Cooch Behar Raas Mela begins

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: State forest minister Mr Ananta Roy inaugurated the 195-year old Raas Mela yesterday. The festival will continue for fifteen days. State food and supply minister Mr Paresh Adhikary, Cooch Behar DM Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Cooch Behar SP Mr Anil Kumar, Cooch Behar Municipality chairman Mr Biren Kundu and other dignitaries were present at the inaugural ceremony at Raas Mela Ground on yesterday evening. Prior to this event, Cooch Behar DM Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha inaugurated the Raas Yatra of Lord Madan Mohan by whirling the Raas Chakra after performing puja, yajna and other religious rituals at the Madan Mohan temple complex.

 

            The Raas-mela is the biggest and oldest fair in north Bengal. During this fortnight the Debottar Trust Board will organise cultural programmes including Bhajan, Padavali Kirtan, recitation of Shrimad-Bhagabat, Bhawaiya, folk songs and religious lectures on every evening at the Madan Mohan temple premises. The fair may be a less attractive event to many because there is no circus tent in the mela premises this year.

 

The first Raas Mela was organised in the regime of Maharaja Harendra Narayan in 1812. The Maharaja moved into a new palace on Raas Purnima in that year and a Raas Mela was organised there on that occasion. In 1889, Maharaja Nripendra Narayan established the new Madan Mohan temple on the north bank of Bairagi Dighi. The austodhatoo-made idol of Lord Madan Mohan was shifted from the temple in palace complex to the new temple. From then on the Raas Mela is organised surrounding the Madan Mohan temple, Bairagi Dighi and Raas Melar Ground.

 

For the Raas Yatra the age-old temple took a new look by a fresh coat of paints. The security arrangements were also beefed up. Metal detector doorframe and close-circuit cameras were also fitted for security reasons.

 

On the occasion of Raas Yatra special puja was held at the Thakurbari of Kumar Gajendra Narayan Estate at Bangchatra Road near the Raas Mela Ground. []

 

District Industries Centre suffers from staff shortage

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: District Industries Centre (DIC) has to shoulder the responsibility of progress of industrialisation in the district but it is suffering from shortage of personnel. It is like a vessel without adequate sailors.

 

There are six sanctioned posts of Industrial Development Officer (IDO) at the Cooch Behar office of the DIC but actually there is one IDO only. He has to work as the head clerk of the office. Out of twelve IDOs for twelve blocks in this district two posts are lying vacant at Tufanganj-I and Mathabhanga-II for a long. In the six municipal towns in this district there is no IDO at all.

 

The total staff strength at the DIC should be thirty-three. Among these sanctioned posts there are only eighteen persons. Among the officials there should be eight managers but here one can find out three of them only (including the general manager). There are nine other staff (like upper division clerk and lower division clerk) in sixteen posts. There are two personal assistants and one record supplier only.

 

Though the DIC is suffering from shortage of personnel its performance is good enough especially in implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), claimed the manager (credit) Mr Sanjib Sen. The DIC has to keep contact with sixty-four bank branches in this district to maintain liaison between entrepreneurs of new units and banks. The situation may have improved for better if there were adequate personnel, admitted Mr Sen.

 

Appeals were made to the director of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises several times but no one came forward yet to take the initiative to send some staff here to fill up the vacant posts, DIC sources said in Cooch Behar. []

 

Conference

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: 41st biennial Cooch Behar district conference of Pashchimbanga Group-D Sarkari Karmachari Samiti was held at Karmachari Bhavan in Cooch Behar yesterday. District unit secretary Mr Shekhar Pal tabled the secretarial report at the conference. Not only resolutions on organisational demands but also demands were adopted to strengthen movement for all-out development of Cooch Behar district. []

 

Anniversary

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: Indian Institute of Complementary Medicines observed its seventeenth anniversary at Bani Niketan Girls' High School premises at Harinchawra in Cooch Behar today. Health orientation training programme and blood donation camp were also organised on the occasion. []

 

Challengers' Cup

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: The inter-district (north Bengal) cricket tournament (Challengers' Cup) started at Cooch Behar Stadium yesterday. Eight teams are to participate in this tournament this year. They are : Cooch Behar, Islampur, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Alipurduar, Dakshin Dinajpur and Siliguri. The final match will be held on 22 December. Cooch Behar Collectorate Recreation Club is the organiser of the tournament this year.

 

State forest minister Mr Ananta Roy inaugurated the tournament yesterday. The district magistrate Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Cooch Behar SP Mr Anil Kumar and others were present at the inaugural programme. []

 

Road mishap, 2 killed

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 25: A Maruti van collided with a maxi-taxi passenger vehicle at Amtala near Saatmile in Cooch Behar at about 9-30 a.m. today. Sandwiched between the two speeding vehicles a motorbike rider was killed. He was identified as Tapan Sarkar (37), an insurance agent. Total seventeen persons were wounded in the incident, police said. Among the serious ones of the Maruti van, Noor Mohammed (40), a teacher of Suktabari High School died at MJN Hospital at about 12-noon. The passengers of the Maruti van were going to attend a programme at Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district. []