Tatas break Odisha ore jam

Calcutta: Tired of waiting for the allocation of a new mine, Tata Steel has decided to feed the resource requirements of its upcoming plant in Odisha from its existing mines.

Tata Steel — the world’s seventh largest steel maker — will light up the first phase of the 3.5-million-tonne plant at Kalinganagar during January-March of 2014 even though the state government has so far failed to come good on its commitment to offer a new mine.

“If a mine is allotted to me today, it will take a minimum of 5-7 years to take it up to production level. So, we will have to start with existing mines at Kalinganagar,” Tata Steel managing director Hemant Nerurkar said earlier this week in Jamshedpur.

The Tatas have four iron ore mines, three in Odisha and one in Jharkhand, supporting the existing Jamshedpur plant, which is being expanded to 10 million tonnes from 7 million tonnes over the next 12 months.

The combined capacity of Tata Steel will go up to 16 million tonnes in the next four years when the capacity of the Odisha plant is expanded to 6 million tonnes, increasing annual demand for iron ore to 26 million tonnes.

According to the memorandum of agreement signed between Odisha and Tata Steel in November 2004, it was supposed to get a mine on lease after spending 25 per cent of the total project cost.

It is going to spend Rs 24,000 crore in the first phase and another Rs 12,000 crore in the second phase. Most of the first phase investment has already been made. “Everyone knows about the size of our existing reserves. It won’t last long. Tata Steel needs new mines soon,” Nerurkar added.

However, the fact that the company is going ahead with commercial production without a new mine, ignoring the medium-term risk of depleting captive resource, marks a strategic shift in the way mineral-based enterprises move forward in implementing new projects.

Observers said companies were beginning to value unencumbered land more than mines when they set up mineral-based industries in India.

“You can still get raw materials such as coal and iron ore from somewhere. But you need land and water to process it,” said an executive with the steel company.

Tata Steel has faced stiff resistance from locals over the Kalinganagar project where 12 people were killed when police opened fire to disperse protesters.

After patiently waiting for years and engaging with the local community through a string of welfare activities, it managed to persuade the squatters to get off the land and then start work on the project.

Couple killed in car crash

A couple, on their way back from a Holi break in Digha, were killed when the Maruti Alto they were travelling in had a flat tyre and fell into a water body on Friday. Three relatives, who were in the rear seat, escaped with minor injuries.

Shambhu Mondal, 50, and wife Namita, 45, residents of Belur, left for Mandarmani and Digha with Namita’s sister Sabita Mondal, her husband Asit Mondal and Namita’s brother Shantinath Naskar on Thursday. “Three of them had come to our home from Sankrail on Holi and planned a trip on the spot,” said the couple’s daughter Sumona, who appears for Higher Secondary this year.

“The accident took place around 4pm at Thakurnagar, 160km from Calcutta. The car was in the lane on the extreme right when the right front tyre burst. The car swerved left and fell into a water body,” said Indrajit Roy, sub-divisional officer of Contai.

Locals opened the rear doors of the car and rescued Sabita, Asit and Shantinath but the front doors were jammed. Shambhu and Namita could be taken out only after the car was pulled out. They were taken to a nursing home, where they were declared dead.

EB need a draw

Calcutta: Nothing seems to be going Kingfisher East Bengal’s way. What with inept refereeing, a maddening schedule and their strikers being out of form, the red and gold brigade have struggled to find their feet in the last two outings.

While they stuttered to a 2-1 win in the IFA Shield opener against Bhowanipore, they succumbed to an unfortunate 0-1 loss to Yemeni club Al-Orouba in the opening match of the AFC Cup.

With Bhowanipore thrashing Lajong FC in the other match of the IFA Shield, East Bengal now need at least a draw against the north-east side to qualify for the next round.

EB would have to do so without Harmanjyot Singh Khabra, who picked up an injury in the AFC Cup match, on Tuesday. Khabra may be replaced by Saikat Saha Roy. It was learnt that Alvito D’Cunha may get some playing time after being on the bench for the last two matches.

Coach Trevor James Morgan was apparently miffed since he was not informed that Friday’s match against Lajong was deferred by a day. He came to know of the postponement only after he arrived for practice at the East Bengal Ground at 7 am, on Thursday.

