1.4 lakh jobs in railways next year: Mukul Roy

Suri: Railway minister Mukul Roy on Sunday said that 1.4 lakh people would be recruited in the railways next year.

"In the coming year, 1, 44,000 people will be employed in the railways," Roy said after laying the foundation stone of a road over bridge and foot over bridge at Nalhati in Birbhum district.

More than 75,000 jobs were created in the railways in the past six months and more people would be recruited, he said.

Referring to the road over bridge, he said, "This project was demanded by local MP Satabdi Roy. In response to her request, Mamata Banerjee sanctioned the project when she was the railway minister".

The project started late as the previous Left Front government did not cooperate with the railways, he said, adding that to implement the project the cooperation of the state government is required.

This road over bridge will be an example of joint venture between rail and the state government, Roy said.

Kolkata Slum dwellers' eviction a crime: Binayak Sen

Kolkata: Describing the eviction of people from slums in Nonadanga in the eastern part of the city as a "tragedy and great crime", human rights activist Binayak Sen on Sunday accused the West Bengal government of being inhuman.

"It (eviction) is a great tragedy and a great crime committed. It is really inhumane on the part of the government to displace the people without providing viable alternative and livelihood options," Sen said.

Describing the slum dwellers as "environmental refugees", Sen said that people were being punished for no reason.

A number of families of those who have settled at the Nonadanga slums are families rendered homeless by the cyclone Aila in 2010.

"They were able to survive in hostile environment because of access to common resources…displacing them again would be shameful and against the commitment of welfare of the people," he added.

Eleven people arrested in connection with the violence Saturday were presented in a city court. All of them, including five women, were remanded to police custody till May 3.

The clash broke out between evicted slum dwellers of Nonadanga and police when the protesters tried to dismantle a barricade that was earlier put up at the site.

Bengal: Mamata announces more sops for Muslims

Kolkata: With an eye on next year's panchayat polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday showered more sops on the Muslim community including new loan schemes, creating an employment bank and promising official stamp on 10,000 madrasas.

The announcement comes days after she declared a monthly honorarium and housing subsidy for imams in the state.

Outlining schemes undertaken for uplift of Muslims in the state, she said her government had increased allocation for the minorities department by 73 per cent in the state budget for the current financial year.

"Our aim is to see that our brothers and sisters pursue their studies properly, receive training and get jobs. And those who cannot get jobs, can start businesses by taking loan from the government," Banerjee told a meeting organised by the West Bengal Minority Development and Finance Corporation at Barasat in North 24-Paraganas district.

Kolkata IPS officer's transfer mere reshuffling?

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Kolkata: Questions are still being asked about the police officer's transfer by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The big question is whether there is more to the transfer of top woman police officer Damayanti Sen than mere reshuffling.

It's the biggest police shake-up since Mamata Banerjee came to power. Sixty IPS officers have been transferred across lines but one name has baffled all, Damayanti Sen, the first woman top police officer heading the city's crime branch lauded by all for cracking the Park Street rape case and giving justice to a 37-year-old. Damayanti's investigation contradicted Mamata's claims that the rape victim had fabricated her account to malign her government. Damayanti Sen has now been transferred as the DIG, training, which is a punishment post in police circles.

Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman said, "What has happened is unfair and is wrong. This transfer smacks of vengeance. It was revenge."

Many believe that the transfer will deepen the mistrust between the police and those in power.

Director Srijit Mukherjee to act in Anjan Dutta's film 'Dutta vs Dutta'

Kolkata: After two back-to-back successful films, 'Autograph' and 'Baishe Srabon', filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee is all set to face the camera in this year's national award winner Anjan Dutta's film 'Dutta vs Dutta'.

Srijit, 34, who had earlier turned up in Aparna Sen's 'Iti Mrinalini' in a significant role, said he would not speak much about his new assignment.

"Anjan da is my mentor who has helped me evolve into a director. I greatly learnt the craft from him before moving to film direction," said Srijit. Srijit, who was speaking on location at a dingy north Kolkata neighbourhood last week, said his character is the reflection of an intellectual of 1970s as the film sought to recapture the spirit of Kolkata in those era.

"My character basically sustains itself on poem and music of those days and it is a reflection of that phase," he said. Dutta's film 'Ranjana ami ar Asbona' recently bagged three national honours.

Soumitra: Right now my mind is on flashback mode

Kolkata: Iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee said his being named for the Dada Saheb Phalke award – the highest honour in Indian cinema – is a recognition of his hard work in the last 53 years and expressed gratitude to directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and others for honing his acting skills.

Chatterjee, 77, said it was an "emotional moment" for him and he would receive the award on behalf of the doyens of the Bengali movie industry whose guidance helped him evolve as an actor. "I am very happy. It is an emotional moment for me. I thank everybody. It is a recognition of the hard work I have put in for the last 53 years. The people of my country have recognised my toil," said Chatterjee.

The Padma Bhushan awardee expressed his gratitude to directors like Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and veteran actors like Chabi Biswas and Tulsi Chakraborty for honing his acting skills.

"I would like to thank many old people of this industry like (legendary movie directors) Satyajit Ray and Tapanda," he said. "Right now my mind is on a flashback mode. I would thank actors like Chabi Biswas and Tulsi Chakraborty. It would have been great if I could have handed the award to them. It is on their behalf that I will receive the honour," he said.

