Mamata keeps her promise, Kandari

Express to Digha gets going
Howrah, 14 June : A few days after taking charge as the Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee on Sunday flagged off a daily train to Digha, the Howrah-Digha Kandari Express.
Banerjee, in her election manifesto, had promised to turn Digha into another Goa, which the state government failed to do in the last 32 years. The day she joined the office as the Railway Minister, she had announced that within a month the Howrah-Digha Express would chug out from Howrah and she fulfilled her promise 12 days before it ends.

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Bangladesh cricket team’s 6,000 pounds curry love

ANI, London, 14 June 14 : Bangladeshi cricketers want their food to taste like it does back home, no matter where in the world they are and how much it would costs.
Recently the Bangladesh cricket team was in England for the ICC Twenty20 World Championship. Away from home, the players wanted some spicy curry delicacies. The squad ordered chicken jalfrezi and other exotic dishes from Bangladeshi food specialists, Bollywood Spice in Warmley, Gloucestershire some 150 miles away from their hotel in London. The food was prepared in Warmley, and then was taken to Nottingham by a chartered helicopter, News of the World reports.
This whole exercise cost a whopping six thousand pounds, but the players weren’t concerned. "We wanted to enjoy what we get at home," said batsman Shakib Al Hasan, who ordered the food.

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3 killed in West Bengal clashes

Lalgarh, 14 June : Three people were killed in clashes Saturday between activists of the CPI(M) and a tribal body in this troubled zone of West Midnapore district, prompting the authorities to enforce prohibitory orders.
CPI(M) leader Anuj Mandal claimed that the victims were party workers and were killed by “goons” of tribal body Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). He said nine CPI(M) activists were missing after the clashes, which occurred in the Dharampur area over control of political turf.
“We have received information about the killings. We are yet to confirm whether they were CPI(M) workers. About the missing people also, we have received a complaint. But I don’t have any confirmation,” district magistrate N.S. Nigam told Bengal Newz over telephone. However, PCAPA leader Chattradhar Mahato denied the allegations. “They (the CPIM) are levelling false allegations. The CPI(M) controls the area”.

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Stage collapses, 4 died & 500 injured in Murshidabad
Murshidabad, 14 June : At least four persons died and over 500 were injured at Kashipur in Murshidabad district on Sunday evening when a stage and the pandals around it collapsed after a storm. The victims were part of a religious gathering attended by almost 1 lakh people. Over 50 people were rushed to hospital. Seven of them, including a child, are said to be serious.

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Paresh Baruah held in Bangladesh ? Police denies !!

Dhaka, 14 June : ULFA leader Paresh Baruah arrested in Bangladesh ? Yesterday, two Bangladeshi newspapers reported that ULFA leader Paresh Baruah, who is on the run for three decades, has been arrested in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The news of Paresh Baruah’s arrest spread like wildfire in Assam, although Bangladeshi police sources dismissed it as a "hoax".
Actually, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials arrested a suspected Indian national at a house in central Dhaka’s posh residential locality Dhanmondi late last night, said widely-circulated Bengali dailies ‘Ittefaq’ and ‘Samakal’. The police is ascertaining whether the arrested man, from whom a passport was recovered with the name Shamsul Alam on it, has any link with the separatist Indian group ULFA, the newspapers said. Quoting an unnamed intelligence official, Samakal said the arrested man was Paresh Barua, the prime accused in the seizure of huge arms and ammunitions along the Chittagong coast in 2004. Police, however, did not confirm, it added.
However, a senior CID official dismissed the reports of Baruah’s arrest. "Following the reports in the two newspapers about the arrest of Paresh Barua, we checked the matter and found it to be hoax. No such person was arrested by our men as reported," the official told PTI.

