MP, 4 May 2024, Darjeeling: Luxman Pradhan, veteran politician of the Hills, owing allegiance to the All India Gorkha League (AIGL), passed away on Friday morning in Darjeeling. He was 78 years old.
Though he was suffering from kidney ailment and blood sugar, the condition of his health was not all that bad.
At around 5 am, he woke up and when he got out of bed he became senseless and then passed away, stated family sources.
People from all walks of life paid tribute to the departed leader. Condolences poured in from different political camps.
“I knew him as a Union leader, working relentlessly for the welfare of tea garden workers. He spent his life fighting for their rights. The death of Luxman Pradhan has left a vacuum in the trade union movement in the Hills,” stated Aniit Thapa, Chief Executive, GTA.
Courtesy & source- Millennium Post https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/veteran-leader-luxman-pradhan-passes-away-562420
MP, 4 May 2024, Siliguri: Two people from Cooch Behar were arrested for allegedly duping money in two separate cases. Complaints for both the cases were lodged in 2023 at Panitanki Out Post.
Police arrested both the accused at the same place in Cooch Behar on Thursday. In one case, Moumita Nag, a resident of Hakimpara area of Siliguri, met a 25-year-old youth named Devkant Dey on social media.
A brother-sister relationship developed between the two. After gaining Moumita’s trust, Devkanth took money from her several times by promising her that he would double the money. He took about Rs 10 lakh from Moumita and absconded.
On October 9, 2023, Moumita lodged a complaint. In the second case, another person named Sanat Talukdar from Cooch Behar was arrested by the police of Panitanki Outpost on charges of cheating a resident of Jalpaiguri on the pretext of providing a loan from the bank.
Shyamal Sarkar, a resident of Jalpaiguri, took a loan of Rs 2 lakh from a bank in Siliguri last year. The accused, Sanat Talukder, was an employee of that bank.
There, Shyamal gave Rs 1 lakh to Sanat to submit to the bank, but he deposited the money to his own bank account. Later, on September 22, 2023, Shyamal lodged a complaint. Both the accused were produced in Siliguri Court on Friday.
Amitava Banerjee, MP, 4 May 2024, Darjeeling: The District Magistrate, Kalimpong has issued an order restricting the movement of all types of vehicles from Rabi Jhora to Gail Khola, 29th Mile on the National Highway (NH) 10 from 6 am on May 6 to 6 am on May 9.
Alternative routes and diversions have been specified in the order. This restriction has been clamped to allow repair work on the NH 10.
Incidentally, the NH10 connects the state of Sikkim with the plains of Bengal and is a lifeline for the Himalayan state of Sikkim. The road was badly damaged owing to a flash flood on the Teesta on October 4, 2023.
Since then the condition of NH 10 has been unstable with the need to close down stretches for vehicular traffic, for repairs.
“We had received a request from the executive engineer, NH, Division 9, PW Roads on April 30, to restrict vehicular movement of all types of vehicles to carry out bituminous work on the 2.40 km stretch between Rabi Jhora to Gail Khola along NH 10,” stated Balasubramanian T, District Magistrate, Kalimpong.
The notice states that only small vehicles will move from Rangpoo towards Siliguri via Munsong-17th Mile-Algarah- Lava-Gorubathan and then onto Siliguri and vice versa, round-the-clock. Small vehicles will move from Chitrey-Kalimpong town-Algarah-Lava-Gorubathan and Siliguri and vice-versa round-the-clock. Goods vehicles will move from Chitrey-Kalimpong town-Algarah-Lava-Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice-versa from 9 pm to 6 am.
Goods vehicle and small vehicles will move from Reshi-Pedong-Algarah-Lava- Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice-versa round-the-clock. “Necessary restrictions at Rangpo checkpost, Chitrey and at the district border on the NH 10 stretch shall be imposed by the police for facilitating the route diversions,” added the DM.
With temperatures soaring in the plains, there is a huge rush of tourists to Sikkim and Kalimpong, accessed through the NH 10. The diversions will result in longer travel time and will be heavy on the purse.
“The NH 10 is highly fragile but tourism to Kalimpong and Sikkim is heavily dependent on it. We are digging up the area for a new train line, despite the fragile ecosystem. This will further affect the NH 10 and also the villages like Rambi along the road.
The only consolation now is that nearly 70 per cent of construction work of the alternate highway 177A to Sikkim is complete. We hope that this highway is completed at the earliest,” stated Raj Basu, Convenor, Association for Conservation of Tourism (ACT).
