Suspicious boat with ammunition found in Andaman Sea

Port Blair, 23 September : A medium-sized fibre boat with two live rocket-propelled grenades and nearly 12 empty shells of AK-47 rifles was found floating near the coastal area of Tessera Island of Nicobar Group, police said today.

Though the boat was found on 11 September, the entire matter was kept ''top secret'' by the Andaman and Nicobar Police and defence forces for security reasons. ''The boat was sighted by some residents of Teressa Island, who informed about this matter to the local police,'' Ashok Chand, Superintendent of Police of Andaman's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), told reporters. Strategically located, Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie very close to Mallaca Strait, one of the world's busiest sea routes, which is also infamous for arms smuggling, sea pirates and gun-running.
Highly placed sources have also informed Bengal Newz that a detailed report has been prepared jointly by Police and Defence forces and has been sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. ''From its look, it appears that the fibre boat has been made in some foreign country,'' a senior police officer told Bengal Newz on the condition of anonymity.

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Governor approves creation of 'CMO' in West Bengal
Kolkata, 23 September : The West Bengal government's plan to create a Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on the lines of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was given consent to by Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi today.
"The state government has received the Governor's approval during the day and formalities on number of offices and recruitments in the CMO will be placed for ratification at the next meeting of the state Cabinet," Chief Secretary Asoke Mohan Chakraborty said. The plan to create the CMO, to be responsible for taking key decisions in government, was taken on 16 September by the state government to bring more transparency and flexibility in the administration.

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Life paralysed in Nandigram following 12h TMC bandh
Nandigram, 23 September : Life was disupted in the trouble-prone Nandigram today owing to a 12-hour bandh called by the Trinamool Congress in protest against the murder of the panchayat pradhan of Sonachura last night.
District Magistrate, East Midnapore, CD Lama said shops, markets and educational institutions remained closed while attendance in government offices in the area was very poor. Public and private vehicles were also not plying. Trinamool activists organised sit-in protests not only in Nandigram but also various places in Haldia against the murder of Nishikanta Mondal, panchayat pradhan of Sonachura.
Meanwhile, a sophisticated carbine was recovered from Haldar More where Mandal was killed last night. Police is enquiring into the murder, but could not make much headway into the case so far, the DM said. န Photo : Raghunandan Mallick

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Border security stepped up for Durga Puja in Siliguri
Silliguri, 23 September : Security has been beefed up on the border areas of Siliguri in for Durga Puja. The Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Border Security Forces (BSF) have been put on high alert and police patrolling has been increased.

“There is a general threat that terrorists from across the border might come and attack us. For that we have alerted the BSF there and requested them to seal the border. We have also asked the local police stations along the border to have patrolling done and seal the area,” said Kunda Lal Tamta, inspector-general of police, North Bengal. Paramilitary forces are on a vigil in areas bordering with Bangladesh and Nepal. Certain stretches on the border have been sealed and vehicles entering India are being checked. State police have also increased their patrolling in major towns of the north Bengal plains and checking vehicles coming from Assam. “There are 75 big pujas in Siliguri and other areas. For big puja, we have made crowd management programmes. We have 35 police assistance booths. The pandal will be sanitised every day,” said Tamta.
The security has also been increased to avert any possible attack from militant insurgent groups like the United Liberation Front of Assam and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation. န Photo : AP

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B'desh may have higher gas reserves than estimated

Dhaka, 23 September : Bangladesh may have surplus gas reserves, something past governments have denied, as per revised estimates being examined by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government.
Bangladesh energy officials said that it was 'good news for the country' that the gas reserve at Bibiyana, the country's second-largest, was much higher than the earlier estimate. They was hopeful that more gas would be found, said a source who was present at the meeting. US gas and oil multinational Chevron has submitted to the state-run Petrobangla a new estimate of gas reserve in the Bibiyana field, putting the 'proven recoverable reserve' at 4.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF), up by a staggering amount of 2.7 TCF, said Petrobangla officials.
As per the new estimate, the 'gas in place or proven gas reserve' of the field has been put at 6.6 trillion cubic feet, of which 4.4 TCF is recoverable, said Petrobangla officials.