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2nd all-party meet on Aila cyclone relief to be held on Sunday evening
Kolkata, 14 June : The West Bengal Government has convened a second round of an all-party meeting in Kolkata on Sunday evening over cyclone relief issue.
The meet to be presided over the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is meant to expedite relief and restoration works in Aila-hit districts in the state.
Last Sunday, first round of the all-party meeting was not attended by Mamta-led Trinamool Congress, the main Opposition party in West Bengal. It is unlikely to attend today’s meet also.
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Month-long Kolkata Hilsa festival attracting huge crowds
Kolkata, 14 June : Fans of the Hilsa fish, which is a major delicacy in Bengal, throng the ongoing Hilsa fish festival in Kolkata to gorge on their favourite dishes. rices of rupees 400-550 per kilogram notwithstanding, the month-long Hilsa festival is attracting huge crowds.
The festival, hosted by Tero Parbon, a Bengali cuisine restaurant in Kolkata, has a wide variety of Hilsa delicacies to offer. Recipes on offer include boneless Elish, a steamed fish dish called ‘Bhapa Elish’, fish cooked in poppy seeds called ‘Elish Posto’, a creamy preparation of Elish Malai, fried fish in the form of ‘Tele Mashla Bhaja Elish’, a sour fish preparation of ‘Elish tok’ and a lot more. This year, the restaurant is offering a special dish named ‘Elisher Horogouri’, which is famous across the Bangladesh. The speciality of the dish is that it tastes both sweet and spicy.
Subrata Ghosh Choudhuri, the director of the restaurant said, that the fish festival has almost become a yearly festival like Durga Puja for the Bengalis in the region. The festival has been organised to offer a wide variety of Hilsa delicacies before the fish hits the market.
The festival that started on June 10 will continue for a month. န Photos : Tero Parbon
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ON AIR န Bangladesh Betar launches in Comilla
Dhaka, 14 June : Bangladesh Betar went fully 'on air' in Comilla on Saturday, after running test programmes for an hour each day since 15 May.
"The present government believes in free flow of information," information minister Abul Kalam Azad said, launching the new station. Highlighting the importance of radio, he said it had an important role in involving people with public development work. He called on the media to play a greater role in raising overall public awareness of issues involving health, education, environment and social welfare.
Mohammad Mahbubul Alam, director general of Bangladesh Betar, presided over the launch of the station at Bangladesh Betar Bhaban in Comilla.

CM tours Aila-ravaged (N) 24 Parganas for 2nd time
Basirhat, 13 June : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhatacharjee today exuded satisfaction over the pace of reconstruction of the river banks in the Aila-ravaged areas of Hingalgunj and Sandeshkhali I and II in North 24 Parganas.
The district administration informed the Chief Minister that at least 60 per cent of the collapsed banks had been repaired so far. Bhattacharjee, during his tour, was accompanied by Irrigation Minister Subhas Naskar, District Magistrate Binod Kumar, Superintendent of Police Supratim Sarkar and the Sub-divisional officer along with a few of his party leaders from the district.
Apart from visiting the designated areas of Dhamakhali, Sardarpara and Jogeshganj, the Chief Minister also visited other areas of the affected Sunderbans. Official sources said Bhattacharjee and Naskar gave a patient hearing to the people in distress when his launch was passing through Atapur, Manipur, Situlia and other villages on either sides of the river Raimangal, Chhoto and Bara Kalagachi. He also held a discussion with the district officials during the trip inside the launch and held meeting with the panchayat chiefs of Hingalgunj block and district officials at the Jogeshganj High school premises besides talking to the local people. န Photos : Sanjay Bhaduri
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Maoists kills CPI(M) leader, 15 injured in clashes
Midnapore, 13 June : Maoists shot dead a CPI(M) leader at Belpahari, sparking clashes between tribals and Leftist extremists which left 15 injured in West Midnapore district.
45-year-old Shankar Tudu was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne Maoists at a tea shop at Bhulabheda village in Belpahari, police said. The naxals pumped six bullets into him before escaping, they said.
As the news of Tudu's death spread, clashes between CPI(M) cadre and tribals erupted at Bahulbani village near Salboni and Jeerapara and Dharampur villages in Lalgarh.
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Timber smugglers find alternative means of livelihood
Siliguri, 13 June : A village of timber smugglers, Kholachand, in Siliguri in West Bengal, has turned to more legal means of livelihood, with the help of the forest department.
They are making Sal leaf plates and selling them for a decent price. Over 200 families with nearly 1000 people altogether inhabit the village. Until recently, most of the adult male members of the families used to cut timber from the adjacent forests and sell them to earn their daily bread. These villagers, living in poverty, were involved in smuggling, in absence of other means of livelihood. And being adjacent to the Baikunthpur forest area, with timber in abundance, timber smuggling was a lucrative option. The forest officials found it difficult to curb illegal smuggling. They hence decided to address the cause that was leading to smuggling. They motivated the people to make Sal leaf plates and provided them with the necessary equipment.
The making of Sal leaf plates gives occupation to an entire family with children collecting the leaves, and adults stitching and selling them.
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Mamata Banerjee meets CPM veteran Jyouti Basu
Kolkata, 13 June : After routing his party in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, railway minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday met veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu at his Salt Lake residence to inquire about his health.
"I have come here just to meet Jyoti Basu and we did not discuss any political issues. Basu congratulated me thrice for our party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections and I, too, inquired about his health condition," Mamata told reporters waiting outside Basu’s Salt Lake residence on Saturday evening.
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West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi not keen on second term