A counsellor spoke to the team at the training session on Friday morning to help bring about some change in their approach to the game.

Bengal fumble in final

Calcutta: Bengal women lost to Kerala in the 14th National Youth Volleyball Championship final, at the SAI courts, here on Monday.

The Bengal team failed to reproduce the kind of verve they showed during the semi-final victory against Haryana, on Sunday. They lost to the Kerala 12-25, 20-25, 16-25.

Bengal had their task cut out as the Kerala team towered over them. Moreover, their libero proved to be the weakest link as she failed to cover much ground.

Bengal did provide some resistance in the second and third games, but failed to sustain the pressure. At one stage in the second game, Bengal were leading 15-10, but Kerala worked their way back to win the game 25-20. In the third game, Kerala broke Bengal’s serve and then held their own for 13 consecutive points. By then, it was all too late!

Having stood third in last year’s tournament, Monday’s result is definitely a step forward. A fact acknowledged by Bengal captain Kamalika Debnath.

Kamalika said, “Our defence failed us. But they were too good. One must remember that they’re much older than us”.

“We hope to win next year’s meet.” added the 1st year Arts student.

Juhi Shaw, playing as a setter for the team, impressed with her performance. The class 11 student displayed tremendous innovation on court and is definitely one to watch out for in the future.

She seemed gracious, even in defeat, when she said, “It’s sad. But I’m happy to be playing in the final…”

In the men’s category, Kerala failed to capitalise, in the closely fought encounter, after clinching the first game 25-15. UP fought their way back early in the second game as they churned out winners from audacious angles.

That their first serve was lethal, helped. Moreover, UP’s libero positioned himself in brilliant areas to negate all that the Kerala setters and attackers had to offer.

Results

Men’s final: Uttar Pradesh bt Kerala 15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21. Third place play-off: Tamil Nadu bt Karnataka 20-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 15-10.

Women’s final: Kerala bt Bengal 25-12, 25-20, 25-16. Third place play-off: Tamil Nadu bt Haryana 25-23, 25-11, 25-22.

Chhetri gets interim bail

AMRI Hospitals managing director Mani Chhetri, 91, has been granted interim bail but Pronab Dasgupta, the other doctor-member of the board behind bars, will remain in police custody till February 6.

The judicial custody of directors S.K. Todi and D.N. Agarwal, lodged in Alipore Central jail, has been extended till February 16.

Three other directors — Manish Goenka, Prashant Goenka and Ravi Todi — moved the high court for bail on Wednesday. Two others, R.S. Goenka and R.S. Agarwal, had done so earlier.

The Alipore chief judicial magistrate, C.H. Karim, allowed bail till February 16 to Chhetri because of his health. The doctor has been in the intensive coronary care unit of SSKM Hospital since his arrest on January 27.

The bail has been granted against a surety of Rs 20,000 and with the condition that Chhetri could not leave Calcutta and would have to hand over his passport to the investigating officer.

Chhetri’s lawyer Samaraditya Pal said the 91-year-old doctor had been suffering from serious illnesses, which had been mentioned in the report submitted by SSKM Hospital. “In the past seven days, Chhetri had suffered internal haemorrhage, causing blood-clots in his hands. It may turn out to be fatal if the haemorrhage attacks his brain.”

Pal said the prosecution had wrongly claimed that Chhetri did not bother to visit the hospital the day the fire broke out. “He rushed to the spot around 5am, as soon as he came to know of the incident. He spoke to fire brigade officers and the director of medical education and told them to take all kinds of measures to save patients’ lives.”

Pal claimed that Chhetri was not managing director of the hospital when the fire broke out. “He had resigned in March 2011.” AMRI sources, however, later told Metro that he was at the helm when the fire broke out.

Opposing the bail plea, public prosecutor Shaktinath Bhattacharya submitted that the police were concerned about Chhetri’s health. “He was promptly admitted to the SSKM ICCU after he complained of chest pain. Let him be there under the observation of doctors. If his health improves within seven days, the stipulated duration of police custody, the police will interrogate him with the permission of doctors. He may be taken to some places from where crucial documents could be recovered.”

