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Mamata rejects Rajnath’s offer on Bengal package

• The Statesman
• 04 May 2014

biswabrata goswami

NANDIGRAM, 3 MAY: Reacting to BJP president Rajnath Singh’s assurance yesterday of a Bengal package if the party is voted to power, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today rejected the offer and said:  “We do not want a package. We do not want alms. We want return of the money deducted by the Centre for the loans taken by the previous Left Front government.”   She claimed at an election rally today that the Centre deducted Rs 1 lakh crore as interest from the state.
 Miss Banerjee dared the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr Narendra Modi, to implement his promise of sending Bangladeshis packing after 16 May if his party comes to power, saying that the 'paper tiger' should first meet the 'Royal Bengal Tiger'.
“Touch a single person, we will see. The paper tiger should know there is a Royal Bengal tiger in Sunderbans. First you face that,” Miss Banerjee told an election meeting here.
Claiming that the Gujarat Chief Minister did not know history, she said that Bangladeshis came to India under a pact signed in 1971 by  Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.
Later today, while campaigning for TMC’s Sudip Bandopadhyay, she took a swipe at the Opposition for demanding a CBI probe into the Saradha chit fund scam and said: “Those who are demanding a CBI probe seem to have forgotten that this agency's investigation did not amount to much when it was looking  into the death of Tapasi Malik, the Nandigram massacre and
Netai killings”.

‘TMc has failed to woo industry’

The Statesman 

5 May 2014

Former bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee alleged at a rally in Tamluk
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Nimtouri (Tamluk), 4 May
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today accused the Mamata Banerjee government of impairing development in the state, saying it has failed to woo new industries. He also minced no words to criticise the Trinamul regime on the rising crime graph against women.
“The government has taken the state backward in both industry and agriculture. It has not taken a single step towards industrialisation compared to what was done by us. No new industry has come up under the new regime,” said the CPI-M politburo leader, addressing an election campaign rally at Nimtouri.
He claimed that industries like JSW steel, Wipro, Infosys and Cognizant had set foot in the state during the Left Front rule, but now “investors are realising that this government will not do anything to bring new industry”.
In Haldia, no industry has come up after the change of power in the state, but we had done much for the development of the Haldia industries. The steel plant in Salboni is moving out of the state. Wipro and Infosys have said that they won’t come, Mr Bhattacharjee said calling upon voters to ensure that a government that takes up alternative policies is formed in Delhi.
He said that if the Left becomes more powerful, it can stop passage of unjust laws.
“The Congress had already admitted defeat. They had accomplished next to nothing in their 10-year rule. Where there used to be about eight to ten super rich businessmen in India, the number has now crossed a hundred. On the flipside, poverty, hunger, and unemployment are eating into the country. The Prime Minister has failed to control prices. He has voluntarily surrendered control over the cost of petrol and diesel. People gave the Congress time, and it has failed them,” he said.
Mr Bhattacherjee said “our work does not end with the defeat of the Congress, because if one road is bad, the other one next to it is the terrible force of the BJP, which plans to divide the country along communal lines. Our plan is to send away the Congress and stop the BJP.”
Describing BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as “dangerous”, Mr Bhattacharjee said the power would go in the hands of industrialists if he took charge of the top post.
He said an alternative government without the Congress and the BJP could be formed at the Centre. “The government of an alternative front without the Congress and the BJP could be formed at the Centre. Because, the total number of votes garnered by the opposition parties is always more than the combined votes of Congress and BJP,” he said.
Mr Bhattacharjee referred to the terrible experience of the people in the Saradha scam, saying that a betrayal of such huge proportions would not be tolerated. He reminded people of how the farce of the School Service Commission examinations had insulted the youth of the state. Public funds were being wasted on large government “utsavs” (festivals).

Bengal

Sportspersons to get jobs: CM

• The Statesman
• 09 Jan 2014

Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Jhargram, 8 January
A day after inaugurating the ambitious rural road connectivity project in Amlasole, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told aspiring young sportspersons at Jhargram in Junglemahal that her government would create employment opportunities for them.
“Our main focus is creating employment opportunities in Junglemahal and on improving basic services such as health, education
and infrastructure. We had given Rs 25,000 each to 1,600 clubs in Junglemahal and a similar amount would
be given in the future,” Miss Banerjee said while addressing the Junglemahal
Vivek Chetna Utsav and Sport-meet award ceremony today.
To encourage the Junglemahal youths, she asked Sports Minister Madan Mitra to organise sports events in Kolkata for boys and girls from Junglemahal to expose their talent.
“Those who have enough get many opportunities, but these youths do not get opportunities,” she added.
Carrying forward her policy of aggressively pursuing development to bring back to the mainstream those who had sided with the Maoists, Miss Banerjee kicked off several projects and promised more if peace was maintained.
She laid the foundation for 24 projects which include the tourist resort in Jhargram Rajbari, community hall at Silda, Odalchua ashram hostel and nine multi-purpose flood relief centres. This apart, she inaugurated 10 projects which cover health, education and drinking water sectors.
She said her government was committed to providing opportunities for students in Junglemahal belonging to all sections, including the minority community, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
During her speech, Miss Banerjee urged residents not to turn hostile if they did not get jobs under a drive to induct Junglemahal youths into the police force. “We have recruited 15,000 youths in the police force and 21,000 more as civil police. But those who don’t get jobs should register their names in the employment bank and they will get jobs according to their educational qualifications,” she said.
In the coming days teachers would be recruited for teaching the Olchiki language, she told the gathering at Jhargram stadium where the sports award ceremony was organised to mark completion of the sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebration of Swami Viveknanda.
Miss Banerjee had visited Amlasole yesterday which had hit headlines in 2004
for starvation deaths during the Left Front rule.