MP, 4 May 2024, Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was pulled up by the Calcutta High Court for applying to the Chief Secretary for sanction to prosecute former ministers and public servants in recruitment scam cases instead of the Governor, who was the correct sanctioning authority.
According to a news agency, the Division Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth called for a report from CBI on whether the appropriate sanctioning authority has been approached and observed that the issue needs to be sorted at the earliest.
On behalf of CBI, it was submitted that the sanction from the Chief Secretary was sought only for the prosecution of school department officials.
The Court reportedly clarified that in the case of Kalyanmoy Ganguly and other former ministers, it needs to be sought from the Governor itself. The matter is scheduled to be heard on May 7.
Mamata On April 23, the Court had warned that if the Chief Secretary failed to act on the Court’s directions then they would be constrained to initiate proceedings against him.
In earlier two occasions as well, the Chief Secretary was asked to make his position clear. The Division Bench was hearing the bail applications of former minister Partha Chatterjee, Subires Bhattacharjee and Kalyanmoy Ganguly, amongst others.
According to the counsel representing them, they have been in custody for about two years and the case could not progress due to the absence of sanction.
MP, 4 May 2024, Kolkata: Candidates who lost their job following the verdict of Calcutta High Court in the 2016 recruitment staged a demonstration outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) office on Friday.
The Commission chairman Siddharth Majumder met with 10 representatives from the protesters and explained the legal constraints pertaining to the matter. While expressing his sympathy towards legitimate candidates who allegedly lost their jobs in the case, he assured them that the commission will do everything possible within the legal framework to assist them.
The Calcutta High Court had declared around 25,753 appointments–both teaching and non-teaching–granted in the selection process of 2016 as “null and void and cancelled.” It was challenged in the Supreme Court by the state government.
According to a news agency, the state argued that the High Court instead of segregating the valid from invalid appointments has set the 2016 recruitment entirely. It was further pleaded that the special bench had relied upon oral arguments without the support of affidavits.
It was stated that the result of this judgement will create a vacuum in the state unless the new selection process is completed.
Hence, it will impact the students considering the upcoming new academic session. The Supreme Court recently stayed CBI probe with regard to the state government officials involved in approving supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments and to take such persons into custodial interrogation if necessary.
However, the apex court turned down the prayer for stay of High Court’s direction to cancel the appointments of 25,753 candidates, which includes both teaching and non-teaching staff who were appointed in 2016.
Over 400 companies of Central Paramilitary Forces will be there on the day of phase III.
MP, 4 May 2024, Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) is all set to conduct phase III polls on May 7 amidst tight security when Malda South, Malda North, Murshidabad and Jangipur will go to polls.
Over 400 companies of Central Paramilitary Forces will be there on the day of phase III.
EC is going to deploy 64 companies of Central Forces in the Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency while in Malda around 144 companies will be deployed. There will be around 144 companies of Central forces for Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency while 143 companies.
In the fourth phase of elections, around 596 companies of central forces will be deployed by the EC. In the fifth phase, the state may see a deployment of around 750 companies of central forces.
There will be additional deployment of forces for QRT and confidence-building exercise and on strong room duty. The decision comes in the wake of violence during the panchayat polls of 2023 in Domkal and other parts of Murshidabad, prompting the EC to analyse sensitive booths to finalize force deployment.
EC is concerned for the Murshidabad district as it had past instances of violence. In Malda North, Khagen Murmu, a BJP leader is contesting the elections for his party. He is pitted against Prasun Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Mostaque Alam from the Congress.
Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury is the BJP candidate in Malda South who is contesting against Shanawaz Ali Rehan of the TMC, while Isha Khan Choudhury represents Congress.
In Murshidabad seat, the contest is between CPI(M’s) Mohammed Salim, Trinamool’s Abu Taher Khan, and BJP’s Gouri Shankar Ghosh. TMC’s Abu Taher Khan, the incumbent, aims for re-election.
The Jangipur Lok Sabha seat has a significant legacy linked to the late President Pranab Mukherjee. Khallilur Rahman of TMC, the incumbent, faces competition from BJP’s Dhanahjay Ghosh and Congress’ Mortazza Hossain in a three-cornered fight.
The EC on Friday issued directives to remove two officers-in-charge — one from Anandapur police station under Kolkata police and another from Diamond Harbour Police Station in South 24-Parganas.
The EC also said that the two officers cannot be deployed in election duties. The office of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has to submit names of three possible officers to fill up the two posts which will be vacant.
Pradip Chatterjee, MP, 4 May 2024, Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the BJP of attempting to intimidate IAS and IPS officers. “They (BJP) are so scared that they are calling IPS and IAS officers and threatening them to stand by the side of the BJP.
