What’s in a name... ask the DM!

MALDA, Dec. 31: An error in spelling the Malda district magistrate's name in a government invitation card for a programme, has left officials red faced. So much so, that the chairman of the district primary school council, who finds himself at the centre of the confusion, had to furnish apology for the "inadvertent error".

The error was detected in the DPSC-printed invitation cards for an orientation programme for inspectors of primary and secondary schools education due to begin on 2 January in Malda.

The upset Malda district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said: “They do not even know how to write the name of a person correctly in an invitation letter. Worse, they don't even bother to ask people concerned before using their names in the invitation card.” Embarrassed senior government officials including the chairman of the district primary school council (DPSC) have apologised for the spelling mistake of the DM's name in the invitation card following his protest.

The chairman of the DPSC, Mr Uttam Sarkar, who is also a Science teacher of Malda College, said: “It was a misunderstanding. I spoke to the DM and furnished an apology.” “We cannot rectify the mistake now as all cards have been distributed. We shall ensure such mistakes are not repeated,” Mr Sarkar, added. n SNS

Farmers, RSP hold protest

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 31: The Revolutionary Socialist Party-backed peasants’ wing Sanjukta Kishan Sabha (SKS) today staged demonstrations in all 15 blocks of the district protesting against various issues including the plight of the farmers residing close to the Bangladesh border, and tribals’ problems in the district. The SKS leadership demanded publication of revised enrolment of people belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category. The leaders alleged that the BPL list was to be published six months ago but no initiative has been taken yet. The RSP district secretary, Mr Goutam Gupta, demanded that the state government should acquire Indian land including farmland situated beyond the border fence and provide proper compensation and rehabilitation to save the farmers. He further demanded implementation of various projects including old-age pension meant for the tribals. The leaders claimed that the government should consider 60 years of age, instead of 65 years, for providing old age pension for tribals belonging to the BPL category. According to the RSP leaders, tribals belonging to Paharia community in English Bazaar do not even have ration cards, voting rights, deed of rights and do not enjoy any basic amenities either.

Suspected Maoist held

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 31: The Malda police, with help from government railway police (GRP) in Nadia, arrested Ranjit Barman (28), a suspected Maoist action squad member, at Krishnanagar railway station yesterday.

The Circle Inspector of police in Malda, Mr A Raha, went to Krishnanagar, Nadia in search of Barman, a resident of Chhatiandanga under Bamongola police station in Malda. Ranjit was absconding since 2005, the police said. The English Bazaar police today produced him at the Malda court and appealed for his remand in police custody for interrogation.

The police are on the lookout for two Maoist activists, Lakshmi Tudu, wife of Ranjit Barman and Amin Tudu, another aide. Police got information that Lakshmi, is currently in Murshidabad.Four cases including were registered against Ranjit Barman at Bamongola and Habibpur police stations. The Malda police recovered arms from the house of Amin Tudu in Habibpur, allegedly been kept by Ranjit Barman.

Loan scam: SBI conducts probe

MALDA, Dec. 31: The State Bank of India has started a departmental inquiry against a section of employees involved in a loan fraud case where Rs 8.40 lakh was sanctioned to a client, who allegedly submitted a stolen land deed to the bank as mortgage, in June 2008.

The matter came to light on Monday when Mr Mahimuddin Sheikh, a farmer of Shersahi in Kaliachak police station, sought clarification from the bank authorities on a notice served to him to pay instalment against a loan of Rs 8.40 lakh. The SBI branch manager at Majampur in Kaliachak issued the notice based on records urging him to pay instalment against loan obtained. When the victim challenged the branch manager, it was detected that one Astab Ali, a neigbour of Mahimuddin, had allegedly forged his signature and submitted his own photograph as Mahimuddin's with the loan application.

It may be noted that the former branch manager had sanctioned the loan. He was transferred to Kolkata just after sanctioning the loan. Mahimuddin Shiekh lodged an FIR at the Kaliachak police station on Monday with the help of the local CPI-M MLA, Mr Biswanath Ghosh against his neighbour Astab Ali describing the scam following which the police registered the case and started an investigation. “Action would be taken if any employee is found guilty in the investigation,” said Mr B Haldar, regional manager, SBI. n SNS

Orientation for school sub-inspectors

MALDA, Dec. 31: The state education department will organise a five-day training programme for the newly recruited sub-inspectors of schools posted in six north Bengal districts and in Murshidabad.

The orientation programme will be held at Sobhanagar, district institute of education, research and training, in English Bazaar from 2 January. Form 3 January, district inspectors, sub inspectors, assistant inspectors from primary and secondary educations will take part in this orientation programme up to 5 January. The objective of this orientation programme was to train the inspectors appointed for supervision of educational institutions how to monitor the projects under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. n SNS

Woman seeks legal services

MALDA, Dec. 30: A woman, Mrs Bhanu Das, has sought assistance from the state legal services after she allegedly was not able to deposit Rs 2,000 fine against a crime committed by her husband in the Malda court for the past three months.

On 27 March 2003, former chief judicial magistrate Mr Dibakar Das, Malda court, had judged Ananda Das guilty under section 326 IPC for assaulting people and inciting tension in a village in Malda. The CJM had sentenced Das to seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000, failing which an additional year's RI.

In her letter to the chairman of the state legal services, Mr Pinaki Chandra Ghosh on 22 December 2008, Mrs Bhanu Das alleged: “I have been trying to deposit the fine amount in Malda court for the past three months but the court officials have so far refused to receive the amount on one ground or the other.

I am sending a copy of the judgment related to my husband's case passed by the former CJM, Malda in 2003 to you for necessary arrangement so that I can deposit the amount on time,” she wrote in the letter.

After discussing the matter with Malda court officials, Mr Gajen Saha, lawyer of Ananda Das submitted a prayer to the chief judicial magistrate court a month ago. Failing to deposit the fine amount, Mrs Das sought help from the Malda Rama Krishna Mission to deposit the fine amount and finally appealed to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and chairman of the state legal services. The secretary of the Malda RKM, Swami Divyananda, has already spoken to Mr Pinaki Chandra Ghosh about the matter. According to the Swami, Mr Ghosh has asked the woman to appeal to the state legal service with a copy of the judgment made by the former CJM. “Mr Pinaki Chandra Ghosh has also spoken to the district judge of the Malda court about the matter,” Swami Divyananada, said.

Neither the district judge nor the chief judicial magistrate, Malda court were available for comment because of winter vacation in the court till 2 January. n SNS

Automatic machines to collect electricity bills soon

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 30: In order to reduce the workload of staff and the long queue in front of cash counters, the state electricity department has planned to install an automatic machine like ATM to collect electricity bill payments.

