All-women booths for Salt Lake

Two-Day Training For 600 Officers Who Will Conduct Elections At 150 Booths

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Kolkata: For the first time, all polling booths in Salt Lake, which falls under Barasat parliamentary constituency, will be run solely by women. More than 600 women will be posted as poll officers at 150 booths. 

    Guided by the election commission, the Bidhannagar subdivisional administration is organizing a training programme for women poll officers who will be on duty at these booths. The first phase of the programme was held on Sunday. “These women officers are mainly being trained on how to handle the entire polling process. This involves two issues — handling the normal procedure of election and how to deal with special situations,” said an official of the Bidhannagar subdivisional administration. Another round of training will be conducted in the first week of May. 

    Handbooks have been circulated among all women officers where all issues — crisis that may arise on the poll day and ways to tackle them — have been addressed. 

    According to sources, the administration chose Salt Lake booths for all-women deployment as they have proper infrastructure — including toilets and washrooms — for women officers. Special attention is being given to ensure foolproof security and other logistics — like pick-and-drop facility — so that these women officials do not face any trouble on duty. 

    “The response has been very good. These women officers are being encouraged by their families as well. It is a very positive step towards women empowerment,” said the official. The authorities have organized for Powerpoint presentations oninstructions that the officers should follow to handle the poll procedure and also giving live demonstrations on the functioning of the EVM. 

    Women government employees who attended the first phase of the training programme on Sunday said they were excited over the prospect of handling poll booths all by themselves. “The training was also very informative and helpful,” one of the officers said.

Women officers at Sunday’s training programme organized by the Bidhannagar administration

Acid attack by sacked help

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: A 48-year-old homemaker in Salt Lake was seriously injured after her domestic help threw acid for sacking her. 
    Shampa Sinha, a resident of Shyamali Abason, has suffered injuries in her eyes. 
    Her husband, Gautam Sinha, is a government employee posted in Behrampore. Last month, Gautam’s mother had come to stay at the couple’s flat to spend a few days, for whom he had hired a fulltime nurse, Subhra Das, from a nursing centre from nearby Sukantanagar. 
    After a few days, however, Gautam discontinued her because he was not happy with her work. A new nurse was hired in her place. 
    According to Shampa’s complaint lodged with the police, Das came back to the flat at 11.30am on Friday, saying she had left behind some clothes, which she wanted to take back. She was carrying a bag with her. She entered the bathroom and suddenly came out wearing gloves and carrying a mug in her hand. She reportedly said she wanted to play Holi with Shampa and approached her. Suddenly, Das brought out a bottle of acid from her bag and sprinkled the acid on Shampa’s face. 
    As Shampa screamed out, Das tried to snatch her gold necklace. As the two scuffled, Das even tried to bite her. 
    Neighbours rushed in to help after hearing Shampa scream. Das was caught red-handed and the Bidhannagar South police station alerted. 
    Officers came to the spot and arrested Das. “The motive behind the act is yet to be clear. A probe is on,” said a senior officer.

Shampa Sinha was attacked by the domestic help whom she had sacked

"A father's desperate call" - An Open Letter

ClickSaltlake.info  received a distress call from a father and wants to help. We are not disclosing the name of the person who wrote this mail to us for security reason. 

Respected Sir ,

I am very sorry to say that the college NIH (National Institute of Homeopathy), Salt Lake, Kolkata , which is under Government is promoting heavy ragging to the new students. I beg your pardon but this year my children get admitted and now facing heavy tremendous ragging by the seniors. It is also surprising that the college authorities also promoting this. Inside the college campus, the professors leave classes and handed over the the senior students and they started ragging heavily. All the new students are now facing life and death problem. They are in such a panic that they request us not to discuss anything with anyone. Because as soon as the college authorities know about ragging they first inform these stupid senior students and the new students are heavily insulted. Kindly help sir. We are very common people and if anything can be done by you We will be obliged. Thanking you in advance. 

Please do not disclose our identity or my child have to face anything bad. THOUGH THIS IS NOTHING RELATED WITH YOUR DEPTT BUT I AM TRYING TO SEND IT EVERYWHERE TO SAVE MY CHILD

Lakhs stolen in Salt Lake burglary

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata:Burglars broke into a house at Salt Lake’s FD Block and fled with cash and jewellery worth several lakhs. The Bidhannagar North police have started a probe. 

The complaint lodged by businessman Shambhu Kedia, who lives in a three-storied building at FD Block, says that on Wednesday morning he found one of the almirahs on the second floor broken open and about 300gm gold jewellery and Rs 1 lakh in cash missing. 

Police suspect that the burglars climbed up the water pipes to the second floor. The window grilles of the room next to the pipes were broken open. The family was present in the house as the burglars broke into it and operated silently. 

