Kolkata, 29 May : West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today invited Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata to invest in the state and help rebuild it, three years after she led an agitation that forced the conglomerate to relocate its low-cost car plant to Gujarat.The letter to Tata, handwritten by the chief minister, was in response to Tata's message congratulating her on her election as chief minister. In a separate development, NRI stakeholder in Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL), Purnendu Chatterjee , chairman of the Chatterjee Group (TCG), met state industry minister Partha Chatterjee to discuss the fate of HPL. Partha Chatterjee told reporters after the meeting: "Let's not have any pain in our heart. We have a new beginning now. There is an openness in the new government and there has been a meeting of hearts.
What is important is that we have joy in our hearts now." Partha Chatterjee was engaged in a bitter tussle with the erstwhile Left Front government for the past few years over ownership and management control of HPL, which is now saddled with a nearly Rs 300-crore loss in the last fiscal and is desperate to return to profit. The case between Partha Chatterjee and West Bengal government is in the Supreme Court.On the possibility of an outof-court settlement, the TCG chief said: "The new government is not aware of the nuances of the problems involved in HPL. They have to be briefed properly. We have been waiting for 6 years to sort out the issue legally. Supreme Court hearing is over and within a few months the judgement will be out."
Asked about TCG's stake in HPL, Chatterjee said: "We think we own 60% in HPL, but the government litigation says differently." According to the present official shareholding matrix, TCG & its associates hold 37.68% in HPL, the state 51.67%, while IOC and Tatas have 8.19% and 2.46%, respectively. He said there were plans to expand capacities at HPL. "New equity funds will not be required for expansion. There are enough equity funds." န Cartoon : Satish Achary
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Bangladesh's Pop legend Azam Khan remains unchanged
Dhaka, 29 May : The condition of Bangladesh's Pop legend Azam Khan remains unchanged at Square Hospital in Dhaka.
Famous cancer specialist Dr Qamruzzuman Chowdhury, who supervises Azam Khan's treatment, told Bengal Newz on Sunday, that "he has a little bit consciousness, but still on the life support system. We put him on drugs to maintain blood pressure."
A seven-member medical board earlier on Saturday feared that Khan's condition would turn from 'bad to worse' in the coming days as they could not treat his cancer spread in different parts of the body. He was detected with oral cancer in 2010 and underwent advanced treatment in Singapore twice that year.
Dhaka, 29 May : The condition of Bangladesh's Pop legend Azam Khan remains unchanged at Square Hospital in Dhaka.
Famous cancer specialist Dr Qamruzzuman Chowdhury, who supervises Azam Khan's treatment, told Bengal Newz on Sunday, that "he has a little bit consciousness, but still on the life support system. We put him on drugs to maintain blood pressure."
A seven-member medical board earlier on Saturday feared that Khan's condition would turn from 'bad to worse' in the coming days as they could not treat his cancer spread in different parts of the body. He was detected with oral cancer in 2010 and underwent advanced treatment in Singapore twice that year.
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Rabindranath Tagore second most known figure in China
Zafri Mudasser Nofil, New Delhi, 29 May : The Chinese may have the highest regard for Goutam Buddha but apart from him, the Indian name best known to them is Rabindranath Tagore."In the background of over two millennia of China and India having been interconnecting, interacting, and learning from each other, the Nobel Laureate was closest to our times, real and intimate to us," says Wang Bangwei of Peking University.
"From Sakyamuni (as Buddha is referred to in China) we have enjoyed more of a reverent godliness, and from Tagore we have enjoyed a tangible humanness that was noble and admirable," writes Wang in "Tagore and China", arguably the first full account in English of the poet''s visit to China and related issues.
Along with Wang, the book, published by Sage, is co-edited by Tan Chung, Amiya Dev and Wei Liming.
The book charts Tagore''s ''grand visit'' in 1924 undertaken in response to China's ''Tagore fever'' and the series of talks he gave there, their antecedents as well as impact. During the visit, the Chinese celebrated Tagore''s 63rd birthday and conferred him the Chinese name of ''Zhu Zhendan''.
"Tagore and China" is a collection of articles by eminent academics and scholars including the likes of Amartya Sen, Prasenjit Duara, Uma Das Gupta and Patricia Uberoi. Supplemented by some rare photographs, it is a tribute to Tagore''s 150th birth anniversary. န Photo Courtesy : Paul Chung (President, The Indian Chinese Association)
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Maldives to withdraw import duty on 'Bangladeshi products'
Dhaka, 29 May : Maldives has decided to withdraw import duties on Bangladesh products including medicines effective by the end of the year and improve trade and investment cooperation between the two South Asian nations.
Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem conveyed his government decision during bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at the Foreign Office Sunday afternoon.
Dhaka, 29 May : Maldives has decided to withdraw import duties on Bangladesh products including medicines effective by the end of the year and improve trade and investment cooperation between the two South Asian nations.
Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem conveyed his government decision during bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at the Foreign Office Sunday afternoon.
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Kingfisher Airlines plane makes emergency landing Airport
Kolkata, 29 May : A Delhi-Bangkok Kingfisher Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the NSC Bose International Airport here today due to a technical snag, officials said.
