Krishnanagar's Mount Everest team survives initial hiccups

Kolkata, 24 April : A five-member expedition team from Nadia districts Krishnanagar attempting to climb Mount Everest is progressing well on their target, surviving the initial hiccups caused by changing of route from China to Nepal after visa refusal by the former.
According to a message received from the expedition leader Basanta Singha Roy Friday, the team has reached camp one at an altitude of around 20,000 feet beyond Khumbu Icefall on 21 April. The expedition , organized by Mountaineers Association of Krishnanagar (MAK), earlier set up their base camp on Khumbu glacier at an altitude of about 16,000 feet after seven days’ trek from Lukla where they arrived from Kathmandu by air.

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One killed in CPI(M), Trinamool clashes in Birbhum district
Bolpur, Kolkata, 24 April : One person was killed in clashes between CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress supporters at a number of villages in Birbhum district today.

Birbhum Superintendent of Police Rabindranath Mukherjee said bombs were hurled by the rival sides and a few hundred thatched houses were set ablaze in Jalangi, Palundi, Thuksara and Shepur villages since morning. The SP said that he had heard that one person had been killed, but the body was yet to be recovered. Trinamool Congress sources said that a supporter, Chottu Sheikh, was killed in Sherpur village. Rapid Action Force have been deployed in the villages, the SP added.
In Kolkata, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said she had apprised the Union Home Ministry of the incident and demanded that a central team be sent. "I have apprised the Union Home Ministry. I want them to ask the West Bengal government to behave," she said while accusing the police of remaining silent spectators. She said that her party was preparing a list of police officers who were "colluding" with the CPI(M). န Photos : Timir Raha

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SAARC Summit : Sk Hasina leaves for Bhutan on 27 April
UNB, Dhaka, 24 April : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves here for Bhutan on 27 April to attend the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Thimpu.
The two-day summit with “Climate Change” as its theme will begin on 28 April. This is for the first time the landlocked Bhutan is hosting the SAARC Summit. With the holding of the summit, Bhutan will assume the Saarc chair of the eight-member regional forum representing Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Pakistan.

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India govt hopeful of extraditing 'Kim Davy' : CBI Director

Kolkata 24 April : CBI Director Ashwini Kumar today said he was hopeful of securing the extradition of Danish national Kim Davy, the main accused in 1995 Purulia Armsdrop case.
Noting that efforts were being made since 2002 for Davy's extradition from Denmark, he said the Danish government has now agreed to send him to India. Pointing out that Davy has filed an application against his extradition in Denmark, he said, "as the judicial process in Denmark is not lengthy, we think we will be able to get him here in the near future. "But, it is true that the entire process will not be an easy one," Kumar said inaugurating a training module for press correspondents here.
The case relates to the airdropping of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from an AN-26 aircraft in Purulia district in December 1995.

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B'desh govt may formulate law to protect wartrial witnesses
Dhaka, 24 April : Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta on Saturday said Bangladesh government is considering to formulate a law to protect witnesses, who will give depositions during the trial to prove the offences committed by the war criminals.
He was speaking at a discussion on “Trial of War Crimes and Rehabilitations of War Criminals” organised by Bangabandhu Academy at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity auditorium in the morning. While speaking on the occasion, State Minister for Home Shamsul Haq Tuku urged all to resist the war criminals socially and politically.

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14 passengers injured in bomb explosion in Murshidabad
Baharampur, 24 April : Fourteen persons were injured when bombs exploded in a private bus at Basudebpur on the National Highway 34 in Murshidabad district on Saturday, police said.
The bombs kept in a bag under the rear seat exploded when a passenger accidentally stepped on it when the driver applied the brakes to avoid a lorry, they said. The condition of nine of the injured at Jangipur hospital was stated to be serious. The remaining passengers were admitted to other hospitals. The bus was going from Shamshergunj to Chanchol in neighbouring Malda district.

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Bangladeshi kidnapped by BSF, BDR held Indian national

UNB, Chuadanga, 24 April : Indian Border Security Force (BSF) kidnapped a Bangladeshi young man from Baradi border in Damurhuda upazila on Saturday.
BSF jawans of Gede camp kidnapped Shaheen Alam at about 7am(BDST) when he went there for grazing cattle. Later, BDR jawans held an Indian national, Shuvankar, on chare of illegal infiltration. Local BDR authorities sent a letter to BSF authorities protesting the abduction of Bangladeshi and demanding his return immediately. The incident created tension along the border.

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Darjeeling joy ride runs out of steam
Amitava Banerjee, Darjeeling, 24 April : The joy ride service from Darjeeling to Ghoom has become irregular because of the sub-standard coal supplied by Coal India Ltd. In the past five days, the service had to be cancelled twice. The 16-km round trip needs 600 kg of coal.
“The Darjeeling train will be supplied the grade (of coal) it requires. The problem will be sorted out,” Coal India Chairman Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya said. A two-bogie train carries 44 passengers for 8 km from Darjeeling town (6,710 feet) to Ghoom (7,400 feet) and back in a ride that exudes old-world charm - a puffing steam engine and its traditional whistle. There are two round trips a day. The coal often fails to generate adequate steam after a journey starts. On Thursday afternoon, the trip was cancelled after the passengers waited for three hours.
Steam engines are used for these rides, which are a favourite with tourists. “As coal can’t be purchased locally, there is very little we can do except wait for the next consignment, which we hope will be of good quality. The new consignment is expected to arrive only after 20 days,” said P. P. Roy, director, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was accorded world heritage site status by the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 2000.