The department has planned to install such an automatic bill collection machine in all district towns in this state soon, according to the divisional manager of the State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (SEDCL), Mr DK Mondal.

Such a machine, Savok, will collect electricity bills in 24 hours from consumers. The department has planned to install the machine in Malda and Siliguri town, Mr Mondal said.

In Malda town, the machine will be installed on Ravindra Avenue on the ground floor of the SEDCL operating and maintenance office.

“Owing to fake currency menace in Malda district, SEDCL authorities are considering upgrading the machine scientifically so that it can detect fake currency if any consumer inserts any fake note. This is the reason we are taking time to install the machine,” Mr Mondal said.

The machine will only accept round figure payments.

“It the bill amount is Rs 302, the machine will receive Rs 310, the balance will be adjusted within the next bill,” he said.

Consumers will get money receipts from the machine according to the programming records. The consumers will have to pay the bill through the machine by the due date.

If due date has expired, the consumers will have to go to the SEDCL cash counter. Besides the automatic machine, the consumers will be able to deposit electricity bills in all 177 Tathya Mitra Kendra across Malda district, the SEDCL officials said.

Office vacated for Adivasi girls

MALDA, Dec. 29: The Malda district administration recently vacated an office meant to house a tribal girls’ hostel at Chanchal following a Supreme Court order. The administration has also issued a notification inviting interested tribal girls to avail of lodging at the facility.

The district administration had installed the SDO's office and the treasury in the building, as the building was lying idle for several months after construction. Though the tribal welfare department had issued a notice inviting tribal girls to lodge in the 60-bed facility, none had applied from Chanchal sub-division.

It was then that the administration, handicapped for want of adequate number of offices, had declared to accommodate the SDO's office and treasury in the building temporarily. But resenting the decision, the tribal body in Malda district protested and went to court against it. Meanwhile, a separate building was constructed to house the Chanchal SDO's office but the shifting process of the office functioning in the hostel got held up due to lack of furniture in the new premises. “The treasury has already been shifted to vacate the tribal girls’ hostel following the Supreme Court order. The district magistrate has also issued a notification to invite tribal girls to lodge in the facility,” said Mr P C Sit, ADM (general), Malda. n SNS

Malda municipality to beautify local river

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 29: The Old Malda Municipality (OMM) has taken up a river beautification project on the river Behula along a two kilometre stretch, and urged the state environment minister Mr Sailen Sarkar to alert Narayanpur Industrial units not to pollute the river.

According to the chairman of the OMM, the state municipal affairs department has already given Rs 30 lakh out of its sanctioned amount of Rs 60 lakh. After the end of the Sujapur by polls, tenders for the project would be floated. The OMM will build a children park and introduce an entertainment boating service on the river, chairman of the civic body Mr Biswanath Sukul said. “We are facing difficulties due to discharge of waste from some industrial units set up at Narayanpur Industrial Growth Centres and other adjoining industrial units”, the chairman of the OMM, Mr Sukul said. The local fishermen are also facing a problem because of increased water pollution.

Price pinch

The Old Malda Municipality (OMM) has approached the municipal affairs department to revise the cost of a surface water treatment plant project due to price hike of steel. The government had sanctioned Rs 18.19 crore for the construction of a drinking water project based on the river Mahannada proposed by the OMM a few months back.

Meanwhile, the OMM has procured pipes for laying its water supply project in different municipal areas. According to the chairman, after 10 January the civic body will float tenders for the construction of over head reservoirs of the projects.

Border fencing found cut near Muchia

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 28: Despite tight security along the border following the Mumbai terror attacks and the imminent general election in Bangladesh, slated on 29 December, a group of rustlers cut some portion of the barbed wire fencing near Muchia border outpost near the Malda police station last night.

BSF officers spotted the spot in the morning during regular patrolling. They repaired it immediately. On asking, they admitted that a group of rustlers had tried to smuggle cattle into Bangladesh through that route. According to them, there is evidence that a number of cattle smugglers had attempted to shove some cattle to the other side of the border along the bank of the Mahananda taking advantage of the blinding mist.

“No cattle footprints were found on the Bangladesh side through which the alleged cattle rustlers are supposed to have attempted to smuggle cattle,” Mr JC Nayek, a senior BSF officer said, however.

The BSF commandant sought clarification from the team of BSF jawans, posted for duty at the sensitive border point about the incident. Following the detection of the punctured fencing a team of BSF officers responsible for guarding that stretch raided neighbouring villages along the border this morning but failed to get definite clues concerning the incident due to the alleged non-cooperation from the villagers.

Security has been tightened on both sides of the border. The BSF has tightened vigilance not just along the unfenced and riverine border zones but also along some vulnerable spots in the fenced areas on the Indian side.

Seeds not reaching farmers on time

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 26: The district magistrate, Malda Mr Sridhar Ghosh today expressed unhappiness with the role of some “reluctant agriculture department officials,” who are yet to distribute mini kit for cultivation of mustard, wheat, pulses and other grains in the district.

Though the agriculture department in Malda, said that his officials did not distribute the seeds in view of the model code of conduct for the Sujapur Assembly by polls, the DM has not bought the “excuse.” “The agriculture department did not distribute the seeds and is still waiting for their old distribution network through gram panchayat members. Meantime the season for sowing seeds has rolled by,” Mr Ghosh said today. When contacted on the matter, the principal agriculture officer, Malda Mr R K Das said the deadline for distribution of mustard seed was over. He, however, failed to explain why his department did not distribute the seeds even after getting permission from the election commission.

The agriculure department is now looking to mend the situation. The PAO Mr Das said over phone from Kolkata: “I am looking into the matter so that farmers get other seeds on time."

Official decries civic body's reticence on labour fund

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 26: The English Bazaar Municipality (EBM) officials are reluctant to execute collection of one per cent cess on the valuation of buildings as contribution to the welfare fund for unorganised labourers like masons and their helpers, despite several reminders, the assistant labour commissioner (ALC) in Malda has alleged.

“We have approached the English Bazaar civic body to execute the government plan to build welfare funds for masons and guided them how to collect one per cent tax before the approval of plans for commercial and residential buildings that are valued at more than Rs 10 lakh, but they have not responded positively to our appeal” said the ALC, Mr PP Das, adding Old Malda Municipality, a small civic body, responded rather quickly in comparison.

“We have already collected Rs 1.22 crore from various agencies like National Highway authorities, state public works departments, District Planning Development department, Malda Zilla Parishad, block and panchayat samitis but we are yet to receive a positive response from the EBM,” he said.

