Restrain in the Carnage Zone
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy, however, said the police were exercising extreme restraint since the government did not want any recurrence of the March 14 incident -- when 14 people were killed, over a hundred injured and women allegedly raped after police opened fire to quell a mob protesting the proposed takeover of agricultural land for a SEZ.
What a joke, ask the victims!
Police is exercising restrain so it has been from the beginning.
Does the Home secretary accept the role of Buddha`s gestapo thus? Police is not there to maintain law and order but it works like a helping domestic hand for the people in Power! thus it is almost no mystery why the proposed ( and later scarpped facing Ressistance unbound ) SEZ was scrapped after the March 14 mayhem but Nandigram continued to simmer.
Buddha`s cadre Power is concentrating on nandigram. He is running very fast on the one way track of capitalist development and people like Laxaman Seth do not hesitate to clear the green fields for industrialisation and urbanisation!
It is quite a mystery why the centre could not intervene while nandigram is transformed into an international focal point!
No one knows what happened to the ten armed CPIM Cadres arrested in Khejuri by CBI. Judicial activism seems not enough to make things better in West Bengal! People are unhappy that CBI enquiry into the mayhem of March 14 at Nandigram has proved to be unproductive. There are 1,960 false cases slapped against innocent villagers of Nandigram and despite requests the cases are not being withdrawn by the administration. Almost, 600 supporters of Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee are still out of their homes and no step is being taken by the administration to rehabilitate them.Finally, the Congress leaders also pointed out that at least 27 villagers are still missing from Nandigram, Sonachura, Jalpai, Rainagar and Gokulnagar, since March 14. "We apprehend they must have been killed by the CPI(M) cadres, let the administration first find them before talking of peace," said State CLP leader Manas Bhuniya.
Whatever may come, Bhopal Gas tragedy has to be escalated and Hiroshima nagasaki should be imported! The central UPA government brethes with leftist oxyzen and the life support has to continue. Nevertheless, Buddha has got the shoes of Manmohan singh and it fits most! The introvert, die-hard Congresman, Somen Mitra is upset with the Congress leadership in the State and at the Centre. And Somen Mitra firmly believes that Congress has to be "cleansed" to get back to its glorious days in Bengal.Disgusted with the leaders for not launching any political movement in Bengal, Somen Mitra and his men are indicating that if things do not fall in place they would continuing with the movement withinn the Congress so that it can be revived to fight the CPI(M) in Kolkata.Add to this Congress’ inactivity in the last one year. Ever since, Pranab Mukherjee resigned as PCC president after the May 2006 Assembly polls, the AICC has not yet selected the next party chief of Bengal. Left rudderles, the Congress has become inactive in Bengal.As Somen pointed out that unlike the CPI(M) which is a cadre-based party, the Congress is a mass-based outfit. So if it loses connection with the people, the result would be "disastrious". According to insiders, there was tremendous pressure on Somen Mitra from the leaders of the distirct Congress to take steps and make right noises so that it is heard by the AICC high command, which has been neglecting for nine years now.
With tension still simmering at Nandigarm, the scene of the March 14 police firing on villagers protesting land acquistion for an SEZ, the Roman Catholic Church in Kolkata has stepped in with a peace initiative, offering to mediate between the warring sides.Govt struggles to calm Nandigram despite the policy decision to shift the chemical hub from there.Police has been instructed to act with caution at Nandigram in East Midnapore district following the violence which claimed one life yesterday over the land acquisition issue.
The Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on his part has refused to comment on the violence. The BJP on their part staged a walk out in the Lok Sabha to protest over the issue.
The fourth peace-meeting at Nandigram failed to take off at Tamluk on Sunday with Trinamool Congress, SUCI, BJP and the Congress refusing to participate as the agenda of the peace meeting did not include discussion on the situation in Nandigram.Till late night on Saturday, it looked that after three successive failed peace-committee meetings – February 19, February 22 and March 10 – the opposition parties were finally ready to attend the fourth one on Sunday to clinch several issues that they feel immediately need to be addressed by the state administration.
But it was Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee who pulled the chain on Sunday late morning when she came to know that despite repeated requests by the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, the letter sent from the district administration to the political parties only mentioned discussion on the general law and order situation in East Midnapore and not on Nandigram.
