Calcutta launches city web portal

Calcutta has become the first Indian city to launch its own interactive web portal, called "Calmanac".

Calcuttans will be able to log onto Calmanac at www.calmanac.org, which was inaugurated by West Bengal's 86-year old chief minister, Jyoti Basu, on the city's 310th birthday to make their relations with the municipal authorities easier and less time consuming.

People can find forms there for purposes such as paying taxes or making applications, or can use it to find information about local amenities such as water or street lighting. Public access centres have been set up around the city to allow people without their own computers to use the service. Officials also hope "Calmanac" will boost Calcutta's tourist industry; it includes details of over sixty restaurants, suggests a number of heritage walks to appreciate the city's architecture, and even has a guide to the street cries used by its tradesmen.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service