1. TACKY THRILLS
P14
MISS TANAKPUR
IN CINEMAS
P14
THUMBNAILS
Powercut:Powersup-
plytoconsumersinparts
of AndulRoad,Mouri-
gram and adjoining
areasmaybeinterru-
ptedon29June,between
11:30amand14:30pm.
This is due to a main-
tenanceworkinthearea
tobecarriedoutbythe
CESC. SNS
Petition dismissed:
Mr Justice Dipankar
Dutta of CalcuttaHigh
Courtdismissedthepeti-
tionforstartingaCBI
probeintoHappySingh's
deathonFriday.Singh
was allegedly killed
by some inmates of
Presidency Correc-
tional Home. SNS
Kaushik Sen during a function
to observe Black Day on the
40th year of the Emergency. In
Kolkata on Friday. nDilip Dutta
KOLKATA, SATURDAY 27 JUNE 2015
www.thestatesman.com
C M Y K
C M Y K
APARAJIT CHAKRABORTY
aparajit@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 26 June
Peopletakingroadaccident
victimstohealthcareestab-
lishmentswillberewarded,
accordingtoacircularissued
bythestatetransportdepart-
ment today.
ThegoodSamaritanshall
be rewarded or compensat-
ed to encourage other citi-
zens to come forward to
helproadaccidentvictims,
by the state government
authorities in the manner
asspecifiedbythestategov-
ernment.
As per the circular, a
goodSamaritanorbystander,
who makes a phone call to
inform the police or emer-
gency services for the per-
son lying injured on the
road,shallnotbecompelled
to reveal his name and per-
sonal details on the phone
or in person, the circular
goes on to say.
Copies of the circular
were sent to the secretary,
statehealthandfamilywel-
faredepartment,alldistrict
magistrates and superin-
tendents of police and
regional transport author-
ities. The circular is an
upshotof anorderissuedby
theUnionMinistryof Road
Transport and Highways.
On 12 May the Union
ministry of road transport
and highways had issued a
notificationtoallstategov-
ernments for immediate
implementation following
thedirectionof theSupreme
Court.
The circular, which
reflectstheUnionministry's
notification, also says that
abystanderorgoodSamar-
itanincludinganeyewitness
of aroadaccidentcanleave
thehospitalaftergivinghis
detailstothepolicewithout
beinginterrogatedandwill
have no civil and criminal
liability.
Disclosure of the name
and contact details of the
goodSamaritanwillbemade
voluntary and optional
including in the medico-
legal case form provided
by hospitals. Public offi-
cials who coerce or intimi-
date a good Samaritan for
revealing his name or per-
sonal details will face dis-
ciplinary action.
The Union ministry of
health and family welfare
will issue guidelines to all
privateandpublichospitals
askingthemnottodetainthe
bystanderorthegoodSamar-
itan or demand payment
for registration and admis-
sion costs, unless the good
Samaritanisafamilymem-
berorrelativeof theinjured
and to make sure that the
injured is to be treated
immediately as per the
Supreme Court order.
Lack of response and
carebyadoctorinanemer-
gency situation related to
road accidents will consti-
tute professional miscon-
duct.
However, a bystander or
good Samaritan who has
volunteeredasaneyewitness
totheaccidentwillbeexam-
inedduringinvestigationor
trial on a single occasion
withoutanyharassmentor
intimidation.
Allhospitalswillhaveto
publish a charter in Hindi,
Englishandthevernacular
language of the state at
their entrance to the above
effect.
People refrain from tak-
ingaccidentvictimstohos-
pitals, fearing harassment
from police, who even slap
falsechargesonthem.This
happenparticularlyatnight.
SUBHRA PRASANTA DAS
subhra@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 26 June
Hilsa, a must-have Ben-
gali delicacy during
monsoon, is facing loss
of wild stock due to
indiscriminate fishing
during the ban period,
exploitative fishing craft,
absence of alternative
livelihood for fishermen
during ban period and
lack of awareness.
