Woman, son dead in blaze inside flat in Cooch Behar

According to sources, they own a flat in the third floor of a building in New Kadamtala area under ward 11 of the town

[Representational image.Shutterstock]

A middle-aged woman and her son died in a blaze that broke out at a multi-storey building in Cooch Behar town on Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as Supriya Sarkar, 51, and her son Sujoy, 32.

Sources said they own a flat in the third floor of a building in New Kadamtala area under ward 11 of the town. A few days back, they had come to the flat from Patna, where they usually stay.

On Tuesday morning, some residents spotted smoke coming out of the flat and informed the police and the fire services. Two fire tenders from Cooch Behar fire station reached the spot and doused the blaze.

A team from Kotwali police station also went to the site.

After the fire was extinguished, firemen and police entered the flat to find the bodies of the mother and the son.

“The son works in Patna and both he and his mother stayed there most of the time. Around three-four days back, they had come to the flat which otherwise used to be under lock and key,” said a local resident.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Residents also pointed out that the firemen had to break a lock to enter the flat. “They were inside the flat and yet it was locked outside. The police should find out why,” one said.

On February 12, another fire had broken out in another multi-storey building in Bhawaniganj Bazar, the largest market of the town. However, no casualty or injury was reported in that incident.

[source : The Telegraph]

Focus on work ethic, Mamata Banerjee sets road map for Siliguri

There have also been reports of several ruling party leaders leading a flashy lifestyle, something that the Bengal chief minister has never approved of

[Chief minister Mamata Banerjee with newly elected Trinamul Congress councillors of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation on Tuesday]Picture by Passang Yolmo

Writes : Devadeep Purohit, Bireswar Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday told the newly elected Trinamul councillors of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) to lead a spartan life and work for the common people, the message coming at a time the chief minister is repeatedly stressing the virtues of a simple life for leaders of the ruling party.

“You have a roof above your head… You get decent square meals. You can have a two-wheeler or at best a car to move around. Ideally, you should be using two-wheelers when you go out to meet people,” said Mamata in her brief interaction with the 37 councillors of Trinamul who came to Uttar Kanya to meet her.

The lesson that Mamata gave to the councillors assumes significance as the last few years have seen several Trinamul leaders making big SUVs and sedans with tinted glasses a part of their lifestyle. There have also been reports of several ruling party leaders leading a flashy lifestyle, something that Mamata has never approved of.

The chief minister told Gautam Deb, the would-be mayor of Siliguri, that after assuming office, he should constitute a monitoring cell.

“You should form a monitoring and implementation cell to check progress and execution of development works (in the SMC). I will also monitor (it),” she said.

She also asked the councillors to put in all possible efforts so that Siliguri — the largest city in north Bengal and the gateway to the Northeast — can be developed as urban centres like Calcutta and Rajarhat. “You will have to ensure participation of people from all walks of life in the development process,” she said before adding that development didn’t only mean “large expenditure”.

The chief minister’s missive to the councillors, a source said, meant she did not want any malpractice in the running of the civic body.

In 2012, a year after Mamata first came to power, a scam had come to surface at the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) — a development agency that functions under the state municipal affairs and urban development department — that had embarrassed the newly sworn in Trinamul government.

It was alleged that government funds to the tune of Rs 80 crore was misappropriated on the pretext of projects like electrical crematorium and sewerage treatment plants, which either were unfinished or not carried out. The scam led to a CID probe, which resulted in the arrest of an IAS officer who was the chief executive officer of the SJDA then.

“That scam had been a setback for Trinamul. At the 2015 civic elections, the Left and Congress made it an agenda. Trinamul lost and the Left came to power. This seems to be another reason why the chief minister rang an alert today (Tuesday),” said a political observer.

Deb, while talking to newspersons after the interaction with Mamata, said she has set a road map for the civic board and they will follow it.