The vice-chairman of the English Bazaar civic body, Mr Dulal Sarkar, rubbished the allegation. “The ALC’s comment is not correct. The EBM is the first civic body in north Bengal to introduce the system of tax collection. To execute the welfare plan for masons, we had discussed the matter with municipal affairs minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya in Siliguri two months ago. We had collected nearly Rs 2.5 lakh for the fund. We will give it to the labour department soon.”

Mr Sarkar admitted, however, that the civic body officials were facing hurdles in estimating the cost of residential buildings before approving plans submitted by locals. “Many an applicant, to evade cess for the masons’ welfare fund, claims that the estimated cost of a building is less than Rs 10 lakh,” he disclosed.

According to the ALC, altogether 1800 masons have been enrolled for the welfare schemes in the district and more masons will be enrolled after the the by-poll in Sujapur.

Mr Das also met officials of a nationalised bank today to discuss the issue of opening bank accounts for masons across the district. He lamented that some bank managers in Kaliachak, English Bazaar and Manikchak did not extend cooperation in this regard.

Priority is on security

MALDA, Dec. 26: The Malda district administration today held a meeting with five BSF commanding officers to review the security conditions of the region and also on the infiltration problem.

The district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said: “Security should be tightened before the Sujapur Assembly by-poll on 5 January and the BSF have been asked to seal the Bangladesh border.” Stating that the BSF always kept a strict watch at the border, the BSF 57-Battalion commandant Mr Rajkumar added that the jawans faced visibility problems due to dense fog along the unfenced areas of the border especially in winters. Some panchayat leaders, farmers and villagers were consulted about the timings of operating the gates along the fenced parts of the border. The DM said the BSF has agreed to keep the gates open at specific periods for the farmers and villagers, who live and cultivate land beyond the fence. n SNS

Kerala-bound children detained in Orissa, restored to parents

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 26: The district administration handed over a total of 37 children and two youths, who were detained under the Immoral Trafficking Act in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, a few days ago, to their guardians this evening.

Although all the children were detained under the Immoral Trafficking Act at Bhubaneswar railway station, the Malda SP, Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhyay, said it was “not a case of trafficking”.

“The fact is that most of the guardians had decided to send their wards to Kerala to be admitted to a madrassa. They were detained by GRP in Orissa on their way to Kerala,” he said before the handover, adding they would hand over the children after verification of the parents/guardians.

The assistant labour commissioner in Malda, Mr PP Das, said: “The children on the train could not show valid papers to Orissa police to establish that they were going to Kerala for studies.” A cleric, educated in the madrassa in question, had suggested sending the children there for better studies free of cost, explained Mr Bandyopadhyay.

The guardians became alarmed when Orissa police detained the children, and approached the district administration to bring them back.

A police team accompanied by an official from the office of the assistant labour commissioner went to Orissa and brought them back to Malda this evening.

Most of the children hailed from Chanchal subdivision in northern Malda district; the rest were from different adjoining blocks.

Eggs or no eggs... Christmas cake of your choice

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 25: If necessity is the mother of invention, here is one with a Christmas flavour. If you cannot imagine cakes without eggs, come to Malda. Such cakes are being made and sold by the dozens this Christmas, courtesy Bird Flu.

Fearing a drop in the sale of cakes, eggs being an important ingredient, in view of the raging Bird Flu in the district, bakery owners were extremely worried. They finally came up with a simple solution - no eggs. Some however, went a step ahead and decided to split the choice. Some with eggs and others without it depending upon the customer.

A reputed bakery owner Mr Tarun Dey said: “I invented the idea (with or without egg) in January 2008 when Bird Flu broke out in many districts including Malda. The sale of cakes including birthday cakes had fallen drastically. People were avoiding cakes because of its egg content. The idea is working still.” Similarly, Mr Ashim Bhakat, a restaurant owner in Malda town has decided to keep chicken items out of the Christmas menu. “Many people now prefer non-chicken items and you can't blame them,” is what he said.

Meanwhile, the Malda Merchants’ Chambers’ of Commerce has reacted strongly against a notice restricting the sale of chicken and eggs issued by the English Bazaar civic body. According to the traders’ body, the notice has sent a wrong message to the people. The local egg traders also expressed unhappiness over the civic body's decision and questioned the civic authority's wisdom in issuing restriction notice against eggs brought from Andhra Pradesh.

Though the civic body vice chairman Mr Dulal Sarkar regretted the matter, MMCC official Mr Ujjal Saha said: “The administration would have to compensate for our loss due to the notice.”

Fresh bird deaths in Malda

MALDA, Dec. 25: Fresh chicken deaths were reported from Kaliachak II block yesterday even as the animal resources development department started post culling surveillance in English Bazaar and Old Malda Bird Flu affected villages. Villagers buried more than a dozen dead backyard poultry after reporting the deaths to the vets.

The deputy director, ARD, Malda, Mr N K Shit admitted the death reports but said: “We checked the dead birds, there is nothing unusual.” According to him, post culling surveillance will continue for two months. ARD officials will keep vigilance in four phases fortnightly. Villagers will not be allowed to rear chicks in the affected zones for three months.

The deputy director added that the block level committees would prepare the list of beneficiaries for compensation of Rs 500 per family. “The list of beneficiaries will be forwarded to the government for allotment of funds after approval from the committees,” he added. n SNS

Commissioner told to hand over land for new university

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 25: The chief minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has asked the Jalpaiguri Divisional Commissioner, who acts as member secretary of the Uttar Banga Unnayan Parishad, to take immediate initiative to hand over the land of the English Bazaar Block Land and Land Reforms Office, located close to the proposed site of the University of Gour Banga, to the university authorities.

The matter was discussed at the meeting of the parishad held in Jalpaiguri yesterday. The chief minister also asked the divisional commissioner to estimate the value of the building, which was constructed recently for setting up the block land and land reforms office, before handing over to the UGB authorities, said Mr Khagen Murmu, CPI-M MLA from Habibpur and member of the Uttar Banga Unnayan Parishad (UBUP).

“The chief minister said at the meeting that the UBUP would bear the cost for construction another building elsewhere for the English Bazaar BL&LRO,” Mr Murmu said.

It may be noted that in mid-November this year, while laying the foundation stone for the UGB, the chief minister had allotted Rs. 20 lakh for the development of UGB and assured that he would try to manage more land for the UGB campus here. Beside discussing the development of the UBG, the chief minister has also instructed the member secretary of the UBUP to ask the Malda district administration to submit a fresh project of the Laxmipur drainage scheme for allotment of funds from the UBUP next time.

