Kolkata News

[niljee]

WHAT LIES BENEATH?
Secret Chamber In National Library
What Mysteries Lie Hidden? Was It A Torture Chamber Or Treasure Room? No One Knows Because It’s Got No Door
Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey | TNN

Kolkata: National Library has always been reputed to haunted. Now, here is a really eerie secret. A mysterious room has been discovered in the 250-year-old building — a room that no one knew about and no one can enter because it seems to have no opening of kind, not even trapdoors.
The chamber has lain untouched for over two centuries. Wonder what secrets it holds. The archaeologists who discovered it have no clue either, their theories range from a torture chamber, or a sealed tomb for an unfortunate soul or — the most favoured of all — a treasure room. Some say they wouldn’t be surprised if both skeletons and jewels tumble out of the secret room.
Belvedere House — as the National Library building was known during the Raj — was among the many buildings Mir Jafar built in Alipore in the 1760s after he was forced to abdicate his throne in Murshidabad. He gifted it to the first Governor General of India, Lord Warren Hastings. What happened to the house between 1780, when Hastings is said to have sold it, and 1854, when it became the official residence of the Lt Governor of Bengal, is uncertain. But from 1854 to 1911, Belvedere housed a number of Lt Governors till the British capital shifted to Delhi.
After Independence, the National Library (which was then in Esplanade) was shifted to Belvedere House. Since the Belvedere House is of great architectural and heritage value, the treasure of books has been shifted to a new building on the 30-acre campus while the old building is getting restored.
The ministry of culture that owns the National Library decided to get the magnificent building restored by the Archaeological Survey of India since it is heavily damaged. Work has already started. It was while taking stock of the interior and exterior of the building that ASI conservation engineers stumbled upon a ‘blind enclosure’ on the ground floor, about 1000 square feet in size.
A lot of effort has been made to locate an opening so that experts can find out exactly what it was built for or what it contains. But there is not a single crack to show.
“We’ve searched every inch of the first floor area that forms the ceiling of this enclosure for a possible trap door. But found nothing. Restoration of the building will remain incomplete if we are not able to assess what lies inside this enclosure,” said deputy superintending archaeologist of ASI, Tapan Bhattacharya. “We’ve come across an arch on one side of the enclosure that had been walled up. Naturally speculations are rife,” said another archaeologist.
Was it used as a punishment room by Hastings or one of the Lt Governors who succeeded him? It was common practice among the British to “wall up” offenders in “death chambers”. Some sources say this enclosure has exactly the same look and feel. The British were also known to hide riches in blind chambers as this.
“It could be just about anything. Skeletons and treasure chests are the two things that top our speculations because it is not natural for a building to have such a huge enclosure that has no opening. We cannot break down a wall, considering the importance of the building. So we have decided to bore a hole through the wall to peer inside with a searchlight,” said D V Sharma, regional director, ASI.
National Library authorities have written to the ministry of culture seeking permission for this. “The ASI cannot drill into a building of such great historical significance as this without permission. So we facilitated this as caretakers of the building,” said director of National Library, Swapan Chakravorty.
The matter of the blind enclosure was recently raised in a meeting of the committee of experts that has been formed by the Centre to advise the ASI on restoration related matters of the National Library. “The ASI raised the issue of the enclosure in the last meeting of the committee. We are eagerly awaiting the first look inside,” said historian Barun De, chairman of the committee.

[niljee]

