IIT-Kharagpur experts working on Tsunami warning

Project to focous on Indian Ocean and
formulate strategies for quaks-stroms-floods
Kolkata, Kharagpur, 19 October : 26 December, 2004, was not the first time that the world saw a killer tsunami surge and neither will it be the last. According to experts at IIT, Kharagpur, the earliest tsunami records can be traced back to the time of Alexander. More recently, there was a tsunami surge in the Arabian Sea in 1945. A known phenomenon, it wouldn't have caused such widespread devastation had there been greater awareness about it, feel experts at the premier tech school.
The institute, under the aegis of the union ministry of human resources development has tied up with the University of Massachussets, Dartmouth, and set up a Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land (CORAL) that will eventually build a Tsunami Warning System for the Indian Ocean. The idea is that, if a tsunami strikes again, the country will not be caught unawares. An oceanographer from the university, Avijit Gangopadhyay, who has studied tsunami patterns in the Pacific and will be guiding CORAL in this initiative.
Work on building the first stages of the warning system will be over by the end of the year. န Photos : AP

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crocodile breeding business in Bangladesh has bright prospect

Xinhua, Dhaka, 19 October : "The Crocodile breeding business in Bangladesh has bright prospects," Mesbahul Hoque, chairman of the Reptile Farm Ltd., the first and only crocodile farm in Bangladesh, said on Sunday.
While being interviewed by Xinhua on the farm which is situated in Mymensingh district, 122 km north of Dhaka, Hoque said they are going to export crocodile products, including crocodile skin, meat and bone, from next year. The Reptile Farm Ltd., also the first commercial crocodile farm in the sub-continent, started the crocodile breeding business in December 2004. READ FULL STORY

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maoist violence affecting other states too : M Sarkar

Agartala, 19 October : Maoists are not only affecting development in the states they dominate but are also making an impact in other states, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said Monday.
"Maoists have been upsetting development in Chattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Their (Maoists') violent activities are indirectly also disturbing other neighbouring and smaller states," Sarkar said while addressing a meeting of security personnel here. "Centre and the states concerned should be more proactive to deal with the Maoist activities," Sarkar said.
"The strength of the militants has remarkably decreased in Tripura. At present, they (extremists) are unable to recruits tribal youths in their outfits as they had done earlier. However, we are not complacent. the LF government wants to root out the cause of the militancy permanently from this northeastern state," he said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

W Bengal Administration has not failed to curb high decibel fireworks

Kolkata, 19 October : Though West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was perturbed over high decibel firecrackers being let off during Dipaboli, chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty today denied that the administration had failed to control it.
"I can't accept the allegation that the administration totally failed to control excessive use of high-decibel fireworks during Dipaboli and Kalipuja," Chakraborty said. Pointing out that there was a directive on high decibel firecrackers by the Kolkata High Court, he said "I don't think that the level of violation was much." He said he would receive a report from the police. "I can give details on it only by tomorrow after I receive the police report.
Chakraborty said that use of high decibel crackers could not be controlled overnight.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maoists approaching 'Western NGOs' for 'easy funds'

Foreigners visiting Lalgarh-Jharkhand zone identified

Kolkata, 19 October : Intelligence officers have reportedly identified the two English-speaking foreigners who had sneaked into the Maoist-dominated forested terrains of Jharkhand and Lalgarh in April this year. During grilling, two top Maoist leaders reportedly revealed the names of the foreigner duo Allen Durand and Tim Smith.

According to intelligence sources, the duo arrived in India on 22 April, introducing themselves as liaison officers of a foreign NGO interested to work in the tribal belts of India. The sources claimed that they reached the Maoist camp with Amitava Bagchi, a politburo member of CPI (Maoist). Bagchi was arrested by Jharkhand police around a month ago. During interrogation, the top Maoist leader reportedly told the investigators that he used to liaise between the Indian Maoists and their overseas sympathizers. The agencies, however, are still in the dark about the identity of the visitors, as both the foreigners had reportedly spent a few weeks in Jangalmahal deep into the forested terrain of Jharkhand and met the rebel leaders active in the area. They collected documents, photographs and video clippings of the tribal upsurge in Lalgarh.
"Bagchi used to collect funds from the Western countries. And recently, the Maoists have taken a new strategy to collect funds. They have been approaching several Western NGOs, highlighting the poverty and distressed condition of the tribals and collecting money for tribal welfare," said a senior intelligence officer. The two foreigners might have got in touch with Bagchi who posed as a rights and social activist responding to one such appeal, said sources.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Violence in NBengal after police detects gambling den

Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, 19 October : Five people were injured, one of them critically, when police opened fire on a mob at Binnaguri in the north Bengal district of Jalpaiguri.
The incident took place between 2:30 and 3:00 on Sunday night, when a police team detected a gambling den in an area under the jurisdiction of Banarhat police station. "When the police objected they were attacked by the locals and police had to fire," said Daniel Tshering Lepcha, DIG, Jalpaiguri range. Though Lepcha claimed police resorted to blank firing, he admitted to five people being injured. The one critically injured has been admitted to North Bengal Medical College & Hospital in Siliguri. The other four, one of whom is a woman, has been admitted to Jalpaiguri Sadar hospital. "Ten policemen, including an inspector Subol Chandra Roy, were injured in the mob attack," said Lepcha.
The situation is tense and superintendent of police, Jalpaiguri district, is camping in the area. န Photo : Raj Kumar Modak

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chinese airline "Air China" set to fly in by year-end

Kolkata, 19 October : With Kolkata airport on the verge of being modernized, several international airlines are showing interest to start new flights from the city. Air China is all set to start direct services by the end of this year. It will be the seventh international carrier to start operation in the city in the last two years.
Kolkata airport director R Srinivasan said Air China delegates are expected to chalk out the details of their schedule and announce the launch of their new flights on Monday. At present, Air China operates from Delhi to three Chinese destinations Bejing, Shanghai and Chengdu. Low-cost Chinese carrier China Eastern already connects Kolkata with Kumling four days a week.
Last week, Air Asia announced its direct flight from Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur from 19 November. The other airlines that started operations in the last two years are Kingfisher, Jet, Air India Express, Best Airline and United Airways.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charges six doctors in Bangladeshi Film star's death

BBC News, Dhaka, 19 October : A Bangladeshi court has charged six doctors with criminal negligence over the death of a top film star.
SM Aslam Talukder (44) better known as "Manna", found fame playing the role of angry young men and his death last year led to widespread public mourning. He died of a heart attack at the United Hospital Limited in the capital, Dhaka, while undergoing treatment. READ FULL STORY

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPI(M) worker again killed by suspected Maoists

Midnapore, 19 October : A CPI(M) leader was killed by suspected Maoists in West Midnapore district Sunday night, police said.
The body of Shital Hembram, abducted from his house by a group of Maoist, was found Monday morning, said West Bengal police Inspector General (Law and order) Surajit Kar Purakayastha. “Hembram was shot dead in Binpur-1 block,” he said. Binpur-1, with Lalgarh as its headquarters, is a hotbed of Maoist activities.
The state government deployed its police force alongside paramilitary troopers to flush out the ultras 18 June. The joint forces reclaimed some areas controlled by the Maoists, but the killing of CPI(M) activists and members of other tribals outfits has been continuing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------