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West Bengal passes Bill seeking death penalty for rape convicts

The BJP’s legislative team in the Assembly, as promised, did not seek any division in the vote for passing the bill…reports Asian Lite News

The ‘Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill’, which seeks the death penalty for convicts in rape and murder cases or in cases of rape where the victim is left in a vegetative state, was passed through a voice vote in the state Assembly on Tuesday.

The BJP’s legislative team in the Assembly, as promised, did not seek any division in the vote for passing the bill.

Describing the bill, which seeks amendments in the relevant provision under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while participating in the debate on the bill, claimed that it “was a matter of shame that the Prime Minister could not do what her government did”.

Thereafter, she said that since the Prime Minister could not take any initiative in protecting the women, he should resign and the Union Home Minister should also resign.

The Mamata government proposed the bill amid the nationwide protests against the rape and murder of a woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that she wanted justice for the victim junior doctor from the CBI, which is currently conducting the probe in the rape and murder case.

She said that the Governor should promptly clear the bill from his end so that it could be sent to the office of the President for final clearance there. “Thereafter enforcing and making that effective will be our responsibility. So I am requesting the leader of the opposition in the House to tell the Governor to clear the Bill at the earliest,” the Chief Minister said.

The said bill will need Presidential assent as it proposes to amend certain provisions in the Central laws on this count.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister also criticised the BJP legislators for being silent about similar rape and murder cases in the BJP-ruled states, “When you speak of an event in West Bengal, will you not speak about what happened at Unnao? It is a matter of shame that the accused legislator in the matter was garlanded,” the Chief Minister said.

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India News Politics West Bengal

Didi To Push Bill For Capital Punishment For Rapists

Mamata Banerjee said her government will move a Bill in the state Assembly within 10 days seeking capital punishment for culprits in rape and murder cases….reports Asian Lite News

Under fire after the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her government will pass a Bill in the Assembly to ensure capital punishment for convicts in rape and murder cases.

“We will move a Bill in the state Assembly within 10 days seeking capital punishment for culprits in rape and murder cases. We will send it to the Governor, and if he doesn’t pass the Bill, we will sit on indefinite protest outside the Raj Bhavan. This Bill must be passed… He cannot evade accountability this time. Why should rapists not be hanged,” Banerjee asked while addressing an even to mark the foundation day of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), her party’s students’ wing.

Echoing the statements of Trinamool General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, who spoke just before her, the Chief Minister questioned the progress made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, 14 days after the case was handed over to the probe agency by the Calcutta High Court.

“The progress of the investigation has been ruined after the case was handed over to the CBI,” the Chief Minister claimed.

She also complemented the Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police for the manner in which they handled the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ (March to Secretariat) on Tuesday, saying: “I salute my police. They maintained restrain even after they were attacked. They did not fall into the trap of the BJP which is doing politics over bodies.”

The Chief Minister also gave a call to the junior doctors of Bengal to resume their duties in the state-run hospitals keeping in mind the interest of the patients going there for treatment.

Describing the rape and murder incident as thoroughly unfortunate, Banerjee said now it remains to be seen that no errors are made in the follow-up action in the matter.

“That is why we wanted to complete the investigation quickly so that the trial could be conducted on a fast-track basis,” the Chief Minister said.

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Business India News Travel

Uber Buses Hit Kolkata Streets

According to an Uber spokesman, the new service will be titled ‘Uber Shuttle’ for daily commute in Kolkata…reports Asian Lite News

Uber will now run buses in Kolkata jointly with the West Bengal transport department.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between Uber and the transport department here on Wednesday.

According to an Uber spokesman, the new service will be titled ‘Uber Shuttle’ for daily commute in Kolkata.

Claiming that this is the first of its kind partnership, the spokesman said that the proposed service will tap into Uber’s global expertise with an aim to provide tech-optimised mobility choice using private bus fleets.

“The launch of Uber Shuttle will help in tackling road congestion while getting more people to commute in fewer vehicles, which in turn will help reduce carbon emissions,” he said.

It is learnt that the new service will be available by March 2024.

“Uber will run approximately 60 air-conditioned buses on predefined routes, connecting business districts with residential areas in Kolkata. As part of this MoU, Uber has proposed to invest $10 million by 2025 in the state and create approximately 50,000 livelihood opportunities in Kolkata in the next five years,” the spokesman added.

