Rains may affect paddy growth

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 7 JULY: Uneven distribution of rain is likely to affect cultivation of aman paddy in Malda district. The farmers are finding it difficult to prepare the seedbeds and the agriculture officials are worried.

The principal agriculture officer (PAO) in Malda, Mr R K Das said: “Uneven rainfall is affecting the cultivation of ‘aman’ paddy. The farmers in many areas have not been able to prepare the seedbeds. If the situation does not improve, ‘aman’ cultivators could face a serious loss,” said the principal agriculture officer in Malda, Mr R K Das.

The agriculture department has estimated a loss of Rs 40 crore on agriculture production particularly boro paddy, maize and jute due to Aila this year and the report has been sent to the director of agriculture department. The PAO in Malda also said that he suggested the director of the agriculture department to consider debt relief for farmers who had taken loan from banks and who are under the crop insurance coverage.

The PAO has managed the data of farmers who have obtained loans from banks and cooperative sectors and has sent a report to the director of the agriculture.

According to the PAO, nearly 36,000 farmers have taken loan from banks during boro paddy cultivation. The farmers took more than Rs 200 crore loan from different banks.

Huge profit for mango growers

to be uploaded soon

Weather conditions hit silk production

Story to be uploaded soon

Sailen advised bed rest

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 5 JULY: The state environment minister Mr Sailen Sarkar (in photo) been advised bed rest as he is recuperating after prolonged illness. The condition of his health is not fit to undertake any kind of stress or hard work, doctors said.

The district CPI-M leaders and his followers are upset over the minister’s deteriorating health conditions.

Worried followers claimed, “How will he carry out his job as a minister, with such feeble health?”.

Mr Sarkar took ill on train yesterday after his sugar levels went down abnormally.

He was immediately admitted to the Malda railway hospital when the Gour Express reached Malda Town station.

Mr Sarkar was undergoing treatment in PG Hospital in Kolkata for the past fifteen days. He was suffering from fever owing to internal complications of his health.

He was on his way back home in a train after being discharged from the PG hospital.

Mr Sarkar who always keeps himself restive for political works has been confined in hospital and residence due to his illness in the past few days.

He has been suffering from various critical diseases for the past one and half year.

Despite doctor’s advice he did not take rest at home and attended every programme ignoring his health condition.

Although his health would not permit him to contest the parliamentary election 2009, he contested from the North Malda parliamentary seat. For election campaigning he had spent lot of time in seven assembly constituency every day in last two months depending on medicines. But after the election results, he fell ill again.

The minister has finally decided to leave for Kolkata tonight by train to consult doctors in the city

Indebted farmer commits suicide

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 5 JULY: After failing to repay loan to banks a marginal farmer committed suicide by consuming poison at Ahora village in Gazole yesterday.

The farmer has been identified as Subal Sarkar (35) who took a loan of Rs 10,000 from local bank. He borrowed money earlier from different sources but could not repay the loans. According to his family members, he was disappointed when he did not get better results cultivating his land due to natural calamity. His standing crop was reportedly damaged when Aila lashed the district. After that he could not revive cultivation due to lack of irrigation when drought-like situation prevailed for long time after Aila.

The body of the farmer was recovered from the shed of a shallow pump machine in the field.

After Aila, which had prevented monsoon from coming on time here, the district faced an abnormally sultry situation owing to lack of rain and preparation of seed bed for aman cultivation was hit due to lack of rain.

The principal agriculture officer Mr RK Das said: “Farmers in many places have started agitation, having failed to repay the loans took from banks”.

Plans to halt child marriage

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 3 JULY: In an attempt to monitor and stop girls marrying before they reach 18 years of age, the district social welfare department, with the help of the sociology department of Burdwan University, has started a survey of marriage age in Malda's villages.

This is the first time such a survey has been carried out in a West Bengal district, and Malda has been chosen because the district has ‘ranked’ first for early marriage rates, with the highest rate of early marriages being recorded in the last few years.

