16 PAGES NEW DELHI TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 VOL. III, ISSUE : 01

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1 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Thursday, February 20, PAGES NEW DELHI TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 VOL. III, ISSUE : 01

2 2 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 It is Mamata magic in Bengal. The citizens once again repose their faith in the Maa-Maati- Manush Government. The party registers an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha Polls with a performance like never before. MASSIVE VICTORY T rinamool Congress (TMC) registered a thumping victory by winning 34 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. The contest in Bengal was four cornered with the TMC, Left, Congress and BJP competing for all the 42 seats. In 2009, TMC won 19 Lok Sabha seat, but this time it managed rout the entire opposition. The National President of All India Trinamool Yuva, Abhishek Banerjee defeated CPI-M s DR Abul Hasnat from the Diamond Harbour seat, former Union ministers Sougata Roy and Sudip Bandopadhyay of AITC won the Dum Dum and Kolkata Uttar seats respectively. Former Railway minister and TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi won from Barrackpur. He contested against Subhashini Ali of CPI-M. Repeating its historical 2011 Assembly election performance despite all the negative publicity the opposition generated, the TMC, which had 19 seats in the current Lok Sabha, added 15 more to the tally, all of which were wrested from the Left Front. The CPI (M)-led Left Front in its worstever showing in Lok Sabha election could manage to win only two seats. The Left Front lost all the 15 seats it had won in 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha. The AITC not only made a clean sweep in its stronghold in south Bengal districts, winning 30 out of 31 seats, the party made significant inroads in the Left bastion in north Bengal snatching four seats - Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Balurghat - from it. Since the formation of the party in 1998, this was the best-ever performance in Bengal for TMC, which came very close to Banerjee s stated objective of being the third largest party after the BJP and the Congress. The humiliation of the CPI (M) was made more distinct with the defeat of nine-time MP Basudeb Acharia to Moon Moon Sen of TMC, a former filmstar and daughter of legendary ctress Suchitra Sen, by 97,511 votes. Acharia had won by over 1, 07,000 votes in Another CPI (M) giant to bite the dust was seven-time MP Ramchandra Dom from Bolpur, who lost to TMC s Anupam Hazra by a whopping votes. Dom had won the seat in 2009 by 1, 26,882 votes. The CPI (M) lost the seat for the first time since TMC s new face Dr Uma Soren won the Jhargram seat, wresting it from CPI (M) s Pulin Bihari Bask, the second highest victory margin in the state this time in a seat which the CPI (M) never lost since While the Trinamool Congress got per cent votes, up from per cent in 2009, the Left Front got 29 per cent which came down from per cent in the last general elections, while Congress got 9.6 per cent, down from per cent in Unlike in 2009, when TMC and Congress fought in an alliance, Mamata Banerjee fought a lone battle this time, gaining from the four-cornered contest in the state. Mamata s campaign in 2014 elections was marked for her focused attack on the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who engaged her in a war of words as he campaigned aggressively in the state, where his party has only had minor presence so far. She has categorically said that her party won t tie-up with the BJP if the latter comes to power. The war of words between the TMC supremo and Modi turned ugly after the BJP strongman targeted her over the West Bengal Saradha chit fund case. The Left losing over 10 percentage points in its vote share shows the line had no takers. She successfully consolidated the around 28 per cent minority voters and a section of secular Hindu votes with her anti- Modi stand and so the BJP surge did not affect her, said a social scientist. For the first time in any election in Bengal, the BJP polled 17 per cent votes, a spike of over 10 per cent from its 2009 show, and two seats, but it has not cost Mamata. With this, the BJP is now the third largest force in terms of vote share in Bengal, though the Congress won four seats with less than 10 per cent of the votes. Although Opposition parties tried to rake up but the election results prove their failure in creating an anti-incumbency mood. A comparison of Trinamool s vote share this election with the 2011 Assembly polls reveals that the party s support base has almost remained intact, at around 39 per cent. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool had bagged a little over 31 per cent.the party has also made a big-bang entry into north Bengal by wresting four seats from the Left. The vote share of the Left has dropped steadily from 43 per cent in 2009 to a little over 29.6 per cent this time. CPI (M) hariye gechhe Bangla theke. Ato kutsha kore ki holo (The CPM has been wiped out in Bengal. What did it gain from its vilification campaign)? Mamata Banerjee asked. The mood at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street was celebratory. The Trinamool Congress Chairperson had set two goals for her party for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections: first, bag as many seats as possible in Bengal and second, emerge as a stronger party in the country. The people s mandate has made it clear that the Trinamool Congress is unlikely to face a major political challenge in the near future from within the state

3 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, with today s results dramatically altering the political landscape. Not only does the slide in the Left s support base continue, the Congress remains a marginal player restricted to north Bengal. And by the time the 2016 Assembly polls come round, the so-called Modi wave would have run itself out. The Trinamool snatched 14 seats from the Left Front, and also unseated the only Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C) MP. The Trinamool s strength in the Lok Sabha would be after the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and the AIADMK. The Congress won four seats, while the BJP and the Left front spearhead Communist Party of India-Marxist collected two each. Trinamool nominee and actress Moon Moon Sen, a political greenhorn, pulled off a major upset by defeating nine-time MP and CPI-M leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharia in Bankura. Of the three union ministers in the state, Adhir Ranjan Chwodhury - also the state Congress chief - won by a thumping margin of over 3.56 lakh vote in Baharampur over singer cum Trinamool rival Indranil Sen, while Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury triumphed in Maldah South. However, the other union minister Deepa Dasmunsi lost out in Raiganj to CPI-M central committee member Mohammad Salim. Besides Salim, the other CPI-M winner was Bodruddoza Khan from Murshidabad. Among the victorius Trinamool candidates are former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi (Barrackpore), Mamata Banerjee s nephew Abhishek Banerjee (Diamond Harbour), state party chief Subrata Bakshi (Kolkata South), former union ministers Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Kolkata North), Sougata Roy (Dum Dum), Sultan Ahmed (Uluberia) and C.M. Jatua (Mathurapur). Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose s grand nephew and Harvard don Sugata Bose (Jadavpur) triumphed from Jadavpur, while actress Sandhya Roy (Medinipur), Satabdi Roy (Birbhum), actor Tapas Pal (krishnanagar), and Arjuna awardee former Indian soccer captain Prasun Mukherjee (Howrah) tasted success. Dedicating her party s stupendous performance to the people, Mamata Banerjee, also the party chief, said the Trinamool Congress would play a greater constructive role in the country. However, she conceded that the electoral battle this time was difficult. Mamata Banerjee has fought off the nearly nation-wide Modi wave by notching a tally of 34 out of 42, bettering even her 2009 record and reducing Name of the Constituecy Winning Candidates of AITC Margin her main enemy, the Left Front, to a rump power with only two seats. Trinamool s headline-grabbing success, scored in the face of the combined force of anti-incumbency and the BJP sweep, and the Left s obliteration could have happened only through a consolidation of the anti- Modi vote behind Mamata. Name of the Constituecy Winning Candidates of AITC Margin Alipurduars DASRATH TIRKEY Hooghly DR. RATNA DE (NAG) Arambagh A. PODDAR Howrah PRASUN BANERJEE Balurghat ARPITA GHOSH Jadavpur SUGATA BOSE Bangaon K. K. THAKUR Jalpaiguri BIJOY CHANDRA BARMAN Bankura MOON MOON SEN Jhargram UMA SAREN Barasat Bardhaman Purba DR. KAKALI GHOSHDOSTIDAR SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL Joynagar PRATIMA MONDAL Kanthi ADHIKARI SISIR KUMAR Barrackpore DINESH TRIVEDI Kolkata Dakshin SUBRATA BAKSHI Basirhat IDRIS ALI Kolkata Uttar SUDIP BANDYO- PADHYAY Birbhum SATABDI ROY Krishnanagar TAPAS PAUL Bishnupur KHAN SAUMITRA Mathurapur CHOUDHURY MOHAN JATUA Bolpur ANUPAM HAZRA Medinipur SANDHYA ROY Burdwan durgapur DR. MAMTAZ SANGHAMITA Purulia DR. MRIGANKA MAHATO Cooch behar RENUKA SINHA Ranaghat TAPAS MANDAL Diamond harbour ABHISHEK BANERJEE Srerampur KALYAN BANERJEE Dum dum SAUGATA ROY Tamluk ADHIKARI SUVENDU Ghatal ADHIKARI DEEPAK Uluberia SULTAN AHMED

