Infiltration

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: Police arrested a Bangladeshi national, Mizanur Rehman, from Dhaluabari area in Cooch Behar at early hours of today. Police said, a resident of Chandrakhanu village in Kurigram district of Bangladesh, Mizanur crossed the border at Kurshahat in Dinhata and coming towards Cooch Behar to seek a job. []

 

Lifted car seized

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: Police seized an unclaimed new model motor car bearing a fake Assam registration number from Shibjajna Road in Cooch Behar town today. Examining the car police found that it ran about 500-km only. It is suspected that car lifters stole the vehicle from somewhere and left it on the roadside for unknown reasons. []

 

Online drive

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: During a drive against online lottery the district enforcement branch officials arrested five persons from different places of Cooch Behar town. DEB sources said such raid would be continued to control the menace of online lotteries. []

 

Market blaze in Baxirhat

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: A number of shops and houses were gutted in a devastating fire at Baxirhat market in Tufanganj of Cooch Behar last night. Fire fighters from Tufanganj rushed to the spot and doused the blaze in association with locals. The estimated loss was about Rs 10-lakh, according to the secretary of Tufanganj Byabasayee Samiti Mr Robin Bhawal. The pre-puja fire rendered the affected traders almost penniless, he said. []

 

Peasants' agitation

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: Members of Sara Bharat Samjukta Kisan Sabha (SKS), the peasant wing of RSP, organised rallies and sit-ins at different places in Cooch Behar district today. They also submitted memorandums containing their demands to the SDOs and BDOs concerned. District SKS president Mr Ranajit Deb said they organised the programme demanding declaration of Teesta irrigation project as a National one, bringing six districts of north Bengal under Teesta project and measures to make agriculture profit oriented so that the farmers can get dividends from their produces. []

 

Demonstration of teachers in Cooch Behar

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: Cooch Behar district unit of West Bengal Primary Teachers' Association (WBPTA) observed a sit-in programme in front of the office of the Cooch Behar District Primary School Council (DPSC) today. They organised the programme in support of their twenty-one demands.

 

During the agitation the Cooch Behar district unit secretary of WBPTA Mr Swapan Kumar Ghosh alleged that it is hard for the teachers to join any organisation other than that of ruling party. They have had to attach themselves with the teachers' organisation of the ruling party because there is no alternative for a secured service life. But, ignoring this barrier the WBPTA organised today's programme to protest against anti-teacher policies of Cooch Behar DPSC, he said.

 

Today, the teachers demonstrated against transfer of junior teachers instead of seniors on political ground, delay in issuance of pension papers from DPSC and engaging of teachers in jobs other than teaching. They also demanded appointment of teachers in the vacant posts in the primary schools, representation of teachers from recognised organisations in functioning of Sarva Shiksha Mission, payment of salary on first day of month, appointment of trained unemployed youths in the vacant posts of teachers, construction of new school buildings and spacious class rooms, extension of drinking water facility to all schools and disbursement of text books at the beginning of each academic session.

 

District WBPTA president Mr Sudhanshu Dey and secretary Mr Swapan Kumar Ghosh announced that they are preparing to start an intensive teachers' movement in the interest of a better educational scenario in Cooch Behar district. []

 

Leprosy rate decreasing in Cooch Behar

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 26: After introduction of multi drug therapy (MDT) in February 1996 replacing the mono-therapy system it was observed that the number of cases of leprosy was reducing in Cooch Behar district. Before MDT the reported number of cases was 2,869 and now it is 231 only. District leprosy officer (DLO) Dr Md Abu Ershad claimed that their target was to bring down the prevalence rate (PR) under one but in January 2005 they achieved 0.05 PR. PR is the number of cases per 10,000 population. Before introduction of MDT it was 13.21, he said.

 

The DLO, Dr Ershad said they would organise a house-to-house survey at Mekhliganj from 17 November to 3 December. The number of leprosy patients in areas like Changrabandha and Haldibari in Mekhliganj is higher than that of other sub-divisions in this district. During the period an Urban Leprosy Sensitisation and Awareness Campaign (ULSSAC) will be held at Mekhliganj town. Diagnosis and treatment of detected leprosy patients will be done during the programme.

