PTI, Kakdwip, 1 November : Twenty-one more bodies were found today from the trawler which sank in Hooghly river near Talpatti island raising the toll to 62 and with teams engaged in the operations encountering bad weather, the West Bengal government sought the help of Coast Guard.
"The toll has reached 62, but a low depression in the Bay of Bengal is creating problems for the rescue teams and they are stuck in midstream," West Bengal Sundarbans development minister Kanti Ganguly said. "It has begun raining and the waves have grown stronger with the rescuers finding it difficult to return to the shore," Ganguly said, adding, "We are speaking to the Coast Guard so that the rescue teams can be brought back safely." South 24 Parganas superintendent of police, LN Meena said though the operations were being delayed by the weather it was still continuing. The Coast Guard, personnel of the Kolkata Port Trust, a 40-member team of the state disaster management force began operations in the morning with hovercraft and speedboats. Another six member team of divers from Andhra Pradesh reached Kakdwip, but could not carry out operations because of strong currents, official sources said. The trawler, which was sailing from Hijli Sharif in East Midnapore district to Kakdwip in South Parganas capsized and sank on 30 October. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee paid separate visits yesterday and also visited the Kakdwip Hospital. န Photos : PTI -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seminar speakers contend trade deficit with Korea can be reduced substantially Dhaka, 1 November : Bangladesh can substantially reduce its trade deficit with Korea through efforts at making Bangladeshi products more attractive in the Korean market, Korean Ambassador in Dhaka Taiyoung Cho said on Monday. “There is only way to improve the trade imbalance, that remains in favor of Korea, substantially and that is your job, by making your own products more attractive,” he said while addressing a seminar held at the FBCCI today. Taiyoung said the Korean government is trying its best to provide greater access to Bangladeshi products in the Korean market. Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) jointly arranged the seminar in cooperation with Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) titled ‘Investment Climate and Current Situation of Bangladesh Economy’ with its president AK Azad in the chair. န Photo : UNB
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pranab Mukherjee for expansion of highways in East, NE Jangipur, 1 November : Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee today batted for the expansion of the national highway network in eastern India, for the development of trade between major countries in the region. Laying the foundation stone for the four-laning project of NH-34’s 256-km stretch between Berhampore and Dalkhola, both in Bengal, he said, “Nathula Pass is going to be the strategic point of trade between India and China, and also to other countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. As these countries are contributing a majority share of world trade output, the development of roads in eastern India assumes significance. It is in sync with our Look East policy.” He added that the expansion of these roads was vital for the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tatas might consider setting up of industry at Singur again
Kolkata, 1 November : Over two years after the pull out of the Nano project in Singur, West Bengal Industry minister Nirupam Sen today said that the Tatas might reconsider investing here. “We want Tata Motors set up industry there. And, they have said that they may consider the matter within a day or two,” Sen told reporters after a CPI(M) state secretariat meeting. “The land had been bought and acquired for industry. We hope that people living there will create the proper environment for that,” he said. When asked whether the state government was hopeful of the Tatas investing again at Singur, he replied, “Yes.” On 29 October, the Tatas had told the Supreme Court that the land allocated for the Nano project still belonged to it, which could be used for some other purpose. Their counsel Mukul Rohatgi had said that the Tatas still had the lease for the land and the infrastructure which could be used for some other purpose. He had said despite having a lease deed for 90 years in its favour for 646 acre, there was no activity and the company was paying rent of Rs one crore every year and lost Rs 500 crore. The Nano project had driven away from Singur in Hooghly district to Sanad in Gujarat in September 2008 after prolonged agitation by the Trinamool Congress demanding return of 400 acre of land to farmers who had unwillingly parted with it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------www.bengalnewz.com-----