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Bhorer Kagoj' news editor Zahirul Ahsan(47) passes away
Dhaka, 24 April : Zahirul Ahsan Tipu, news editor of the Bhorer Kagoj, a Bangla daily, passed away due to a cardiac arrest at a city hospital in the early hours of today at the age of 47.
He left behind his mother, wife, a son, a daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death. Tipu had also worked with the daily Amader Shomoy, daily Shamokal and the daily Destiny.

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Manmohan and Hasina may hold talks on sidelines of SAARC

Dhaka, Kolkata, 23 April : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina may hold key talks on the margins of the SAARC Summit in Bhutan next week during which they are expected to discuss the contentious Teesta water sharing and border issues.
During their vital talks, the two Prime Ministers are also likely to discuss the implementation of five agreements as well as consensus reached on a number of issues during Hasina's 10-13 January visit to India, diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by 'The Daily Star' today.
In January, both Singh and Hasina had agreed on a vision in pursuit of the common good - bilaterally, regionally and globally. They had also expressed their commitment to work together to resolve all bilateral issues through cooperation and mutual understanding. န File Photo : Reuters

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Dhaka says it with films on Satyajit Ray’s death anniversary

IANS, Dhaka, 23 April : A retrospective of films Friday marked the week-long observation of the 18th death anniversary of eminent filmmaker Satyajit Ray, regarded as one of the towering figures of 20th century cinema.

Ray, who won 31 Indian National Awards, numerous awards at international film festivals and an Oscar for lifetime achievement in the world of cinema in 1992, hailed from East Bengal. The Indian high commission here began the event with a six-film “Satyajit Retrospective” at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in downtown Gulshan. ‘Satyajit Ray Introspections’ by Indian documentary maker K Bikram Singh and Ray’s own ‘Kanchanjungha’ are on the schedule, while the documentary ‘Pa’ and Ray’s ‘Apur Sansar’, ‘Aranyer Dinratri’ and ‘Seemabaddha’ will be screened over the week.
Born on 2 May, 1921 in Kolkata, into a renowned Bengali family that nurtures arts and literature, Ray started his career as a commercial artist. Ray was drawn into independent filmmaking after he met a French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewed the Italian neorealist film ‘The Bicycle Thief’ during a visit to London.
Ray directed thirty-seven films, which include documentary, feature and short films. He was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and a film critic.

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Bodoland Peoples Front sweeps in Bodoland Terito Council
PTI, Guwahati, 23 April : The ruling Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) led by Hagrama Mohilary swept the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) polls winning 31 of the 40 seats.
Official sources said in Guwahati on Friday that the BPF won nine seats each in Kokrajhar and Baksa, six seats in Chirang and seven seats in Udalguri while Congress, its ally in the state government, which had entered into a friendly contest in the BTC polls, won three seats. The opposition Bodoland Peoples' Progressive Forum (BPPF) and its ally United Democratic Peoples' Front (UDPF) won a seat each while four independents also made it to the Council, sources added. BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary told reporters at Kokrajhar that his party would form the Council in alliance with the Congress and strive towards development.

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IPL teams involved in match-fixing in South Africa: IT report

Kolkata, New Delhi, 23 April : Tv channel TIMES NOW on Friday accessed the I-T investigation report into match-fixing angle in the IPL controversy. The report says investigations revealed Lalit Modi has interests in three teams. The report goes on to name Samir Thakral as front for Lalit Modi whose phone records show conversations with bookies.
TIMES NOW has learnt that serious investigations are on into possible match-fixing and betting in IPL Season 2 which took place in South Africa. The entire investigation now seems to be honing in on IPL 2. In fact, the Income Tax investigation wing has filed a confidential report to the finance ministry. Sources said that several IPL players could have been involved. Sources have also indicated that phone conversations have also been recorded and that possible questioning of IPL players could happen in this regard. န Photo : AP
'IPL chief Lalit Modi probed over corruption' READ ON BBC NEWS

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B'deshs' landmass increased due to sedimentation in rivers
Dhaka, 23 April : Bangladesh’s landmass has increased in recent years, thanks to sedimentation in its southern rivers, a study has revealed. The study shows that the country has actually grown in landmass equal to five times the size of Dhaka city. The new land has emerged in the Meghna estuary.
The 8.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Assam in 1950 increased the sediment flow and has added a net increase of 1,790 sq km to the country’s land mass, it said. This should ease Bangladesh’s concern that it could partially shrink in size due to global warming, experts said.

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MULTA militant held with Rs 4lakh brown sugar in Assam
PTI, Dhubri, 23 April : A militant belonging to Muslim United Liberation Front of Asom (MULTA) was arrested and brown sugar worth Rs four lakh in the international market was recovered from his possession in Assam's Dhubri district today, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the army apprehended the ultra at Paglahat area in the district and later handed him over to the police, they said. The man was also involved in drug trafficking and arms dealing, they said.

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Tax officials claim 'evidence' against Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata, 22 April : Tax officials who conducted search operations at the offices of the Bengal Cricket Association and Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders till the early hours of Thursday here claimed to have found "incriminating evidence" of irregularities.