In a telephonic conversation, Mamata told Trinamool Congress District President Sisir Adhikari on Sunday to immediately write a letter to DIG Ramesh Babu, who called the peace-meeting, saying that it would not be possible for Trinamool to attend unless changes were made in the agenda. Coming to know of the Trinamool stand, SUCI, BJP and the Congress followed suit and abstained from the peace-meeting.
Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee leader and Trinamool MLA Suvendu Adhikari said there were several factors that need to be addressed before a congenial atmosphere for the peace meeting could be created in Nandigram.
"It is almost 90 days now that farmers are being prevented to carry their produce out of Nandigram to the markets of Haldia by the CPI(M) cadres. This blockade is causing immense trouble to them. And no steps are being taken to arrest those involved in the Nandigram killings. If this is the situation how do you expect the people to have faith in peace meetings?" asked Trinamool District Vice-President Chittaranjan Maity.
In Kolkata, both Congress and Trinamool Congress Monday blocked roads to protest the violence in Nandigram.
Nandigram was on edge Monday with reports of nightlong bombings and firings, a day after clashes over land acquisition killed at least one person in the trouble-torn West Bengal area.Though the proposed special economic zone (SEZ) has been scrapped, tension continues in the East Midnapore constituency that turned bloody again Sunday, following attempts by the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to regain control of the area from its adjoining base Khejuri.According to villagers in Nandigram, in the national spotlight since January when clashes killed six people, bombings continued and sporadic skirmishes were occurring since Sunday night.
'There is tension in Nandigram Block II areas like Keyakhali, Ranichawk, Satangabari and Brindabanchawk under Block I. There were bombings last night and the area can erupt any moment,' Abdus Samad, leader of the anti-acquisition Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), told IANS.
Though officially, one person has died and five seriously injured with bullet wounds in the clashes between BUPC and CPI-M, another person was also allegedly killed in Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata.
In parts of Kolkata earlier, traffic cam to a stand still as Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress resorted to a 'raasta roko'. Protesters were seen squatting on many arterial roads and important crossings, protesting against violence at Nandigram.
There has been widespread criticism over the lack of immediate police intervention. Today PR Roy, secretary for State internal affaire answered that, “they didn’t want a repeat of incidents such as those of March 14th”. On that day police erupted in the area provoking clashes with at least 14 dead. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, premier of western Bengala, subsequently declared that the Indonesian Salimi Group‘s industrial zone would no longer be located in Nandigram. But this has failed to calm protests, because many of the farmers and their families had already been thrown from their lands.
Yesterday’s incident was the latest in a series of clashes. The communist government aims to expropriate lands, paying farmers low compensation to then sell them on at a profit to realize the building of an industrial zone. The farmers responded by chasing police and activists from the land and erecting barriers to stop evictions.
On the other hand,the finance and commerce ministry seem to be at loggerheads over the issue of of introducing an additional export obligation. The eGoM on SEZs had said that in addition to the existing criteria requiring SEZ units to be net foreign exchange earners, it should be examined whether another obligation requiring units to export goods equal to the value of inputs bought by them from the domestic tariff area (DTA)could be imposed. When an export obligation is imposed on a unit, it is committed to carry out exports - depending on the level of obligation imposed - in return for the various concessions.
The finance ministry feels the current export obligation requiring SEZ units to be net foreign exchange earners is not enough to ensure adequate exports.
The commerce ministry, however, believes the net foreign exchange criteria should be enough provided checks are introduced to rule out foul play. The govt says police intervention has brought the situation under control. The state's Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said that the situation worsened on Monday, adding that due to the police intervention the situation had been brought under control.He added that police was asked not to enter the villages in Nandigram, since the government was expecting strong resistance there.
Commerce ministry officials said they realised the need to prevent misuse of rules. One possible misuse could be that an SEZ unit could set up a subsidiary in the DTA and source goods from it with the DTA unit claiming concessions in lieu of the deemed exports made to the SEZ unit.
To prevent such cases, the commerce ministry has suggested that in case a DTA unit is fulfilling its export obligation by supplying goods to an SEZ unit, the value of sales should be added to the SEZ unit's export obligation.
The finance ministry argues there could be units that are not importing at all, and which would not have to export anything if the export obligation is restricted to units being net foreign exchange earners.