Bhattacharya also referred to Chhetri’s petition which stated that he looked after healthcare at AMRI Dhakuria. “The safety of the patients falls under the hospital’s healthcare system.”

After listening to both sides, the magistrate granted interim bail to Chhetri. “He (Chhetri) cannot be made ambulant at this moment. He needs to be under close observation of doctors,” he read out from the order around 9.30pm, some four hours after the hearing ended.

Chhetri’s son Milan, a doctor at a private hospital, thanked chief minister Mamata Banerjee following the order.

Arguing for Pronab Dasgupta’s bail, Tapen Roychowdhury said his client needed special care as both his knees had been replaced. “If granted bail, he won’t flee or tamper with evidence. Besides, he was supposed to perform surgeries on a number of patients. At the least, he should be allowed to sleep on an orthopaedic bed, which he requires,” Roychowdhury said.

Arranging an orthopaedic bed would not be possible for the police, replied the public prosecutor. “If Dasgupta’s family wants to provide it, we have no objection.”

The police custody of AMRI officials Preeta Banerjee and Sajid Hossain has been extended till February 6. The judicial custody of two others, Satyabrata Upadhyay and Sanjib Pal, has been extended till February16.

A tale of two distinct cities

One is a city of paradoxes, the other in a state of constant celebration. If Amit Chaudhuri finds little in common between Calcutta and London, author Craig Taylor thinks the “city of proximity” harks back to a London of earlier times.

Monday’s evening session, Dickens @200: Tales of Two Cities — London, Calcutta, at the Calcutta Literary Meet in association with The Telegraph, opened with the question whether Calcutta could be turned into London, as promised by the Mamata Banerjee government.

“Calcutta reminds me of other cities but London wasn’t one that sprang to mind. Calcutta at one time used to remind me of New York, when I saw it in 1979 and when it was economically not doing well and was a dangerous and disreputable city but had an enigmatically thriving cultural life,” said Chaudhuri, whose next book is on Calcutta.

Taylor, the editor of literary magazine Five Dials and the author of Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now — As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It and Long for It, said Calcutta seemed like “a city of proximity” from what he had seen of the city in a day.

For Chaudhuri, Calcutta is a city of paradoxes — of dirtiness and despair and decay but with a thriving culture — but which didn’t become part of a global alchemy that was changing cities across the world.

Sujata Sen, the moderator for the talk and the director (east India) British Council, which was hosting the session said: “I guess you see the ugliness first before you get to the good parts of the city.”

Taylor said, from what he had gathered from secondary sources, Calcutta probably resembled “London of a previous era”. For Taylor, a city like London cannot be generalised. He spoke about how some people found London shackling while others had travelled all the way across the world to be a part of it.

“I have always been bemused by the I Heart New York T-shirts. I don’t think they would work in London…. I don’t know about Calcutta but I probably think there are no I Heart Calcutta T-shirts (here) either,” said Taylor.

Chaudhuri called London a city in a constant state of celebration, like Mumbai. Calcutta, for him, was a city “without direction or definition”, one that he loved but one with which he felt an intellectual disconnect. He also rued that the Bengali language has been marginalised.

“I value London because a lot of support I got as a writer happened there. People here are not interested in a whole lot of writing … you get more of that outside,” Chaudhuri said.

On Sen’s request, Chaudhuri read a piece on Calcutta that he wrote in 2010, where he spoke about the disconnect he felt with the city while Taylor read a chapter from his book Londoners on a finance guy’s view of London.

Taylor told Metro the Calcutta Book Fair was different from others he had been to since there was “actual excitement about books”.

Run to send girl to class – Half Marathon from Red Road on Sunday

Aavirash Mitra, a Class XI student of La Martiniere for Boys, will put on his running shoes this Sunday so that some less fortunate youngster can go to school.

Thousands of Calcuttans are gearing up to forsake their Sunday nap to join the Amity Calcutta Half Marathon 2012, The Royal Bengal Run, in association with The Telegraph, on February 5.

The 14km run (see map above) will start from Red Road at 7am and participants will return to the same spot at the end.

