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Saturday, February 26, 2011

BNP trying to do politics with 'BDR carnage' again : PM Hasina

BSS, Chittagong, 26 February : Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the main opposition BNP is trying to do politics centring the BDR carnage again as it did not want to see peaceful solution of the crisis.
"BNP did not want a peaceful solution of BDR carnage. rather it wanted to do politics with the incident that took place on 25-26 February in 2009 in its headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka," she said while exchanging views with Awami League leaders at the Circuit House here this afternoon.

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< WB forest workers and Veterinarian attend to a injured python at the Sukna animal rescue centre on the outskirts of Siliguri on Saturday. A giant Python weighing some 50 kgs was recovered by a forest guard after it was badly injured by a wild elephant. Photo : AFP
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ONGC likely to complete its 1st power project by December
Economic Times, 26 February : ONGC's first power venture in India, the 85 billion, 727-MW gas-based power plants in Tripura, is likely to be completed by December, a year before schedule.
"The project will start earning revenues a year earlier than scheduled, which will add to the topline as well as the bottomline of the company," AK Hazarika, chairman and managing director, told Economic Times today.
An MoU signed between ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC), a unit of ONGC, and the Bangladesh government in November 2010 for moving very heavy equipment through Bangladesh waterways will help OTPC save a year. ONGC, which is setting up two gas-based power units each of 363.3 MW in Tripura, had earlier planned to complete the first by December 2011 and the second by December 2012.

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Evacuation of Bangladeshi workers begin from Libya : FS
Dhaka, 26 February : Bangladeshi workers started leaving the strife-torn Libya towards safer places in Egypt, Tunisia and Greece, the Foreign Secretary said here today.
Briefing reporters at the Foreign Ministry in the, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said some 804 workers were being shifted by a ship from Benghazi to Crete Island in Greece by Chinese State Company that had recruited 750 of these workers.

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Bangladeshis demand return of stranded "Libya" expats
Reuters, Dhaka, 26 February : Families and relatives of expatriate Bangladeshis now trapped in Libya blocked a road near Dhaka on Saturday to demand their quick repatriation, police said.
"More than 1,000 people blocked a highway connecting the capital and the northeastern city of Sylhet for several hours," said a police officer at Bhairab, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Dhaka. The protesters called upon the government to quickly bring the expatriate workers home, the police officer said. They dispersed after senior police officers assured them their message would be conveyed to the government.
"Steps have been taken to rescue the trapped expatriate Bangladeshis from different locations in Libya," Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes told reporters in Dhaka. Some 1,500 Bangladeshis have already left Libya and taken refuge in neighbouring countries. No Bangladeshi casualties have been reported so far.
More than 50,000 Bangladeshi workers are employed in different Libyan and international firms operating at different areas mainly in Bengazi, foreign ministry officials said. Photo : Reuters

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We will not go for land grabbing : WB Trinamool Congress
Kolkata, 26 February : Trinamool Congress will not opt for land grabbing to set up industries if it comes to power in West Bengal, party MLA and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Partha Chatterjee said today.
"We will have a land bank put in place if our party comes to power," Chatterjee said, adding, if land needed to be acquired it would be on the basis of consensus. Criticising the Left Front government for its alleged failure to set up industries during its three-and-half decades-long rule, Chatterjee said "The present disposition instead of providing support system to industries acted as middlemen."
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Tripura interests ignored in Rail budget : Transport Minister
Agartala, 26 February : Left Front government in Tripura expressed dissatisfaction over rail budget.
“The UPA government completely ignored the entire northeast”, said Transport Minister Manik Dey. He said that the budget did not spell out anything about long standing demand of South Assam, Mizoram and Tripura of gauge conversion and security issues in hill sections between Lumbding-Badarpur.
“Both Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh had signed agreement in January 2010 regarding alternative railway link between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka and a few kilometres stretch from Agartala to Akhaura to be linked but nothing was found in the budget,” Dey rued. Photo : Parthajit Dutta

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Singer Dr Bhupen Hazarika shows signs of improvement
Guwahati, 26 February : The condition of well-known singer, music director Dr. Bhupen Hazarika is stated to be improving. On Thursday evening, Dr. Hazarika was admitted to Guwahati based Hayat Hospital after he developed respiratory problems.
Officials at the hospital said that the legendary singer had suffered an acute left ventricular failure but has shown considerable improvement since Friday. They further added that his recovery has been satisfactory but the doctors who are watching over him are not taking any chances because his past medical records state that he is also a heart patient, apart from being a diabetic with high blood pressure. Dr. Hazarika is now taking food, and doctors are very much satisfied with the improvement.

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Mizoram to unilaterally constitute "Boundary Commission"
PTI, Aizawl, 26 February : Mizoram government has said it would unilaterally constitute a Boundary Commission to look into the border dispute issue with neighbouring Assam.
A press statement issued by three major students organisations of Mizoram said that chief minister Lal Thanhawla assured the student leaders who met him yesterday that necessary steps were being taken to settle border dispute with Assam, including formation of a Boundary Commission. Lal Thanhawla was also quoted as stressing the need for Mizos to physically occupy and till the land within the territory of Mizoram.

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Tusker kills mother with kid at Atal teagarden in N. Bengal
Siliguri, 26 February : A wild tusker killed a mother andher two and half year daughter at the labour line in Atal teagarden about 25 km from here yesterday, officials said.
The huge tusker raided the garden at around 3.00 am anddemolished a house. The entire labour line woke up and startedrunning for safety. One Prakash Tamang managed to flee with his two daughtersfrom the advancing tusker but his wife, Devi carrying theiryoungest kid, failed to escape. The tusker lifted them with its trunk, threw them on theground and then trampled them to death. The tusker damaged fewmore houses before it disappeared to the dense forest of itsown.

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Finance Minister releases Rs 150 "commemorative coin"
PTI, New Delhi, 26 February : Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said direct taxes collections have risen by 20 per cent to Rs 3.35 lakh crore so far during the current financial year.
Direct taxes collections have grown at an average annual rate of 24 per cent in the last five years and has nearly trebled from Rs 1,32,771 crore in 2004-05 to about Rs 3,78,000 crore in 2009-10.
It's share in GDP has also increased from 4.1 percent to 6.1 percent.
"This sustained growth has been possible due to rationalisation of tax structure, improvement in tax administration and persistent efforts of the employees of Income Tax department,' Mukherjee said here.
"Direct taxes collections have registered a growth of 20 per cent during the current fiscal so far and have reached nearly Rs 3.35 lakh crore", the finance minister said. Photo : PTI
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