News / Author / Avijit Ghosal

Avijit Ghosal

Avijit Ghosal writes on economy, industry and politics from West Bengal. Has been doing so for more than 20 years.

Articles by Avijit Ghosal

Darjeeling protests highlights| Cops, TMC ransacking our home: Bimal Gurung’s wife

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha stocked weapons to resist and attack the police, says official.

A car at Bimal Gurung’s house set on fire on Thursday.(HT Photo)

india news

Updated on Jun 16, 2017 07:24 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Darjeeling/Kolkata | ByPramod Giri and Avijit Ghosal

Darjeeling crisis: 10 things to know about Mamata’s Gorkhaland challenge

Trouble broke out in Darjeeling over the decades-long demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland as hill parties went on a rampage and torched vehicles.

Members of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha during a strike in Darjeeling on Tuesday.(PTI)

india news

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 12:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal

Seven days of protest ban at College Square: Kolkata offers token resistance

Calcutta University students have congratulated the chief minister for declaring the area as a no- protest and no-horn zone.

A protester at just outside College Square on Wednesday.(Samir Jana)

cities

Updated on Jun 08, 2017 03:50 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal and Samir Jana, Kolkata

Mamata to meet private school managements today. Will she go the Kejriwal way?

Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government had last year decreed that private schools built on Delhi Development Authority land will need its nod before hiking fees.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee with MPs Dinesh Trivedi and Saugata Ray during 'North 24 Parganas district’s administrate meeting' in Barrackpore on Tuesday.(PTI)

cities

Updated on May 31, 2017 12:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

West Bengal opposed to GST in present form, says Amit Mitra

West Bengal today said that its assembly will not move the bills required to roll out the new indirect tax. GST is scheduled to be rolled out on July 1.

New Delhi: Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley talks to West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Puducherry CM V Narayanasami at GST Council Meeting in New Delhi.(PTI)

business

Updated on May 30, 2017 08:57 PM IST

Kolkata/New Delhi | ByAvijit Ghosal and Suchetana Ray

Trinamool breaks hill jinx, Mamata ‘conquers’ last frontier

Six years after it swept to power in West Bengal for the first time, the Trinamool Congress finally established a foothold in a region that had eluded it so far - the hills of north Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress has finally managed to get a foothold in the hills of north Bengal by winning the Mirik municipality in the civic polls.(HT PHOTO)

india news

Updated on May 18, 2017 06:42 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal

West Bengal civic polls highlights: Mamata’s Trinamool wins 4, GJM gets 3 in the hills

Seven civic bodies – four in the hills and three in the plains -- voted on Sunday but the election was marred by unprecedented violence that left several people injured and pit the state’s opposition parties against the Bengal election chief.

Trinamool Congress on Wednesday won four municipalities in West Bengal- one in Darjeeling hills and three in the plains.(HT PHOTO)

india news

Updated on May 17, 2017 04:41 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal

Narada sting and saffron push may really hurt Mamata Banerjee for a while to come

The Narada investigation by the CBI may give Mamata Banerjee more reasons to be worried, a year after the scam was first exposed.

opinion

Updated on Apr 25, 2017 10:55 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal

Teesta water deal: One issue where Mamata loses nothing by sitting tight

All opposition leaders without exception in Bengal also concede that the Centre cannot – read should not – do anything that compromises with the interests of Bengal. They also point out that the Centre should have made the first move to study the technical parameters – availability of water in the river in different seasons and the domestic needs – and prepare the ground in consultation with the state government.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is also aware that Delhi needs Dhaka by its side in its fight against terrorist elements entering India through the porous borders of Bengal.(Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Apr 07, 2017 03:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal

Saffron push in Bengal brings cheer to Kumortuli

Over the past few years, the steady push of the Sangh Parivar to spread worship of new deities -- Sherawali Mata, Ganesh and now Ram Navami celebrations -- is adding smile to the faces.

Kumortuli, in north Kolkata, is the nursery and cradle where hundreds of artisans make and export the famous Durga idols.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Apr 06, 2017 08:50 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal

East Kolkata Wetlands boundary likely to be redrawn

Senior Ramsar official files report, suggests thorough revision of ecology, livelihood and boundary.

The East Kolkata Wetlands straddles two districts North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.(Ramsar)

cities

Published on Mar 16, 2017 02:30 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal and Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Kolkata

A decade later, family members of Nandigram victims still seeking justice

The members of the families of those whom ruling Trinamool Congress describe as Nandigram ‘martyrs’, are still seething in anger.

Ashia Bibi holds the picture of her son Imadul who was killed in police firing on March 14, 2007 in Nandigram.(Subhankar Chakraborty/HT PHOTO)

cities

Published on Mar 15, 2017 01:58 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal and Ravik Bhattacharya

Election results: Why BJP’s sweep in UP could be ominous for Mamata Banerjee

Following the BJP’s huge win in UP, the Trinamool Congress in Bengal is apprehensive that the Centre could use the CBI to ‘target’ its leaders for their alleged involvement in graft.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee(PTI File Photo)

india news

Updated on Mar 12, 2017 10:14 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal and Ravik Bhattacharya

Mind the gap: burn and destroy mission in Bengal fields leaves a few questions

There seems to be fewer agriculture personnel in the districts who can ensure a fool-proof destruction of each and every strand of the wheat crop. They were visiting the fields but they don’t have enough machines to fell the crops and burn them.