Armenians in search of Kolkata roots
Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: An old controversy over Kolkata’s birth prompted Armenian foreign affairs minister Edward Nalbandian to visit the city last Friday. His country is now looking for more substantiation to help establish the presence of Armenians much before Job Charnock set foot in the city.
Last week, Nalbandian met external affairs minister S M Krishna and signed an MoU for a cultural tieup with India. Kolkata figures prominently in the agreement, thanks to the deep-rooted Armenian connections. Thus, a committee has been formed to find out whether Kolkata owes its “existence” to the world’s first Christian state. The committee will also look into the 300th year celebration of the St Mary’s Armenian Church in Chennai, which also has strong Armenian ties.
The diary and consultation book of Rt. Hon’ble East India Company chronicles Charnock’s credit quite authoritatively. Based on this, Kolkata celebrated its tercentenary with much fanfare 20 years ago. A keen look at Rezabeebeh’s grave in the Church of Nazareth at Armenian Street off Brabourne Road would have us believe otherwise. Its inscription reads: “This is the tomb of Rezabeebeh, wife of the late Charitable Sookias, who departed from this world to life eternal on 11 July, 1630.”
The tomb’s existence was unwittingly unearthed 204 years after Charnock came to Calcutta. In 1894, the British-ruled Indian government directed officials in Bengal to compile a list of the state’s old tombstones and monuments of historical and archeological interest. That’s when Armenian scholar and businessman Mesrovb Jacob Seth translated the writing engraved on Rezabeehbeh’s tomb.
Seth claimed that Armenians were already established in Calcutta when Job Charnock arrived: “This Armenian inscription upsets the accepted account of the history of Calcutta prior to the British settlement, for it dates back to 1630, about 60 years before Charnock, the East India Company agent, hoisted the British flag on the banks of the Hooghly”.
Armenians are currently agog with this piece of history. Armenian consul Davit Knyazyan told TOI from Delhi: “Our country is extremely intrigued by the date. Minister Nalbandian visited the Church of Nazareth to see the tomb of great historical significance.”
Knyazyan said: “When our minister met the West Bengal governor M K Narayanan, he was presented with detailed notes on Reezabeebeh’s tomb.” Rev. Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, pastor (priest) of Armenians in India, said: “We already have a book, Armenians and English. But the committee will try and take the facts forward.”
The Armenian minister was also briefed by Jawhar Sircar, secretary, Union ministry of culture. Sircar, who had done extensive research on Armenians and Kolkata in the 1980s and has published articles to his credit, told Nalbandian that Kolkata owed much to Armenians for its existence. “The entire Park Street was created by Armenians (including Stephen Court that was built by Arathoon Stephen, who had also built Grand Hotel in Calcutta and Mount Everest Hotel in Darjeeling). Hotels like Astor, Carlton, Kenilworth, Astoria, Lytton and Russel were also started by Armenians,” Sircar told TOI.
“Bengalis and Armenians have common dishes like potoler dorma. Both seemed to have a similar fetish for spice,” added Sircar.
“But it will be difficult to come to conclusions on Kolkata’s birth date,” said Kolkata’s chronicler P T Nair. He quoted British chronicler C R Wilson, who wrote ‘Armenian Founders of Calcutta’ in 1895, saying that Armenians had settled in Calcutta much before the arrival of Charnock and the Company. “But Wilson wondered if Rezabeebeh’s tomb had been in the church since 1630,” said Nair. However, Seth’s hypothesis was backed by a fact that was reiterated by renowned Bengal scholar Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay.
KOLKATA CONNECTION
The people of Armenia had built a commercial settlement in Chinsurah in 1645
East India Company signed an agreement with the Armenian Khoja Phanoos Kalanthar, two years before Charnock came to Calcutta
Charnock solicited Armenian’s help between 1686-1690, between the evacuation of the English settlement at Hooghly and the construction of the new settlement in Calcutta
Khoja Phanoos Kalanthar accepted Charnock’s invitation to settle in Calcutta from 1690 and the treaty of 1688 was signed between Armenians and East India Company


Tomb of Rezabeebeh, dated 1630 AD, at Armenian church in Kolkata

[sumang007]

Can anyone highlight any concrete/significant development work initiated (by initiated I mean it should at least be Work in Progres with a well defined timeline for completion/ development work)/ completed by the new KMC during their tenure so far? I didnt quite come across much from media reports.

[niljee]

Originally Posted by niljee

Armenians in search of Kolkata roots
Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

One thing I don't understand is that why it has to be the date of a foreigner discovering Kolkata as its date of birth? Too strong a colonial hangover?

[sumang007]

Originally Posted by Suncity

Culture of Corruption?

The TOI reports that Kolkata Municipal Corporation "under new management" is on a spending spree on the "cultural" front.

In the past five months KMC spent:

1) Rs 25 lakhs for a cultural programme at Citizens' Park, where KMC felicitated some of the city's celebrities.

2) Rs 35 lakhs for Kolkatasree award to organisers of Durga Pujas and a cultural event in Science city.

3) Rs 30 lakhs for a party at the Park Circus Maidan

Future crores could be spent on:

1) Taking over Uttam Mancha auditorium for 2 crores and refurbishing it for another 2.5 crores

I like the future plan (point 4). If they can really take over and refurbish it, there lies a potential for future income generation/cultural development.

But regarding points 1,2,3 not quite sure what could be the economic/ cultural benefit. Anyway, they seriously need to prioritize work.

