Howrah, 5 March : At least eight houses were torched and some people injured in a clash between two groups at Chalkkasi village in Howrah district of West Bengal on Thursday, police said.
There was simmering tension in the area ever since a scuffle broke out between members of a religious procession and another group one and half months back, local people said.
As an altercation broke out between two persons this morning, it soon snowballed into an clash between two sides. At least eight houses were torched by the rampaging mob and some people injured, police said.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
East-West Metro work to start in March
Kolkata, 5 February : Work on the much-awaited and much-debated East-West Metro is slated to begin in March at the Salt Lake end of the project.
The terminal Metro station at Salt Lake will be at the IT hub-Nabadiganta township. There will be a depot at Central Park as well.
This year, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has set a target of finishing work that would involve a total expenditure of Rs 253 crore, which is 5.4% of the total project cost of Rs 4,676 crore.
However, transport experts maintained that the opposite should have happened. Construction should have begun at the Howrah Maidan end. Even before its completion, trains could have been run between Howrah Maidan and Mahakaran (Writers' Buildings). Demand on this stretch is much higher than on the elevated stretch between the IT hub and Salt Lake stadium.
A senior transport department official admitted that construction in Salt Lake is thought to be a hassle-free affair as 99% of the work would be executed on government land. Besides, an elevated portion can be showcased easily. Underground construction at the Howrah end, particularly under the Hooghly bed, would be arduous and technology dependent. About 8 km of the East-West Metro will be underground, while 5.7 km is on elevated tracks.
KMRC has already selected the general consultant (GC) a consortium of companies like Consulting Engineering Services and Yachio. The GC will work on the technical nitty-gritty of the project.
In central Kolkata, there were technical problems over land acquisition for the Mahakaran station, which will be near the state secretariat on Brabourne Road. KMRC is looking at options on how the station can be built without razing houses, said an official.
The current alignment of the East-West Metro touches Sector V, Sector II, Central Park, Sector-I, Salt Lake stadium, Sealdah, Bowbazar, Writers' Buildings (Mahakaran), Howrah station, Kadamtala and Dasnagar. The route will intersect with the present Metro alignment at Central station.
The terminal Metro station at Salt Lake will be at the IT hub-Nabadiganta township. There will be a depot at Central Park as well.
This year, Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has set a target of finishing work that would involve a total expenditure of Rs 253 crore, which is 5.4% of the total project cost of Rs 4,676 crore. However, transport experts maintained that the opposite should have happened. Construction should have begun at the Howrah Maidan end. Even before its completion, trains could have been run between Howrah Maidan and Mahakaran (Writers' Buildings). Demand on this stretch is much higher than on the elevated stretch between the IT hub and Salt Lake stadium.
A senior transport department official admitted that construction in Salt Lake is thought to be a hassle-free affair as 99% of the work would be executed on government land. Besides, an elevated portion can be showcased easily. Underground construction at the Howrah end, particularly under the Hooghly bed, would be arduous and technology dependent. About 8 km of the East-West Metro will be underground, while 5.7 km is on elevated tracks.
KMRC has already selected the general consultant (GC) a consortium of companies like Consulting Engineering Services and Yachio. The GC will work on the technical nitty-gritty of the project.
In central Kolkata, there were technical problems over land acquisition for the Mahakaran station, which will be near the state secretariat on Brabourne Road. KMRC is looking at options on how the station can be built without razing houses, said an official.
The current alignment of the East-West Metro touches Sector V, Sector II, Central Park, Sector-I, Salt Lake stadium, Sealdah, Bowbazar, Writers' Buildings (Mahakaran), Howrah station, Kadamtala and Dasnagar. The route will intersect with the present Metro alignment at Central station.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Howrah slum under hills of filth to be razed
HMC has failed to find an alternative site for the Belgachia Dumping Ground
Howrah, 14 January : The garbage mounds stand nearly six storeys high and are getting bigger every day. Under its shadow, hundreds of families scavenge and live, unaware of the deadly danger looming overhead. If the worst does happen and the hills of filth cave in, not only these people, but hundreds more in nearby areas including children in schools and kindergartens will be in danger.