Kolkata, 13 June : West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who had stirred controversies by openly chiding the Left Front government on Nandigram and Singur issues, is not keen on a second innings in Raj Bhawan after his tenure ends in December, his aide said on Saturday.
"The Governor wants to be relieved of his responsibility at the end of his term," his press secretary Dhruba Basu told Bengal Newz.
Sources said that the "language used" by the ruling party against the Governor for his reaction to incidents like in Singur and Nandigram, were "shocking to a man of his stature". The Governor's term will end on December 13. However, if the President wants him to be appointed for a second term, "that depends on Gandhi", Basu said.

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GJM threatens indefinite bandh in Darjeeling hills

PTI, Kolkata , 13 June : The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha today threatened to launch an indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling hills to press for its statehood deman Gorkhaland. "Our president Bimal Gurung has asked the people to get ready for an indefinite bandh to press for Gorkhaland,"GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI over phone from Darjeeling.
Gurung also asked GJM leaders to stock foodgrains in the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, Giri said. The date of the bandh would be finalised at a meeting of the GJM central committee shortly, he said.
The Morcha had not called any bandh in the last few months in view of the general elections, annual examination in schools and the peak tourist season, Gurung said. န File Photo

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NE states call for speedy action on central projects
Agartala, 13 June : The northeastern states have urged the central government to release funds for the speedy implementation of flagship development and infrastructure projects in the region, said Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury Saturday.

He was speaking to reporters here after attending the pre-budget meeting between the states and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi Thursday. “The finance ministers of the northeastern states have requested the centre to release funds under the flagship programmes and complete the ‘National Projects’ in time to stimulate the economy and to give impetus to the region’s infrastructure sector,” Chowdhury said.
The gauge conversion project of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) between Lumding and Badarpur in southern Assam, which was taken up in 1996, is yet to make noticeable progress, the minister said. He added that the project for four-laning of Assam-Agartala national highway (NH 44) has been languishing for almost four years now. Chowdhury said fully government-owned projects were good for the region. န Photos : AP

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Three-day Mango fair in Kolkata attracting crowds

< WB Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi at fair, testerday.

Kolkata, 13 June : Luscious varieties of mangoes grown in West Bengal like the Himsagar, Langra and Fajli are being showcased at the three-day Mango Mahotsava fair here that is attracting crowds.

The fair, which was inaugurated on Friday, is being organised on a grand scale this time unlike earlier years. "The fair will help the producers increase their income and help in employment generation," Mohanta Chatterjee, West Bengal minister-in-charge of Department of Food Processing and Horticulture said. Chatterjee said that it is important that mango growers learn about the new technologies of farming to produce quality fruit.
"The fair showcases various kinds of mangoes that are grown in the state. Mangoes have a rich heritage and have demand from international countries," he said. Seminars, buyer-seller meets and other events have been planned during the fair. Though India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world, it accounts for less than one percent of the global mango trade.
Two districts of West Bengal - Malda and Murshidabad - are famous for mangoes. But this year production was hit due to the storm during the budding season and also due to Cyclone Aila that hit the state last month. Aila is said to have ruined mango produce worth Rs.180 million.