It may be noted that the UBUP had allotted Rs.. 1 crore for the Laxmipur drainage scheme to sort out the problem of water logging in English Bazaar but the fund was diverted to Malda central bus terminus project after the implementation of the drainage scheme was delayed due to several reasons.

According to Mr. Murmu, the chief minister has suggested that clarification should be sought from the Malda PWD about the status of the Ashapur Bridge, meant to connect the northern part of Malda and north Dinajpur district.

The CM has expressed dissatisfaction over the non utilization of funds allotted for various schemes including the Ashapur Bridge. The Ashapur Bridge project was conceived a decade ago and the UBUP had allotted funds for the construction of approach roads to make it operational but it was yet to be completed.

According to the CPI-M MLA, the CM strictly instructed the member secretary of the UBUP to seek clarification from the district authorities about the status of unutilized funds allotted up to the 2004-05 financial year, and position of schemes.

No layoff, assures Buddha

Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Bhattacharya today said here that the state government would not retrench any staff despite the ongoing financial crisis. “Despite the financial crisis raging through the world, the state government is committed to secure its employees’ future and would recruit on a permanent basis instead of the contractual process. We have employed a record number of group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees in the past three years which other states failed to do,” he said.

Maoist menace on the rise

MALDA, Dec. 25: A government railway police personnel was killed and five others including a woman passenger were injured in Maoist attacks on a train near Bhagalpur, Bihar, this evening, the Malda divisional railway manager Mr Anup Sahu said. More than 12 Maoist activists attacked GRP personnel aboard the Bhagalpur-Majaffarpur Inter-city Express train in an attempt to loot rifles from them. They opened fire indiscriminately in the train, he said. According to the Malda DRM, the Maoists boarded the train and fled pulling chain after committing the crime between Avaypur and Kajra stations under Malda Railway Division (Eastern Railway). The inured woman passenger was admitted in the Keewul hospital. “Train services were not affected,” Mr Sahu, said. n SNS

Death

MALDA, Dec. 25: Public prosecutor of the Malda Court, Dipak Kumar passed away this morning in Kolkata. He was 58. n SNS

Art exhibition

MALDA, Dec. 25: An art exhibition, organised by Sahajpath, a town-based artists’ forum, began at the Ramkinkar Baij Art Gallery today. Several paintings, sculptures and photographs are being displayed at the exhibition. n SNS

Sick

MALDA, Dec 25: At least 15 children belonging to an age group of 2-8 years, fell ill yesterday after consuming fruits at Ahora village under Habibpur block. n SNS

JeM infiltration : BSF hints at action against those guilty

MALDA, Dec. 24: The apprehension of three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in Kashmir on 21 December who allegedly entered the country through the Bangladesh border in Malda district, has made the BSF sit up. It is now talking of action against its own if found with dereliction of duty in guarding the border.

Since last evening, embarrassed BSF officials are trying hard for information about the exact location of the border in Malda district through which the militants crossed over. They are also trying to identify the jawans responsible for guarding the possible spots used by the militants “It is a serious matter for the security of the country. We have asked our higher authorities to tell us the exact location of the border used by the JeM militants. Action would be taken against those responsible for guarding the spot,” said the DIG, Malda, BSF sector, Mr P S Tomar. The DIG further added that the BSF believes that the militants entered with local help. According to Mr Tomar, out of the 172 km stretch of border the district shares with Bangladesh, nearly 40 per cent is porous and unfenced because a large part of the border are low lying areas and riverine. Mr Tomar said that he spoke to the IG, BSF, South Bengal sector, Mr C V Murlidhar last night and held a meeting with the Malda SP about the matter. n SNS

Database on witch hunting soon

MALDA, Dec. 24: The Malda police have decided to prepare a database on witch hunting in the tribal dominated areas of the district. The database would contain information on the reasons leading to the brutal acts, number of known cases so far, problems in the tribal society and other facts.

According to the superintendent of police, Malda, Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhayay, police stations in the tribal dominated areas have been asked to submit a report on the matter in detail. It was learnt that the police were specially looking into areas like Habibpur, Gazol, Old Malda and Bamongola, which have large tribal population.

“False beliefs, conspiracies to brand some one a witch in greed of land and property are some of the known facts that lead to witch hunting in the tribal community. The objective of our exercise is to learn as much as we can in addition to the known facts and then launch an awareness campaigning in the tribal dominated villages to check the menace of witch hunting,” the SP, said. The SP further added that in most cases groups of touts hatch such macabre plans and simply kill a man or a woman for property and assets in the name of cleansing the tribal society of witches. n SNS

RSS chief slams state over forceful acquisition

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 24: The RSS chief Mr K S Sudarshan today criticised the West Bengal government for acquiring land from small farmers “forcibly” for setting up big industries.

Addressing a rally of RSS workers of the six districts of north Bengal at English Bazaar town Mr Sudarshan said: “We need to develop small and cottage industries for the development of common people. But the CPI-M led West Bengal government is trying to bring big capital after forcibly acquiring land for conglomerates like the Tata group,” he said.

Mr Sudarshan was also critical of the country's education system and argued that since Independence no government was serious to develop the country's culture. Criticising the Centre's role in the current financial crisis he stressed on the need to develop rural economy in keeping with the country's resources.

Mixed reactions to EC decision on Sujapur

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 24: The Election Commission's decision to defer the by-election in Sujapur Assembly constituency has received mixed reactions from not only the Congress and the CPI-M, but also the district administration.

Though the Congress leaders are partly pleased with the decision for Central Para Military Force deployment at almost all hypersensitive booths, they were upset after facing difficulties to keep the election campaigning going for an extra week.

The vice president of the Malda Congress, Mr Masidur Rahman said: “We are happy that the commission has considered deployment of adequate CPMF according to our appeal but unhappy with the sudden decision because it is tough to keep up the election tempo which was up to the mark for victory”.

The EC has deferred the by-polls to 5 January from 27 December.

On the other hand, both the Congress and CPI-M camps are worried about the number of voters in Sujapur, working as migrant labourers in different states, who are returning to their work places with labour contractors according to their commitment before the elections.

Migrant labourers had returned to Sujapur to celebrate Id and had decided to cast their votes on 27 December before leaving for their work places. About 25,000 such migrant labourers will have to go to their destination before 5 January, political leaders said.

The CPI-M district secretary, Mr JIban Moitra, said: “In West Bengal the situation is not so bad that the CPMF is needed to conduct by-polls. We are unhappy with the EC's decision because it did not consider the plan of thousands of migrant labourers. They would not stay at home till 5 January. We fear the percentage of votes will drop”.