“We will take up the tasks like improvement of traffic movement system in the city, better drinking water supply, along with other infrastructure works as per the road map,” he said.

source : The Telegraph

Tea tourism plan brews in garden

In pic : Saket Agarwal, director of Majherbari tea estate, and (right) Giriraj Agarwal, an executive officer of the company, with their teas.

Writes : Anirban Choudhury

The management of Majherdabri tea estate on the outskirts of Alipurduar town has drawn up a major tea tourism project in the garden for which the company will invest funds to the tune of Rs 10 crore.

Recently, the Bengal tourism department approved the project, the work of which will soon commence in the garden.

In Alipurduar district, this is the first major project to be taken up in a tea garden.

“We hope to finish construction work of the first phase in two years. There will be an array of amenities for tourists. It will also be an attraction for people of this region,” said Saket Agarwal, a director of Majherdabri.

The garden is favourably located for tea tourism, as it is adjacent to the Buxa Tiger Reserve and close to NH 31C that connects district to the Northeast. Also, Nonai, a hilly stream, flows through the garden. It is also near two railway stations – Alipurduar Junction and New Alipurduar, with the the Bhutan hills in the background.

Agarwal, while elaborating on the proposed project, said they will use around 10 acres of land to set up the infrastructure.

“The work will be carried out in three phases. In the first phase, we will build 10 cottages, a swimming pool, a tea and coffee bar, a multi-cuisine restaurant and a banquet hall,” he said.

These would be followed by a destination wedding hall, another 10 cottages, a spa and a gymnasium in the second phase.

In the final phase, the tea company will develop a golf course, along with tennis and badminton courts.

“There is also a plan to build a hanging bridge. Also, the cottages would be built in such a manner so that people can have different views of rivers, forests, the tea plantation and the hills,” Agarwal added.

In recent years, a number of proposals for tea tourism have reached the state government, especially after the government  increased the ceiling of land that can be used for tourism  purposes in a tea garden. Now, 15 per cent of the vacant land (maximum 150 acres) can be used for this purpose. Earlier, the ceiling was 5 per cent.

Special teas

Along with the tea tourism project, Majherdabri has also come up with CTC and green teas with special flavours.

The varieties — around 30 of them — have been named as “wellness teas” and are available at their outlet in Alipurduar and also online.

These include moonlit tea, hibiscus tea, masala tea and elaichi tea.

“We have plans to open various outlets for these teas in Cooch Behar and Siliguri soon,” said Agarwal.

Source : The Telegraph

Hill parties focus on Health, water, Hassle-free facilities

Delivery of services is emerging as a key issue among hill political parties ahead of the February 27 civic polls.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantrik Morcha, Hamro Party and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have not released their manifesto, but their leaders have started giving shape to their thrust areas for the 32-ward Darjeeling civic area.

Ajoy Edwards, the president of Hamro Party and largely considered the party’s face for the municipality's chairperson, said they would give every citizen with a free annual health check-up.

“Many residents are not aware of their health conditions as they do not go for an annual health check-up. Regular diagnostic tests help prevent certain diseases and go on to create a healthy and wealthy society,” said Edwards.

The Hamro Party team is conducting such tests — with focus on blood pressure, sugar, lipid profile and liver function — on a trial basis for some months now, Edwards said.He alleged the finances the Darjeeling municipality wasn’t stable as it only generates revenues to the tune of Rs 6 crore against an annual expenditure of Rs 17 crore.

 “We need out-of-the-box ideas to make Darjeeling municipality financially self-sufficient and we are drawing up such plans,” he said.

Hamro Party’s rival, the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantrik Morcha, is also stressing on service delivery.“We will set up a mini-municipality in every ward,” said Amar Lama, the party’s face for municipal chairman. He explained that right now, people have to go to the civic body to get birth, death and income certificates, but with a mini-municipality all these documents would be given to citizens in their respective wards.