River cruise to Varanasi from Kolkata soon : S Ahmed
Kolkata, 12 June : A cruise up the river Ganges from Kolkata to Varanasi and touching Buddhist religious sites in Bihar would soon set sail attracting foreign tourists, mainly from the East and far East.
"We are working hard to initiate the service within three to four months," Union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed said while inaugurating a tourism exposition here on Friday. Ahmed said that the cruise service would start from Kolkata and wind its way up the Ganges touching various Buddhist sites in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He said that the metropolis would serve as the gateway for the Buddhist tourist circuit in East India. Various sites of Buddhist interest like Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda in Bihar and Sarnath and Vikramshila in Uttar Pradesh attract lakhs of tourists from China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and other eastern and far-eastern countries.
The minister said that West Bengal has great potential in tourism business as it has great beaches in Digha on the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayas in Darjeeling apart from the Dooars region in the Terai but there is a lack of proper marketing.
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8 killed, 15 injured in road accidents in Bangladesh
Dhaka, 12 June : Eight people, including a schoolgirl and a lawyer, were killed and 15 others injured in separate road accidents in Gazipur, Barisal, Noakhali and Lalmonirhat districts today.
In Gazipur, three people were killed and two others injured in Sreepur and Kaliakoir upazilas. In another accident, an unidentified woman was crushed under the wheels of a truck at Kharajora in Kaliakoir upazila in the morning. In Noakhali, two people, including a schoolgirl, were killed and two others injured as a pick-up van rammed into a rickshaw in front of Shahid Bhulu Stadium gate in the district town at noon. In Lalmonirhat, a motorcyclist was killed as a speedy truck rammed his bike in Aiar Khamar area in Sadar upazila.
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CPI(M) leader shot dead in Murshidabad district
Behrampore, 12 June : Unknown gunmen shot dead a local CPI(M) leader on Friday in broad daylight here in Murshidabad district.
The police said 45-year-old Ekram Seikh, CPI(M)'s Panchanantala local committee secretary, was shot from point blank range as he entered central sericultue office beside Zilla Parishad. He died on the spot, the police said. The attackers, who came on motorbikes, fled after shooting Seikh, the police said.
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Snake served with mid-day meal, 55 students fall ill
Rampurhat, 12 June : Fifty-five children were treated for shock and nausea in a children's care centre in Birbhum district on Friday after they found a dead snake in their mid-day meal. The food was prepared at the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) centre in Kabirajpara near Rampurhat. Hospital superintendent Himadri Halder told Bengal Newz, no symptoms of food poisoning had been found so far. Dr Halder said the snake venom was not in "fatal proportion''. Children fell ill because of fear psychosis.
Rampurhat SDO A Sengupta said the snake fell accidentally into the vessel when the meal was being prepared in a shed at the centre. Suniti Majhi, ICDS supervisor of the village, blamed the cook, Maya Konai. "She never told us that the shed where the mid-day meal is cooked was in a bad condition. Somehow, the snake must have slipped in and fallen in the vessel. We will seek explanation from the cook.''
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Kolkata police to tap every E-mail from cybercafes
Kolkata, 12 June : The soon-to-be-set-up counter terror units Special Task Force and Quick Reaction Team will be using armoured vehicles that have only been used by the army so far. Some city police forces have ordered it but the vehicles are yet to be delivered.
The decision to set up new anti-terror squads and draw up contingency plans was taken at a high-level meeting between the police commissioners of six metros around the country in Delhi on Wednesday. Senior home ministry officials were present. Kolkata was represented by commissioner of police Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti. Along with modern weapons, hi-tech equipment for intelligence gathering and surveillance will also be purchased. Instruments to intercept and analyze wireless messages will be now be used in a big way. "That apart, we shall set up special control rooms that will monitor the video footage recorded at 500 spots around the city. They will work round-the-clock," said Chakrabarti.
Kolkata Police will also use a tetra communication system a multi-layer communication-cum-surveillance equipment that covers the entire city. It will help police tap all wireless communication being routed through or conducted from Kolkata. While the state will approve of the final list of equipment to be purchased, the Union home ministry has set a deadline of July 2010 to have them in place. Once the system is put in place, every cybercafe in the city will be monitored from Lalbazar. "Kolkata Police will have direct access to all e-mails being sent to and from them," said a Union home ministry official.
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Reinforcement of staff to ensure smooth admission
Agartala, 12 June : Tripura government has decided to mobilise extra staff for ensuring smooth admission at the general degree level of the state following a clash between the Students Federation of India (SFI) and National Student Union of India (NSUI) in the prestigious MBB college in Agartala.
Talking to reporters here today Higher Education Minister Anil Sarkar said the admission process was solely an administrative matter and that no student had the right to interfere in the process. Elected student councils and NSS volunteers might be engaged if college authority desired, he added.
Meanwhile, police said at least four students were injured in the group clash in MBB College yesterday and both the SFI and NSUI had filed separate cases. During the evening, both the groups made loud demonstration in the city against each other.

