1. AASHIQUI 2WATER PALS IN
ORANGE APRONS
P14
QUEEN
IN CINEMAS P14
THUMBNAILS
Youthssnatchchain:
Two youths snatched
a gold chain from a 22
year old woman at a
Karunamoyee hous-
ing complex under
Bidhannagareastpolice
stationonWednesday.
She was hurt during
the incident. SNS
Cop injured: Con-
stableDayanandaBhat-
tacharyawasinjured
on Wednesday after
beingassaultedbyathief
at Lock Gate road in
New Alipore police
limits. Officials said
Dayananda was off
duty at the time. SNS
Suicide: Policefound
thebodyof MarangGu-
ruMurmuwiththroat
slitinthebathroomof
his flat at D5 Govern-
ment Housing com-
plexinNewAliporeon
Wednesday.Policesus-
pectMurmu,adoctor,
committedsuicide.SNS
A girl buys cards for Valentine’s
Day in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Dilip Dutta Biswajit Ghoshal
KOLKATA, THURSDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2015
www.thestatesman.com
C M Y K
C M Y K
SUBHRA PRASANTA DAS
subhra@thestatesman.net
Phulia, 11 February
Poverty, outdated
machines, rising costs of
raw materials and lack of
marketing plague the
weavers of Phulia, who
have traditionally pro-
vided the country with
the best of hand-woven
sarees and feather-touch
textiles.
Narrating their plight,
Ms Sanatana
Chakraborty, manager,
Jibandeep Tantubay
Samabay Samity Ltd,
said, "The cost of making
one simple sari comes to
around Rs 400 and we sell
it for Rs 450. There is
barely any profit."
She said Tantuja and
wholesalers of
Burrabazar take most of
their products. "Tantuja
does a lot of negotiations
and gives us minimum
profit and they also buy
occasionally like in
March-April or during
Durga Puja. In
Burrabazar wholesale
market we get a good
price and they buy
throughout the year."
Burrabazar business-
men, she added, some-
times provide them
with raw materials like
thread and dye in lieu of
money.
Urging the state gov-
ernment to market Taant
sarees and hand-woven
textiles aggressively, she
said lack of proper mar-
keting also marred the
sale of their products.
Low demand in the mar-
ket is one of the main
reasons for their plight.
Young women in urban
areas wear saree only
occasionally these days,
Ms. Chakraborty added.
Rabindranath Basak,
a local weaver, laments:
"The whole set-up of the
weaving machine or
‘Jacket machine’ as we
call it costs R 30,000. It
costs a lot to repair these
machines when it gets
damaged. We can neither
afford such machines nor
can we repair it on our
own."
He said only a very
handful of people can
afford to buy such
machines and they, then,
recruit other weavers at
a very nominal rate to
work for them.
Another weaver from
Phulia, Sambhunath Sa-
ha, said, "On an average
a weaver in training ea-
rns around Rs 150 a day
and a professional earns
around Rs 200 per day."
Both the weavers
expressed dissatisfaction
that despite a scheme for
unorganised textile
workers which provides
medical benefits, old age
pension for weavers, they
alleged that preference is
given to only those who
are previously known to
the authorities issuing
cards under the scheme.
Basak cited the
instance of a farmer,
who, though he had no
connection to the weav-
ing industry, has been
issued one such card.
An employee of the
labour department in
Kalyani who declined to
be named said the allega-
tions are baseless.
He said that there is a
scheme of provident
fund for weavers where
the weaver pays Rs 25
and government pays Rs
30. The weavers can come
and speak to the authori-
ties at the concerned
department at their local
headquarters in
Ranaghat in this regard,
he added.
PHULIA WEAVERS HIT BY POVERTY AND INFLATION
Taant industry in bad shape
HCNEATENSMETRO
PROJECTJUMBLE
DIRECTSFIRMTOBEGINWORKFROM2APRON EAST-WESTMETROPROJECT
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 11 February
JusticeSoumitra Palof Cal-
cuttaHighCourtonWednes-
day suggested Transcon-
nilstray Afcon JV, thecon-
tractor'sfirm,tobeginwork
from 2 April from the
Howrah Maidan endof the
East-West Metro.
Thesuggestionsinclude
aclutchof proposalstoend
the deadlock over the pro-
posed East-West Metro. An
orderfromthecourtinthis
connection will be deliv-
ered on Thursday.
The firm will proceed --
accordingtothecourt,which
isseizedof thematter-- with
the understanding that
Union government, state
government and Kolkata
Municipal Corporation
(KMC) andKolkata Metro
Railway Corporation
(KMRC) will be deciding
onthefinalrouteof thepro-
posedEast-WestMetroby15
August.
The KMRC is to decide
on the spot of the retrieval
shaft and inform the state
government by 30 April, it
was further proposed.
