ITC SEEKS APPROVAL TO CLOSE TRIBENI TISSUES WING 

Calcutta, May 21 :     ITC Ltd has sought the intervention of the West Bengal government to ?decommission? the jute pulp mill division of Tribeni Tissues . The decision to close the mill, employing about 100 workers, has already sparked off a furore among trade unions. The unions apprehend that the company may close the entire plant in a phased manner. Senior ITC officials, in charge of the division met state labour minister Shanti Ghatak on May 20 to apprise him of the need to close the mill for reviving the ailing paper division. ITC, in its application, stated that the ?decision has been taken because of jute pulp becoming unviable following a sharp increase in its prices and also the fact that wood pulp gives superior quality paper compared to jute pulp.? The jute pulp mill is currently operating at an output level of around 6.5 tonnes per day against an overall capacity of 35 tonnes per day. Interestingly, paper produced by jute pulp, constituted 32 per cent of the total paper production of 1778 tonnes in April. The company had also decided to make greater use of jute pulp (40.25 per cent) for the production of paper in May. However, it decided on completely phasing out jute pulp, as the landed cost of wood pulp is around Rs 23,500 per tonne, much lower than the former. PowerGrid pact with VSNL Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL), will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) tomorrow, finally opening up its network for commercial exploitation by a telecom company, reports our correspondent from New Delhi. ?Initially we plan to conclude a MoU with VSNL and then explore the possibility of expanding the MoU into a joint venture company,? said a senior PGCIL officials. The MoU will allow the Indian telecom carrier to offer a much wider range of services in remote parts of the country.