Armed with a Kolkata High Court order, Howrah Municipal Corporation is all set to evict squatters from the Belgachia dumping ground on Wednesday and clear space so that garbage can be spread more evenly and not piled on vertically.
HMC has failed to find an alternative site for the Belgachia dumping ground that has far outstretched its limit. More than 30% of the dumpsite has been encroached, say HMC sources. The 100-year-old dumping ground has an area of 500 bigha, of which around 150 bigha has human settlements.
Environmentalist Subash Datta had filed a public interest litigation in 2001 in the green bench of Kolkata High Court, saying the dumping ground had reached saturation point and it was causing pollution in the vicinity. The green bench then directed HMC and the state government to find land for a new garbage dumping ground. The civic body sought time for hunting the new site. After repeated failures, the court fined HMC Rs 20,000 in 2006 and asked the corporation to speed up things.
Meanwhile, the garbage mound kept getting bigger at the rate of 1000 tonnes a day. On 5 December, 2008 the green bench ordered HMC to clear the encroached portion and utilize 150 bigha on temporary basis, setting 15 January as the deadline. That's just 24 hours away.
"We have conducted a survey and found 200 houses and 25 illegal shops lined up along two sides of the dumping ground. This encroachment has to be cleared in compliance with the court order. We issued a notice in this regard on 8 January," said HMC commissioner Amar Bandopadhyay.
Scavengers started making the dumpyard their home almost at the same time as it was commissioned as a dumping ground a century ago. Currently 25% of the settlers are working as scavengers for HMC. The district administration had called an all-party meeting on Monday for a peaceful eviction process. The squatters are known to be CPM loyalists for years, and CPM representatives have agreed to comply with the court order. But representatives of Congress and Trinamool Congress from among the squatters have thrown a spanner by demanding rehabilitation packages. The district administration fears violence on Wednesday when the eviction begins at 9 in morning.
"There is no question of rehabilitating the squatters as they have been living there illegally. We have asked the squatters to vacate the place by Tuesday. We will have to use force if they do not go on their own," Howrah district magistrate Khalil Ahmed told Bengal News. The district administration have been capture the eviction procedure on video Today to nail down people who try to obstruct the drive.
Howrah, 14 January : The garbage mounds stand nearly six storeys high and are getting bigger every day. Under its shadow, hundreds of families scavenge and live, unaware of the deadly danger looming overhead. If the worst does happen and the hills of filth cave in, not only these people, but hundreds more in nearby areas including children in schools and kindergartens will be in danger.
Armed with a Kolkata High Court order, Howrah Municipal Corporation is all set to evict squatters from the Belgachia dumping ground on Wednesday and clear space so that garbage can be spread more evenly and not piled on vertically.HMC has failed to find an alternative site for the Belgachia dumping ground that has far outstretched its limit. More than 30% of the dumpsite has been encroached, say HMC sources. The 100-year-old dumping ground has an area of 500 bigha, of which around 150 bigha has human settlements.
Environmentalist Subash Datta had filed a public interest litigation in 2001 in the green bench of Kolkata High Court, saying the dumping ground had reached saturation point and it was causing pollution in the vicinity. The green bench then directed HMC and the state government to find land for a new garbage dumping ground. The civic body sought time for hunting the new site. After repeated failures, the court fined HMC Rs 20,000 in 2006 and asked the corporation to speed up things.
Meanwhile, the garbage mound kept getting bigger at the rate of 1000 tonnes a day. On 5 December, 2008 the green bench ordered HMC to clear the encroached portion and utilize 150 bigha on temporary basis, setting 15 January as the deadline. That's just 24 hours away.
