KOLKATA, 11 APRIL: Tremors felt in several districts of the state due to an earthquake, measuring 8.5 on the Richer scale, that hit off the western coast of northern Sumatra, triggered panic in the city and caused people to evacuate their workplaces and houses and come out on the streets. As office windows and doors started rattling, and several news channels flashed visuals of cracks in various buildings, people in the office areas of Park Street, Dharamtalla, Sector V in Salt Lake and BBD Bag, left their work and rushed out of their offices. “I was calling a customer when my chair shook.

KOLKATA, 13 FEB: The state public health engineering (PHE) department has invited experts from across the world to tour the four districts affected by arsenic seeking suggestions for the use of modern technology to tackle the problem. Apart from visiting the four districts ~ North 24-Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and South 24-Parganas ~ experts will also visit the three districts partially-affected by arsenic ~ Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.

Gosaba, Jan. 31: Mamata Banerjee today lent her voice to a pitch to facilitate land acquisition for a life-saving project — an uncommon plea that betrayed the government’s frustration at the slow pace despite the urgency and the promise of generous compensation. The chief minister persuaded the people of Sunderbans to offer their land to build embankments in low-lying areas of South 24-Parganas, which were devastated by the Aila cyclone in 2009.

KOLKATA/PATNA, 30 JAN: The chief minister's proposed visit to the Aila-affected areas in the Sunderbans tomorrow is likely to be another gimmick as the state government has so far failed to acquire required land for setting up embankment. The state has got only 150 acres out of required 4,000 acres of land. A total of 5,700 acres of land will be needed to set up the embankments in North and South 24-Parganas. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 5,032 crore, of which 75 per cent will be borne by the Centre.

KOLKATA, 23 JAN: At a time when the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, has assured to provide a cleaner and greener city, her party leaders are backing a wagon-manufacturing factory on Jamir Lane in Ballygunge which is allegedly polluting the environment of the area. Hapless members of Jamir Lane Residents’ Association have written to the chief minister seeking her intervention. Earlier, local residents shot off letters to the state pollution control board and environment minister Dr Sudarshan Ghosh Dastidar.

While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government sought to downplay the fact that farmers were being forced to commit suicide in the State because of penurious conditions, Leader of the Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra said here on Monday that the Chief Minister keeps maintaining that nothing is wrong whenever anything construed as a criticism of her government is brought to her notice.

Calcutta, Jan. 2: Sagar Mela will for the first time get power supply from the mainland this year. Overhead cables were drawn from Lot No. 8 in South 24-Parganas to Sagar Island’s Kachuberia, 3km across the Muriganga river. “We installed five transmission towers between the two river banks to carry the power. It is a unique piece of engineering to carry transmission cables across a tidal river,” said power secretary Moloy De.

KOLKATA, 1 JAN: The inefficiency of the state government to implement a land policy in the past seven months has meant it has failed to construct an inch of a planned embankment in South and North 24-Parganas, two districts that were badly affected by Cyclone Alia over two years ago. As a result of all the confusion over the land policy, the administrations in the two districts are yet to finalise the compensation package that will be given to locals and, as time passes, those affected are increasing pressure on the administration.

Flouting all norms a railway wagon manufacturing unit is operating at Jamir Lane in the Ballygunge area.
The hapless residents who are suffering from respiratory problems to high blood pressure have written to the chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, seeking her intervention. Copies of the letter were given to Dr Sudarshan Ghoshdastidar, state environment minister, and Mr Partha Chatterjee, state industries minister. The local MLA and the state public health engineering minister, Mr Subrata Mukherjee, and local councillor, Mr Rajib Deb, have also been informed.