The MoU was signed during the Bengal Global Business Summit, 2023 which concluded on Wednesday.

The Uber spokesman also said that with the launch of Uber Shuttle, commuters will now be able to pre-book seats up to a week in advance, follow the live location and route of the bus, and know its expected time of arrival, just like they can do with Uber cab.

“This will bring alive a convenient commute experience with no standing passengers, cashless payments, and round-the-clock safety support from Uber, including having access to a 24×7 Safety Line. The buses will run on each route from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily,” he added.

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India News Politics

Tata Nano Project Compensation Dispute Heads to Legal Showdown

After coming to power with a thumping majority in 2006, the then Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government had announced the Nano project at Singur by TML…reports Asian Lite News

West Bengal Minister of State (independent) charge of Finance Department Chandrima Bhattacharya on Tuesday said that the Bengal government will challenge order of arbitral tribunal which has directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 765.78 crore to Tata Motors Limited (TML) for closing Nano car project in Singur in Hooghly district.

The tribunal had also asked the government to pay an additional interest at the rate of 11 per cent accrued on it since September 2016 to Tata Motors Limited (TML).

“Even the Supreme Court had observed that the manner in which the land was acquired for the project in Singur was unconstitutional. From the apex court verdict it was clear that the land was acquired forcefully from the farmers and later transferred to TM,” the minister said.

She said that during the previous Left Front regime, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the nodal wing under the state commerce & industries department, made a secret agreement with TML inserting the clause of compensation through arbitral tribunal.

“The move by the corporate entity was a part of a bigger conspiracy plot drafted by the CPI(M),” the minister said.    

It is learnt that the top bureaucrats have already started interacting with the legal luminaries regarding challenging the tribunal order. “We are studying the two options on whether to approach the Supreme Court directly or approach the Calcutta High Court,” a state government official said.

After coming to power with a thumping majority in 2006, the then Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government had announced the Nano project at Singur by TML.

Accordingly, the work for setting up of the factory started there after the state government finished the process of land acquisition for the project.

However, the problem started after a small section of the land-owners refused to accept the compensation cheques and started agitating against the land acquisition.

The Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee, the principal opposition party at the time, had started a massive agitation at Singur against the land acquisition.

In face of the agitation, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata finally withdrew from Singur and Sanand in Gujarat became the new site for the Nano project.

After coming to power in 2011, the first decision of the Mamata Banerjee-led Cabinet was to promulgate a new law for return of land at Singur to all the land-owners.

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Environment India News Politics

Asok Kumar receives Governor’s Award for Excellence 

Kumar received a trophy and Rs 1 lakh from West Bengal Governor Dr. CV Ananda Bose at the Throne Hall ceremony….reports Asian Lite News

Asok Kumar, who belongs to the 1991 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS-Telangana Cadre), received the West Bengal Governor’s Award for Excellence – 2023 for outstanding contributions to public services on Monday.

During the award ceremony held at the Throne Hall of the West Bengal Raj Bhavan, in the presence of a distinguished gathering, Kumar was given a trophy and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh, by Dr CV Ananda Bose, Governor of West Bengal.

“I am excited to receive the award along with my wife Dr Bindu and our son Gaurav, as they have also contributed to my work to the public, by bearing with me, supporting me and silently absolving me of the pangs of guilt of placing, many a time, my work priorities ahead and over the familial responsibilities,” said Kumar, Special Secretary and Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga.

Recently, the Namami Gange project headed by Kumar was recognised as “One of the Top Ten World Restoration Flagships” by the UN at the CoP15 meeting in Montreal in 2022.

Under the Namami Gange project over 2000 Million Liter Daily (MLD) sewage treatment capacity was added compared to 981 MLD in the seven previous years.

Besides the fruitful and innovative implementation of Namami Gange, the award also recognised the successful implementation of the “Catch The Rain” campaign to harvest rainwater.

Other contributions of Kumar as mentioned in the citation included his imprint in many other sectors like water, sanitation, infrastructure, urban planning, civil aviation, power, sports, welfare, health, education and IT. It added that Kumar had completed many infrastructure projects like the 162 Kms 8 lane Outer Ring Road, 90 MGD Krishna Phase-2 Drinking Water project, 90 MGD Godavari Drinking Water Project and many Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs). The citation said that, Kumar, as Principal Secretary Welfare Dept was instrumental in starting 119 English medium residential schools in all the 119 Assembly segments.