4 4 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 ruling Trinamool Congress sweeping the Lok Sabha polls and decimating the Left to win or on way to winning 34 of the state s 42 seats. Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters celebrated across Kolkata after the party registered a strong result in the Lok Sabha polls. Trinamool s supporters - men, women, old and young alike - took to the streets in city pockets as the trend became clearer in the later part of the day. Party workers sported headbands, adorned with the party s colours and flower symbol and daubed each other with green colour powder. The festive atmosphere virtually resembled Holi. Waving Trinamool flags, enthusiasts also resorted to fireworks at night. In areas like C.I.T More (north-eastern part of Kolkata) and alleys of south Kolkata, the air was rent with the sounds of firecrackers as they lit up the summer sky. The MPs seemed to be in high spirits as they entered the premises, waving to cameras and flashing victory signs. As the vehicles entered from the Hazra Road- People s mandate yet again helped the Trinamool Congress register an absolute victory, the 34 seats brought a spur of joy among the Trinamool workers, as figures suggest that this is the best ever performance of the Trinamool Congress. CELEBRATION OF VICTORY A s Trinamool Congress s seat count jumped beyond expectations, unbridled joy gave way to euphoria and eventually found expression in delirious jigs across the city on May 16. Green abir (colour powder) was the preferred colour of celebration as workers took to the streets. It was a proud moment for them. After all they have decimated the Left Front in its own backyard. Self-belief and confidence oozed out of them as they waved party flags and draped them with pride. All roads invariably led to Mamata Banerjee s residence at Harish Chatterjee Street, where hundreds had gathered to soak in the moment. West Bengal s ruling Trinamool Congress put up a spectacular show, sweeping the Lok Sabha polls in the state to emerge as the fourth-largest party in the new Lok Sabha, while the BJP signalled its rise as a force by eating into the vote share of the erstwhile rulers Left Front which was nearly wiped out. Of the state s 42 seats, the Trinamool picked up 34, recording its best performance as it nearly doubled its 19 seat tally of However, five years back, the Trinamool had an alliance with the Congress, and this time it fought the polls alone. In the previous Lok Sabha polls in 2009, the then Trinamool-Congress-SUCI-C alliance had won 26 seats. The Congress got six seats, while the SUCI- C won in one constituency. The Left Front had got 15 seats, with the CPI-M securing nine and other partners - the Communist Party of India, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the Forward Bloc - the remaining. For the Left, the 2014 General Elections witnessed its worst show in the state after Independence, and for the Left Front, the most pathetic performance since its formation in Not only did its vote share drop to 29.3 percent from 43.3 percent in 2009, but it even finished third in half a dozen seats. With fireworks and colours, celebrations erupted across the eastern metropolis with West Bengal s

5 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, end, crowds braved the heat in the hope to spot film stars-turned-mps Dev (Ghatal), Moon Moon Sen (Bankura) and Mithun Chakraborty (Rajya Sabha). Mamata Banerjee on May 17 announced that the Trinamool Congress will not take out any victory rally, instead, she asked supporters at the block levels to celebrate in a small way. She said a big celebration will be held on July 21 when the party observes the Martyr s Day every year. Stating it to be a very hard fought victory for the 34 Trinamool Congress MPs who won from the 42 seats in the state, Mamata Banerjee alleged that a sizeable section of the media campaigned against the party. The central agencies were asked to go after the TMC leaders in the thick of the polls, but we managed to win such a large number of seats as people are with us, the Chief MInister said as she met all the newly elected MPs and briefed them about their responsibilities. The 34 MPs elected this time relentlessly campaigned for their constituencies. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has selected Sudip Bandopadhyay as leader of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, and Sugato Bose, the newly elected MP from Jadavpur, and Dr Ratna De Nag, the newly elected MP from Hooghly, as deputy leaders of the TMC parliamentary party. Kalyan Bandopadhyay has been given the responsibility of party s Chief Whip while Mukul Roy will be in charge of all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs. Despite the fact that her party has won 34 of the total 42 lok sabha seats in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee said that she will not observe any victory celebration immediately. However, we will observe the celebrations on July 21 and we will dedicate our victory to the Maa-Maati-Manush. Before July 21, our workers will thank people at the block levels, Mamata Banerjee told reporters after meeting all the elected MPs at her south Kolkata residence on May 17 evening. Trinamool Chairperson addressed the press on May 16 after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared. The Trinamool Congress managed to secure 34 seats out of the 42 seats in Bengal successdully. Didi dedicated the victory to the people of the State. In the Press meet, the chief minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee said, We have won 34 out of 42 seats in this election. I would like to thank the Maa- Maati-Manush of Bengal. Only in Bengal we saw a one-sided malicious campaign, even by a major section of the media was involved. But people of Bengal have given their verdict loud and clear. We are very happy about that. The Man of the Match is the people of Bengal. Democracy has prevailed. Trinamool Congress believes in working for all irrespective of the cast, creed or religion and we must uphold the communal harmony in the country. We want economic stability, political stability and the country s stability. She further added, Trinamool Congress never believes in personal gains. We are always for the people, by the people, of the people and pro-people. We will continue to do that. We will do whatever is good for the people and good for the country. Bengal has gone through the longest election phase in the history in this tremendous heat. I thank my colleagues for their work. The common people had come out to vote in spite of the rising heat, I thank them too. CPI (M) has been completely decimated in Bengal. This is what happens if you try to damage yourself while trying to fight others by spreading malicious campaigns. There was so much to learn from this election. Will the valueless politics continue or will it be sold to money power? Democracy is dependent on media, judiciary and election. The way this election was held is astonishing. Only one party was highlighted during the campaign, because of money power. The media has made one-sided campaigns against us. In spite of that the voice of the people was victorious. The total credit goes to them who have resisted these one-sided malicious campaigns. I request all to maintain peace and not go into any confrontations or indulge in any activity that breaks the peace. This was a very hard battle. I dedicate this victory to the people of West Bengal. I believe that in democracy, people s power is the only power. After meeting the newly-elected MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at her Kalighat residence, Trinamool Chairperson Mamata Banerjee said to the media that one-third of the MPs Trinamool is sending to the Parliament are women. After meeting her MPs together for the first time after their victory, Mamata briefed the media of her plans for the next few days. She also highlighted the achievements of the Trinamool in these elections. The Trinamool has emerged as the only party with above-32% women among those who emerged victorious. 11 out of the 34 newly-elected Trinamool MPs are women.the national average for all parties taken together is only about 11%. In Parliament, people talk of 33% reservation for women. Only we have got close to that figure. This is a historic development. Our MPs are also of a mixed age. There are several elders while around of them are between 25 and 30 years of age, she said. Didi also said that the Trinamool MPs hail from various fields and are a true reflection of the entire society. She said that the Trinamool Parliamentary party has a balance of experience and youth. Addressing the press, Trinamool Chairperson said, We will not organise any victory rally. But party workers will thank voters in every block and booth. We will observe 21 July as Maa-Maati-Manush Dibas and dedicate the victory to the people. Winning 34 out of 42 seats in Bengal is no mean feat. We fought a multi-cornered fight against malicious campaigns. This is the victory of the people of Bengal. We thank the Maa-Maati-Manush of Bengal. The elected MPs are even eager to start their work as soon as possible. Our MPs will try to get a better financial package for Bengal. That will be their primary job. The state was deprived by the UPA II government. It will be our job to ensure this is not repeated, said MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who will be the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. On whether the NDA will provide assistance, he said: Only time will tell.

