Category Archives: West Bengal

Regional, Sikkim, West Bengal

Alert in north Bengal after rain wreaks havoc in Sikkim

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PTI, Kolkata, Jun 14, 2024 :  Following incessant rainfall causing devastation in neighbouring Sikkim resulting in overflowing of the Teesta river, the West Bengal Irrigation department issued an alert for the northern districts of the state, an official said on Friday.

    
The release of water from the barrages has resulted in rising the water level of the Teesta and because of that there is a threat of flood in areas on both sides of Teesta in Jalpaiguri district, he said.
     
Teesta is one of the major rivers of the state, and Jalpaiguri district is in the floodplain of this river. A barrage across the river was built at Gajoldoba in the district. Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the northern part of West Bengal share borders with Sikkim where rain-triggered landslides left a trail of destruction and six dead people on Thursday.
    
“The water of Teesta is rising because of the release of water from barrages in Sikkim. Teesta is coming down with great speed and an alert has been issued in this regard. We have taken all precautionary measures. Leaves of all the officials have been cancelled,” the official told PTI.
    
The Jalpaiguri district administration has been using public address system asking inhabitants near the Teesta to move to higher land, he said, adding that the fishermen were advised not to venture into the river.
    
“In several places, Teesta is almost getting into townships. So much water is coming down from the mountain that it is not possible for the barrage to stop that. As a result, plain lands will be affected. Irrigation department officials have been sent for on-site inspection,” he added.
    
When contacted, an official of the Jalpaiguri Sadar Sub-Divisional office said the alert has been sounded in all blocks.
    
“Everything from boats to rescue equipment has been kept ready. Residents have been asked to leave river banks,” he said.
    
On Thursday, a sub-divisional magistrate went to Maynaguri to review the flood situation of the Jaldhaka River, he said, adding that the administration is working to evacuate the villagers of Odlabari gram panchayat to a safe distance.
    
In neighbouring Sikkim, at least six people were killed and 1,500-odd tourists stranded as massive landslides triggered by incessant rainfall caused devastation in Mangan district on Thursday.
    
A newly-constructed bailey bridge at Sangkalang collapsed snapping the link between Mangan with Dzongu and Chungthang. Landslides blocked stretches of roads and several houses were inundated or damaged, while electricity poles were swept away.
West Bengal

CM warns against grabbing of govt lands, asks police to take action

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MP, 12 June 2024, Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advocated zero-tolerance against illegal occupying of government land and directed the administration to take immediate measures for freeing such land. 

Banerjee, while chairing her first administrative meeting after the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday at Nabanna, sought a report from all government departments about respective lands belonging to them and ordered that if any such land is found to be illegally occupied, the police should take action and return it to the respective departments. 
All ministers in her Cabinet, department heads and the district magistrates too were virtually present in the meeting. 
The majority of the government departments have some quantity of land under them but in a good number of cases, due to lack of surveillance, such lands are being grabbed. 
Sources said when a senior official of the Food Processing and Horticulture department (FPI&H) raised the issue of their land for the food processing hub at Bamanghata in Bhangar being illegally encroached upon, Banerjee ordered Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goel to take immediate measures for freeing the land. 
The FPI & H department will set up a food processing unit– the first of its kind in the state at the government level at Bamanghata. 
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will be executing the project which will have a four-storey building providing space for small food processing units and a market for processed food and vegetables. 
It is learnt that the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) in the recent past has received complaints related to illegal occupation of land and in some cases, allegations have surfaced that the character of land has also been altered. 
 https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/cm-warns-against-grabbing-of-govt-lands-asks-police-to-take-action-567702
Crime, West Bengal

‘Central Force deployment in state should continue till June 21’

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MP, 12 June 2024, Kolkata: Taking into account the allegations of post-poll violence and “apathy” of the state police administration in not tackling the situation, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that the Central Force deployment in the state should continue till June 21. 

Two PILs were filed by the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal regarding safety, security, protection and the prevention of the violence. 
In one of the PIL, prayer was made to extend Central Force deployment to ensure peace and safety while the other alleged inaction by state police administration in taking steps in several complaints filed through e-mail. 
The Vacation Bench of Justice Kausik Chanda and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray had earlier directed both the state police and Central Forces deployed in the state by the Election Commission of India to take steps to safeguard the lives and property of victims based on complaints filed through e-mail addresses. 
The Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya on Wednesday directed the state to file a comprehensive report on/or before June 14 disclosing the actions and steps taken upon the complaints made through e-mail. 
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/bengal-govt-to-transfer-rs-2900-cr-to-105-cr-farmers-567733?infinitescroll=1
Regional, West Bengal

Scorching heat: State schools asked to tailor class timings

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PTI, JUNE 12, 2024 : The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education on Wednesday asked state-run and state-aided educational institutions to tailor school hours due to scorching heat prevailing in most parts of the state.


The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, referring to a communique from the school education department on June 11, stated in its advisory that upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools can collaborate with “stakeholders” to adjust school hours without disrupting the academic calendar and mid-day meal programme.

The advisory emphasised the importance of considering “weather conditions” in their respective areas while making such decisions, WBBSE deputy secretary Rhitabrata Chatterjee said.

Cities and districts of south Bengal, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Purnba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Badhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia, have been experiencing hot and humid weather with temperatures ranging between 35 and 40 degree Celsius.