The officers are asked to stay away from the Trinamool Congress. Do you think that this news will not reach us,” Banerjee slammed the BJP. She was addressing two election rallies in East Burdwan — Raina and Purbasthali. Banerjee also alleged that around 1,500 state police who were taken by the Election Commission for conducting polls in other states were not given postal ballots.
“State police can be taken to other states but why they will not be given postal ballots? Why will the permission not be given? Either you (ECI) give them permission to cast their votes or else I will bring them back to the state. You can do whatever you wish to,” Banerjee hit out at the ECI.
Banerjee also hit out at Modi for mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over contesting from two Lok Sabha seats, saying PM Modi and many others from the BJP have done the same in the past.
“He (Modi) unnecessarily made a statement this morning. Although CPI(M), Congress and BJP are contesting as partners in Bengal, he referred to the Congress and asked why Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Rai Bareli.
He (Rahul) has done what he wanted. He has every right. How does it concern you? You also fought from two seats in the past. Many in your party did it,” Banerjee trained her guns at the PM from an election rally in Burdwan.
Incidentally, PM Modi held back-to-back election rallies in Bengal on Friday. Also Read – Trinamool ‘fact-checks’ PM Modi, counters his claims at Bengal rally “It seems he (Modi) has no work to do.
A PM doesn’t even know what should be said, and what shouldn’t,” Banerjee said, referring to the barbs that PM Modi threw at Rahul Gandhi. PM Modi from a rally in Burdwan said that he had spoken about the Congress losing the elections in his Parliament speech.
“When their senior leader quit her Lok Sabha seat and entered Parliament through Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, it was evident they sensed defeat,” he said, a reference to Sonia Gandhi’s decision not to contest from the Gandhi family pocket borough Rae Bareli due to health reasons.
On Friday, the Congress announced Rahul Gandhi will contest from the constituency. Reacting to Modi’s comment that BJP would open a legal cell for the help of genuine candidates who have been rendered jobless following High Court order, Banerjee said that Modi should not say anything about this as his party BJP in connivance with the CPI(M) snatched jobs of around 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff.
Matar Singh, EOI, 4 May 2024 : Speed breakers on Indian roads have been a topic of much controversy and debate in recent years, as they pose several problems for both drivers and pedestrians alike. While speed breakers are installed with the intention of controlling vehicle speed and reducing accidents, they often end up causing more harm than good due to their design, placement, and maintenance issues. You can find small rumble type breakers , double speed bumps and even some where you will find humps of about 8 to 10 inch heights.
One of the main problems associated with speed breakers on Indian roads is that they are often poorly constructed and not properly maintained. Many speed breakers are haphazardly built using substandard materials, leading to uneven surfaces that can cause damage to vehicles and endanger the safety of drivers.
Additionally, the lack of regular maintenance and repair of speed breakers only exacerbates the problem, as they become more dangerous overtime.
Another issue with speed breakers in India is their inconsistent design and placement. Speed breakers are often installed without considering factors such as visibility, traffic flow, and road conditions, leading to confusion and uncertainty among drivers. This lack of standardization in speed breaker design and placement can increase the risk of accidents and make navigating Indian roads even more challenging for motorists. In some states you can find speed breakers on state highways and national highways.
Furthermore, speed breakers can also have a negative impact on the environment and public health. The constant braking and acceleration required to navigate speed breakers can result in increased fuel consumption and emissions, contributing to air pollution and climate change.
Additionally, the noise pollution caused by vehicles passing over speed breakers can disturb surrounding communities and have negative effects on the well-being of residents.
In addition, speed breakers in India are often used as a means of revenue generation by local authorities, leading to their indiscriminate placement and overuse.
This practice not only undermines the intended purpose of speed breakers in promoting road safety but also reflects a lack of coordination and accountability within the transportation system.
It is essential for policymakers to address this issue and ensure that speed breakers are installed and maintained in a responsible manner.
Moreover, speed breakers can also pose a threat to emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks, which require smooth and uninterrupted access to reach their destinations quickly. The presence of speed breakers on Indian roads can hinder the response time of emergency services and potentially endanger the lives of those in need of urgent medical attention or rescue.
Additionally, the proliferation of speed breakers on Indian roads can also have economic repercussions, as they can cause damage to vehicles and increase maintenance costs for drivers.
The repeated impact of vehicles passing over speed breakers can lead to wear and tear on suspension systems, tires, and other components, resulting in costly repairs and reduced vehicle lifespan.
