Barrckpore Air Base, 28 May : Helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out relief operation sorties in the cyclone hit areas of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal.The IAF helicopters dropped relief materials in the areas like Hingalganj, Sandeshkhali of North 24 Parganas district and in Basanti, Gosaba of South 24 Parganas district which is quite close to the India-Bangladesh border.
We are planning to drop close to 20 tons of load which includes bread, chira (beaten rice) and water for the people who are marooned in the North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts, said Wing Commander Tapan Srivastava of Air Force Station, Barrackpore. န Photos : Indrajit Dutta
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Dhaka-Kolkata passenger ship service proposed
Dhaka, 28 May : Travel between Dhaka and Kolkata by ship, something that stopped over four decades back, may be revived to promote people-to-people contact and eco-tourism. Bangladesh Shipping Minister Afsarul Amin yesterday commended a proposal mooted by the parliament’s standing committee.New Age newspaper quoted him as saying: “The proposal is good. We will actively consider it. There should be more discussions since the matter involves cooperation of India.”
Dhaka and Kolkata now have daily passenger service by air and road, and four train services a week. But, there is no passenger service on the once-thriving river routes. “We have a few vessels made during the British Raj and they are still in service. These vessels could carry tourists across the border,” Chowdhury suggested. The passengers could enjoy the beauty of Sundarbans, the home of the famed Royal Bengal Tiger, said the parliamentarian.
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Tripura by-election in Bordowali seat held peacefully
Agartala, 28 May : Over 82 percent of the 29,705 electorate cast their votes Thursday in the politically important by-election to the Town Bordowali assembly constituency in Tripura, officials here said."The polling, which began at 7 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m., was peaceful," said Dulal Das, returning officer of the Town Bordowali constituency, which comprises parts of capital city Agartala and its adjacent areas. The counting will be held Monday.
In last month's Lok Sabha elections, the assembly segment recorded 75 percent polling. The constituency fell vacant following the death of sitting Congress legislator and former Tripura chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder 4 January. The main opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress have formed an alliance to fight the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front in the by-election. န Photo : Parthajit Dutta
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Chhoto Angaria accused acquitted for less evidence
Midnapore, 28 May : CPI(M) so-called strongmen from Garbeta Tapan Ghosh and Sukur Ali accused of masterminding the 2001 Chhoto Angaria massacre have been acquitted for lack of evidence.
Judge Shyamal Sengupta announced their acquittal on Thursday, noting that CBI had failed to produce any evidence or witnesses against them. CBI officers admitted that it was a major setback to the case. Tapan and Sukur had played a key role in turning most witnesses hostile, said an officer. CBI lawyer Tapas Basu said they would move Kolkata High Court.
The duo's counsel, Amitava Mukherjee, said CBI could not frame charges against them because they were innocent. Three of the 35 witnesses have died and two are missing. Eighteen witnesses have turned hostile.
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Midnapore, 28 May : CPI(M) so-called strongmen from Garbeta Tapan Ghosh and Sukur Ali accused of masterminding the 2001 Chhoto Angaria massacre have been acquitted for lack of evidence.Judge Shyamal Sengupta announced their acquittal on Thursday, noting that CBI had failed to produce any evidence or witnesses against them. CBI officers admitted that it was a major setback to the case. Tapan and Sukur had played a key role in turning most witnesses hostile, said an officer. CBI lawyer Tapas Basu said they would move Kolkata High Court.
The duo's counsel, Amitava Mukherjee, said CBI could not frame charges against them because they were innocent. Three of the 35 witnesses have died and two are missing. Eighteen witnesses have turned hostile.
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Prarona န High on scores, dreams take wingTamluk, 28 May : Prarona Jana- a student of Tamluk Rajkumari Santanamoyee Girls High School, she secured 756 in Madhyamik ’09 exam, one of the highest scores in the West Bengal this year, and now wants to study physics and eventually join the NASA. In fact, she has scored a perfect 100 in physics. Her father Ashis Jana is a security officer in Haldia Exide. Unfortunately for Prarona, her family was away for the treatment of her mother, Ruma. န News and Photo : Raghu Nandan Mallick
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ATTF leader from B'desh surrenders to BSF in Tripura
Khasiamangal, 28 May : A top militant leader of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) laid down his arms before the Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday here. Sailendra Debbarma alias Judhiya decamped from a base at Niralapunji, which is under the jurisdiction of the Srimangal police station in Moulavibazar of Bangladesh and deposited an AK-47 rifle, a 9mm pistol, four magazines and more than 100 live cartridges with BSF DIG S S Chaatrath.Sailendra who joined militancy 15 years back and held the 5th senior most position in the ATTF, said: “The ATTF has relation with other northeastern Indian militant groups like ULFA, UNLF, KLO, PLA and the banned militant force of Assam ULFA has been helping us in arms training.” The surrendered militant also informed that, “Now in Tripura we can not move freely and so is in dearth of finance (as can not collect subscription or ransom) but in Bangladesh we can move freely still today.”
He informed that they had initially joined militancy to fight for a separate tribal homeland, but on realizing that it is baseless, they decided to return to the main stream.
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Bihar’s famous Shahi litchi to hit Bengal market soon
Muzaffarpur (Bihar), 28 May : Shahi litchi, a popular summer fruit largely grown in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, is set to hit markets across India in the third week of May. These areas struggled against extreme hot weather with almost no rainfall in the prominent litchi growing states of Bihar, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. If rains do not bless Bihar by this week, then the production there is likely to fall by 50%.
Last 2-3 years have seen a fall in litchi production due to unsuitable weather conditions. However, the fruit has already hit the market, with the arrival of West Bengal’s “Bambaiya” variety. The popular “Sahi Litchi” variety from Bihar’s Muzzaffarpur will arrive by the third week of May and would be followed by Uttarakhand and Himachal varieties. Apart from these areas that cover around 7,000 hectares, this juicy fruit is also grown in Tripura, Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand.
India is the second largest producer of litchi. In a report last year, the World Bank noted that litchis good enough for export were being grown in only about 10% of the 2,000-odd orchards in Muzaffarpur. Countries that import litchis from India include the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada, Russia and Yemen. န Photo : Mou Ghosh Dutta
Muzaffarpur (Bihar), 28 May : Shahi litchi, a popular summer fruit largely grown in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, is set to hit markets across India in the third week of May. These areas struggled against extreme hot weather with almost no rainfall in the prominent litchi growing states of Bihar, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. If rains do not bless Bihar by this week, then the production there is likely to fall by 50%.Last 2-3 years have seen a fall in litchi production due to unsuitable weather conditions. However, the fruit has already hit the market, with the arrival of West Bengal’s “Bambaiya” variety. The popular “Sahi Litchi” variety from Bihar’s Muzzaffarpur will arrive by the third week of May and would be followed by Uttarakhand and Himachal varieties. Apart from these areas that cover around 7,000 hectares, this juicy fruit is also grown in Tripura, Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand.
India is the second largest producer of litchi. In a report last year, the World Bank noted that litchis good enough for export were being grown in only about 10% of the 2,000-odd orchards in Muzaffarpur. Countries that import litchis from India include the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada, Russia and Yemen. န Photo : Mou Ghosh Dutta
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