Tag: West Bengal

  • Bengal man chops off wife’s palm for getting govt job

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: In East Burdwan’s Ketugram, a youth chopped off his wife’s right palm on Sunday after she secured a government job which was opposed by the accused and his parents.

    Renu Khatun, the victim, recently got the job of a nurse in a state-run hospital for which she was preparing for past three years. She was to join the service next week. “Her husband, who is a grocery shop owner, and in-laws were against Renu’s dream of working as a government employee. Mohammad and his parents are presently at large,” said an officer of the local police station. Mohammad first smothered Renu with a pillow and then severed her palm with a chopper, said the police. “After Renu fell unconscious, Mohammad took her to the local hospital hiding the severed palm at home. The incident came to light after the woman became conscious and narrated her plight,” said the police officer.

    Renu’s father Azizul Haque said his daughter used to work in a private healthcare unit before marriage. “Her husband and in-laws were against her decision to work. Recently, she was selected for the post of a nurse in a government hospital. Renu complained me that her in-laws and Mohammad wanted her not join the service. I never imagined that she would have to pay such a price for achieving her goal,” he said.   

    During the course of investigation, police came to know that Mohammad told his friends that Renu might leave him after joining the government hospital.

    On hearing the incident, Azizul and his son Ripan Sheikh rushed to the hospital from where they shifted Renu to a nursing home.

    Armed with the complaint lodged by Azizul and the statement given by Renu, the police went to Mohammad’s house only to find it locked. “They are absconding. We carried out searches at the houses of their relatives but they were found nowhere,” said another police officer.

  • Mamata condoles deaths in Uttarakhand accident 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday condoled the death of 25 tourists from Madhya Pradesh in a road accident in Uttarakhand.

    A bus carrying 28 pilgrims from Panna in Madhya Pradesh fell into a gorge near Damta in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

    Twenty-five passengers have been killed and three are in critical condition.

    “Extremely distressed to know that several pilgrims on chardham yatra have died in a traumatic road accident in Uttarkashi on Yamunotri highway. My condolences to the relatives of the deceased, solidarity to the survivors,” she tweeted.

  • Vlogger Roddur Roy booked for abusing West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over KK’s last concert

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A case was filed against vlogger Roddur Roy on Saturday for allegedly abusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a Facebook live, police said.

    The case was lodged under relevant sections of the IPC after a complaint was filed by TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta at Chitpur police station, they said.

    “An investigation has been started in the matter as per the relevant sections of the IPC. He has been summoned as a part of the probe,” he said.

    Roy, who widely uses expletives in his social media posts and courts controversies, used a barrage of abuses against the chief minister and senior leaders of the TMC in the Facevbook live session as he blamed the ruling party, alleging mismanagement at singer KK’s last concert in Nazrul Mancha, following which he died.

  • Shameful act to attack a judge: Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar takes on TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee again

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Hitting out at TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said it was a “shameful act” to attack a judge who has exposed a recruitment scam.

    Speaking to reporters at the Bagdogra airport in Siliguri, Dhankhar said nobody is above the law.

    “Those who are chest-thumping and saying that they will continue to say this a thousand times will face the power of truth. I have gone through the statement very minutely. This is a shameful attack on an individual judge who has exposed the country’s most severe recruitment scam,” Dhankhar said, without naming Banerjee.

    He was referring to the TMC leader’s statement at a rally in Haldia last week where he had criticised “one per cent of the judiciary” for ordering CBI probe in “every case” in the state.

    “I feel ashamed to say that there are one or two people in the judiciary who are in hand-in-gloves and have a tacit understanding and are ordering CBI investigation in every case. This is just 1 per cent of the judiciary,” Banerjee had said.

    Soon after he made the comment, Dhankhar had said that “the honourable Member of Parliament has crossed the red line”.

    To this, Banerjee had said he has always believed in speaking truth to power.

    “Yesterday, I said how 1% in Kolkata HC is working in cohorts with Centre in protecting some individuals. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING, they know who is actually ‘CROSSING THE RED LINE’. I rest my case here!” he had tweeted.

    The Calcutta High Court has ordered CBI investigations in a number of cases in the last one year, including post-poll violence and recruitment of teachers by the School Service Commission (SSC).

    Before leaving for New Delhi after a trip to Darjeeling, Dhankhar said, “Who were given the jobs? Those who never sat for the examinations as well as those whose names were not there on the list. In this backdrop, giving such a statement at a public rally is not correct.”

  • Design curriculums that help students in getting jobs: Bengal Minister Sobhandeb to educational institutions

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on Saturday asked educational institutions to design their curriculums in such a way that they help youths of the state in getting jobs.

    Speaking at an event in Netaji Indoor Stadium, Chattopadhyay said that passing secondary, higher secondary, under-graduate or master’s courses may not be enough in the present times.

    “Of the 10 people who come to my office every day, on an average five say they are looking for jobs. I advise them counselling will equip them to get specific new-age jobs, which are more available, promptly. So rather than merely studying in conventional courses, one has to prepare himself to skill up for the new job market requirements,” he said.

    Chattopadhyay, the agriculture minister, said institutions such as state-run Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya has been asked to encourage self-employment and design their curriculum accordingly.