The family said they had employed a domestic help from Bihar who left the job a few days back. The police are trying to track him. Incidentally, the police had last year arrested an inter-state gang that had come from Bihar. The gang had been involved in a daring robbery in CF Block.

Baby girl dumped in Salt Lake

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

A newborn was found abandoned in a bush near the CA block crossing in Salt Lake on Thursday morning. 

All the fingers in her right hand had been gnawed off, possiblyby a rodent, said sources. 

Two green police personnel, who were on footpatrol, heard the frail 
whimpers of the baby. They tracked the sound and found a child wrapped in a cloth. 
 

The baby was immediately taken to Bidhan Nagar hospital and then to NRS Hospital after preliminary care. 

The body of another newborn was found last week from a bush in Salt Lake. The child was, however, found dead.

Salt Lake civic body gets 10lakh for battling outbreak

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: The urban development department on Tuesday approved Rs 10 lakh for Bidhannagar Municipality to carry on with its anti-dengue drive in Salt Lake. 

The municipality has already sent notices to 225 houses in the township for not following the civic body’s instructions of keeping the surroundings clean and not letting stagnant water to accumulate. Civic authorities have found that blocks like BG, BJ, CK, AE and FD are the worst affected by dengue. 

According to the latest figures with the civic authorities, which they have collected from the health department, the number of dengueaffected people in the township stands at 197, though unofficial numbers are much higher. 

The civic authorities are spraying oil and bleaching powder in all blocks. Rapid action force teams that have been formed for inspection in the township have so far checked about 7,600 houses, out of which mosquito larvae was found within the surroundings of over 2,700 houses. The civic authorities are sending them notices and asking people to remove stagnant water within the next seven days, failing which the authorities will impose a fine of Rs 1,000. Also, a team of 208 nurses are making rounds in the township. 

In neighbouring Rajarhat, anti-mosquito oil and bleaching powder are being sprayed. Special teams have been formed to contact people, generate awareness and get feedback. Atemporary medical camp has been set up on the main arterial road in Action Area-II and an ambulance is also in place for any emergency situation to take patients to hospitals.

More water for Salt Lake

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata:Here’s some good news for residents of Salt Lake. From next week, Bidhannagar Municipality will receive another 2.5 million gallon water daily from Tallah. 

Bidhannagar Municipality chairperson Krishna Chakraborty met state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim and mayor Sovan Chatterjee at Writers’ Buildings on Monday where Bidhannagar MLA Sujit Bose and other civic officials were also present. “Salt Lake is facing a water supply shortage. It gets about 4 million gallon water from Tallah. Within seven to 10 days, the amount will go up to about 7 to 8 million gallon per day,” said Hakim. 

Chakraborty said the civic body will soon install meters to measure the amount of water the township gets every day. At present, the rest of the water is collected from deep tube wells. “Though we will receive about 7.5 million gallon per day from Tallah soon, there will still be a deficit as the number of residents living in the township has increased over the last few years. The requirement is about 10 million gallon per day. 

In an attempt to increase revenue earnings, the civic authorities are also planning to impose water tax on commercial establishments. “It has already been announced that no water tax will be charged from residents. However, we are now thinking of charging water tax from commercial establishments, as they are running for commercial purposes and a huge amount of water is being consumed by them daily,” said a civic official. 

The state government is working on an arrangement in which the areas of Salt Lake, Sector V, areas under South Dum Dum Municipality and Rajarhat will receive water from the treatment plant that is being set up in Rajarhat New Town. It will have a capacity of 100 million gallon per day. 

After the Trinamool Congress came into power at both KMC and Bidhannagar Municipality, mayor Sovan Chatterjee had met the Salt Lake civic authorities where discussions were held to solve out the water supply problems.

Tax collection to resume in Salt Lake

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipality is all set to restart the process of collecting property tax. The civic body had started collecting taxes in March, but the process had to be stalled a couple of weeks later after some confusion over tax calculation surfaced. 

“We are going to restart collecting property tax soon. Tax rates will be based on the old, 2005 rates as directed by minister Firhad Hakim,” said Bidhannagar Municipality chairperson Krishna Chakraborty. 
 

According to the old tax structure, those who have an annual valuation of their property between Rs 1 and Rs 999 will have to pay a tax of 3.5% of the annual valuation. The tax rate will go up to 10.5% for property that has an annual valuation of over Rs 10,000 (See chart). The civic authorities are expecting to collect around Rs 9 crore in the form of property tax this fiscal. 
Officials said that bills of those who have already paid their taxes will be adjusted and fresh bills will be sent to those who did not pay their bills in March. According to sources in the civic body, Bidhannagar Municipality had collected a total of Rs 6.57 crore in the form of taxes in a couple of weeks in March. “We have almost completed the process of calculating the tax rate based on pre-2005 rates and will start dispatching the bills soon,” said a civic official. 