The plane made a safe landing at around 4am, they said. The passengers will be accommodated in another plane of the airline as engineers are inspecting the aircraft to detect the problem, officials said.
Kolkata, 29 May : A Delhi-Bangkok Kingfisher Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the NSC Bose International Airport here today due to a technical snag, officials said.
The plane made a safe landing at around 4am, they said. The passengers will be accommodated in another plane of the airline as engineers are inspecting the aircraft to detect the problem, officials said.
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Wild mushrooms kill three at Trichna village in south Tripura
Agartala, 29 May : Three people, including a child and a woman, died and three others fell sick after consuming poisonous wild mushrooms in Tripura, officials said Sunday.
A district official said a few tribals at Trichna village in southern Tripura consume raw wild mushrooms Saturday night. The dead included a three-year-old child and a couple. Three more people were reported to be in critical condition.
Agartala, 29 May : Three people, including a child and a woman, died and three others fell sick after consuming poisonous wild mushrooms in Tripura, officials said Sunday.
A district official said a few tribals at Trichna village in southern Tripura consume raw wild mushrooms Saturday night. The dead included a three-year-old child and a couple. Three more people were reported to be in critical condition.
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Mamata's surprise hospital visits are publicity stunts: CPI(M)
Kolkata, 29 May : CPI(M) Sunday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her surprise visits to state-run hospitals, terming them publicity stunts, adding these kind of activities bring out her 'whimsical and restless attitude'."Mamata Banerjee has started surprise visits to various state-run hospitals and her visits also includes a huge contingent of media persons. The presence of Mamata in the hospital campus creates ruckus both among the medical staffs and the patients, which in turn, hampers the health services in the hospitals. But she is not bothered about those problems that patient faces.... she is only bothered about the publicity of her visits," said an editorial published in CPI(M) mouthpiece Ganashakti.
After taking over the reigns of the state, Mamata Banerjee has paid several surprise visits to several state-run hospitals in city. Last week Mamata visited super-specialty hospitals SSKM hospital, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences (BIN) and Sambhunath Pandit Hospital. During her visit to these hospitals she had interacted with the doctors and the patients and enquired about the infrastructure of the hospitals.
Mamata Banerjee suspended BIN director Dr Shyamapada Ghorai for alleged misconduct and insubordination during her visit to the institute. The editorial also lambasted Mamta for suspending Ghorai and said that the suspension has created trouble for various patients lodged in the BIN.
'The only fault of Dr Ghorai was that she had asked her (Mamata) to come to the room and discuss the hospital issues rather than moving around with the contingent of the media persons which was creating problems for the patients. Many patients who were scheduled to be operated or treated by Dr Ghorai are facing life and death situation,' said the editorial, terming Dr Ghorai's suspension 'a sign of restlessness and whimsical attitude'.
'This kind of activities only projects the restless and whimsical attitude of Mamata. This government is only interested in threatening and pressurising others. It is not interested in an kind of logic but only in its whims and conditions,' it added.
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26 hurt in acid attack in North Tripura District, one held
Agartala, 29 May : At least 26 people were seriously injured, four of them critically, in an acid attack in Tripura, police said here Sunday. One person was arrested.
Police arrested jeweller Ratan Sarkar who threw acid on a vegetable vendor and others Saturday night in North Tripura district's Kailashahar town, 175 km from here. The jeweller had a quarrel with the vendor over the use of space in front of his shop. Following the argument, he threw nitric acid on the vendor and on the on-lookers who had gathered near the shop, a police spokesman said.
Agartala, 29 May : At least 26 people were seriously injured, four of them critically, in an acid attack in Tripura, police said here Sunday. One person was arrested.
Police arrested jeweller Ratan Sarkar who threw acid on a vegetable vendor and others Saturday night in North Tripura district's Kailashahar town, 175 km from here. The jeweller had a quarrel with the vendor over the use of space in front of his shop. Following the argument, he threw nitric acid on the vendor and on the on-lookers who had gathered near the shop, a police spokesman said.
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Challenges for disaster, climate risk reduction formidable in Bangladesh, says Global Assessment Report
UNB, Dhaka, 29 May : Despite continued success in addressing the global climate change impacts, the challenges for disaster and climate risk reduction remain formidable in Bangladesh due to increasing the intensity and complexity of disasters.The disclosure was made in the newly published 'Global Assessment Report 2011 on Disaster Risk Reduction'.
The report said some challenges are persistent and recurring and the others are emerging. Nonetheless the country reaffirms its resolve to reduce the disaster and climate risks.
Bangladesh reiterate its commitment to 'disaster proof' its investment in the country along with increased interaction and cooperation with global community in resources, knowledge and technology sharing for the risk reduction of the millions of the most vulnerable women, men and children.
Only bolder investments of the government, civil society and international community could materialise the resilience of the vulnerable communities, the report observed.
The report identified Bangladesh as one of the frontrunner counties in aligning itself with the global agenda on disaster and climate risk reduction.
The Global Assessment Report (GAR) 2011 on the Disaster Risk Reduction was unveiled at a ceremony organized by the Disaster Management and Relief Division in the city on Sunday.
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