Bimal Gurung’s Morcha promised to reduce the one-time household water connection charge from Rs 17,500 to Rs 1,000 and probe into the ongoing water distribution scheme, if voted to power.

Writes ; Vivek chhetri , source : Telegraph

Mamata Banerjee announces TMC's national working committee

Two Trinamul Congress leaders known for supporting Abhishek’s positions — MPs Sougata Roy and Derek O’Brien — did not find a berth in the committee

Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced a 20-member national working committee of the Trinamul Congress, placing herself at its top and thereby disbanding the existing panel and sending a clear message that hers was the last word in the party.

Although there was never any doubt who was at the helm of affairs in Trinamul, which Mamata founded in 1998, multiple sources said the reassertion was necessary as Abhishek Banerjee, seen as her heir apparent, had been trying to push some key policy changes and taking decisions that did not go down well with her.

“Our chairperson announced a 20-member national working committee, which will be headed by her, to look after the affairs of the party. We are informing the Election Commission of the decision…. She will be announcing the names of the office-bearers shortly and we will inform the EC accordingly,” said education minister Partha Chatterjee, secretary-general of the party, after a 50-minute meeting of senior leaders at Mamata’s 30B Harish Chatterjee Street residence.

Besides Mamata and Abhishek, the 18 others in the committee include the chief minister’s loyalists like Amit Mitra, Chatterjee, Subrata Bakshi, Sudip Bandopadhyay, Anubrata Mondal, Aroop Biswas, Firhad Hakim and Yashwant Sinha

Two Trinamul leaders known for supporting Abhishek’s positions — MPs Sougata Roy and Derek O’Brien — did not find a berth in the committee.

No one in Trinamul officially explained the significance of the new committee, but it is almost certain that Mamata, who was unanimously elected party chairperson on February 2, has virtually disbanded for now all the posts in the party, including that of the all-India general secretary that went to Abhishek on June 5, 2021.

A source close to Mamata described the move as a masterstroke at a time Abhishek had conveyed his intention to quit the post of all-India general secretary because of his failure to bring in policy changes like “one person, one post” (Opop) and a retirement age for politicians.

“If all existing posts are disbanded, how can someone resign from a key organisational post?” asked the Trinamul insider, who was aware of the issues that had created a rift between the doting aunt and a nephew whose political career she had cradled and whom she had made the Number 2 in the party.

After the decision on the working committee was announced by Chatterjee – first he had announced 16 names and later Hakim rolled out the full list -- Trinamul circles rippled with only one question: whether Abhishek had lost the position of pre-eminence he held in the party.

While unexpected twists and turn are possible in a party like Trinamul, where all decisions are taken by Mamata, multiple sources said the aunt had now sent a strong message to the nephew for actions she did not approve of.

“One cannot predict the future, but right now she is in no mood to compromise, which means Abhishek has to concede ground.… Didi has given him an option by keeping him in the working committee but his role in it will depend on how he reacts over the next few days,” a source said.

It is believed in the Trinamul top echelons that Abhishek had been very firm, at least till Friday, on his stand on Opop and retirement age and had conveyed his position to Mamata through intermediaries, which infuriated her.

Before the session at Mamata’s residence began on Saturday, the chief minister had a brief interaction with Abhishek, who was the first to reach 30B Harish Chatterjee Street for the meeting, which was also attended by Subrata Bakshi, Hakim, Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharyya and MP Sudip.

No one could confirm what transpired between the two, but a source present at the meeting that followed the one-to-one said that Abhishek agreed to sign on a letter that others at the meeting had handed over to her stressing hers was the last word in the party.

A source present at the meeting said Mamata spoke for most of the time and her theme was unity in the party and proper coordination between the new leaders and the old guard.

Some of the issues that have driven a wedge between aunt and nephew -- like Opop and the future of Trinamul’s association with poll consultant Prashant Kishor, an Abhishek favourite — did come up briefly during the discussions but the decisions were left to Mamata.

