Page 82 - West Bengal

Spainish textile major Zara to start production in Bengal from Dec: Mamata

Tempe Grupo Inditex (Zara), a Spain-based textile major, is expected to start production in West Bengal before Christmas, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. The state government would provide 100 acres of concessional land, besides all other support to the company, Banerjee, who is currently in Spain, said. An exciting development is on the horizon! Tempe Grupo Inditex (Zara), a major player in the textile industry, is expanding its operations. They are partnering with private entities to shift manufacturing to West Bengal, with production set to begin before Christmas 2023, Banerjee posted on X on Thursday. The Bengal CM, who is on a 12-day official tour to Spain, held a meeting with the company officials in this regard. Banerjee is hopeful that the venture would help in growth, sustainability, and a prosperous future for West Bengal. During the Bengal Global Business Summit in 2019, a segment titled 'Downstream Polymer and Plastic Industry,' was conceived aligning with our ...

La Liga signs agreement to set up football academy in West Bengal

Spanish football league La Liga signed an agreement with the West Bengal government to set up an academy in the state for nurturing young talents, an official said on Friday. The MoU was signed during a closed-door meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and La Liga president Javier Tebas in Madrid, he said. Banerjee, who is on a 12-day trip to Spain, met Tebas in Madrid on Thursday evening and held a closed-door meeting, which focussed on strengthening relations through linking sports and cultural institutions. "This remarkable MoU intends to promote football to foster sportsmanship, health, and prosperity. La Liga will develop a football training academy in West Bengal," the official said. According to the agreement, coaches and players from the state will be trained by the coaches of La Liga. They will also share their experience and expertise to assist the football clubs of West Bengal and make them self-sustainable, the official said. Banerjee was accompanied by forme

Adhir slams Mamata over ED summons to Abhishek in coal 'scam' case

The summons to the TMC MP came weeks after the central probe agency conducted raids in the office of 'Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd'

Mamata meets Sri Lankan prez at Dubai airport, invites him to WB biz summit

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe at Dubai airport and invited him to the state business summit in November. Banerjee is on a 12-day trip to Dubai and Spain. The chief minister said that Wickremesinghe, seeing her at the airport lounge, called her to join for some discussion. His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe saw me at the Dubai International Airport Lounge and called me to join for some discussion. I have been humbled by his greetings and (have) invited him to the Bengal Global Business Summit 2023 in Kolkata, she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Banerjee also said Wickremesinghe has invited her to visit the island country. HE the President of Sri Lanka extended cordial invitation to me to visit Sri Lanka. It was a pleasant interaction with deep implications, she added. Banerjee reached Dubai on Tuesday evening and was at the airport there this morning to board her flight to .

ECI team visits West Bengal, reviews preparedness for Lok Sabha polls

A team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) visited West Bengal and reviewed the preparedness for Lok Sabha polls due next year, a senior official said. ECI deputy election commissioners Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Kumar Vyas held a meeting with West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Aariz Aftab on Monday and discussed the special summary revision of electoral rolls, he said. District magistrates, SPs and poll officials were also present at the meeting. "Special focus was laid on the revision of voters' list. The ECI officials also reviewed the panchayat elections and the recently held Dhupguri bypoll," he added.

Mamata to leave for 11-day tour of Spain, Dubai to attend business summits

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will leave for an 11-day tour of Spain and Dubai, during which she will attend business summits to attract investments to the state. Banerjee will leave for Dubai on Tuesday, and spend the night there due to the unavailability of connecting flights, before flying to Spain's capital Madrid the next day. "We will stay in Madrid for three days, during which we will attend a business summit and meet non-resident Bengalis. From there, we will take a train to Barcelona, where we will participate in a two-day meeting for the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS)," she told reporters at state secretariat Nabanna on Tuesday. She said this will be her first foreign tour in five years as the Centre "had not given her necessary permission earlier". Banerjee will be accompanied by Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi and senior office-bearers of renowned Kolkata football clubs Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. She said former Indian cricket team

Mamata Banerjee reshuffles ministry, shifts Supriyo from tourism to IT, RE

In a ministerial reshuffle on Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shifted Babul Supriyo from the tourism department and gave him the charges of Information Technology and renewable energy, a senior official said. Another singer-politician Indranil Sen, who was the minister of state for the technical education, training, and skill development department was given the Independent charge of the tourism department, he added. Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick was given additional charges of the department of public enterprises and industrial reconstruction, the bureaucrat said. Banerjee effected the reshuffle on the eve of embarking on a trip to Dubai and Spain to seek investments.