"We have found incriminating evidence. We will investigate further. We needed to have a look at certain transactions and we've found whatever we were looking for," said Indian Revenue Service Deputy Director Akhilendu Jadhav. The main angle that the sleuths of the Directorate of Income Tax Investigation were looking for on the probe into the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises was the legality of money transfers from tax havens abroad, primarily Mauritius, officials explained.
This apart, officials of the Directorate of Enforcement were probing the legitimacy of transactions between the franchise and the state's cricket board, the officials added. Searches at both the board's office at the Eden Gardens stadium and the premises of Kolkata Knight Riders and its parent Red Chillies Entertainment of actor Shah Rukh Khan at ITC Sonar Bangla and Shakespeare Sarani began at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The federal revenue department had Wednesday broadened the probe into the financial deals of IPL, even conducting search operations on three of its event management and broadcast firms in Mumbai, apart from the franchises. န Photos : AP, Avijit Mondal

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16 dead, 50,000 displaced as rains lash Indian North-East

Agartala, Guwahati, 22 April : Incessant rains caused havoc in the northeastern states of Tripura, Asssam and Arunachal Pradesh claiming at least 16 lives and displacing over 50,000 people, officials said Thursday.
At least four people were killed and more than 50 injured when a cyclonic storm lashed several parts of Tripura, leaving a trail of destruction, a relief department official told reporters. The pre-monsoon rains accompanied by strong winds and hailstorm Wednesday night also damaged more than 2,000 houses and killed many head of cattle in western and southern Tripura. Heavy rains also damaged railway tracks in northern Tripura and adjoining southern Assam.

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GJM unwilling to compromise on Siliguri and Dooars
PTI, Siliguri, 22 April : The GJM has made it clear that it was unwilling to compromise on the demand for inclusion of Siliguri and Dooars in the interim setup proposed for the administration of Darjeeling hills.
GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told PTI over phone today that his party was not ready to exclude Siliguri and Dooars from the proposed jurisdiction of the interim hill council. The party's leadership had informed this to Vijay Madan, the interlocutor for talks on separate Gorkhaland, he said.

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Meghnaghat graft case against PM Sheikh Hasina quashed

Dhaka, 22 April : The High Court on Thursday quashed all the proceedings against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Meghnaghat Power Plant corruption case.
An HC bench pronounced the quashment order after hearing a petition filed by Hasina, also the Awami League chief, for quashing the proceedings against her. The court in the judgement said that there was no element of offence against Hasina in the case. The name of Hasina was implicated in the charge sheet of the case only to politically harass her, the court observed.
On 11 December, 2001, Gulam Mostafa, a director of the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC), filed the case with Ramna Police Station, accusing former state minister for power Prof Rafiqul Islam of misappropriating Tk 17.89 crore from the government exchequer during the process of installing the Meghnaghat power plant in Narayanganj.

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Quake observatories to be set up in Andaman and Shillong

PTI, Mumbai, 22 April : To beef up further monitoring of earthquake prone areas in Andaman Islands and the Himalayan belt, the Government has decided to establish two observatories there, officials said.
Multi-parametric Geophysical Observatories (MGPOs) are being established in Andaman Islands and Shillong in Meghalaya, by Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in collaboration with city-based Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), a unit of Department of Science and Technology. These facilities would assist in understanding the earthquake precursory phenomena in the regions and provide real time data to the scientists for quick analysis, MoES Secretary Shailesh Nayak told PTI.
The observatories will have seismographs and accelerographs to measure ground vibrations and radon gas measurements, Prof Shobana Alex of the IIG said. The MGPOs to be set up in Port Blair and Shillong are likely to start functioning by the year-end, Alex said.

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India's ban on cotton exports to hit B'desh textiles industry

Reuters, Dhaka, 22 April : Bangladesh's prime export industry textiles may suffer badly following India's restrictions on cotton exports this week, a business leader said on Thursday.
Bangladesh buys 30 percent of its cotton needs from India transported by land, but supplies have stopped after the export ban was imposed, said Abdul Hai Sarker, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association. READ FULL STORY

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Chinese dam will not impact Brahmaputra : SM Krishna
IANS, New Delhi, 22 April : China has assured India that a dam it is constructing on the Tsang Po river in Tibet for generating power will not impact downstream flow to the Brahmaputra, Indian external affairs minister S M Krishna said on Thursday.
"It is a fact that when we met in Beijing, the question of the power station did come up. The Chinese foreign minister assured me that there would be no water storage at the dam and it would not in any way impact on downstream areas," Krishna said during question hour in Rajya Sabha.

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North-East's trade with Bangladesh, Myanmar registers rise

Agartala, 22 April : The volume of trade between the Indian Northeastern states and Bangladesh and Myanmar has increased substantially in the last financial year while the Centre has initiated several steps to reduce non-trade barriers.
Official sources here said following the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), India provided preferential trade exchange to neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and also signed the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) under Duty Free Tariff Preferential (DFTP) Scheme.
''The export between India and Bangladesh has been recorded at Rs 5105.81 crore in the first two quarters of the last fiscal against import of Rs 521.70 crore, which was Rs 11,317.21 crore and Rs 1418.46 crore for the whole of 2008-09,'' officials said, adding the export trade with Myanmar was recorded Rs 458.05 crore against import of Rs 2872.02 crore during the period.

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Maoist-backed PCPA calls for indefinite road blockade
Jhargram, 22 April : Maoist-backed PCPA today called for a road blockade in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, a day after it announced an indefinite bandh in these tribal-dominated districts.
The road blockade would continue till the Centre and the state government call off the anti-Maoist operations in the three districts, People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCPA) leader Manoj Mahato said. Mahato alleged that the security forces were harassing the locals in these districts during anti-Maoist operations.

