Kolkata confidential

The Left Front government is in a fix over a proposal sent by Union Home Ministry to name Belgachia Metro station after legendary poet Nazrul Islam.

One legend,two stations
The Left Front government is in a fix over a proposal sent by Union Home Ministry to name Belgachia Metro station after legendary poet Nazrul Islam. The proposal to name the station either as Nazrultirtha or Nazrul Bhavan was originally mooted by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. But it is gathering dust at the Department of Information and Culture,which is headed by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,as the state government is yet to figure out what to do with it after Trinamool Congress chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee named Garia Metro station as Kavi Nazrul station. The officers at the Writers Buildings are wondering whether there can be two Metro stations in the city named after the same person.

Didis speed naming session
EVERYONE is aware of Railways Minister Mamata Banerjees ability in coming up with new trains. However,very few know that the minister has unparalleled skills in naming the trains something which amazes railway officials and her party workers too. At a recent function at Howrah Station where Banerjee announced six new trains,she also came up with four new names for four different trains within minutes after the programme began. While she named the Howrah-Purulia Bi-Weekly Express as Lal Mati Express after the red soil found in the region,the Howrah-Haridwar Express was rechristened as Kumbh Express after the Kumbh Mela. She also named Kolkata-Bikaner Weekly Express as Pratap Express after Rana Pratap and Sealdah-Amritsar Weekly Express after Jalianwala Bagh. A Trinamool MP,who was present there,came out praising the leader for giving four new names in three minutes.

Basu,dead or alive?
THE rumour that kept both the Writers Buildings and Kalighat (Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjees residence) abuzz on Friday evening was the health of veteran CPM leader Jyoti Basu. After the 96-year-old Communist patriarch was admitted to a city hospital,everyone from Trinamool leaders to state government officials made calls to private hospital,newspaper offices and their mediapersons to know the truth,as there were rumours floating that Basu has died. Despite the medical bulletins,issued by the hospital,making it clear that Basus condition was stable,yet many found it hard to believe. Arre,someone told us that he is dead. And we almost believed the news because he is very old and sick. Ultimately,our leader Mamata Banerjee met him at the hospital and cleared the air, said a senior Trinamool leader.

Bengali babu for Mamata
Having waited for almost seven months after being sworn in as the Railways Minister,Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has finally zeroed in on a private secretary. A 2000-batch West Bengal cadre officer,Santanu Basu,currently posted as the District Magistrate of Purulia in West Bengal,will take over as Banerjees PS at a Deputy Secretary-level post. While intense lobbying was on among IAS officers to get appointed to this post,what apparently clinched the matter for Basu was his Bengal background. The minister,sources said,was keen to get an officer who would have hands-on experience of the state,given the time and energy she spends on Bengal. Basu will now join two other Bengal-origin officers,OSD Goutam Sanyal and Executive Director (Public Grievances) J K Saha,in Mamatas core team.

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