Kumar as Project Director, APSACS ( Andhra Pradesh AIDS Control Society), had launched the “#BeBold” campaign in 2006-08 to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV-AIDS and the “0/7“ initiative to reduce mother-to-child transmission. This was appreciated by UNAIDS as one of the best practices in the world to deal with HIV and its spread.

While serving in the central government as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Kumar was instrumental in setting up India’s Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau, headed a committee whose recommendations resulted in vastly improved facilities for passengers with reduced mobility and also played a key role in helping to revive the ailing aviation industry when it was going through a bad patch.

As director of the Ministry of Power, Kumar was in charge of R-APPRD programs to modernise power distribution entities and reduce their aggregate, commercial and technical losses and RGGVY, the program for rural electrification. He is also the founder president of the India Smart Grid Forum

In the water and sanitation sector, beginning with “Shubrata” Kumar’s initiative for the construction of over 1,40,000 individual sanitary latrines for households with people’s participation and about 3000+ toilets in 1000 schools in Nizamabad district in 2001-03 period when he worked as District Collector

As Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Water Mission, his innovative initiatives like the monthly “Water Talks” and “Water Tech Talks” drew over 2.5 million views.

National Water Mission under him was the chief implementing agency of the “Jal Shakthi Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modion World Water Day.  

Kumar is the winner of many awards, including the “Jal-Mitra” award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the first TEX (Telangana Excellence) Award of the Government of Telangana for “Outstanding work done in Public Administration”, the Skoch Award for “Public Service”.

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Business India News West Bengal

West Bengal to invest Rs 2,500 cr World Bank loan in infrastructure

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Apart from overall infrastructure development, the official said the loan amount will be utilised for special training of the people engaged in the logistic sector….reports Asian Lite news

West Bengal government is taking a Rs 2,500 crore loan from the World Bank and the entire money will be utilised for the purpose of infrastructure development in the state.

Sources in the state finance department said the focus area of infrastructure development through utilisation of the loan amount will be improvement of road networks and water transport systems in the state.

“The government wants to emphasise on improving exports from the state in the next 10 years, for which it is necessary to develop a quick transit system. So, work on this count will stat before the forthcoming Bengal Global Business Summit scheduled in November this year,” said a senior official in the finance department.

Apart from overall infrastructure development, the official said the loan amount will be utilised for special training of the people engaged in the logistic sector.

The state government has already set a target for setting up four economic corridors covering an area of 930 km. Out of that, the longest corridor of 630 km will be in North Bengal and the remaining three will be in South Bengal.

“The development of these economic corridors will enable the state government to showcase Bengal in a better manner to the potential investors,” the official said.

Industry observers feel that while such initiatives are undoubtedly positive steps, no effort to attract big ticket investments will bear fruit unless the land and special economic zone policies of the state government are changed.

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G20 delegates soak in West Bengal’s culture

The delegates from G20 member countries will get an oppurtunity to discuss ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to Coved pandemic, in a three-day meeting between April1-April 3…reports Asian Lite News

G20 delegates on Sunday danced during a cultural night and gala dinner at the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Siliguri.

Earlier on Sunday, delegates participated in a yoga session in Siliguri. On the second day of the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting, a Yoga session was organised for the delegates.

Around 130 members are attending the meeting. On the first day, G20 delegates also enjoyed tea plucking.

Darjeeling, the Queen of Himalayas and one of India’s leading tourist destinations, along with Siliguri, is located on the footholds of the Himalayas. It has been chosen to host the second Tourism Working meeting from April 1-3, 2023.

The delegates from G20 member countries will get an oppurtunity to discuss ways of reviving the tourism sector which got affected due to Coved pandemic, in a three-day meeting between April1-April 3.

On the first day event, the Chief-coordinator of the G-20 Harshvardhan Shringla said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed us to showcase India to the world as we are ready to host the G-20 summit in September this year. I recall him saying that, “each part of India has its own uniqueness, heritage, beauty and culture and that our G20 meetings should not be confined to the national capital, New Delhi, alone.” (ANI)

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India News

F-16 jets roar across the skies of West Bengal

The bilateral phase will be more interesting when the aircraft will operate together, both in mock combat and joint operations,” a senior official said…reports Asian Lite News

F-16 fighter jets are skimming across the skies over West Bengal yet again after a break of nearly two years. These F-16s are of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) that have arrived at the Air Force Station Kalaikunda in the state for the 11th edition of Joint Military Training (JMT) with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

While RSAF has sent its F-16 jets, IAF is participating with Su-30 MKIs, Jaguars, Mig-29s and LCA Tejas. For now, both air forces are operating separately. The bilateral phase will commence from Wednesday when aircraft from both sides will engage in advanced air combat simulations. The bilateral phase will continue till November 18.