န Three elephants injured in firing by Nepali police
Jalpaiguri, 11 June : At least three elephants are suspected to have been injured in Thursday's firing at Mechi in Nepal. The 100-member herd, which was shot at by Nepal police immediately after it had crossed into their territory on Wednesday evening, is now back at the Tartari forest in Kurseong. The forest department is now trying to trace the injured animals.
It has been decided that the herd will be driven towards Bamonpokhri. It will be easier to identify the injured pachyderms there. Tartari is a hilly area while Bamonpokhri is in the plains. "We are trying to drive them to Bamonpokhri. We suspect that three of the elephants have got bullet injuries. They need immediate attention," said Y T Aden, divisional forest officer of Kurseong division. န File Photo

Tripura govt announces economic package for BPL girl childrens
Agartala, 10 June : The Tripura government has declared a special economic package for girl children in the families under below poverty line (BPL) up to 16 years of age in a bid to prevent female foeticide.
Announcing this, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar yesterday told newspersons that under the programme, the state government would provide Rs 300 to the mother of a girl child every month for her care and education, saying the scheme was effective from 1 June, 2009, onwards. "We will extend the support to the families having a maximum of two girl children. The fund will be transferred to her mother soon after her birth though saving accounts of bank or post office," Manik Sarkar said adding initially about 20,000 families would get the benefit. According to him, the male-female ratio in Tripura had been showing a downward trend and this forced the government to take a slew of initiatives under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Sarkar informed that the scheme would help in maintaining gender balance. ”While gender equality is being upheld, female infants were still found dumped in trash by dozens,” he observed. It would be through active generation of political will and result-oriented action plans, the government could effectively provide free and compulsory education for girl children, the Chief Minister said.
Besides, implementation of Dowry Prohibition Act and other relevant laws grant of equal property rights to girls would also help in this regard, he further informed.
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B'desh journalist life hangs in the balance; His US supporters keep faith
Heather Robinson, Free Press Society, 10 June : Journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, who was physically attacked and beaten in February by thugs he believes were members of the Bangladeshi government’s ruling party, has recovered from his injuries.
But this independent Bangladeshi journalist, whose groundbreaking reporting exposed the Islamist radicalization of children being funded by Saudi Arabia and other sources in Bangladesh’s schools, said this week he fears he is still being targeted by Islamist radicals whom he believes are tied to the government of Bangladesh. READ MORE

Declare cyclone Aila disaster a national calamity : LF
Kolkata, 9 June : The ruling Left Front in West Bengal on Tuedsay demanded that the devastation caused by cyclone Aila be declared a national calamity.