“Didi has taken full charge of the party and made it clear that she would take all the policy decisions…. This has always been the case in our party except for the last few months when Abhishek too began asserting himself. It remains to be seen how he reacts to Didi’s assertion of her supremacy,” a Trinamul insider said.

“If all existing posts are disbanded, how can someone resign from a key organisational post?” asked the Trinamul insider, who was aware of the issues that had created a rift between the doting aunt and a nephew whose political career she had cradled and whom she had made the Number 2 in the party.

After the decision on the working committee was announced by Chatterjee – first he had announced 16 names and later Hakim rolled out the full list -- Trinamul circles rippled with only one question: whether Abhishek had lost the position of pre-eminence he held in the party.

While unexpected twists and turn are possible in a party like Trinamul, where all decisions are taken by Mamata, multiple sources said the aunt had now sent a strong message to the nephew for actions she did not approve of.

“One cannot predict the future, but right now she is in no mood to compromise, which means Abhishek has to concede ground.… Didi has given him an option by keeping him in the working committee but his role in it will depend on how he reacts over the next few days,” a source said.

It is believed in the Trinamul top echelons that Abhishek had been very firm, at least till Friday, on his stand on Opop and retirement age and had conveyed his position to Mamata through intermediaries, which infuriated her.

Before the session at Mamata’s residence began on Saturday, the chief minister had a brief interaction with Abhishek, who was the first to reach 30B Harish Chatterjee Street for the meeting, which was also attended by Subrata Bakshi, Hakim, Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharyya and MP Sudip.

No one could confirm what transpired between the two, but a source present at the meeting that followed the one-to-one said that Abhishek agreed to sign on a letter that others at the meeting had handed over to her stressing hers was the last word in the party.

A source present at the meeting said Mamata spoke for most of the time and her theme was unity in the party and proper coordination between the new leaders and the old guard.

Some of the issues that have driven a wedge between aunt and nephew -- like Opop and the future of Trinamul’s association with poll consultant Prashant Kishor, an Abhishek favourite — did come up briefly during the discussions but the decisions were left to Mamata.

“Didi has taken full charge of the party and made it clear that she would take all the policy decisions…. This has always been the case in our party except for the last few months when Abhishek too began asserting himself. It remains to be seen how he reacts to Didi’s assertion of her supremacy,” a Trinamul insider said.

source : Telegraph

BJP MLA demands Padma award for Subash Ghisingh

BJP MLA of Darjeeling Neeraj Zimba has

demanded that Padma awards be conferred on former president of Gorkha National Liberation Front Subash Ghisingh

posthumously. 

This year, the prestigious Padma Shri award was conferred on Kaajee Singh, a "madal" (traditional Nepali instrument) exponent based in Kalimpong district.

Zimba on Friday said he had written to Darjeeling MP Raju Singh Bista

reminding him about the conversation the two had three years ago. 

"I spoke to him (Bista) earlier, to take initiative to recognise the contribution of Ghisingh.

He has left a mark in the history of Indian Gorkhas," he said. Zimba said he had

requested the BJP MP to lobby for nomination and recommendation of

Ghisingh for the Padma award in the coming year. 

"Ghisingh is a towering personality of the Gorkha community and is well known for his social, political, and literary contributions and for spreading awareness among the Indian Gorkhas. 

He had also written and published more than 20 books," Zimba said. Ghisingh was born in 1935 and died in 2015. 

He was the president of the GNLF and was the first politician from the hill to coin the word 'Gorkhaland'. 

Ghising ruled Darjeeling hills for more than 20 years as chairman and later administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council which now has been

replaced by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. 

Under Ghisingh, the GNLF in the 1980s spearheaded the statehood agitation. 

Later, in 2001 he also raised the demand of including the hills under the sixth schedule of the Constitution. 

Neeraj Zimba, originally from GNLF, won the Darjeeling assembly seat with a BJP ticket. 

Source : VOS of Mirik.