This added financial burden can be particularly challenging for low-income individuals and contributes to the overall economic strain on society.
In conclusion, the problems related to speed breakers on Indian roads are multifaceted and require a comprehensive and coordinated approach to address.
The issues of poor construction, inconsistent design and placement, environmental impact, revenue-driven installation, obstruction of emergency services, and economic burden all underscore the urgent need for reform in the management of speed breakers. It is essential for policymakers, urban planners, and transportation authorities to work together to develop and implement sustainable solutions that prioritize road safety, efficiency, and the well-being of all road users in India.
This is my observations while travelling frequently by road from Durgapur to Tata, Purulia, Kolkata, Digha, Chandrakona Road, Bolpur, Tarapith, Dhanbad, Chittaranjan & Deoghar, nearby areas.
Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 108. In the first 50 days of the conflict, journalists were being killed at a rate of roughly one per day, making Gaza the most dangerous conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records in 1992
Editorial, EOI, 4 May 2024 : Journalism is under attack on an international scale, both from outside and from inside, as recent developments have revealed. The most glaring evidence of attack from outside is from war-torn Gaza, where a total of 97 journalists are estimated to have been killed since October last.
Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 108. In the first 50 days of the conflict, journalists were being killed at a rate of roughly one per day, making Gaza the most dangerous conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records in 1992.Some of those were the inevitable ‘collateral damage’ of the conflict, caught in crossfire because they were working close to active fighting.
But Israeli troops have also been accused of targeting many of the journalists because of their work. Many of them were reporting in the field and were clearly identifiable as journalists.
Others were killed by strikes that specifically targeted their homes. Of course, the life of a journalist is no more precious than that of anybody else, but the issue at stake is not the safety of journalists but the right to know.
The trouble is, if journalism is criminalized, dismissed or sidelined as it tells inconvenient truths, capacity for sensible public debate will be lost in society. Thanks to social media, there is enough information available, but often full of rumour, conjecture and opinion.
In the absence of professional journalists, what will be missing is information underpinned by the necessary journalistic rigor, without which it becomes impossible to filter out reliable fact from conjecture, rumour and pure fiction.
Not only Gaza, journalism is under unprecedented assault all over the world. The Committee to Protect Journalists has estimated that on December 1 last year there were 320 journalists in prison in the world. In an analysis of the charges the journalists are facing, the CPJ has found that almost two-thirds of them are being held on broadly described “anti-state charges,” like terrorism, sedition, and treason.
The troubling conclusion is that governments have taken to treating journalism not as something that supports the state by upholding democratic values such as transparency, accountability and vibrant public debate; but as an existential threat.
The threat from within comes from social media which is now cornering an increasing share of advertising revenue.
News outlets have relied for so long on advertising to sustain them. They will find it difficult to recover once the advertisement revenue goes elsewhere.
Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism; because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business.
The business of most news outlets has been primarily about attracting attention, not delivering the best or highest quality news. Data on the shifting share of advertising, in Australia and elsewhere, makes clear the profound change of the last two decades.
Money previously spent on print advertising and direct mail has migrated to search, social media, and online classifieds.
Money spent on television advertising has moved as well, though more slowly and mostly just in the last decade.
The development of more effective and efficient advertising tools is what killed traditional newspaper operations, not the circulation of news on social media. The commercial failure of news organisations is not due to their journalism product but because they are no longer nearly so strong a tool for attracting attention for advertisers
Police personnel from the RAF and Bidhannagar police commissionerate intervened, halting the demonstrators near the commission’s head office at Karunamoyee
PTI, Calcutta, 03.05.24,: Around 1,000 young teachers, who were rendered jobless following a recent ruling by the Calcutta High Court, staged a demonstration outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) office here on Friday to express their grievances.
The teachers said they were part of the 26,000 candidates who appeared for the SSC 2016 test, a recruitment process deemed null and void by the high court in its recent verdict.
Police personnel from the RAF and Bidhannagar police commissionerate intervened, halting the demonstrators near the commission’s head office at Karunamoyee.
Approximately, 100 protesters were briefly detained for obstructing the road, a police official said.
SSC chairman Siddhartha Majumder told PTI that he met about 10 representatives from the protesters, explaining the legal constraints faced by the commission.
He expressed sympathy towards deserving candidates and assured them that the commission would do whatever possible within the legal framework to assist them.
“I have told them we are sympathetic to the deserving candidates.
The commission will certainly do whatever is possible, as per the legal framework, to help them,” he said.
However, he highlighted that the commission’s actions were restricted as the matter was now sub-judice.