6 6 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 CULTURE-RICH BENGAL From developing the Television Industry to preserving and extending the languages and culture of various ethnic groups, in the last three years of governance of the Trinamool Congress-led government, Bengal witnessed an enriching atmosphere where every artist received their due recognition and support. T he department of Information and Culture has had a remarkable list of achievements in the last three years. For the first-time ever in this state, eminent personalities were honoured with Bangabibhusan, Bangabhusan, Mahanayak Samman, Sangeet Mahasamman, Sangeet-Samman, Shilpi Mahasamman, Shilpi Samman and other awards. At the initiative of this government, Kolkata International Film Festival has been extended to a greater reach. For the first-time ever, Children`s Film Festival has been organised at the state level. Here are some of the achievements of the department in the last 1000 days: Constitution of Tele Akademi: For the first time ever in this state, Tele Akademi has been constituted with a view to developing Television Industry and 90 eminent personalities have been awarded Tele Samman award. In order to protect cinema industry, the Audio-Video Piracy Act has been come into force for the first time ever in this state. Construction of Tele Akademi building has been started. Formation of Academies: In order to preserve and extend the languages and culture of various ethnic groups, Rajbanshi Bhasa Akademi and Birsa Munda Akademi have been formed. The Hindi Academy has been reconstructed. Paschimbanga Kazi Nazrul Islam Akademi has also been formed. Revitalisation of folk art: In order to revitalisation of the folk arts of Bengal, identity cards were issued to the folk artists, arrangements of their livelihood were made and financial assistance to the destitute folk artist was given. Till date more than thousand folk artists have been benefited. Renovation and Construction: Work for a thorough renovation of heritage sites including Minerva Theatre, Mahajati Sadan, University Institute Hall, Rathindra Mancha, Rabindra-Okakura Bhaban, State Music Academy etc. is going on. Besides these, work for renovation of 32 Rabindra Bhabans, has been taken up. Reconstruction of Nazral Mancha has also been done. Comprehensive Film-City: For the first-time in the state, steps have been taken to construct two comprehensive Film-Cities with one at Dabgram in Jalpaiguri and the other at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas. Digitization of manuscripts and other creations: Digitization of manuscripts and letters of eminent authors of Bengal has been complete. Work for digitization of music, cinema, paintings etc. is on. Health Insurance: Arrangements have been made for bringing 10,000 artistes and technicians associated with cinema and television and the members of their families under the Health Insurance cover. Initiatives have been taken to give monthly pension to cultural personalities. So far, more than 150 personalities have availed of this pension. Cultural Hub: Work for building up a comprehensive cultural hub taking Rabindra Sadan-Nandan- Bangla Academy precincts into one has been started. Festivals and ceremonies: The sesquicentennial birth anniversaries of Swami Vivekananda and Dwijendralal Roy were observed. The birth anniversaries of Kazi Nazrul Islam and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Darjeeling for the first time ever, Vivek-Chetana Utsav, Jatra Utsav on a large scale, Bangla Sangeet Mela, Mati Utsav, Rajya Sishu Kishore Utsav, and various other festivals and ceremonies including Barsho Baran ceremony, have been observed. Publicity: Publicity against early marriage and dowry system, publicity of Kanyashree Prakalpo, etc. is being done through the performances of folk artistes. Recognition of various languages as official languages: By an amendment in the concerned law, Urdu, Hindi, Odia, Santhali and Punjabi have been enlisted as official languages. Archaeological excavations: Artefacts dating back to the Gupta era have been discovered from the excavation site of Moghalmari in West Midnapore and excavations are being carried out at Bahiri in East Midnapore. Pension to cultural personalities: Arrangements have been made to give monthly pension to cultural personalities. So far, more than 150 personalities have availed of this pension. Technicians Studio anew: Six floors in memory of Satyaijit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Rituparno Ghosh have been constructed in the studio, besides carrying out a fullscale modernisation. Tributes: Tributes have been paid to great personalities through 200 functions within this span of time in the state government headquarters. Participation in Republic Day parade: The tableau presented by West Bengal at the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi has earned the first prize for the first time after 14 years.

7 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee s facebook page crosses seven lakh likes. May 18 May 12 The run up to the current Lok Sabha election has manifested an alarming role of a major section of the media. The partial and biased conduct of a section of the media, both electronic and print, has shocked me. There s hardly any room for doubt that a few major cash loaded political parties have taken up control of media houses and engaged them to serve their narrow political interests, trampling down the ethics of democracy and voice of people. The brazen personal attacks, distortion of facts, character assassination and vilification in never before manner has stunned the nation. This state of affairs can be overcome only if we bring in electoral reforms and fulfil our longpending demand of state funding for election expenditure. These steps are essential for the sake of democracy. If the current trend continues, then the future of our democracy will, no doubt, be at stake. I thought of sharing this with my brothers and sisters for ventilation of their voices. May 8 April 7 India is a country of the youth. Nearly 74% of the country s population is below 40 years of age. In absolute numbers, the figure is perhaps unmatched anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, when our government came to power in May 2011, there were about one crore youth without jobs it is yet another legacy we inherited from 34 years of Left Front misrule. To harness immense potential of our youth power and transform it into a super workforce, our focus right from the beginning was not only to create job opportunities, but also to increase the employability of our youth. So we decided to set up one ITI in every Block and one Polytechnic College in every sub-division. Already 38 new ITIs have been set up so far and another 88 are under construction. Similarly, 24 new Polytechnics have been set up so far and another 39 are under construction. We have also formed Skill Development Mission in the state. You will be happy to know that Bengal has been adjudged as the BEST STATE in All India Skill Competition, 2013 and awarded Certificate of Merit and Running Shield. I am uploading a copy of the Certificate here for all of you to see. Our youth force is our asset. We are very proud of them. May 4 I am very shocked about the recent incident of violence in Assam where innocent Bengali speaking minority and tribal brothers and sisters are being brutally murdered. This is most unfortunate. Lok Sabha election in Assam is over, but the election process is still continuing in various other parts of the country. Certain comments of some political parties including the aspirant of High office are adding fuel. Their language must be controlled and they should not play politics with fire where innocent lives are involved. We are worried as Assam is our border state. We had extended support and shelter to the affected people in the past. On humanitarian considerations, our doors are open for help to the affected persons even now. Why the Government of Assam and the Union Government are silent? Why no action is being taken by the statutory authorities like National Human Rights Commission, Minorities Commission Tribal Commission etc.? I urge the Government and other political parties concerned to ensure that atrocities and violence are immediately stopped. We condemn such incidents of atrocities and violence. It is a shame.. shame.. shame.

