Calcutta, May 15 :     In a rare show of solidarity, industry and government in West Bengal have forged an alliance to persuade British Airways to continue and intensify its operations to Calcutta. Spearheaded by industrialist B.M. Khaitan and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, which galvanised the state government into action, the move has now involved chief minister Jyoti Basu and all Members of Parliament from West Bengal. The Bengal brigade has mounted pressure on the Centre to abandon a policy that gives the East and Calcutta a patently raw deal. Basu has written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The MPs, too, are likely to meet him and present a memorandum soon. British Airways announced late last month that its twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Saturdays) flights to Calcutta will be terminated at Delhi from October 30. The announcement shocked industry because it came even as traffic from Calcutta was increasing, as studies carried out by the Chamber and the government show. In separate representations to British Airways and the Centre, the Bengal brigade has suggested that Calcutta be taken out of the purview of the recently concluded India-UK bilateral agreement on landing rights. British Airways should be allowed to fly Calcutta-London and its flights to Dhaka should fly Dhaka-Calcutta-London-Calcutta-Dhaka. This will allow for three to five weekly flights between Calcutta and Dhaka. Problem: Even if British Airways is willing, the Centre has to make the crucial decision of allotting privileges outside the bilateral agreement. A source associated with the studies suspected the ministry of civil aviation might well say that where British Airways chooses to terminate its flights is not its concern. The Centre's responsibility technically was negotiating the bilateral agreement that has allotted 16 flights in the India-UK sector. 'The ministry can say that BA is free to move some of its flights from Delhi to Calcutta,' the industrialist feared. But the Bengal brigade is unwilling to accept such an agreement. It has pointed out that BA wanted to increase its number of flights to India but the proposal was not enthusiastically received by Delhi. First, because this would have meant Air India accepting the reciprocal offer of additional flights to London, which it could not for lack of enough aircraft. Second, the British were unwilling to give the additional landing-departure slots in Heathrow but offered berths in distant Gatwick. As a result, the recently-concluded bilateral agreement allows only three additional flights by each country. The British government has decided to allot these flights to Virgin Airlines. This means British Airways has not been able to expand in the India-UK sector. Against this background, the Centre's policy of sticking to the letter of the bilateral agreement but not its spirit will take a toll on the East and Calcutta. As a leading member of the chamber put it: 'People are not for policies; policies are for people. Air India has systematically ignored the East. So, the other airlines filling the vacuum should be encouraged, not penalised.'