"We have conducted a survey and found 200 houses and 25 illegal shops lined up along two sides of the dumping ground. This encroachment has to be cleared in compliance with the court order. We issued a notice in this regard on 8 January," said HMC commissioner Amar Bandopadhyay.
Scavengers started making the dumpyard their home almost at the same time as it was commissioned as a dumping ground a century ago. Currently 25% of the settlers are working as scavengers for HMC. The district administration had called an all-party meeting on Monday for a peaceful eviction process. The squatters are known to be CPM loyalists for years, and CPM representatives have agreed to comply with the court order. But representatives of Congress and Trinamool Congress from among the squatters have thrown a spanner by demanding rehabilitation packages. The district administration fears violence on Wednesday when the eviction begins at 9 in morning.
"There is no question of rehabilitating the squatters as they have been living there illegally. We have asked the squatters to vacate the place by Tuesday. We will have to use force if they do not go on their own," Howrah district magistrate Khalil Ahmed told Bengal News. The district administration have been capture the eviction procedure on video Today to nail down people who try to obstruct the drive.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Former Sheffield of India's dream takes shape
Jadavpur University's aid for Howrah foundry industry
Howrah, 27 December : The foundry industry of Howrah is all set to make a turnaround with Jadavpur University's Research, Development and Innovation Centre for Foundry Cluster in Howrah coming forward to help them in attaining better productivity and superior energy management. The principal scientific adviser to the government of India, Dr R Chidambaram, inaugurated the centre yesterday.
"A university researches while an industry delivers. Both can play a complimentary role for each other. This centre would be an ideal platform for the industry-university interface. Unless that happens, there is every chance that the industry gets stuck in the beaten track and the research organization gets away from the ground reality," said Dr Chidambaram, an eminent scientist and chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC). The council has funded the centre in a major way.
The Howrah foundry cluster was the first organized modern industrial cluster in India. It was set up in British days, when Kolkata became the political and commercial capital. The history of the foundry cluster, along with the jute industry, is synonymous with the rise of British mercantile colonialism in India. The cluster used to be considered the Sheffield of India.
"But over the ages, the industry started lagging, thanks to outdated technology, energy inefficiency and an old-fashioned mindset. Now, their products are completely rejected in Europe for not complying with the requisite standard of Euro countries. But this would change as we help them in complying with the standard. Secondly, it takes the industry months just to design the model for production. Through computer-aided design (CAD) and computer aided mechanism (CAM), we will develop the model for them too," said Professor P K Bose, director of NIT, Silchar and Agartala, and former director of School of Automobile Engineering, JU.
Abundant raw material and cheap and skilled manpower further strengthens the case of the cluster. Moreover, 36% of the country's installed capacity (foundry units) comes from West Bengal. There are about 280 units in the Howrah Foundry cluster, which has a turnover of more than Rs 1,500 crore and exports of more than Rs 600 crore. Indian Foundry Association is the apex body of foundry associations in Bengal.
Howrah, 27 December : The foundry industry of Howrah is all set to make a turnaround with Jadavpur University's Research, Development and Innovation Centre for Foundry Cluster in Howrah coming forward to help them in attaining better productivity and superior energy management. The principal scientific adviser to the government of India, Dr R Chidambaram, inaugurated the centre yesterday.
"A university researches while an industry delivers. Both can play a complimentary role for each other. This centre would be an ideal platform for the industry-university interface. Unless that happens, there is every chance that the industry gets stuck in the beaten track and the research organization gets away from the ground reality," said Dr Chidambaram, an eminent scientist and chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC). The council has funded the centre in a major way.The Howrah foundry cluster was the first organized modern industrial cluster in India. It was set up in British days, when Kolkata became the political and commercial capital. The history of the foundry cluster, along with the jute industry, is synonymous with the rise of British mercantile colonialism in India. The cluster used to be considered the Sheffield of India.
