16.72 Kilomiter Joka to BBD Bag Metro Railways on the anvil

Kolkata, 10 July : Commuters taking the Diamond Harbour Road while coming to office will have to bear with the traffic pains for some more time. In fact, their suffering might increase. But it'll all be for a greater gain. The hour-long wait at the Taratalla crossing is likely to ease out once a 16.72-km metro route from Joka to BBD Bag is in place.
The project has been given to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, which as engaged consultancy agency RITES, for conducting survey work. RITES will submit a detailed project report (DPR) of the Rs 2619-crore project by July-end.
A total of 13 locations have been identified as tentative stations - Joka, Thakurpukur, Sakherbazar, Behala Chowrasta, Behala Bazar, Taratalla, Majherhat, Mominpur, Kidderpore, Hastings, Park Street, Esplanade and BBD Bag. Metro authorities have also identified a 1.16-km stretch of land near Joka to set up a car shed, like the one in Tollygunge.

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Bangladesh beat England in ODIC
AFP, Bristol (England), 10 July : Bangladesh won for the first time in 25 matches and enjoyed their first victory over England in any format with a stunning five-run success in the second one-day international here on Saturday.

They defended a seemingly below par total of 236 to bowl England out for 231 with three balls to spare. Bangladesh had lost 24 matches in all formats since beating Zimbabwe by one wicket in a one-day international in Chittagong in November and came into this match on the back of Thursday's six-wicket series-opening loss at Trent Bridge. But now they can dream of winning the three-match campaign 2-1 in the concluding match at Edgbaston on Monday.
"After 24 matches losing in a row, this dressing room had not really been happy," said Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza, the man of the match after scoring 22 and taking two for 42. "The dressing room is happy now. "We have been working hard in the nets and we hoped that it would come."
Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh's coach, said he was stunned by a win which came against an England side who'd recently beaten world champions Australia 3-2 in a one-day series. "It's hard to keep getting beaten and keep getting them up. READ BBC STORY န Photos : Reuters

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PM Sheikh Hasina proposes for common fund under 'OIC'

UNB, Riyadh, 10 July : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proposed for creating a common fund under the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) for the welfare of its member countries.
She made the proposal during a meeting with Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Nizar Obaid Madani during her stopover at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh Friday morning on way home from Nigeria. The common fund can be used for various development activities of the OIC members, Hasina said, adding that this is just a preliminary idea of her and the OIC members might think about it.
Referring to her previous visit to Saudi Arabia, she requested the Saudi government to resolve the Akama problem of the 1.5 million expatriate Bangladeshis in the Kingdom. Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters after the meeting.

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6 'National Liberation Front of Tripura' insurgents surrender
Agartala, 10 July : Six insurgents belonging to National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have surrendered to Assam Rifles in West Tripura district, police said today.
The ultras, who fled from their base camps in neighbouring Bangladesh, yesterday surrendered to the camp in-charge of the Assam Rifles at Teliamura and also deposited two 9 mm pistols and some live cartridges. With this, altogether 36 ultras have surrendered within the last 18 days, police said.

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Now, TMC's Mukul's dept for land acquisition in Nandigram

Kolkata, 10 July : Trinamool Congress might have been in the forefront of anti-land acquisition movement at Nandigram, but now a Central organization under a Trinamool minister has requested the West Bengal land department for acquisition of land at Nandigram.
State land minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said in Kolkata that Kolkata Port Trust, which is under the shipping ministry headed by Trinamool minister Mukul Roy, had requested for acquisition of land at Nandigram. The land, he said, was necessary for depositing silt dredged from Hooghly river. "The quantum of land they have requested for acquisition is not small," Mollah said, but declined to reveal it. Mollah, however, said that it was the policy of the state government to acquire land on a priority basis for social infrastructure projects like railways, national highways and port. "Such projects help the state," he said.
In fact, since the days of Singur and Nandigram, a total of over 6,000 acres had been acquired in the state without much resistance. Of this, 229 acres were acquired for railways and the rest for different industries.

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BD Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returns after Nigeria visit
UNB, Dhaka, 10 July : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home Saturday morning after attending the seventh D-8 summit in Nigeria.
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying the prime minister and her entourage touched the tarmac of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at about 7:15am(BDST). Cabinet ministers, senior party leaders and high government officials received Sheikh Hasina at the airport.

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Calcutta Dock Labour Board to be merged with K Port Trust

Kolkata, 10 July : Calcutta Dock Labour Board will cease to exist. This follows the decision of the Board of Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust to merge CDLB with Kolkata Port Trust.
The employees of CDLB, whose strength will be about 350 and pensioners about 7,000, will be the beneficiaries of the merger decision. They will now become employees and pensioners of Kolkata Port Trust. Their pay and pension were revised upward from January 2007 but the new scale was not implemented due to resource crunch and uncertainty. Hopefully, they will now be paid at the enhanced rates.
A spokesman for Kolkata Port Trust said that we've asked the Shipping Ministry for an assistance of INR 680 crore to clear all the dues and liabilities of CDLB. Similar mergers have taken place in other ports.

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Bangladeshi mother in Australia to meet 'separated twins'

AFP, Dhaka, 10 July : The Bangladeshi mother of conjoined twins, separated last year in Australia, has flown to visit her daughters for the first time since the complex surgery, her husband said Saturday.
Lovely Mallick, 23, and her jute mill worker husband Kartik Chandra Mallick, 30, gave up the twins Trishna and Krishna after their birth three years ago because there was no way the poor couple could care for the sickly newborns. Last November, the twins hit headlines after they were separated by doctors in a marathon 32-hour operation in Australia to divide their connected skulls, brains and blood vessels and allow them to lead separate lives.

Lovely Mallick flew last week on a three-month visa to Australia to see her daughters for the first time since the operation, her husband said. The children now are being looked after by their legal guardian Moira Kelly who heads the Melbourne-based charity Children First Foundation.
"My wife called me yesterday (Friday). She was overwhelmed with joy to see our daughters talking and walking for the first time," her husband Kartik Mallick told AFP. "I also talked to Trishna and Krishna. I don't know how I can express my gratitude," he said.
Trishna and Krishna were brought to Melbourne in 2007 after they were discovered in the Dhaka orphanage by Australian aid workers who realised they faced certain death unless they received intensive medical care. A Bangladeshi businessman funded Lovely Mallick's trip to Australia, her husband said, adding he felt saddened that money did not permit him to accompany his wife.
The girls were born in December 2006 and six weeks later the impoverished Mallicks placed them in the Dhaka orphanage. န File Photos : AFP

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