Tax collection in Salt Lake remained suspended for a few years in the past. On February this year, the civic body sent a notice to the residents that the municipality will start collecting tax for fiscal 2010-11, 2011-12 and arrears from 2007 to 2010. There was a mad rush to pay taxes after the bills were dispatched. But many residents started complaining that the tax bills they received were not matching pre-2005 rates. The civic authorities then sought intervention of urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim. The tax collection process was stopped after the minister admitted that there was confusion over the tax bills. There were some miscalculations in the tax bills that was prepared.

Wife ill, vice-chairman slams civic body

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipality, which has drawn severe flak from Salt Lake residents for not taking adequate steps to control the dengue outbreak, was slammed by none other than its own vice-chairman Sabyasachi Datta on Wednesday. Datta’s wife Indrani Datta, a former councillor, has been suffering from dengue for the last 10 days. 

Datta, who stays in DL Block and is also the Rajarhat MLA, said the civic authorities were not taking proper measures to control the outbreak, which has reached almost epidemic proportions in Salt Lake. “More than thousands have been affected by dengue here. My wife is down with it, too. I officially informed the SDO about it, but nobody from the municipality bothered to turn up to see my wife. The health inspector only said that he was sorry to learn this,” Datta said. 

Datta also came down heavily on municipality chairperson Krisna Chakraborty. “As a resident of Salt Lake, I can say that yes, dengue cases are being reported from here. As the local councillor, I can say that my ward is very much affected and as the vice-chairman of the municipality, I do not know how to prevent the outbreak. Till today, the chairperson could not provide the exact figure of dengue cases in Salt Lake,” Datta fumed. Datta, who is the councillor of blocks BF, CF, CE, DE and DF, said all these areas are much affected. 

Chakraborty, however, said the civic body was taking all necessary steps to control the outbreak. “We are doing everything possible. We are working to create more awareness, too, so that we can prevent the spreading of the disease. I don’t know what Datta has said, but I don’t believe in politics over this issue. I have heard that his wife has had a dengue attack and I had called her up, too,” said the civic chief. 

Officials said a team of 50 civic workers was making rounds of the township, visiting 40 houses daily to spread awareness and distributing leaflets in the localities. They are also checking the houses and localities for stagnant water. The civic authorities are thinking of imposing spot fines on residents for not taking steps to keep their houses free of accumulated water.

Bidhannagar Municipality vice-chairman Sabyasachi Datta’s wife Indrani, a former councillor, is suffering from dengue

Ex-minister’s kin molested in Salt Lake

Miscreant Snatched Victim’s Mobile Phone, Nabbed By Green Police Volunteer

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: Snatchers seem to be having a free run in Salt Lake. This time, however, the criminal molested the woman, daughter-in-law of a former minister, and was nabbed within moments. The accused, identified as Abdul Malek, snatched the victim’s phone on Saturday night. But when the gutsy woman caught hold of his hand and protested, Malek reportedly molested her. 
    A green police volunteer posted in the area tracked him down and the Bidhannagar South police arrested him. Malek was produced at Bidhannagar additional judicial magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody till September 7. 
    The incident occurred at GD Block of Salt Lake which is usually secluded in the evening. “I was returning home at around 8pm on Saturday when I saw a person on a bicycle coming from the opposite direction. Suddenly, he snatched the mobile phone from my hand,” the woman, a resident of HB Block, said. 
    The victim, however, was alert and managed to catch hold of Malek. It was then that he molested her. “When I shouted out in protest, the man touched my body. I let out a cry. The man then tried to run away with his bicycle,” she said. 
    One of the green police volunteers, on duty in the area, heard the woman’s scream and rushed to her aid. He saw the criminal trying to flee on his bicycle and gave him a chase. Within moments, he caught hold of Malek who was then contemplating which way to flee. Malek was handed over to Bidhannagar South police. The victim later lodged an FIR at the police station. 
    Preliminary probe revealed that Malek is a vegetable vendor and resident of Bhangor area in South 24-Parganas. Police are trying to find out why he had come as far as Salt Lake from Bhangor and whether he was a part of a bigger snatching gang. 
    Of late, Salt Lake has witnessed a spree of snatchings. Since last Monday, four cases of snatching were reported. Police are keeping a strong vigil at all the entry and exit points of the township. About 150 green police volunteers have also been posted in township. 
    The Bidhannagar police had earlier prepared a list of do’s and don’t’s for the residents of Salt Lake and Lake Town and held meetings with various block committees. But residents of the township are still living in fear.

