Kolkata diary

Express News Service

Police seek road repairs ahead of Durga Puja Kolkata Police have handed over a list of 300 stretches of major roads across the city to the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and the Kolkata Muncipal Corporation (KMC) requesting immediate repairs ahead of the Durga Puja. The flyovers in Sealdah, Gariahat and Ultadanga, the Durgapur bridge, Bijan Setu, stretches of Rashbehari Avenue, EM Bypass, Gariahat Road, CR Avenue, AJC Bose Road and Ultadanga Main Road are in the list. Police officials said once the repair works are done, they would identify parking lots near puja pandals that need to be renovated. As there is only about a month left before Puja–the five-day festivity starts on October 11–the repairs of these stretches must be taken up on a priority basis, said a police officer.

IIM to adopt hybrid approach to reopening campusThe Indian Institute of Management – Kolkata has decided to let students take turns to come to the campus and attend in-person lectures. According to the plan, while a section of students come to attend in-person lectures, others will sit at home and take online classes. The proposal was approved by the digital transformation committee of the institute, last month. An official of the institute said it would invest a sum of Rs 45 lakh to Rs 60 lakh to set up necessary facilities. “Institutes are having to recall students who have resource constraints and connectivity issues to the campus, so that they can attend online classes using the internet facility provided by the hostels. In such a situation, hybrid classes are emerging as a viable concept,” said the official.

IIEST aims to call back students by April The board of governors of the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur has slashed the mess fees of students till March next year. The institute is working on a plan to call students back to the campus in phases, starting from November. Once all students return to the hostels, they will switch to pre-Covid fees structure, said an official of the institute. At a meeting held last month, the board had approved a plan to reduce the mess fees and overhead charges by 25 per cent each till March 31, 2022 as recommended by the finance committee of the institute. 

Norms for Vivekananda scholarship easedThe West Bengal government has relaxed the eligibility criteria for Swami Vivekananda merit-cum-means scholarship in view of the pandemic. Students who have passed higher secondary examinations with 60 per cent marks can now apply for the scholarship. Previously, only those who score 80 per cent or more could apply. The scholarship, launched in 2016, is awarded to students in the general category whose annual family income is not more than Rs 2,50,000. CM Mamata Banerjee made the announcement last week at an event to felicitate students who have performed well in exams

pranab mondalOur correspondent in West [email protected]