Responding to queries regarding demands for the release of answer sheets in the public domain, Majumder clarified that the commission couldn’t even disclose candidates’ results, as the entire issue was sub-judice.
The SSC had earlier said while results of around 20,000 candidates were not suspicious, there are anomalies in the results of over 5000 and it had been brought to the notice of the court in past submissions.
The accused had established a “brotherly relationship” with a woman on social media to gain her trust before swindling her of lakhs of rupees.
EOI, SILIGURI, MAY 3, 2024 : A man involved in an alleged online scam has been arrested six months after the filing of the complaint.
The accused had established a “brotherly relationship” with a woman on social media to gain her trust before swindling her of lakhs of rupees.
The accused scammer, a resident of Cooch Behar, established contact with the woman, a resident of Hakimpara in Siliguri, by introducing himself on social media.
Gradually he gained the trust of the woman. He persuaded her to provide him with Rs 10,000 and returned Rs 17,000 to build her trust.
Later, he deceived her into handing over around Rs 50,000 on one occasion while returning Rs70,000.
Finally, he disappeared after swindling the woman of lakhs of rupees. Following the complaint of the woman the Panitanki Outpost tracked the man, using his mobile tower location.
‘I was unhappy with some things and had to speak,’ says Ghosh who seems even more emboldened now that he no longer holds any party post. ‘The party was unhappy with what I said. I have distanced myself a little’
(L-R) Abhishek Banerjee, Kunal Ghosh and Mamata Banerjee.: TTO Graphics.
Arnab Ganguly, TT, Calcutta, 03.05.24 : The chronicle was foretold but the timing has taken political Bengal by surprise.
It began with minor skirmishes. Abhishek Banerjee, the heir to Didi’s political empire, is known to be impatient. For a while he has been targeting the explosion of movie stars in TMC politics. He has no problem with full-time politicians coming from the entertainment background. But he thought the glamorous TMC brigade in the Lok Sabha were first movie stars and politicians only next.
Also, he has little time for the elderly “has beens” like Sougata Roy, four-time MP from Dum Dum, and Sudip Bandopadhyay, the five-time MP from North Calcutta. They should give way to the next generation, the nephew was believed to have said.
Aunt Mamata Banerjee did not wholly agree. The more glamorous contestants were not given Lok Sabha tickets this time. But others got the ticket and there were fresh entries. But, a whopping one-third of women candidates were from the entertainment sector.
TTO Graphics.
Didi had her own reasons. The TMC is riven by factions in many districts. Giving tickets to an outsider and a movie star will make them less unhappy. Rather an outsider than losing to rivals. But Didi does not tolerate opposition from the party or from her nephew.
Then Gaza like bombing began. Deb, a superstar who has seen better times and has won twice from the south Bengal constituency of Ghatal, was the provocation. Deb himself did not wish to contest, but Didi suspected he was in touch with the BJP. She persuaded him to contest and even forced her nephew to request Deb.
The story took a curious turn here. Mithun Chakraborty, the aging superstar of Bollywood, is a local favourite being the only Bengali national figure after Saurav Ganguly. Mithun was a Didi nominee in the Rajya Sabha but switched sides and joined the BJP. Didi had called him a “gaddar”.
Professional affiliation runs deep in Deb’s vein. I do not like the use of words such as “gaddar”, he had said solemnly. Yet, Didi did not take umbrage and went on to campaign for Deb.
Then the drone attacks began. Abhishek Banerjee used Kunal Ghosh, a spokesman for the party, an unguided missile generally believed to be the public voice of the nephew. Ghosh thus punches above his weight. “We dare not say anything lest it antagonises the nephew,” said a senior Trinamul leader on condition of anonymity.
But Ghosh is irrepressible. He has found his second target: his old nemesis, the BJP MP from Calcutta North. Suitably inspired, Ghosh did himself one better. He attended a social event (blood donation camp) along with the BJP candidate in North Calcutta, Tapas Roy, who was till recently not just a star member of the Trinamul, but also a vocal critic of Ghosh for years. Roy had tried his best to be the Trinamul candidate himself. When that failed he joined the BJP.
At the event, Ghosh spoke a lot, praising Roy and even going on to say, tellingly, that this time Trinamul did not want “false votes” to be cast in Calcutta North, thereby casting aspersions on Bandopadhyay’s record of winning the seat since 2009. Rebuff came immediately. He was handed over a letter from Derek O’Brien telling him he was no longer one of the state secretaries of the party. Ghosh is understood to have made a face before mockingly referring to the party’s Rajya Sabha MP. “Quiz master,” he muttered, loud enough for all to hear.