Left will not pull out of UPA: Karat
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Left_will_not_pull_out_of_UPA_Karat/articleshow/1977228.cms
Bengala communists at war with the farmers in the Carnage Zone of Nandigram.Guns and home-made bombs were used during clashes in Nandigram between Communist Party activists and farmers. Dozens wounded and at least one person was left dead, while the police failed to intervene. The communist government convokes party members, while the opposition asks the central government to intervene. .
People are unhappy that CBI enquiry into the mayhem of March 14 at Nandigram has proved to be unproductive. There are 1,960 false cases slapped against innocent villagers of Nandigram and despite requests the cases are not being withdrawn by the administration. Almost, 600 supporters of Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee are still out of their homes and no step is being taken by the administration to rehabilitate them.
CPM and CPI's diametrically opposite views on support to the UPA government came out in the open on Sunday as CPM general secretary Prakash Karat ruled out withdrawal of support to the Congress-led coalition at the Centre. In a wide-ranging interview to a news agency, dealing with issues from UP election, Nandigram and Singur to Indo-US nuclear deal and price rise. Though Karat said Left was working towards "third alternative", he clearly stated, "The CPM has not considered withdrawal of support to the UPA government....
Admitting that Nandigram was a mistake, Karat said the state government should learn from that episode. But he dismissed claims that CPM and Left were losing its base. However, he reiterated that the Tata car project in Singur would go ahead since fair compensation was given to land owners, sharecroppers and other dependents on land. There was no coercion, he added.
Talking of industrialisation in West Bengal, Karat said, "Our party and the Left Front government are committed to strengthening the agricultural base and develop industry. But in case land acquisition is to take place, it should be done only with the consent of the people and by providing adequate compensation and rehabilitation."
Unhappy with changes made in the SEZ Act, Karat said CPM was pressing for more changes. Denying that CPM had differing stands on SEZ in West Bengal and Delhi, Karat said, "We have only one stand."
Tension Simmering
'Till now our official toll is one (19-year-old CPI-M supporter Dilip Mondal of Gokulnagar of Nandigram) because we have not found the body of another person-Mohitosh Karan, who was allegedly killed (by BUPC),' said Inspector General of Police (law and order) Raj Kanojia.
'No fresh clash was reported since 12 noon Sunday,' Kanojia told IANS amid television footage of people throwing bombs and moving around with firearms.
According to reports, several houses were set on fire in an area bordering Nandigram.
Police could not enter the troubled spots yet, reports said. Both the warring groups - BUPC and CPI-M - alleged that police were playing the role of a mute spectator.
Home Secretary P R Roy said, "The situation has worsened since yesterday because of fresh violence. Due to timely intervention by the police, the situation was controlled. Otherwise, it could have been much more serious.”
He was briefing reporters after a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to review the situation at Nandigram. Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb and Director General of Police A B Bhora were also present at the meeting.
The state government, he said, has informed the centre of the prevailing situation at Nandigram. Asked why the police did not enter the villages, he said they were instructed to be more restrained. "We do not want a repeat of March 14 incident. There is likely to be strong resistance if the police entered the villages at Nandigram", he said. The state administration, he said, was trying to convene another all-party meeting to restore peace and normalcy in the area. Roy, said he has not received any report from the hospital but "I am told that one person was killed and about 10 persons were injured in yesterday's violence". Nandigram remained tense today as sporadic clashes erupted between the CPI (M) and supporters of the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) on Sunday spearheading the anti-land acquisition agitation, official sources said.
Asked whether the police will enter the villages to control the situation, West Bengal Home Secretary said, "If the police enter the villages, there is likely to be strong resistance. The police have been told to act with much restraint. We do not want a repeat of the March 14 incident."
"I am told that one person was killed, one was missing and 10 persons were injured in yesterday's violence," he said.
He said the fresh violence deteriorated the situation at Nandigram. "Due to timely intervention by the police, the situation was controlled. Otherwise, it could have been much more serious."
The state government, he said, has informed the Centre of the situation prevailing at Nandigram.
The state administration, he said, was also trying to convene another all-party meeting to restore peace.
The Home Secretary was briefing reporters after a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to review the situation at Nandigram.
Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb and Director General of Police A B Bhora were also present.