8 8 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 For any society to develop, education plays a key role. Education ensures the brighter prospect of the future generation. Good education not only makes a child bright, but also the nation bright. Since the Mamata-led government came to power, focus has always been the over-all development of the children. I n the last three years, the Mamata Banerjee-led government has always pitched high for the education of each every child of Bengal. From changing the syllabus to setting up new universities, the state government has brought in almost every positive change in the education sector of the state. There has been construction of new set-up for primary and higher primary schools; a total of 221 primary and 1660 higher primary schools have been constructed. Therefore, a total of 1881 schools have been established. Many schools have been upgraded Madhyamik schools have been upgraded to Higher Secondary schools and other 263 junior high schools have also been upgraded. So, a total of 1626 schools have been upgraded. Textbooks have been revised from class I to class VII and a total of 7.5crore wellillustrated text books of good quality have been published. These books have been distributed free to students. Under the erstwhile Left Front regime, reports of two education commission were significant; one by Prof Pabitra Sarkar on English in primary education and the other by Prof Ashoke Mitra. West Bengal ranked 17 in education three years ago in the country. But after Trinamool Congress Government came to power, West Bengal climbed to the second position. Our aim is to be the first. We have recovered the glory of the state lost during the 34 years of CPI-M regime, Mamata Banerjee had earlier said in an event. While the new curriculum, introduced year in Classes I, III, V and VII, appears tougher for the students compared to the earlier curriculum, the chief minister pitched for a burden-free syllabus. The burden has to be lessened. Young students are developing spondylosis even before they turn 18. This is not EDUCATING THE education. Education should not congest the brain, it should nurture it. For this, our students must play, sing, draw and run. Running after full 100 marks is not life. One has to get 100 in all other aspects in life too, the chief minister said last year on the eve of Teachers Day. Pitching for playful activities like bratachari, she had said, In the past we used to learn parade, bratachari in schools. Where have all these vanished? These must find a place in the school curriculum. Pollution is not only in the air. Tension gives birth to mental pollution. We will have to free our education system from this mental pollution. A total of 40,113 additional classrooms have been constructed. Under mid-day meal projects, afternoon meals have been made available to 99% primary schools and 98% higher primary schools. Recommendations have already been sent to appoint almost 50,000 teachers for primary and secondary teachers. 74,650 untrained primary teachers have been trained on D L Ed and another 27,894 teachers have been given B Ed training in ODL mode. A total of 34 English-medium model schools are being built; among these four model schools have already started classes. General lavatories have been constructed in 98% schools across the state and separate lavatories for girls have been constructed in 82% schools. Under the ICT project, computers and allied devices have been supplied for computer training of students to 2600Madhaymik and Higher Secondary schools. Arrangements have been made for providing education in underdeveloped districts. Construction of 105 hostels for girls, 40 new residential school buildings and 11 PTTI are being undertaken in 11 underdeveloped districts of the state. 50-seater hostels for girls have been constructed in Jangalmahal. A total of 34 hostels for girls have been built in three districts; 17 in West Medinipur, nine in Bankura and eight in Purulia. 76,085 cycles have been provided free of cost to girl students from classes IX to XII in the Jangalmahal region for easy conveyance. Library grant of Rs 50,000 each have been provided to 1107 schools which have been upgraded to Higher Secondary level, and laboratory grant of Rs 2 lakh each have been provided to 3717 schools para-teachers have been appointed in Santhali language in the districts of Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia. During the tenure of the AITC-led government, the decision to establish six new universities (five government universities and one private university) has been taken. Among these, session has already begun from July 2013 at Panchanan Barma University in Cooch Behar and at Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Asansol. The second campus of North Bengal University has been established in Jalpaiguri. Post-graduate studies in four subjects have commenced there from July

9 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, FUTURE Session will start from July 2014 at the first women s university in eastern Indiain Diamond Harbour and in Bankura University. Another new university will be established at Raigunj in Uttar Dinajpur district, where session will begin from July First private university of the state: In February 2013, this government has framed the policy and guidelines to establish private universities in the state. From July 2013, session has been started at the first private university set up under the aegis of the Techno India Group in Salt Lake. Proposals for setting up four more private universities are under the consideration of the government. Of these, the Adamas University Bill and the Seacom Skills University Bill have already been passed by the Assembly. The foundation stone of the second campus of Presidency University has been laid during the tenure of this government. The government has arranged a land of 10 acres and an amount of Rs10 crore for the purpose. The foundation stone of the proposed St Xavier s University has been laid at Rajarhat. Land for this has been allotted by the government. Land has been allotted for the setting up of the regional centres of Netaji Subhas Open Universityin Jalpaiguri and Durgapur. After independence, during the last 67 years, only 38 government colleges have been established in the state. On the other hand, the process for establishing 31 new government colleges and 14 new private colleges in 13 districts has started during the tenure of the present government. Among these, the session has begun from July 2013 in three new government colleges at Singur, Rajarhat and Gaighata. The first Hindi government college is going to be established at Banarhat (near Jalpaiguri). Session will begin from Session will begin from 2014 at four new government colleges in the Jangalmahal region. New government-aided colleges in different districts: During the present academic year, nine new government-aided colleges have been established and sessions have already begun. Employment-oriented training has been started in six colleges in the districts of West Midnapore, East Midnapore, Bardhaman, Jalpaiguri and Kolkata. The process of recruitment of 726 assistant professors in government colleges and over 2000 assistant professors in government-aided colleges has started during the tenure of this government. The process of recruitment of 200 principals in government-aided colleges has also started. During the tenure of this government, the historic decision of 17% reservation for OBC students in government-aided colleges has been taken which will start from the academic year. This decision has been taken without curtailing the number of seats for general students. The government will construct additional infrastructure for six years in higher education centres for this purpose. It must also be mentioned that 94.5% people of the minority communities will be covered under the reservation for OBC students. This government has provided financial assistance to 46,672 Higher Secondary-passed distressed but meritorious students under Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship. The amount of government expenditure under this head was Rs crore in financial year , while it will be Rs crore in the financial year This government has introduced the system of online admission to different technical courses. 1, 60,000 candidates of Joint Entrance Examination 2014 may avail the opportunity of e-governance. This will eventually increase the transparency in the system of admission.this government has formed an Education Commission to usher in a new direction in higher education. Primary education, madrasah education, higher education, technical education, non-conventional vocational education - all will come under the purview of this commission. The report of the commission will be submitted at the end of this year. University Grant Commission (UGC) has given the honour, Institution of National Eminence to Presidency University in December Six new chairs have been instituted for eminent professors. This apart, chairs named after Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Kazi Najrul Islam and Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose have been instituted in this university. Besides, the government has sanctioned vacancy for 331 teachers and 122 non-teaching staff in this connection. Eminent professors from North America, England, Europe, Japan and other places are coming to this university to teach. This government has approved the introduction of Buddhist education in Calcutta University from the academic year A chair has been instituted in the name of Vivekananda in the social science stream. Regular monthly salary for part-time teachers and for contractual whole-time teachers has been introduced during the tenure of this government. Besides a 5% hike in salary every three years, this government has also taken the decision to enhance the salary by a one-time extra payment of 10% for part-time teachers who have completed 10 years of service on 01/10/2013 or later.