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French Naval Ship visits Andaman Nicobar Command

UNI, Port Blair, 23 September : French Naval Ship (FNS) Somme, a tanker class ship of the French Navy, arrived here on a two-day visit to Port Blair.
Commander Abhinav Barve, Public Relations Officer of Andaman and Nicobar Command, told UNI today that Rear Admiral Bruno Nielly, ALINDIEN, is also onboard FNS Somme. FNS Somme is the command and control platform for the ALINDIEN, who is the overall Force Commander of French Armed Forces for the Indian Ocean region. ''On arrival here yesterday, the French Naval Ship was given the traditional welcome and the visiting Admiral and Commanding Officer of the French Naval Ship called on Major General AK Chaturvedi, Chief of Staff Andaman and Nicobar Command. During the visit, ALINDIEN will also call on the Commander-in-Chief,'' Barve said. The French Naval delegation interacted with Headquarters Staff of ANC at the Command Headquarters and discussed areas of mutual cooperation. During the day, the officers and crew of the visiting ship were also taken on a guided visit to the historic Ross Island.
''The visit of FNS Somme will enhance mutual understanding between the two countries. The French Naval Ship will depart on 24 September,'' Commander Barve added.

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Knight Riders IPL coach, decided : Sourav Ganguly
Kolkata, 23 September : Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders has picked its coach and his identity would be revealed soon by the team management, senior batsman Sourav Ganguly said today.
Tipped to return as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL III, Ganguly said, "The coach has been decided. But I cannot announce it. The team management (owners Shah Rukh Khan and Jay Mehta) will do it shortly."

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Security tightened before Durga puja in Tripura : DG

Agartala, 23 September : More than ten thousand security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, would be deployed in Tripura during Durga puja festival.
"Border Security Force (BSF) has also been asked to maintain close watch on state's 856-km border with Bangladesh as precautionary measure to keep the festival time free from any untoward incident," Director General of Police Pranay Sahaya told reporters here today. "All precautionary measures have been taken for smooth puja as the serial blasts took place in Agartala last year before the puja," the DGP said, adding police pickets have been set up and patrolling intensified.
Additional forces were kept ready, bomb disposal squads were frisking the town and intelligence network was strengthened, he said. န Photo : Parthajit Dutta

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Andaman's Havelock Island : The Deep Blue Dream
Port Blair, 23 September : Among the Andaman groups of islands dotted in the Bay of Bengal, Havelock Island is one of the most famous. Havelock is famous for her long endless sandy beaches, coral reeves, crystal clear sea and soft waves. The beauty of the island is beyond words can express, perfect place to attain rest. There are several beaches here such as, Radha Nagar beach, Elephanta Beach, Vijay nagar beach etc. Times magazine has rated Radha Nagar beach as Asia’s best beach. The activities in these beaches include snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing etc. Havelock Island is ideal for honeymoon couples or workaholic people to take a break.
Andaman and Nicobar islands is very much away from Indian coastline and road transport is not possible, but travel is possible by air through flights and water ways through ships. It takes 3 days to travel by sea and just 2 hours by flight to reach Port Blair from Kolkata. Ships travel once every weak from Kolkata and Chennai. Shipping services to the Andaman and Nicobar islands from Vizag are available once in two months. There are several hotels and resorts in Havelock Island to make a memorable vacation for tourists. န Photos : Andaman Tourism

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WB to review posts to absorb casual DGHC workers

Kolkata, 23 September : After deciding to absorb a number of casual workers of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in vacant posts, the West Bengal government yesterday consented to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) demand for review of posts to absorb more temporary workers of the DGHC.
"Today, we have agreed in principle to review sanctioned posts. The workload has increased. The number of posts will increase following the review," Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said after a meeting with the GJM leadership and its front body Jan Mukti Asthayee Karmachari Sangathan (JAKS). In an earlier meeting with the JGM in June, the government had agreed in principle to regularise the casual workers of the DGHC by filling up the existing vacant sanctioned posts, the Home Secretary said.
GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said while there were 3,472 existing vacant sanctioned posts, the number of DGHC casual workers were 6,300. န Photo : Himalaya Darpan

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