“This edition of JMT will last for six weeks. It will be yet another opportunity for authorities from Singapore to see the Tejas close up. Singapore is one of the countries that has expressed interest in the Tejas. The RSAF pilots are taking full opportunity of the firing and bombing ranges near Kalaikunda. The bilateral phase will be more interesting when the aircraft will operate together, both in mock combat and joint operations,” a senior official said.

An air base like Kalaikunda is extremely crucial for a country like Singapore that lacks space for exercises. AFS Kalaikunda offers an air-to-air firing range over the Bay of Bengal and a ground range at Dudhkundi. Both IAF and RSAF aircraft will fire air-to-air missiles, rockets and cannons at mock targets over the sea.

At Dudhkundi (a few km from Kalaikunda), they will be dropping bombs and firing air-to-ground missiles. There are facilities at Dudhkundi to check for accuracy.

Apart from the RSAF, AFS Kalaikunda has hosted the United States Air Force, Royal Air Force and French Air Force. Joint exercises with the air forces of friendly countries were not possible at Kalaikunda for two years due to the pandemic. Such exercises also do a lot for the local economy as the supply of commodities like foodstuff goes up and additional temporary manpower is required for non-core activities.

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Sport Sports

West Bengal men hammer Kerala 5-0 to clinch gold

National Games football: West Bengal men hammer Kerala 5-0 to clinch gold.

The southern outfit looked in control, though they did not have any real shot on goal to show for their effort, till West Bengal found the net against the run of play in the 16th minute…reports Asian Lite News

West Bengal punished pre-tournament favourites Kerala for their defensive lapses to clinch the men’s football gold medal with a 5-0 victory at the Eka Arena TransStadia here on Tuesday.

West Bengal skipper Naro Hari Shrestha scored a hattrick while Surajit Handsa and Amit Chakraborty chipped in with a goal each to help the former India striker Biswajit Bhattacharya-coached side take total control of the match before the end of the first half.

Kerala had come into the final with an all-win record in the group stage and a comfortable semifinal victory over Karnataka and started the summit clash with confidence.

The southern outfit looked in control, though they did not have any real shot on goal to show for their effort, till West Bengal found the net against the run of play in the 16th minute.

Kerala defender Sanju G. was guilty of not trapping the back pass and Surajit Handsa capitalised on the loose ball to take a shot from the right. Goalkeeper Midhun V. managed to block the low strike but Robi Handsa was in a position to tap in on the rebound.

Kerala then started exerting more pressure on the opposition half and had one of the best chances of the day three minutes later. Bengal goalkeeper Raja Burman’s clearance barely crossed the box and fell in Ajeesh P’s feet. But the midfielder couldn’t connect cleanly while trying to hit the ball on the first attempt.

Two minutes later, Bujair Valiyattu was then guilty of hitting the ball over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box after a melee at the goal line.

West Bengal captain Naro Hari Shrestha then added to Kerala’s misery when he quickly collected the ball bouncing off the Kerala wall and unleashed a scorcher from 25-yard to beat the Kerala custodian at the left corner.

At the stroke of half-time, Sanju once again was guilty of not trapping Surajit Hansda’s cross from the left despite no Bengal striker anywhere near him inside the box. Shrestha gleefully pounced on the error to virtually seal the fate of the match.

Shrestha completed his hat-trick with the easiest of headers in the 52nd minute after a West Bengal counterattack. Left-back Totan Das overlapped inside the Kerala box and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for their unmarked skipper to nod it in, the organisers informed in a release on Tuesday.

Kerala had better possession thereafter but the West Bengal defence stood tall and did not allow their opponent’s put enough balls inside the box to create any quality scoring opportunities.

Defender Amit Chakraborty then rounded off the tally, finishing a short pass move from the midfield by placing the ball to the right of the advancing Kerala goalkeeper in the 85th minute.