Dengue makes deadly comeback

Salt Lake Worst Hit But Civic Body Yet To Take Action, Docs Blame Uncertain Monsoon For Outbreak

Sumati Yengkhom TNN 

Kolkata: Dengue is swarming the city this season. Doctors agree that it may be the worst outbreak since 2005. 
    The actual intensity is still being assessed, but the indications are grim. Hospitals on the fringes have admitted scores of dengue patients in the last four weeks but the actual number of victims is many times more because only about 20% cases need hospitalization. 
    Salt Lake has taken the worst hit, so far. If the number of patients being treated at hospitals in the township and along EM Bypass is any indication, it 
is high time for the civic body to press the panic button. 
    “Forty-six patients have tested positive for dengue in the laboratory attached to our hospital alone in the past four weeks,” said a source at aSalt Lake hospital. Dr Soumitra Dutta, principal consultant (paediatrician) at Columbia Asia Hospitals, said at least 15 children affected with dengue were admitted to the hospital in last week alone. 
    The sporadic rain pattern this monsoon, accompanied by high humidity, has triggered the comeback of dengue, say dengue. 
    The advice from doctors is that if you have high fever with severe headache and body pain, don’t ignore it as just another viral fever. It could well be dengue and you should go for a blood test. 
    Take the case of Ranjeeta Chakrabory. The young home maker from BS block had high fever and body pain for a few days and it was a while before she went to a doctor. A blood test confirmed dengue and she was immediately hospitalized. After five days of treatment, she was discharged on Monday. 
    “Apart from her, I know of at least five persons in mySalt Lake neighbourhood who have tested positive for dengue in the past few weeks. The muncipality seems to be sleeping over this menace. We have barely come across any mosquito- controlling measures. I have not seen any fogging in the locality in the last two years,” said Ranjeeta’s husband Shantanu Chakraborty. 
    Accumulation of stagnant water, high humidity, uncleared bushes, piling up of garbage and absence of mosquito management exercises have aggravated the situation, said sources. 
    “I come across at least one dengue patient every day, having treated about 10 patients per day in the past 10 days in the hospital. If anyone is suffering from fever as high as 103/104 degrees Fahrenheit, along with headache, body pain, dehydration and nausea, it’s best to consult a doctor right away,” said consultant physician (internal medicine) Dr Subhasis Ganguly. 
    Fever triggered by the dengue virus does not respond to the normal dosage of paracetamol, say doctors. If left untreated, the viral attack could lead to secondary infections affecting organs like the liver, kidney and the heart. 
    “After the dengue outbreak in 2005, there have been sporadic cases every year. But this year it seems to be higher, particularly in Salt Lake and its vicinity, where I have treated about 15 patients in last three weeks. But the severity of the attack is less than the one in 2005,” said paediatrician Dr Subrata Chakraborty. 
    “But there is no reason to panic. We have treated about 29 dengue patients in our hospital so far this year. The positive note is that diagnosis through the blood test can be done in two hours and hence the treatment can be started early,” said Dr Rupali Basu, CEO, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals. 
    Dr Basabbijay Sarkar, consultant physician of Fortis Hospital, has seen about 14 patients in his Salt Lake clinic in the past month apart from treating an equal number of patients in the hospital. “If we count Day 1 as the onset of dengue, all complications will appear in the next seven to eight days. There is a tendency for the blood platelet to go down in the patient. Timely treatment is very important,” said Dr Sarkar. 
    Even as health officials tried to project the situation as not alarming, doctors practising in and around the township and hospitals are flooded with dengue patients. Sampurnaa Saha (11), a Class-V student from GC block in Salt Lake, was admitted to Columbia Asia on Wednesday night. “Since there weren’t enough beds, my daughter was in the emergency ward all of Wednesday night. She got a bed only on Thursday,” said the girl’s father Sujay Saha. 
    “Out of 10 children affected with dengue, only about two need hospitalization, the rest are advised treatment at home. I practise mainly inSalt Lake and my chamber is flooded with dengue suspects, mostly children. I have admitted at least 15 children in the past one week. Therefore, one can well imagine the magnitude of the dengue menace,” said Dr Dutta of Columbia Asia. 
    Health department spokesperson Dr Asit Biswas said that the they are monitoring the situation closely. “Cases of dengue are being reported from different localities, including Salt Lake. We will soon meet the hospitals and representatives of Bidhanagar municipality,” said Biswas.