 

Besides decreasing of leprosy cases, the rate of deformity among the patients is also decreasing. In 2001-2002 the number of identified deformed patients was 27. In 2005-2006 it was six only and this year no case of deformity was reported from anywhere, Dr Ershad claimed.

 

In a bid to control the cases of leprosy the health department is emphasising on disability prevention and medical rehabilitation. They are organising folk shows and school quiz programmes involving self-help groups, gram panchayat functionaries and members of public. Wall paintings were done at 406 subsidiary health centres and other places. About 30,000 informative leaflets were also distributed in the district.

 

Dr Ershad, said, they distributed 182 pairs of micro-cellular rubber chappals (foot-wears) among disabled patients. From 2006 they are arranging reconstructive surgery camps for the patients with deformed limbs to make them able by plastic surgery. This year seven patients were operated upon at MJN Hospital in Cooch Behar. Dr Ershad believes that early detection and prompt treatment can control the spreading of the disease. One can get drugs from anywhere - subsidiary health centres to district hospital – to fight out the disease, he said. []

Trinamul protest against eviction of traders

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 27: Demanding unconditional release of nine traders and rehabilitation of all the affected traders at the same haat from where they were evicted, the Trinamul Congress organised a sit-in at Tufanganj police station today. The sit-in turned into a sort of blockade due to presence of a large number of people, party sources claimed. They submitted a memorandum to the officer-in-charge of Tufanganj police station. District Trinamul Congress president Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh, vice-president Mr Niranjan Dutta and other leaders spoke on the occasion.

 

Trinamul Congress planned today's agitation to stage protest against the eviction of about nine hundred traders from a haat situated at Uttar Chhatjaigir Chilakhana in Tufanganj and arrest of nine traders.

 

It may be recalled that the nine men were arrested on 20 September in connection with alleged removal of forty-eight boundary demarcation pillars of the re-acquired land of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. The land was handed over to the school authorities on 25 August. Earlier, a few hundred shops were dismantled by the district administration at the haat controlled by the Tufanganj Regulated Market Committee (RMC) on the morning of 25 August. Those shops were dismantled to clear the area for construction of the proposed JNV school building. The Trinamul Congress and the BJP had observed a bandh on 28 August against the eviction of traders from the haat.

 

In his address at the gathering today, district Trinamul Congress president Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh announced that they will organise a mass disobedience programme at Tufanganj SDO office on 9 October demanding restoration of the haat. Prior to that, a maha-michhil (massive rally) will be held there. He held the district magistrate of Cooch Behar responsible for the eviction of the traders from the haat and demanded immediate removal of the official from Cooch Behar. Trinamul Congress will intensify its stir after the pujas in the district, he announced. []

 

Rizwan murder : arrest of cops demanded

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 27: Trinamul Yuva Congress observed a sit-in at Mathabhanga today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They submitted a 10-point charter of demands to the Mathabhanga SDO. District TYC president Mr Shibendra Nath Roy said they demanded arrest of the police officials involved in the alleged murder of Rizwan-ur-Rehman. The CPI-M is trying to cover-up the crime, he alleged.

 

Addressing the gathering of TYC supporters Mr Roy said the authorities should publicise the details of the proposed construction of Sutunga Bridge at Mathabhanga including the estimated cost, man-days for construction, compensation and rehabilitation to the owners of acquired lands. He also demanded repairing of all the damaged roads in Mathabhanga. Md Alizar Rehman and other TYC leaders too spoke at the gathering.

 

Timber seized

 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 27: During a massive drive against forest plunderers and illegal trading of timber the Cooch Behar social forestry division officials seized Sal and Teak timber worth Rs 2-lakh from different areas in Tufanganj and Baxirhat for the last two days. Mr Rahul Mukherjee (Range Officer) and Md Mansur Ali (Beat Officer) led the operation. ADFO (SF) Mr SK Baroi said legal actions initiated against the persons involved with the illegal trading of forest timber. During the raids a few persons escaped to evade arrest, he said. []