1. KOLKATA, SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2015
15
THUMBNAILS
Mr Keshari Nath Tripathi,
Governor of West Bengal and his
immediate predecessor, Mr M K
Narayanan, at Raj Bhavan in
Kolkata on Friday. sns
Hail storm destruc-
tion:A hailstorm
destroyed over 500
huts, and damaged
hugeamountsof crops
in different villages
of HemtabadandKaliya-
ganj blocks of North
DinajpurdistrictonFri-
day. The Hemtabad
block was the worst
affected. SNS
Employee molested:
An assistant labour
commissioneralleged-
ly molested a female
employeeof hisoffice.
Shehaslodgedacom-
plaintatBasirhatpolice
station. However, the
accused officer Mr
SubrataRoyhasnotyet
been arrested. The
incidenttookplaceon
24 March. SNS
SUBHRA PRASANTA DAS
subhra@thestatesman.net
Kolkata/Patharpratima, 27
March
TheSunderbans,aworldher-
itagesite,suffersfromwide-
ly prevalent mental health
problems and high suicide
rates, owing to easy avail-
ability of pesticides, lack
of mental health support
from the state government
andvariousotherstressors,
revealsastudyconductedby
theInstituteof HealthMan-
agementResearch(IHMR),
Kolkata.
The study conducted by
IIHMR brings out the star-
tlingfactthatonanaverage
around15suicidecasesare
registeredeverymonthat13
blockprimaryhealthcentres
(BPHC)intheSunderbans.
An earlier study found the
figure to be 11 per month.
Two-thirdsof thevictimsare
female.
ProfessorBarunKanjilal,
ahealtheconomistandpro-
fessorof IHMR,feelsthatthe
figure is not an absolute
one, rather it is just the "tip
of the iceberg".
"Frequent cyclones,
floodsandclimaticdisasters
adversely affect livelihood
in this area. People of Sun-
derbans, thus, suffer from
acute sense of livelihood
insecurityandthisleadsto
domestic violence and des-
titution of women," said
Professor Kanjilal.
Lack of trained psychi-
atrists in the area to cater
totheneedsof thelocalsalso
contribute to the growing
numberof suicideattempts
in the Sunderbans.
"Mostof thesuicidebids,
around85percent,arebeing
madethroughconsumption
of easilyavailablechemical
poison, to be more specific
organophosphorus pesti-
cides,"saidDrDebjaniBra-
man, assistant professor of
IHMR.
Change in the socio-eco-
nomicstructureof thearea
due to increased connec-
tivity and migration have
addedtothewoesof thepeo-
ple in many ways.
MrsTaniaDas,assistant
secretaryof theTagoreSoci-
ety for Rural Development
(TSRD), said, "Post Aila,
thetendencytocommitsui-
cide and cases of mental
healthissueshaveincreased
manifold.Depression,migra-
tion and the fear psychosis
of losing everything to the
whimsof thetropicalwetcli-
mateaccountforthesuicide
bids."
Mrs Das further added
that adolescent girls weave
theirowndreamworldunder
the influence of Bollywood
movies and dramas and
whentheygetmarriedatthe
age of 17-18 years, they are
hit by the hard realities of
life. "They get pregnant
withinthefirstyearof mar-
riage,andoftengetpregnant
again within three months
of delivering a baby. Bal-
ancing kids, household
chores and their own aspi-
rations becomes a stressor
for them."
Multiple relationships
of men who often work as
migrant workers in other
statesalsocontributetothe
high suicide rates.
MrsDasaddedthatthere
arevillageslikeKochukhuli
wherearound85percentof
men are migrant workers
and their indifference to
their wives also stress out
the women folk.
Mrs Das alleged that
therehasbeennoinitiative
fromthestategovernment's
end to prioritise the issue
of mentalhealth.Herviews
are echoed by Professor
Kanjilal,wholamentedthe
sorrystateof mentalhealth
in the Sunderbans, with
hardly any psychiatrist
available locally to address
the issue.