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Crack cause of concern for villagers
Rajshahi, 22 April : A 300-metre long crack has developed at Nawpara village under Mohonpur upazila of Rajshahi district.
People of all 30 houses at the village fear that their houses and farmlands may subside any time as the crack is getting longer and deeper. Experts said extraction of excessive ground water might have caused such incident at the village. While visiting the tiny Nawpara village yesterday, some 30km from Rajshahi city, this correspondent found hundreds of people from neighbouring villages and distant places were visiting the village. The villagers said they did not care the 20 feet long crack that appeared first at the mango orchard of one Taser Mia near Barnoi River a year ago. After Thursday night's nor'wester, the villagers found the crack extended. It was over one foot wide at some places while it looked like hairline at other places.
STAR correspondent measured the length of the crack by his motorbike's mileage meter to be over 300 metres. When contacted, Dr Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan of geology and mining department of Rajshahi University said the crack might have developed at the village due to its location close to a river bend. Geography teacher Dr M Shamsul Alam Bir Protik said excessive extraction of underground water can result in cracks and cause land subsidence. န News and Photo : STAR

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Achieving MDGs : UN chief terms Bangladesh a model country

UNB, Dhaka, 21 April : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said many countries around the world have many things to learn from Bangladesh for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the country has made remarkable progress in different fields.
He made the remarks on Tuesday when a parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Abdul Hamid met him at the UN headquarters in New York, a message from Bangladesh Mission in New York said. Praising Bangladesh's achievement in MDGs and micro-credit schemes, Ban said Bangladesh has gained landmark progress in the disaster preparedness, poverty alleviation, education and women empowerment.
The UN secretary general said he projected the achievements made by Bangladesh in the MDGs to other countries. He also lauded the contribution of Bangladesh to the UN peacekeeping mission. In response to the speaker's request, Ban assured the parliamentary delegation of his cooperation to include Bangla as the UN official language.
Referring to his visits to Bangladesh in 1972 and 2008, he described Bangladesh as a dynamic democratic developing country.

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Purulia hottest place in West Bengal with 47.7 degrees cel

Mercury hovered between 44-46 degrees in Bankura, Birbhum and West Midnapore

Kolkata, Purulia, 21 April : Purulia was the hottest place in West Bengal with the mercury shooting up to 47.7 degrees Celsius today, as heatwave conditions continued to prevail in five districts with no prospects of rain in the next 24 hours. The temperature in Purulia was three degrees above normal and the highest ever, a report quoting the district administration said.
The sizzling heat led to the hospitalisation of several persons with heat-related symptoms, district health department sources said. In neighbouring Bankura, Birbhum and West Midnapore districts the mercury hovered between 44 and 46 degrees Celsius. Kolkattans had another uncomfortable day with the mercury touching 39.9 degrees which was two degrees above normal. The temperature together with humidity of 95 per cent and powercuts made life miserable here.
Alipur's Regional Meteorological Centre said the heatwave condition would continue for the next 48 hours. "Hot dry air from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, is neutralising many moisture content in the atmosphere which can form a rain-bearing cloud. န Photos : Reuters, Misbaul Haque

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Income Tax sleuths raid in Eden Gardens KKR's office

Kolkata, 21 April : Income Tax sleuths raided Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday to conduct a search and seizure operation of files and documents related to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches held in Kolkata.
Around eight IT officials came to the stadium here at 3 pm and are checking accounts related to the IPL and its franchise KKR.
Another raid was being conducted at the franchise owner Red Chillies Entertainment's office at Shakespeare Sarani. The company is owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. န Photo : Avijit Mondal

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Guwahati-bound AI plane lands under emergency condition
PTI, New Delhi, 21 April : A Guwahati-bound Air India plane with 68 passengers and five crew members had to land under emergency conditions at the IGI airport here after the pilot detected a technical problem shortly after take-off.
“Air India flight (IC-8611) took off for Guwahati at 3 pm from here but after 30 minutes of the flight, the pilot suddenly got false alarm and saw some indicators blinking due to a technical problem,” an airline official said.

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National Cricket League Twenty20: Rajshahi clinch T20 title

Dhaka, 21 April : Favourites Rajshahi lived up to reputation as they cruised past Khulna by six wickets to clinch the Destiny Twenty20 Cricket title in the final held Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, reports BSS.
Rajshahi faced a daunting task of 162 to win in 20 overs. It was Shuvagoto Hom with a brilliant 62 and Rajshahi's Pakistani signing Kaiser Abbas with unbeaten 61 rescued them from the jaws of defeat and in the end it was a canter for the national champions Rajshahi who holds the crown in the longer version.
They reached the target with four balls to spare, and in the midway in the second part of the Rajshahi chase, due to some lusty hits Khulna bowlers literally left the ground without even a whimper as Shuvagoto and Kaiser Abbas reigned supreme with the willow. န Photo : Anisur Rahman

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Interlocutor hopeful for early solution to Gorkhaland issue
PTI, Siliguri, 21 April : Lt Gen (retd) Vijay Madan, the interlocutor for talks on separate Gorkhaland, said he was hopeful of an early solution to the issue as both the West Bengal government and the Centre were sincere to resolve the crisis and their initiatives were in the 'right direction'.
Madan told reporters here that he would hold talks with the GJM leadership in a day or two and discuss different points relevant to the next round of political level talks scheduled in the middle of next month.

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Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury written to his union counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee
PTI, Agartala, 21 April : Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury has written to his union counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, criticising the 13th Finance Commission for not allocating sufficient funds for paying the salaries of the state government employees.
Sources in the state finance department said, the state government had demanded Rs 13,924 crore for paying salaries to state government employees at par with the central government employees, but the finance commission allocated Rs 7,727 crore only and none for paying arears. At the same time, when the state government demanded Rs 3,944 crore for pensioners, only Rs 2,779 crore was allocated.
The sources said that the commission had allocated the salaries and the pension with 2005-06 as the cut-off year, but the state government had introduced a new pay scale for employees and pensioners as recommended by the Central Pay Review Committee with 2009 as the cut-off year.