Undeterred, Ghosh let loose another bombshell soon after, that too on television. “The party was well aware of the fact that large-scale corruption and extortion in lieu of jobs was taking place in the school education department. The party was aware of it even before the 2021 assembly polls,” he said in an interview to Bengali news channel ABP Ananda.
Ghosh did not mention names. But the Trinamul struck back within 24 hours. By Thursday afternoon, Ghosh’s name was struck off the list of the party’s star campaigners. But that further emboldened Ghosh, the proverbial ant which could drive the elephantine Trinamul crazy by his antics. A good writer and speaker, Ghosh is able to unleash all kinds of verbal missiles at will.
But Ghosh continues to hold other plum responsibilities. He runs the party mouthpiece and also looks after ā Bengali daily on Didi’s behalf. Clearly, he has powerful backers.
Since his release from prison in October 2016 (he was arrested in connection with the Saradha scam in 2013) and reinstatement in the party around four years later, Ghosh has cemented his position as a trusted aide of Abhishek.
“If someone says that I am being tutored to say these things, then the issues I am raising will become redundant,” Ghosh told The Telegraph Online. “I was unhappy with some things and had to speak. The party was unhappy with what I said. I have distanced myself a little.”
Bandopadhyay apart, Ghosh has had other Didi favourites in his line of fire, like, for instance, jailed ex-minister Partha Chatterjee, ex-MP Subrata Bakshi, candidate Kalyan Banerjee and mayor and state minister Firhad Hakim. Hence, hiding behind Ghosh’s diatribes is the answer to the question that has bothered the Trinamul rank and file in the last three years. How deep is the chasm between Didi and her nephew?
In the last four years, Ghosh has convinced many that like Abhishek, he too believes Trinamul needs to replace the old guard and some of Mamata’s personal favourites to stay ahead in the game. “Didi runs the party with an emotional connect. Abhishek wants to run it more in the manner of a corporate,” said a Trinamul leader, trying to make sense of the nephew’s line of thinking.
There are those in the Trinamul who believe Abhishek is hungry to take over the reins of the party, though no one is saying he would go the whole hog anytime soon. Side by side, Ghosh’s gradual return to favour has been the stuff of legends.
As the only Trinamul leader who publicly vilified Mamata when he was in jail, Ghosh’s rise has been nothing short of spectacular. Ghosh is also said to have played a key role in the rehabilitation of “renegade” bureaucrats. Nandini Chakravorty, a civil servant with lots of spunk, was shunted to dead posts such as secretary to the Governor. But she bounced back as a senior secretary after she paid obeisance to Ghosh.
All this may or may not be entirely true. But people believe in such stories. An impression is created. Soon that holds ground. And that’s what matters. Now that he’s no longer a star campaigner for Trinamul, Ghosh is making full use of his freedom. He has hit the road. “The issues that I am talking about, like the teachers’ recruitment scam (it was wrongly handled). The party will reap the benefits if it is solved. Trinamul leaders from the heart of the city have quit. They could have been stopped. I am not a policymaker. I am simply drawing the attention of the party,” he said.
Today, Kunal Ghosh is believed to be the “Nabi” to Abhishek’s “Allah”. And as long as Abhishek is all but inaccessible, Ghosh will remain a factor in Bengal politics.
KalimNews, Kalimpong, 3 May 2024 : NNH 10 from Rabi Jhora to 29th Mile will remain closed for three complete days of 72 hrs starting from 6am of 6 April to 6am of 9 April. Balasubramanian T, District Magistrate of Kalimpong has notified that the said highway from Rabi Jhora to 29th Mile for carrying out bituminous work.
His order states that a prayer has been received from the Executive Engineer II, National Highway, Division IX, P.W (Roads) requesting restriction and diversion of movement of all type of vehicles to carry out bituminous work at the stretch between Rabi bora to Gail Khola along NH 10. Therefore the administration finds it necessary to impose temporary restriction for movement of all type of vehicles to carry out the said bituminous work at the stretch between Rabi bora to Gail Khola along NH 10 to be carried on by PWD, National Highway, Division IX, P.W (Roads).
The restriction of movement of all types of vehicles in the NH 10 stretch from Rabi Jhora to 29th Mile starting from 6 am of 6 May till 6 am of 9 May will be in effect.
Alternative route as traffic diversion will be allowed as follows:
1) Only small vehicles will move from Rangpoo towards Siliguri via Munsong – 17’1′ Mile – Algarah – Lava -Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice versa round the clock
2) Small vehicles will move from Chitrey – Kalimpong town Algarah – Lava – Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice versa round the clock.