The social welfare officers have selected 30 villages; two villages from each block out of the 15 blocks in this district.

After the completion of the survey, awareness campaigns will be launched in 30 selected villages.

Unicef has come forward to take part in this special drive to check early marriage by providing financial assistance. Two other organisations, the international law forum and banglanatak.com, will also take part in the special drive.

The members of the law forum will organise programmes in 30 villages, and explain the existing laws to the villagers, in the hope of putting a stop to early marriage.

The members of banglanatak.com will also organise awareness programmes through the use of folk culture. Malda's folk song "Gambhira" will be used as a tool to make people think about, and decide against, early marriage for their daughters.

“We have planned to engage local schools, panchayat and local NGOs to interfere when family members plan early marriages for their daughters. After the completion of the survey of 30 villages, we will hold a meeting to prepare an action plan against early marriage”, said the district social welfare office Mr PK De.

“This is a pilot project, and we hope it will enable us to declare 30 villages as ‘early marriage free'. The programme will is a year-long project, and after its successful completion it will be extended across the district”, Mr De said.

During surveying yesterday, the team members found one 13 year old Muslim girl at Itakhola village in English Bazaar block who had been forced by family members into marriage.

During the interaction, the father of the girl blamed his wife, and said that his "daughter's mother was the driving force behind the marriage of my daughter”

The social welfare department will take action against the parents if they do not follow governmental guidelines.

Malda ranks 3rd in NREGS

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 2 JULY: The Malda district has secured third position in the performance league table measuring the implementation levels of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), from 1 April to 31 May 2009.

The principal secretary of the panchayat and rural development (P&RD) department, Dr MN Roy, confirmed this information to the district administration on 1 July.

Analysing the district's ‘labour budget’, and the main parameters and scale of implementation of the NREGS over the last two months, when compared with other districts in West Bengal, show that the Malda district has ranked third.

At the beginning of the current financial year the Malda district ranked seventeenth, and few days ago, when the minister of state P&RD, Mr Bankim Ghosh, came to Malda, he said that the position of this district was seventh.

The district administrative officials expect that NREGS reports for this district will be better in future because it has already observed NREGS Week, from 6 June to 12 June, across the district.

The additional district programme coordinator for NREGS, Mr Kajal Banerjee, said: “NREGS is the ideal comprehensive developmental programme for a rural belt. There are sufficient fund flows and no difference between the actual plan and its implementation in this district”.

Between 1 April and 15 June the Malda district was able to spend Rs 14.14 crore out of available funds of Rs 28.16 crore. A total of 193 schemes have been completed, and 1,320 schemes are in progress.

In implementing NREGS, the district has created 12.67 lakh ‘person days’, and a total of 82,147 households have already been given jobs under the employment guarantee programme.

Based on present inputs, the district has been able to provide 16.5 job days, ‘person days’, (Shram Diwas), out of 100 days, and the average registered female labourer has received 26.46 days job out of 100 days.

“We have achieved quantity but we need to ensure the quality of employment guarantee schemes by applying a social audit system”, said Mr Tanay Deb Sarkar, the district nodal officer, NREGS.

BDR chief vows to crack down on terrorism

MALDA, 2 JULY: The director general, Bangladesh Rifles, Major General Md. Moinul Islam today said that the BDR would curb any terrorist activity in Bangladesh. Interacting with Mr DS Sidhu, deputy inspector-general, Border Security Force, Berhampur sector and other BSF officials at the Mehadipur border outpost in Malda district today Mr Islam claimed the meeting was “a courtesy visit”, aimed at improving relation and co-ordination between the BDR and the BSF in the region.

Speaking to media, the BDR top brass said that the new Bangladesh government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced the government would not allow extremists and terrorists to use the Bangladesh soil. “We are alert to keep away terrorism and terrorists from Bangladesh. We intercepted a group of terrorists in Bangladesh recently which had come from Mumbai,” Mr Islam claimed.