Tension prevailed at Nandigram following the clashes between CPI(M) and supporters of the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), spearheading the anti land acquisition agitation, official sources said.
"We are ready to mediate. We have sought an appointment with the Home Secretary next week for this," Fr IP Sarto, spokesman of the church Seva Kendra in Kolkata, said the agency.Archbishop of Kolkata Lucas Sircar, Bishop of Baruipur Salvadore Lobo and Bishop of Asansol Cyprian Monis have lent full support to the Kendra's initiatives.The Kendra has begun a camp at the trouble-torn Sonachura under Nandigram block since Good Friday. The camp is at present offering trauma counselling to the families affected in the violence on March 14.
Fr Sarto, who visited the affected areas along with a team comprising clergy and lay volunteers, said that most of the familes, especially children, were still traumatised after the March 14 firing and the violent incidents that followed.
Nearly 100 familes in the area have so far approached the camp for its services, Sarto said.
He said that those managing the camp have been instructed to offer "whatever protection they can" to the villagers in the event of further violence. "The police are not entering the area and the villagers are very vulnerable."
The Seva Kendra was also looking at possibilities of providing material relief to the affected villagers of Nandigram. "We approached the state relief minister, but he said his department could intervene only during natural disasters. So we are looking into what best can be done to give some relief to the villagers."
While the opposition-led BUPC, which includes parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Congress and Jamiat Ulama-i Hind, was consolidating itself, the CPI-M was launching attacks from the side of Khejuri, where some Nandigram refugees are living in camps.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has been requesting the opposition to thrash out a peace initiative to restore normalcy but the Trinamool Congress has trashed the offer demanding that the CPI-M should first stop violence in the area from Khejuri.
Addressing a press meet in Kolkata Sunday, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee demanded the intervention of the president and the prime minister to end violence.
'The government here has made no efforts to restore peace. Instead the chief minister is making threatening statements. In Khejuri, all our supporters have had to flee from the area,' she said.
The CPI-M maintains that Sunday's violence was triggered by the opposition to keep the issue alive as the SEZ project had been long scrapped.
Thousands of people are still homeless as sporadic violence continues despite the chief minister's assurance that no land would be acquired in the area for any project.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday, had sought the Prime Minister's intervention to stop "atrocities" on people in the area.
She questioned why violence was continuing in Nandigram if a chemical hub was not going to be set up there as announced by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
NDA walks out of Parliament over Nandigram violence
New Delhi, Apr 30: The Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) walked out of the Lok Sabha on Monday, demanding the Centre's intervention in Nandigram over the issue of forced land acquisition for the setting up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the latest incident of Nandigram showed that there is ''state-sponsored terrorism'' in West Bengal.
Malhotra accused West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya for creating war like situation in his state.
Two persons died in Nandigram on Sunday after fresh clashes erupted between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists and Bhum Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), which is spearheaded by the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Tension continues to prevail in the area.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee has sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention.
An NDA delegation is expected to meet President A P J Abdul Kalam to apprise him of the situation there.
Sheikh Taheer, an activist of the "Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee" (Committee to Prevent Farmland Acquisition), alleged that CPI (M) party workers from neighbouring Khejuri village were involved in Sunday violence.
"Nandigram is a peaceful place. They bring people here from Khejuri to unsettle the situation here and instil fear among the people. A boy from here named Prakash was injured," he said.
Mamta remains adamant about her party's non-participation in all-party talks proposed by Bhattacharjee for the peaceful resolution of the issue.
"The State Government is not interested in peace talks. The government has not convened a peace talk. It is the local leaders, who are the murderers. After the massacre in Nandigram, why has the administration allowed the CPI-M cadres to fire?" Mamta told reporters.
Bhattacharjee had earlier this month announced plans for the setting up of three industrial projects, but said rehabilitation would be a concern.
Soon after shelving the plan for the industrial park of Indonesia's Salim Group at Nandigram, he had affirmed his commitment to continue the project at another location in the state.
Bhattacharjee came under fire from within his Communist party and alliance partners, who charged him with high- handedness.
Divided Left
The CPI(M) is finding itself increasingly isolated within the Left camp with the RSP joining the chorus with the CPI mounting pressure on the big brother to consider withdrawing support from the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.A week after CPI general secretary AB Bardhan went on record saying that time has come to consider withdrawing support from the Centre, RSP leader and former MP Manoj Bhattacharya said on Thursday that his party would soon write to the CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat to formally express a similar view.