"The government of
Bangladesh and West
Bengal [state govern-
ment] held a joint study
and policy dialogue in
2012 and that led to the
formulation of National
Plan for Action in
Bangladesh and notifica-
tion from the govern-
ment in the state," said
Dr Saswati Sen, state
director of WWF-India
West Bengal State Office.
Dr Sen said that the
notification was intro-
duced in 2013, however,
indiscriminate fishing
still goes on during ban
period and over-catch of
hilsa fingerlings is lead-
ing to depletion in the
stock.
Data of from the
Department of Fish-
eries, Government of
West Bengal, reveal the
steep decline in total
catch of hilsa in Hoogh-
ly-Bhagirathi river sys-
tem.
Large-scale trawling
in marine waters is also
one of the causes of
depletion of hilsa stock
as it has accelerated
exploitation of hilsa
stock, says a report by
WWF-India.
Bay of Bengal Large
Marine Ecosystem
(BOBLME) points out
that the drying up of
rivers and saline intru-
sion due to reduced
water flow from
upstream, sedimentation
in the riverine system
also contribute to the
decline in the stock of
hilsa.
Discharge from ice
plants directly mixes
with waters in Digha
Mohana or in Champa
River at an interval of
three to four months
cause pollution, which
also causes depletion of
hilsa stock.
Fishermen in Bangl-
adesh are provided with
alternative livelihood,
food, clothes etc but
there is no such mecha-
nism in place here. Dr
Saptarshi Biswas, deputy
director, Directorate of
Fisheries, West Bengal,
said, "We have launched
a pilot project of provid-
ing alternative livelihood
to these fishermen.
Seven hundred and fifty
units of fish vending
have been installed in
nine districts."
Many fishermen who
have gained expertise in
fishing, however, tend
not to opt for other liveli-
hood avenues which do
not involve fishing. Both
Dr Biswas and Dr Sen
pointed out that fish
market is demand dri-
ven, and as long as con-
sumers keep on buying
hilsa fingerlings there
will be supplies. Low
level of awareness
among common people
leads to over-catch of
juvenile hilsa and thus
depletion of stock.
"We are trying to
make both consumers
and fishermen aware by
distributing leaflets,
booklets to KMC mar-
kets. Advertisements are
being played on radio to
make people aware," said
Dr Biswas.
Dr Biswas opined that
an incentive-based regu-
lation for the fishermen
and raising awareness
would be more effective
than meting out harsh
punishment.
'Delhicontacts'gain
ex-IASofficers
re-employment
SULAGNA SENGUPTA
sulagna@thestatesman.net
Kolkata 26 June
Two former IAS officers—
Mr RD Meena and Mr
AmarendraNathSinghhave
beenre-employedasstateres-
identcommissionerinDelhi
and state land reform com-
missioner, respectively,
although they retired in
May 2014.
The appointments, reli-
ablesourcessaid,havebeen
made as both officers have
good contacts at the Centre
and it was thought they
wouldbeabletolobbyeffec-
tivelywiththeCentreinthe
state's interests.
Topgovernmentofficials
said they have been rein-
statedintheiroriginalposts
a few days back.
While Mr Meena has
beenre-employedforayear,
Mr Singh has been
re-employed for three
months.
The move has created a
flutter amongst senior IAS
officers who feel that it's
unconstitutionaltogivere-
employment to a officer
who has already retired
from the service.
Senior officials of the
state government said that
theservicerulesforIASoffi-
cers state that no IAS
officerswillbere-employed
inthecadrepostaftertheir
retirement.
Usually the IAS officers
who are retired are re-
employed in "non-cadre"
posts, for example, as
chairmen of commissions
set up by the state govern-
ment.
Ameetingwasconvened
with chief minister Miss
MamataBanerjeeafewdays
back, where it was decided
thatthetwoIASofficerswill
be re-employed in the posts
they have retired at.
A section of officials,
however,complainedtothe
chief secretary Mr Sanjay
Mitra a few days back over
the issue.
According to them, it's
illegaltore-employtheIAS
officers who have already
retired from service.
MrSamarGhoshformer
chief secretarywasgivensix
monthsextensionafterTri-
namul Congress came to
power, but after his
retirementhewasappoint-
edasamemberof theState
Administrative Tribunal
(SAT).