Commenting that the BDR and BSF shared good relations at present he added: “We need more interaction and more exchange of views between the two forces to guard the border peacefully. There is no tension between the two countries on border issues and there is no major source of worry either.”

According to him, a DG level meeting between the two forces would soon be held in Dhaka. ;SNS

New home for destitutes

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 1 JULY: The social welfare department will set up a “cottage home” for destitute boys in Malda. The department sanctioned the project on 23 June, and plans to inaugurate it on 15 July at Vivekananda Pally in English Bazaar town.

The district welfare officer, Mr PK De, described the reasons behind the decision: “we did not have a home for boys. Facing such difficulties, we used to send destitute boys to another home located at Balurghat in South Dinajpur or in Cooch Behar.

Previously, when the district child welfare committee and police rescued destitute boys, there were problems in providing shelter for them in Malda. However, after the inauguration of the cottage home, that problem will be resolved. According to Mr De, a local non-governmental organisation has been selected to run the home with the financial help of the state government.

The state government will bear expenses of Rs. 900 out of the Rs. 1,000 required for each boy per month in order to provide food and other basic amenities, including education. The NGO will bear the remaining Rs. 100. The government will also bear the costs of the rent of the building hired by the NGO, and the costs of its staff, which include teachers, counselors, cooks, helpers, superintendents, and doctors.The home will run with a capacity of twenty. The department has plans to increase the accommodation capacity to 50 boys in the future.

The destitute boys will receive normal education, as well as vocational training, within the campus the cottage home.

BJP springs a surprise, makes off with Ward 11

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 1 JULY: The BJP surprisingly captured Ward no 11 of English Bazaar civic body in the municipal by-polls, defeating its nearest CPI-M candidate. This seat was under the control of the Congress.

The BJP candidate, Mr Sanjay Dey, secured 1,497 votes. The CPI-M candidate Mr Dilip Choudhury bagged 1,376 votes, while the Congress candidate Mr Atul Singh obtained only 733 votes.

Biswanath Guho, the Intuc district president, who was murdered a year ago, was elected last year in the municipal by-polls with a huge margin of votes from Ward no 11. The South Malda MP, Mr AH Khan Choudhury, meanwhile, had got a 767 leading margin in terms of votes from Ward no 11 in the parliamentary election.

A section of district Congress leaders blamed the Congress leadership of Malda town for selecting Mr Atul Singh as a candidate. Mr Singh had been the councillor of English Bazaar in the period from 1981 to 1990 belonging to the CPI-M. He had left the party and joined the Congress after 1990s.

At least 15 candidates, including two relatives of Biswanath Guho, had submitted applications seeking a ticket. But the Congress leadership nominated Mr Singh, rejecting other applicants, including the daughter of Guho.

As a result, an Independent candidate, a follower of Biswanth Guho, decided to contest and obtained 59 votes. Voters belonging to the anti-Left camp did not accept the Congress candidate when the Congress leadership refused to accept other suitable candidate for this seat. Even in a Congress-dominated Muslim pocket zone ~ Bakshatuli ~ in Ward no 11 the CPI-M candidate bagged the highest votes, while the BJP candidate Mr Sanjay Dey came in second. The overall by-poll results in English Bazaar Municipality are: LF have 11 seats, the Congress and Trinamul Congress have 12 seats and the BJP has two. The Congress and Trinamul Congress-led board is now depending more on the BJP councillors.

English Bazaar gets rain relief, at last

MALDA, 30 JUNE: Just when the Malda Ramkrishna Mission was preparing to organise Ban O Varsha Baran Utsav in order to please the rain God, who they hoped would overcome the present sultry conditions, English Bazaar town finally received a short spell of rain this morning after a long dry period which lasted for 45 minutes from 9 am. People's relief was palpable from dawn, when the drizzling started.

The district town last received rain during the cyclonic storm, Aila. Since then, the people have faced significant difficulties in leading normal lives due to the continuing sultry situation.

The people, based on superstition, feared that the rain would only come on the departure of the circus show which has been performing at English Bazaar town over the last week.