"But over the ages, the industry started lagging, thanks to outdated technology, energy inefficiency and an old-fashioned mindset. Now, their products are completely rejected in Europe for not complying with the requisite standard of Euro countries. But this would change as we help them in complying with the standard. Secondly, it takes the industry months just to design the model for production. Through computer-aided design (CAD) and computer aided mechanism (CAM), we will develop the model for them too," said Professor P K Bose, director of NIT, Silchar and Agartala, and former director of School of Automobile Engineering, JU.
Abundant raw material and cheap and skilled manpower further strengthens the case of the cluster. Moreover, 36% of the country's installed capacity (foundry units) comes from West Bengal. There are about 280 units in the Howrah Foundry cluster, which has a turnover of more than Rs 1,500 crore and exports of more than Rs 600 crore. Indian Foundry Association is the apex body of foundry associations in Bengal.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Women steal the Corporation show in Howrah
Mayor, Deputy mayor and the Chairperson all woman bridge
Howrah, 8 December : Women emerged as natural choice for the top civic posts in Howrah creating a precedence. The new mayor of the Howrah Municipal Corporation is a woman, so is the deputy mayor and the chairperson.
Despite rumours that the top civic post will go to Samir Saha an experienced councillor and leader of the municipal employees' association the Left Front could not just ignore the public mandate that voted 30 women to the 50-seat civic body. Mamata Jaiswal is Howrah's new mayor.
Jaiswal has established her identity as a capable administrator on her own. Unlike many of her councillor colleagues, she doesn't bask in the reflected glory of her husband. She has been a councillor and member of the mayor-in-council (MiC) since 1989, and has managed to work up to this position despite controversy over her selection. That the Left Front meeting took quite a few hours to select the mayor and other office-bearers is indication enough that the choice was not at all easy. CPM district secretary Sridip Bhattacharya's wife Swapna has been selected the chairperson of the corporation. The Big Brother CPM has left the deputy mayor's post for the CPI, which has nominated Kaveri Moitra to the post.
Jaiswal and other winning councillors will take oath on 12 December. They include Basanti Majumdar, late CPM leader Chittabrata Majumdar's relative, CPM MP Swadesh Chakrabarty's daughter Sampurna Chakrabarty, party state secretariat member Dipak Dasgupta's wife Aditi Dasgupta, CPM district secretary Sridip Bhattacharya's wife Swapna Bhattacharya and CPM legislator Lagan Deo Singh's wife Meena Singh.
According to CPM insiders, Mamata Jaiswal is not a confidante of the party's Howrah district secretary. In fact, she is close to Swadesh Chakrabarty, who leads the other faction in the Howrah CPM. But Samir Saha is close to Sridip Bhattacharya. But he lost to Jaiswal in the final round of discussions in the party meeting. That explains why Bhattacharya's wife was given the chairperson's post. Jaiswal, however, has a difficult road ahead. Apart from managing the civic problems in this centuries-old city, she will have to tackle the controversy over her role in her home turf. In the past few years, she had taken a lot of controversial decisions as an MMiC. She will also have to manage her political bosses, who will try to control the civic works from behind.
Howrah, 8 December : Women emerged as natural choice for the top civic posts in Howrah creating a precedence. The new mayor of the Howrah Municipal Corporation is a woman, so is the deputy mayor and the chairperson.
Despite rumours that the top civic post will go to Samir Saha an experienced councillor and leader of the municipal employees' association the Left Front could not just ignore the public mandate that voted 30 women to the 50-seat civic body. Mamata Jaiswal is Howrah's new mayor.
Jaiswal has established her identity as a capable administrator on her own. Unlike many of her councillor colleagues, she doesn't bask in the reflected glory of her husband. She has been a councillor and member of the mayor-in-council (MiC) since 1989, and has managed to work up to this position despite controversy over her selection. That the Left Front meeting took quite a few hours to select the mayor and other office-bearers is indication enough that the choice was not at all easy. CPM district secretary Sridip Bhattacharya's wife Swapna has been selected the chairperson of the corporation. The Big Brother CPM has left the deputy mayor's post for the CPI, which has nominated Kaveri Moitra to the post.