Government officers set fire to wheat crop in Sonpukur village on Chapr a block in Nadia district of West Bengal.(Subhankar Chakraborty/HT PHOTO)

cities

Published on Mar 05, 2017 03:12 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal and Ravik Bhattacharya

Visva-Bharati plan for new building in Tagore heritage complex creates furore

It amounts to vandalism and should be abandoned forthwith, said Tagore family members, former VCs and artists.

Konark is one of the houses in the heritage complex. Tagore built it in 1919.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Mar 03, 2017 10:02 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

By 2018-19 Trinamool government set to overtake debt raised by the Left

Debt repayment will consume 81% of the government’s own tax revenue next year.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and finance minister Amit Mitra interacting with the media on Friday after the budget.(Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo)

cities

Published on Feb 10, 2017 06:06 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Mamata attacks ‘clueless’ Budget 2017, CPM says it gives no solutions

The Union budget was heartless and filled with hollow words that meant nothing, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee(PTI)

budget

Updated on Feb 01, 2017 02:24 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal

Bengal Global Business Summit: the investor has never looked more bewildered

On January 20 and 21 as Mamata Banerjee holds a roadshow to attract investment to her state, the political climate will be marked by a virtual war between her party and the party at the Centre.

File photo of Mamata Banerjee meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi in 2015. Though their relation has seen ups and downs, it was never at the depths that it touched after the demonetisation announcement on November 8 last year and Sudip Bandyopadhyay’s arrest by CBI in early January.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 16, 2017 11:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Rose Valley thorns may leave a deeper cut on Trinamool Congress than Saradha

The arrests in Rose Valley scam have come at a time when Mamata Banerjee is aggressively trying to extend her footprint in Delhi and emerge as a leader of a united opposition.

india news

Updated on Jan 04, 2017 11:44 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Kolkata | ByAvijit Ghosal, Ravik Bhattacharya

Aam aadmi becomes Hero No 1

A busy and happening nation stood motionless as the common man rediscovered the forgotten art of standing in a queue in 2016.

In 2016 these queues came to represent a nation on the move.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Jan 03, 2017 01:34 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Book that taught English grammar to Bengalis turns 90

Prafulla Kumar De Sarkar, and his book ‘High English Grammar and Composition’ became a bible to countless Bengalis trying to learn correct English.

Pabitra De Sarkar (second from left), the ldest son of author P K De Sarkar, in Kolkata.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Dec 27, 2016 10:21 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal

Parasmal Lodha: A man best known for Peerless takeover attempt

It was said that Parasmal Lodha, a Kolkata businessman, had interests in real estate, mostly in the central business district of Dalhousie area and tea gardens. He swore by corporate governance but revealed almost nothing of his own activities.

Parasmal Lodha was nabbed by the income tax department and Enforcement Directorate officials on Thursday for converting Rs25 crore in scrapped banknotes to the new currency.(Reuters file photo)

india news

Updated on Dec 22, 2016 01:05 PM IST

Kolkata, Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal

Maa, Mati, Manush, ATM – A street fighter from Bengal emerges on the national scene

This has also been a most momentous week in Mamata Banerjee’s career as she has found the right platform to project herself as a prominent leader in Delhi.

Mamata Banerjee’s fingers perhaps began typing her first tweet, minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished his address to the nation on the fateful evening of November 8. She shot her first salvo in the form of a tweet perhaps even before her opponent could finish a glass of water after the speech.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Nov 15, 2016 11:11 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

By opposing uniform civil code, Mamata may turn a champion of minority rights

After the supreme court verdict to return the Nano plot land to farmers in Singur, she is already seen as a fighter for farmer rights.

Mamata Banerjee is already enjoying a high point in her political career after the return of Nano factory land was ordered by the apex court.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Oct 22, 2016 10:46 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal and Ravik Bhattacharya, Kolkata

Devi’s digital domain

Puja revelry is nowhere near the peak if you are digitally unarmed.

Selfies are easily the greatest digital addiction all over the world and during the puja days the goddess is almost always seen in the background of the billions of selfies generated by gorgeously dressed men and women.(Subhendu Ghosh)

cities

Published on Oct 07, 2016 02:10 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Boons that Mamata Banerjee is likely to seek from the Devi

Every year, she inaugurates dozens of community pujas.

Every year, Mamata Banerjee inaugurates dozens of community pujas and even lends her hand in decking up the idols. But this year is special -- she is riding the crest of her career and has herself emerged as the undisputed political devi of Bengal. Every evening she is tweeting pictures of herself inaugurating pujas all over the city(@MamataOfficial)

cities

Published on Oct 04, 2016 11:41 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Just before Durga puja, Mamata turns into a living goddess

She invited even the vanquished Tatas to build an auto factory on 1,000 acre elsewhere in Bengal.