10 10 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 SUPPORTING THE FARMERS From modernisation of Horticulture to Weather-based crop insurance, the food processing industry and horticulture department has brought in milestone changes in the state, reports All India Trinamool Congress Leads Bureau T he commitment of this department in the last three years was upon maximizing the utilization of the limited resources by giving emphasis on making the most of central; and state funds, regular meeting of the empowered committees, monitoring the work at work at field level by Directorate as well as Departmental officers, easing bottlenecks in implementation and parallel stress on building peoples potential by giving financial, infrastructural, insurance support. During the tenure of this government, 15,611 hectares more area has been brought under fruit cultivation, 1609 hectares more under vegetable cultivation and 3631 hectares more under flower cultivation. Grants have been given for horticultural cultivation. Assistance for premiums for crop insurance has been given to 8627farmers during the kharif season and 4273 farmers during the rabi season. Fifteen products have been brought under this insurance scheme. These are okra, chilli, cabbage, brinjal, onion, tomato, pumpkin, mango, banana, papaya, betel leaf, litchi, guava, marigold and tuberose. Both indebted and non-indebted farmers will get the facility. For the first time in the state, an initiative has been taken for onion cultivation during the kharif season. Under this, during the kharif season, a grifounddark red species of onion has been produced in 303 hectares in eight districts. During the rabi season, when onion has been normally grown, an increase of 500 acres in the area of cultivation has been achieved through the distribution of seeds of a grifound light red species of onion in all the districts. Grants have been given to almost 2857 farmers to buy machines like power tillers, tractors, pump sets, etc. Seven Krisak Utpadak Sangsthas have been formed in the districts of Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and East Midnapore, with 8500 farmers. The work for horticultural projects in different districts is going on in coordination with MGNREGA scheme. Bankura district has received a national award in this scheme, along with eight other districts all over India. Extension of technology and building of awareness: In order to extend technological help, Agri Horti Food Fest and training camp for 384 farmers have been organised, and booklets and leaflets have been published. With financial assistance of the state government, onions, potatoes and vegetables have been sold at fair price outlets for the benefit of the common people. At a cost of Rs 312 crore, 38 food processing plants have been set upon the tenure of the present government. A modern slaughterhouse has been set up at a cost of Rs crore. The production capacity of rice mills has been enhanced by 3.95 lakh metric tonnes per year. The production capacity of grain mills has been enhanced by 2.4 lakh metric tonnes per year. An additional 7.84 lakh man-days of work per year is being made possible. FOOD GUARANTEED TO ALL Food is a basic necessity and to make sure that every citizen gets proper food, in the last three years, the Food and Supplies Department has worked relentlessly, reports All India Trinamool Congress Leads Bureau T he major activities of Food and Supplies Department relate to procurement of food grains, creation and maintenance of storage facilities, distribution of food grains to the eligible beneficiaries and overall smooth running of the PDS system in the state. About 3.20 crore socially and financially backward people are being provided with rice at the rate of Rs 2 per kg. Some noteworthy regions/places whose people are getting the benefit of this initiative are Jangalmahal region (West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia); Aila-affected region of the Sundarbans ; closed tea gardens ; people from some endangered tribes such as Birhar, Lodha, Shabar; unwilling peasants of Singur; vagabonds of Kolkata; seven tribal-dominated blocks in Birbhum district. People from the Toto community are getting rice and wheat free of cost. The quantity of rice procurement has exceeded 20.5 lakh MT during the kharif season of , which is the highest ever in the last few couple of decades. Zero-balance accounts have been opened in favour of the farmers who sell paddy to the government and government-appointed agents. They are being paid the selling price of paddy through account payee cheques. During the last-two-and-a-half years, warehouse capacity has been enhanced from 40,000 MT to 1.03 lakh MT for preservation of food grains. The work of constructing more warehouses, having a total capacity of 3 lakh MT, is going on in full swing. A modern laboratory has been set up at Khadya Bhawan in Kolkata. This will ensure that rice, flour, wheat, edible oil and other food items distributed through the public distribution system (PDS) is of good quality. New Khadya Bhawans have been constructed at eight places, viz., Ghatal, Krishnanagar, Kalna, Cooch Behar, Barrackpore, Jalpaiguri, Mekhligunge and Bangaon. Construction of Khadya Bhawans at 14 more places is going on. The proposal for construction of further 14 Khadya Bhawans/Inspection Buildings at various places has been taken up. In order to make the offices of the Food and Supplies Department in 115 blocks more popular, they are being modernised. Those in the rest of the blocks, which is 226, will start shortly. The work of computerisation of PDS is going on at a cost of Rs 112 crore. Digitisation of ration cards and their entry into a database is under process. Till now, 4.35 crore digitised ration cards have been prepared. The remaining cards will be prepared by March More than one crore forged and bogus ration cards have been revoked since May Non-PDS items have been made available in ration shops at fair prices for the benefit of the common people. A Retail Marketing Centre is going to be made operational in Kolkata. To prevent smuggling of subsidised foodgrain, a transport system using vehicles having a special colour scheme has been introduced. Important information relating to the distribution of foodgrains through public distribution system is being disseminated regularly to people s representatives and local inhabitants through SMS. The government is providing a subsidy amounting to Rs 1000 crore in PDS for the benefit of poor people.

11 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, Snapshots of April - May Photography by : Pintu Bandyopadhyay Graphics Designed by : Sandip Pramanik

