CPI (M) wants Cyclone Phailin to be declared national calamity

Activists of the Communist Party of India(Marxist) staged a demonstration in the Bubaneswar on Saturday 24th November demanding that the Central government should declare devastation caused by cyclone Phailin and consequent floods as national calamity. 

Thousands of people who took part in the demonstration demanded that those affected by the twin-calamities be paid compensation for the losses they had suffered and necessary support be extended to the victims for restoration of their livelihoods.The demonstrators who came from different parts of the State further demanded that an all-party committee be formed to oversee the restoration works in the areas affected by the cyclone and floods.

Claiming that the twin-calamities had caused losses amounting to over Rs. 20,000 crore, the CPI(M) as well as the leaders who addressed the gathering demanded that the Centre should release a sum of Rs. 5,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund without delay.

The party leaders further demanded that the farmers whose crop had been damaged in the cyclone and flood be compensated adequately, and all the affected families be provided essential commodities, and employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for 200 days.

The leaders further demanded that the Chief Minister should lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to appraise the Centre about the need for additional Central assistance to help the affected population. 

Among others who addressed the rally include CPI(M) State Committee secretary Janardan Pati, and senior leaders Ali Kishore Patnaik, Jagannath Mishra, Santosh Das, Bishnu Mohanty, Dushmanta Das, Sishir Hui and Suresh Panigrahi. 

It was announced at the end of the rally that a delegation of the party leaders would go to New Delhi on December 5 to urge the Centre to declare the disaster as national calamity and release Rs. 5,000 crore for restoration work in the affected areas.
(Source : The Hindu)

Sudden Demise of Comrade Shyamali Gupta

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its deep grief at the passing away of Shyamali Gupta, member of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the All India Democratic Women’s Association till recently.  Shyamali Gupta  fell ill at the AIDWA All India Conference held in Bodh Gaya and died after she returned to Kolkata.  She was 68 years old.

 

Shyamali Gupta joined the Communist Party in 1963 after being active in the student movement.  She played an important role in the Bengal Provincial Students Federation.

 

After a stint as a college teacher, Shyamali Gupta began work in the women’s movement in the 1970s.  She became the key organizer of the Ganatantrik Mahila Samiti. She was elected as its General Secretary in 1983 and served in that capacity till 1996. 

 

Shyamali Gupta became the All India General Secretary of the AIDWA in 1990 and played a major role in the development of the women’s movement at the national level.  She  was elected as the President of the AIDWA in 2010, a post she held till the eve of her death. 

 

Shyamali Gupta was a dedicated Communist leader.  She became a member of the West Bengal State Committee in 1985 and was a member of the State Secretariat from 2010. She was elected to the Central Committee of the CPI(M) in 2002. 

 

As a women Communist leader, Shyamali Gupta made a valuable contribution to the development of the democratic women’s movement.  She served the Communist Party with devotion and sincerity for five decades.  Her death is a big loss for the Party and the women’s movement.

 

The Polit Bureau conveys its heartfelt condolences to her son and other family members.