Although the advisory did not specifically mention any particular zone, a school education department official clarified that the communique aimed to address the difficulties faced by children attending classes in the extreme heat, often leading to illness.

The official further explained that many primary and upper primary schools had already adjusted their class schedules to morning hours.

“Many primary and upper primary schools have already rescheduled classes in the morning hours. We have enabled every institute, even at secondary and higher secondary level, to tweak class hours according to their convenience for the benefit of students and teaching/non-teaching staff till the weather condition improves,” the official added.
National, Politics, West Bengal

BJP’s tally in LS will come down to 237 soon as 3 MPs are in touch with TMC, claims Saket Gokhale

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PTI, Kolkata, Jun 11, 2024 : Senior TMC leader Saket Gokhale on Tuesday claimed that three BJP MPs from West Bengal are in touch with the party and the saffron party’s tally in Parliament would soon come down to 237.

    
The comments drew sharp reactions from the West Bengal BJP unit, which dubbed the claim as “baseless” and asserted that the state unit stands united.

The Trinamool Congress secured 29 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.

The BJP, in contrast, faced a significant setback, dropping to 12 seats from the 18 it won in 2019.

“As of today, the numbers in the Lok Sabha are BJP: 240 INDIA: 237. Three BJP MPs in West Bengal are in touch with us and there will be a nice surprise soon. After that, BJP: 237 INDIA: 240.

“Modi’s creaky coalition is a temporary structure which isn’t going to last very long,” Gokhale, a Rajya Sabha MP, posted on X.

In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP with 240 seats fell short of a majority but the NDA secured the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress bagged 99 seats while the INDIA bloc got 234 seats. Following the polls, two Independents who won have also pledged support to the Congress, taking the INDIA bloc tally to 236.

Reacting to Gokhale’s claim, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC is “daydreaming”.

“Since 2014, the TMC has been daydreaming of becoming the pivotal force in the union government but its hopes were dashed not once but thrice. The BJP and NDA stand united. No BJP MP from Bengal is in touch with the TMC,” he said.
Education, West Bengal

Yogyashree scheme to include more students. The scheme was so long applicable to the SC and ST categories.

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SNS, 11 June 2024 : The state government will include boys and girls belonging to the general category, minorities and OBC in its Yogyashree scheme that provides free coaching to students sitting for engineering and medical courses.


The scheme was so long applicable to the SC and ST categories.

In 2024, those who had received training in Yogyashree scheme, got 23 ranks, including 13 IIT seats in JEE Advanced, 75 ranks in JEE (Main),. Seventy five students had cracked JEE (Main) and 432 cracked WBJEE and 110 ranks in NEET.

The state government has increased the number of centres to 50 and 2000 aspirants will receive the coaching. The coaching will be given from students studying in Class XI onwards.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee in her X handle wrote: “We are proud that our Yogyashree scheme which we started to provide free-of-cost training to SC/ST students of the state for admission in engineering and medical courses has been yielding increasingly greater and greater benefits for our SC/ST boys and girls. Now, we shall include the boys and girls of minority, OBC and general categories also in this scheme.”

She said this would benefit the students coming from economically-challenged backgrounds immensely.

She emphasised this scheme would bring out engineers and doctors in large numbers from the weaker section of the society.

“Let our boys and girls from the weaker sections be engineers and doctors in larger numbers. We shall now include students of Minority, OBC, and General categories in this scheme. Kudos to them!,” she further posted.

The state’s budget also revealed an enhancement in financial assistance under the Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme. General category households will now receive Rs 1,000, while SC/ST households are set to receive Rs 1,200.

Additionally, SC/ST women will been titled to Rs 1,200, and others will receive Rs 1,000 under the Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme, effective from April 2024. 

The West Bengal government on Tuesday said its ‘Yogyashree’ scheme for students will now include beneficiaries from the minority, OBC and general categories. The scheme was launched in January to provide free-of-cost training to SC and ST students of the state for engineering and medical courses. 

“In consideration of the value of this critical training support to our disadvantaged boys and girls, we have increased the number of centres in the state now to 50, and number of our supported trainees to 2,000, and the training will be given from Class XI onwards for better preparation,” the Chief Minister said. 

“Let our boys and girls from the weaker sections be engineers and doctors in larger numbers,” she added.
Economy, West Bengal

WB announces 4% DA hike for state govt employees with effect from Apr 1

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Bengal’s Chief Secy said that the government of West Bengal increased the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief by 4 percent in the state. The government notification was released on Tuesday

ANI, 11 June 2024 : The government of West Bengal increased the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief by 4 percent in the state. The government notification was released on Tuesday.
The order comes into effect from April 1, 2024.
In a letter dated June 11, Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal Dr Manoj Pant said that Governor CV Ananda Bose was pleased to enhance of the rate of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief.
Dr Manoj Pant said, “The Governor has been pleased to decide that enhancement of rate of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief in respect of the employees and Pensioners / Family Pensioners respectively of the State Government and Government aided Educational Institutions, Statutory Bodies, Government Undertakings, Panchayats including Panchayat Karmee, Municipal Corporations / Municipalities, Local Bodies etc. and Daily Rate of Wages for the daily rated workers as was allowed vide in Finance Department Memorandum No.1090-F(P2) dated March 1, 2024 shall be effective from April 1 instead of May 1.