In light of the precondi-
tion sought by the contrac-
tor's firm to start work, the
court proposed the KMRC
should decide on the pay-
mentof outstandingbillsby
27 February.
Afcon JV needsa"vari-
ation order" as once the
heavyboringmachinestarts
operatingfromtheHowrah
Maidan end to make the
tunnel it will reach the
Hooghly waters in six
months, Mr Ranjan
Bachawat, appearing for
thecontractor'sfirm.earlier
submittedbeforethecourt.
It will be disastrous for the
city as also the river if it
remains under water for
long, said Mr Bachawat.
The exact spot of the
retrieval shaft is essential
as the boring machine has
to continuously progress
forward,MrBachawat told
thecourt. Threespots~one
on Strand Road, another in
Laldighi and the third at
Mahakaran onBrabourne
Road~havebeenearmarked
but none finalised as yet.
Pointingoutthekeyplay-
ers'unwillingnesstodecide
on the final alignment, Mr
Bachawat said if the vari-
ationorderisnotconfirmed
insixmonths,theretrieval
shaft may be allowed to
come up at Laldighi.
TheKMRC hastoinform
thestategovernmentof the
exact spot and the mea-
surement of the retrieval
shaft, additional advocate
general Lakshmi Kumar
Gupta, appearing for the
state, said. The state gov-
ernment does not want the
retrieval shaft at Strand
Road, he added.
Arambagh 11 February: Two
persons were injured in
clashes between BJP and
TMC workers today.
Mr Ashit Kundu, a BJP
leader from Arambagh,
allegedthatinthemorning,
their party worker Seikh
Raju was attacked by TMC
goonswithsharpweapons.
The injured Raju was
transferredfromArambagh
Hospital to SSKM Hospi-
tal in Kolkata. Mr Kundu
said the TMC is desperate
afterlosingpoliticalstrength
inArambagh.They haverun
out of ideas and have opted
forthepolicyof violenceand
terror to demoralize the
BJP workers, he said.
TMCleaderSeikh Abdul
Salim,meanwhile,saidBJP
workersattackedaTrinamul
supporter,Seikh Imtiaz Ali.
who is admitted in Aramb-
agh Hospital. The BJP is
trying to create unrest, but
such communal forces sh-
ouldstopdreamingof polit-
ical power in Bengal. SNS
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 11 February
A 24-year-old youth who
hadbeenontherunafterthe
fatal assaultonArupBhan-
dari at Howrah's Salkia
today surrendered before
the court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate (CJM) in
Howrah. Subham Dubey
arrivedatthecourtaround
10 a.m. and surrendered
before magistrate Arun
Kumar Nandy. He was
immediately arrested and
was remanded to CID cus-
todyof 14days. The24-year-
old Arup was battered to
death by five youths for
protestingeveteasingafter
he was returning from the
immersion ghat on 28 Jan-
uary.Heslippedintoacoma
and died, five days later.
His family claimed that he
was brutally assaulted for
protestingeve-teasingwhile
the CM who visited his
house had linked the inci-
dent to a factional feud.
Threeaccusedarestillat
large after Subham's sur-
render.
Raju Tiwari aliasRajiv
named in the complaint
filed by the victim's family
wasarrestedfromVaranasi
in Uttar Pradesh on 5 Feb-
ruary. He had been hiding
in his relative's house after
fleeing the city.
Howrahkillings:
Mansurrenders
beforecourt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 11 February
TheKolkata MunicipalCor-
poration (KMC) has virtu-
ally shelved its ambitious
project of setting up pedes-
trianwalkwaysonpublicpri-
vate partnership basis
becauseof lackof response
from businessmen.
TheKMC haddecidedto
setuppedestrianwalkways
on Esplanade near KC Das,
Syed Amir AliAvenuenear
QuestMalland Ballygunge
CircularRoadoppositeBal-
lygunge dhaba. Earlier,the
traffic wing of Kolkata
Police had suggested con-
struction of walkways to
easetrafficmovement.The
flow of traffic is badly hit
onGariahat RoadandSyed
Amir Ali Avenue as pedes-
trians have a tendency to
cross the road amidst the
flow of traffic.
As the KMC does not
havefunds,itdecidedtoset
the walkways up on PPP
model. A meeting was held
where besidesthemayorand
seniorKMC officials,busi-
nessmen and senior police
officers were present. The
mayorappealedtothebusi-
nessmentotakeupthepro-
ject and they would be per-
mitted to put up billboards
on the walkovers. Though
those who were present at
the meeting supported
KMC's move, none of them
later came forward.
The KMC proposed to
install escalators at the
walkways. Seniorcivicoffi-
cials said not a single busi-
ness house has shown any
interest in the project.
The proposal for setting
upthepedestrianwalkway
near the Quest mall was
droppedalongwiththeone
near KC Das.
The city's first pedestri-
an walkway came up near
Dr BC Roy's statue off
Ultadanga. Later,theywere
constructed near Sealdah,
at Gariahat and Dhakuria.