RULES FLOUTED IN CIVIC POLL FRAY
SMC civic poll ruckus
STATESMAN NEWS SERVIC
Siliguri, 27 March
Several contractors asso-
ciated with the Siliguri
Municipal Corporation
(SMC) are contesting the
civic body elections this
time, and in doing this,
they are flouting the
state election commis-
sion’s guidelines for eli-
gibility of a candidate
under the West Bengal
Municipality Act-1994.
Though political parties
in the opposition raised
the issue during scrutiny
of nomination papers
yesterday, election offi-
cials have allegedly
accepted the candida-
tures of at least seven
contractors belonging to
different political par-
ties, a majority of them
belonging to the Trina-
mul Congress.
The matter came to
light following objec-
tions raised by the Con-
gress against a Trinamul
Congress candidate,
Manjushree Pal, the wife
of leader Nantu Pal, who
is contesting the SMC
polls from ward 11. Acc-
ording to a senior admin-
istrative official, all such
candidatures have been
accepted as the opposi-
tion parties failed to
make valid arguments
on some legal points.
"Persons in whose
favour a contract sub-
sists with the appropri-
ate government or
municipality in course of
his trade or business for
supply of goods to or for
execution of any work
undertaken by that gov-
ernment or municipality
as stated in Section 9A of
Chapter III, Part II of the
Representation of the
People Act, 1951, read
with Section 30 of the
West Bengal Municipal
Elections Act, 1994," are
not eligible to contest in
a municipal election, ac-
cording to the guide-
lines. The Municipal
Elections Act also says,
"Persons who directly by
themselves or by their
partners or employers or
any employee have any
share or interest in any
contract or employment
with, by or on behalf of
the municipality are also
not eligible."
Controversy cropped
up following the statem-
ent of Mrs Pal, who was
one of the partners of a
firm associated with the
SMC. Though Mrs Pal
claimed she had resigned
from the organization,
legal experts say that a
resignation is not enou-
gh to prove that there is
no 'financial' relations
with a partner firm.
Sources said that
seven to eight contrac-
tors, who are associated
with the government’s
establishments and the
SMC, submitted the nom-
ination papers, it was
found during scrutiny
yesterday.
Asked to comment,
the TMC leader and can-
didate in ward 12, Nantu
Pal, said, "My wife is
contesting the civic body
elections by following
the method by which
many contractors have
filed their nomination
papers." "I have submit-
ted the required papers
of my wife, including an
affidavit and a copy of
the resolution on snap-
ping relations with a
partnership firm on time
during the day of scruti-
ny," Mr Pal said.
"Congress candidate
in ward 12 is an enlisted
government contractor
and he is contesting
against me," he added.
Trinamulrebelsfile
nominationsagainst
officialcandidates
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Malda, 27 March
Rebel Trinamul Congress
leaders in Old Malda have
filed nominations as inde-
pendentcandidatesagainst
theparty’sofficialcandidates
at six wards of Old Malda
municipality(OMM).Even
the district president,
Moazzem Hossain failed to
convince those dissident
leaders to withdraw their
nominations by 28 March.
MrHossain,whowentto
meet the rebel leaders on
Thursday evening with a
request for withdrawal,
faced the fury of dissident
workers and had to return
emptyhanded.“Irequested
thoseleadersnottocontest
in civic polls against the
party’s official candidates
approved by the apex lead-
ership. But they, instead of
listeningtomypleas,start-
edshoutingslogansagainst
the party. If they do not
withdraw nominations,
strong action will be taken
againstthem,”MrHossain
said.
