Buddha dare not speak here: 75 strikes in Kerala already this year and losing count

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s remark against bandhs may be politically very incorrect for his comrades but, factually, it couldn’t have been more accurate.

Ask Rodiya, the mother stranded at the Thiruvananthapuram railway station barely eight days ago when Left unions called a 24-hour hartal — not a bandh since bandhs were effectively banned by the Kerala High Court in 1997 against the “economic policies of the Centre.”

Rodiya, from Kottayam, got the news that her five-year-old son had died. Roads being blocked, she rushed to the railway station where citing the “neoliberal” policies of the Centre, a group of comrades squatted on the tracks. Her tears were of little help. Kottayam is barely three hours away from Thiruvananthapuram but Rodiya reached her home only late evening and that, too, under police protection.

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To clear Mamata’s block, Buddha may hike land rate

Underlining that he was committed to the reforms that he has been pushing in his state, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee indicated here today that he’s ready with an economic “package” for those farmers of Singur whose refusal to accept land compensation has put a cloud over the Tata Motors’ Nano plant.

“There are some genuine farmers who still do not want to give their land,” Bhattacharjee told members of Assocham and local chambers. “The government has a moral responsibility for them. The government is ready with a package for them and we are ready to discuss that package.”

Sources said the “package” would include enhanced financial compensation for Singur farmers. It would benefit all land losers those who have accepted their compensation cheques and those who haven’t and is said to cost an extra Rs 30-40 crore. Bhattacharjee said the government had deposited the unclaimed compensation amount estimated at about Rs 28 crore with the Calcutta High Court.

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To guard public health in emergency, Centre plans to change the Law

The Health Ministry is working on a Bill which, if all goes to plan, will place public health in times of natural disasters, epidemic outbreaks and acts of terror in the Concurrent List before the end of this year, giving the Centre the power to independently promulgate laws and lay down rules. Public health is so far a state subject, exclusively in the domain of state governments.

The recent outbreak of avian flu in West Bengal has convinced the Ministry that more powers need to be vested with the Centre. “During the avian flu outbreak, Panchayat elections were due in West Bengal. So the state government could not take certain steps which were necessary in those circumstances. The Ministry could not intervene as health is a state subject. Though the Health Ministry had for long felt the need to bring health under its control, this incident highlighted the urgency for such an amendment,” a senior Health Ministry official told The Indian Express.

The Bill being drafted by the Ministry will also lay down guidelines to be followed in case of natural disasters and epidemics. The Public Health Bill 2007 aims “to provide, prevent, control and manage epidemics or dangerous epidemic diseases, acts of bio terrorism and threats there of”.

The draft of the proposed Bill has already been examined by a Parliamentary committee and a Cabinet note has also been circulated. The proposed Bill is likely to be discussed in the forthcoming session of the House.

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