As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
The tea industry's cup of woes brimmeth - scanty rainfall and pest attacks have dragged down production in May, prices are lower than last year, and demand from some export markets is muted. Production in North Bengal - comprising the Dooars, Terai, and Darjeeling - is majorly affected; parts of Assam are also hit. Arijit Raha, secretary general, Indian Tea Association (ITA), said that the Tea Board numbers for April show a crop loss of about 9 per cent for North Bengal, compared to last year.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
Torrential rains pounded the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of North Bengal, causing landslides that cut off National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country.
The statement issued by Raj Bhavan late Saturday night highlighted that the governor, upon receiving a complaint in the Peace Room, instructed the police chief to arrest the culprit promptly.
'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'
India's long-distance swimmers Elvis Ali Hazarika of Assam and West Bengal's Rimo Saha created history by becoming the first relay team from the country as well as Asia to cross the North Channel in Europe.
The decision followed a petition by former deputy superintendent of the medical establishment, Akhtar Ali, who sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial misconduct during the tenure of the college's former principal, Sandip Ghosh.
The police seized a huge quantity of explosives and banned firecrackers during raids in different locations in rural West Bengal and arrested at least 100 people for their alleged involvement in running illegal manufacturing factories, a senior state police official said on Tuesday.
Stating that the police had "reliable inputs" that Anwar "may have been murdered", Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, said that the police were yet to recover the victim's body.
The governor also named Justice Mukherjee as the new vice chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University, he added.
Mamata asserted that she has not spoken to anyone in the Congress on seat-sharing in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The 6 am to 6 pm shutdown call evoked a mixed response as the state government engaged its entire machinery to ensure that normal life remained unaffected.
Shah said BJP worker's family had complained that his body had been taken away forcibly.
It said the weather system was expected to intensify into a deep depression by 5.30 am on Wednesday and turn into Cyclone Mocha in the next 12 hours, packing wind speeds of 80-90 kmph and gusting to 100 kmph.
'When the girls said they want to play football, the mothers were encouraging.' 'It was the fathers who were against the idea.'
In a blunt message to the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha demand, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday ruled any division of West Bengal.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
In order to strengthen security at the International Borders in wake of Independence Day next week, an operational conference, chaired by ADG, BSF, Eastern Command was held at the Force's Kolkata office, the statement said.
Nobel laureate economist Abhijit Banerjee has said the current situation in Bangladesh is unlikely to trigger a fresh round of exodus of minority Hindus into India. He believes that migration is primarily driven by social networks and economic opportunities rather than persecution. Banerjee, known for his work in poverty alleviation, further emphasized that India's overt preference for Hindu migrants from Bangladesh in the past has been a significant factor in their migration, rather than attacks on the community.
The cabinet also agreed to the proposal to remove the governor from the post of the 'visitor' of private universities and give it to the state's education minister instead.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The southern districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, woke up to light rain and an overcast sky on Monday as cyclone 'Sitrang' moved towards north Bay of Bengal, raising the likelihood of a downpour during the day and threatening to dampen Diwali festivities.
First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will be the new chief minister of Delhi, capping 11 days of suspense over who will get the top post after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
Amit Shah, who missed campaigning in Bihar, made a two-day trip to Bengal starting November 5 to oversee BJPs preparedness for the state polls.
The North East is a sizeable success story for the Modi government politically and for the BJP electorally. It will be an unpleasant surprise if they choose to blow it, bowing to their basic, polarising instinct at any point, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in the state this weekend, while his colleagues Gajendra Shekhawat, Sanjeev Balyan, Prahlad Patel, Arjun Munda and Mansukh Mandaviya will be visiting in the next few days, sources in the party said on Thursday.
The Maha Kumbh, billed as the world's largest gathering, concluded on Wednesday after 45 days, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers. Despite a stampede that killed at least 30 people, millions continued to visit the Kumbh, seeking salvation through the ritual bath. The event saw a mix of faith, tradition, and technology, drawing pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.
Will the glamour quotient help boost the state's image?
Senior BJP leader and former state president of the party, Rahul Sinha, told PTI on Monday that all trains have either left from or would be leaving for their destinations in a few hours' time.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that Darjeeling Hills would remain part of West Bengal, even as a section of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters raised slogans demanding a separate state, during the inauguration of the North Bengal Festival. "Let us remain together. Darjeeling is part of Bengal and we will remain together," Banerjee said.
Normal life was partially affected in West Bengal on Thursday following a state-wide 12-hour general strike called by Left Parties and trade unions, with the Bharatiya Janata Party also calling a 10-hour bandh to protest against alleged violence by ruling Trinamool Congress in the recent civic polls.
Prabhsimran Singh and skipper Nitish Rana were at the top of their game, propelling North Zone to a 48-run win over Central Zone
Several protesters and police personnel were injured in clashes. The BJP alleged that a party worker identified as Ullen Ray was 'beaten to death' by the police during a baton charge.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday fell ill after attending a programme at Siliguri and was attended by doctors, BJP MLA Neeraj Zimba said.
Glimpses of the preparations in Odisha and West Bengal for Cyclone Dana which is expected to make landfall between October 24 and 25.
The 17-year-old girl, whose body was found in a canal in Kaliaganj police station area on Friday, knew the man, Superintendent of Police (SP) Md Sana Akhtar said, identifying him as the prime accused.
NorthEast United FC were left to rue missed chances, particularly at the end, as they settled for a 1-1 draw against Delhi Dynamos FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash, in Guwahati, on Thursday.
Over one crore voters in West Bengal will decide the political fate of 342 candidates on Saturday, when 45 assembly constituencies go to polls in the fifth phase, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19.
It then went on to ask whether a lion could be named after Swami Vivekananda or Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
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