“In spite of protests, the Centre has unilaterally announced its policy on Special Economic Zone. It is deviating from the Common Minimum Programme. We had supported the Congress to keep BJP out of power. Still BJP continues to grow. It is time we think of an alternative instead of continuing our support indefinitely,” Bhattacharya said. He reminded that his party along with the Forward Bloc was against offering an outside support to a Congress-led government from the very outset but later softened their stand to maintain Left-unity.
Insisting that RSP was not merely parroting the CPI’s line, Bhattacharya said that way back in February 2005 – a year after the UPA came to power - the party had written to the other three Left parties asking them to consider withdrawing support. “Even on January 31 this year, we met Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan with a similar demand,” Bhattacharya said.
The Forward Bloc, which too is annoyed with anti-people policies of the Centre and afraid that its impact might fall also on the Left, has urged the CPI(M) to immediately call a meting of all the Left parties to discuss future strategy.
Avoiding a direct reply whether his party was in favour of a drastic decision like the CPI and the RSP, general secretary of Forward Bloc Debabrata Biswas said, “I met Karat three days ago. There should be an emergency meeting of the four Left parties. The Congress is continuously ignoring our demands while the BJP is growing. We must take some action.”
While CPI(M) leaders refused to comment on the issue publicly, they said the party considered the demands of CPI and the RSP “absolutely absurd.” “Do they want this government to fall and the onus comes on us? Such demands are absolutely absurd and ridiculous,” a central committee member of the CPI(M) said.
Admitting that the Centre’s policies, price rise, farmers’ suicide and a host of other issues are making the Central government unpopular and that the BJP was trying to gain advantage from it, the CPI(M) leader, however, said that CPI and the RSP had a hidden agenda while demanding withdrawal of support.
The top CPI(M) leader alleged that the CPI and the RSP were actually trying to avoid the adverse fallout of supporting the UPA government so that the entire brunt fell on the CPI(M). He said that a meeting of the Left parties would be held soon and these contentious issues would be addressed.
West Bengal is set to receive fresh investments in the automobile sector, an area the state was lagging behind in, with several leading firms planning to set up their units in the state.
The state government was actively promoting automobile manufacturing units, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya told reporters Saturday.
The chief minister was speaking on the sidelines of a function at which Global Motors of the Kolkata-based Xinitis Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangzhou Motors Company of China to set up an automobile manufacturing unit in Hooghly district.
'After Hindustan Motors, Tata Motors is coming to West Bengal to set up their small car factory in Singur. Xinitis' new initiative to set up four-wheeler car manufacturing unit in Hooghly will definitely help the state usher further growth in automobile industry,' Bhattacharya said.
He said that several automobile giants like Mahindra and Mahindra and Ashok Leyland were also going to invest in the state.
'Mahindra and Mahindra has already signed a joint venture agreement with a West Bengal-based company. The state government is now holding talks with Ashok Leyland about its upcoming factory here,' the chief minister said.
The two factories are likely to come up in Haldia in East Midnapore, about 125 km from here, he said earlier
HRF asks Centre to order NHRC probe into Nandigram killings
Hyderabad, Apr 30: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) today demanded that the Centre should order ienquiry into Nandigram killings by an Independent Commission, headed by the Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and at least one member from a reputed national NGO.
Releasing a report prepared by a three-member committee after visiting the village where the firing took place on March 14 in West Bangal, HRF member Tara said the committee strongly condemned the ''oppressive nature of the Buddhadeb government in implementing its anti-people policies to safeguard the interest of the big corporate sector''.
Demanding that the state government announce Rs five lakh as compensation to the family of each deceased, and Rs one lakh to those injured, she said the state government should also initiate steps to provide free medical facilities to the injured.
The committee found that entire stretches of lands in the villages in Nandigram were fertile and people were not willing to give up their lands. A majority of them were eking out their livelihood by various agricultural activities on the land.
30 multiplexes set to open by end-2008
Pradipta Mukherjee / Kolkata April 30, 2007
Majors like Inox, PVR, Shringar & Adlabs unveil plans for West Bengal.