3) Goods Vehicle will move from Chitrey – Kalimpong town Algarah – Lava – Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice versa from 21.00 hrs to 06.00 hrs.
4) Goods vehicle and small vehicles will move from Reshi – Pedong – Algarah – Lava – Gorubathan and to Siliguri and vice versa round the clock.
Necessary restrictions at Rangpoo Check post, Chitrey and at District border – NH – 10 stretch shall be imposed by police (Traffic) for facilitating the route diversion, the notice adds.
Since Wednesday, residents have spotted the dead fish floating on the lake. They have also informed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the administrative body in the hills, about this development
Dead fish from Sumendu Lake in Mirik on Thursday: Picture by Passang Yolmo
Bireswar Banerjee, TT, 03.05.24: Shoals of fish were found dead and floating on Sumendu Lake in Mirik over the past few days, much to the concern of residents and the district fisheries department.
Mirik, a popular tourist destination nestled in Darjeeling hills, is known for its lake in the heart of the town. Hundreds of tourists flock to the lakeside or take a walk along the arch-shaped concrete footbridge that connects the two ends of the water body and feed the fish. Boating is yet another attraction for people visiting the town.
Fish like Cyprinus Carpio, commonly known as American Rohu, trout and silver carp, which can survive in cold water, are found in the lake.
Since Wednesday, residents have spotted the dead fish floating on the lake. They have also informed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the administrative body in the hills, about this development.
“We have retrieved hundreds of dead fish from the lake here since yesterday (Wednesday). It is surprising that the fish are dying in the lake. The fisheries department should engage experts to find out what has led to the incident,” said Aita Rai, an official of the tourism department of the GTA posted in Mirik.
Rai, who also heads the Small Food Cart Association in Mirik, said local civic authorities, along with NGOs, regularly clean the lake and clear debris to keep the water body clean.
“But unplanned dumping of waste in a part of the lake by a section of residents seems to have polluted the water, leading to deaths of the fish. This practice must be stopped now and the municipality should act on it,” he added.
As the news spread, officials of Darjeeling district fisheries department which works under the GTA, has initiated a probe.
“We have instructed our staff to visit the lake and submit a report to us. We will also collect water samples and get those tested in a lab to ascertain what caused the deaths and if the water is contaminated,” said Kaushik Maity, the district fisheries officer of Darjeeling.
Courtesy & source- The Telegraph https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/shoals-of-dead-fish-float-on-miriks-sumendu-lake-raising-serious-concerns-among-residents/cid/2017343
Results of state’s Class X board exams, declared on Thursday, show maximum rise has been in mathematics and geography
Subhankar Chowdhury, TT, Calcutta, 03.05.24 : The number of students with scores above 90 per cent has surged in all subjects, except the second language and physical science, in Madhyamik this year, compared with last year’s results.
The results of the state’s Class X board exams, declared on Thursday, show the maximum rise has been in mathematics and geography.
As many as 22,951 students scored above 90 in mathematics in 2024, compared with 12,951 last year.
Students who scored above 90 in geography numbered 49,994, compared with 31,294 last year.
This year witnessed a significant rise in female candidates — 25.95 per cent more girls, compared with last year’s count, wrote the papers.
Of the 9,12,598 candidates, 7,65,252 students have passed the exams. The overall pass percentage is 86.31, a mild improvement from last year’s 86.15.
The number of students with scores above 90 per cent rose in history, life science and first language (vernacular) as well.
But the number of students with “AA” grade (90 per cent or more) — the highest grade — in the second language dipped to 9,922. Last year, the count was 11,229.
The number of AA scorers in physical science was 14,415, compared with 17,357 last year.
This year there was also a drop in the percentage of candidates who got first division, which is 60 per cent or above, in the aggregate.
This year 12.98 per cent of the examinees scored first-division marks, against 13.67 per cent last year.
When asked about the results, Ramanuj Ganguly, the president of the ad-hoc committee of the state secondary education board, said: “We have to study the reasons that led to the rise in the number of high scorers in some subjects and fall in some others. We will make a detailed analysis.”
Swapan Mandal, of the Bengal Teachers’ and Employees’ Association, said: “It is a matter of concern that the number of high scorers has dipped in two subjects despite a rise in the number of total candidates. This year, 9,12,598 appeared for the exams, against 6,82,321 last year. The percentage of first division also dipped.”
