Falta/Kolkata: The repoll in the Falta assembly constituency on Thursday recorded a turnout of 87.9% till 8 pm, with no reports of violence or untoward incidents, according to a senior Election Commission (EC) official. Falta registered a 91.8% turnout during the original polling on April 29, which was later countermanded by the EC over allegations…
Kolkata: Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand on Thursday terminated the extended tenure of Santanu Sinha Biswas, deputy commissioner of police (II), security branch. Biswas had been deputed to the Special Security Unit. According to an official order, DC (II) SCO Angsuman Pal will take over Biswas’s responsibilities with immediate effect, in addition to his existing…
Howrah/Durgapur: Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced that elections to the Howrah, Bally and Durgapur civic bodies are likely to be held after the pujas, while promising a crackdown on alleged corruption and administrative irregularities in the municipalities.Speaking after review meetings in Howrah and Durgapur, Adhikari said the govt would request the state Election…
Kolkata: Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has called for an urgent meeting of all councillors at her home amid speculation of possible widening fault lines in the party, with TMC councillors resigning en masse in several parts of Bengal, and at least one high-profile councillor quitting in Kolkata. Sources indicate that Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim has…
Kolkata: A toxic combination of climbing midnight temperatures and relentless relative humidity is trapping Kolkata in a worsening cycle of nighttime heat stress, with the city’s low-income populations bearing the brunt of the crisis.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that Kolkata’s minimum temperatures — typically recorded past midnight — will rise further in the…
Kolkata: The Bengal govt informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that several mega surface water-based drinking water projects aimed at tackling arsenic contamination in North 24 Parganas are running behind schedule because of fund shortages, land acquisition hurdles and delays in securing clearances from multiple agencies. Earlier, green-crusader Subhas Datta said that most of the…
Kolkata: Wetlands in West Bengal, once rich in indigenous fish diversity, are facing growing ecological stress from pollution, habitat degradation, indiscriminate fishing and climate change, raising concerns over biodiversity and food security. To address the crisis, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, with support from the National Fisheries Development Board, launched a pen-based seed rearing programme…
Kolkata: Several private hospitals have joined a three-day ‘Health Facility Registry and Health Professional Registry’ workshop for getting on board the Ayushman Bharat Yojana. The workshop is being conducted by the North 24 Parganas district administration at Barasat from May 20-22. While over 300 hospitals and clinical establishments have so far attended the meet and…
KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under its joint director (East) to probe allegations that aspects of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case were suppressed or “hushed up”.The court further instructed the SIT to submit a detailed…
King Charles casually hopped onto the DJ decks at Buckingham Palace, with DJ-actor Sir Idris Elba right beside him. At a garden party celebrating 50 years of The King’s Trust, the monarch surprised guests by “pressing play” on a live DJ set. Thousands watched, umbrellas up in the rain. Royal protocol, but make it party…