[studdmanster]

Originally Posted by SarafIndian

These are initials steps to make Kolkata another London

[sidney_jec]

[SamitB]

[SarafIndian]

Murshidabad AMU to begin session from January

Posted: Mon Nov 22 2010, 06:11 hrs

Come January and the Murshidabad campus of the Aligarh Muslim University will begin its academic activities.

According to Vice-Chancellor P K Abdul Aziz, the university will start with two courses — a five-year law programme and a two-year management programme. The admission will be based on an all-India entrance exam, which will be conducted in Kolkata as well.

On Saturday, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation for the 260-acre campus at Ahiram Gram Panchayat in Suti Block under Jangipur sub-division of the Murshidabad University.

Already, Rs 50 crore has been sanctioned for the campus. But for now, the academic activities will be conducted from a rented building near the proposed site.

At the foundation ceremony, Mukherjee said Murshidabad had a right to an AMU campus.

“People say Pranab babu is an MP from Jangipur, so the campus is being set up there,” Mukherjee had said. “But Murshidabad has the right to a campus. In 1875, the Queen of Murshidabad, Shamshul Zahan, had donated Rs 1 lakh to set up the Anglo Mohammeden Oriental College, which later became the AMU.”

The AMU is one of the largest residential universities in the country with 30,000 students, 1,700 faculty members and 325 courses. With the new campus, the number of universities in the state has increased to 19.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by SarafIndian

Murshidabad AMU to begin session from January

Posted: Mon Nov 22 2010, 06:11 hrs

Hopefully it will get the boost from AMU and after some years become an independent university - Murshidabad University. Hopefully they will build a nice modern campus.

[arijeetb]

How IT is increasing efficiency for power utilities in West Bengal

Year 2005: Kolkata, and West Bengal, suffer from sharp and sudden power outages . And much of the fault lies with sloppy fault attendance, lack of automatic meters and monitoring systems and not the least, Bengal’s poor work culture. Adding to the frustration, consumers receive inflated bills and above all, collection offices have few bill payment counters. Plus, the accounting system is paper-based.

2006-2010: During this phase, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) — the power distribution utility — goes through a technology transformation. Five call centres are set up to handle the entire gamut of functions: from uploading new customer details to complaints to billing enquiries. Users making complaints get instant SMSes on how fast the fault is being rectified.

Moreover, the state government installs 7,000 tathya mitras – e-kiosks integrated with 1,600 bill payment centres — set up. WBSEDCL is voted the second-best state-owned power distribution company and bags the Prime Minister’s award for technology initiatives. “Every complaint has been given a fixed time to be addressed to. For example, if it is a local distribution fault, the time limit is a maximum of four hours. Every time a complaint is made, an SMS is generated and gets delivered to a team waiting in a mobile van — the one nearest to the fault location,” says MK De, chairman, WBSEDCL. “We have appointed five third-party agencies who handle all calls, specially fault complaints,” he adds.

So significant has been the technology-led change at WBSEDCL that its transformation has become a beacon for Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, which are all modernising their IT systems to make power utilities more efficient. “The main concern of the government has been inadequate collection of bills and improper billings leading to leakages and losses. Some have been paying less than what they are consuming and others like the industrial consumers have been paying exorbitantly high prices,” Arvind Mahajan, head, energy and resources at KPMG said.

“The problem, however, is not all distribution companies have the wherewithal to invest. But power agencies in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are planning to rope in private players for improving collection and plugging leakages. Some are even looking at monitoring load on a real-time basis and planning to implement a combination of ERP packages, better billing systems and improved customer interfaces,” says Mr Mahajan.

While experts say the total IT investment in the distribution sector could top 3,000 crore over the two to three years, WBSECL itself is planning to invest 600 crore in IT, spanning two years. Implementing an ERP package is part of this capital expenditure. The ERP system will cover accounting, human resources, stores and, project management functions. “We plan to call for bids soon. The system will make it easier for us to handle accounts leading to increased revenue earnings,” points out Mr De.

Taking technology intitiatives a step ahead, the state utility is planning to install wireless GSMbased meters at homes. The meters will automatically transmit reading from the meters to a control centre. In the first phase, the GSM meters will be installed for bulk consumers, whose consumption can be monitored on a real-time basis.

“These would be for consumers like malls, electric arc furnaces and hotels where consumption is over 30,000 per month,” says a senior state government official. The system will have an in-built alarm which will buzz if it notices any anomaly in power consumption. In that way, the GSM-based meters will keep a tab on power theft, a major bugbear for all power utilities across the country.

