In brief

Fresh bids for Rs 130-cr Ganga cruise project in Jan 2010
The Rs 130-crore Ganga Heritage River Cruise project in West Bengal may become a reality soon as the state government has agreed to the demands of private investors and is all set to issue new bids by mid-January. “The Centre and the state have agreed to the changes sought by them (investors). There will be re-tendering held for the river cruise project in mid-January. This time we expect a better response,” said West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director T V N Rao.

Polio-stricken UNICEF campaigner wins award
Abandoned by his parents at the three after he was struck by polio and taken care of at Mother Teresa’s orphanage here,UNICEF’s polio eradication campaigner Goutam Lewis’ life has turned a full circle since he won the ‘Asian Who’s Who’ Charity award. Lewis (23),was in Kolkata to take part in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative,a partnership of UNICEF,the World Health Organization,Rotary International and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “To get the ‘Asian Who’s Who’ Charity Award,2008 is indeed a great leveller for a person like me,”he said.