Maoists back Mamata’s Lalgarh rally, Kishneji told Bengal Newz

Kolkata, 7 August : After the Maoists-backed People’s Committee against Police Atrocities’ (PCPA) support to Mamata Banerjee’s rally at Lalgarh in next Monday, now Maoists have come out openly in support of the rally.

Military strategist of the Maoist, Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji yesterday asked the people of Jangalmahal to join the rally convened by the Railway minister and Trinamool Congress chief, Banerjee, on 9 August. “We support the meeting that is being held under the anti-terror forum. Because we too are against state-sponsored and CPI(M) sponsored terror,” Kishneji told Bengal Newz from an undisclosed location on Saturday.
The Maoists direct support as well as its over-ground group’s backing will further sharpen opposition charges against Mamata Banerjee and her party of maintaining links with this so-called Maoists who have been unleashing terror across the country, including West Bengal. န Photos : Reuters, PTI

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Ind' FM Pranab Mukherjee in Dhaka with $1 billion package

PTI, Dhaka, 7 August : Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Dhaka on Saturday with a billion dollar credit package on a four-hour long visit, during which he will also call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Mukherjee, who is the first high-profile Indian leader to visit Bangladesh after PM Hasina’s tour to New Delhi in January, was accorded a red carpet welcome at the city’s Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport. A special Indian Air Force jet carried Mr. Mukherjee, while his Bangladeshi counterpart, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, received him on the VVIP tarmac of the airport.
“We (India) are committed to assisting Bangladesh in addressing its priorities for development,” Mukherjee said in an arrival statement. His visit will be marked by the signing of a $1 billion loan deal, the largest line of credit received by Bangladesh under a single agreement.
“A forward looking and comprehensive joint communique been adopted by the two leaders (Sk Hasina and Indian PM Manmohan Singh). I am happy that considerable progress has been made in the implementation of several important initiatives taken in the communique,” he said. န Photos : UNB

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We are under attack in West Bengal, says CPIM resolution
IANS, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), 7 August : CPI(M) has admitted that the party is facing "an unfavourable situation" in the party-ruled states of Kerala and West Bengal after suffering reverses in the Lok Sabha elections.
Both the states are likely to go for polls in mid-2011. "The party is under attack in West Bengal where it has suffered electoral reverses," says the draft political resolution of the CPI-M presented before the four-day extended central committee meeting began here Saturday. Describing West Bengal as its strongest base, the draft resolution said "after the Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress-led combine has launched an offensive against the party."

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Bangladesh and India relations get added momentum....

Dhaka, 7 August : Bangladesh and India agreed to pursue decisions made during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January last with due determination to ensure equitable benefits for both the neighbors, said a press release of the Foreign office today.
This commitment was made when Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee called on Dr. Dipu Moni Dhaka today. The two ministers discussed overall direction of bilateral relations and in particular reviewed progress in the implementation of the decisions taken during the historic visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister to India.
Expressing his happiness at the signing of the Credit Line Agreement, Pranab Mukherjee said this is yet another leap forward in Bangladesh-India relations. Now the challenge is to identify the projects and implement them to bring mutual benefits for the peoples of the two friendly countries, added the Indian Finance Minister. န Photo : UNB

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Foreigner arrested in Kolkata's hotel for drug trafficking
Kolkata, 7 August : A foreigner, suspected to have links with drug traffickers in Bangkok, has been arrested by Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police.
Acting on a tip off, Cathinone was picked up from Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road near Hotel Majestic International, said the police on Saturday. “Interrogation revealed he has links with people arrested in mid-June at Bangkok for drug trafficking,” the police said. In a separate incident, based on a case registered at New Market police station under Section 22 (c )/29 NDPS Act, the STF arrested one J Shaul Hameed (40) with 3kg 400 gms of psychotropic substances.

