Agartala, 3 December : Aadhaar, a 12-digit Unique Identification Number (UID) to be issued to each citizen of the country, has been formally launched in Tripura, the first state in the north eastern region where the project was inaugurated.State Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Chowdhury launched Aadhaar at a function at Sabroom in South Tripura district, about 135 km from here, yesterday. However, the citizens of Sabroom have to wait for sometime to get the Aadhaar number, to be issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). "We hope the process of enrolment in Tripura would be completed by next year and then the people of the state would be given the Aadhaar number by UIDAI," Chowdhury told media from Sabroom today.
The number will store basic demographics and biometric information of each individual in a central database, officials said. This would help the government launch various programmes. Tripura is the eighth state in the country to have launched Aadhaar. န File Photo : Parthajit Dutta
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WB Cong president Bhunia extends olive branch to TMC !
Kolkata, 3 December : West Bengal Congress today extended an olive branch to Trinamool Congress and appealed for joint movements against the ruling Left Front's "Marxist onslaughts" in the state !
"We welcome any reponse from our friends in the Trinamool Congress, which is of course a bigger party and is spearheading the anti-CPI(M) agitation, to our suggestion for a joint move to resist Marxist onslaughts," West Bengal PCC president Manas Bhunia told reporters here. Bhuina said that Congress would harp on the "economic bankruptcy" and the "politics of violence" by the CPI(M).
Kolkata, 3 December : West Bengal Congress today extended an olive branch to Trinamool Congress and appealed for joint movements against the ruling Left Front's "Marxist onslaughts" in the state !
"We welcome any reponse from our friends in the Trinamool Congress, which is of course a bigger party and is spearheading the anti-CPI(M) agitation, to our suggestion for a joint move to resist Marxist onslaughts," West Bengal PCC president Manas Bhunia told reporters here. Bhuina said that Congress would harp on the "economic bankruptcy" and the "politics of violence" by the CPI(M).
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Manipur rebel leader alleges secret Bangladesh detention
Subir Bhaumik, BBC News, Kolkata, 3 December : An Indian separatist leader claims he was kept in secret detention for two months in Bangladesh before being handed over to India.
Rajkumar Meghen, leader of the United National Liberation Front in north-eastern Manipur state, told a court he was arrested in Dhaka on 29 September. He said he was held there until being handed over to India on 30 November. But Indian police say the rebel leader was arrested in eastern Bihar state, close to India's border with Nepal.... READ FULL STORY
Subir Bhaumik, BBC News, Kolkata, 3 December : An Indian separatist leader claims he was kept in secret detention for two months in Bangladesh before being handed over to India.
Rajkumar Meghen, leader of the United National Liberation Front in north-eastern Manipur state, told a court he was arrested in Dhaka on 29 September. He said he was held there until being handed over to India on 30 November. But Indian police say the rebel leader was arrested in eastern Bihar state, close to India's border with Nepal.... READ FULL STORY
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Tata, Nitol-Niloy Group to set up country’s 1st truck manufacturing factory in KishoreganjUNB, Dhaka, 3 December : Bangladesh, which only has experience in assembling automobiles, will soon turn into an automobile manufacturing country that will pave way for exporting ‘Made in Bangladesh’ trucks to the global market for the first time.
Nitol-Niloy Group of Bangladesh joined hands with Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company, to set up the country’s first automobile manufacturing plant that will give an impetus to the sector. The two private sector business conglomerates of Bangladesh and India think the project would bring manifold benefits for the country through employment generation and boosting export earnings.
Mini and light trucks, which have large demand both in domestic and global market, will be manufactured in the joint-venture plant to be set up on 250 bighas of land at Pakundia in Kishoreganj at a cost of nearly Tk 1000 crore.
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Zia started shifting belongings from her Cantonment house
Dhaka, 3 December : After losing the legal battle, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia started shifting her belongings from Dhaka Cantonment house today.
Khaleda was not present, but the belongings were shifted in presence of her representatives from 12 noon to 5pm. Her personal aide, who was present during the shifting, told UNB that the remaining household goods will be shifted tomorrow. Spouses of Sayeed Eskendar and Shamim Eskendar, brothers of Khaleda Zia, were present as her representatives.
Khaleda was not present, but the belongings were shifted in presence of her representatives from 12 noon to 5pm. Her personal aide, who was present during the shifting, told UNB that the remaining household goods will be shifted tomorrow. Spouses of Sayeed Eskendar and Shamim Eskendar, brothers of Khaleda Zia, were present as her representatives.
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Tripura bags best city award in Basic Service of Urban Poor
UNI, Agartala, 3 December : Tripura has received the 'best city' award in implementation of Basic Service of Urban Poor (BSUP) under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), officials said here today.
According to a report, a Ministry of Urban Development communiqu informed the Tripura government yesterday that performance of the state was found commendable in regard to provide access to housing and basic infrastructure for the urban poor. ''Since civic poll is in process, I sent Commissioner of Urban Development to attend the national conference at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi today where he will share the experience of our success and receive the award,'' said Urban Development Minister Manik Dey.
UNI, Agartala, 3 December : Tripura has received the 'best city' award in implementation of Basic Service of Urban Poor (BSUP) under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), officials said here today.