Notably, six senior Tri-
namulleadersandactivists
includingformerblockpres-
ident of Old Malda, Bai-
sishthya Trivedi have sub-
mittednominationsasinde-
pendent candidates from
wards 5, 6, 10, 11, 13 and 20
inOMM.MrTrivedihasfiled
his nomination from ward
5 and former district Tri-
namul Chhatra Parishad
president,SafiqulIslamhas
submittednominationfrom
ward 20. Former town Tri-
namul secretary, Paresh
Ghosh, former Trinamul
minoritycellleader,Anisur
Rahman and a Trinamul
activist,MisterSheikhhave
alsofilednominationsfrom
wards 13, 10 and 6 respec-
tively. Former block Trina-
mulsecretary,DipakGhosh
hasfieldedhisrelativeasan
independentcandidatefrom
ward 11. According to the
rebelleaderstheywerekept
indarkduringthecandidate
selectionprocessandtherec-
ommendations of new
entrants to the party were
accepted without any con-
sideration.
“Weareveteransoldiers
of thepartysinceitsincep-
tion in 1998. I also acted as
theblockTrinamulpresident
foralongtime.Wehavebeen
dishonouredbydistrictpres-
ident Moazzem Hossain.
Bibhuti Ghosh, who left
Congressonlyafewmonths
back, was made the OMM
chairmanwithoutevencon-
sultingus.Evenallthecan-
didates for the civic poll
were selected following his
recommendations. Family
members of Ghosh have
beenofferedberthsatseven
wards.Weprotestedagainst
such monopoly of a new
entrant,” Mr Trivedi said.
Hehoweverdeniedinsti-
gating the party workers
againstthedistrictpresident.
“We ventilated our griev-
ancestohim.Someworkers
too manifested their dis-
content.Irequestedthedis-
trictpresidenttofeeltheemo-
tion of the grass root work-
ers. Mr Hossain was not
insulted,” he added.
A six-month old rhinoceros, Jaldaprasad, being displayed at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata on Saturday. Dilip Dutta
Bansberia, 27 March: The
houseof theBJPcandidate
of BansberiaMunicipality’s
No 16 ward was ransacked
and family members beat-
en up by Trinamul-backed
goons.
Mr Biswajit Das, a resi-
dentof TriveniBaikuntapur
and a BJP candidate from
ward No 16 of Bansberia
Municipality alleged that
soon after he filed the nom-
ination papers, the TMC
men pressurised him to
withdraw the nomination,
to which he did not suc-
cumb,butthethreatsagainst
his life forced him to keep
away from his house.
Mr Das said the Trina-
mul-backedgoonsonThurs-
daynightcameto attackhim
in his residence but not
finding him present in the
house, they ransacked the
house, and thrashed his
agedfather,motherandhis
mother-in-law.
The police rushed to the
rescue of the family after
being informed of the inci-
dent, and later took Sumi-
tra Biswas, the seriously
injured mother in law of
Mr Das to Chinsurah Hos-
pital.
Asaprecautionarysteps
the police has intensified
patrolling in the area. SNS
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Darjeeling, 27 March
The tea garden labourers
from Dooteriah, Kalej Val-
ley and Peshok tea gardens
owned by the Alchemist
group are planning to start
an indefinite relay hunger
strike in their respective
tea gardens from 6 April
to protest against the
group’sfailuretocleartheir
dues.
Speakingatapressmeet
heldatthepressguildinDar-
jeeling, Suraj Subba, the
general secretary of the
GorkhaJanaMuktiMorcha
(GJMM) affiliated Darjeel-
ingTerraiDooarsPlantation
Labour Union, said, “The
representatives from the
tealabourersunionandthe
managementweresupposed
to have a meeting today to
sort out the issues regard-
ing the dues, where the
director of the Alchemist
group, PK Verma was sup-
posed to be present. As we
were informed that he met
with an accident, today’s
meetingwaspostponedto 9
April,”
Headded,“Thelabourers
will go on a relay hunger
strike from 6 April.”
He futher said, “Seven
persons each day will par-
ticipateinthisrelayhunger
strike.Apublicmeetwillbe
organized at the Dooteriah
teagardenon 5April. If the
decisionregardingthedues
is not finalised even on the
9th, we will take our agita-
tion a step further.”
