Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC News, Dhaka, 16 July : The government wants to curb the Jamaat-e-Islami party The Bangladeshi government has ordered mosques and libraries across the country to remove all books written by a controversial Islamic scholar.The chief of the government-funded Islamic Foundation told the BBC that the books by Syed Abul Ala Maududi encouraged "militancy and terrorism". Maududi - who died in 1979 - is the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. His works are essential reading for supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in the region.
Born in India, the Pakistani scholar is considered the most prominent theorist of radical Islam in modern South Asian history. But Bangladeshi officials say Maududi's writings promote radicalism and his ideological goal was to capture power in the name of Islam. READ FULL STORY
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WBengal govt to increase incentive for inter-caste marriage
Kolkata, 16 July : The West Bengal government proposed to increase the incentives to couples opting for inter-caste marriages from Rs 5,000 per couple at present to Rs 30,000.
Replying to the debate to the budgetary demands for grants of his department, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Jogesh Chandra Burman said government had requested the Centre to bear 50% of the enhanced incentive amount. He said the present amount of incentive for inter-caste marriages, 50% of which was being borne by the Centre, was inadequate and needed to be raised.
Kolkata, 16 July : The West Bengal government proposed to increase the incentives to couples opting for inter-caste marriages from Rs 5,000 per couple at present to Rs 30,000.
Replying to the debate to the budgetary demands for grants of his department, Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Jogesh Chandra Burman said government had requested the Centre to bear 50% of the enhanced incentive amount. He said the present amount of incentive for inter-caste marriages, 50% of which was being borne by the Centre, was inadequate and needed to be raised.
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Film festival on Rabindranath Tagore inaugurated in Tripura
Agartala, 16 July : A four-day-long festival to screen films based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novels began in Tripura Friday.The film festival along with discussions on Tagore is a part of the year-long celebrations of the Nobel laureate poet’s 150th birth anniversary being celebrated in the northeastern state. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, a Tagore fan, inaugurated the festival, jointly organised by the information and cultural affairs department of the Tripura government and Cine Delve, a film society.
Cine Delve advisor Samiran Roy said, “Films made by internationally famed directors Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Purnendu Patri and several documentaries on Tagore would be screened in the festival.”
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4 state-owned BTMC mills to restart operation this month
UNB, Dhaka, 16 July : Four mills under the state-owned Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) will start production again from the end of the current month on “service charge basis” that is expected to create job opportunities for some 10,000 people.
The four mills are Sundarban Textile Mills in Satkhira (main unit and Nilkamol unit), Amin Textile Mills in Chittagong, Darwani Textile Mills in Syedpur and Kurigram Textile Mills, said a source at the BTMC.
UNB, Dhaka, 16 July : Four mills under the state-owned Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) will start production again from the end of the current month on “service charge basis” that is expected to create job opportunities for some 10,000 people.
The four mills are Sundarban Textile Mills in Satkhira (main unit and Nilkamol unit), Amin Textile Mills in Chittagong, Darwani Textile Mills in Syedpur and Kurigram Textile Mills, said a source at the BTMC.
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Maoist killed, four injured in encounter in West Midnapore
Jhargram, 16 July : A Maoist was killed and four ultras injured in an encounter with security forces in Janglemahal area of the district on Friday.The special anti-Maist force of the CRPF also arrested two suspected Maoists, Ranjit Rana and Nepali, from the area. On intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the jungles of Joybadi in Janglemahal area, the 205th battalion of the Special Action Force of the CRPF conducted an operation in the area, a senior CRPF officer said. The Maoists, believed to be hiding in the jungle for the past few days, fired at the patrolling joint forces leading to the gunbattle in which a Maoist was killed.
The body of the Maoist has been recovered, the officer said. At least four Maoists suffered bullet wounds in the encounter, police said. The exchange of fire was continuing when last reports came in.
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Suspected Maoists kill three in Bankura & West Midnapore
Kolkata, 16 July : Suspected Maoists killed three people, including a worker of West Bengal's ruling CPI(M), in separate incidents across the state, police said Friday.
The incidents took place Thursday night. Nirmol Soren, zonal committee member of the CPI(M), was shot dead at Nemaipur village near Simlipal in Bankura while local businessman Kartik Chalak was hacked to death at Bandhgora near Jhargram in West Midnapore district. Another CPI(M) supporter Pijus Kanti Mahato was shot dead in Pukuria village near Jhargram.
Kolkata, 16 July : Suspected Maoists killed three people, including a worker of West Bengal's ruling CPI(M), in separate incidents across the state, police said Friday.
The incidents took place Thursday night. Nirmol Soren, zonal committee member of the CPI(M), was shot dead at Nemaipur village near Simlipal in Bankura while local businessman Kartik Chalak was hacked to death at Bandhgora near Jhargram in West Midnapore district. Another CPI(M) supporter Pijus Kanti Mahato was shot dead in Pukuria village near Jhargram.