In the bronze medal play-off, Services defeated Karnataka 4-0. Sunil B (2nd), N Sureh Metei (7th), Sreyas VG (13th) and Liton Shil (57th) scored for Services.

Result:

Final: West Bengal 5 (Robi Handsa 16th min, Naro Hari Shrestha 30th, 45+, 52nd, Amit Chakraborty 85th) bt Kerala 0

Bronze medal play-off: Service 4 (Sunil B 2nd, N Sureh Metei 7th, Sreyas VG 13th, Liton Shil 57th) bt Karnataka 0

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India News Politics West Bengal

BY-POLL 2022: TMC sweeps Bengal

Trinamool Congress supporters wave party flags after winning Municipal Election in Bolpur in Birbhum District on Wednesday February 02,2022. (Photo: Abhijit Saha/IANS)

As Trinamool Congress swept the bypolls for both Asansol Lok Sabha and Ballygunge assembly constituencies in West Bengal on Saturday, the massive decline in vote share for the BJP in both these seats have kept the saffron camp worried with just around two years left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the Ballygunge Assembly constituency, the BJP candidate, Keya Ghosh, finished third by managing only 12.8 per cent of the total votes polled.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, BJP’s Loknath Chatterjee not only finished second, but also secured 20.50 per cent votes.

However, despite Trinamool’s Babul Supriyo winning from Ballygunge, the party will ponder over its declining vote share there.

Supriyo’s victory margin came down to just 20,2208 votes, from the massive victory margin of 75,359 when the party’s erstwhile legislator from Ballygunge, late Subrata Mukherjee, won in 2021.

This time, Trinamool’s vote percentage declined to 49.7 per cent from 70.60 per cent in 2021.

However, CPI(M) has something to cheer going by the votes it polled in the Ballygunge bypolls. The CPI(M) candidate, Saira Shah Halim, not only finished second, but also improved her party’s vote share to 30.1 per cent from just 5.51 per cent in 2021.

More than Ballygunge Assembly seat, the real frustration for the BJP has come from the results in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, from where the BJP candidate had won twice — in 2014 and 2019.

This time, Trinamool’s Shatrughan Sinha won by a massive margin of 3,03,209 votes, creating two records on behalf of his party.

Sinha is not only the first ever Trinamool Congress candidate to win from Asansol since the creation of this Lok Sabha constituency, his margin surpassed all past records from Asansol on this count.

The victory margin of Sinha is even more significant since in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the then BJP candidate, Babul Supriyo, won from Asansol by a margin of 1.97 lakh votes.

Political analysts believe that bagging a victory margin of over 3 lakh votes after covering up a past backlog of around 2 lakh votes is something quite rare.

The Asansol results show substantial improvement in Trinamool’s vote share against a landslide vote share decline for the BJP.

In Asansol, the Trinamool improved its vote share to 56 per cent from 35.19 per cent in 2019. On the other hand, BJP’s vote share declined to just 30 per cent this time from 51.16 per cent in 2019.

The CPI(M) managed 7.8 per cent vote share from Asansol this time, which is more or less the same the party had got in 2019 — 7 per cent.

The fact that the decline in vote share is a matter of concern for the BJP was indirectly accepted by the party’s defeated candidate from Asansol, Agnimitra Paul.

“Just two years are left for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party leadership should introspect the reasons behind this disaster and work accordingly. I do not want to give any excuse for my defeat. I accept the people’s verdict,” said Paul, who is already a sitting BJP legislator from Asansol (South) Assembly constituency.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Meanwhile, BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Bishnupur in Bankura district, Saumitra Khan, said that the ‘immature’ approach of the saffron leadership in West Bengal led to such a disaster.

After the victory in the bypolls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee indirectly hinted that playing a key role at the national level in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is her next target.

“I request the people of the country to have faith in us,” she said.

Political analysts believe that since the 2021 West Bengal Assembly pols, the erosion in vote share of the BJP has just aggravated and the erosion in the bypolls will send an alarming signal to the saffron camp.

“It seems that no strategy or line of campaigning is working in favour of the BJP. Remember, the bypolls happened in the backdrop of so many issues, such as the Bogtui massacre and the Hanskhali minor rape-muder case. But nothing worked for the BJP, which is officially the principal opposition party in the state now,” said political analyst, Nirmalya Banerjee.