The excitement swept across India on Sunday night as thousands of people gathered in different cities to witness the much-awaited Total Lunar Eclipse, popularly known as the Blood Moon.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of releasing water recklessly and without prior intimation, creating a flood-like situation in south Bengal districts during Durga Puja.
This was the second time in less than a week when the ex-MP and former state BJP chief was absent from a programme of a top BJP leader, the other being the public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Alipurduar in northern West Bengal on May 29.
The father of a 24-year-old nurse found dead at a nursing home in West Bengal alleges foul play and demands a CBI investigation, rejecting claims of suicide.
Heavy overnight rainfall caused widespread flooding in Kolkata, disrupting traffic, public transport, and daily life. Train and Metro services were suspended, and many areas experienced significant waterlogging.
The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on India is set to deliver a major blow to West Bengal's export-driven economy, with the state's labour-intensive leather, engineering and marine sectors expecting losses ahead of the festive season, stakeholders said. The increased levies on Indian products for the country's purchases of Russian oil came into effect on Wednesday, bringing the total amount of tariff imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent.
The death of a 24-year-old nurse at a private nursing home in West Bengal's Hooghly district has triggered political unrest and allegations of a cover-up. Opposition parties are demanding a fair investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, alleging foul play and potential sexual assault.
The Election Commission suspended four officers and a casual worker in West Bengal for alleged dereliction of duty and lapses in preparing electoral rolls. The action follows allegations of electoral roll compromise at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
A controversy erupted in West Bengal after a history question paper at the state-run Vidyasagar University described Indian revolutionaries as 'terrorists,' triggering strong political reactions and forcing the institute to issue a public apology, calling it a 'printing mistake.'
A 12-year-old boy died after allegedly consuming pesticide in West Bengal, India, following an incident where a shopkeeper accused him of stealing a packet of chips and forced him to do sit-ups. The boy's mother found him unconscious with a note claiming he was not a thief and was forced to consume pesticide after the shopkeeper's actions. The shopkeeper has been accused of assault and is currently absconding.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led Centre of spreading communal hatred and failing to protect the country's border. She alleged that families affected by recent violence in Murshidabad were being prevented by the saffron camp from meeting her. Banerjee also criticized the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its visit to Murshidabad and questioned its priorities, asking whether NHRC members visited BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
Families of two West Bengal women killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela have alleged that they were handed over the bodies without death certificates. They received only a piece of paper mentioning that the body was given to them. The victims, Basanti Poddar and Urmila Bhuniya, were killed in the pre-dawn stampede on January 29. A senior West Bengal minister alleged that "total mismanagement" prevailed in the Maha Kumbh Mela.
On May 28, 2010, Maoists derailed the Jnaneshwari Express, killing 148 passengers.
Alongside the power plant, Chief Minister Banerjee also laid the foundation stone for JSW Industrial Park, which will be spread over 2,000 acres with plug-and-play infrastructure.
Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was the chief priest during the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at Digha on April 30, on Friday joined the voices demanding withdrawal of the 'Jagannath Dham' phrase attached to the new temple in West Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of a "scam" after the poll panel admitted to the existence of duplicate voter ID numbers. The ECI has said it will address the issue in the next three months. TMC leader Saket Gokhale alleged that the ECI is trying to "protect" someone and demanded answers about the extent of the duplication and why it took 25 years to address the problem.
More than 150 express/passenger trains running through South Eastern Railway jurisdiction have been cancelled in view of the severe cyclonic storm, an SER official said.
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.
The Calcutta High Court has ordered the revival and prosecution of ten criminal cases related to murders in Nandigram and Khejuri during an anti-land acquisition movement in 2007. The court deemed the West Bengal government's decision to withdraw prosecution in these cases, involving the deaths of at least ten individuals, as unlawful. The bench emphasized that murders had indeed occurred and that allowing the prosecution to withdraw under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code would not be in the public interest. The court stated that violence in any form should be eschewed in a democracy and that a state must exhibit zero tolerance towards it. The court set aside the state government's decision to withdraw prosecution and directed the public prosecutor to take appropriate measures within a fortnight.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that one person died in the state in cyclone Dana, even as the administration evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from the low-lying areas.
The bypolls were held in six constituencies - Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) - following the resignation of MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A gas cylinder blast in a house at Dholahat in West Bengal's Pathar Pratima has claimed eight lives, including four children. The explosion, which occurred on Monday night, triggered a massive fire, intensified by the presence of stacked firecrackers inside the house. The incident has sparked a political controversy, with the BJP demanding a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe and the TMC maintaining that the police are already investigating and that the state government has a "zero-tolerance " policy towards such incidents. The blast has also raised concerns about the safety of illegal firecracker manufacturing units, which have been linked to several recent accidents in the state.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.
A woman died and four others were critical after the delivery of babies at a state-run hospital in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district allegedly due to the administration of expired intravenous fluid, prompting the health department to order an investigation, officials said on Saturday.
The West Bengal government has ordered a CID probe into the death of a woman and three others falling critically ill after childbirth in a state-run hospital allegedly following the administration of 'expired' intravenous fluid. A 13-member committee will also investigate the matter parallelly. The decisions were taken at a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The CM also holds the health portfolio. "We have asked the CID to investigate the matter. They will look into all aspects and find out whether there were procedural lapses and whether SOPs (standard operating procedures) were properly followed or not," Chief Secretary Manoj Pant said. Pant said the CM held a review meeting with officials of the state health department and gave a clear direction that such negligence in administrative and procedural lapses will not be tolerated. "Strict action will be taken against those found guilty of any procedural lapses or in treatment," he said. Referring to the initial report on the incident submitted by the committee, Pant admitted that "clear violations" of norms were found in this matter. A woman died and four others were critical after the delivery of babies at the Medinipur Medical College and Hospital allegedly due to the administration of expired intravenous fluid, prompting the health department to constitute the panel to investigate the matter.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
Sporadic incidents of unrest marred the West Bengal bypolls, with a local Trinamool Congress worker Ashok Shaw dying following a crude bomb attack in Bhatpara, an area adjoining Naihati assembly constituency where voting was underway.
Heavy rains packed with gusty winds lashed Odisha and parts of southern West Bengal as the landfall process of the severe cyclonic storm Dana was complete on Friday morning with no loss of life.
The TMC chief alleged that the National Investigation Agency had gone to Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district without informing the local police.
'This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built.'
As Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for a severe cyclonic storm, governments of both states started evacuating people and while deciding to close educational institutions in vulnerable areas.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel.
The West Bengal government has suspended 12 doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for negligence following the death of a woman and four others falling ill after childbirth. The incident is alleged to have been caused by the administration of 'expired' intravenous fluid. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to the family of the deceased woman.
The cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha early Friday with wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), it said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that her state would sever all ties with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for 'unilaterally releasing water', which led to floods in south Bengal districts.
However, there was no report of any major damage or casualty so far even as the landfall process started more than an hour ago, the official said.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
