DNA sampling for Bengal tiger census in Sunderbans

PTI, Kolkata, 24 November : The West Bengal government for the first time will conduct tiger census through DNA sampling of the animal’s scat in Sunderbans in January next year.
Till now, pug marks were used to count the tigers, but there was always controversy regarding the veracity. During the 2006 census, the state government had rejected the Indian Statistical Institute’s claim that there were not more than 70 tigers in Sunderbans, the world’s largest delta. “Sunderbans is not like Buxa or any other tiger reserve. The terrain here is very difficult and requires a special method. So we will go for DNA sampling which will be used for the first time to estimate the number of tigers,” Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) director Pradeep Vyas told PTI.
The census would be held in January and February next year.

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

Bangladesh begins trial of paramilitary mutineers

Reuters, Dhaka, 24 November : The first group from around 3,500 Bangladesh paramilitary troops charged with mutiny went on trial on Tuesday for their part in a bloody revolt earlier this year in which nearly 80 people were killed, including 57 army officers.
The mutiny over pay and rank by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guards started at the unit's Dhaka headquarters and spread rapidly, plunging the country into uncertainty just two months after elections. One of the main demands of the mutineers was to be commanded by officers drawn from the BDR ranks instead of the regular army. About 3,500 paramilitary BDR members will stand trial, the majority by special courts after the Supreme Court ruled against trying them under military law.
Tuesday's trial, in Rangamati, 350 km (220 miles) from the capital, was chaired by BDR chief Major-General Mainul Islam. န Photo : Reuters

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

Joint forces to vacate Lalgarh schools by 30 Nov
Kolkata, 24 November : The WB state government has finally decided to withdraw the joint security forces stationed at 15-odd various schools in and around Lalgarh by 30 November.
“I have spoken to the West Midnapore DM who said the forces are likely to be removed from the schools by 30 November,’ said Bikram Sen, principal secretary of the school education department. Classes have been suspended for months now for more than 10,000 students who are enrolled in the 15 schools occupied by more than 40 companies of state and central reserve police since 17 June this year when the anti-Maoists operations began in the area.

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

Tripura to host 55th Indian National school games
Agartala, 24 November : Tripura is all set to host the 55th National school games in the event of football for under-14 boys between 15-20 December where as many as 24 states will take part.
Talking to mediapersons here, Commissioner of Sports and Youth Affairs Subinoy Choudhury said the event would be organised in four places of the state Agartala, Sonamura, Udaipur and Belonia - and the authority had made all necessary arrangements. ''We have taken extra security measures for safe journey and stay in the state during the event and necessary police force will be deployed,'' Choudhury said, adding the tournament would be organised in league cum knockout basis.
He said the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) designated Goa Sports and Youth Affairs Director Dr Susana D'suza as observer.

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

Bangladeshi twins out of intensive care and playing

AFP, Melbourne, 24 November : Bangladeshi twins Trishna and Krishna are out of intensive care and seeing each other for the first time as they make an "amazing" recovery from surgery to separate their conjoined heads, doctors said Tuesday.
The girls, rescued from a Dhaka orphanage, were playing and watching DVDs after moving to a shared room on the normal ward, just a week after the high-risk operation to separate their fused skulls and brains. The two-year-olds were in "fantastic" shape and showing no evidence of any brain damage, said Melbourne Children's Hospital chief of surgery Leo Donnan, explaining that they were moved on Monday. "These little girls are doing everything they were doing beforehand, their function, their communication and their interaction with each other," Donnan told reporters.
"The exciting thing is they're now starting to play ... (it's a) pretty amazing thing to see." Donnan said he had been taken aback at their rapid progress, with Trishna, who previously took nutrition from her sister, starting to eat on her own for the first time. န Photo : Reuters

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

SUCI bandh disrupts train services in both railway sections

Kolkata, 24 November : A 12-hour Bangla bandh called by Socialist Unity Centre of India(SUCI) to protest spiralling prices of essential commodities disrupted train services in both Eastern and South Eastern railway sections today.
However, the bandh, which has also been called to to demand withdrawal of joint forces' operation against Maoists in Lalgarh, had little impact on normal life with markets, educational institutions and offices remaining open. Eastern Railway sources said that bandh supporters threw banana trees on overhead power supply lines at Bira and Guma stations disrupting train services in the Sealdah section and on the Sealdah-Ranaghat section. In the Bandel-Burdwan section in Howrah section, the picketers squatted on the tracks at Khannan station. They also put up blockades on the Howrah-Burdwan chord line section at Gobra disrupting services.
A number of mail and express trains have been held up en route, sources said. န Photo : Dipankar Chatterjee