[studdmanster]

cc: The Telegraph

You won’t catch Andreas Schaff trying to sell a BMW to Jairam Ramesh, but Calcutta’s growing car cognoscenti has certainly got him interested.

So much so that Schaff, the president of BMW-India, is coming to town this weekend along with the country heads of Mercedes-Benz and Audi to rev up the sales pitch for German luxury wheels before a select audience of high networth individuals.

The entry-by-invitation event, to be hosted this Saturday by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on the lawns of the German Consul-General’s office at 1 Hastings Park Road, is being touted as a first for the city car market, where the benchmark for luxury has changed in recent years.

“We have invited the country heads of these auto giants to tell us why they have come to India, what expectations they have from this part of the globe, what they plan to do and so on. The event will also give our guests a glimpse of the latest car models,” the regional director of the Indo-German chamber, B.G. Roy, told Metro.

He said Wilfried Aulbur, the Mercedes CEO for India, Volkswagen managing director (sales) Maik Stephan and BMW’s Schaff had confirmed their participation in the event, being organised as part of the annual meeting of the chamber.

Mercedes, BMW and Audi, which cater to the east through dealerships based in the city, have already come up with ambitious business projections based on the January to October sales this year. Mercedes sold 163 cars in the first 10 months of 2010, against 103 last year. BMW sold 160-odd, against 132 through last year.

“The figures are conclusive proof that the number of Calcuttans who can afford — and are eager to buy — luxury wheels is increasing every year,” said a sales manager.

Many Calcuttans already own the top variants of luxury models, shipped from their mother factories as CBUs (completely built units) with price tags of over Rs 1 crore. Sourav Ganguly had got the BMW 7 series model 730Ld shipped from Munich last year.

Ramanuj Majumdar of IIM Calcutta said luxury car brands resorting to direct marketing before an exclusive audience — the city guest list includes Sanjeev Goenka, Harsh Neotia, B.M. Khaitan and son Deepak, and Shishir Bajoria — had become a trend abroad but was new to India.

“I have witnessed such direct marketing in the US. Suppose the Saudi king comes to the US and puts up at a hotel for a month. Car companies and other consumer goods companies know he will be visited by his sons, relatives and other dignitaries. So they take the opportunity to showcase their latest products before this ready clientele through that period,” added Majumdar.

[SSCaddict]

Trinamool opposes land allotment to Infosys

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is all set to do a Singur in West Bengal's Rajarhat township ahead of the assembly polls early next year. Calling it a land scam, the party has announced to oppose the Infosys Technologies' proposed development centre in the area as it did to Tata's ambitious Nano car project in Singur two years ago.

The IT major had first expressed an interest in setting up the development centre in Kolkata way back in 2004. The company hoped to realise its goal six years later after it was allotted 50 acre land in Rajarhat, on the outskirts of Kolkata. But it now faces a stiff opposition by the Trinamool.

Inspired by its successes in Singur and in Nandigram (where a chemical factory project was not allowed to be set up), Trinamool has now challenged the West Bengal government on land allotted to the software giant in Rajarhat. Alleging corruption, it has demanded a thorough probe into the land transfer.

The party has even warned the government of launching an agitation over the issue. It has threatened agitation against Housing Minister Goutam Deb and his department on December 9.

State's Leader of Opposition Partho Chatterjee said, "We once again uttered that the hilarious corruption that has taken place... they should go for an investigation and the persons who are involved in the land dealing should be taken to task. Unless they do that, unless the investigation is completed, there is no question of sharing the dais with a person who has allegedly committed the corruption in Rajarhat."

However, undeterred by the threat, the minister dared Trinamool to stop the work at Rajarhat. He said the Opposition would not be allowed to hold the government to ransom.

"Let the gherao programme be completed. There are still six months to go (to election). How can you expect to see all the games on the first day? After gherao they may have to take guns from Maoist. What will be the next step if the first one is gherao? Let them come. I will talk with them. After that Nijam Palace, or other palaces will also come in picture," Deb said.

"I am ready if prime minister's office enquires the Rajarhat land issue. If I have to submit written confirmation for the enquiry, I am ready to do that even tomorrow. But before that Mamata Banerjee should convince the prime minister. I am ready if she convinces the PM that people wants enquiry," the minister added.

