Indo-Russia joint venture company in Bengal grows and sells bananas instead of automobiles

in Industry and West Bengal are absolutely incompatible. A factory meant for automobiles and situated close to Singur where TATA wanted to build the Nano factory, is now producing bananas instead of accessories. It is Ural India's bus and truck unit in Haldia. Fruits and vegetables grown on the premises following lack of orders that brought production to a halt last November. The Ural management has engaged the workers in cultivation to keep them busy and reduce the burden of monthly wages.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 14 March 2016.

Singur was the poll plank of Mamata Banerjee to wrench power from the ruing Left Front but, in spite of her pre-poll promises of returning land taken over for the Nano factory by the TATAs, no land has been returned because the issue is pending in the Supreme Court.
Hence, the Ural experience is a unique one. Economies are expected to develop from a primarily rural agricultural society to an industrialized urban economy. But, in Bengal, everything is topsy-turvy. The factory employees 11 permanent employees and 35 temporary hands. They stay in the premises and grow vegetables to survive.
Ural is a joint venture between UralAZ of Russia and Motijug Agencies of Calcutta and there was no formal arrangement with the workers to grow crops. But, they grow bananas, spinach etcetera and sell them in the local market. They have a system to maintain record of what they sell date-wise and, at the end of the month, the total money they earn is calculated and deducted from the salary payable.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Mamata Banerjee and her chopper services

In the course of her rule as chief minister in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated a number of helicopter services. An airport has already been set up in Andal and one can take a flight from Kolkata to Andal and from Kolkata to Bolpur.But, people did not go in for it because the helipad was made far away from the main town and one had to hire a car to reach the helipad. Similarly for passengers who arrive from Kolkata. They also faced problems of transport availability. As a result the trips were stopped.
Similarly, the helicopter service from Haldia to Calcutta was discontinued because of lack of passengers to make it a viable operation.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 4 December 2015.

A finance department official in Kolkata explained how the math is skewed against the state government in the case of such chopper services where passenger availability is unpredictable. In his opinion, the Sagar Island-Kolkata chopper service is the only route, among several in the state, that is getting passengers.
The capacity of each chopper is up to seven people and one-way fare for a Kolkata-Sagar Island flight is Rs 1,500 for each passenger. The entire flying time, including return, is close to an hour. With a full load, the total earning for a return trip of seven persons would be Rs 21,000 while the total expenditure would be close to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Very soon there could be cruises on the Ganga in Varanasi

#InlandWaterways #Varanasi #NarendraModi #NitinGadkari If everything goes well, we could very soon see cruises on the Ganga, near Varanasi – the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It would probably bring Varanasi at par with London that has its famous cruises on the Thames. The tentative target to complete this project is 2018-19 – is it scheduled to coincide with the 2nd term of NaMo?
Along with focusing on developing a waterway for heavy cargo vessel navigation in the Ganga under Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP), the Indian Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is also exploring commercial viability of passenger cruise operations - keeping in mind domestic tourists and pilgrims.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 17 June 2015.

The project of developing Inland Waterways had been started way back in 1986. However, it was not a priority project when compared to road transport and rail project. So far, only Rs 1100 crores could be spent on the IW.
Moreover, the minimal depth of waterway was a major deterrent for attracting cargo vessel operators on this route since, only small cargo vessels could be navigated in and that was not commercially viable.
Hence, the project of capacity augmentation will end this problem. Once the DPRs are ready, the actual cost of project would be estimated. It will also help in setting a deadline for the completion of National Waterway-I from Haldia to Allahabad.
With two heavyweight (literally!) ministers assigned by the Prime Minister, one to clean the Ganga (dredging included?) and the other to organize the waterway, one can hope that the 30-year-old project will now be completed. (Image source wikimediacommons.org)

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