Kolkata, 4 January : To boost relationship between India and Bangladesh, particularly with West Bengal, the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission will host the 'Bangladesh Utsav' from 5 to 10 January in Kolkata.
Syed Masud Mahmood Khandakar, the deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata, told Bengal Newz the theme of the festival will be regional songs of Bangladesh. “We speak the same language. The purpose of the festival is to bring people closer so that people from Bengal can know more about Bangladesh,” said Khandakar. Artistes from West Bengal will also participate in the festival that will also feature Bangladeshi handicrafts, food and art. Twenty-four stalls will be set up, including that of jamdani sarees, cotton and silk and muslin.Officers at the commission said to create a better understanding, a seminar will be held on the literature of the country at the Kolkata Book fair which will be attended by laureates like Syed Shamshul Haque and Selina Hussain. န Photos : Shankar Mondal
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Mamata offers 1 member each of the families, Railway jobs
Amta (Howrah), 4 January : A member each of the families giving their lands or homesteads for railway projects would be given jobs in addition to compensation, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said here Monday."If anybody gives his land or homestead for our projects, one member of the family will be given jobs in the railways. For this, we have amended the relevant land acquisition act a month back," Banerjee said after laying the foundation for the Howrah-Amta broadgauge line. Banerjee said the railways will never take land forcibly from people for its projects. "This is not our policy." She said the 16-km broadgauge project would entail a total expenditure of Rs.103.3 crore.
Two halt stations will come up on the route and the project will also lead to economic development of the area, she said. Banerjee said the work for the Deshapran-Nandigram line will be launched on 30 January, the martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi.
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22 Chittagong upazilas now under 'Teletalk' network
Chittagong, 4 January : The state-run mobile phone operator Teletalk brought 22 upazilas of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) under its network coverage on Monday.
Chittagong, 4 January : The state-run mobile phone operator Teletalk brought 22 upazilas of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) under its network coverage on Monday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the network from her office in the capital talking to Post and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, who called her from Lama upazila auditorium of Bandarban over mobile phone, at about 11:00am(BDST). Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) Managing Director Khobiruzzaman was also present on the occasion.
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Dhaka-Delhi eye in water talksDhaka, 4 January : The secretary level talks of the Joint Rivers Commission between Bangladesh and India went on in a positive mood on Monday with both sides expecting a breakthrough on sharing of waters of the common rivers.
"We are very hopeful that we will reach a substantial project in the meeting," Indian Water Resources Secretary Umesh Narayan Panjiar said at a briefing during the lunch break. Sheikh Wahid-Uz-Zaman, secretary of the water resources ministry, also hoped a positive outcome from the meeting with a good beginning. Indian secretary Panjiar said the meeting was going on with a positive mood. "We will discuss all the outstanding issues including Teesta water sharing, dredging of Isamati, small irrigation and drinking water project at the river Feni," Panjiar said.
Asked if any agreement could be signed at the meeting, he said, "We aren't authorised to sign any agreement here. We are preparing the ground work." On how much India is concerned about Bangladesh's issues, the Indian secretary said, "India wants to share water with Bangladesh. We are considering all the issues that Bangladesh raises."
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Mizoram Chief Minister likely to visit 'Bru camps' in Tripura
Agartala, 4 January : Mizoram Chief Minister, Lal Thanhawla was likely to visit camps of Brus from his state sheltered in Tripura during a visit to the Jampui Hills in North district on Wednesday, official sources said.
About 35,000 Brus, who migrated to Tripura following ethnic clashes with Mizos since 1997 are now sheltered in the six camps in the foothills of the Jampui. Following fresh ethnic clashes in Western Mizoram last month over 1000 Brus migrated to Tripura and have taken shelter elsewhere in the Jampui hills.
Agartala, 4 January : Mizoram Chief Minister, Lal Thanhawla was likely to visit camps of Brus from his state sheltered in Tripura during a visit to the Jampui Hills in North district on Wednesday, official sources said.
About 35,000 Brus, who migrated to Tripura following ethnic clashes with Mizos since 1997 are now sheltered in the six camps in the foothills of the Jampui. Following fresh ethnic clashes in Western Mizoram last month over 1000 Brus migrated to Tripura and have taken shelter elsewhere in the Jampui hills.
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ICG plans boat race in Andaman to develop bonding among fishermen
UNI, Port Blair, 4 January : The Indian Coast Guard is planning to conduct a boat race for the fishermen of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to enhance interaction within the fishermen community and develop mutual trust.
''This will also help in enhancing understanding for safety of fishermen at sea and also if the need so arises to involve fishermen in search and rescue and also to provide general on-scene information to authorities,'' Commandant Vijay Singh, the Public Relations Officer of Andaman and Nicobar Coast Guard region, told UNI today.The Coast Guard Commandant added that this event would also give fillip to Andaman tourism as the enthusiasm being shown by the participants and public in general is sure to give prominence of this event in tourism calendar of the islands in years ahead and make it as popular an annual event as snake boat race of Kerala.
''The event is planned in the forenoon of 12 January as part of Coast Guard day celebrations to commemorate its 33rd raising day,'' the PRO added.
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Religion-based parties to face ban : Law minister Shafique
Dhaka, 4 January : Religion-based political parties of the country will be banned, said the Bangladesh law minister Shafique Ahmed on Monday.But the words ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ and state religion Islam will remain in force in the constitution, said the minister. Law Minister Shafique Ahmed’s affirmation came at a media briefing at his secretariat office, a day after the Supreme Court vacated an earlier stay on the High Court verdict that declared illegal the fifth amendment of the constitution.
He said since the Supreme Court has upheld the High Court verdict regarding the fifth amendment to the constitution, religion-based political parties will be banned. He said the government would implement the HC verdict as per the recommendations of the Bangladesh Law Commission.
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Wipro pays Rs18 crore 1st installment for Rajarhat campus
Kolkata, 4 January : Industrialisation in West Bengal received a boost on new year's day with IT service major Wipro Technologies paying Rs18.9 crore as the first installment towards application fee for the 50-acre plot in New Town Action Area III in Rajarhat, the site where its second campus will come up in the state.According to a senior official of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO Ltd), the implementing agency of the Rajarhat township, Wipro had given 25 per cent of the quoted price for the plot as application fee and the remaining amount would be paid within 90 days. Wipro chairman Azim Premji had finalised the deal with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee when he visited the plot with officials of his company last December.
The land, which belongs to WBHIDCO, was bought by the IT giant at a price close to Rs1.5 crore per acre. When the IT major first expressed interest in setting up a campus in Rajarhat, the government had quoted a price of Rs2.16 crore an acre.
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19 picnickers still missing in Kolaghat boat capsize
PTI, Kolkata, 4 January : A team of divers were scouring the Roopnarayan river today to locate 19 missing passengers of a boat which sank in West Bengal's East Midnapore district.The boat carrying 38 picknickers from Ultadanga in Kolkata capsized yesterday in midstream. Nine people were rescued and some swam to safety. However, 19 people are still missing. "Out of the 19 missing people, seven are children," District Magistrate Choten D Lama told PTI over telephone.
"The rescue operations have been hampered due to strong currents and whirlpools in the river. The boat has also not been located," she said. Divers from the Coast Guard, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), Kolkata Police, National Disaster Response Force and local villagers were looking for the missing persons, Lama said.
The DM said that reports that a body has been found were not true. န Photo : Reuters
The DM said that reports that a body has been found were not true. န Photo : Reuters
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