“The circus team can stem the rain by offering puja, and they know occult methods and incantations of enchantment to drive the clouds away so that the rain does not disturb their show,” locals said.

Many parts of Malda district, even in the outskirts of the town, have been receiving rain since Sunday, but until this morning there was no rain in English Bazaar town despite the presence of clouds in the sky.

Aged people were also worried about the abnormal pattern of rainfall when the district did not receive a drop of rain on the occasion of Vaishnavite Ramkeli Fair in Gour, famous for its historical ruins, and in Rathayatra.

“I have heard that the circus team offers prayer before its inauguration in a new place so that a shower does not disturb its show,” said Swami Divyananda, the secretary of the Malda Ramkrishna Mission.

Mr J Raja, manager of the circus team, Ajanta Circus, said: “We do not belief such a puja can stop the rain. Besides, our circus team members belong to Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Mongolian and African communities. How could we offer puja and know incantations of any power to change the weather?” Mr Raja said.

Following in the footsteps of Santinikatan, hundreds of students of Ramkrishna Mission's Vivekananda Vidyamandir offered a prayer, organizing Ban O Varsha Baran Utsav under the leadership of Swami Shivaprada-nanda, principal of the school, at about 12:30 p.m. today. The additional district magistrate, the additional police superintendent, the divisional forest officer and other officials were present.

Malda takes up handloom industry growth

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 30 JUNE: The Malda district has formed a cluster of 350 weavers at Sat-tari village in English Bazaar block for the development of the handloom industry. The district authorities have received funds of Rs 9.62 lakh from the Centre and Rs 1.2 lakh from the state for this project out of a proposed estimate of Rs 32.30 lakh to cover three years.

To develop the standard of the handloom industry, the state textile department has selected 350 weavers out of nearly 2,000 who are weaving traditional big napkins (gamchha).

“We have decided to train the weavers to make saris and other cloths for garments. One master trainer will guide them in weaving other quality items,” said Mr Molay Kumar Sarkar, handloom development officer in Malda.

According to him, the department has formed 35 self help groups (SHG) comprising 10 members each and has opened 35 bank accounts for this project. Another consortium has been formed, selecting one member from 35 SHGs who will monitor the project and take responsibility of the marketing of produce from this cluster.

The handloom development officer, Mr Sarkar, said: “Selected members of the consortiums from Sat-tari in Malda and Gangarampur in South Dinajpur may visit a mega-cluster project in another state for a short period of training in the second week of July to make the project viable”. After three years the textile departments will hand over the entire project to the consortium formed at Sat-tari.

The Central and state governments have already sanctioned funds partly, to build a common facility centre, for design development, a yarn depot, and other infrastructural developments at Sat-tari. To bring yarn from the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC), the handloom development office in Malda has already deposited Rs 3 lakh to the NHDC.

The Malda handloom development officer said: "Many people living at Madia near Shobhanagar in English Bazaar block are working in carpet industry in Varanasi and other states and they are very skilled in this sector. We have planned a project at Bengal Brand Carpet Weaving Centre at Madia in Malda.

Bus terminus still a far cry

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 29 JUNE: Though the district administration had intended to complete the Malda central bus terminus by December 2008, the PWD engineers do not know when the central bus terminus will be operational. This has now been alleged as due to a funding crunch rather than the monsoon, an argument put forward nearly a year ago.

In October 2008, the district administrative officials argued that, ‘they had planned to complete the construction work by October, but it was delayed due to the monsoon.” But, today, the executive engineer of PWD said that, “this project is being delayed due to the funding crunch.”

A few days ago, the Malda district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, sought the present status report of the ongoing construction work for the future traffic management plan of Malda town.

According to the assistant engineer, Mr AK Saha, based on existing tender, construction work is in operation and will be completed shortly.