A blind person performing at a function to observe Blind Awareness Day at Minerva Theatre hall in Kolkata on Friday. n
Ankana Chakraborty
GURVINDER SINGH
gurvinder@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 26 June
The Kolkata Port Trust
(KoPT) has sent a proposal
to the Union ministry of
culture for construction of
a three-storey building in
Budge Budge to commem-
orate the contribution of
themartyrsof theKomagata
Maru in the freedom strug-
gle.
KomagataMaru,aJapan-
ese steamship carrying 376
passengerswasnotallowed
toenterCanadaduetoimmi-
gration laws in 1914. Baba
Gurdit Singh, a well-to-do
businessman from Singa-
pore had planned the voy-
agewithanaimtochallenge
the tougher laws in that
country.
The ship was forced to
returnandnineteenpeople
were slain by the British at
Budge Budge when they
refused to board a train for
Punjab.Thememorialded-
icated to the martyrs was
inauguratedbyPanditJawa-
har Lal Nehru in 1952.
Thenewstructurewould
come up at the back of the
existing memorial, nearly
two kilometre from the
Komagata Maru railway
station. A tripartite agree-
ment would soon be signed
betweenthePortTrust,the
Union ministry of culture
and Komagata Maru Mar-
tyrsMemorialTrustregard-
ing the construction of the
new building.
“We have already sent a
proposal to the Union min-
istry of culture for the con-
structionof thenewmemo-
rial on an area of around
2,000 square feet,” said Mr
RPSKahlon,thechairman
of KoPT.
HesaidtheG+2building
to be built at an estimated
cost of Rs 2.4 crore would
haveanadministrativeoffice
andalibraryontheground
floor,amuseumonthefirst
floor and an auditorium on
the second floor. “The con-
struction would start soon
afterthefundsarereleased
bytheUnionministry,”said
Kahlon adding that they
plan to complete the work
within a year.
MrJogenderSinghJohal,
the president of the trust,
saidtheyareplanningtocol-
lect every minute detail in
connection with the Koma-
gata Maru incident and
place it in the museum.
Veteran journalist and
recipientof Banga Bhushan
award, Mr Bachan Singh
Saralsaidtheexistingmemo-
rial suffers from space
crunch and the new struc-
ture would help to make
the younger generation
aware about the contribu-
tions of their ancestors.
DECLINE IN HILSA CATCH DUE TO WILD STOCK LOSS
Kolkata, 26 June: Some local
people resisted the demoli-
tion of a four storied unau-
thorised building in Aswi-
niNagarbyKolkataMunic-
ipal Corporation's (KMC).
An 85-year old man, Mr
Ranjan Chakravorty, a
retired Public Works
department employee had
been living in the building
for quite some time.
Local people along with
the councillor of the ward
no 95, Mr Tapan Dasgupta,
gatheredintheareatoresist
thedemolitionof thebuild-
ing.
Mr Dasgupta criticised
the decision of the civic
bodytodemolishthebuild-
inginthecolonyareawith-
out having proper infor-
mation and declaring the
construction to be illegal.
KMCinresponsesaid,they
havetakenthedecisiononly
afterthehearingof thecase
regardingthebuildingwas
complete. SNS
LOCALS RESIST
DEMOLITION
BID BY KMC
nn A circular issued by the state transport department stated that a good
Samaritan shall be rewarded or compensated to encourage other citizens to come
forward to help road accident victims
nn Copies of the circular were sent to the secretary, state health and family
welfare department, all district magistrates and superintendents of police and
regional transport authorities
nn Public officials who coerce or intimidate a good Samaritan for revealing his
name or personal details will face disciplinary action
nn Lack of response and care by a doctor in an emergency situation related to road
accidents will constitute professional misconduct
BYSTANDERHELPINGACCIDENTVICTIMSWILLBEREWARDED: GOVTCIRCULAR
HARASSMENTOFGOOD
SAMARITANSTOEND
QUICK RECAP
VISUAL TREAT
NewbuildingtohonourKomagataMarumartyrs
Fishy craving