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High alert in all across Assam following bomb explosions
PTI, Guwahati, 16 July : A railway bridge was damaged in a powerful blast in Udalguri district and an IED planted at Fancy Bazar area here exploded while being defused leading to high alert being sounded across Assam Friday.No one was injured in either of the blasts, officials said. The bomb planted under the railway bridge over a river at Dhansiri between Rowta and Mazbat railway stations went off at 9am damaging the bridge and the tracks, they said. Train movement over the bridge came to a halt after the blast which is suspected to have been triggered by the anti-talk Daimary faction of the NDFB, they said.
Last night in Guwahati, a powerful improvised explosive device hidden in a bag near the Shani Mandir in Fancy Bazar exploded as it was being defused by the bomb disposal squad. Following the explosion in Guwahati, a joint CRPF and police team arrested three Manipur's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) cadres from Chandmari area.During interrogation, self-styled captain Benjamin and the other two revealed that at the instruction of the NDFB's anti-talk faction, they had smuggled in four bombs, one of which exploded at the Fancy Bazar. The security forces were searching for the three other bombs and the people urged to to report suspicious looking objects to the police immediately. Rs 1 lakh in Indian and US currency, a laptop, several CDs and documents were seized from the three militants.
All police stations have been put on maximum alert and additional security forces mobilised in vulnerable areas, police officials said. Meanwhile, army and Assam Rifles halted traffic between Tezpur and Dhekiajuli for three hours during the day on the National Highway-52 in Sonitpur district stating that a bomb was planted under Dipota bridge. The security forces allowed vehicles to move after 7.30 am following defusal of the bomb. န Photos : PTI, Chinmoy Roy
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World Bank provides $200million to strengthen GPs in WB
Kolkata, 16 July : A Credit Agreement of $200 million equivalent for the West Bengal Institutional Strengthening of Gram Panchayats Project was signed yesterday by the representatives from the Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the World Bank.The signatories to the Agreement were Anup K. Pujari, Joint Secretary, on behalf of the Government of India; Trilochan Singh, Principal Secretary, Panchayats & Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal, and N. Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India. This Project is designed to support the Government of West Bengal’s efforts to increasingly devolve functions and funds to Panchayati Raj Institutions with the aim of improving the effectiveness of basic services in rural and peri-urban areas, where most of the poor in the state reside.
Aggregate funding flows to these entities have increased significantly and Gram Panchayats now have the authority to directly employ workers in certain sectors.
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AIGL asks immediate arrests of Tamang murder accused
PTI, Gangtok, 16 July : All India Gorkha League leader Pratab Khati has demanded those named in the FIR in the Madan Tamang murder case in Darjeeling should be arrested within a week and threatened Madan's widow Bharati Tamang will sit on an indefinite fast if the demand was not met. Distributing copies of the internet edition of a newspaper report on Tamang murder investigation, Khati told reporters on Thursday evening, "the GJM has been blaming everybody including the West Bengal government for Tamang murder but himself."
If those behind the murder, "including the top GJM leadership as claimed in the report", were not arrested, AIGL leaders including the newly appointed President Bharati Tamang will sit on a fast unto death protest, Khati said.
PTI, Gangtok, 16 July : All India Gorkha League leader Pratab Khati has demanded those named in the FIR in the Madan Tamang murder case in Darjeeling should be arrested within a week and threatened Madan's widow Bharati Tamang will sit on an indefinite fast if the demand was not met. Distributing copies of the internet edition of a newspaper report on Tamang murder investigation, Khati told reporters on Thursday evening, "the GJM has been blaming everybody including the West Bengal government for Tamang murder but himself."
If those behind the murder, "including the top GJM leadership as claimed in the report", were not arrested, AIGL leaders including the newly appointed President Bharati Tamang will sit on a fast unto death protest, Khati said.
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Special train to Dhaka for Tagore's anniversary celebrations
IANS, New Delhi, 16 July : From renovating Tagore auditoria, establishing new ones in major cities, publishing a book on his paintings to running a special train to Dhaka, the government has drawn up several plans to perpetuate the legacy of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore to mark his 150th birth anniversary.The National Implementation Committee on the Commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, which met under the chairmanship of union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has approved the proposal to run a special train, Sonar Tari Express, named after one of the poet's compositions, to Dhaka Aug 8 to mark his death anniversary.
The panel, which met Wednesday evening, approved the proposal to refurbish the existing Tagore complexes, most of which are in a dilapidated condition, and restore works of art like paintings, sculptures and bronze casts in Visva-Bharati - the university Tagore set up in Santiniketan.The committee will publish a book on the paintings of Tagore while the ministry of human resource development will explore the feasibility of setting up a Liberal Arts Institute as well as Centre for Tagore Studies at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shimla. The railway ministry would set up two Tagore museums.
The special train to Dhaka is part of a cultural diplomatic initiative by India and Bangladesh for the yearlong celebrations. The Nobel Laureate spent several years in Bangladesh, then undivided Bengal, to manage his estate at Silaidoh in Rajshahi district.
The committee also agreed to the constitution of zonal-level Tagore's Commemoration Committee for Cultural Programmes proposed by non-governmental organisations.Celebrating the poet's 150th anniversary tops the government cultural agenda in 2010-2011. န Photos : Sanjay Bhaduri
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