Toonz animation unit flagged off

The Toonz-Webel Academy yesterday kicked off with the chief minister inaugurating the institution.

The project""a joint venture between Toonz and Webel""was in incubation for more than a year. The 5,000 square feet academy was located at Salt Lake, the IT hub of the city.

State IT minister, Manabendra Mukherjee said that with this project, an IT-enabled entertainment industry could evolve in Kolkata. The state government has been wooing investments in the IT and ITES sector in a major way.

Chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said, it was the government's responsibility to create the right environment and appropriate infrastructure for such institutions.

He said that many IT and ITES companies were making their way to Kolkata and some of the existing companies were expanding their operations. He mentioned, Reliance Infocomm was planning to set up a call centre and five acres of land had already been allotted to them.

The Toonz-Webel academy would have a capacity of 50 students and the course fee was Rs 1.10 lakh. Bhattacharya said, United Bank of India (UBI) had come forward and the students could have access to easy bank loan facilities.

Barry Parker, faculty of Sheridien College, Canada, said Kolkata was a city of great storytelling and it was only natural for animation industry to thrive here.