With over 7,500 registrations already received and more pouring in from companies, NGOs, schools and colleges, the event is tipped to beat last year’s success run. “Last year, we had over 8,000 participants and this year we are expecting a footfall of over 15,000 with people registering online as well as through campaigns in malls and forms available at NIIT and Amity,” says Ankita Chakravarty Bhattacharya, the associate dean, Amity, Calcutta.

“The likes of Tata Interactive Services and BPCL and over 20 NGOs like Hope Foundation and Smile Foundation have made bulk bookings. More are looking to join hands with us. Colleges like Scottish Church, St. Xavier’s and Loreto are also taking part,” the Amity dean said.

With the registration fee only Rs 100 and no age limit for participants, the aim, feels Ankita, is to “reunite Calcuttans from all walks, across all ages to spread awareness for an important cause”.

It is for this cause — highlighting the importance of empowering and educating needy girl children through Amitasha, a chain of schools for the underprivileged — that Aavirash and his friend Darpan will join the run. “We were told about the Half Marathon by our principal. It is not an easy distance, but the fact that every Rs 100 will make a difference to a needy person’s life will make it easier. I know a lot of students from my school are also gearing up,” Aavirash said.

Non-athletes and non-participants can take part in the Dream Run — a 4km stretch that will ensure easy participation for even the most unfit enthusiast!

Veteran footballer Prasun Banerjee, who will be running alongside Maidan mates past (Manas Bhattacharya) and present (Mehtab Hossain), said: “Calcutta supports cricket, football, hockey and every other sport. We should support the marathon with equal enthusiasm. The cause is excellent and I feel every Calcuttan should take part. I am proud to be a part of it.”

Gadgets gone from flier bag – Lufthansa passenger reports theft

A Dell mobile phone, a Blu-ray player, an iPad keyboard, case and stylus and a toiletry kit went missing from the check-in baggage of a passenger who arrived in the city by a Lufthansa flight from Boston on January 26.

Dipanjan Purkayastha, the vice-president of an MNC, discovered the theft only after reaching home because the locks were intact when he collected the luggage from the conveyor belt.

Purkayastha, who flew to the city via Frankfurt, immediately mailed his complaint to the airline, only to receive a standard reply that “did not reflect any enthusiasm on the part of the airline in tracing the lost items”.

Metro has earlier reported several cases of baggage theft and damage at Calcutta airport.

Both the suitcases — one black and the other brown — Purkayastha had checked in had been locked and neither showed any sign of tampering. It was only after he opened the suitcases on reaching home that he realised that some items were missing.

While unpacking, Purkayastha noticed a box of video game cartridges shoved inside a zipper flap. “I remembered having kept the box inside the suitcase. The person who rummaged through the bag must have thought the cartridges wouldn’t be of much help and shoved them into the pouch. The zipper was broken.”

Most of the missing items were gifts Purkayastha had bought for his family and so were brand new. A toiletry kit that went missing along with the rest of the items contained a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power razor ($11) and Matrix Biolage hair serum ($20) among other things.

As soon as he realised that some items were missing, Purkayastha started calling the offices of the airline but did not receive any response since January 26 was a holiday. “I sent them an e-mail narrating my experience and with a list of the missing items,” he said.

The response came around 30 hours later and that too only after Purkayastha had finally managed to contact the airline over the phone. “The response was a mere formality. The airline is trying to shirk responsibility.”

“After thorough investigation, Lufthansa could not find any indication that Purkayastha’s baggage had been mishandled or opened during his travel from Boston to Calcutta,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said.

“On his arrival, Purkayastha acknowledged the receipt of his checked-in baggage in an unopened and undamaged condition. Any complaint regarding baggage handling, loss of items or damage, must be reported immediately on arrival, as stipulated by international treaties,” the spokesperson said.

Film with city cast in Oscar race

A film shot almost entirely in Calcutta, and featuring mostly a Bengali cast and crew that included Arindam Sil as executive producer and actor, has been nominated for this year’s Oscars.

Raju, made by Germany’s Hamburg Media School, is in contention for the Best Short Film (Live Action) at the 84th Academy Awards, to be given out at the Kodak Theatre on February 26. The nomination was announced on Tuesday.

The film revolves around a German couple who come to Calcutta and adopt an orphaned boy. City lad Krish Gupta essayed the title role.