When asked about the construction of a culvert for the building of an entrance and exit way from the Central Bus Terminus to the NH-34, near English Bazaar Regulated Market, the assistant engineer Mr Saha quoted his boss (the executive engineer) and said: “There is no fund for the construction of that culvert at present.”

Mr Saha then added: “It is very difficult to say when the work will be completed and when it will be operational. We need to float tender for other jobs including some plans to increase the capacity of the existing building which has already been completed. The coming monsoon may also delay the project.” According to the district administration, Rs 1.35 crore was allotted for the project. This apart, Rs 1.22 crore had been sanctioned for the completion of the Central Bus Terminus, including electrical work. Allegedly, when the project was conceived, the transport department had allotted a decent amount of funding.

PHE proposes drinking water projects for villages

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 29 JUNE: The Public Health Engineering (PHE) has submitted several small-scale drinking water projects to its higher authorities for approval.The PHE in particular wishes to implement the schemes in the currently left out villages in Old Malda, Habibpur, Bamongola and Harishchandrapur blocks. The officials of the PHE chief engineer's office have started their examination of these schemes. Implementation will occur on a priority basis.The PHE plans to set up deep tube wells to lift up water, and then distribute it to the villages where there previously has not been a drinking water project in place.The executive engineer, PHE, Mr Swapan Maitra said: “We have planned to supply drinking water by lifting it up from under the ground in the arsenic free zone. After the water has been lifted, there will be a test to see if there are abnormal quantities of iron present in the water. If so, we will set up iron removal units before distribution.”A few months ago, workers from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) detected fluoride contamination of ground water in Pakuahat and other areas of Bamongola block. The presence of fluoride was found to be above the permissible limit in drinking water sources.“Five such schemes have been prepared for Harishchandrapur block. Similarly, we have submitted proposals for drinking water schemes in other blocks like Old Malda, Habibpur and Bamongola”, Mr. Maitra said. These areas are arsenic contaminated like Kaliachak, Manikchak, English Bazaar and Ratua, he claimed. The estimated cost of each scheme is nearly Rs. 2 to 2.50 crore including the laying of pipelines for distribution to some villages. The PHE will start the work after approval is granted from its higher authorities. Today, the top officials of the PHE held a meeting to select a few schemes out of those submitted earlier by the Malda PHE.


Rly passengers abused

MALDA, 29 JUNE: Mr Abhigyan Sengupta, a teacher of Raghunathpur High School in Murshidabad, lodged a complaint at the English Bazaar police station against the assistant station manager of Malda town station, Mr Amitava Roy. Mr Sengupta was allegedly roughed up by Mr Roy at Malda town station this morning. Hundreds of daily passengers were protesting against the delay of the train which travels from Malda to Azimganj in Murshidabad, and from Malda to Katihar in Bihar. When the angry passengers went to Mr Roy to lodge their protest, the latter, instead of hearing the grievances, turned violent. ;SNS

Mango-tourism festival in Malda

MALDA, 26 JUNE: Malda district will organise a three-day Mango and Tourism Festival from 3 July at a private hotel premises at Narayanpur.

The West Bengal tourism department has allotted funds of Rs 5 lakh to the organisation of the festival.

Yesterday, the district administration held a meeting to discuss its preparation.

The horticulture department has been asked to take part in the festival and to organise a mango competition.

The tourism department has been asked to focus on the tourist spots in the district in the course of the festival.

The additional district magistrate, Ms Indrani Saha, is chalking out plans and programmes for the event.

“The sericulture department has been asked to take part in the festival by displaying the famous Malda silk and its products," said Mr Sridhar Ghosh, the Malda district magistrate. ;SNS

Focus on wider irrigation for pulses cultivation

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 26 JUNE: To implement the Food Security Mission's projects, the Malda district administration has stressed the need to earmark more land for the cultivation of various pulses.

The district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, yesterday held a meeting with the principal agriculture officer (PAO) and other concerned officials.