Governer Bose writes confidential letters to Centre, West Bengal govt

A day after West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu accused him of trying to "destroy" the higher education system in the state and running a "puppet regime" in universities, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday warned of a much bigger action at midnight. As the clock was nearing midnight, a Raj Bhavan official said Bose had "signed two confidential sealed letters", one for the state secretariat, Nabanna, and another for the Centre. On the content of the letters, the official said "it would be disclosed later". "The governor signed two confidential letters tonight, one meant for Nabanna and the other for Delhi," the official added. "You will come to know the content of the letters later," the official told PTI, hinting that the subject could be on the recent war of words between the governor and the state government. Incidentally, Bose signed the letters a couple of hours after holding an elaborate meeting with chief secretary HK Dwivedi at Raj Bhavan. The topic of the meeting,

24 pilgrims from West Bengal wounded in bus accident near Lucknow

Two dozen people were injured when a private tourist bus carrying over 60 pilgrims from Medinipur, West Bengal fell into a roadside ditch on the Bareilly-Lucknow national highway at Jang Bahadur Ganj (JB Ganj) bypass near Allipur village on Saturday morning, police said. Ten of the wounded were transported to the neighbouring Shahjahanpur district for treatment, JB Ganj police outpost in-charge Hemant Katiyar told PTI. All injured were reported to be out of danger barring a woman identified as Madhumita, who got a head injury, Katiyar said. The bus driver and his helper fled after the accident. Pilgrims said they had boarded the bus on August 25 and after visiting Gaya, Bodhgaya, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Vrindavan and Haridwar, were on their way to Ayodhya and Varanasi. In another incident nearby, two brothers were killed and a third got injured after the motorcycle they were travelling on was hit by a bus in the Mirzapur Police Station area of the district. "One Musharraf (30) and

Bypoll results 2023: BJP wins in Tripura, Uttarakhand, Congress in Kerala

The bypolls are seen as a significant test for the Opposition alliance INDIA against the ruling BJP-led NDA, with implications for upcoming state elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

It's people's victory: Mamata on West Bengal's Dhupguri bypoll result

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee described her party's win in the Dhupguri bypolls on Friday as a "victory of the people". The ruling TMC wrested the Dhupguri seat from the BJP. She congratulated candidates for defeating the BJP in the bypolls in four seats in various states saying it was a big win for the INDIA coalition. The BJP lost in Dumri (Jharkhand), Puthuppally (Kerala), Ghosi (Uttar Pradesh) and Dhupguri, the ECI said. "Dhupguri is a big win. The seat was with the BJP. It's a historic win and I congratulate all the people of Dhupguri. This is a win of the people," Banerjee told reporters at the city airport before leaving for New Delhi. At the national capital, Banerjee will attend President Droupadi Murmu's G20 dinner invitation on Saturday. "I would like to congratulate all those who beat the BJP to win the bypolls. The BJP has lost four bypolls out of the seven held on September 5. This is a big win for INDIA. I want people to ta

TMC wrests West Bengal's Dhupguri assembly seat from BJP in bypoll

The ruling TMC wrested the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Friday from the BJP in a by-election, officials said. TMC candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy, a college professor, won the seat by over 4,000 votes. His nearest rival was BJP's Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021, they said. CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy, who was backed by the Congress, was at a distant third spot, they added. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the people of Dhupguri embraced politics of development over hatred and bigotry. "Saluting every AITC worker for their tireless efforts in connecting with the people. We're committed to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring Dhupguri's all-round development," he posted on X. The counting was held amid tight security at the Jalpaiguri II campus of North Bengal University. The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent

CM Banerjee raises pay of West Bengal MLAs by Rs 40,000 per month

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a hike of Rs 40,000 per month in salaries of MLAs of West Bengal. Banerjee, who made the announcement in the House, said there will be no revision in the chief minister's salary as she has not been drawing any pay for a long time. "The salary of MLAs of the West Bengal Assembly is much less than that of other states. So, it has been decided that their monthly salaries will be hiked by Rs 40,000. The MLAs used to get 10,000, ministers of state used to get 10,900 and ministers in-charge Rs 11,000. Now, they will get 50,000, 50,900 and 51,000 per month," she said. Banerjee, however, didn't give a breakup of the actual salaries of lawmakers after the hike, including allowances and extra pay as members of the various standing committees. Banerjee said although the MLAs' allowances are being increased, "no proposal is being made to increase the salary of the chief minister." "After the salary increase, the salary of the West Bengal Ch

Will continue to fight to make Bengal universities free of corruption: Guv

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, in a video message on Thursday, asserted that he will continue his fight to make state universities free of corruption and violence. His comment comes at a time when the state government and the Raj Bhavan are embroiled in a war of words over the appointments of interim vice-chancellors of some state universities by the governor. "I want universities in the state to be free of violence and be the best in India," Governor Bose said. He promised in the name of Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra and Swami Vivekananda to continue to fight for a "corruption-free academia". Speaking about the Raj Bhavan's recent move to appoint interim VCs, Bose said, "I have appointed them as apex court ruled against some of the appointments earlier made by the state government." "There were allegations of corruption, sexual harassment and political interference against some VCs who were earlier appointed...five VCs who resigned told me in confidence that th

2,000 bottles of banned cough syrup seized, three arrested in Bengal

Around 2,000 bottles of banned cough syrup Phensedyl were seized and three people were arrested on Tuesday in West Bengal's Nadia district which borders Bangladesh, police said. Acting on a tip-off, police intercepted two vehicles in Natunpara in Bhimpur police station area and seized the cough syrup bottles, while arresting the occupants, a police officer said. The arrested persons are residents of Nadia's Karimpur, which is close to the India-Bangladesh border. Phensedyl contains codeine, which is a narcotic drug that causes addiction when used in large quantities over a period of time. The cough syrup is used as an intoxicant in Bangladesh as an alternative to alcohol.

Around 76% votes turnover till 5 pm in West Bengal's Dhupguri assembly

Around 76 per cent of 2.6 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district till 5 pm on Tuesday, an official said. Two BJP leaders including an MLA, who are not residents of the constituency, were found in a party office. One of them, the BJP district president, had to leave as he could not show any document allowing him entry into Dhupguri during the voting. "Till 5 pm, 75.82 per cent of votes were cast. Tight security measures are in place and there is an adequate number of forces, the Election Commission official told PTI. All the booths are manned by central paramilitary forces, and the casting of votes will continue till 6.30 pm, he said. Meanwhile, Falakata BJP MLA Dipak Barman and district party president Bapi Goswami were present at an election office in the constituency though they are not residents of Dhupguri. As per the rules, outsiders are not permitted to enter the constituency during

WB Dhupguri bypoll: A litmus test for parties ahead of Lok Sabha elections

The triangular contest will be a litmus test for these major parties mainly for the INDIA bloc which are pitted against each other in Dhupguri

Bring Bengal's workers back: CM Mamata Banerjee to builders, investors

The proposed Bengal Silicon Valley Tech Hub in New Town, Kolkata, is also expected to attract investment of Rs 30,000 crore

Seven Assembly seats across six states to go to bypolls on September 5

The seats to go to polls include Dumri in Jharkhand, Puthuppally in Kerala, Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, and Dhupguri in West Bengal

Early bond recall: Notify each holder

The National Commission ruled that public notices weren't sufficient. To avoid liability, the bank must send individual notifications and produce proof of having served them