"The Left Front discussed the issue of cyclone Aila at its meeting and demanded that the disaster be declared a national calamity," Front chairman Biman Bose told reporters.
He said that an appeal should be made to MPs and MLAs to give assistance from their area development funds for cyclone victims. A central team, which arrived here on 6 June, visited areas in South and North 24 Parganas districts which bore the brunt of the cyclone besides the Darjeeling hills. The team would make an aerial survey of the devastated areas and discuss the issue with the state government.
WB Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had earlier written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to declare the disaster a national calamity and sought assistance of Rs 1,000 crore. န Photos : AP

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Five powerful bombs retrieved in Benapole village

Benapole, 9 June : Bangladesh Police recovered five powerful bombs from a village in Benapole early on Tuesday.
Benapole Port Police Station sub-inspector Iqbal said they had recovered the bombs wrapped in a polythene bag in an overnight drive from the house of one Ruhul Amin from Sadipur. Nobody was arrested, he said. A case was filed accusing Amin, Iqbal said.

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Tea industry in Tripura on the verge of extinction
Agartala, 9 June : Unfavorable climatic conditions and shortage of labourers is taking a toll on tea industry in Tripura. To sort out the problem facing the industry, tea estate owners of the state met the Forest Minister of Tripura Jitendra Choudhury.
Choudhury told Bengal Newz that if the labourers were given additional facilities this could mitigate the problem to some extent. "The labourers can be given some facilities and we believe by doing this the labour shortage can be mitigated and the absenteeism can be reduced too," he added.
The tea estate owners have been asking the state government for working out some solution to solve their problems. S.K. Choudhury, owner of a tea estate said that unless something is done urgently the tea industry would die a natural death in Tripura.
"Although it is an established tea growing area today it (Tripura) has been relegated to a non-traditional tea growing area. Unless a massive effort is made the tea industry will die a natural death in Tripura," said Choudhury.
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Aila causes Rs 500-cr crop damage
But insurers to pay only Rs 7 lakhs
Kolkata, 9 June : Cyclonic storm Aila, which ravaged the eastern part of the country in the last week of May, has caused massive agricultural damage. But the claims under weather-based crop insurance may not exceed Rs 7 lakh.
According to informal estimates by government officials, the total damage in the agriculture and horticulture sectors is pegged at around Rs 500 crore. Damages in the horticulture segment alone could be around Rs 300 crore, a senior government official confirmed. State-run Agriculture Insurance Co (AIC), ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Iffco-Tokio are the three companies which offer weather-based crop insurance in West Bengal.
However, the entire payout of Rs 7 lakh is likely to be made by AIC in two subdivisions (Contai and Egra) of the East Medinipore district, according to company officials. Even though two of the worst-affected areas in North 24-Parganas (Bashirhat and Baduria) are covered under AIC’s weather insurance scheme, there would not be any payout. Reason : The huge damage in the area was caused more by wind and tides, than rainfall. According to AIC parameters, weather-based crop insurance claims are given in areas with over 75 mm of rainfall, whereas in the North 24-Parganas, the rainfall recorded by the meteorological department was only 62 mm.

Plastic banned in Darjeeling Hills after landslides
Darjeeling, 8 June : Darjeeling Municipality has banned the use of all form of plastic from Monday. This decision has been taken after taking stock of the mass destruction caused by the recent landslides, also largely due to the excessive use of plastic in the Hills.
The civic body has also decided to impose a fine of Rs 500 on the offenders. Garment shops are being targeted as most clothes from the plains come packed in polythene bags. The municipality has also convened a meeting with the Darjeeling chamber of commerce, garment shop owners, tour and travel agencies and hotel owners to apprise them of the ban. Shop owners, violating the order, risk paying a fine or even having their trade licence revoked by the municipality.
"Though most people use plastic to carry food items or clothes, it is the shops owners who are bringing in plastic. We have asked the chamber of commerce to ensure that either it disposes of plastic or be penalised," said Tenzing Khambhachay, member mayor-in-council (conservancy). န Photo : Barun Roy
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Andamans Savarkar Airport gets world-class terminal
Port Blair, 8 June : Veer Savarkar International Airport here will soon have a world class integrated terminal building with best passenger amenities at a cost of Rs 450 crore, Andaman's Raj Niwas sources said.
Officials of Airports Authority of India, New Delhi, recently made a presentation before Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant Governor Bhopinder Singh at the Raj Niwas here on the new integrated terminal building at Veer Savarkar Airport. The Lieutenant Governor asked the officials to take into consideration the high seismic vulnerability of the area during construction of various structures, the sources said. He also directed the authorities of Coast Guard, A&N Administration and AAI to visit the construction site with technical experts and engineers, assess the ground situation and resolve the bottlenecks so that construction work could be undertaken smoothly.
After getting the green signal from the Lieutenant Governor, work for the integrated terminal building will start on full swing, the sources said.
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Arms and Explosives recovered near Nandigram