Villagers took out processions along the village roads with photograph of Mamata Banerjee.(Tweeter)

cities

Published on Sep 14, 2016 06:51 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Battle royale expected in Calcutta High Court over Madan Mitra’s ‘influential’ tag

Last year in October, Calcutta High Court had scrapped the bail given to Mitra by a lower court and sent him marching back to prison.

Madan Mitra’s future will depend largely on the interpretation of what the word ‘influential’ means and whether Madan Mitra still wields enough power to be able to coerce witnesses in the Saradha case.(HT photo)

cities

Published on Sep 11, 2016 02:54 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Out of jail after 22 months, Madan sheds atheism

Will offer pushpanjali for the first time on empty stomach.

File photo of Madan Mitra being taken for pathological tests to SSKM hospital on February 7, 2015.(Prateek Chowdhury)

cities

Published on Sep 10, 2016 01:15 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

Bengal slashes dry days to just 4/yr; state’s economy looks set to soar

A few days ago, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee ‘liberated’ the citizens of her state from the tyranny of dry days, slashing them from 12 a year – an oppressive one day a month – to a less revolting 4.5.

There will be no dry days at all clubs and bars at three-star hotels and above. The four-and-a-half days of dry spell will be applicable to off shops, bars and pubs only.(HT File Photo)

india news

Updated on Aug 30, 2016 04:23 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByAvijit Ghosal, Kolkata

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Avijit Ghosal

Avijit Ghosal writes on economy, industry and politics from West Bengal. Has been doing so for more than 20 years.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha stocked weapons to resist and attack the police, says official.

Trouble broke out in Darjeeling over the decades-long demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland as hill parties went on a rampage and torched vehicles.

Calcutta University students have congratulated the chief minister for declaring the area as a no- protest and no-horn zone.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi government had last year decreed that private schools built on Delhi Development Authority land will need its nod before hiking fees.

West Bengal today said that its assembly will not move the bills required to roll out the new indirect tax. GST is scheduled to be rolled out on July 1.

Six years after it swept to power in West Bengal for the first time, the Trinamool Congress finally established a foothold in a region that had eluded it so far - the hills of north Bengal.

Seven civic bodies – four in the hills and three in the plains -- voted on Sunday but the election was marred by unprecedented violence that left several people injured and pit the state’s opposition parties against the Bengal election chief.

The Narada investigation by the CBI may give Mamata Banerjee more reasons to be worried, a year after the scam was first exposed.

Over the past few years, the steady push of the Sangh Parivar to spread worship of new deities -- Sherawali Mata, Ganesh and now Ram Navami celebrations -- is adding smile to the faces.

Senior Ramsar official files report, suggests thorough revision of ecology, livelihood and boundary.

The members of the families of those whom ruling Trinamool Congress describe as Nandigram ‘martyrs’, are still seething in anger.

Following the BJP’s huge win in UP, the Trinamool Congress in Bengal is apprehensive that the Centre could use the CBI to ‘target’ its leaders for their alleged involvement in graft.

There seems to be fewer agriculture personnel in the districts who can ensure a fool-proof destruction of each and every strand of the wheat crop. They were visiting the fields but they don’t have enough machines to fell the crops and burn them.

It amounts to vandalism and should be abandoned forthwith, said Tagore family members, former VCs and artists.

Debt repayment will consume 81% of the government’s own tax revenue next year.

The Union budget was heartless and filled with hollow words that meant nothing, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.

On January 20 and 21 as Mamata Banerjee holds a roadshow to attract investment to her state, the political climate will be marked by a virtual war between her party and the party at the Centre.

The arrests in Rose Valley scam have come at a time when Mamata Banerjee is aggressively trying to extend her footprint in Delhi and emerge as a leader of a united opposition.

A busy and happening nation stood motionless as the common man rediscovered the forgotten art of standing in a queue in 2016.

Prafulla Kumar De Sarkar, and his book ‘High English Grammar and Composition’ became a bible to countless Bengalis trying to learn correct English.

It was said that Parasmal Lodha, a Kolkata businessman, had interests in real estate, mostly in the central business district of Dalhousie area and tea gardens. He swore by corporate governance but revealed almost nothing of his own activities.

This has also been a most momentous week in Mamata Banerjee’s career as she has found the right platform to project herself as a prominent leader in Delhi.

After the supreme court verdict to return the Nano plot land to farmers in Singur, she is already seen as a fighter for farmer rights.

Puja revelry is nowhere near the peak if you are digitally unarmed.

Every year, she inaugurates dozens of community pujas.

She invited even the vanquished Tatas to build an auto factory on 1,000 acre elsewhere in Bengal.

Last year in October, Calcutta High Court had scrapped the bail given to Mitra by a lower court and sent him marching back to prison.

Will offer pushpanjali for the first time on empty stomach.

A few days ago, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee ‘liberated’ the citizens of her state from the tyranny of dry days, slashing them from 12 a year – an oppressive one day a month – to a less revolting 4.5.

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