According to a report, a Ministry of Urban Development communiqu informed the Tripura government yesterday that performance of the state was found commendable in regard to provide access to housing and basic infrastructure for the urban poor. ''Since civic poll is in process, I sent Commissioner of Urban Development to attend the national conference at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi today where he will share the experience of our success and receive the award,'' said Urban Development Minister Manik Dey.
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Left stages comeback in "school council elections" in WB
Kolkata, 3 December : Left-backed teachers won the elections to the district primary school councils in West Bengal, bagging 185 of the 192 seats.
The convincing win by the Left-backed candidates is seen as a boost for the Left parties in West Bengal which had suffered a series of reverses since the 2008 panchayat elections.
Kolkata, 3 December : Left-backed teachers won the elections to the district primary school councils in West Bengal, bagging 185 of the 192 seats.
The convincing win by the Left-backed candidates is seen as a boost for the Left parties in West Bengal which had suffered a series of reverses since the 2008 panchayat elections.
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ITC shuts cigarette units; scrip down 3.5%Reuters, Kolkata, 3 December : ITC, India's top cigarette maker , has stopped production in all its units because of lack of clarity about pictorial warnings to be carried on packets starting this month, a company spokesman said on Friday.
"Like all other tobacco manufactures across the country, all five of our units are shut down because of the ambiguity in the pictorial warnings effective from 1 December," the spokesman told Reuters. The companies have approached the health ministry on this regard and a clarification is expected in a few days, he said. The company said there was no clarity on types of warnings to be carried on the packages.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had notified in May this year that all tobacco product packages in the country must carry pictorial health warnings depicting a cancer- stricken mouth etc, from 1 December, 2010.
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Telecom services affected in Indian North-Eastern states
UNI, Agartala, 3 December : Telecom services were affected seriously in Indian North-eastern states today as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employees continued their strike to protest the proposed plan of disinvestment and retrenching one lakh workers through Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).
Entire telecom service, including ATM and railway reservation, besides, basic services like cellular and internet were affected across Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur, BSNL executives said adding employees were organising picketing in front of the offices across the region. ''Though their demands are directly linked with policy issues, we have nothing to do to bring them back in the work, but it is also true that since the field and other staff are stayed away from work, BSNL service is affected substantially,'' said BSNL Tripura General Manager DK Chakraborty.
UNI, Agartala, 3 December : Telecom services were affected seriously in Indian North-eastern states today as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employees continued their strike to protest the proposed plan of disinvestment and retrenching one lakh workers through Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).
Entire telecom service, including ATM and railway reservation, besides, basic services like cellular and internet were affected across Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur, BSNL executives said adding employees were organising picketing in front of the offices across the region. ''Though their demands are directly linked with policy issues, we have nothing to do to bring them back in the work, but it is also true that since the field and other staff are stayed away from work, BSNL service is affected substantially,'' said BSNL Tripura General Manager DK Chakraborty.
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Poor visibility due to fog, Five killed in NH-2 road accident
Assansol, 3 December : Five people were killed and 25 injured Friday when the bus in which they were travelling hit a stationary truck in Burdwan district, police said.
“The Burdwan-bound bus hit the stone laden truck early morning at Suidi More near Assansol on National Highway No.2. Four people were killed on the spot and another succumbed to his injuries at Assansol subdivisional hospital,” said a senior police officer. “Because of poor visibility due to fog in the morning, the bus driver might have ignored the stationary truck and hit it. The truck was parked on the roadside,” he said.
Assansol, 3 December : Five people were killed and 25 injured Friday when the bus in which they were travelling hit a stationary truck in Burdwan district, police said.
“The Burdwan-bound bus hit the stone laden truck early morning at Suidi More near Assansol on National Highway No.2. Four people were killed on the spot and another succumbed to his injuries at Assansol subdivisional hospital,” said a senior police officer. “Because of poor visibility due to fog in the morning, the bus driver might have ignored the stationary truck and hit it. The truck was parked on the roadside,” he said.
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At least five people killed and 15 others injured in Comilla
Comilla, 3 December : At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in separate road accidents in Daudkandi and Chouddagram upazilas here on Thursday night.
Police said three people were killed and 15 others injured when a Laxmipur bound bus from Dhaka plunged into a roadside ditch at Raypura on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Daudkandi upazila. The identity of the deceased and injured could not be known immediately.
Comilla, 3 December : At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in separate road accidents in Daudkandi and Chouddagram upazilas here on Thursday night.
Police said three people were killed and 15 others injured when a Laxmipur bound bus from Dhaka plunged into a roadside ditch at Raypura on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Daudkandi upazila. The identity of the deceased and injured could not be known immediately.
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Various fish species in Indian Northeast states facing threat
PTI, Shillong, 3 December : Though the Northeast is endowed with a large number of rivers, wetlands, lakes and ponds, various species of fishes in the region are facing the threat of extinction."There is a general perception that the rich fish fauna of the region have been considerably depleted over the years, a major indicator of which is declining catches from rivers and other natural open water bodies," states a bulletin issued by the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute. "Certain fish species like osteobrama belangeri, pithia, butter catfish, clown knife fish (chitala), Bengala elenga, punga (pangasius), etc. are increasingly becoming rare," the bulletin says.
According to scientists, there are 267 fish species belonging to 114 genera under 38 families and 10 orders in the region.
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