12 12 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 SAVE WORKERS, SAVE INDUSTRIES During the last three years the Labour and Employment Department is following the principle of Save Workers, Save Industries to ensure the normal flow of industrial activities for not only enriching the economy but also for providing employment to the millions. T he government with an aim towards overall improvement of the working class has revised or fixed the minimum weages in most of the scheduled employments under the Minimum Wages Act, With a view to provide an acceptable standard of living and promotion of quality of life the Government is giving high priority on a number of Social Security Schemes which are run by this department. There have been several significant achievements in the Labour and Employment Department: New Employment Bank to provide new opportunities: The number of verified and registered employment-seekers so far after the Employment Bank portal was introduced in July 2012 is approximately 15 lakh. This department gives due importance to the generation of gainful employment as well as providing skill developments to the registered job seekers. The Employment Bank portal, a brain child of Hon ble CM has been created towards fulfilment of the same. It is a state-owned interface where the job seekers; the employers and placement agencies; the education and training providing institutions; and service providing and service seeking individuals are able to interact online. It was inaugurated by Hon ble CM with the facilities for online enrolment of the job seekers and the employers. The number of verified and registered employers till is 279. New Dimension Yuvashree Project: We have introduced the Yuvashree Project in order to provide the unemployed youth with monthly incentives. The project, with the message Do away with despair, build up life, is being implemented from October A decision to grant Rs 1500 as allowance to the first 1 lakh eligible employment-seekers registered with the New Employment Bank, to provide new opportunities to unemployed youth, has been taken. At present, 87,000 young job-seekers have availed themselves of this allowance. Employment: During , new employment provisions have surpassed the target to reach lakh. We have planned to make more than 16 lakh employment opportunities in financial year Enhancement of age-limit for recruitment to government jobs: The age-limit for recruitment to government jobs has been enhanced to 40 years in case of general candidates, 45 years for SC / ST candidates and 43 years for differently-abled and OBC candidates. Reduction in the number of man-days on account of strikes: Work culture is back in the state after the new government has assumed power. The number of man-days lost due to strikes was nearly 3.06 crore in the span of whereas it has been reduced to 60,000 during During it has further reduced to 5200 and till January 2014 the number is equivalent to 0. More speed to social security projects: The number of registered workers in social security projects was 26 lakh within the span of , with an average of 2.6 lakh per year. The number jumped to 31 lakh, with an average of 12.4 lakh per year, from the period of May 2011 to January An amount of Rs 9 crore was distributed among 45,000 workers from 2001 to April 2011, whereas, from May 2011 to January 2014, Rs 176 crore was distributed among 6.32 lakh workers. Samajik Mukti Card - all facilities at hand: Workers in the unorganised sector have easy access to their accounts of State-Assisted Scheme of Provident Fund for Unorganised Workers (SASPFUW) through smart cards. So far, 7.5 lakh workers in the unorganised sector have been given smart cards. Shramik Mela ( Workers Fair ) - more acquainces with services: For the first time, Shramik Melas are being organised to reach out to more workers in the unorganised sector. Such fairs as these are being organised in seven places in Shramik Barta - all news ready at hand: The Labour Department has been publishing a quarterly Bengali journal named Shramik Barta since August ESI - manifold increase in facilities: The ESI Hospital of Manicktala has been modernised through the introduction of modular operation theatre, and post-graduate courses in pathology and anaesthesia have been introduced in this hospital. This is the first ESI Hospital in the country to be declared a Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research. For the first time in India, a Pain Management Institute has been operational at the ESI Hospital in Sealdah. Services of ESI Hospitals have been introduced in regions out of the purview of their serviceareas. Service-dispensaries have been operational in Midnapore town, Berhampur, Malda, Rampurhat and Jamuria during the tenure of the present government

13 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, NEW MUNICIPAL CORPORA- TIONS TO BE SET UP With the aim of providing better civic amenities to the people of West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress-led government has decided to form six municipal corporations from 17 existing municipalities across the state. The legal processes and area demarcation, including necessary notification processes will begin soon. The issues may be discussed at the cabinet meeting to be held at Nabanna. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will take the final decision on the issue. The proposed municipal corporations are Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Goplapur; Dum Dum, South Dum Dum and North Dum Dum; Madhyamgram, Barasat and New Barrackpore; Maheshtala, Pujali and Budge Budge; Uttarpara, Serampore, Rishra and Konnagar; Chanpdani and Bhadreswar will be clubbed with the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation The small municipalities cannot undertake big projects. Neither are they allowed to change the tax system. They are not eligible to take loans from organizations like the World Bank. Once these areas are brought under a municipal corporation, the citizens will get better services. LAND IS NO MORE AN ISSUE During the last two-and-a-half years, the state government has created an unparalleled precedence by distributing pattas to 1, 92,000 thousand landless families. In this regard it is worth mentioning that while 5670 and 37,723pattas were distributed during and , respectively, during the tenure of the present government, a record number of 1,06,264 landless families were distributed pattas. While the revenue collection of the Land and Land Reforms Department was only Rs 380 crore during , it has increased to Rs 480 crore during During , up to the mouth of January, land revenue collection amounted to Rs crore. At the end of the current financial year, it will exceed Rs 500 crore. People can easily access maps of landed property and particulars relating to titles on the website of the Land and Land Reforms Department. At the same time common people can now directly collect land records (parcha) within a few hours through over-the-counter service under the e-governance initiative from BLLR offices at the block level, which could not be thought of during the past. Decision has been taken to relax land ceiling for setting up 15 types of industries subject to the condition of purchasing land on the basis of applications of the entrepreneurs for setting up industries through transparent procedures as per Section 14Y of West Bengal Land Reforms Act. Besides, in order to assist earmarking of suitable land for setting up of industries, a Land Use Map has been prepared where singlecrop land, multi-crop land and densely populated areas have been marked. LAW AND ORDER IN BENGAL The Union government and the National Security Council are suggesting today that the advancement of Jangalmahal in Bengal should be followed as a model by other states. The Hon ble Chief Minister visited Jangalmahal more than 30 times to generate faith in people s minds and to accelerate development. The hills are also smiling. Literally speaking, what Bengal has done today, India will do tomorrow. Five commissionerates have been formed in Asansol, Durgapur, Howrah, Bidhannagar, Barrackpore and Siliguri. In order to extend the facility of speedy trials to the people and to bring the cases of oppression of women to justice, 88 fast-track courts, 45 courts for women, 19 human rights courts and three CBI courts have either been set up or notified. Ten additional police stations for women have been set up. During the tenure of the present government, 26 police stations have already been formed in both Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police areas. Very recently, five police stations have been formed in the Kolkata Police area, which now has 70 police stations. These are Sarsuna, Panchasayar, Netajinagar, Anandapur and Dakshin Behala police stations. In the West Bengal Police area, Purbasthali police station has recently been bifurcated, leading to the formation of Nadanghat police station in Burdwan, and two more jurisdictions have been carved out of Shibpur police station in Howrah. In order to increase the strength of police personnel in the state police force significantly, almost 400 sub-inspectors, 40,000 constables (Including junior constables, women constables, Home Guards and NVFs) and 1.3 lakh civic police volunteers have been recruited to assist the regular police force. A large number of women constables have also been recruited. ANY WAVE WILL NOT AFFECT CIVIC, ASSEMBLY POLLS Unnerved by the BJP s spirited performance in the Lok Sabha poll in Bengal denting several support bases of the ruling party, the Trinamool Congress sought to downplay the Narendra Modi-led saffron surge. Top Trinamool leadership said the Modi wave would die down considerably by the time the civic polls, including the election to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, are held in 2015 and the Assembly poll in Mukul Roy, party s all-india general secretary said, One shouldn t forget that in 1984 Rajiv Gandhi was elected Prime Minister and the Congress got a thumping majority with 414 seats but within two years there was Bofors scam and the Congress was defeated after five years. He also cited the example of the SP in UP where it came to power with a thumping majority in 2012, but in two years it managed to get only five of 80 LS seats in the state. Subrata Bakshi, MP for Kolkata (South) and the party s state president, said the Trinamool hadn t lost its vote bank. Senior citizens and a large section of middle class families also voted for Didi. TRINAMOOL CONGRESS TO ORGANISE THANKSGIVING EVENTS West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday asserted that the Trinamool Congress will play a big role in the Lok Sabha for the welfare of the common man, and said the party will organise thanksgiving events across the state. Banerjee, also the Trinamool chairperson, met the 34 newly elected Lok Sabha members of her party at her residence. Winning 34 out of 42 seats in Bengal is no mean feat, especially when the contest was multi-cornered where besides political parties, a major section of the media and central agencies had lined up against us, Mamata Banerjee told media persons. We will play a big role in the Lok Sabha for the welfare of the people, who despite all the malicious campaign put their faith in us. We will not take out any victory march. Rather we will organise cultural events in all localities and booths for thanksgiving, she said. The newly-elected MPs are scheduled to leave for New Delhi on May 25 for the oath-taking ceremony. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPARENT ADMINIS- TRATION In the financial year , GSDP growth rate in West Bengal was 7.7%, whereas at the national level GDP was 4.9%. In the financial year , growth rate of production in agriculture and allied sector in our state was 5.28%, whereas nationally it was 4.6%. In the financial year , industrial growth rate in our state was 9.58%, whereas nationally it was 0.7%. In the financial year , growth rate in service sector in our state was 7.8%, whereas nationally it was 6.9%. We have made a record in tax collection nationally. Our aim is to augment the allocation of resources for the development of the state through an increase in revenue. Our tax collection target for financial year was Rs 32,800 crore, which was a record 31.56% more than the previous financial year. For the current financial year ( ) our tax collection target is Rs 40,000 crore. For the first time ever in 2014, this department has prepared and published an Administrative Calendar mentioning the time limits for delivery of services by each department. The Right to Service Act has been enacted to ensure that people receive services on time. UttarKanya, the branch secretariat, has been established at Dabgram near Siliguri, ending the long wait and the sense of deprivation of the people of North Bengal. On February 11, a cabinet meeting was held there, where members of the ministry participated. We have started e-procurement, e-registration and e-payment for the speedy, transparent and skilful disposal of government work. During the last two-and-a-half years, the Hon ble CM has conducted meetings thrice in every district - 54 administrative meetings in total - to ensure transparent administration and development of work culture. This is unique not only to our state but to the whole of India.