Sec V to get ring road, parking lot

Kolkata: In an effort to decongest Sector V and reduce the travel time between SDF Building More and 215A bus stand, the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) is going to construct a ring road along the waterbody behind the Webel office. The authorities will lay the foundation stone of the road on Thursday. 
    Also, the NDITA has identified a car-parking lot near 215A bus stand. It will be thrown open for the public on the same day. According to NDITA chairman and commerce and industries 
secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Rs 10 crore has been earmarked to construct the road. “As of now, there is no road on the proposed stretch. Once this road comes up, commuters will benefit from it immensely,” he said. 
    At present, commuters take the road along the SDF Building, Webel Crossing and College More before taking right turn to connect with 215A bus stand. However, there is no short-cut between these two busiest locations of the IT hub. During rush hours, commuters face huge traffic snarls to cover this 3-km stretch. NDITA officials feel the proposed 2.5-km ring road will help commuters cut the travel time between these two points. 
    Besides, the civic authority will also throw open a 1-acre car parking lot near 215A bus stand on Thursday for public use. “The lot will be able to accommodate about 150 cars for parking,” said NDITA chief executive officer B N Kar. This will considerably help minimizing the long-standing problem of illegal parking that Sector V has been facing over the years. The authorities are also working on setting up a multitier parking plaza in place of the current CSTC bus depot near the Wipro office. 
    As long-term plans, the authorities are mulling an option to develop intercity bus links where buses would ferry passengers within Sector V. Earlier, it was decided that no new bus routes would be permitted to ply in Sector V as there was much pressure already. 
    Apart from laying the foundation stone of the ring road and opening of the parking lot, the NDITA will also inaugurate two parks on Thursday. “I feel happy that we are not only taking decisions but ensuring that the projects are actually implemented,” said NDITA board member Suparno Moitra.

Blue-and-white makeover for Salt Lake soon

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: After Trinamool Congress came to power in May last year, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had untaken a project to paint the city in chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s favourite colors — blue and white. And now, Bidhannagar Municipality is catching up with the city civic body by givingSalt Lake a new blue-andwhite look. 
    To begin with, the municipality has started painting its 
five-storey building. According to officials, next in line are the traffic islands, pavements and the dividers. A fresh coat of paint is a part of the township’s beautification plans, a civic official said. 
    “Not only the municipality building, the walls of the traffic islands and road sides will also be painted in blue and white in several parts of the township, along with the trident street lighting,” he said. A portion of the walls surrounding Central Park has also been painted in blue and white. Officials in Bidhannagar Municipality feelSalt Lake has abundant greenery and the new colours will give the township a catchy look. 
    Recently, the civic authorities handed over the maintenance work for the township’s traffic islands to advertising agencies that use them commercially. According to sources, billboards that have been put up inside the traffic islands will be removed soon and the urban development department will renovate these islands before painting them. 
    At present, the civic body maintains over 50 big and small parks in Salt Lake. However, the department is working on a holistic plan to engage private players to beautify parks, waterbodies, ponds, median dividers and pavements not only inSalt Lake but in other areas like Rajarhat New Town, Sector V and Kalyani as well. Selected companies will be entrusted with maintaining the areas they beautify, a senior official said. 
    “We welcome this initiative of painting the township in blue and white. However, we feel strongly that equal attention should be given on repairing some of the roads that are in very poor shape. With smooth roads, the beautification programme could have received a holistic look,” said Bidhannagar welfare association secretary K S Sadhu.

The new-look Bidhannagar Municipality building

Govt mulls legal stamp on Salt Lake plot sale

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Sale of leasehold residential property in Salt Lake is going to be legalized soon. 

    The Mamata Banerjee government plans to allow transfer of lease in the township for a fee. Most of the land in Salt Lake belongs to the urban development department and the government will fix the fee. 

    The state Cabinet meeting is likely to discuss the proposal on Tuesday. Salt Lake residents had been waiting for this for a long time. 

    If things go according to plan, plot-holders in Salt Lake can legally monetize their property by paying the government stamp duty, registration fees or some other levy. 

    “Leasehold land won’t turn into freehold land. We are mulling allowing transfer of lease but only with the permission of the government,” urban development minister Firhad Hakim said. 

    The government will continue to enjoy ownership rights and also earn revenue that it had missed out on earlier when property changed hands in Salt Lake under cover. 

    The Bidhannagar Municipality could never stop the under hand deals unless the original lessee walked up to register a formal complaint. 

    The proposal was doing the rounds since the days of the Left Front government but was allowed only for commercial properties. A case is pending in the court over the change of a commercial property into a residential highrise in HB block.Govt to fix lease fee per cottah 

    Once the proposal to legalise the sale of residential plots in Salt Lake gets through in the state Cabinet on Tuesday, the government will evaluate the plots in the township and fix a price for the transfer of lease per cottah. 

    Illegal sale of plots in Salt Lake caught the notice of the Mamata Banerjee government soon after the Trinamool Congress came to power in May, 2011. The government has been trying to find a way out since then. 

    Plots in Salt Lake were leased for a 999-year tenure in the 1970s to enable middleclass people to settle in the township on the condition that the leaseholders cannot transfer their plots. 

    According to the present rules, residential plots cannot be sold or transferred as the plot holders are actually lease holders and not owners. But later, some genuine problems cropped up. 

    The family increased at least by two-fold within a span of 50 years and the lessee could not do justice to all his/her children, because leasehold property can’t be partitioned and distributed among the heirs. 