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At least 6 killed after road crash on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway
BSS, Narsingdi, 7 August : At least six people were killed and 20 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck on the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway in Shibpur upazila of Narsingdi Saturday morning.
The accident occurred around 9:15am(BDST) when the Dhaka-bound bus from Bhairab collided with the rice-laden truck from opposite direction in Kundarpara area of the upazila, Shibpur police said adding that six passengers of the bus died on the spot. The injured were taken to Narsingdi Sadar Hospital.

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Heavy rainfall triggered landslide, blocks traffic on NH-55

ANI, Gayabari, 7 August : The traffic along the National Highway 55 was disrupted following a heavy rainfall that triggered landslide in the Darjeeling Hills valley region.
The landslide blocked all road links from Siliguri in the foothills to various other places in Darjeeling District. No human casualties, were, however, reported from Gayabari village, where the landslide caused extensive damage. “The trends of landslide are very dangerous here. We have 15 households here and all of them have been shifted to the Jawahar Jyoti Primary School nearby due to fear of further landslides,” said Dhan Bahadur Pradhan, a local resident of Gayabari.
Pradhan further complained that the concerned authorities have not come forward with any help other than providing very less quantity of food. Meanwhile, the truck drivers, who operate along this highway, insisted that the reconstruction of the road should be entrusted to a reliable and professional contractor since driving on NH-55 has been a dangerous venture, particularly during the monsoon.

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Armed men raid Urma railway station in Purulia district

PTI, Purulia, 7 August : A group of unidentified armed men claiming themselves to be Maoists picked up a station master and three other employees from a railway station in Purulia district, but released them unharmed with a warning that no one should attend the Trinamool Congress rally at Lalgarh.
The armed men stormed into the Urma railway station last night and forced the station master, Aditya Kerketta, to ring up some reporters in Purulia district to tell them that none from the Purulia district should attend Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's 9 August rally at Lalgarh. They then disconnected the phone and took him and three other railway employees to some distance from the station, before releasing them with a warning that they or any other railway employees from the district should not attend the TMC rally, the Urma station master told reporters this morning.

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40RM workers trampled after false fire alarm in Chittagong
Chittagong, 7 August : At least 40 readymade garment workers were injured in a stampede as they, panicked by a false fire alarm, rushed to get out of their factory at Kalurghat industrial area in Chittagong city Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses said over 4,000 workers of two factories of Azim Group housing on the 4th and 6th floors of a six-storey building tried to get out in a hurry when the fire alarm rang at about 12:30pm(BDST). Some of the workers fell on the narrow staircases and were trampled by fellow workers when they were coming down to get out of the factory, leaving 40 injured.

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First "Fashion Week" In Northeast to be held in Guwahati

Kolkata, Guwahati, 7 August : Northeastern states of India is going to organize its first ever fashion weekend, which will be held at in the capital of Assam, Guwahati from 11 to 13 August. This extravagant fashion event titled ‘McDowell Signature North East Fashion Weekend’ is organized by Signature and Arts Forward in association with Aircel.
The event will provide a good platform to the budding designers of the region to showcase their collection and talents. Leading Indian designers such as Rina Dhaka, Ritu Kumar, Wendell, and Rodericks will be a part of the fashion event along with local designer Nandini Baruwa.

The collections by these famous designers will be showcased by the celebrities from Bollywood and also those from the region. A designer hunt and model hunt will mark the beginning of the event.
Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, fashion designer of the region, Atsu, said, “Many youngsters from the region will get a chance to move forward following this fashion week”. He added, “I am sure the event will take the region forward. The people of northeast are very talented and have beautiful faces”.
Supermodel Shruti Agrawal is the face of the fashion show. She was present at the press conference along with prominent designer Ritu Kumar, who would also showcase her collection at the fashion event in Guwahati.
A contest titled ‘Emerging Designer of North East’ will be organized to select the talented and rising designers from the region. This contest will take place in Shillong, Guwahati, and Dimapur. ။ File Photos : Reuters

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