Meanwhile, Infosys responded to the controversy saying the state government has assured it all help. In a statement, it said: "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."

source



if she comes in power who will set up the industry/offices there?? now if by any chance infosys cancels its decision then the end for any IT company in bengal for the next 5 yrs assuming she comes in power.... GOD save bengal

[SamitB]

Ohhhhhhhhh Nooooooooooo.

First, It was Mr. Basu.
Now........................................
Where we are going?
total nonsense.....

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by SSCaddict

source



if she comes in power who will set up the industry/offices there?? now if by any chance infosys cancels its decision then the end for any IT company in bengal for the next 5 yrs assuming she comes in power.... GOD save bengal

Who has written that news article? "hilarious corruption", "Nijam Palace".

If this news is true then it once again proves that Miss Mamata will do anything for the gaddi, even if it is at the expense of the state. The state's politicians are locked in a competition to destroy the state.

[studdmanster]

the source is India Today!!!:OMG:....isn't it a BJP backed Newsjournal?
AFAIK, TMC has already announced few days ago they have pulled back the gherao plan has been shelved!!!...and if i could remember, it was on the same day when Infy's entry was finalised!
They are more bothered with Khejuri as of now!

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by studdmanster

the source is India Today!!!:OMG:....isn't it a BJP backed Newsjournal?

Not sure if it is pro BJP. But India Today magazines are like shiny stainless steel pots - glossy but hollow inside.

[niljee]

Rlys to take part in E-W Metro project
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Indian Railways will after all play a part in the 13.77-km East-West Metro corridor between Salt Lake and Howrah. According to sources, the ministry of urban development has agreed to hand over its 25% share in the project to the railways.
“The ministry of urban development will write to the West Bengal government soon in this regard. The railways had indicated earlier that it was not averse to being a part of the project. Senior officials had also indicated that such a project should not have been undertaken without keeping the railways in the loop, particularly as the existing Metro Railway is under the ministry. It makes little sense in having two metro networks in a city under two completely separate organisations,” a senior official said.
The Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC) was formed to construct and run the East-West Metro corridor with a tunnel under the Hooghly. The ministry of urban development and the state government were part of the consortium. The 4,676-crore project is being funded by JICA. In recent times, there have been reports of work not progressing at the rate at which it should have.
The state government complained that the railways were to blame as land at Howrah and Sealdah stations had not been released. Officials believe that such problems will be ironed out when the railways become a part of the project. However, there are some issues that the railways would insist on.
“One of these is to have an interchange at the Central station. This will not be possible till KMRC agrees to use the broad gauge instead of the standard gauge. For this, complete plans will have to be overhauled. However, if the East-West Metro corridor decides to use the broad gauge, there will be several advantages. For one, the Noapara carshed can be used for maintenance by both networks,” the official said.
There are some who believe that this was bound to happen as a change of government in West Bengal is imminent. If Mamata Banerjee is at the helm of affairs in the state in 2011, she would certainly insist that the railways be a part of the project.
However, transport minister Ranjit Kundu said, “Whoever does it, we want the project to succeed.”

[niljee]

Originally Posted by niljee

Rlys to take part in E-W Metro project
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

A welcome "poriborton (change)"?

[sumang007]

Bengal is worst among the 5-highly indebted states: economist

KOLKATA: Sitting on a huge debt burden of close to Rs 2 lakh crore, West Bengal government's finances are the worst among five highly-indebted states in the country, a noted economist attached with the Indian Statistical Institute here has said.

"Revenue deficit of the state is the highest among the five highly-indebted states of UP, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat," Abhirup Sarkar, the economist, told PTI.

He said that for the year 2009-10, revenue deficit (difference between revenue earnings and revenue expenditure) of the state stood at a staggering Rs 17,940 crore as compared to Rs 7,123 crore for Maharashtra.

"This situation has been continuing for years," he said.

On the contrary, Uttar Pradesh, which is the most indebted state, is enjoying a revenue surplus.

Sarkar said that this was due to very poor collection of taxes and added that introduction of VAT did not bring buoyancy in revenue collection.

He said that the entire trade in the North-Eastern region was routed through West Bengal.

Sarkar said that there was corruption in collection of sales tax. "No official receipts were given for tax collected and I suspect that money might be diverted to party funds," Sarkar said.

"This is a substantial amount," he said.

------

Source: ET:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/6994204.cms
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I am not sure how the state will run once the new government is elected!!!!!
Hope the center helps and the new government takes some hard decisions