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Papua New Guinea keen to recruit Bangladeshi workers

UNB, Dhaka, 21 April : The visiting Labour and Industry Minister of Papua New Guinea, Mark Maipakai, has shown interest to recruit a large number of Bangladeshi workers.
Maipakai, who led a seven-member delegation, met with acting secretary of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Jaffar Ahmed yesterday and made an informal proposal to recruit Bangladeshi workers for Papua New Guinea's infrastructure and gas sectors. Emerging from the meeting, Dr Jaffar told that Maipakai said they would propose formally soon after forming a joint company comprising of the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Bangladeshi community in Papua New Guinea to recruit Bangladesh labourers. Maipakai said huge manpower is needed for the infrastructure and gas sectors of Papua New Guinea.
Dr Jaffar said Bangladesh would set up six more labour wings in its missions in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, Italy and Japan. This will raise the number of Bangladesh's labour wings to 19 abroad.

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No Environmental Clearance : 4 ship-breaking yards sued
Chittagong, Dhaka, 21 April : The Department of Environment (DoE) sued four ship-breaking yards in Chittagong for causing pollution just days after the commerce ministry decided to allow dismantling vessels built with toxic substances.
Ignoring an order of the High Court, ministry has recently relaxed its import policy allowing scrappers to import such vessels. None of over 100 ship-breaking yards in the country has any facilities to clean ships built with substances like asbestos and PCB. Every ship-breaking yard has to have a clearance certificate from the government saying while dismantling the vessels it would not pollute the environment.

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Setback for GNLF, Ghising close aide Dawa stepped down
PTI, Siliguri, 21 April : A close aide of Subhas Ghising today stepped down as the president of Kalimpong district in Darjeeling hills, in a setback for Gorkha National Liberation Front chief, who has been speaking of returning to the area where his writ ran till 2008 before his ouster.
Dawa Pakhrin, who alone among the GNLF leaders continued to function at Kalimpong after Ghising was forced to flee Darjeeling in July 2008, told reporters he was stepping down in protest against Ghising's contention that a separate state of Gorkhaland could not be achieved.

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Dikes collapse in 2 Dists: Boro on 800hec goes under water

Netrakona, 21 April : Boro crops on around 800 hectares went under water on Tuesday as dikes collapsed in Kishoreganj and Netrakona districts.
In Kishoreganj, boro plants on at least 750 hectares submerged on Tuesday due to breach in the embankment of Prayag Haor (water body) in Karimganj upazila, according to UNB.
Locals said water level of Dhanu River increased following onrush of hill water from the upstream. The villagers through their voluntary works repaired the embankment 20-25 days ago. But due to heavy pressure of water, a huge breach developed in the embankment washing away boro paddy on a huge area Tuesday morning. Locals blamed the district administration for not taking timely and necessary measures to protect the embankment.

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PCAPA calls bandh in West Bengal's 3 Maoist-hit districts

Jhargram, 20 April : Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) has called an indefinite bandh from tomorrow in three Maoist-hit districts of West Bengal to protest the alleged illegal arrest of some tribals.
"The bandh in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia has been called to protest the illegal arrest of tribals in the Jhargram and Bhalukbasa," PCAPA members said. They claimed that those arrested were not being produced in court.

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Hizb-ut-Tahrir Bangladesh' chief coordinator held in Dhaka
Dhaka, 20 April : Bangladesh Police arrested Mahiuddin Ahmed, chief coordinator of banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir, at his Green Road residence in city early Tuesday.
Deputy Commissioner Nisarul Arif of Dhaka Metropolitan Police told reporters that they picked up Mahiuddin, also an associate professor of the Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka University, on charge of instigating subversive activities in the city. Mahiuddin is facing three cases filed with Uttara Police Station for alleged attempts to reorganise the group that was banned on 23 October, 2009. "We produced him before a Dhaka court seeking a seven-day remand," he informed.
Earlier on Saturday, Uttara police arrested three activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir at Uttara with two petrol bombs and huge number of leaflets and festoons.

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€1.2m EU fund to aid Chittagong Hill Tracts rodent crisis
Dhaka, 20 April : The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department has allocated 1.2 million euros as humanitarian aid to address the impact of rodent crisis in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
The commission earlier allocated 3.65 million euros since the crisis began to assist the most affected population with food and income generating activities. The people living in the remote areas of the CHT are still facing severe food insecurity due to a three-year-long rat plague, which affected their crops. Every 40-50 years the bamboo plants produce flowers and when those are consumed, the rats reproduce at an accelerated rate, said a press release of the European Union Delegation to Bangladesh Tuesday.

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Guwahati flooded, troopers deployed to rescue residents

IANS, Guwahati, 20 April : Authorities on Tuesday deployed paramilitary troopers to carry out rescue operations in Assam's main city of Guwahati hit by massive flooding, triggered by heavy rains since Sunday.

