A devastating fire at a Kolkata hotel claimed nine lives, including a child and two women, in the early hours of Wednesday. Survivors recounted a terrifying experience, highlighting the absence of fire alarms and safety equipment, and the difficulty of escape due to dense smoke and a single exit. This incident follows another fatal hotel fire in Birbhum.
A devastating fire in a five-storey building housing multiple hotels in central Kolkata resulted in the deaths of at least nine people, including a child, and injured six others. Firefighters rescued 80 individuals, but dense smoke hampered operations. Authorities suspect a short circuit and allege significant safety and construction norm violations by the building management. The owner is currently absconding, and police have initiated legal proceedings and raids.
Hotel officials claimed the fire was caused by a short circuit. A woman from Kolkata, who managed to escape the blaze, recalled the panic inside the hotel.
A devastating fire in a central Kolkata building resulted in nine deaths, primarily due to asphyxia, and the rescue of around 80 people. West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury highlighted the quick response of the Fire Brigade but raised concerns about safety norms, lack of windows, and the proliferation of cramped hotels within the building. An investigation committee will be formed, and fire audits will be conducted across all hotels in the state.
The owner and manager of Rituraj Hotel in Kolkata have been arrested following a devastating fire that killed 14 people. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered surprise checks of all establishments in the city to ensure fire safety compliance, after the tragedy highlighted serious violations at the hotel. The hotel has been sealed and special committees will be formed to monitor and identify establishments flouting fire safety norms.
A fire in two godowns in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district resulted in at least seven deaths and several missing persons. Rescue operations are underway to clear the debris and ascertain the full extent of the tragedy.
The CBI has arrested two individuals, Vikas Mishra and Golu Singh, in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, an aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Another accused, Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Monu, has surrendered. The CBI is continuing its investigation into the high-profile case.
A massive fire that tore through a budget hotel in the congested Mechuapatti area of Burrabazar in central Kolkata on Tuesday night claimed at least 14 lives and left 13 injured, triggering a political blame game and calls for accountability.
The Jharkhand cricket team, including their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Friday escaped unhurt after a fire broke out at a five star hotel in Dwarka, New Delhi leading to postponement of the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final against Bengal.
Indian eateries are adapting to the LPG crisis by cutting menus, increasing prices, and switching to alternative fuels like coal, as LPG supplies are disrupted due to global events. State authorities are cracking down on hoarding and black marketing of LPG cylinders.
The police on Friday claimed to have arrested 'a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader' along with 10 others on charges of running a sex racket in a hotel in West Bengal's Howrah district, while the state's main opposition party denied any association with the accused individuals.
Several areas in Muslim-majority Murshidabad, including Suti, Dhulian, Jangipur and Shamsherganj, have witnessed violent protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act that spiralled into communal violence, sparking the exodus.
The alpona (artwork) on the steep, winding road leading to Makaibari bears testimony to the visit of G20 delegates for the second tourism working group meeting in April last year. The lush tea bushes, the delegates joining in for the moonlight plucking of Silver Tips Imperial first flush, a favourite of late Queen Elizabeth II, cut a picture of mystical magic. But it's not the Kurseong tea garden's only shining moment - the last few years have been busy for the estate and its bungalow.
North Zone IG Neeraj Kumar Gupta said the man, who was a beggar, is suspected to have done the act "due to mental trauma", as he could not get any money from begging in the state.
Then chief minister Jyoti Basu once told an industrialist that capitalists were class enemies and he should expect no sympathy.
Just as the umpire's decision is no longer final, what is disdainfully rejected is the age-old dictum that the game should be played and watched in the spirit of the game, sighs Uddalok Bhattacharya.
Keisha Santwan, 16, and her travel-obsessed family love the joy of exploring new places.
10 central trade unions have called a nationwide shutdown against 'anti-worker policies' of the central government. Apart from being successful in Bengal, Kerala and NE states, the bandh has also got support from Cong leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a tough stance and ordered the hunting down of all suspects of the Birbhum carnage including her party colleagues, the police on Thursday arrested a local Trinamool Congress boss Anarul Hossain from near a hotel in the pilgrimage town of Tarapith.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed cases in connection with the killing of eight people in West Bengal's Birbhum district, shortly after the Calcutta high court directed the central probe agency to take over investigation into the case, a senior official said.
Few people know Ratan Tata as well as R K Krishna Kumar does. Widely perceived to be among the managers closest to Tata, Krishna Kumar assesses Ratan Tata, the man and business leader, in this exclusive interview to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar came under fresh attack on Monday from state Bharatiya Janata Party president Sanjay Jaiswal whose party seems annoyed with junior ally Janata Dal-United's shrill demands for special assistance from the Centre.
She faced off against former disciple-turned-defector Suvendu Adhikari in a very different contest. It's not land acquisition, but an ego clash that has acquired, tragically, communal overtones, explains Kanika Datta.
The epicenter of the quake was Sonitpur and the quake occurred at 7.51 am at a depth of 17 kilometres, it said.
Protesters also burnt effigies of Banerjee and vowed to continue their fight for Gorkhaland.
'The terrorists will allow only those who practice their tenets to live in Kashmir,' argues Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
She said in such a scenario, the Centre and the state must start talking on the matter.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
India is in the midst of its biggest crisis since Independence. It is a national emergency and begs to be dealt with. Politics can wait. Lives need to be saved. We need to vaccinate India at a pace faster than any country in the world, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'As demonetisation showed us, the Shah-Modi duo can take big risks.' 'Risking economic damage for political benefit, however, is one thing, stoking old fires in complicated Assam is another', warns Shekhar Gupta.
Some 230 kilometres from Kolkata, in West Bengal's Birbhum district, 500 children stand out because of their 'unconventional' education, says Anjuli Bhargava.
'Power is always transitory, and you should be the same person whether you have it or not,' the head of the number one law firm in India tells Pavan Lall.
Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
In a minor relief for residents of flood-hit Chennai, the rains have stayed away for the last few hours.
'At a time when sports leagues are often smothered by the allure of spurious glamour, it is easy to forget what makes them so exciting in the first place: The sport itself.' 'At its core, the PKL has a fast-paced, engaging sport working for it.' 'Simply put, kabaddi, with its end-to-end action and oscillating fortunes, is almost never dull to watch,' says Dhruv Munjal.
The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.
'We know many things are going to happen.' 'People should be preparing for sea level rise, for increased cyclonic activity, for drought.' 'One reason I wrote the book is to alert people to the dangers that they face.' 'For example, Mumbai faces enormous threat.'
Nutan was the kind of woman Shammi got drawn to -- sensitive, aware and erudite, yet seductively feminine.
A look at the life and times of maverick businessman Chinnakannan Sivasankaran
