In January 2009 we excitedly featured a story on the Bhowanipore Depot in Kolkata that was declared a heritage site by the West Bengal Heritage Commission. It was a site that should have been by now handed over to the PIO community for building a memorial to their ancestors. The PIO community spread across numbers about 15 million. But due to a legal hitch, the Bhowanipore depot project has not moved forward, and matters are now in court. 

But there is good news. On July 7, as our cover story elucidates, a team from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) and others met up with the chief secretary of the West Bengal Government to work on other similar sites. Once again we are excited to tell you that the Demerara Clock Tower at the Kidderpore dock area has been identified as a likely place for putting up a commemorative plaque. Other memorials in Kolkata should follow as an when clearances are in place. 

What this means of course is far reaching. Thousands of PIOs would like to make a trip to Calcutta every year to visit the places from where it all started for their ancestors. The West Bengal Government stands to gain tremendously from the tourism potential of this project. The momentum has been built, and it would be great to see the Kidderpore project at the Kolkata Port come through.

Moving from heritage, on July 3 we teamed up with the GYIPS (an organization we featured in our last issue as well) for a conference in New Delhi. The conference, aptly titled “Exploring spaces for young Indians in Government”, was attended by a packed audience and a set of bright officers in Government. The conference discussed ways in which young Indians could play a more meaningful role in Government that would eventually enable them to broaden their own vision as they moved forward in life. We present a story on the conference.

We have two special reports on airports, and several other stories of interest to the diaspora, including a well-developed NRI Corner that carries stories on Indians overseas.

Happy reading.