Troopers of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), using rubber boats and rafts, rescued more than 200 people from various city areas reeling under waist deep water. "We have already rescued scores of people trapped inside homes filled with water, mud, and slush and we are on the lookout for more who could be desperately looking for help," Anil Chauhan, NRDF commander, told IANS. Heavy rains accompanied by cyclonic storm in the past two days crippled normal life in most parts of Assam, especially in the state's main city of Guwahati with several areas submerged - the worst hit being Lachit Nagar, Rajgarh, Zoo Road, Nabin Nagar, Hengarabari, and G.S. Road areas.
Guwahati recorded 80.4 mm rainfall since Monday with forecast of more rain accompanied by thundershowers on Wednesday and Thursday. န Photos : Chinmoy Roy

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RBI lifts key rates, CRR by 25 bps, matching forecasts
Reuters, Mumbai, 20 April : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday raised key interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected, to battle near double-digit inflation, signaling gradual tightening ahead to sustain growth and manage record government borrowing.
The Reserve Bank of India's measured steps, which included raising the cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement for banks by 25 basis points, increased the likelihood of another rate rise before its next quarterly review in July, some watchers said. READ FULL STORY

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Rice, paddy procurement prices fixed
Dhaka, 20 April : Bangladesh government on Tuesday set the procurement prices for rice and paddy at Tk 25 and Tk 17 a kilogram, respectively, aiming to collect 11 lakh tonnes of rice and 1.5 tonnes of paddy in the upcoming boro season.
The procurement will start from the beginning of May and continue till August. Food Minister Abdur Razzaque told reporters after presiding over a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Unit under the food ministry. “We have increased the procurement rate of rice by Tk 3 this year for encouraging the farmers across the country,” the minister said. The rate was Tk 22 last year. Replying to a query, Razzaque said, “We took alternative steps to procure rice and paddy from the farmers directly but it did not work due to shortage of food godowns.”
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Commerce Minister Faruk Khan were, among others, present at the meeting. န File Photo

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Two senior officials arrested in Andaman Islands over graft
UNI, Port Blair, 20 April : The Anti-corruption unit of Andaman and Nicobar Police has arrested two senior government officials for indulging in corruption and asking bribe from general public.
The first official was arrested on 17 April while the second one was arrested yesterday evening following traps laid down by the Anti-Corruption unit of Andaman and Nicobar Police. In first case the Anti-Corruption received a complaint from a poor lady regarding demand of bribe for survey of land by one Gopal Krishna Sikdar, a Patwari of Circle No 6 of Ferrargunj Tehsil of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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Commuter train to be introduced between Dhaka & districts

Dhaka, 20 April : Bangladesh government would take initiative to introduce commuter train service between Dhaka and its adjoining districts to improve the communication system in the capital.
Once the service initiated, anybody from the adjacent districts will be able to come to the capital for work by the commuter trains and return the same day, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after formally opening the Bijay Sarani-Tejgaon Link Road on Tuesday. She said her government earlier in 1996 took initiative to start commuter train service and launched it in some districts, including Narayanganj and Brahmanbari, but it was not continued during the tenure of four-party alliance government.
Hasina said the river and rail communications, the most neglected sectors of the country, are now being given extra attention.

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Dhubri port in Assam to be modernised in next Three years
UNI, New Delhi, 20 April : In order to modernise Dhubri port in Assam, a permanent terminal with shore facilities will come up within three years, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan told the House that the Government had identified a suitable location at Dhubri for developing the permanent terminal. The location was selected based on a study conducted by IIT, Guwahati.

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Budget to be announced on 10 June: Finance Min Muhith
Dhaka, 20 April : The upcoming budget for 2010-2011 fiscal year will be announced on 10 June. Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith disclosed it to reporters after a pre-budget meeting with the Non-Medium Term Budgetary Framework ministries at the Finance Division on Tuesday.
The finance minister said the figure of this years’ budget will be over Tk 1,30,000 crore and the Annual Development Programme size is likely to be more than Tk 38,000 crore.

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WB rehabilitates surrendered Kamtapuris
ANI, Jalpaiguri, 20 April : West Bengal Government has launched a special scheme at Jalpaiguri to rehabilitate the surrendered rebels of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), a banned militant outfit.
To herald this project, a function was organised here when the surrendered persons interacted with district administration officials, the top brass of the police and also the media persons. They are being trained in productive vocations under a scheme named Rashtriya Sam Vikash Yojana (RSVY). Biswajyoti Das, the coordinator of this programme said that the initial response has been quite encouraging and they are hopeful reforming almost all the surrendered KLO persons.
Out of the 150 and odd surrendered KLO rebels, 52 have been attending the rehabilitation programme mooted under RSVY.

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Squally weather may prevail over North Bay, Maritime Ports
UNB, Dhaka, 20 April : Squally weather may prevail over the North Bay and the Maritime Ports area due to steep pressure gradient over the North Bay.
Maritime Ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Mongla have been advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal no three. Sea will remain rough, said a bulletin of Meteorological department. All fishing boats and trawlers over North Bay have been advised to remain close to the coast and not to the venture in sea until future notice.

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B'Bank bans loan for tobacco farming
Dhaka, 20 April : Bangladesh Bank has directed all banks not to grant any kind of loan facilities for tobacco farming as it poses a serious health hazard.

The central bank yesterday in a circular said no loan for tobacco farming would be given to farmers directly or in any other form. The circular also said the loan given earlier must be realised on time and their payment schedule would not be extended. The central bank said the decision was taken to improve people's health, financial condition and to discourage tobacco farming, which is harmful to the environment. The Bangladesh Bank advised the banks to increase the flow of agricultural loans to the farmers who are now engaged in tobacco farming so that they can produce alternative crop under bank loan facility.
Apart from tobacco users, people including children directly involved in the tobacco farming and production are exposed to health hazard. As a result of expansion of tobacco cultivation the amount of agricultural land is shrinking which is increasingly creating food crisis in a densely populated country like Bangladesh.
Huge amount of fuel is burnt for drying green tobacco leaves, which emits smoke with tobacco odour and carbon-di-oxide. It also encourages felling of trees and thus contributing to the adverse impact of climate change, the circular said.

