The tea industry, hit by rising costs, falling prices and political unrest in the North Bengal plantations, is especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
The BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party in West Bengal after winning 77 seats in the assembly polls last year, failed to win even a single civic body.
While the Opposition is making a belated effort to form a joint front against the BJP, Mamata's ambiguous stand has created confusion, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The national capital, parts of which reeled under heatwave conditions for the past few days, had some relief on Wednesday with strong winds and partly cloudy skies witnessed during the day.
Gurung vowed to support the TMC in the 2021 Bengal assembly elections.
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Bankura continued to top the maximum temperature chart at 43.7 degrees Celsius, while Panagarh in Paschim Bardhaman district followed closely at 43.5 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
HMI Principal, Group Captain Jai Kishan, said the institute decided to make the quarantine time useful for the air warriors, who came in batches of 10-12 after their return from holidays, as just remaining locked inside rooms could have caused mental stress to them amid the pandemic situation.
The world-famous Darjeeling tea is losing its flavour even as it struggles with falling production, says Avishek Rakshit.
When Viktor Zicho left Hungary 11 months ago to cycle to Darjeeling in India, he did not dream that he would be quarantined for two months in Bihar.
Tamang said, "All schools in Darjeeling will be given relaxation for 12 hours on June 23 to evacuate students from the city."
Security personnel in large numbers were deployed in the hill district of West Bengal after widespread clashes between GJM activists and the police were witnessed on Saturday.
Tour operators are feeding travelers' appetites for atypical destinations with luxurious tours to far-flung locales.
The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022, was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour.
The indefinite shutdown forced by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha to protest against alleged police atrocities against its workers affected normal life in parts of West Bengal on Saturday.
Amid demands for a separate state carved out of Bengal by some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that she is ready to shed her own blood, if need be, to thwart attempts to divide the state.
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The Centre on Saturday expressed its willingness for a dialogue with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, which in turn declared that Gorkhaland was not a separatist demand.Stating that the government was willing to talk to the GJM, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who held a brief meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, said, "There is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland."
An aide of the sixth shooter arrested in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case had conducted reconnaissance in Mumbai to draw up a strategy to kill actor Salman Khan at the behest of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday.
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Perched in the hills of Darjeeling, the factory was set up in 1874, but has remained shut since 2001. Efforts to reopen the colonial era establishment are now on a war footing.
West Bengal police sub-inspector Amitabha Mullick was shot dead and four police personnel were severely injured after supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morch loyal to Gurung opened fire to stop the advancing police party.
The meeting was attended by the GJM, the GNLF, the Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha, the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (apolitical) and the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists.
He died in New Delhi on Thursday at the age of 78.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
'The CM seems to have forgotten that she is dealing with the Gorkhas, people known for their valour and loyalty to India.' 'It is shameful that Mamata Banerjee and her administration treated them like insurgents, choosing to use live bullets instead of other ways and means to control crowds.'
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Ambulance operators were refusing to carry patients due to fear of harassment.
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'Huma is one of those actors who makes acting seem effortless.' 'But that happens because she has put in a certain amount of preparation.' 'She has a certain confidence that allows her to let go.'
While a group led by Binay Tamang wants to end the shutdown, the mainstream GJM, led by its supremo Bimal Gurung, wants the status quo to continue, reports Avishek Rakshit.
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'Parties which supported me were all threatened. This could hardly have been called a fair election.' 'This is Modi's India.'
'A master politician who excelled in the politics of intrigue, Subash Ghisingh kept winning election after election, sending a clear message to the state and central governments that he remained the undisputed king of the Darjeeling hills.'
The defence minister made the remarks after performing 'Shastra Puja' -- the customary worship of weapons -- at the Sukna-based headquarters of the Indian Army's 33 Corps in Darjeeling district of West Bengal on the occasion of Dussehra.
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In a shot in the arm for the Bharatiya Janata Party, two senior leaders of the Asom Gana Parishad on Monday joined the party and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha pledged support to BJP candidates in West Bengal, including the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.
It was the state government which has violated human rights and slapped false cases against the GJM, he claimed.
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