“The objective of this project is to produce adequate pulses to meet the people's requirements. We need to ensure that satisfactory irrigation systems are in place in rain-fed areas for the cultivation of pulses. Further production will check the price hike of pulses. Non-governmental organisations and self-help groups will need to be involved in this project,” said the Malda DM, Mr Sridhar Ghosh.

The administration has planned to seize the initiative in cultivating various pulses in new areas beginning in the upcoming Kharif season. At the meeting held yesterday, the PAO, RK Das, said: “Due to the scarcity of rain and the late monsoon, the cultivation of pulses will be delayed until the Kharif season. To ensure more successful pulse cultivation, improved irrigation is required in the rain-fed zones in this district.”

According to him, after cyclone Alia the district did not receive adequate rain for the cultivation of aman paddy.

“Many farmers could not prepare seedbeds for aman cultivation due to the scarcity of rain. The district has 1.54 lakh ha land for aman cultivation but the district does not have adequate irrigation systems in all cultivated lands,” said Mr Das. The PAO has also reported to the directorate: “The district usually receives 419.7 mm rain from January to June but this year the district has received only 274.5mm rain from January. The shortfall is 145.2mm.” The district receives on average 229.4 mm rainfall in June but Malda has received only 26.1 mm so far. The temperature in air and soil usually varies from 36.2 to 39.1 degrees celsius. But this year, the temperature measured down to 5 cm depth, has been recorded as 41 to 42 degrees Celsius.

Local leaders’ ‘no’ to female candidate

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 25 JUNE: Even as the district Congress president, Mr AH Khan Choudhury, is in a dilemma over the nomination for the Sujapur Assembly by-poll, local leaders of that area have adopted a resolution naming probable candidates for the seat.

When Mr Khan Choudhury, who is also the South Malda MP, attended a felicitation programme in honour of his victory at Sujapur on Tuesday, local leaders expressed unhappiness over the selection of a woman candidate for Sujapur Assembly constituency, and asked him not to nominate any woman candidate for the Assembly seat.

However, the late Rubi Noor, sister of ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, had been elected as MLA for over two decades. After her demise, her daughter Miss Mausam Noor contested in the Sujapur by-poll in January and was elected MLA from Sujapur.

Miss Noor was also elected MP from North Malda in May and resigned from the state Assembly. At present, the South Malda MP Mr AH Khan Choudhury, brother of the late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, is in a dilemma over nominating someone for the seat, not least because some of the aspirants come from his own family.

Though the leaders of Sujapur have agreed to accept a candidate from Ghani Khan's family, the South Malda MP, who is also the district president, is undecided on who to select - although his son Mr Isha Khan, and his niece Miss Sahela Noor, another sister of Miss Mausam Noor, figure prominently in the contest for the post. However, both of the candidates were born in Canada and may face technical problems relating to their citizenship after the filing of nominations.

Taking advantage of the situation, another family member Miss Shehenaz Kadrir, a rival of Miss Mausam Noor's family, is trying hard to obtain a ticket for the by-poll. Miss Kadrir is also close to the South Malda MP.

Considering the present situation, the leaders of Sujapur have finally asked the South Malda MP to nominate either his elder brother Dr AN Khan Choudhury or a local leader from the Sujapur Assembly area, asking him not to nominate a woman candidate. The AICC had rejected the candidature of Dr AN Khan Choudhury over the Swiss citizenship issue and finally nominated Miss Mausam Noor for the North Malda parliamentary constituency. “Nothing has been finalised. A candidate will be selected after a meeting with district leaders. My elder brother may contest from Sujapur if he can ready all the papers to prove he is an Indian citizen before filing a nomination,” said Mr AH Khan Choudhury.

Country spirit production on the rocks

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 24 JUNE: The production of country spirit (CS) has been suspended in many bottling plants in the state, including two in north Bengal, due to acute scarcity of rectified spirit.

Stocks of rectified spirit in many bottling plants located in Malda, Jalpaiguri's Birpara, Dankuni in Hooghly, Garbeta in Midnapore and other south Bengal districts have dried up.