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ULFA rejects Citizen Forum's peace initiative through E-mail

Sticks to demand for independence

Guwahati, Kolkata, 19 April : Stating that it would never compromise on its demand for sovereignty or independence, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Monday rejected the peace initiative taken by the newly floated Citizen’s Forum.
“There is no question of compromising on the main demand of sovereignty and we cannot understand how the Citizen’s Forum is thinking of peace talks without the core demand of independence. We are not acceptable to any such negotiations or solution without independence,” self-styled ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah said in an e-mailed statement to Bengal Newz.
The Citizens Forum in Assam 11 April claimed the top ULFA leadership, including its elusive commander-in-chief, would come for peace talks.

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West Bengal back on investment radar : Assocham survey
Business Standard, Kolkata, 19 April : Once shunned by industrialists on grounds of non-conducive work culture, West Bengal is once again on their investment radar.
Cheap and skilled manpower, along with low cost of living compared to other cities, is drawing entrepreneurs to the state. According to the latest Business Confidence Index (BCI) by industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), West Bengal has scored 6.5 on a scale of 10. READ FULL STORY

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56 BDR jawans convicted in Satkhira
Satkhira, 19 April : The BDR Special Court-1 in Satkhira on Monday sentenced 56 out of 60 mutiny accused jawans of 7 Rifles Battalion to different terms in prison. The rest four were acquitted of the charges. In addition to jail terms, the court also fined each convict Tk 100. They will serve the sentences in civil jails. The highest punishment given to the BDR personnel is seven years in jail while the lowest is only four months.
Twenty-four BDR men were sentenced to seven years' term while four to five years', three to four years’ and six months', five to four years', three to three years’, one to two years’ and six months, four to two years', two to one year and six months, six to thirteen months, one to six months and another three to four months.
The judgment has been delivered following the BDR law. It was the fourth judgment given in connection with the last year's BDR mutiny.

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Police fire in air to remove storm-hit protesters in NDinajpur
Raiganj, 19 April : Storm-hit people today blocked the national highway at Panisala in North Dinajpur district in protest against alleged inadequate relief, prompting police to fire in the air to disperse the crowd.
The policemen fired two rounds in the air after the 500-odd people resorted to indiscriminate brick-batting injuring two constables, the police said. Eyewitnesses, however, said the police fired seven rounds in the air to scare the demonstrators. Traffic in the busy National Highway 34 was stalled for about an hour due to the blockade. Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) set up road blocks in the Raiganj town also demanding adequate relief supply for the tornado victims. The tornado had lashed four blocks of the district on 14 April leaving 43 dead.

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Incessant rains,thunder storms disrupt normal life in Assam

PTI, Guwahati, 19 April : One person was killed as heavy rains lashed various parts of Assam for the sixth consecutive day today, disrupting normal life and triggering flash floods.
A man was killed during the day when lightning struck him while he was working in a paddy field at Bamunjhari village in Morigaon district, official sources said. There were flash floods in both urban and rural areas of the state, they said. Several areas of Guwahati were waterlogged since yesterday throwing vehicular traffic out of gear. The MeT department predicted heavy rains in several parts of the state in the next 24 hours accompanied by gusting wind.
The state experienced a severe storm followed by incessant rains since the onset of the Rongali Bihu or Assamese New Year celebrations on 14 April dampening the festivities. န Photo : Chinmoy Roy

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All aspects of 'IPL' will be probed : Pranab Mukherjee in LS
PTI, New Delhi, 19 April : With Opposition parties training their guns on Indian Premier League (IPL), the government on Monday told Lok Sabha that the investigation into the sources and routes of funding for the Twenty20 tournament had already begun and "no guilty or wrong-doer" would be spared.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in response to Opposition demands earlier in the day, made a statement in the House assuring members that "appropriate action as per law" would be taken if any wrongdoing was found in the manner the IPL was funded. "The concerned department has already started investigation process (into the IPL episode). All aspects including sources of funding and routes through which the funds arrived would be looked into. Appropriate action as per law would be taken. No guilty or wrong-doer will be spared," Mukherjee said.

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Burdwan Police raid doctor's residence for treating Maoists

Asansol, Kolkata, 19 April : Burdwan district Police raided the residence of a doctor in Asansol's Bajghoria area, for allegedly treating Maoists.
A police team raided the residence of Samir Biswas at Bajghoria on Sunday night. As Biswas was not in the residence, two caretakers of the house - Susanta Das and Rajesh Marandi, were detained, Burdwan's Superintendent of Police R Rajsekharan told Bengal Newz. The SP said Biswas used to treat Maoists and the two caretakers knew about this, so they have been detained. During the raid in Biswas's residence police found a large number of Maoists posters and leaflets.
The police on Monday detained the brother and nephew of Biswas from Mahisilo colony of Asansol, the SP added. Meanwhile, the local people put up a road blockade at Bajghoria area to protest the police detaining the caretakers and brother and nephew of Biswas.

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Opposition attacks Mamata for focussing on West Bengal
PTI, New Delhi, 19 April : Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha today criticised Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for focussing on her home state West Bengal while announcing new projects and requested her to give equal attention to other states.
Initiating a debate on the Railway Budget, Shahnawaz Hussain (BJP) said if she announced and implemented projects for other states, particularly Bihar, it would only bolster her party's chances to rule neighbouring West Bengal.