Nobusinesshousereadytotake
up KMC’swalkwayproject
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 11 February
A group of small entre-
preneursweretodayadvised
by state chief minister
Mamata Banerjee to open
sweetshopsandfoodandtea
stalls to become rich men.
The advice was deliv-
eredafterinauguratingacer-
emonywheremicrobusiness
credit cards, which would
give fast access to small
loans, were handed over to
small entrepreneurs at
Nabanna.
Miss Banerjee said that
some owners of such stalls
inherneighbourhoodareas
becamerichmenanderect-
ed four- to five-storey resi-
dences within three to four
years after starting their
businesses by selling food
and tea by the roadside.
“Small business can be
turned into big business.
Anybodycanstartfromset-
ting up a tea stall or teleb-
haja (fry) shop. The open-
ing of the sweet shop is
very good. You could start
otherbusinesseslikeselling
of cloth,”shetoldthesmall
entrepreneurs who attend-
ed the programme.
It may be recalled that
Miss Banerjee, who took
initiative for organising
Bengal Global Business
Summit,facedflakafewdays
ago from several political
parties, economists and
intellectuals,foradvisingbig
industrialistsforinvesting
in poultry, fisheries and
agro businesses.
Around 800 small entre-
preneurs were handed the
microbusinesscreditcards
today on the occasion.
Finance minister Mr
Amit Mitra saidthatState
Bankof Indiaandstategov-
ernment jointly launched
thisprojecttohelpthesmall
entrepreneurs to get loan
very fast. “Even the small
businessmen,whowerereg-
isteredwithmicro,smalland
mediumenterprise(MSME)
department, will be able to
getthemoney(loanamount)
from ATM machines by
using micro business cred-
it cards,” said a senior offi-
cial of the MSME depart-
ment.
Mr Mitra said that the
West Bengal government
has taken up this initiative
forthefirsttimeinIndiawith
the help of SBI for helping
small businessmen to get
loansfromRs25,000to5lakh
and businessmen from all
districts will get this facil-
ity. Once the small busi-
nessmenpaysoff theentire
loan amount with interest,
he would be able to get loan
againveryfastwiththiscard.
SBIwouldprovidethisloan
andthestategovernmentis
the guarantor for sanc-
tioning the loan.
Opentea,foodsstallstogetrich,
CM’sadvicetoentrepreneurs
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 11 February
Evenasthepoliceinthestate
areof latehittingheadlines
for all the wrong reasons,
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee today described
the men in uniform as the
"faceof thestate"andassert-
ed that she was standing
solidly behind them.
"To the rest of the coun-
try, you are the face of the
state,youareourpride,and
you are performing really
well. Certain quarters are
negatively highlighting a
few stray deviations but I
wantevensuchincidentsto
stop.WhenIcometoaddress
younextyear,BengalPolice
shallbeNo1inallrespects,"
MissBanerjee saidaddress-
ing the annual investiture
ceremonyof thestatepolice
at Nazrul Mancha this
evening.
She advised the police
force, including that of the
Civic and Green Police, not
to get instigated and focus
onwork."Workhard.There
will be mistakes when one
works and criticisms are
welcome. But don't get
encumbered by criticisms;
I am standing there solidly
behindyou,"MissBanerjee
said. The Chief Minister
advised policemen to be
humane to people and use
force only as an exception.
"Policing does not mean
using lathi and force only.
Work sensibly and be
humanetogeneralpeople."
Mentioningthathergov-
ernment has initiated sev-
eralwelfareandon-jobtrain-
ing measures for the police
force, she said that even a
constablecouldnowaspire
tobebecomeanIAS orIPS
officer in future. She point-
ed out that around 1,400
constables who had com-
pleted15yearsinservicehad
got postings in their home
districts after her govern-
ment introduced this poli-
cy last year.
State home secretary
Basudev Banerjee in his
addressremindedthepolice-
men that discipline had to
be maintained all the time.
Miss Banerjee today
awarded Police Medal and
Chief Minister'sMedalto78
policemen in different cat-
egories for distinguished
service.
Around 220 Buddhist monks during their 500 km walk rally from Kolkata to Buddhagaya at Asansol in Burdwan on
Wednesday.  Sitaram Mukherjee
A PATH TO PIETY
 CM advises policemen to be humane to people and
use force only as a last resort.
 “Work hard. There will be mistakes when one works
and criticisms are welcome. But don't get encum-
bered by criticisms,” she said
 CM awards Police Medal and Chief Minister's Medal
to 78 policemen in different categories for distin-
guished service
CM FOR MEN IN UNIFORM
Copsarefaceof Bengal totherestof thenation,saysMamata
Not a single business
house had shown any
interest in the project:
Civic-body official
TOUGH LUCK
FRESH BJP-TMC
VIOLENCE