န Bengal's Art Effects : London, 16 October :

A woman views a watercolour by artist Jamie Hewlett, which he painted following a trip to Char Atra in Bangladesh, in Dray Walk Gallery in London. A collection of nine works by Jamie Hewlett entitled 'Under Water Colours' were organised by the international development charity Oxfam and aim to highlight how climate change is affecting people around the world.န Photos : AFP

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

Swadhin Bangla Betar's singer Probal Chowdhury fights for life...
Chittagong, 16 October : Renowned music director of '71 wartime radio station Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Probal Chowdhury is fighting for life at a private hospital in Chittagong.
He was admitted to Metropolitan Hospital following brain haemorrhage on Wednesday. He suddenly fell ill on Wednesday night while recording a music programme at the Chittagong station of BTV. "He is still in critical state," son Monash Chowdhury told reporters on Friday.

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

Four MLAs arrested for dharna @ State Secretariat
TMC leaders arrest sparks "road blockades" in WB
"I can't be turned Writers' Buildings into a circus maidan" : Buddhadeb
Kolkata, 16 October : Four Trinamool Congress MLAs were arrested today for staging a dharna at the state secretariat, a protest described by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as a "circus", sparking another confrontation with the ruling Left Front in West Bengal.

West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee and three MLAs of Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's TMC were arrested after they went on a dharna before the CM's office. The MLAs who also included Jyotipriya Mullick, Asok Deb and Swarnakamal Saha were later released on bail. Jt Commissioner of Kolkata Police R K Pachnanda said the MLAs were produced before a magistrate after they were taken to the Presidency jail. The chief minister said he could not comprehend what the MLAs wanted. " I immediately asked the police to remove them from Writers' Buildings which can't be turned into a circus maidan," he said after their arrest.
The arrest triggered angry Trinamool Congress workers to spill onto the streets in the metropolis bringing rush hour traffic to a halt resulting in massive traffic jams. The sudden blockade took thousands of people on their way home from work by surprise. Also stranded were people who were heading for the Howrah and Sealdah railway stations on their way home for Dipaboli. Kolkata Police sources said that almost all main roads were hit by the blockades, but there was no untoward incident. Sources in West Bengal Police said that traffic on highways in districts like Howrah, Hooghly, South and North 24 Parganas had come to a standstill. န Photos : PTI

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

Indian, Indonesian navies to conduct joint patrol in Andaman sea

IANS, New Delhi, 16 October : The Indian and Indonesian navies will undertake a two-week coordinated patrol along their international maritime boundary from Sunday to check piracy, poaching, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, a defence ministry official said here Friday.
“The purpose of the coordinated patrol is to prevent piracy, armed robberies, poaching, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities,” the official said. The 14th edition of the coordinated patrol, codenamed “Ind-Indo Corpat” will conclude 5 November. According to the official, the opening ceremony for the exercise would be held at Belawan in Indonesia, with the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andaman & Nicobar Islands), Commodore P. Suresh, leading the Indian delegation. The closing ceremony will be conducted at Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
India and Indonesia share an international maritime boundary of about 300 nautical miles.

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

Northeast insurgents have camps in Bangladesh : Tripura CM Sarkar

RK Nagar, 16 October : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has claimed that insurgent groups operating in the northeastern Indian states have camps in Bangladesh.
“The main camps of insurgent forces of northeast India is in Bangladesh. Earlier, they had their camps mainly in Myanmar and Bhutan. Though now the number of such camps has come down, but we cannot say for sure that these camps have been demolished in those countries,” said Sarkar while addressing trainee constables of the Tripura State Rifles during a passing out parade here on Thursday.
Over 50 rebel groups are said to be active in the region that is circled by China, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

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

Mamata alleges her phones being "tapped" by Govt.
Kolkata, 16 October : Indian Railway Minister and TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee today alleged that her phone as well as those of her personal staff were being tapped at the behest of West Bengal government.
"My phone is being tapped. Phones of my personal staff are also being tapped. I am sure the central government has definitely not given sanction for it. It is being done by the state government," the minister told reporters here. Claiming that her phone was being tapped for the last two to three years, she said "even my e-mails and SMS are being tapped !"

