There was a thread on this topic before, but I think it got changed to another one or got deleted. I felt the need of this thread for sharing current news items related to Kolkata.
Air link with Kalaikunda
The Mamata Banerjee government has initiated a process to start commercial flights between Kalaikunda in West Midnapore and Calcutta.
Sources said a detailed proposal for the air link to the air force town, around 135km from Calcutta, had been drawn up and sent to the ministry of defence for clearance. The civil aviation bosses in New Delhi have sought a report from the air force base in Kalaikunda.
Senior commanding officers of the air force in Kalaikunda said they had told the directorate general of civil aviation that commercial operations using the air base in Kalaikunda would not impede their basic operations.
“The proposal is at an advanced stage and we would need to just make a few changes to ensure flying activities,” said a senior air force commanding officer at Kalaikunda.
“The runway is long enough and we need to build two gates to allow entry and exit of all connected with commercial operations.”
The Telegraph
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-leash-on-syndicates/articleshow/48878417.cmsWest Bengal cops tighten leash on syndicates
Zeeshan Javed,TNN | Sep 9, 2015, 06.43 AM IST
Syndicates in New Town are knocking on the doors of big ticket projects --- not to coerce them to purchase construction materials but to plead for orders.
In the past four weeks something unthinkable has been unfolding in New Town, a fledgling township on the eastern fringes of the city which is also a stronghold of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. This here where she led her first protest against land acquisition in early 2000s, even before Singur.
Syndicates that not till long ago ran a lawless fief behind the refuge of towering brick and mortar structures, have been tamed to an extent that they are being forced to visit projects requesting for orders.
Sabir Laskar, a resident of Laskarhati village near DLF 2 in action area 2, said that he is having to visit upcoming projects to request for work, a far cry from the days when project managers would queue up outside syndicate offices to place orders.
"Bank of Baroda has started its project here. I went to request for work but they said syndicates won't get work there," said Sabir.
According to multiple stakeholders TOI spoke to, the "impossible" has become possible due to a firm stand taken by the Bidhannagar Commissionerate under instructions from the "very top" in the political leadership.
Big ticket projects like Tata Consultancy Services, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and the Haj House in the township are now procuring construction materials independently, TOI has confirmed from multiple sources.
Is that even feasible?Finally the State Govt is paying some interest in Kharagpur. First the industrial zone and now this. Kharagpur always felt like the aloof, neglected brother of the other district towns like Midnapore, Burdwan, etc.
Although there was significant private and Central Govt investments, but very little from the State.
Jalpaiguri has the highest number of land-locked closed industries, about 16,000 acres as per a recent government survey followed by Nadia and North 24-Parganas. The state government plans to unlock these huge tracts of land to develop alternative industries across the state. The group of ministers has been formed recently to work out as to how the land could be freed from closed industries and utilised for developing alternative industry units with an objective to develop more employment opportunities before the next assembly elections.
According to the latest survey made by the state government, around 48,000 acres of land are locked with several hundred different closed industry units across the state. Out of this amount, Jalpaiguri has the highest share of locked land of about 16,000 acres. "This land mainly consists of closed tea gardens and many of these locked land are under different stages of litigation," said one of the ministers of the group of ministers team formed on this purpose.
Following Jalpaiguri is Nadia with about 8,000 acres of land locked with closed industries. Next is North 24 Parganas with around 5,000 acres of locked land, according to the survey findings.
Sources from the state secretariat said that the state government can start initiating a process to reclaim only around 7,500 acres out of the total land of around 48,000 acres, which is only around 15 % of the total land, as the rest of the land is under different stages of litigation at present. "The size of most of the tracts of land that could be reclaimed ranges about 50 to 60 acres. The maximum amount of land locked with a closed jute mill unit has been found to be about 150 acres in Howrah," said the member of the group of ministers. The first meeting of the group of ministers formed to look after this issue was held at Nabanna last week.
I m not happy after Watching itWhen will the British stop projecting Indian cities as a poverty and epidemic stricken country .... why they are found to showcase only and only the shallowness of the redundant zones.
Kolkata with Sue Perkins BBC Documentary 2015
When will the British aka BBC stop the colonial habit of projecting Indian cities as a poverty and epidemic stricken country .... why they are found to showcase only and only the shallowness of the redundant zones.
Kolkata with Sue Perkins BBC Documentary 2015
The "semi-closure" and "abandonment" of tea estates in northern West Bengal is fast becoming a major humanitarian crisis with a population of over 75,000 dependent on them forced to live in near-starvation, warns a report. Releasing the "Ignoring Hunger- Report on the Situation in Duncans' Tea Estate in North Bengal", Right to Food and Work Campaign's West Bengal chapter demanded immediate intervention of the Mamata Banerjee government.
The Right to Food and Work Campaign (RFWC)- a network of organisations and activists, slammed the Banerjee government for turning a blind eye to the "grim" issue and said they will be compelled to seek legal recourse if the state government failed to take measures under the Right to Food Act as mandated by the Supreme Court.
"The situation is peculiar for the fact that the 15 tea estates owned by the Duncans are neither closed nor open. With the estates being in limbo since February, the population of over 75,000 directly dependant them, is living in near starvation," said Anuradha Talwar of RFWC.
"Since the gardens have not been officially closed, the state government is not extending the benefits of social schemes including financial assistance to workers of locked-out industries.
"The people are not only compelled to live in near-starvation, there is no facility for drinking water, medical facilities have totally collapsed. Its near a disaster situation unless immediate steps are taken, it will soon turn into a major humanitarian crisis," she added.