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BD Cabinet claims 80% of its decisions were implemented

Dhaka, 19 April : Bangladesh cabinet meeting on Monday claimed that 80 percent of its decisions, which were taken in the last 15 months, have been implemented.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad disclosed it to reporters at a briefing after the regular cabinet meeting at the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh Secretariat. He said the cabinet has taken a total of 405 decisions on different issues. Of those, 325 were implemented and the rest 80 is under implementation, he claimed. Azad said the cabinet has approved 106 bills during this period and of those 90 have been passed in the parliament.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who presided over the meeting, expressed her satisfaction over the government activities and urged the ministers, state ministers and secretaries to perform their duties sincerely.

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Gas leakage on NH34 as IOC's gas tanker skids off bridge
Raiganj, 19 April : A gas tanker of the Indian Oil Corporation fell off a road bridge on NH34 near Rupahar here resulting in a gas leak in the area and injuries to two persons, official sources said.
District magistrate Ramanuj Chakravarty told Bengal Newz, the tanker while trying to negotiate the bridge, fell into a roadside ditch yesterday and was damaged resulting in leakage of gas. The driver and the helper of the tanker were injured. Engineers at Bharat Petroleum's bottling plant nearby rushed to the spot and sealed the tanker, the DM said. NH34 was also closed to traffic for sometime while the gas was being transferred, sources said.

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Tripura films highlight tribal issues

ANI, New Delhi, 19 April : Tripura’s film industry received a boost when film Yarwang, which means Roots, won the first national award for the state.
President Pratibha Patil handed over the award to Don Bosco priests Joseph Kizhakechennadu and Ft. Joseph Pulinthanath, the producer and director of the film at the 56th National Film Awards (2008) in New Delhi on 19 March this year. `Yarwang’ meaning roots is a feature film in Tripura’s tribal language Kokbarak, which highlights issues related to the tribal community. The 95-minute film tells the story of large-scale displacement of tribal people that took place in the northeastern state when a hydel project was set up there in the late 1970s.
A national award to Yarwang opens new vistas for regional cinema, which can project the indigenous way of life of the northeast. န Photos : Pallab Ghosh

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AL a farmer-friendly organisation : Prime Minister Sk Hasina
Dhaka, 19 April : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said Awami League is a farmer-friendly organisation.
"When Awami League forms government, farmers are the main beneficiaries," she said when central committee members of Awami Krishak League met her at Ganabhaban on the occasion of its 39th foundation anniversary. Hasina, also president of Awami League, said her party makes agricultural implements available and reaches those to the farmers' doorsteps, reports a private television. Farmers were killed for fertiliser during the BNP government but in the Awami League tenure, fertiliser finds out farmers, she said.

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Export-import through Benapole land port comes to 'halt'
Benapole, 19 April : The export-import activities in Benapole land port came to a halt from Monday morning as Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agents' Employees Union enforced a strike protesting alleged corruption and irregularities by the port authorities.
The employees of the union also brought out procession in support of their strike, reports Prothom Alo.

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Call 91-381-2300332 : Toll-free helpline for Tripura tourism

Agartala, 19 April : The Tripura Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (TTDC) has introduced toll-free digital helpline round the clock to provide information related to state tourism for both domestic and international tourists.

State Tourism Minister Anil Sarkar said here today that the helpline was operational in three languages - Bengali, Hindi and English - and has voice recording system to cater to the needs of tourists and it was the first of its kind in Northeast. 'Any person from any part of India can call 91-381-2300332 for information regarding the state's destinations, hotels and other relevant details at anytime and the queries would be recorded for further action from the part of the corporation,'' Sarkar said. He said the tourism sector in Tripura has registered a steady growth over the past few years and it got further impetus with the setting up of separate corporations. Both domestic and foreign tourist arrivals have also increased by 27% over the past two years in the state.
While as many as 2,41,155 tourist footfall were recorded in 2008-09, the number of tourists went up to 3,25,694 in 2009-10 and of the total tourist inflow, altogether 4,763 were from foreign countries like China, Germany, Holland, Canada and the UK and the state had earned Rs 1.6 crore.
The TTDC has already taken a number of steps to boost the tourism sector especially in the field of eco-tourism and religious tourism and the state government had sought a special financial assistance from the Centre to revive Unokati, the immortal sculpture in the state. န Photos : TTDC

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Orascom Tele's Bangladesh unit offers mobile remittance
Reuters, Cairo, 19 April : The Bangladeshi unit of Egyptian operator Orascom Telecom said on Monday it is offering mobile remittance services to tap a large unbanked population.
Under the service, banks will offer mobile wallet accounts through Banglalink, the country's second largest mobile operator, Orascom said in a statement. READ FULL STORY

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Boro plants dying for dry spell, acute power-irrigation crisis

Pabna, Dhaka, 19 April : Boro plants on vast areas of land in several districts are getting damaged as a drought-like situation coupled with serious power crisis is hampering irrigation.
Cracks have developed in many lands and plants are gradually turning yellowish, much to the frustration of farmers. Farmers have cultivated boro paddy on 69,450 hectares in nine upazilas of the district but most of the lands have already dried up as farmers could not irrigate those due to acute power crisis, said officials of Agriculture Extension Department (AED) in Pabna. According to AED, 869 deep tube wells including 741 electricity-run ones, and 21,462 shallow tube wells including 3,342 electricity-run ones and 1,470 other local pumps provide irrigation facility in the district.
“At least 35 MW power is needed daily for irrigation in nine upazilas of the district. But we are getting only 18 to 20 MW power supply in the peak period of the season,” said an official of Pabna AED.

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