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

Nine more check posts on Indo-Bangladesh border

Agartala, 24 November : To tighten security along the Indo-Bangla border, the Border Security Force would set up nine more Border Outposts (BOPs).
The locations of 17 BOPs would also be changed along the 856 km long border in Tripura to prevent insurgents from sneaking into the Indian Territory. Talking to reporters here, Director General of BSF Raman Srivastava said, "We are looking for new lands near International border for setting up of 26 BOPs so that insurgents cannot sneak into Indian Territory." Srivastava who arrived here on Monday held a series of meetings with top BSF officials of the state.
The visit of Srivastava is significant in view of the Bangladeshi security forces' mounting pressure on the Indian terrorists taking shelter and training in that country.

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

Cattle ‘famine’ in BD as border tightened on Eid eve

Dhaka, 24 November : Greater vigil by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has curbed cattle movement that may cause a “famine” in Bangladesh ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, a media report said Tuesday.
Eighty percent of cattle sacrificed in Bangladesh during the festival come from India. But their arrival has declined sharply ahead of Eid this coming weekend, the New Age reported from Rajshahi that borders India’s West Bengal state. This is thanks to the vigilance of the BSF, officials of the Indian force’s counterpart, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), told media. India alleges large-scale smuggling of cattle from its territory to Bangladesh, particularly ahead of festivals in which touts are involved on both sides.
People living along the bordering areas in Rajshahi said the BSF had sealed off at least 10 big cattle transit points. Some local cattle traders told New Age that the country might face an acute shortage of sacrificial animals on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha.

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

Maoists kill two CPI(M) leaders in West Midnapore

Midnapore, 24 November : Suspected Maoist guerrillas killed two CPI(M) leaders in West Midnapore district, police said Tuesday.
According to police, Ashok Kotal, a former Kharkasholi village council chief, was abducted Monday night from his home by a group of unidentified men. "His body was found lying near a road under Kotwali police station Tuesday morning. Kotal was shot dead by Maoist," a district police officer said.
In another incident, in Aulia village under Binpur police station, a band of eight to ten Maoist rebels fired at close range on CPI(M)'s Binpur zonal committee member Madan Ghosh, who was working in his field, Tuesday. Ghosh died on the spot while his son sustained injuries and had to be hospitalised, police said.

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

Dhaka, New Delhi finalise draft MoU for power trade

Dhaka, 24 November : Bangladesh and India has finalised the draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for power trade and exchange between the countries, officials said.
The draft of the MoU was finalised during the visit of a Bangladesh delegation comprising power secretary Abul Kalam Azad and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir to India last week. The MoU between the two countries would be signed during next month's visit of Prime Minister to New Delhi. An Indian technical team led by a joint secretary is now visiting Dhaka to look onto the details of the proposed bilateral cooperation in power sector. During last week's visit both the countries discussed on a wide spectrum of issues including electricity generation, transmission and inter-connectivity. A power line connection between India's West Bengal and Bangladesh's western region is on top priority for bilateral cooperation. Electricity inter-connection between Tripura and Bangladesh's eastern region is also under consideration.
There is also a plan for equity investment from Bangladesh for installation of a 740-megawatt (mw) combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Tripura. Experts said there are prospects of exchanging power to the tune of around 1000 million units per annum.

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

Two Trinamool Cong leaders removed from posts in Darjeeling district
Siliguri, 24 November : The Trinamool Congress has removed two of its general secretaries of Darjeeling district committee after state Health Minister Surya Kanta Mishra was allegedly manhandled by activists of the party's youth wing, party sources said today.
The incident occurred yesterday when Mishra visited the North Bengal Medical College Hospital in Darjeeling dist, where Youth Trinamool Congress activists had gathered to submit a memorandum against "ailing infrastructural facilities" in the medical college.

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