However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would observe a shutdown in Tripura 5 July as part of its all-India programme. A countrywide shutdown has been called 5 July by several parties - including the CPI(M), the CPI, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Forward Bloc - against the rising prices of essentials and the central government's recent decision to hike fuel prices.
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Maoist shutdown partially hits three West Bengal' districts
IANS, Kolkata, 30 June : Normal life was partially affected in Maoist pockets of three West Bengal districts on the first day of a two-day shutdown called by Maoists in five states to protest against the central government’s disinvestment policy.
“The impact has been only partial in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts. Some tribal areas are hit, with shops and markets closed and vehicles staying off the roads,” Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Zulfiqar Hassan told IANS.West Midnapore’s Jhargram sub-division, which has now emerged as the epicentre of Maoists activities in the district, saw a near-total shutdown. Normal life was paralysed and streets wore a deserted look in most areas of Jhargram.
In Bankura, the Khatra sub-division in the southern part of the district felt the impact of the shutdown. “Vehicle movement has been affected and the streets are deserted in some of the areas,” said Bankura Superintendent of Police Vishal Garg.
In Purulia, public transport vehicles were plying, but private buses, cars and trucks remained off the roads, said district Superintendent of Police Rajesh Yadav.
This is the second two-day strike called by the Communist Party of India-Maoist in June. Apart from West Bengal, it covers Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
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Bangladesh Parliament passes next fiscal's Budget
Dhaka, 30 June : Bangladesh parliament passed the budget for the next fiscal on Wednesday in absence of the main opposition BNP.
The process started with ratifying the demand resolution, the first step for the passage. The parliament has ratified resolution of 53 demands but heard only a few of the around 1,000 cut motions of the demands as one but all the MPs, who were supposed to table those motions, was absent.
The process started with ratifying the demand resolution, the first step for the passage. The parliament has ratified resolution of 53 demands but heard only a few of the around 1,000 cut motions of the demands as one but all the MPs, who were supposed to table those motions, was absent.
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Former CPI(M) legislator from Nanur shot dead in Birbhum
Bolpur, Kolkata, 30 June : In an escalation of political violence in West Bengal, former CPI(M) lawmaker Ananda Das was Tuesday shot dead by assailants allegedly close to the Trinamool Congress, hours after a Trinamool worker was killed in Birbhum district, police said.Das, a four-time legislator from Nanur, was dragged from his house by the assailants who shot him several times, said Birbhum Superintendent of Police Rabindranath Mukherjee. Das was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead. 'We have received allegations from the CPI(M) that the miscreants were close to the Trinamool Congress,' Mukherjee said.
Trouble sparked off at Nanur, under Bolpur sub-division, after a Trinamool worker Sk. Phulu was fatally shot in the afternoon, and the party blamed the CPI(M) for the murder. A little later, a large number of armed Trinamool workers gathered in the area, and ransacked a transport workers' office of the CPI(M)'s labour arm Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), a police official said. The mob then attacked the CPI(M)'s Nanur Zonal Committee office, beating up some of the leaders.
Condemning what he called 'a dastardly and planned attack and murder', CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose alleged that Trinamool Congress was committing atrocities in the area for 'quite some time'. 'It is a part of the Trinamool's efforts to create an atmosphere of anarchy and terror in various parts of the state to destroy democracy,' he said.
A team of lawmakers of the ruling Left Front visited the spot Wednesday. The CPI(M) has called a 12-hour shutdown in Bolpur sub-division Wednesday. န Photo : Niraj Modi
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Tripura assembly pass proposal to rename Agartala airport
Agartala, 30 June : The Tripura assembly has unanimously supported a proposal to rename Agartala airport as Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore airport.Congress legislator Sudip Roy Burman yesterday proposed that the airport be renamed as Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore airport as part of the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate. "Rabindranath Tagore visited Tripura seven times between 1899 and 1926 and his relation with Tripura was intimate, so we can send a formal proposal to the Civil Aviation ministry in this regard," Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told the House in response to the proposal. The House decided to pass a formal proposal and send it to the Ministry within this session.
The Agartala airport, 15 km from here, is connected to Kolkata, Guwahati and Delhi.
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Bay gas exploration in 4 years : Bangladesh FM Dipu Moni
Dhaka, 30 June : Bangladesh will get access to its oil and gas resources in the Bay of Bengal in four years, foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni told the parliament Wednesday.She said the conflict over territorial waters with India and Myanmar that threatens the rights to exploration would be resolved either by bilateral negotiations or through arbitration. "We have taken the maritime talks, undertaken by caretaker government, forward and achieved progress in this regard," Moni told the parliament in response to independent MP Fazlul Azim's question on her ministry's initiatives on resolving the sea boundary delimitation.
The minister said the Awami League government moved for arbitration process for settling the maritime disputes with India and Myanmar.
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Alleged Bapi Mahato records statement before magistrate
Kolkata, 30 June : Bapi Mahato, the alleged mastermind of the Sardiha railway sabotage, gave his confessional statement in front of a magistrate at the 12th metropolitan magistrate court in Kolkata on Tuesday."Bapi has recorded an 11-page secret statement before the magistrate," said Partha Tapaswi, deputy legal adviser, CBI. Sources said Bapi looked normal when taken to Bankshall court from the Presidency correctional home on Tuesday morning. CBI officers were worried that Bapi might change his mind in jail and refuse to confess in front of the magistrate. But nothing unusual happen and Bapi agreed to record his statement.
In the evening, Bapi was taken back to the same correctional home. "The court has ordered us to produce him before the Jhargram court on or before 1 June," said Tapaswi. According to the law, CBI will not be able to keep him in custody and Bapi will be in judicial remand till the end of the case.
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WBengal holds kickboxing championship to train teenagers
ANI, Siliguri, 30 June : The West Bengal Kickboxing Association is promoting kickboxing, one of the most popular forms of martial arts, among teenagers, to train them for competing on the international level.
The association is also organizing a kickboxing championship in Siliguri. “From Darjeeling to Midnapore, everywhere the game is developing at a rapid pace with players of boxing, taekwondo, and karate are coming into kickboxing because it is one of the very popular combative martial arts form,” said Montu Das, Secretary General of West Bengal Kickboxing Association. According to Das, participation at the international level will boost the talent of youngsters.Meanwhile, students participating in the championship said that it would help them enhance their skills. “It is great that the Commonwealth Games are coming up and we can hope that some of the participants from here can perform over there and bring some medals to make Bengal proud and the West Bengal government is supporting us by organising such competitions,” said Raman Aggarwal, a participant.
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