Major multiplexes of India are on an expansion mode in West Bengal with as many as 30 medium to big sized projects lined up for commissioning by end-2008.
Inox Leisure, that has two properties in Kolkata at present, has identified West Bengal as its biggest expansion zone in India for the next two years.
At present Inox has three properties in West Bengal, in Kolkata's City Centre and Forum Elgin Road malls, and on Laden La Road in Darjeeling.
It plans to add 10 more in West Bengal by end-2008.
"By early 2009, we should have 11 more properties in the whole of West Bengal," said Alok Tandon, COO of Inox Leisure.
At present Inox has 11 screens in West Bengal and plans to have 39 more by September 2008.
Inox Leisure spends Rs 2-3 crore per screen, depending on the property. "The mall and multiplex mania is growing in Kolkata right now, almost double the growth compared to other metros. Bigger expansion in this city therefore makes sense," reasoned Tandon.
Inox is already successfully running 14 multiplexes with 51 screens in 12 cities. It would set up 10 more multiplexes this year in Kolkata's Swabhumi, Rajarhat, Durgapur, Barddhaman, Diamond City in Jessore Road, Howrah, Panditya, Haldia, Siliguri, and Puja Complex in Kharagpur.
Similarly, Shringar Cinemas that operates its multiplexes under the Fame brand, has recognised "immense potential and growth possibilities" in this part of the country. "People are willing to spend extra bucks not only in the metropolitan cities but in smaller towns and cities as well, thanks to the growing economy and the growth in the entertainment industry," said Shunali Shroff, head of corporate communications, Shringar Cinemas.
Shringar has 11 multiplexes operational at present, with one in Kolkata's Hiland Park.
It is looking at setting up nine more this year that include properties in Kolkata's South City Mall and Lake Mall as well as in Howrah. In this financial year itself, Shringar plans to put up a 6-screen-1425-seater multiplex in the South City Mall, and a 4-screen-1000-seater multiplex in Lake Mall, with average spends close to Rs 8 crore per multiplex. "We have focused on states which have announced entertainment tax exemption and therefore 70 per cent of the total seats are in these states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh", said Shroff. "Other states in which the company has signed properties are Gujarat and Haryana who have recently lowered their entertainment tax rates," added Shroff.
PVR Cinemas is also foraying into eastern India and is looking at setting up 50-60 screens in 7-8 locations in eastern India within the next 5 years. Its first 8-screen-2200-seater multiplex would come up within the next 18 months on VIP Road, inside the 500,000 sq ft shopping mall being built as a 50:50 joint venture between Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd and city-based builders' consortium the Diamond Group.
The mall is being built on the defunct Eastern Paper Mills campus, which was shut down in the 1980's and referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).
"We are investing close to Rs 18 crore in setting up the multiplex on VIP road. We have plans to invest close to Rs 100 crore in Kolkata alone in the next 5 years, with a typical cash breakeven time of 3 years per multiplex," said Pramod Arora, president of PVR Limited.
It is also in talks with several mall developers for locations like Rajarhat, Howrah, Siliguri, Durgapur and Orissa to set up more multiplexes over the next few years.
Adlabs Cinemas is also foraying into eastern India and would set up its first 3-screen-1050-seater multiplex at Salt Lake's RDB Boulevard by June this year with an investment of close to Rs 5.5 crore.
The company is also in advance talks for setting up multiplex at Mani Square too on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass of Kolkata. Adlabs Cinemas also plans to revamp some of the defunct single screen theatres in Siliguri and Darbhanga this year.
"Cost for revamping single screen theatres depends on how old an theatre it is. For instance, a 40 year old theatre would require close to Rs 2.5 crore to be refurbished," said Suresh Bharadwaj, advisor and former CEO of Adlabs Cinemas.
The company at present has 13 properties and 47 screens operational all over India and plans 5 more multiplexes to be operational in a few months from now. "Our aim is to have 200 screens operational in one year with an aim to generate a turnover of close to Rs 270 crore by end of current financial year from Rs 120 crore as on March 2007," Bharadwaj added.
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: Clashes between activists of CPI (M) and an anti-land acquisition group continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday at Nandigram in East Midnapore district.Bombs were thrown and guns were fired at Tulaghata area of Nandigram.