The activists demanded the state government to take immediate steps like regular distribution of rations, employing the people under the rural job guarantee programme, and providing pensions under the National Social Assistance.
"So far our attempts to get the state government to intervene in the matter have failed to evoke any response. If they don't act immediately, we will be moving the Calcutta High Court with public interest litigation," said Father S.J. Jothi of the network.
According to the report, the lease of most of the estates has expired, so the company "illegally" possessed the land which belongs to the state government. It also states that total cash dues to the workers of these estates were over Rs.22.5 crore.
"The state government needs to ensure that either the management runs the estates properly or search new owners and cancel the leases if necessary. The government must also ensurethat all the dues to the workers are paid," it said.
The report also includes a letter to state Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra by Harsh Mander, special commissioner of the Supreme Court on Right to Food, who stated that "illegal and undeclared stoppage of wage payments and ration payments in the Duncan gardens has resulted in enormous food distress and livelihood distress".
Bengal's biggest enemy is it's negative perception. Negative environment for industry which existed here in the 70s, 80s and early 90s does not exist now. Back in those days there would be agitations in front of the factories for the workers demands, and if the owners did not give into their demands then the factory would be forcibly closed by the union leaders. It rarely happen nowadays. Infact now you will find many incidents where workers are agitating in front of a closed factory for opening it. Hindustan motors, shalimar paints are all closed due to financial problems and not labour problems. Haldia petro was closed due to mounting financial losses which it incurred due to competition from cheap Chinese products. Many jute mills are getting closed due to lack of orders and not labour problems. Same with many other factories.SBI chief says West Bengal taking steps to ease doing-biz
West Bengal ranked a surprisingly high 11 in the DIPP's Ease of Doing Business study that was released Monday. Talking about the state of doing business in the formerly red state, SBI CMD Arundhati Bhattacharya said West Bengal has suffered from a negative perception on account of "labour disruptions and union militancy" and more work was needed in this regard. But overall, "the government seems to be quite focused on enabling ease of doing business," she told CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy in an interview. SBI was recently building a training academy in the state and was facing supply roadblocks, but the government quickly resolved those after they were flagged off, she added.
ref:http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/sbi-chief-says-west-bengal-taking-steps-to-ease-doing-biz_3101001.html
some more ...SBI chief says West Bengal taking steps to ease doing-biz
West Bengal ranked a surprisingly high 11 in the DIPP's Ease of Doing Business study that was released Monday. Talking about the state of doing business in the formerly red state, SBI CMD Arundhati Bhattacharya said West Bengal has suffered from a negative perception on account of "labour disruptions and union militancy" and more work was needed in this regard. But overall, "the government seems to be quite focused on enabling ease of doing business," she told CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy in an interview. SBI was recently building a training academy in the state and was facing supply roadblocks, but the government quickly resolved those after they were flagged off, she added.
ref:http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/sbi-chief-says-west-bengal-taking-steps-to-ease-doing-biz_3101001.html
http://www.hindustantimes.com/kolka...e-tax-defaulters-pay-up/article1-1390760.aspxKolkata Municipal Corporation’s new plan to make tax defaulters pay up
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation bosses have adopted a new method to collect property tax dues from defaulters in Kolkata.
In a novel initiative, mayor Sovan Chatterjee has decided to involve all councillors in the KMC’s bid to collect property tax dues worth a whopping Rs 2,200 crore.
http://www.ndtv.com/kolkata-news/now-trees-get-identity-cards-in-kolkata-suburb-1218166Now Trees Get Identity Cards in Kolkata Suburb
Kolkata: Just like humans, trees too now have identity cards in a Kolkata suburb.
As part of a project by Konnagar Municipality to evaluate the crucial role trees play in combating climate change, the authorities have issued identity cards for 28 varieties of trees.
"Just like your voter ID card, the tree ID card has details like local name of the species, scientific name, geographical coordinates of its location, photograph, weight and wood density etc.," Environmentalist Abhijit Mitra, who is leading the project, said.
Konnagar Municipality chairman Bappaditya Chatterjee said they have issued 3,000 such identity cards so far which were being hanged on trees.
Just by looking at the identity card one can learn what was the contribution of which tree towards climate change, as plants sequester carbon from the environment.
This negative image perception is boosted by Bengalies themselves. Whenever we see any one from outside saying good about WB, some Bong guy will try to prove him wrong. Now its the Bongs who are creating a negative image more than any other people. ( Some times we can see that here also)Bengal's biggest enemy is it's negative perception. Negative environment for industry which existed here in the 70s, 80s and early 90s does not exist now. Back in those days there would be agitations in front of the factories for the workers demands, and if the owners did not give into their demands then the factory would be forcibly closed by the union leaders. It rarely happen nowadays. Infact now you will find many incidents where workers are agitating in front of a closed factory for opening it. Hindustan motors, shalimar paints are all closed due to financial problems and not labour problems. Haldia petro was closed due to mounting financial losses which it incurred due to competition from cheap Chinese products. Many jute mills are getting closed due to lack of orders and not labour problems. Same with many other factories.
But this negative perception is also due to human psychology. " If we a have a negative perception about a person then even a small mistake committed by the person will be seen as a big blunder by our eyes. " Unfortunately in this case the person is Bengal.
Bengal committed mistakes in 1970s and 1980s but it is still mentioned first while describing the industrial climate here.
After so many decades bengal has changed. The outer world has to understand this and invest here.