Due to the suspension of CS production, vendors in many districts are facing a crisis regarding their ability to supply CS to consumers. The stock of CS will be exhausted within two to three days in vendors’ godowns.

In the last seven days, the bottlers have had to deliver CS to the district vendors on the basis of a ‘rationing system’ owing to the shortage of rectified spirit.

Since the first week of June, the state excise department has been trying hard to face the crisis but it has failed to resolve the problem owing to ‘internal’ difficulties in distillery houses in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr CR Das, commissioner of excise, has finally issued some fresh permits to import rectified spirit from Uttarakhand to meet the ongoing problem.

It may be noted that the excise department had issued permits for importing 11 lakh of rectified spirit from Uttar Pradesh in the first week of June but not a single drop of spirit arrived here.

“A racket is active outside the distillery house, who are demanding Rs 2 in tax per litre extra. Bottlers in West Bengal are facing problems concerning importing rectified spirit from there, because of these extra charges,” said Mr Saikat De, district secretary of the Malda Excise License Association. The government's approved country liquor manufacturers and bottlers used to only import rectified spirit from Uttar Pradesh and the department did not have any alternative arrangement when the crisis struck.

Facing difficulties in meeting demand for CS, vendors in Cooch Behar district met the excise officials today, demanding a solution to the ongoing problem.

The bottling plant for CS located at Birpara in Jalpaiguri used to supply CS to two districts including Cooch Behar but production has been suspended since yesterday. The consumption of CS in these two districts is nearly 6 lakh litres per month.

Similarly, the stock of rectified spirit of another bottling plant in Malda has been exhausted today and the plant was forced to suspend production. At present, the stock of CS bottles in its warehouse is only 35,000. The demand for CS bottles in Malda district is 13 lakh bottles per month.

Vendors in Malda, South Dinajpur and part of north Dinajpur depend on Malda's bottling plant and are anticipating facing problems within two to three days. Only one bottling plant at Siliguri in north Bengal is running but the production rate has been reduced.

The Malda district magistrate (DM), Mr Sridhar Ghosh, said: “We are keeping in touch with the excise commissioner to sort out the problem. The excise commissioner has already approached the bottling plant owners to bring rectified spirit from Uttarakhand to meet the crisis.”

“Though some bottlers in south Bengal have accepted the proposal, bottlers in north Bengal are demanding extra transportation costs to import the rectified spirit from Uttaranchal,” said Mr Ghosh.

“It is a natural and social problem, and if it continues, the habituated consumers belonging to the weaker sections will turn violent,” the DM added.

“The government should compensate for extra transportation costs incurred in importing the rectified spirit from Uttarakhand,” the members of the bottlers’ association said. The government's approved West Bengal Country Spirit Manufacturers and Bottlers’ Association is apprehending that if the crisis continues, the illicit liquor trade will begin flourishing in the state once again.

Tribals block road to protest minor’s rape

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 24 JUNE: Following in Lalgarh's footsteps, thousands of tribals displaying their traditional arms and beating drums blocked a state highway for more than five hours in protest against police inaction at Kendpukur under Habibpur police station today.

Tribals were demanding the arrest of those charged of raping a minor tribal girl at Taljhari village in Habibpur - a tribal-dominated block.

A few days ago, a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a group of youths, according to a complaint lodged by her guardian with Habibpur police station. No-one has been arrested as yet. The girl was undergoing treatment in Malda hospital till yesterday.

The protest paralyzed life in the area, creating a 5km-long pile-up on both sides of the road block. The block development officer (BDO) and inspector in charge rushed to the spot but could not get them to clear the road.

The inspector in charge of Habibpur block stood there helplessly while the tribal people continuously criticized the role of the IC, using indecorous words. The IC was tightlipped in order to maintain ‘peace’ there.

Finally, the BDO reported to the district administration, requesting that senior police officials be sent to lift the block. The senior police officials, led by the deputy superintendent of police, rushed to the spot and managed the situation. They finally assured the people that the police would nab the four accused named in the complaints.