The Congress district president and Malda MP has also told reporters: “It will be a problem to keep up the momentum of our workers and voters but we are not upset because the commission has considered our demands and decided to deploy adequate CPMF in Sujapur”.

Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, likened his disappointment to that of a student who has studied before an exam.

“Preparation for the examination (preparation to conduct by-polls) was up to the mark. Suddenly the date of exam has been deferred. We are upset like a student after EC's decision,” he said.

Mr Ghosh said all 123 polling stations have been declared as sensitive. Out of these, some booths have been identified as hypersensitive. A total of 40 micro-observers have been appointed to conduct by-polls in Sujapur.

The Malda police have sought seven companies of CPMF for nearly 100 polling stations.

Bird Flu: Students likely to have extra classes

ARD chief directs mopping to continue

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 23: The Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, today wrote a letter to the district inspector of schools, asking him to suggest Norhatta GS High School authorities to conduct extra classes for the students who could not attend school where a control room was set up for combating Bird Flu. The classes were disrupted for seven days.

It may be noted that after detection of Bird Flu virus at Narhatta Gram Panchayat area, the district administration had requisitioned the high school for setting up a control room there for carrying out culling, mopping and disinfection exercises from last Monday.

As a result, the school authorities declared holiday for seven days. Following a media report that teachers were enjoying the holidays while students were being deprived of regular classes, the district magistrate took such decision.

After going through the report, the district magistrate, Mr Ghosh had expressed regret about the situation which compelled the administration to requisition the school to contain the Bird Flu virus.

“I have told the district inspector of schools to look into the matter and asked him to suggest alternative arrangements in the interest of the students who could not attend school at the time of culling operations were on,” Mr. Ghosh said today.

The administration would vacate the school soon after conducting disinfecting whole premises. The Malda district inspector of schools, Mr Chinmay Sarkar, said: “The DM's letter is yet to reach my office.”

“I must discuss the matter with the district magistrate after receiving his letter,” Mr Sarkar said.

ARD chief directs mopping to continue

MALDA, Dec. 23: The director, ARD, Mr K Saha today inspected the Bird Flu affected areas in Malda and instructed local officials to continue mopping exercise in English Bazaar and Old Malda blocks for three months. The decision was taken after the director found several chickens on the loose.

“We found seven ducks in a particular house. Those were culled. We do not know the exact cause of Bird Flu outbreak in Malda. We are trying to figure how it resurfaced here,” the director said. Expressing satisfaction with the culling and mopping operations, he said 28,695 birds were culled this time.

Denying villagers’ resistance in the affected areas during operations he said that the ARD had been able to cull birds with the villagers’ cooperation. “Besides English Bazaar and Old Malda, no other place so far looks vulnerable to Bird Flu now,” he said. n SNS

More birds die in Malda

Statesman News Service

MALDA/NEW DELHI, Dec. 22: A large number of backyard chickens have died at Natunpar and Mandalpara villages under Noorpur gram panchayat in Manikchak block, Malda district since Saturday generating fear of fresh Bird Flu outbreak.

The district administration has instructed the animal resources development (ARD) officials to examine the dead birds and collect blood samples for tests. The block livestock development officer, Mr Chinmay Biswas, who was supervising mopping exercise in Old Malda block today, said vets have reached the spot to examine the birds.

“It is difficult to presume the reason of death till lab tests are conducted. However, according to the vets who have checked the area, the chickens may have died of the disease known as Ranikhet, common among chickens in winter,” he added.

Villagers and panchayat members reported to the Manikchak BDO that at least 150 birds have died in Natunpara, Sheikhpara and Mandalpara villages since Saturday. Fresh bird deaths were reported from several villages in Ratua I, Gazole block a few days ago.

The deputy director of ARD, Malda Mr NK Shit said: “A lot of birds die in winter. A routine surveillance is going on in all 15 blocks of Malda district and we are collecting at least 10 blood samples from each block for laboratory tests in Kolkata.” According to him, 50 samples of such death cases in Malda have tested Bird Flu negative so far.

Meanwhile, mopping exercise continues in the district amidst resistance from villagers. Disinfection work is on in 13 mouzas in English Bazaar and six mouzas in Old Malda block. At Barkol village in Old Malda, the Malda SDO Mr P Pal faced resistance from villagers during supervision of mopping and disinfection exercise today.

Ramadoss

Union health minister Mr Anbumani Ramadoss today reviewed the avian influenza situation in the country following the outbreak of the disease in West Bengal and Assam and asked all state governments to upgrade preparedness to deal with the Bird Flu.

Road block for road repair

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 22: Locals blocked road at Sustani demanding immediate repair of a road connecting NH-34 and Mahadipur land customs station near the India-Bangladesh border.

The blockade was lifted after after the intervention of district administration and an assurance from the the project manager of ADB (Asian Development Bank) in presence of other officials of the bank.

Vehicles could not ply on the road after the assigned contractor for the construction of the road left work and ‘disappeared’ somewhere a couple of months ago. He never resumed the work and since then the condition of the road has been so poor that the vehicles chose to kept away from it. Thereafter, the condition of the road further deteriorated with heavy vehicular movement on it. The road blocked was lifted when the project manager Mr PP Badyopadhayay said that the repairing work would be started from Wednesday, said Malda SDO Mr Prakash Pal.

When contacted, over phone, Mr PP Bandyopadhayay said: “We could not continue the initial repairing work since the contractor ran away and never came joined work. We will start the repair work from Wednesday with the help of our other contractors in this project.”

Mr Bandyopadhayay  said that initially the PWD department had estimated Rs 15 crore to build the 13.3 km stretch of road under Asian Development Bank. "We have planned to float a fresh tender for the project in March 2009 and complete the project by 2010," he said. He further added that to float a contract would mean termination of previous contracts.

Four culling staff fall ill in Malda

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 21: At least four culling personnel were taken ill during culling and mopping operations in Malda last evening. One of them Mohd Ellius was admitted to the isolation ward for observation. According to the Malda CMOH, Dr Srikanta Roy, Mohd Ellius was suffering from abdominal pain.

“He does not have respiratory problem or influenza symptom so far. But we have kept him in the isolation ward for observation”, said Dr Roy. Besides Mohd Ellius, three others who were engaged in the culling and mopping operation were reported to have fallen ill.

According to Dr Roy, one Mr Khagen Sarkar, who had fallen sick in course of the anti-Avian Flu operation, was recovering fast. “He worked today in the field of his own accord as he feels all right,” said the official.