14 14 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 RESTRUCTURING RURAL BENGAL In the last three years, the Department of Panchayat and Rural Development under the AITC-led government aimed at facilitating economic and social development in the rural areas of the state and organized community action in all development initiatives in the rural sector by utilising Central/State Sector programmes. anchayat and Rural Development Department of the Government of West P Bengal is entrusted with the responsibility of constitution and framing policy related to functioning of the rural local self-government, i.e, the Panchayats, providing administrative support to the three tier panchayat system as well as implementation of various rural development programmes including the major poverty alleviation programmes in the rural areas of the State. The Department also organizes community action for participatory planning and development through the elected Panchayat bodies at different levels. The thrust areas of the department include; Deepening and widening decentralisation through the Panchayat bodies; Training and capacity building of the Panchayat bodies for better governance; Promotion of wage employment for people living Below Poverty Line (BPL); Organizing the rural poor in Self Help Groups for their socio-economic development; Augmenting livelihood opportunities for the rural population; Sustainable development of natural resources; Providing social security and safety nets to the disadvantaged and socially excluded; Improving the social and physical infrastructure in the rural areas; Improving service delivery in the field of elementary education and preventive health care in collaboration with the respective departments of the state government Ratio of reservation of seats for women in each tier of panchayat has been enhanced from one-third to half after the amendment of West Bengal Panchayat Act. So far, reservations were only for the representatives of women, and members of scheduled castes and tribes. Our government has facilitated the participation of OBCs in panchayats through reservations. An unprecedented milestone has been achieved in the 100-days-work project (MGNREGA). Man-days of work done during the last two-and-a-half years have been greater than the sum total of man-days of work done all through the preceding years. In financial year , crore man-days of work were completed. We have stood first in terms of spending the allotted fund, having spent 107% of it. Jobs have been provided for 58 lakh families, the total expenditure for which stood at Rs 4688 crore. West Bengal has set precedence by creating mandays of work out of 109% of the labour budget. The district has been awarded by the union Ministry of Rural Development for co-ordinating other projects with the 100-days-work project and thus creating a model for the enhancement of the earning potential of poor families in villages. A unique initiative was taken up from January 7, of creating 16,000 km of all-weather roads in each of the gram panchayats. This special drive would create about 3.5 crore man-days of work across the state. While up to financial year , an average of 1069 km of roads had been constructed per year under the Gram Sadak Yojana, the average length of roads constructed per year during the tenure of this government has been 1978 km. Up to January of financial year , work for the construction of 255 roads under Gram Sadak Yojana, covering 1016 km and involving an expenditure of Rs 558 crore, has been completed. Extension of Nirmal Bangla project, on the implementation of proper sanitation measures: By 2017, Sanitary Lavatories would have been constructed in all houses with the objective of building up a Nirmal Bangla (clean and beautiful Bengal). Work for the construction of lavatories, and solid and liquid waste management in schools and anganwadi centres is going on. Work for the construction of houses for the rural poor under Indira Awaas Yojana is continuing at a rapid pace. During the last two-and-a-half years, more than 4.5 lakh houses have been constructed. Assistance for building houses under Adhikar Prokalpo was provided to 25,000 families in 11 districts. More than 50,000 self-help groups have been constituted over the last two-and-a-half years under the Anandadhara Bahichhe Bhubane scheme. During this period, Rs 1232 crore worth of credit has been extended to these self-help groups. Allowances under the National Social Assistance Scheme are now more easily available lakh rural families are getting old-age pension lakh rural women are getting widow pension. 38,000 differently-abled people are also getting allowance. The amount of allowance for widows and the differentlyabled has been increased to Rs 600 per month. The age limit for old-age pension has been reduced from 65 to 60. In 2012, the West Bengal Panchayat (Second Amendment) Act, 2012 was passed to enhance the extent of reservation of seats and offices in each tier of Panchayats for women from one-third to onehalf.