    This prompted some to sell out the property illegally for a huge amount of money. According to estimates, out of the 12,000 plots in the township, almost 35% of the plots have been transferred or sold illegally. Plots measuring a cottah, which were originally leased out for about Rs 5,000, have been sold illegally for lakhs, say sources. Many such transfers are in the process with the help of touts and many houses have been illegally sold more than once.

Salt Lake Rabindra Bhavan plot ready Suman Chakraborti TNN  Kolkata: Salt Lake will get its own Rabindra Bhavan very soon. Bidhannagar Municipality will start building the structure this year on a 36-cottah plot cleared by the state government. The building, to be located at Salt Lake’s FE Block adjoining Central Park, will be the municipality’s tribute to Rabindranath Tagore on his 150th birth anniversary.      Bidhannagar Municipality chairperson Krishna Chakraborty said the plot has been finalized and the civic authorities will start work very soon. “We will kick off the project very soon,” she said. The municipality plans to foot the estimated Rs 10 lakh project cost from the revenue it earned from the Bidhannagar Fair it organized at Salt Lake’s Central Park last winter.      The building will be either a three- or four-storied structure with a statue of Tagore in front. Besides an auditorium for cultural programmes, it will have an exhibition room, art galleries and a library to showcase and display the works of the bard. The Bhavan will also have rooms for use by students and scholars researching Tagore, along with a cafeteria. The civic body will appoint architects to prepare a building plan.      The project had been on the anvil for quite some time. Residents ofSalt Lake had, for long, been demanding a centre on Rabindranath Tagore to facilitate research on the bard. Residents had also suggested that the centre have a stage for performing Tagore’s plays and musical repertoires.      Following the demand, the previous Left-run municipality had come up with a plan to set up a Rabindra Bhavan and had asked the urban development department for a plot. The civic authorities had got a triangular plot, but the then civic engineers had said that it was not suitable for construction of the Bhavan. The project got delayed after civic authorities requested the government to earmark another plot.      It was only after Trinamool Congress took over the reins of Bidhannagar Municipality and Mamata Banerjee came to power that an initiative was taken to revive the project.

Salt Lake turns Puja hot spot

Innovative Concepts To Pull Crowd

Ajanta Chakraborty & Suman Chakraborti TNN

Kolkata: Priyanka Ghosh lives in Behala, which has its own share of high-profile pujas. But every Durga Puja, she reserves a whole day only to visit pandals at the other extreme of the city in Salt Lake.
    Her love affair with Salt Lake pujas began in 1998 when FD Block recreated Titanic. “Since then, booking an entire day for Salt Lake has become a ritual. We start after an early lunch and return late at night,” the 38-year-old homemaker quipped as she remarked: “I wonder if it will be Panchami or Shashti this time.”
    And, for FD block resident Simontini Das, it’s only Salt Lake during the Pujas. So, when was the last time she had gone pandal-hopping in other parts of the city? The 35-yearold shrugs, “Years ago. Before I was married and moved to Salt Lake. I have never felt the need to venture out of Salt Lake during Pujas.”
    Both Ghosh and Das — with their respective pandal-hopping preferences — are busy drawing up their must-see list of Salt Lake pandals. And the list doesn’t necessarily include F D Block. Pandals in the township have come a long way since the “Titanic era”. HB Block Residents’ Association secretary Abhijit Chandra vouches for that.
    “Initially, our pandal became a hit simply because we were just across FD. But now, our puja, all of 27 years, has an identity of its own,” he says.
    Little wonder then that planning starts months ahead. The TOI team found murals being conceived with care to depict Ram’s ‘Akal Bodhon’. “Ours will be an innovation based on tradition. It’s bound to be a major stop-over,” claimed Chandra. The concept has been meticulously worked out by Prabir Saha of the Government Art College and is being implemented at a cost of Rs 12 lakh.
    Concepts as opposed to themes seem to be the order of the day at Salt Lake pandals. The one coming up on the park at AE (part I) Block looks quaint with a 40-foot waterbody dug up. In the midst are scores of ladders in different hues. Secretary Supriyo Chakraborty explains: “Our slogan is Matir Tane Mati Mukhi.” The pandal depicts the ups and downs of humanity — the ladders symbolizing the struggle to stay afloat.
    “The best thing about Salt Lake puja pandals is high art within a mediocre budget,” explains Soumendra Banerjee, a resident of AE (part I) Block. “Among the 112 pujas (one in each ward), around 50 are exceptionally good. But the thrust is on character rather than cost. A lot of thought and professionalism goes into the making each pandal.” According to Banerjee, who once lived in Manicktala, “Most of pandals live up to the middle-class para culture which is woven into the ambience. No wonder, the average budget isn’t more than
Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh.”
    Painter Suvaprasanna, however, feels that Salt Lake has a “readymade ambience”, but it’s not quite middle-class. When I started living here, I thought this was a township for NRIs — far removed from the old world charm of north Kolkata. It’s tranquil against Kolkata’s vibrancy. More and more people are thronging these pandals for the sheer combine of comfort and aesthetics.”
    But then, it’s a competitive world. So what if it’s only restricted within the borders of the township. Every pandal is vying to give the other a run for footfall. The “concept” raked up by the organisers of BE East puja committee is “Shomoy Akhon” (time now). Into its 32nd year, the pandal will resemble a sundial showing the continuous passage of time. Budget? Not more than Rs 11.25 lakh.
    The “concept” for the Labony Estate Puja is innovative, yet topical. Although secretary Sumit Sarkar insists that it’s strictly apolitical, but Labony (in its 37th year) is recreating the four Vedas to trace ‘Woman Power’. Sarkar informs: “In the ancient era, women used to be emancipated and were reduced to slaves after the Manu-Samhita age. Our pandal will reflect the various stages of the society, culminating in the present when the woman gets back her freedom and rises to the decision-making level.” A recital by Ayaan Ali Khan will add zing to the Labony puja this year.
    CKCL Block — celebrating its silver jubilee — is erecting a pandal out of steel wires. Says secretary Dibyendu Banerjee: “The pandal is an abstract temple. The mandap has been christened ‘Pragati’ or progress. Steel represents development.” Another silver jubilee Puja, IB Block Welfare Association, plays around ethnicity, woven out of eco-friendly products like jute and bamboo. “Our pandal blends ritual, culture and tradition,” says secretary Partha Mitra.
    Finally, the fattest budget so far is attributed to FD Block Sarbojonin: Rs 20 lakh. The concept: Shaktipeeth. The idol: 14.3-m high. The pandal: a mountain with 12 Shiva Jyotirlingas placed on different spots. The showstopper: a Nataraj statue to the left .