Two others, one Mohd Sazzad from Satgharia and another person with the same name, from Sujapur, who were working as labourers, fell ill. However, according to health officials, their illness had nothing to do with the culling operation. “Both were asthma patients and fell ill owing to the cold. They joined duty at the control room today,” said a health official.

The Malda CMOH said that with the culling operation over in 13 moujas of Narhatta gram panchayat in English Bazaar, the block health workers have started surveillance work within 0 to 3 km radius from the epicentre of the Bird Flu outbreak and found 112 people down with cold and fever.

“This report has been sent to the state health department headquarters. No one has so far been identified as suffering from fever in the affected area,” Dr Srikanta Roy said.

'Locals came in way of culling'

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 21: The district animal resources development (ARD) officials fear that some birds would be left unculled in the Bird Flu affected zone even after the culling and mopping operation, principally due to non cooperation of the locals.

The ARD officials are facing difficulties to complete the culling and mopping operations within the stipulated time in the English Bazaar and the Old Malda block areas due to the resistance of the villagers. Besides, the department does not have the required equipment to trap the backyard chickens. Lack of coordination with other departments also seems to be affecting the operation. In course of the moping up operations, the ARD officials found that many birds were kept away from the glare of the mopping workers in the 13 moujas under the English Bazaar block.

The mopping teams succeeded in slaughtering 257 chickens till late last evening. Today, they found that many birds were roaming about the areas. The district administration claimed to have culled a total of 20,875 birds during the culling operation in 13 moujas of English Bazaar block.

At Babupur village where ARD officials could not trap a single bird yesterday due to the resistance by a group of women, they managed to kill 25 backyard chickens today. At Babupur, when ARD officials trapped a few birds a group of women chased the officials and snatched the trapped birds form them yesterday. The ARD officials had to leave the area in the face of the stiff resistance.

“Mopping job has proved more difficult than culling due to lack of equipment. Though it was decided that forest officials would extend cooperation to trap birds with the help of a net, no such equipment has been supplied to trap backyard chicken”, complained a supervisor of the mopping teams.

According to him, the villagers did not hand over all the birds to the culling team members. “Almost every family has kept two to three birds at their home kept secretly and those birds will be left out after the end of mopping in the affected areas,” he said.

The Malda district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh admitted the problem being posed by the local resistance and asked the officials not to slacken the culling and mopping work in the face of resistance.

Expressing satisfaction over the culling operations, the state health observer, Dr Gopal Chandra Chakraborty said that the lapses would be covered up during the mopping. The ARD officials may begin mopping in Old Malda from tomorrow. Mopping would continue in English Bazaar tomorrow. The total sanitation and disinfection work would have to be completed by 25 December.

Fresh culling

Statesman News Service

Malda dec 20 : Poultry culling began in six moujas of Old Malda block today. Located within a three km radius of Satgharia village, epicentre of the recent bird flu outbreak in the district, the six moujas were included in the culling map on Friday. “At least 5,000 birds would have to be culled in the six left out moujas of Old Malda,” said Mr NK Shit, deputy director, ARD, Malda. But concern has spread following reports that evading culling teams, some villagers had brought poultry to the Nawabganj Haat in Old Malda block on Wednesday from the affected villages such as Durgapur and Anandipur and had sold them. The administration is investigating the matter.

Fresh culling begins in Old Malda

The Malda district administration will start fresh culling operation in six villages under Old Malda block today. The area falls within the three –km radius from the epicenter- Satgharia in English Bazaar block. The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to include the six left out villages in Old Malda just on the other side of the river Mahananda. The Malda district magistrate Mr. Sridhar Ghosh also said mopping up operation would begin in Bird Flu hit English Bazaar areas from this morning.

Poultry mortality in Bankura, Birbhum

Statesman News Service

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA/ SURI/BANKURA, Dec. 19: On a day the Union agriculture ministry issued a Press release saying that the culling at both the epicentres in West Bengal would be completed by tomorrow and that completion of sanitisation is targeted for 25 December, the death of 600 chickens over the past four days was reported in Ledason near Onda PS in Bankura district.

Animal resource department (ARD) officials today inspected the site of poultry mortality and collected samples for testing. The district administration has put the vulnerable blocks on full alert. The head of the ARD team that visited Ledason this morning, Mr Modak, said: “The symptoms may have some resemblance to Bird Flu." The district had witnessed an outbreak of Bird Flu in Saltora and Mejia blocks last year. Bankura DM Mr Sundar Majumdar said: “Onda was in the safe zone last year. Nearly 150 birds have died there.”

After Malda and Murshidabad, instance of unusual mortality of poultry birds have been reported from Birbhum's Rampurhat I and Bolpur blocks. Birbhum DM Mr Bisheswar Maity said ARD officials had sent samples of dead birds to Kolkata for tests. ARD officials insist that the birds do not display the symptoms of Bird Flu. In Dokhalbati village nearly 50 chickens died. Thirteen died in Naryanpur and 25 in Bolpur Kopai village.

The Centre today said that no fresh Bird Flu case had been reported from any part of the country, including Assam and West Bengal, even as more than Rs 1 crore has been given away as compensation to poultry farmers.

But the situation may well change because poultry birds have not been culled in a large part of Old Malda block, vulnerable to Bird Flu. The area falls within the three-km radius from the epicentre ~ Satgharia village in English Bazaar block, experts said. Malda DM Mr Sridhar Ghosh today asked the ARD to include the six left out moujas in Old Malda block in culling operations.

“Officials, responsible for earmarking areas for culling neglected to include six moujas in Old Malda block located on the other side of the Mahananda River. It was a mistake. The observer for culling operations from Kolkata, Mr Gopal Chandra Chakraborty, and two experts from NICED in Delhi spotted the mistake and advised us to include these six moujas in the Old Malda block,” the DM said today.

The deputy director of Malda ARD, Mr NK Shit said: “We did not prepare the map. Our duty is to cull birds and conduct poultry immunisation. Please speak to the DM or the land department about the lapse since they provided the map.”

Villagers upset with govt rates

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 19: The villagers in the bird flu affected areas seems to be dissatisfied with the rate fixed by the government for the chickens to be culled. They resisted the government officials when they tried starting the culling operations earlier in the day today.

According to the villagers, the market price of a full grown chicken (called Morga or Kashia Morga) is between Rs 120 and 150 but the government rate is a meagre Rs 50. “It is very difficult to pacify villagers when the culling team is paying Rs 50 for a full grown chicken to the villagers. The government rate Rs 20 for a chick is acceptable but the government should raise the current rates to avoid resistance,” said Mr Bishon Chowdhury, pradhan of Norhatta gram panchayat. The DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, listened to the villagers' demand and asked the staffs including panchayat officials to inform the villagers that the government would give them extra Rs 500 after a few months for rearing fresh poultry.