A few days ago, the minor girl, a resident of Salvita village, was allegedly raped by a group of local youths at Taljhari village. The incident added to the tribal people's growing anger, as in the last one-and-a-half years, nearly eight minor tribal girls have allegedly been raped in Habibpur block areas. The police have reportedly done nothing to punish the culprits.

When the incident came to light, the police suggested holding a reconciliation meeting with the tribal society to ‘dismiss’ the case. “Tribal people are unhappy with the role of the police here,” said a senior administrative officer in Habibpur block. According to local people, the reconciliation meeting was held, and a middle-man reportedly received Rs 50,000 from the culprits to ‘hush up’ the rape case against them. When the matter came to light, a group associated with a local club in Kendpukur mobilised the tribal people in blocking the road in protest against police inaction. The Malda police superintendent Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhdayay has decided to conduct an inquiry against the alleged police officer in this case.

Lalgarh Day VI

Maoist spokesperson Gaur Chakraborty was arrested in Kolkata last evening under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the law the Centre used Monday to designate the Naxalite outfit a terrorist organisation. The decision came just after accepting the central decision in the cabinet meeting led by the chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee. The police picked up the 73-year-old Chakraborty as he stepped out of a television studio in Park Circus. Chakraborty was handed over to the special branch, the city police’s intelligence wing, and taken to an office on Lord Sinha Road for interrogation.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee yesterday chose to act like chief minister, declaring that the Delhi ban against Maoists would apply to Bengal and paving the way for the arrest of a CPI (Maoist) spokesperson under a central law, a news paper reported. “The central act banning the CPI (Maoist) will be applicable to all states across the nation, so Bengal cannot be an exception,” Bhattacharjee said after a cabinet meeting. The chief minister took care to address concerns among a section of his colleagues who objected to his stand at the cabinet meeting. “But how and when and against whom this is applied will depend on the state government. Against this backdrop, the state government has no necessity to either enact a new law or frame new rules,” Bhattacharjee said.

Kolkata will get a combat force trained on the lines of the elite National Security Guard to deal with terrorists. The police brass had proposed the force a few months ago but the state cabinet cleared it yesterday, in the middle of the crackdown in Lalgarh against Maoist guerrillas. “This 1,000-strong force will be specifically for the city and equipped to tackle different forms of terrorist attacks,” chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said. Until the new facility is ready, the training will be given at the Police Training School in Alipore. Home department sources said the first batch would be ready by 2010. According to initial estimates, the commando school could cost around Rs 55 crore. The state government will have to spend around Rs 8 crore a year to run it, said a source in Kolkata police.

Lalgarh police also recorded a complaint on their own against artistes like Aparna Sen and Kaushik Sen who had visited the area on Sunday, newspaper reported. But the police made a distinction by filing only a general diary. If the police choose to, they can now file an FIR under Section 144 of the IPC, not the anti-terror law, against the artistes for flouting orders that prohibited the assembly of more than four persons. The non-bail-able central law carries a minimum punishment of five years in prison while Section 144 is bail-able with a maximum punishment of a two-year term.

Maoists and their supporters yesterday looted and burnt down two CPM offices, one near Purulia’s Burrabazar and the other close to Jhargram, West Midnapore.
The main objectives of the 40 members of the CRPF’s Cobra force is to flush out the guerrillas from the jungles so they are not able to detonate improvised explosive devices. “The IEDs planted along the route need to be detonated; they don’t explode under pressure,” said an officer.

The Maoists have said their strategy was being overseen by Kishanji, the leader of their armed squad who is camping in Lalgarh. “He is personally monitoring our operations,” a Maoist said. “It won’t be easy for the police.”

West Midnapore district magistrate S.N. Nigam and his assistant Ashwini Yadav — and block development officer Saurav Barik drew up a short-term relief and rehabilitation blueprint for the Binpur region. “There are 54 ration shops in the area but they have not been functioning properly for months. We will revive them to ensure food,” said the official