Red Cross camp in Sunderbans

Pix: Red Cross Camp at Najat

Report by: Kundan Halder

BASIRHAT: Volunteers of the Basirhat Junior and Youth Red Cross Unit (BJYRCU) organised a four days long camp at Najat in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas to promote and encourage the participation of children and young persons in the work of the Red Cross. The camp was inaugurated by a monk of Ramkrishna Seva Sangha on 27 January at Rabindra Siksha Niketan.
Pinaki Ranjan Kshetrapal, counselor and general secretary of the BJYRCU said around 250 persons participated in the camp. Several trainers including doctors attended the camps to develop a sense of social responsibility among the participants.
Most of the youths and school boys came from the Sunderbans areas and got training in first aid including dressing, bandage. Trainers also aware the camp goers on wounds and hemorrhage, respirator system, artificial respiration(practice), burns and scalds, fracture, asphyxia and shock.
Abu Sayed Mandal, one of the organiser said students and youths were much interested to learn those subjects as there were lack of doctors and paramedic staffs at their locality.
Nirmal Satra said students of the camp were asked to help the local people during any emergency situation. “A large number of people died following the snake bite at our locality so I attentively listened and took note how to help a snake bite persons, said Piya Mandal, a camp attendant of Sandeshkhali area.
Pinaki Ranjan Kshetrapal said they have urged the students to aware people for donating blood in summer during the crisis of blood.

70 persons ill 5000 affected following ammonia gas leak in Dum Dum

Pix: People outside their residences after gas leak (top)

People admitted hospital

Seventy people fell ill following the leak of ammonia gas from a cold storage at Nagerbazar in Dum Dum today.
Panic gripped residents and most of them ran away from the locality after the gas leak and most of them developed breathing problem. Around 5000 people were affected and some of them were admitted to a local hospital. A hospital, near the cold storage was evacuated. The disaster management group and BSF personnel arrived at the spot. The fire and emergency service employees initially failed to detect the spot from where the gas emitting since afternoon. Later they wear mask and entered into the cold storage. The cold storage is for preservation of fish, police said.
Seven fire tenders have been pressed into service to detect the source of the leakage and plug it as efforts were being made to contact the owners.
Traffic on the adjacent Jessore road was disrupted. The cold storage was closed as it was a Sunday.

Gita Devi died

Actress Gita De passed away in a hospital last night after a long illness. Celebrated actress was 80. She acted around in 200 Bengali films and dramas. She was admitted to a hospital few days back. She joined in acting when she was 6-year-old. Some of her famous films were Ahuti, Meghe Dhaka Tara, Kabi, Phuleswari and Byapika Biday.
She also acted in Star theatre in several times with theater personality Sisir Bhaduri. She earned the acclamation by her acting when she was only 13-year-old.
Singer Pintu Bhattacharya died today after suffering from cancer for a prolonged period. He was 71-year-old. He was admitted to a cancer hospital in South Kolkata two days back and doctor advised him for a biopsy test. But he died before the result come in.

Baul, Kirtaniya arrive to enjoy Jaydeb fair

KOLKATA: Around 250 akhada (tent) were set up by the baul and kirtaniya (folk and kirtaniya singer) at Kenduli-Jaydeb in Birbhum following the four days long “Jaydeb Mela” this year.
Few thousands baul and kirtaniya arrived on Friday here and singing songs and playing instruments. Few lakhs visitors arrived here and many of them took bath in the River Ajay on the day of Makar Sankranti. Folk singers from foreign countries have reached at Kenduli and staying at the akhada. The fair had been organised more than 100 years ago and the fair was previously recognised as Baul mela. But now-a-days kirtaniyas are thronging to visit the fair and organised their programme in several places.
The mercury dipped down and the temperature was 6 degree centigrade on Saturday. But people ignored the icy chill and dipped in the river.
No tourist lodge or hotels are located here but tourists were being accommodated in the tents. Some organizations were regularly catering free meals (kichdi with alur dum and cabbages curry) to the visitors. The fair brings the memory of the poet Jaydeb, who wrote many poems on communal harmony and love.
Police said they set up eight watchtowers and several drop gates for the safety and security of the visitors and a special control room was opened.

Special EC team arrives to oversee law and order

File Pix :Mob violence

KOLKATA: A four-member special Election Commission team arrived on Sunday to see the law and order situation in West Bengal.
The special EC team, led by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar Sudhir Kumar Rakesh, arrived in Kolkata to oversee law and order in the state ahead of the Assembly elections, West Bengal Joint CEO Dibyendu Sarkar said, two other members would arrive later tonight.
The team may visit the trouble-hit districts where political violence occurred in past few days. The decision to send a fact-finding team was taken by the EC after representatives of various political parties had informed them about the worsening law and order situation and series of political violence.
An official said that maintenance of law and order situation is vitial to the conduct of free and fair and peaceful election.
Three other senior police officers including Zaki Ahmed (DIG National Crime Record Bureau), P R K Naidu (DIG National Crime Record Bureau) and D K Pandey (ADG Jharkhand) arrived today apart from Bihar CEO.Other two senior police officers V S Reddy (DIG Andhra Pradesh) and P S Rampassi (DIG Orissa), would arrive later tonight.