15 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, PROMOTING SPORTS ACTIVITIES West Bengal is a state where Sports-loving people create a majority in the State Population, so naturally sports becomes one of the key focus of the state government which helps hidden talent from all over the state to come to the forefront, reports All India Trinamool Congress Leads Bureau P romotion of sports throughout West Bengal is the top priority of Sports Department. There are hidden sports talents in rural area who id given the opportunity can be groomed and do well in their respective fields. In many sports, such as Athletics, Kabaddi, Kho Kho, Volleyball, Football, etc, sports persons from the state have done well. It is not always possible to fully promote sports activity and search hidden sports talents by the government itself. Clubs and Sports Associations can play a pivotal role in organizing sports activities which help young talents to join in bigger sports arena. These clubs and associations have poor resources and infrastructure and often they need fund for survival. Sports events like football matches and cricket matches have been organized in Jangal Mahal area and in the districts of North Bengal with huge success with the involvement of local clubs. More emphasis has been laid on infrastructural development of 26 stadiums across the state / renovation of swimming pools/ reconstruction. To develop sports and construction of sports infrastructure of the state, sixty seven crore has been invested to build up 26 stadiums, swimming pools, sports academies and hostels in the following place: Where the works have been completed; Gorkha Stadium (Lebong); Sports Complex at Rakhal Memorial Ground,Tamluk; Medinipur Swimming Club; Kanchanjangha Stadium; Jhargram Stadium; Salbani Stadium; Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan; Netaji Indoor Stadium; East Bengal Ground; Mohan Bagan Ground; and Mohammedan Sporting Ground. Where the works will be ended soon; Krishnanagar DSA Stadium, Suri Stadium, Uluberia Stadium, Arabindo Stadium, Bhatar Stadium, Jhargram Sports Complex, Nayagram Stadium, Khatra Sports Academy, Purulia Mini Indoor stadium, Hostel for sports persons in Purulia, Nabadwip Municipality Stadium, Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra, Subhas Sarobar Swimming Pool, Rabindra Sarobar Stadium and Jadavpur Kishore Bharati Stadium. Installation of new floodlights: With the expenditure of ` 13 Cr. new flood lights have been installed at Yuba Bharati Stadium, Saltlake and Kanchanjangha Stadium, Siliguri. Bengal Residential Football Academy has been set-up to nurture talented young footballers. Introduction of new website: A new website has been launched for Department of Sports.It is Exhibition Match of International Standard: An exhibition match has taken place in between Argentina and Venez`uela at Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan. For this purpose this stadium has been renovated to the extent of international standard. New Sports Competitions were held across the state along with North Bengal and Jangal mahal. Games of three kinds; Volleyball, Taicondo and Atheletics under 4th National Rural Competition included in Panchayat Yuba Krira O Khel Abhijan took place at Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan from 4 January to 7 January, 2012 successfully. Rupees fifty seven lakh was utilised for organising Tribal Football Tournament in six districts. Rupees One crore have been spent for 4th Netaji Subhas Rajya Krira, Adibasi Football Tournament in sixtotal districts of North Bengal, Gorkha Gold Cup Tournament and long distance swimming competition in Murshidabad organised by Bengal Olympic Association in In commemoration of Gostho Pal on his birth centenary, a football tournament named after him was organised in and in commemoration of Maharaja Nipendra Narayan of Coochbehar on his birth sesquicentenary, a Friendship Football Tournament was organised in the same year. Jangalmahal Eleven (men) Vs East Bengal Club and Jangalmahal Eleven (Women) Vs Kolkata Women Football Eleven exhibition matches were organised at renovated Jhargram Stadium. One more exhibition match was organised in between Jangalmahal Vs Kolkata Football Team at Lalgarh of Paschim Medinipur in Posthumous Honour: Eminent weight lifter and body builder Manotosh Roy and late Sachin Nag who was the first gold medal winner Indian swimmer in the Asian Games held in 1951, were honoured posthumously. The awards Khel Samman, Banglar Gourab Samman and Kriraguru Samman were introduced in the last three years. These awards have been given to 60 sports personalities. Sourav Ganguly and Leander Paes have been given Lifetime Achievement Award. Felicitations to outstanding sports personalities: Felicitations for given to 170 sports personalities, Santosh Trophy winning Bengal Team and outstanding Boxing personalities. For the first time ever State Government felicitated the outstanding sports personalities. Noted awardees were as under; Sachin Tendulkar, first Cricketer ever to have achieved the distinction of making 100 centuries in International Cricket; Mary Kom, Bronze Medal winning sportswomen in London Olympics, 2012; Viswanathan Anand; the World Chess Champion; Noted chess-player Surya Sekhar Ganguly; Two members of under-19 World Cup Cricket Winning Indian team; Rabikant Singh and Sandipan Das; 576 medal - winning sports personalities at National Sports Meet.

16 16 All India Trinamool Congress Leads Tuesday, May 20, 2014 HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARDS CONFERRED State Government felicitates eminent personalities with Banga Bibhusan and Banga Bhusan Awards for the tremendous contribution made by them in their respective fields, reports All India Trinamool Congress Leads Bureau S eeking to felicitate luminaries with a Bengali connect from various fields, the State government will be honouring distinguished personalities on May 20, coinciding with the day the party came to power in the State, to present the awards. The State government has been honouring iconic figures since 2011, when the Trinamool Congress came to power. The honorarium for the Banga Bibhushan and the Banga Bhushan awards would be Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh, respectively. Satyajit Ray s Charulata Madhabi Mukherjee and Former Indian soccer captain Bhaichung Bhutia were among the 33 people to be conferred West Bengal s highest civilian awards to mark the third anniversary of the Trinamool Congress government. The highest civilian awards of the state for 2014, the Banga Bibhusan and Banga Bhusan, were conferred on eminent persons for outstanding contributions in literature, science, arts, law, music, dance, cinema, theatre, sports, industry and social works, in a glittering ceremony at the Science City Auditorium. The Governor of Bengal and other distinguished personalities were present on the occasion. It was indeed a rare occasion of pride and glory. This step of the Mamata Banerjeeled government of recognising and acknowledging the existing talents is in itself very motivating.. Among the Bangabibhusan recipients were Lepcha tribal leader Sonam Tshering Lepcha, classical singer Arun Bhaduri, proprietor of jatra (folk theatre) group Natta Company Makhanlal Natta, physician Sukumar Mukherjee, actor Madhabi Mukhopadhyay and actor Dipankar De, Justice Md Abdul Gani, writer Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, educationist Felix Raj, singers Haimanti Shukla and Mohan Singh, and dancer Alakananda Roy. Those who were conferred Bangabhusan include Baichung Bhutia, former soccer internationals Bidesh Bose, Goutam Sarkar, Shabbir Ali and Shyam Thapa, sarod maestro Tejendranarayan Majumder, social activist Md Abdul Wahab, journalist Bachan Singh Saral and tribal leader Birsa Tirkey. Other Bangabhusan awardees were actors Debashree Roy and Aparajita Adya, singers Srikanta Acharya, Indranil Sen, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, Indrani Sen, Lopamudra Mitra, cricketers Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary, chess grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly. Preset on the occasion, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, I welcome the Hon ble Governor of West Bengal, the recipients of the Bangabibhushan and Bangabhushan awards and everyone present here. These awards were started by our Government three years back. On this day, three years back the Maa-Maati-Manush Government came to power. We are grateful to the people of Bengal for their blessings and support over the last three years. We dedicate this day to the people of Bengal. She further added, People from different profession and walks of life are being felicitated today for their contribution in their respective fields. We are honoured to be able to felicitate all the recipients. The Bangabibhushan and Bangabhushan awards are ways of letting the world know about the talent of Bengal. Let the dreams of Bengal be projected through Biswa Bangla in this manner. We still believe that the path of Bengal is the future path of the country. We will build Bengal as a model for the rest of the world to emulate. The award was conceived by Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 25 July The first recipients of this title are Amala Shankar, Mahasweta Devi, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Supriya Devi, Manna Dey, Amjad Ali Khan, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Sailen Manna, Haradhan Bandopadhyay Seeking to felicitate luminaries with a Bengali connect from various fields, the State government honoured distinguished personalities on May 20, coinciding with the day the party came to power in the State, to present the awards.the State government has been honouring iconic figures since 2011, when the Trinamool Congress came to power. Like this section of awards, the state government has instituted awards in various other fields like the Krishak Ratna award for farmers, the Mahanayak Uttam Kumar Awards, Sangeet Maha Samman, Sangeet Samman, Santi Gopal and Tapan Kumar awards for outstanding contributions in the worlds of cinema, music and jatra, the BDO Ratna award for BDOs who work at the grass-root level of administration, the Abanindra Puraskar and Ram Kinkar Bej Puraskar for arts, Rabindra Puraskar and Nazrul Smriti Puraskar for literature and academics, Vidyasagar Smrity Puraskar and Upendrakishore Roychowdhury Puraskar of Sishu Kishore Academy and so on. Published and Printed by: Subrata Bakshi on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress, 181, South Avenue, New Delhi , India. Editor: Derek O Brien Contact Us : or Mail Us at : trinamoolleads@gmail.com