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

6 NLFT & ATTF tribal separatists surrender in Tripura

Agartala, 16 October : Six more tribal separatists have surrendered to security forces in Tripura after fleeing from their bases in Bangladesh, officials said here Friday.
"The Bangladesh-trained militants led by their self-styled captain Makhanrai Reang, surrendered before senior officers of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Assam Rifles late Thursday," a senior police official said. The surrendered militants, belonging to outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), aged 20 to 30-years, fled from their camps in Satchari in Sylhet district in northeastern Bangladesh, opposite Khowai town in western Tripura. They also deposited a large cache of arms and ammunition, including AK-series rifles and foreign made ammunition.
The ATTF and the NLFT have been demanding independence for indigenous tribals and the secession of Tripura from India. န Photo : Parthajit Dutta

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

W Bengal signs tripartite pact for Tiger conservation

PTI, Kolkata, 16 October : After some initial objection, West Bengal government has signed a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the tiger reserves in the state for better conservation of the big cats.
Subrat Mukherjee, field director, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve and his counterpart in Buxa Tiger Reserve R P Seni, who were authorised by the state government, signed an MoU with the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Chief Wildlife Warden (wildlife) S B Mondol told PTI here today that earlier the state government signed an agreement with the Centre for tiger conservation. Now it has been replaced by the tripartite pact between the state government, NTCA and field directors of tiger reserves.
He said the state had earlier opposed the signing of the pact, arguing it was not necessary as the state has a good record in conservation of the wildlife.

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

Sarovar H & R launches Sarovar Portico in Port Blair

Port Blair, 16 October : Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has launched Peerless Sarovar Portico in Port Blair. Peerless Sarovar Portico is located within eight km from the city centre and the airport. The property will offer 50 guest rooms and cottages. There will be facilities for 24 hours hot and cold running water, room service, LCD television, tea/coffee maker, private mini bar, laundry service and Internet connectivity.
The dining options at Sarovar Portico include Corbyn’s Delight, the multi-cuisine restaurant, which will offer a delectable selection of Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisine and Sea Sip, the bar stocked with a range of beverages and concoctions on the menu. Other facilities at the hotel include business centre, laundry service, travel desk and indoor recreational activities.
Anil Madhok, MD, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts said, “Port Blair has been fast emerging as a favourite destination both for international and domestic travellers especially honeymooners and long-stayers.

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

Kolkata Port seeks help as Hooghly river depth drops

Kolkata, 16 October : Kolkata Port Trust has sought urgent assistance from the Ministry of Shipping to overcome the crisis thrown up by the sudden drop in the navigable depth of the Hooghly River at Auckland posing a threat to Haldia dock of the port.
The river survey revealed that the depth had dropped to 3.7 meters from 4.1 meters a month ago. Ideally, the depth should be 5.5 meters. As a result, KoPT has been forced to announce at unscheduled draft cut of 0.3 meters with the peak draft now declining to 6.9 meters from the earlier 7.2 meters. The ships calling at Haldia, therefore, will be required to have a lower parcel load. A Majumdar the acting Chairman of KPT told news persons here. “However, the sailing out of loaded vessels will not be affected”.
The Ministry, as Majumdar pointed out, would make available Dredge XV, the Dredging Corporation of India’s dredger now deployed in Goa.

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

Hundreds being tossed across B'desh-Myanmar border : Report

Dhaka, 16 October : Bangladesh and Myanmar are tossing hundreds of Muslim tribal Rohingya families across their border, where they are reinforcing troops for the past one week, a media report said.

Alleging that Myanmar border force Nasaka is pushing out the Rohingyas, Bangladesh says it has adopted the policy of pushing them back. But it finds that the same people are being sent back again. Dhaka says Yangon is preparing for "an all-out armed conflict" and has moved three more battalions Thursday. A convoy carrying cannons, artillery guns and other armaments from Comilla and Chittagong were moved to the border. The trouble began with Myanmar erecting barbed wire fence despite Bangladesh's objections and reinforcing troops to support that operation. "Push-ins and push-backs are going on across the border with Myanmar amid tensions following mobilisation of a huge number of Myanmarese troops along the border for erecting barbed wire fence," The Daily Star newspaper reported from Bandarban, a border area in Chittagong Hill Tracts.
The two share a 300 km border that remains volatile due to what Dhaka alleges to be attempts by Nasaka to push out the Rohingyas, most of them inhabiting the western flank of the Arakan ranges. The Rohingyas are opposing the military junta ruling Yangon. န Photos : Reuters

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