Chatterjee regretted that the sublime work of actors like Biswas and Chakraborty went unrewarded. One of India's most talented actors, Chatterjee made his debut in 1959 with Ray’s super-hit movie 'Apur Sansar'. The film gave him the much needed platform, and he never had to look back.

Chatterjee soon became Ray's favourite, and played the lead roles in most of the movie maker’s classics including 'Sonar Kella', 'Charulata', and 'Ghare Baire'. Chatterjee's association with Ray is often compared with the chemistry between famous actor-director duos of the world such as Akira Kurosowa-Toshiro Mifune and Marcello Mastroianni-Federico Fellini.

Apart from Ray, Chatterjee has worked with all internationally acclaimed directors of his time, including Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar.

Some of his notable movies are 'Jhinder Bandi', 'Koni', 'Kaapurush', 'Akash Kusum', 'Aranyer Din Ratri', 'Joy Baba Felunath', 'Teen Bhubaner Pare', 'Ganashatru' and 'Shakha Prashakha'.

The Padama Bhushan awardee has also worked with other famous directors such as Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh. Besides films, Chatterjee is also known for his passion for the stage where he has both acted and directed plays. He is also one of the all-time best elocutionists of Bengal. He has also received 'The Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts from France and lifetime achievement award from Italy.

Bengali Film Le Halua Le (2012) with Soham, Payel, Hiran Coming..

Le Halua Le (2012) Kolkata Bengali Movie Mp3 Songs Download

Movie Information

• Director: Raja Chanda
• Producer: Nispal Singh
• Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films are producing Le Halua Le
• Music Director: Jeet Ganguly 
• Script Writer: NK Salil
• Casting: Mithun Chakraborty, Laboni Sarkar, Soham, Payel, Hiran, Rajatava Dutta, Kharaj Mukherjee, Locket Chatterjee and Kanchan Mullick
• Le Haula Le is a triangular love story
• Genre: Romantic: Comedy
• Release Date: Coming Soon

Rights & Information
Name     Value
Artist    Jeet Ganguly
Title    Le Halua Le
Genre     Bengali
Released     2012

Amend tax laws for senior citizens: 70-yr-old to FM

 Kolkata: A senior citizen Manik Dabriwal wants tax laws to be amended so that citizens above the age of 60 years can claim deductions on the medical insurance premium paid by dependents.
Manik, a 70-year-old businessman, spends his days catching up on the news that is something he didn't have time for when he was young. In his twilight years, Manik hopes to reap the benefit of his age, as does his 60-year-old wife. But there's a problem.
The Income Tax Act says one has to be 60 to be termed a senior citizen. But the age limit is 65 for benefits on medical insurance premiums.
"The government is not clear about what they should define as senior citizens. Somewhere it is 58, somewhere it is 60, somewhere 65. I fail to understand why can't they fix one age. For PF it is different, under Section 80D it is different," Manik said.
Under Section 80D of the Act, deductions can be claimed on medical insurance premiums up to a maximum of Rs 15,000. If premium is paid for the medical insurance of a senior citizen an additional Rs 20,000 can be deducted.
So Manik's wife can claim all the benefits of being a senior citizen, but not on medical insurance.
"My plea to the honorable Finance Minister Pranab ji is remove these anomalies in the age of senior citizens. Senior citizens throughout India should be known by one age only. Kindly fix the age for senior citizens," Manik said.

Macho Mastana, Rs 7 cr, is costliest Bengali film

 Kolkata: Popular television actress and model Pooja Bose said she was ecstatic about her debut Bengali movie -- the most expensive Bengali feature film made till date.
"I am very happy to be the part of the team. I have always dreamt of working in a Bengali film which has now has come true," the bong beauty said here.
The movie, 'Macho Mastana', with a budget of Rs 7 crore will see popular Bengali star Hiraan essaying the title role with Bose playing his love interest. The film is slated to release in March.
Bose, an established telly star, has played key roles in several popular serial including 'Kahaani Humaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki' and 'Tujh Sang Lagai Sajana'.
She has also worked in a Hindi film alongside Manisha Koirala.
"Pooja is perfect of blend of glamour and her knowledge about acting is very sound, she does her homework very well," Reshmi Mitra, the director of the film, said.
The glamorous actress has also worked in a Telegu film, 'Veedu Thenda'. She will be also seen in another upcoming Bengali film, 'Diwana Holo Mon', again with Hiraan.

Car rape victim identifies trio

KOLKATA: The victim of the Park Street car-rape victim identified all three accused - Naser Khan, Ruman Khan and Sumit Bajaj - at the Presidency correctional home on Wednesday. Around 12.30pm, police took the victim to Presidency jail and around 1.15pm, the test identification parade started.

Sources said apart from the victim, another lady, who was at the nightclub on that night and had noticed the group of accused interacting with the victim, was present during the identification parade. The lady who hails from east Kolkata had contacted Kolkata Police and volunteered to help with the investigation. Two other men, who sources said were employees of the night club where the victim had met the accused, were also present during the parade.

Sources said in all, 33 persons (the three accused and 30 others) were present during the parade and the victim managed to identify all the three accused. The other woman identified one of the accused and the two male witnesses identified the same youth identified by the second woman.

The process continued for 45 minutes in front of a magistrate and after that, all four, including the victim, were taken back by a huge force of Kolkata Police's detective department.

These three accused are lodged in DH2 ward of Presidency jail.

Police, meanwhile, are looking for the other accused - including prime accused Kader Khan - who are still on the run. Police earlier raided a Mumbai hideout, but Kader and his aide Johny had a narrow escape.