Jaiswal and other winning councillors will take oath on 12 December. They include Basanti Majumdar, late CPM leader Chittabrata Majumdar's relative, CPM MP Swadesh Chakrabarty's daughter Sampurna Chakrabarty, party state secretariat member Dipak Dasgupta's wife Aditi Dasgupta, CPM district secretary Sridip Bhattacharya's wife Swapna Bhattacharya and CPM legislator Lagan Deo Singh's wife Meena Singh.
According to CPM insiders, Mamata Jaiswal is not a confidante of the party's Howrah district secretary. In fact, she is close to Swadesh Chakrabarty, who leads the other faction in the Howrah CPM. But Samir Saha is close to Sridip Bhattacharya. But he lost to Jaiswal in the final round of discussions in the party meeting. That explains why Bhattacharya's wife was given the chairperson's post. Jaiswal, however, has a difficult road ahead. Apart from managing the civic problems in this centuries-old city, she will have to tackle the controversy over her role in her home turf. In the past few years, she had taken a lot of controversial decisions as an MMiC. She will also have to manage her political bosses, who will try to control the civic works from behind.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Shibpur BESU classrooms turn battlefield
Campus shut, Students asked to vacate hostelsHowrah, 6 November : Campus violence hit a shocking low at the prestigious Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) on Thursday when clashes broke out in classrooms , unprecedented even on the volatile BESU campus. Undergraduate classes have been suspended indefinitely and boarders told to vacate the hostels.
It was also the first time that police and RAF had to enter classrooms in BESU, making it one of the worst days in the university’s history since 2006, when clashes between SFI and Independents Consolidation (IC) had ended in the death of a boarder. The two groups were involved in Thursday’s violence also.
There was tension on campus since Tuesday night. On Thursday, practical classes were on when students, armed with hockey sticks, stormed into the IT and electronics labs. Lecturers stood stunned as fights broke out, with bottles, bricks, sticks and rods being used to deadly effect. Several students were injured. One of them - fourth-year IT student Sandip Pal - was taken to SSKM Hospital with head injuries. Both laboratories were badly damaged. SFI members dragged two IC supporters off a minibus outside the gate and beat them up. They were on their way to court to seek anticipatory bail after SFI filed FIRs against them.
On Tuesday night, two second year Independents Consolidation (IC) students were allegedly attacked by SFI members. IC allegedly retaliated with hockey sticks when SFI members were playing soccer in front of their hostel on Wednesday. Police were called in but they were outnumbered when violence erupted in classrooms on Thursday.
Four policemen, including DSP Howrah town (south) Anjan Chakraborty, were injured when they tried to intervene. Chakraborty was seen bleeding from the mouth after students landed fists on him. Howrah SP N K Singh had to rush in with reinforcements, including a stronger RAF unit, to relieve his besieged men. Students finally faced off with police near Gate No. 1. A lathicharge was ordered and pandemonium ensued.
Eleven students were arrested and eight were slapped with non-bailable charges for attacking police. The incident comes a day before a NAAC team is scheduled to visit the campus.
BESU registrar Biman Bandyopadhyay admitted that clashes had never broken out in classrooms. Vice-chancellor N R Banerjea convened a meeting of heads of departments as well as teaching and non-teaching staff. "It was decided to suspend undergraduate classes indefinitely. Inmates of all boys’ hostels were ordered to vacate them by 4 pm. They complied," he said.
The students union election, scheduled for this month, has been postponed indefinitely. No union election has taken place at BESU since 2005 and the authorities were planning to issue a notification for the polls on 9 November.
The union is presently controlled by IC. Its spokesperson Rajarshi Dutta accused SFI of trying to scuttle the polls. SFI spokesperson Rasel Aziz countered that they had submitted a memorandum to the VC demanding punishment for the guilty.
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