Quoting the animal resources development minister, Mr Anisur Rahaman, the district magistrate said that the government would give a package of Rs 1,500 for the rehabilitation of the affected people. Though the DM had issued an order to ban transportation of poultry in and out of the affected areas, it was found that more than 5,000 chicks were brought from outside to the abandoned poultry farms. It was reportedly done owing to the rates fixed by the government for the chickens that were to be culled. The government has declared Rs 20 for chickens less than 10 weeks old. It was found that in private poultry farms, especially broiler, the rate of a chick is Rs 7 but some people are asking for Rs 20 for each to earn at least Rs 13 extra per chicken. The administration made an announcement today that after the end of culling operation, villagers would be paid compensation during mopping which would start from tomorrow.

The district animal resources development department has adopted a novel culling method of dipping the heads of the chickens in dry ice (carbon dioxide). This method worked faster, according to the department officials.

Sujapur camp 'ransacked'

MALDA, Dec. 19: Tension prevails in the Sujapur Assembly area after a CPI-M camp office was ransacked this morning. The by-poll is slated to be held on the 27 December.

While the CPI-M held the Congress responsible for the act, the Congress leadership termed the incident as a CPI-M gimmick. The CPI-M district secretary, Mr Jiban Moitra, said that fearing defeat in the by-poll the Congress was trying to instigate the CPI-M supporters. According to Mr Moitra, goons and aide of Saharul, who is in jail, were trying to create tension in the area for their vested interests.

He further said that Congress supporters had damaged a part of the Sujapur Girls’ High School this morning, over a land dispute before the elections to create panic. Police said that the CPI-M and Congress supporters have been having frequent altercations since morning. Festoons, banners and flags of CPI-M were damaged in the ransacking.

Though the CPI-M said that an FIR had been lodged with the Kaliachak police after the incident, the IC Kaliachak, PS Mr ML Lodh said: “I am at Sujapur and do not have the information.” n SNS

Villagers get chicken from outside

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec 18: To avoid their business getting affected and to earn extra profits some of the locals have brought a large number of chickens from the various places that have not yet been declared affected with the virus and kept them in an abandoned poultry farm, the Malda district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said today.

The district magistrate has instructed the animal resources development (ARD) department and other concerned officials to identify the culprits and take action against them.

Earlier the district magistrate had sought clarification from the ARD for ‘wrong information’ during estimation of birds in the affected villages to be culled. The deputy director, ARD in Malda, Mr. NK Shit, had informed the district magistrate there were no private poultry farm.

“Yesterday, during culling operation the RRTs found four private poultry farms and culled birds there,” said Mr Shit.

Mr. Shit said: “We do not have any list or register of private farms in this district. Before setting up a private poultry farm people do not seek permission from our department because there is no such order from the government. As a result we are in darkness about number of private poultry farm in the region.”

The district magistrate, Mr. Sridhar Ghosh, said: “Many private farms were not functional before Bird Flu but to earn more profit, some private farm owners have brought chickens from outside to keep in their poultry house”.

The private farms were set up with the help of panchayat members yet during the meeting not a single panchayat member informed about the private poultry farms.

Mr Ghosh, said: “We would not waste time calculating how many more birds were culled in the private poultry farms. Today a total of 27 RRTs had culled all the birds in the affected villages”. Till late afternoon, we have culled more than 75 percent of our estimated number of birds to be culled in the affected zone ~ covering 3 km radius from the epicenter ~ Satgharia village under Norhatta Gram Panchayat in English Bazaar block, he said.

Central team visits flu affected areas

MALDA, Dec. 18: A two-member team from the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) today arrived in Malda and met district health officials. They also visited the Bird Flu affected villages. They discussed about precautionary measures to be adopted in case the disease spreads in humans.

Dr Jagbir Singh, director of National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, and joint director Dr Ramesh Agarwal, advised district health officials to take necessary measures after surveying the areas.

The chief medical officer of health Malda, Dr Srikanta Roy, said that the team was supervising programmes taken in the Bird Flu affected areas and had advised to step up surveillance. “The two-member team will report to the Centre about our performance taken in the Bird Flu affected areas,” Dr Roy said.

Meanwhile, routine health check for culling team members was hampered at the Norhatta GS High School camp office this morning due to an altercation between the ARD and health officials.

Trouble broke out when the health department doctors expressed unhappiness with a large number of outsiders in the camp while examining the health condition of the culling team members. The chief medical officer of health, Malda, Dr Srikanta Roy put it down to misunderstanding among government officials.

n SNS

Asim wants lesser load for schoolkids

MALDA, Dec. 18: The finance minister, Dr Asim Dasgupta, today said that the state government has planned to reduce the school level syllabus.

Former student of Malda Zilla School, Mr Dasgupta inaugurated the celebration of 150 years of the school in English Bazaar town today.

He shared his experiences and and memories of his school days from 1955 to 57.

He said: “Owing to the load of the huge syllabus, students are too tired to actually enjoy their studies. If we could reduce the syllabus there would be no need for the students to attend tuition classes and thus they would get more time to pursue their creative hobbies.

The minister also said that it was a right decision to reintroduce English at the primary level. He said that teh teachers should talk to the students ijn English so that they can be fluent with the language.

He thanked the founder headmaster of Malda Zilla School, late Gorokh Chandra Chakraborty, for his contribution in setting up the school here and recalled his class teacher Purnabrata Sarkar's method of teaching. Exemplifying how the teachers used to teach their students in class VI, VII and VIII in 1955 to 57, he urged the present teachers to adopt similar methods. The finance minister announced that he would do his best to sanction funds for the development of the school.

“Though a headmaster can not appeal to the finance minister directly seeking fund but this school is an exception and the present head master has the right to ask for funds from me directly,” he said. n SNS

Bird Flu grips new areas in Malda

MALDA, Dec. 17: Amid slow-going culling efforts, Bird Flu is spreading in Malda. Hundreds of chickens have died in the Ratua block, about 10 km from Satgharia where the virus was first detected.

The Malda district magistrate has asked the animal resources development department to collect blood samples of the dead and ailing birds in the block. “Fresh bird deaths have been reported from Chandmoni I and II and Baharal GP in Ratua within 10 km radius from the Bird Flu affected areas. ARD officials have left for the spot,” the DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh said.