Besides Tolly actor Sil in production and acting roles, the 24-minute film has Suchismita Dasgupta as its costume designer.

“I can’t believe it,” was how Sil reacted when Metro shared the Oscar news with him. “I knew we were making something special but an Oscar nomination is really incredible news,” he gushed.

Director Max Zahle and producer Stefan Gieren had zeroed in on Calcutta after their research revealed illegal child adoption was rampant in the city. “Although they were film students, it was a huge learning experience for all of us in the methodical way they approached the film,” recounted Sil.

Raju has already won many accolades and awards, including the Bronze Medal at the Student Academy Awards.

Calcutta has become a regular feature at the Oscars. In 2008, Salim Baba, a documentary about a roving Cinemawallah from Marcus Road, was nominated for an Oscar. In 2004, Born Into Brothels, a look at kids in Calcutta’s red-light district, won the academy award for Best Documentary.

City woos ‘suitable boy’ – VIKRAM SETH AND THE TALE OF TWO FESTS

Q: What does Calcutta have that Jaipur doesn’t?

A: Vikram Seth.

Another star-studded chapter of the Jaipur Literature Festival has ended and the Calcutta Literary Meet is set to debut from January 26 to 31, in association with The Telegraph.

But this coming together of writer and reader on the Calcutta Book Fair grounds might have remained a dream had it not been for an email, two months ago, signed “Vikram”.

“We wrote to so many authors, almost all of them sent their polite regrets. On November 24, we got in touch with literary agent David Godwin for Vikram Seth, not even daring to hope. But within three hours, a mail landed in my BlackBerry in exceptionally large font size, signed ‘Vikram’,” revealed Malabika Banerjee of Gameplan, the organisers of the Lit Meet.

So, what clinched it for Milan Mela over Diggi Palace for the author of A Suitable Boy?

“Vikram told us he had very fond memories of Calcutta, he had grown up here and he would love to come here, not only to be a part of the Literary Meet but to enjoy Calcutta as well,” Malavika revealed.

But ask the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival and they suggest a walkover rather than a tug-of-war over the boy from Batanagar.

“Penguin told us about his new book [The Rivered Earth] two months ago but we had used up our travel budget by then,” said festival co-director William Dalrymple.

“But we said we would love to have him if he was in India. He said he was in London and at that time the Calcutta Literary Meet popped up and offered to pay his fare, so they got him. Fair enough.”

With Seth on board, the story in Calcutta changed and how!

Come Thursday, the literary meet will embark on its maiden journey with over 30 sessions spread over six days, featuring authors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Italy, France, England, America and more, apart from city writers in English as well as Bengali — and a top draw called Imran Khan.

Seth will inaugurate the meet and discuss his works with author Ruchir Joshi on January 26. On the closing day, January 31, he will sit in conversation with his mother Leila Seth, a retired judge and author.

Seth, often described as India’s greatest contemporary writer, is in India from his home in Salisbury, England, for a little over a month, of which three weeks were devoted to Delhi and some 10 days kept aside “for enjoying” Calcutta.

“It’s great news for the city that an author of the stature of Vikram Seth is coming for the first Literary Meet. I have loved reading his books, now I can’t wait to see him in person,” said young city author Devapriya Roy.

In both January 2009 and 2011, Jaipur was in Seth’s itinerary. In 2009, he ran foul of local Hindi newspapers, who went after him with front-page editorials for sipping a glass of wine during a session.

The next year, Seth, who even friends describe as a “gregarious hermit”, gave the Jaipur jamboree a miss. He was back in 2011, sipping from a glass and insisting that it was “Coca-Cola”, tongue firmly in cheek.

It is not known if a Jaipur organiser, on condition of anonymity, was being tongue in cheek when asked on Tuesday if Seth was missed this year. “With 258 authors around, how can anyone be missed?”

The shadow — or spur — of Jaipur was on Mamata Banerjee’s lips too. Inaugurating the 36th International Calcutta Book Fair on Tuesday, the chief minister said: “This is the first time that a literary meet is happening in the city. It has happened in Jaipur but never in Calcutta… Shuru holo, shesh jeno na hoy…. I hope we will be able to continue with it every year.