(Clockwise from above) Decorations for the Labony Estate puja; the HB Block puja is depicting ‘Akal Bodhon’; the 14.3-m high FD Block pandal; the IB Block pandal decorations

Armed Salt Lake robbers batter 65-year-old woman UNSAFE CITY AND DANGEROUS SUBURB, CRIMINALS HAVE A FREE RUN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Kolkata: A buzzing cellphone saved 65-year-old Salt Lake resident Sumitra Mookerjea’s life on Wednesday. But for the ring, she could well have met the fate of 93-year-old Shanta Bhattacharya, who was gagged by robbers and suffocated to death at her Ultadanga apartment last week. 
    Sumitra’s bruises speak of her ordeal — the robbers held a knife to her throat, hit her with an iron rod and slapped her without provocation. She could barely speak of the shock she felt on finding three masked men in her bedroom at 3.45am. Her husband, 72-year-old Devdas Mookerjea, was sleeping in an adjoining room in their twostoried house at Salt Lake’s AH-239. The elderly couple lives alone. 
    The gang brazenly made a front-door entry after breaking the locks of the main gate and the grille. “I woke up with a start. 
There were three armed men in my room. One of them had a gun. The other one locked my husband’s bedroom from outside while the third held a knife to my throat. I screamed for help. They tied me up and were about to gag me when I pleaded with them not to do so as it would choke me. I promised not to shout again. But one of them suddenly hit me with an iron rod. My knees buckled but he stepped up and slapped me,” Sumitra said. 
    The noise woke Devdas. With memories of the Ultadanga murder-robbery fresh on his mind, he feared the worst when he found his door locked from outside. Trapped and unable to do a thing, Devdas picked up his cellphone and kept calling his wife. “The robbers thought that some outsider had been alerted,” Sumitra said. Gang stole jewellery 
Kolkata: The gang lost all its bravado and asked Sumitra to show the rear door with the knife still pointed at her throat. “They fled through the backdoor but snatched whatever ornaments I wore and my cellphone,” she said. 
    Devdas said that the gang had dragged her from the first floor to the ground floor to help them flee. “They untied her before escaping. They were around 25-30 years old and spoke in Bengali,” he said. 
    As the news spread in the locality, relatives rushed to their home. North 24-Parganas SP Champak Bhattacharya and local Trinamool MLA Sujit Bose also visited the Mookerjeas. “A gang of three committed the robbery. The couple has provided us details of what is missing from the house. We are probing the case,” Bhattacharya said. The police videographed the house while fingerprint experts collected samples. 
    The robbery, less than a month after a similar attempt at CF Block, sent shockwaves in the township. “AH block is mostly home to elderly people. The police should be more active in preventing such incidents,” said Gopal Chandra Bandyopadhaya, an elderly neighbour of the Mookerjeas. TNN