Bengal

connecting rural bengal

• The Statesman
• 08 Jan 2014

mamata inaugurates rural road project
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Amlasole (Jhargram), 7 January
To ensure better road connectivity for villages across the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated her ambitious 16,000 km rural road project by flagging off the construction of a two-km concrete road between Kankrajhore and Amlasole in Junglemahal of West Midnapore.  
While the project was inaugurated from Kankrajhore, Miss Banerjee later addressed a rally at Amlasole, infamous for starvation deaths in 2004 during the Left Front rule, where she handed over mini-kits of vegetable seeds, paddy-rowing machines, sewing-machines of sal leaves, pattas and scholarships under the Kanya Shree project to various beneficiaries.
Claiming her ambitious road connectivity project was unparallel in the history of rural development project in the country; Miss Banerjee said the two-km Amlasole road would help connect Purulia district and neighbouring Jharkhand with Amlasole.
Though, the erstwhile Left Front government had tried to build 750-km metalled roads in the Belpahari area during 2008-09, but they abandoned the project due to Maoist menace due to which no contractors agreed to work n the area.  
Recalling that she first visited the village when she was in the Opposition in 2004 when the starvation deaths had hit the area, Miss Banerjee said: “Today I want to say that during our rule no one will starve.
“I will tell officials and leaders to visit this place at regular intervals to ensure that development work progress at a rapid pace. For ushering development, what you need most is a heart to work for the people,” the chief minister said.
She emphasised that the Trinamul Congress government was providing rice at Rs 2 per kg to all BPL families and stressed that those who would complete 100 days work would be given more 100-day jobs by her government.
Miss Banerjee asked the officials to discuss development schemes in remote areas with local youths and submit reports to her within 15 days. “I will try to implement the projects suggested by the local youths because they are more aware than me about their locality”, she promised.
During her speech some women whose husbands went missing three or four years ago tried to draw her attention but Miss Banerjee asked them to keep silent and they were later pushed back by security officials. They claims harmads (CPI-M backed armed goons) had abducted their husbands.
Miss Banerjee said: “I know many persons here are still missing, but I have asked police to conduct a probe into the matter.”
Without naming Maoists, she said that along with developmental work it also needed to be seen that none tried to incite violence or bloodshed in the area. “You will have to maintain peace in your locality and never allow any outsider to come and disturb the peace,” she iterated.
Miss Banerjee also urged villagers not to marry off their daughters before the age of 18 as her government had taken steps to ensure that girl children get education free till Class XII.

Herd on the rampage

• The Statesman
• 30 Dec 2013

Tourists click photos; farmers watch helplessly
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Midnapore, 29 December
While tourists brought out their cameras to take pictures of a herd of about 100 elephants, farmers stood helplessly as the animals devoured their standing crops at the Salboni forest area in Junglemahal.
Some people from nearby places even hired vehicles to reach the spot. Several people carried coconuts and bananas to feed the elephants while others took pictures with their cameras.
A forest official said: “Crowd control has become a major problem. We keep telling people the elephants can get violent. It is always safer to watch them in silence from a safe distance without disturbing them.”
The herd that included about 10 calves had come from Dalma range in Jharkhand and was now settled near Deulkunda village under Salboni police station. The animals damaged 18 houses, destroyed standing crops on over 25 acres of land and killed two buffaloes and seven goats, sources said. The entire village stayed away out of fear, they said, adding the herd continued to stay near the village.
Since the late 1980's, elephants from Bihar (now Jharkhand) have been entering Bengal during the monsoon. The number of elephants and the duration of their stay in south Bengal has gone up over the years, worsening man-animal conflict in the densely populated districts of Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. On an average, five people and an elephant die and hundreds of hectares of crops are destroyed each year.
Forest officials said several night patrolling teams had been organised in the area, each team armed with crackers, torch, siren, fireball and a vehicle to drive away the elephants in case they attacked villages close to the forests.
“We asked people not to prepare handia (a local brew using mahul flower) during the period, because its smell attracts elephants the most,” the official said.