Meanwhile, culling operations were being hampered due to stray incidents of resistance from villagers. One member of a culling team was allegedly assaulted and heckled by villagers at Anandipur late this evening following an altercation. The incident prompted culling team members to demand police protection for the operations tomorrow.

Though the district administration has targeted to cull at least 16,500 birds in the affected villages, the progress is slow due to the villagers’ resistance. Rapid response team members have been able to cull about 3,000 birds so far. Yesterday, 18 culling teams had been able to cull only 155 birds till late evening. Today, the district administration has added four more culling teams to complete the operation quickly. The district magistrate said that at least 12 more teams would join the exercise tomorrow.

The CMOH, Malda, Dr Srikanta Roy, said isolation wards have been set up in the district but till evening no avian flu affected human case was reported.

In Kolkata, state ARD secretary, Mr Dilip Chakraborty denied that there was any resistance from villagers to the culling operations. He said the problems yesterday had occurred as the administration could not arrange for funds to pay the villagers for their birds.

The West Bengal Poultry Forum meanwhile claimed that it is not bird flu, but a common disease which is afflicting chickens in the state. Mr Madan Mohan Pramanik, general secretary of the forum, meeting Mr Dilip Chakraborty, principal secretary, ARD, today at Writers’ Buildings, alleged that some multinational companies were floating the bird flu theory to create panic and damage the price advantage poultry farmers of the state enjoy in the market. n SNS

Migratory birds under scanner in Malda

MALDA/COOCH BEHAR, Dec. 17: Sitting up to the Bird Flu menace in the district, the Malda divisional forest officials have started to keep an eye on the migratory birds that have started coming in with the onset of winter.

Divisional forest officer in Malda Mr Rajendra Jakhar said that forest guards have been instructed to hand over dead birds, found in the forests, to the animal resources development for tests. So far the forest department has not come across dead birds in the forests.

The forest department does not believe that migratory birds were responsible for repeated outbreak of Bird Flu in Malda district. “Several dead birds collected from Kulik bird sanctuary in North Dinajpur were sent for examination. None of them tested Avian Flu positive,” Mr Jakhar said.

The region has three hubs for migratory bird at Adina in Gazol, Nayabandh in Habibpur close to the Bangladesh border and Farakka ~ all at considerable distance from the Satgharia village in Norhatta gram panchayat where culling operations started on Tuesday after detection of Avian Flu. In Cooch Behar, the ARD hass already taken precautionary measures to combat Bird Flu.

Physical surveillance along with the collection of blood samples has begun in the blocks and the officials have been instructed to report suspected cases to the higher authorities. Blood samples have been sent for tests to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Belgachia in Kolkata. If required the samples would be resent to Bhopal for further tests, ARD officials said in Cooch Behar.

In addition to poultry, migratory birds are also under the scanner in Cooch Behar. Droppings of the winged guests are being collected from Rasik-bil, Rasamati Jhil and Sagardighi.

A few samples collected from Rasik-bil have been sent for tests. Meanwhile, spraying of vehicles, passing through the Assam-Bengal border at Baxirhat and Bangladesh border at Changrabandha, with disinfectants is being done. No vehicle would be allowed to enter the country without disinfecting them. n SNS

No man's flu !

MALDA, Dec. 17: When north Bengal is reeling under Bird flu, the arrival of minister for animal resources development department, Mr Anisur Rahman, in Malda on 21 December is likely to make hardly any difference. With the Sujapur by-poll slated for 21 December, the minister would not be able to take stock of the situation since if he talks to the officials, the would be defying the model code of conduct prior to the elections. It should be noted that the minister is coming to attend a political meet and not look into flu fighting measures. Government officials would not meet the minister on 21 December, due to model code of conduct, said the Malda ADM. Mr Asim Dasgupta, the state finance minister, would be coming to Malda tomorrow to attend celebration of 150 years of Malda Zilla School. Interestingly, none of the ministers would be able to meet the government officials to take stock of the flu situation. n SNS

Culling begins in Malda

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 16: The Malda district administration started culling operations in the affected villages of Narhatta gram panchayat under English Bazaar block in Malda district amidst resistance from the villagers today.

Eighteen teams have been formed to cull an estimated 16,505 birds within 3 km radius from the epicenter, Satgharia village, where Bird Flu has resurfaced.

The culling teams, however, ran into trouble after villagers stopped them in the evening over payments. The Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, and the ADM (G) Mr PC Sit rushed to the areas and brought the situation under control by deploying civil defence volunteers instead of block officials to make spot payments. According to the DM, each of the 18 teams has eight members including animal resources department officials, civil defence volunteers, four labourers and a block official for spot payment against the birds culled.

“Police would protect the culling team members in case villagers’ resistance went out of hand in the 13 affected moujas under Norhatta gram panchayat,” the DM said. According to him, the culling operation is expected to be over Thursday.

The Malda SP, Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhayay, has instructed all police stations to set up patrolling at all entry points of the affected areas covering three km radius so that none can shift chickens during culling operation.

Dr Gopal Chandra Chakraborty, an expert from Kolkata, came here to supervise the culling operation and held a meeting with the district administrative officials today. A team of doctors has been kept ready to examine the health of culling team members before and after culling operation.

Hundreds of crows die after poultry deaths

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 16: Hundreds of crows have died since yesterday in Budhia village at Norhatta in English Bazaar block, the spot where more than 3,500 chickens died of Bird Flu, causing panic among the people.

The villagers suspect that the dead crows might have eaten the carcass of the Bird Flu affected chickens. The CMOH, Malda, Mr Srikanta Roy, said that this could be a possibility.

Despite the situation, there is no awareness campaign at Norhatta against consumption of chicken. Children could be seen playing around with the dead crows that had simply fallen off the trees in the area. It may be noted that the local gram panchayat yesterday decided to inform people that they should not eat chicken.

Mostaq Mian, a resident of Budhia village, said that despite warnings, the people are consuming the dead chickens. “They do not know about Bird Flu and termed it Ranikhet, a disease often found in poultry, the people are consuming the dead birds,” he said. To substantiate the claim, Mrs Rosia Bibi, a resident of the area said that she ate chicken yesterday and today and yet nothing had happened to her or her family members.

The Malda CMOH, Mr Roy, said that the multipurpose workers, including the ICDS and other voluntary workers were asked to inform the people against consuming dead birds. “We have decided to ask the religious figureheads to announce the same from the mosques during prayer sessions,” he added.

“We have not received instructions to cull crows till now. We are monitoring the situation and completion of culling is our first priority,” said Malda ADM Mr PC Sit.