BRUISED... Sumitra Mookerjea talks to cops at her home on Wednesday

SC cancels Left govt’s land deal with Sourav

Dhananjay Mahapatra | TNN 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped the Left Front government’s decision to allot Sourav Ganguly a large tract of land in Salt Lake on which he had planned his dream project — an international school with special focus on sports. 
    A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly allowed a petition filed by an NGO alleging the tract of land worth 44.9 crore was allotted to the cricketer for just 63 lakh, and that too in extraordinary haste and breach of rules and regulations. 
    The judges, who admitted they drew a lot of joy from Sourav’s batting and captaincy skills, clarified these personal impressions counted for little when the case in hand projected a wrong act. 
    Setting aside a Calcutta high court order approving the allotment, the bench said: “It is clear that the government made allotment of the new plot to Sourav Ganguly on terms which were even more generous than the ones suggested by Sourav in his letter dated January 19, 2009. Such action of the government smacks of arbitrariness and falls foul of Article 14 (right to equality).” 
    In a rap to the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee regime, the bench added: “The government was anxious to oblige the allottee by giving bigger plot that too with no loss of time.” 
    Justice Ganguly, who wrote the judgment for the bench, faulted the allotment as irregular and hasty. The apex court asked the cricketer to return the land within two weeks. 
    “Sourav must, within two weeks from date, hand over peaceful and vacant possession of plot no. CA-222 measuring 63.04 cottahs (a little over an acre) in Sector-IV, Salt Lake City (Bidhannagar), Kolkata, to the concerned department of the state government. Within two weeks thereafter, the state government must refund to Sourav, by a cheque, the entire money paid by him for such allotment,” Justice Ganguly said. Norms flouted in giving land to Sourav: SC 
New Delhi: Justice A K Ganguly of the Supreme Court said he was aware of Sourav Ganguly’s contribution to Indian cricket and had watched him on TV. “But as a judge, I have different duties to discharge. Here, I must be objective and eschew my likes and dislikes and render justice to a cause which has come before the court,” he said. 
    The petitioner had pointed out that in response to an advertisement for setting up of a school in Salt Lake City, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government had received 24 applications. But it only entertained Ganguly's application. The NGO said Ganguly had initially taken possession of the allotted 48 cottahs of land. But later, he wrote to urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya pleading for additional land citing the ICSE guidelines, which stipulated that no affiliation would be accorded to a school set up on less than 60 kathas. 
    The Left Front government, throwing rules and regulations to the wind, rushed through the entire exercise and allotted him aplot of 63.04 kathas.
    The NGO had also alleged that to overcome the ICSE condition that the school management could not be vested in a single individual, Ganguly floated a trust, much after the allotment of land, for the proposed international school. The trust comprised his mother, father, sister, brother, wife and other relatives. 
    The bench said, “It is clear that Sourav is selectively seeking compliance of ICSE norms in asking for a bigger plot. In so far as other norms are concerned, they are clearly flouted as seen in the constitution of the trust set up to run the school.” 
    The petitioner had also challenged the allotment on the ground that there were two other English medium schools operating in plots adjoining to the one given to him. It said the HC had upheld the allotment of land to Ganguly despite the NGO mentioning the violations of allotment and affiliation rules in its petition. 
    Humanity had organized agitations against “the handing over of a plot that has been designated for a college in Salt Lake’s master plan to an individual.” The former skipper started constructing his integrated school project (primary to the higher secondary levels) on this plot in June last year. 
    The Calcutta high court had, in April last year, upheld the land allotment observing in its order that there was no arbitrariness in the state government’s action of allotting the land to Sourav. 
    This order was challenged by Humanity and others following which the apex court had issued notice to the state government on September 16, last year. The apex court also took an undertaking from the cricketer’s counsel on the same day, that no construction activities will be done by him on the disputed land and status quo would be maintained till further order. 
    Humnaity’s Arunangshu Chakraborty told TOI on Thursday, “The apex court admitted our plea that the land allotted to Sourav earlier was a different land. It was at B F 158 and measured 48 cottahs. There was a clause in the agreement that the government could change the location of the plot. The government used this clause and gave Sourav the 63 cottahs at CA 220.” 
    Chakraborty added, “Sourav’s counsel pleaded this plot was lieu of the earlier one. But the court pointed out that in his letter addressed to the former urban development minister Bhattacharya, Sourav had said that he would surrender this plot and apply for a bigger of a plot. The government would have made the fresh allotment after registration of the surrendered deal. But nothing of the sort was done. What’s more, Sourav had mentioned that the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination would not give affiliation to his academy unless he had a 60-cottah plot. Our counsel argued that the plot in question was not allotted in the name of the Ganguly Educational Society, but in Sourav’s.” 
    The original petition read, “The people of Salt Lake in whose interest Salt Lake City was established ... the rule of law which was deliberately throttled by the state authorities by way of distributing plots of land to many having proximity to political leaders without following any policy guidelines.” 
    (With inputs from Ajanta Chakraborty in Kolkata)