Life in Kolkata came to a standstill even before Cyclone Aila hit on Monday, killing 17, including a woman, and injuring many. High-velocity winds and heavy rains lashed the coastal areas of the state from Monday morning. All flights, including international ones, at the NSC Bose International Airport were suspended from 1400 hours, airport sources said.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party, which has often been mocked by opponents for not having a well-defined ideological plank, seems to have finally found its calling in Bengali sub-nationalism, as a section of top party leaders feel only an 'inclusive message of regionalism, which the Bengalis can identify with, will counter the aggressive nationalism and Hindutva practised by the saffron camp'.
About 6,500 persons were sheltered in 67 relief camps opened in various districts.
Personal and healthcare major Emami group on Tuesday announced setting up of a bio-diesel plant at Haldia, the first in West Bengal, with an investment of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion).
In the wake of growing interest by large industrial groups in West Bengal, the state government has embarked on a plan to revive a number of small airports in the state apart from developing a new airport in Kolkata with private participation.
Please, let us not be scared of multinational corporations
Ten-year old Ismail was was given the role of the convict and three others were enacting the roles of the hangman, doctor and jail superintendent.
He had conveyed the wish to his father Bangshidar and brother Bikas when they had last met him at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata a few days ago.
Results of the panchayat polls indicated a paradigm shift in state politics with the baton of main opposition party passing from the Left to the BJP.
The elections are not only a means for TMC to prove its wide, unopposed mass allegiance but also a way to bargain for national leadership among regional political parties in the road to New Delhi.
Railway proposes to complete 273 kms of new lines including Chandigarh-Morinda-Ludhiana, Kakinada-Kotipalli and Hassan-Bangalore.
'The power of love is the greatest power in the world.' 'Add a smile and you can conquer the world,' Bengali actor June Maliah, the Trinamool Congress's candidate for the Medinipur constituency, tells Swarupa Dutt/Rediff.com.
High voter turnout was recorded in the assembly polls in Assam and West Bengal where an estimated 82.02 per cent and 79.51 per cent of the voters cast their ballots till 5 pm.
They refused to even accept the official communication about the rejection of the mercy plea by the President.
His parents have threatened to commit mass suicide if he is hanged.
Mamata announced that over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) would be invested in developing the Aerotropolis project which, she felt, would ultimately change the industrial scenario in the region comprising Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia distracts.
Hundreds were injured in the hailstorm, which left a trail of destruction.
The polling for the sixth phase on May 12 covers 6 states and one Union Territory.
The chief minister, speaking at her first major political rally after the Lok Sabha polls, also said the party will launch a statewide protest on July 26, demanding return of black money "siphoned off" by the BJP.
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The owner of a rural chit fund firm, active in two south Bengal districts, died on Thursday in Hooghly district taking the ponzi scheme fiasco deaths in the state to 14.
Mamata Banerjee painted a bright future for industry in Durgapur.
Wearing multiple identities of religious preacher, science student and terror accused, the saffron robed Aseemanand, once known as the most wanted man in India, was the alleged link between the series of three bombings that ripped through India in 2007.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who travelled by road from Jharkhand to this West Bengal town to address a rally after being denied permission earlier for landing helicopter in the state, targeted the Trinamool Congress chief for opposing the Central Bureau of Investigation's attempt to quiz the Kolkata police chief in connection with the ponzi scams.
Vast swathes of the country are reeling under scorching heat with the mercury soaring to above 40C mark in many areas.
Eleven persons were injured in a clash between the Trinamool Congress and Congress party workers at Sabong in West Midnapore district as the first phase of panchayat polls began on Thursday in West Bengal. In another incident, senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Surya Kanto Mishra was involved in an altercation with local Trinamool Congress supporters outside a polling booth at Khadurdah gram panchayat area in West Midnapore district.
BJP won 18 of the seats while the TMC won 22 of the seats.
Accusing Trinamool Congress of creating widespread fear psychosis through "terror and intimidation" in West Bengal, the Left parties on Tuesday sought Election Commission's intervention to ensure free and fair polls.
The Congress's share has almost halved, down from 12 in 2014 to six now.
There is a "high probability" of political leaders coming under a Chhatisgarh-type attack during their panchayat poll campaign in Maoist-hit Jangalmahal in West Bengal, intelligence sources here have indicated.
The elections in this phase are seen as a big test for the Bharatiya Janata Party
'The condition in Bengal is such that if you chant Jai Shri Ram, you would be put behind bars
In Uttar Pradesh, two persons were killed since Tuesday in the floods which have affected around 8.7 lakh people in 987 villages of 28 districts in the state.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
In a balancing act after massive protests in Kolkata over rise in rapes in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday had sharp words for intellectuals who had deserted her, while appealing for help to raise social awareness against such crimes.
"After pulling down the statue, slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' were raised,'' Datta told PTI.
'Of all the election skirmishes, it is the one between Mamata and Modi that has hit the nadir.' 'Obviously, the prize catch is Bengal where the BJP is determined to make inroads while Mamata is equally determined to keep them out,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Of the 294 candidates declared with serious criminal cases, 76 were from the TMC, 52 from the BJP, 47 from the CPI-M and 31 from the Congress.
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West Bengal with its porous borders has turned into an easy transit point and secure hideout for the agents of terror outfits like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Pakistani secret service Inter-Services Intelligence.
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