Khejuri, 8 June : Police today recovered a huge quantity of explosives from two houses of CPI(M) activists at Khejuri, in East Midnapore district today.
Police said a huge quantity of bomb making matrial, eight pipe guns and some bombs were recovered from the houses of one Madan Das and his neighbour Ajit Das.

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Health situation grim after 'Aila' in Sunderbans delta
Diarrhoea claims six, 75+ are believed to be critical
Kolkata, 8 June : Even as the Sunderbans continues to reel under the twin strikes of Aila and the high tide, six have succumbed to diarrhoea that has now taken on the form of a full-fledged epidemic.
Thousands are suffering from the disease triggered by the consumption of infected water. Hundreds are believed to be critical, but medical aid remains sporadic. A four-member government medical team, one of the few that had managed to reach the flooded region, had to return from Dayapur as there were no medicines or other assistance available. District health officials continued to dither. An epidemic "may have broken out" was all they would say.
Since Sunday evening, the diarrhoea situation has taken a turn for the worse. One person died at Binapani in Dayapur. Early on Monday, four more succumbed to the disease while another death was reported from Adibasipara. Two medical camps have been started at Dayapur where around 19 persons are critical. Nine of them are from Binapani. The camps, though, are ill-equipped and don't have a single doctor at present. "We are relying on paramedics now. We need medical support immediately," said Animesh Sinha, representative of an NGO working in Gosaba. More than 70% of the population is now believed to be suffering from diarrhoea across Gosaba, Kultali, Basanti and Patharpratima. Just 50 bottles of saline have reached Dayapur though 200 bottles have been requisitioned.
NGOs and voluntary organisations have urged the district administration and the BDO offices to stop relying on water pouches alone. န Photos : AFP & Indrajit Dutta
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Tidal surge of Bay of Bengal hits Cox's Bazar today
Cox's Bazar, 8 June : At least 2,000 dwelling houses at 22 villages in Teknaf, Moheshkhali, Kutubdia, Pekua and Sadar upazilas of Cox's Bazar have been inundated by tidal surge of the Bay of Bengal.
Seawater entering through the breaches in the coastal embankments has submerged dwellings of hundreds of people who also face serious crisis of drinking water. Many people have taken refuge at local cyclone shelters and on coastal embankments.
Local met office sources said the sea has become rough under the impact of the depression formed in the Bay of Bengal. Tidal water has risen four to five feet above the normal and is hitting the coasts. Storm may hit the area.

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Radio High to resume broadcast from 15 June
Mumbai, 8 June : Siliguri based Radio High, which went off air at the end of March, is scheduled to resume broadcast from 15 June. The radio station, a broadcasting venture of Syntech Infomatics Pvt Ltd has had to suspend transmission owing to a clutch of persistent issues.
Reasons Radio High managing director Milon Chakrabarty, “We are shifting our studio to a different location, which is why we were off air for some time, but we would recommence our transmission in a fortnight. There was also a dispute about the annual fee structure regarding the land lease amount payable to the government.” READ MORE
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Bangladesh seeks justice for 1971 war crimes, Pakistan says 'Move On'
Dhaka, 8 June : Thirty-eight years after Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan, the two countries are sparring over the "war crimes" committed in 1971, a media report here said on Monday.