HDA holds out hope for Mayachar

• The Statesman
• 27 Dec 2013

As the mighty Rupnarayan continues to gobble up homes
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabrata@thestatesman.net
Tamluk, 26 December
Thousands of villagers living in Mayachar, an erosion-prone island in East Midnapore, are now relieved after the Haldia Development Authority (HDA) announced a slew of development projects.
For the past two decades, thousands of islanders have been spending sleepless nights as the mighty Rupnarayan continues to gobble up homes. But after taking charge as the chairman of HDA, Mr Subhendu Adhikari had formulated plans to undertake an overall development plan at Mayachar and he announced the projects at a function in Mayachar in the presence of villagers yesterday. According to the plans, the HDA will undertake to develop roads, a concrete bridge across the Rupnarayan, school buildings, a flood shelter and erosion checking work.
For setting up a concrete bridge over the Rupnarayan, the HDA has already allotted around Rs 3 crore and the work will begin by the end of February.
The village, spread over 2 sq km, is on the district's border with Howrah. The river flow is a little rough in this part. Both banks are bereft of houses and have a thick screen of trees. Only the chimneys of brick kilns indicate the presence of human beings. In the first part of the twentieth century, a large portion of Mayachar was under the Rupnarayan.
The river gradually shifted to the northwest, though, and large tracts emerged from under the water. Villagers still talk about a flood half a century ago that had put the entire area under water. Maybe that’s the reason why the people of Mayachar, in Amritberia gram panchayat, Mahisadal, want to forget that it is among the most threatened inhabited islands in the district.
Just before the last panchayat election, about 2,000 voters were all supporters of the CPI-M. They later switched to the TMC, though, hoping that if it came to power, their problems would at least be recognised.
While addressing a rally, Mr Adhikari said: “For additional classrooms of Mayachar High School, I have already given Rs 10 lakh. This apart, I have plans to set up buildings of primary schools which were demolished in the erosion. The HDA has taken an elaborate plan to check erosion here with the help of the state irrigation department.” A senior teacher of the Mayachar high school, said: “A 90-foot stretch of land at Palpara and a 10-foot stretch near the Kheya ghat have already eroded.
About a 1.5-kilometre stretch along the Mayachar land is also under threat of severe erosion and this land will submerge in the coming monsoon if work is not taken up immediately. 

Chance of a lifetime, still unrecognised

• The Statesman
• 26 Dec 2013

kalyani doctor selected for master’s study in netherlands
Biswabrata Goswami
biswabratagoswami@gmail.com
Krishnagar, 25 December
At a time when vitality and growing old for the elderly are being seen as a new way of integral treatment strategy across the world, including India, a young doctor of Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Kalyani, who has received several international awards, has been selected to study the Masters programme on this field from Leiden University, the oldest university of the Netherlands in greater Europe and the twin university of Oxford.
Dr Ashok Kumar Biswas, a Junior Resident (Cardiology & Chest Medicine) of Gandhi Memorial Hospital, who graduated from Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, was recently selected as the first Indian student to study the Masters programme on vitality and ageing from Leiden University.But, neither the state government nor the Central government has recommended his name yet.
Masters programme in vitality and ageing is a very unique course offered by Leiden University and Leiden Academy only for 20 students around the globe each year. They usually select the creme-de-la-creme from a country and this is the first time that any Indian student got such an offer.
Dr Biswas had received the international undergraduate research best prize in 2009 but that was also not recognised by the governments or the health university. “Every country takes honour in this course. Usually, the selected student gets money from the government for the course. Leiden university  expects respective governments to come forward and provide the scholarship. The Centre may help me if the same is forwarded by the Chief Minister,” Dr Biswas said.
While responding to questions, Dr Biswas said care for the elderly differs from that of children and adults, as it often involves the treatment of multiple, concurrent diseases. Therefore, the elderly require a different, integral treatment strategy. This essential new way of thinking and operating is not sufficiently incorporated in current academic and clinical practice yet. To address this specific gaps, Leiden University and Leyden Academy developed the Vitality and Ageing master programme, he said.
“We are now experiencing an unprecedented senior population growth, which means that older people and related ageing issues are more prominent than ever. So, the ageing process can be (partially) avoided and extended if sufficient energy is invested into maintenance and repair. We can anticipate ongoing improvements in the length and quality of our lives and expect a future with more years lived in good health.”
But despite best efforts, life often ends with a period of poor health and disabilities. Care for the elderly differs from that of children and adults, as it often involves the treatment of multiple, concurrent diseases (multi-morbidity) which leads to under-and over-treatment. Above all, not only purely biomedical aspects need to be considered but other influencing factors such as the impact of healthcare structures and the social position of the elderly need to be taken into account.