Politicians should follow universal brotherhood ideology: Governor

Pix: (From Top) Orphan girls of DRSA exibiting handicrafts items.
Ambulance donor Babar Ali Biswas and DRSA general secretary Mural Bhai.

Governor inaugurating the DRSA high school and delivering speech(bottom).

Pix by Subal Saha

KOLKATA: All the political parties should follow the ideology of the ‘universal brotherhood’ to maintain law and order situation in the state, said West Bengal governor, M K Narayanan on Saturday.
He was speaking at Adyepeath near Dakshineswar in Belghoria before inaugurating a school building of Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha Adyapeath (DRSA) and three ambulances.
He said DRSA general secretary Brahmachari Mural Bhai has taken a lot of initiative to serve the ailing and distress people and he is a follower of universal brotherhood.
“DRSA provided shelter for a large number of orphan boys and girls at Adyapeath home. A lot of poor, distress and geriatric people also got shelter here, he said.
Union minister and Trinamul Congress leader Sougata Roy also participated in the occasion. He said DRSA monks and general secretary Mural Bhai inspiring the mankind with their selfless services for poor and distress people and they are ultimately serving the nation.
CPI-M leader and MLA Kamarhati Manash Mukherjee and chairman of the Rajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality Tapash Chatterjee shared the same podium with the Trinamul Congress leader Sougata Roy.
Babar Ali Biswas from Jit Charitable Society donated three ambulances to the DRSA. “The poor and orphan boys inspired me a lot for charitable works. I will be glad when one day I know these orphans boys become perfect men, he said.
Brahmachari Mural Bhai said that DRSA distributed 5000 sarees and 3000 blankets among the poor people. “When I visited the door of any people for begging my little children for their education and health, the people irrespective of cast, creed, religion and political party extended their help,” said Brahmachari Mural Bhai. DRSA also celebrated 120 birth anniversary and 90 siddhotsav (attainment of supreme knowledge) of Sri Sri Annada Thakur, the founder of DRSA. The student of the Ariahdah Manikuntaladevi Valikavidalaya organised a seven days long exhibition for the handicrafts items, which was inaugurated by Brhmachari Mural Bhai.

Take immediate steps to prevent violence in WB: Governor

KOLKATA: Governor M K Narayanan today summoned chief secretary Samar Ghosh and asked the state to take immediate steps to prevent violence in West Bengal.
Home secretary G D Gautama and director general of police N Mukherjee were also present at the meeting.
Gautama later said that the governor asked the government to take immediate steps to stop violence and maintain law and order situation in West Bengal.
“No democracy can allow such violence: no civilised society can tolerate such wanton disregard for human lives and no state can accept such mindless discord,” he had said in a statement was released by the Governor’s House.
Governor earlier expressed his deep sorrow over the killing of seven villagers by suspected CPI-M supporters at Netai in Lalgarh on 7 January this years and said it was a day of “sorrow and shame” for the state.Narayanan was briefed about measures by the state to curb growing violence, home secretary said. “The Governor cited no specific issues or incidents and held a general review of the law and order situation in the state,” he added.

Intellectuals meet S Y Quraishi for early Assembly polls

PIX: Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi

Kolkata: An 11–member delegation, including painter Suvaprasanna, theatre personality Bratya Basu and former bureaucrat Debabrata Bandopadhyay, met Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi requesting him for advance election in the state.Intellectuals submitted a memorandum to the CEC in this regard. We are concerned over the recent spate of violence and deteriorating situation of the law and order in the state so we urged the CEC for early assembly election in the state, said a member of the delegation. CEC however assured them to look into their memorandum.

Law and order situation is worsening in state: Pranab

Pix: The alleged Harmad camp, from where miscreants fired at the villagers (top)

A victim's body (down)

KOLKATA: Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee today said that law and order situation is worsening in West Bengal and asked who was responsible for such a state of affairs.
Around eight people were killed and several others injured after a gang of miscreants allegedly backed by the CPI-M party fired at them at Netai in Lalgarh in West Midnapore district on 7 January.

He said West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Manas Bhuina had visited the residence of the victims, who were killed in the firing he also visited the hospital, where injured persons were admitted.
Expressing concern over the murder of a Congress worker at Basanti in South 24 Parganas, he said murder is a regular occurrence in the state,
Union Law and Justice minister Verappa Moily also expressed his concern over the recent killing of eight villagers at Netai in Lalgarh. Chief election commissioner Shahabuddin Yaqoob Qureshi yesterday asked the police to recover illegal arms and destroy the illegal camps, where miscreants are assembling with arms.