Dhaka has set in motion the process of trying the survivors among those who killed unarmed civilians, targeting sympathisers of the freedom struggle and religious minorities. It has sought help from the UN as well as cooperation from Pakistan, where many of the Islamist militia members are believed to be living. However, a senior Pakistani official's remark that Bangladesh should "move on" has elicited an angry response from Dhaka, the New Age newspaper reported Monday.
Masood Khalid, additional secretary for Asia Pacific in Pakistan's foreign office, told visiting Bangladeshi media in Islamabad on Saturday that war crime trials in Bangladesh could "hamper ties" and "cast a shadow" on relations between the two countries. "We should not remain frozen in time but should look forward," said Khalid.

In response, Bangladeshi law minister Shafiq Ahmed said Sunday that Pakistan had no right to comment on "our internal matter". "Each state has the right to try criminals on its own territory. We urge other countries not to interfere with our internal matters. The Bangladesh government will try its own citizens, who committed crimes against humanity in 1971, in this country," he added.
Bangaladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League, which led the independence war, has moved swiftly to try the Bangladeshi perpetrators of war crimes since it came to power in January. It has also demanded an apology for the killing of three million Bangladeshis and rape of 300,000 women by the Pakistani Army during the bloody nine-month war.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told Pakistan High Commissioner Alamgir Bashar Khan Babar on 12 May that his country must resolve the issue of an apology. However, Pakistan does not acknowledge the scale of the killings and rapes. Former President Parvez Musharraf, during his trip to Dhaka in July 2002, only apologised for "developments in 1971". န PhotoS : AP & Nashirul Islam

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Siliguri International trade fair begins from tomorrow
Siliguri, 8 June : The third East Himalayan Expo, an international trade fair, would be held in Siliguri from 9 to 15 June. The International Trade Promotion Organisation, attached to the Union ministry of commerce, would sponsor the fair in conjunction with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

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Fishermen capture eleven pirates on Meghna river

Bhola, 8 June : Fishermen captured 11 pirates in the Meghna river early on Monday. The detained pirates were later handed over to the Bhola Sadar Police Station. Fisherman Musa Miah told reporters the pirates attacked their trawlers while they were fishing. "We informed other fishermen around our trawler on the cell phone. When they arrived the pirates jumping into the river. "We managed to catch eleven pirates," Musa said.
Police recovered local-made arms from them, said the pirates had been active on the Meghna river since the outset of the Hilsa-catching season.
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Hooghly Thalassemia centre calls for blood donation

< Blood donetion camp at Sreerampore Holly Home School. More than 60 persons donated blood Today.

Sreerampore, 8 June : The Ramesh Chandra Deb Smrity Raksha Samity of Sreerampore that runs thalassemia care centre and Blood donetion camps for the management of thalassemic children in and around Hooghly district has made an appeal to all to come forward to donate blood.
Thalassemia is a blood disorder which requires regular blood transfusion, hence there is a large requirement of blood to save the lives of thalassemic children, said members of the centre. The regular voluntary blood donation camps by 'Ramesh Chandra Deb Smrity Raksha Samity' would greatly help the thalassemic children registered with the department of paediatrics in various hospitals of our state, said Hooghly CMOH. န News & Photo : Sanjay Bhaduri

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12 killed & 14+ feared dead in Munshiganj bus plunge
UNB, Munshiganj, 8 June : At least 12 people were killed and 14 others feared dead as a bus carrying 53 passengers plunged into a water-filled ditch at Shanbari in Srinagar upazila last night.
Police said a Barguna-bound bus from Chittagong rammed a motorbike killing its two riders on the spot and then fell into the ditch beside Dhaka-Mawa Highway at about 11:45pm(BDST) as the driver lost control over the steering. Shortly after the bus plunge, local people recovered nine bodies and 16 injured passengers from the sunken bus which reportedly went under five-foot water. This morning another body was recovered from the scene. Police apprehended that the death toll in the bus plunge might rise to 25 as some passengers were trapped into the sunken bus.