    State Transport Minister Firhad Hakim said that several career options are opening up in West Bengal in sharp contrast to the situation in many other parts of the country.

    He said the Education Department has introduced counselling options for students after passing class XII.

    “It would be better if that can start from class 9. State Technical Education, Training and Skill Development Minister Humayun Kabir said his department has come up with the Karmadisha app for career counselling of students.

    “Over 80,000 students have availed facilities of counseling through this app,” he said.

  • West Bengal: Train on line amid repair works, driver applies emergency brake

    By PTI

    JALPAIGURI: A driver, unaware of track repair works, had to stop an express train in West Bengal on Thursday by applying emergency brakes only after seeing people on the line, officials said.

    The incident, which happened near Banarhat station in Jalpaiguri district, triggered panic among the passengers of Kanchankanya Express that was heading to Alipurduar Junction from Sealdah, besides raising questions about safety.

    Banarhat’s station master Dharmendra Kumar said he had no information about the track repair works, due to which he could not convey it to the driver of the train.

    On seeing wielding works on the track in Debpara tea garden when approaching Banarhat, the driver of the train applied emergency brakes and stopped the train, officials said.

  • Will abide by the party’s instructions: BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A day after being cautioned by the central leadership, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said he will abide by instructions from the party leadership.

    Taking exception to Ghosh’s “critical” comments against the party’s state unit, the BJP top brass warned him against speaking out as he had done in the past.

    “I will abide by the party’s instructions,” Ghosh told reporters.

    He, however, maintained that he would take up the matter with the leadership on how confidential party communication was leaked to the media even before it reached him.

    Ghosh among other things had urged the state president Sukanta Majumdar to take everybody along besides speaking of Majumdar’s inexperience as a leader.

    This saw BJP national general secretary Arun Singh cautioning Ghosh on speaking against party leaders in public forums in a strongly-worded letter.

    Maintaining that the letter has been issued on the instructions of BJP president JP Nadda, Singh said he wished to convey the party’s deep anguish and concern at the issuance of such statements and “advise you (Ghosh) to always refrain from going to the media or any public fora about your own colleagues either in the state of West Bengal or anywhere else”.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee asks TMC leader to ditch pakoras, lose weight

    By PTI

    PURULIA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is known to be a fitness enthusiast, was on Monday seen advising a visibly overweight chairman of Jhalda municipality on how to ger rid of his belly bulge.

    She even warned the TMC leader of possible health hazards, including heart blocks and instructed him on the correct way to do ‘pranayama’ (breathing exercises).

    “Why do you have such a belly bulge? And the way it’s growing you will definitely have a (heart) blockage,” she told Suresh Kumar Agarwal during an administrative review meeting here.

    A bashful Agarwal told the chief minister that though he weighs around 125 kg and consumes lots of ‘pakoras’ (fritters), he is absolutely fit and without illness.

    He also said that he exercises everyday for nearly one-and-half hours.

    “Didi, I exercise for nearly one and half hours everyday…But I like to have pakoras. I am absolutely okay, am non-dabetic, have no blood pressure problems and do not need to consume any medicine,” he said.

    The Jhalda municipality chairman even demonstrated before Banerjee how he performs ‘pranayama’ and claimed that he did ‘Kapalabhati’ at least 1,000 times a day.

    Banerjee, who wore an amused expression, then advised the TMC leader to stop eating pakoras.

    When contacted by PTI, 62-year-old Agarwal said that he will “definitely try” to follow her advice.

    The chief minister told the meeting about the plan for building a film city at Purulia, which is surrounded by thick woods.

    The 67-year-old TMC supremo is often captured on camera going for brisk morning walks whenever she is on administrative tours to the districts.

    She is known to walk several miles every day on her treadmill and is seen covering many kilometres on foot during election campaigns.

    Banerjee also wears a digital wrist watch, which sources close to her said is used to keep track of how many steps she walks a day besides monitoring her heart rate, blood pressure and other parameters.

  • West Bengal announces exemption of registration fees, motor vehicle and additional taxes

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal Friday announced exemption of registration fees, motor vehicle and additional taxes for two and four-wheeled electric vehicles and all categories of CNG-operated vehicles from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024, a government official said here.

    This will decrease on the road prices of several categories of green energy operated vehicles, he said.

    For those vehicles which were registered between April 1, 2022 and the date of issuance of the notification on May 25, the financial incentive will be in the form of extension of tax validity for the exact number of days for which tax has been paid between April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024, the order signed by transport department secretary Rajesh Sinha said.

    The order exempting motor vehicle and additional taxes along with registration fees for two and four-wheeled battery-operated electric vehicles and all categories of CNG-operated vehicles from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024 is as per the state finance minister’s budget announcement for 2022-23.

    “It is felt necessary to give some kind of financial relief/exemption to incentivise investment in battery-operated electric vehicles and also to incentivise reduction in carbon footprint and to reduce dependence on petrol/diesel,” the order said.

    Industry watchers said that the exemption of registration fees and motor vehicle tax will act as a boost for increased demand for clean energy-run vehicles.

  • Centre bulldozing federal structure; BJP rule worse than that of Hitler, Stalin: Mamata

    She stated that central agencies “should be given autonomy” to protect democracy. “BJP-led centre is using central agencies to interfere in state's affairs. There is Tughlaqi rule in force,” she said.