The secondary education board asked the school heads to open the URL https://www.wbbsedata.com after noon on May 2 for post-publication scrutiny (PPS) and post-publication review (PPR) of Madhyamik answer scripts.
The applications will be received till midnight of May 18.
The instruction tab for details of the login and application process has been uploaded on the board’s website.
The board also announced that applications for certified copies of answer scripts, under the RTI Act 2005, must reach the respective regional offices of the board within 75 days of the publication of the results (by July 16).
The board said that if such candidates apply for PPS/PPF as well, the RTI application for the certified copy will be processed after the publication of PPS/PPR results.
M.K. Maitra, the secretary of the Terai Indian Planters’ Association (TIPA), wrote to Bengal labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Thursday, saying the drought-like situation had hit the tea gardens across the Terai
Avijit Sinha, TT, Siliguri, 03.05.24 : The surge in mercury across north Bengal like other parts of the state and the absence of rainfall have badly hit the tea industry, prompting planters to appeal to the labour minister to announce subsidies and financial assistance for the sector.
M.K. Maitra, the secretary of the Terai Indian Planters’ Association (TIPA), wrote to Bengal labour minister Moloy Ghatak on Thursday, saying the drought-like situation had hit the tea gardens across the Terai.
“In April, there was a rainfall shortage of around 50 per cent in the Terai, which has directly affected the production. At a time when the cost of production has increased because of the rise in cost of different components, the decline in production has put several gardens in crisis,” said Maitra.
With no rainfall reported in the Terai in recent weeks, over 40 tea estates in the region are entirely dependent on irrigation to ensure that tea bushes don’t dry up. Also, the absence of rain has led to pest attacks in several gardens. In most gardens of the Terai, picking of tea leaves could be carried out only three to four days a week because of low yield, said a source.
“For irrigation purposes, the gardens had to pay huge power bills. That is why we have brought it to the notice of the state labour minister and have requested him to see that a substantial discount on electricity bills for irrigation is provided by the state from November to May,” said the TIPA secretary.
He said the central and state governments should come forward with other financial assistance, subsidies and additional relief and aid for the tea industry.
“Such assistance would help the industry tide over the current situation and contribute to the socio-economic well-being of the region,” added Maitra.
Those associated with the small tea sector, which contributes over 50 per cent of the total tea produced in Bengal, also articulated their distress.
“We don’t know when the weather conditions will improve. Most of the growers are dependent on the sale proceeds of tea leaves. These days, because of low yield, their earnings have deceased and many of them are finding it tough to pay the workers who pick tea leaves,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, president of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers’ Associations.
Meetings called
Subhagata Gupta, the deputy labour commissioner of Jalpaiguri, has convened meetings in Jalpaiguri on May 6 to expedite the reopening of the Totapara tea estate.
The management of the garden in Banarhat block announced the suspension of work on Wednesday. As a result, 855 permanent workers became jobless.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Subhrajyoti Sarkar, stationed at the Jalpaiguri District Labor Office, disclosed that the Totapara plantation management has been summoned for a meeting scheduled for Monday to address the unfolding crisis.
Dibyendu Sinha, MP, 2 May 2024, Jalpaiguri: The management of the Totapara Tea Garden in Jalpaiguri abruptly suspended operations, leaving about 850 tea garden workers unemployed. Workers claim this action was illegal, while the owners blame a section of the workers.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Subhrajyoti Sarkar, stationed at the Jalpaiguri District Labor Office, disclosed that the Totapara plantation management has been summoned for a meeting scheduled for Monday to address the unfolding crisis.
Aside from the contentious issue of work suspension, workers at Totapara tea plantation are grappling with outstanding dues, including Provident Fund (PF), gratuity and unpaid wages.
Seeking redress, a cohort of workers converged at Banarhat Police Station on April 27, staging a sit-in protest to expedite the resolution of their dues. Despite efforts, a scheduled tripartite meeting convened at the Banarhat Block Development Officer (BDO) office found none of the management representatives in attendance.
However, the administration received a letter from the owners assuring settlement of one installment of the outstanding wages on Tuesday. Expressing his dismay, Ramesh Mahali, a plantation worker, lamented: “The garden owner pledged to settle the dues by Tuesday, only to abscond and post the notice of suspension overnight, leaving us unaware until Wednesday, a holiday.”
Punita Mahali, another worker, echoed the sentiment, stating: “From basic amenities like access to drinking water to essential medical treatment, the garden fails us.
Adding insult to injury, our PF and gratuity remain unpaid. We hold onto hope that the garden will reopen following administrative intervention, once these issues are addressed.”