A meeting between the
representativesof theunion
and the mangement had
earlier taken place on 19
Marchinanattempttosolve
the issues regarding the
dues.
However, since Mr PK
Verma was not present at
the meeting, no solution
was extracted and the
meeting was rescheduled
to today.
Mr Subba also said,
“There are more than 2000
workers in Dooteriah,
KalejValleyandPeshoktea
gardens, who have not
received their dues from
the past two years. Rations
were not given to them
from the month of August
andNovember2014.Though
we are aware that the
rations do arrive at the tea
gardens, they are not dis-
tributed among the labour-
ers.”
Theduesthathaveaccu-
mulated over the past two
years include ration, fire-
wood, provident fund, gra-
tuity, medical bills and
many necessary items.
TMCmeetfinalises
KMC andmunicipalpoll
campaignschedule
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 27 March
Trinamul Congress today
met to finalise the party's
campaign schedule for the
ensuringtheKolkataMunic-
ipal Corporation polls and
elections to 91 municipali-
tiesspreadoverthestatein
the next month.
Party'ssecretary-general
ParthaChatterjeesaidafter
themeetingthatapartfrom
finalising the campaign
schedules, the party work-
erswereurgedtokeepclose
masscontactsandconvince
the electors about the wel-
fare measures taken by the
partyrulingtheKMCaswell
asthemunicipalitiesgoing
to the polls. He said that a
control room would be set
up in this regard. Party
sources said that a special
committee had been set up
forpreparingelectionman-
ifesto which would be
released shortly. The meet-
ing thanked the state gov-
ernment for declaring hol-
idays on the poll days.
Meanwhile,sourcessaid
thatManasKar,whorecent-
lyswitchedovertoBJPand
was nominated BJP candi-
date from ward number 8,
returned to the TMC and
urged the party secretary-
generaltoallothimelection-
oriented jobs for the party.
TENDER
NIT No.-1117/0043/15-16/01 Date: 26-03-2015
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the approved list of BSNL, DOT, DOP, CPWD, MES, Railways,
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BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED
Press Notice
NGOALLEGESLACKOFINITIATIVEFROMTHESTATEGOVT
SUICIDE,DESTITUTION
ONTHERISEIN
SUNDERBANS
JUNIOR LEAGUE
Teaworkersplan
relayhungerstrike
TMC HIRELINGS
UNLEASH
TERROR ON OPP
CANDIDATES
GEARING UP
 TMC finalised the party's cam-
paign schedule for the KMC and
municipal polls
 A special committee had been
set up to prepare election mani-
festo, to be released soon
CONG FIELDS
COLLEGE STUDENT
FOR SMC ELECTION
Siliguri, 27 March: The Con-
gress has fielded the
youngestcandidateforthis
year’s Siliguri Municipal
Corporation (SMC) elec-
tions.SahebDas,23,hasbeen
nominated as a candidate
from ward 20 (reserved for
ScheduledCastecandidate)
of the SMC with a Con-
gress ticket.
Mr Das is the brother of
Supriya Das, who was a
Congress candidate in the
lastcivicpollsheldherebut
her candidature was can-
celled due to her being
underage.
Saheb Das who is a res-
ident of Subhashpally in
Siliguri is a BA student at
SiliguriCollege.Whenasked
about his campaigning
strategies, Mr Das said: “I
willstartcampaigningfrom
Sunday with party sup-
porters. There are a lot of
problems in this ward that
needtobeaddressedimme-
diately. The primary prob-
lemistheshortageof drink-
ing water in the area. Also,
thenearbyFuleswariRiver
hasbecomeagarbagedump-
ing ground making it very
unhygienicforthepeopleliv-
ing near the area. I will
campaignabouttheseissues
andtalkaboutbastiunnayan
(slum development) with
the voters.” SNS