Development.

Announcing the decision, ‘Tiger’ Tyagarajan, Chief Operating Officer, Genpact, "Genpact has followed a strategy of setting up world-class centers in places where there is highly skilled local talent as well as world class infrastructure. Kolkata has provided us with both of these and we are happy to expand our operations in this city.”

Genpact currently employs close to 1500 associates in the city and has very ambitious growth plans over the next couple of years in Kolkata.

source (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/genpact-inaugurates-2nd-operations-center-in-kolkata/717070/)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lP2m862e5Hw/TPBi-Iq84UI/AAAAAAAAAVw/xiaXgTeAOlI/s512/getimage.png

For Bantala SEZ,can't tell anything:ohno:.

But there is not a single media speculation :lol: also about PATNI COMPUTERS (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/Patni-to-launch-cloud-computing-next-fiscal/articleshow/6997451.cms) .:ohno:

Don't find any reason why we don't approach MPHASIS ?:bash:
They are in expansion mode after becoming $1 Billion company.
They Mphasis has presence in kolkata through acquisition
http://www.mphasis.com/ContactUs/Contact_ourOffices.html#india
Kolkata
MphasiS Limites
Infinity Tower I, 11th Floor,
Plot -A3, Block-GP, Sector - V,
Saltlake City,
Kolkata - 700091, India

Tel: +91 33 66130326