News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal

  • VCs of 25 varsities appointed without my nod as chancellor: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday alleged that vice chancellors of 25 state universities have been appointed so far sans his nod as the chancellor.

    His allegation came within 24 hours of the Mamata Banerjee administration appointing Professor Soma Bandyopadhyay as the new VC of Diamond Harbour Women’s University (DHWU) after Arts Faculty Dean Professor Tapan Mondal, appointed by Dhankhar in his capacity as the chancellor, declined to accept the post due to “personal reasons”.

    The ruling Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, asserted that the governor should have approved the names of the VCs selected by the search committee, and if he refuses to give his nod, the Education Department has the power to go ahead with its decision. “Education Environ — ‘Law of ruler, not rule of law’. VCs of 24 (now 25) Universities appointed illegally without Chancellor approval,” Dhankhar tweeted.

    Aug 28 Notification @MamataOfficial appointing Sonali Chakravarti CU VC for second four year term (a classic case of patronage) was directed by Chancellor on Sept 16 to be withdrawn.No response @basu_bratya “Law unto Oneself” stance.Instance of “Law of ruler, not rule of law” pic.twitter.com/1EoXnszenF
    — Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) January 15, 2022
    Sharing a copy of a letter, dated August 17, 2021, addressed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the continuation of Professor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee as the vice chancellor of Calcutta University for the second term, the governor tweeted, “Calcutta Univ VC Sonali Chakravarty gets second full four year term without any selection. No CM response to Aug 17 communication.”

    “Aug 28 Notification @MamataOfficial appointing Sonali Chakravarti CU VC for second four year term (a classic case of patronage) was directed by Chancellor on Sept 16 to be withdrawn. No response @basu_bratya (Education Minister Bratya Basu) ‘Law unto Oneself’ stance. Instance of ‘Law of ruler, not rule of law’,” he said in another Twitter post.

    Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy criticised the governor for his statement.

    “The honourable governor is not doing justice to his constitutional post by such tweets. He is meddling into the domain of the state government. As the figurehead he should have given assent to the names of VCs decided by the search committee and the Higher Education Department is vested with the power to decide the names after due consideration. If the governor refuses to give nod to the selection, the department has the power to go ahead with its decision as per law,” he said.

    The state government on Friday gave additional charge to Bandyopadhyay, the vice chancellor of West Bengal University of Teachers’ Training, Education Planning and Administration (WBUTTEPA), as the VC of DHWU.

    “The authority has decided to give the charge of the office of the VC of Diamond Harbour University to Prof Soma Bandyopadhyay with effect from 15.01.22 in addition to her normal duties as Vice Chancellor of WBUTTEPA,” the notification said.

    DHWU outgoing VC Professor Anuradha Mukhopadhyay was appointed as the vice chancellor of Sanskrit College and University, of which Bandyopadhyay was the acting vice chancellor.

  • Bengal says no plan to change schedule of offline board exams 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: There is no plan to change the schedule of upcoming offline board exams in West Bengal for now, given the fact that the dates decided upon are some three to four months away and the COVID-19 situation could improve by then, authorities said on Thursday.

    Class 12 exams are slated to be held from April 2 to April 20 and Class 10 exams between March 7 and March 16.

    The president of Council of Higher Secondary Education, Chiranjib Bhattacharya, told PTI, “Conducting online exams is not feasible. A large number of students in rural areas won’t be able to afford smartphones with high-speed Internet. We would like to hold the exams offline. There is no plan to change the schedule as of now.”

    ALSO READ: 29 school students test positive for Covid in West Bengal

    He also said that the council was hopeful students this year “wouldn’t have to struggle like those that did over the past two years”.

    “We cannot predict the turn of events. We can only hope things will get better,” Bhattacharya stated.

    Kalyanmoy Ganguly, the president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, said it would not be wise to speculate about the mode of examination this early.

    “We won’t be thinking of any alternative evaluation criteria for the time being. Arrangements for holding offline tests are in full swing,” he said. Secondary exams were held offline in 2020.

    Last year, however, exams were called off amid the raging second wave of the pandemic. Authorities had to come up with an alternative method for evaluating the students.

    ALSO READ: Bengal logs 14,022 fresh COVID cases; Kolkata film festival postponed

    Higher Secondary exams, which had commenced in 2020 before the pandemic struck, were scrapped midway owing to the pandemic, forcing the board to devise a formula to award marks to the students.

    In 2021, no examination was held, with authorities drawing up different evaluation criteria for the students.

  • COVID curbs: Bengal shuts schools, colleges; offices allowed with 50 per cent workforce

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal government brought back COVID-related restrictions amid a steep rise in cases, shutting all educational institutions from Monday and allowing offices to operate with 50 per cent workforce.

    At a press conference on Sunday, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi announced that only essential services will be permitted between 10 pm and 5 am in the state.

    ALSO READ: Woman found infected with Omicron after foreign travel; new COVID variant cases in MP rise to 10

    Local trains would be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets would be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities, he said.

    Long-distance trains will operate as per their usual schedule. Metro trains in Kolkata will also operate as per their usual timing but with 50 per cent capacity. All tourist attractions, including the zoos, would remain closed. Besides, swimming pools, parlours, spa, wellness centres and gyms were also told to shut down, he added.

    Flights from Mumbai and New Delhi will ply only twice a week, and no flights from the UK will be allowed for the time being, Dwivedi said. Cinema halls and theatres have been allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity.

    Meetings and conferences have been allowed with a maximum of 200 people at a time or 50 per cent capacity of the hall, whichever is lower.

    ALSO READ: Omicron natural vaccine? Experts call notion dangerous, say doesn’t take long COVID into account

    Bars and restaurants were allowed to remain open with 50 per cent capacity till 10 pm, while home delivery of food and other essential products was permitted as per usual operational hours.

    Not more than 50 persons shall be allowed in weddings, and only 20 persons will be allowed during funeral and burial services, the chief secretary said.

    The state government asked the management of industries, factories, mills, tea gardens and other commercial establishments to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines.

    ALSO READ | MP: Over 90 villagers fulfil ‘vow’ by shaving their heads for no COVID-19 fatality in 2021

    West Bengal on Saturday reported 4,512 fresh COVID-19 cases, 1,061 more than the previous day, with Kolkata accounting for 2,398 new cases, as per the state health department.

  • Bangladeshi man killed in BSF firing during border smuggling bid in West Bengal

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Bangladeshi national was killed on Wednesday when BSF personnel fired to thwart a narcotics smuggling bid along the International Border in West Bengal, a senior officer said.

    The incident took place about 1.2 km inside the Indian territory at around 1:40 am near border post Nawada in Malda district of the state.

    A Border Security Force (BSF) officer said the “miscreants (comprising both Indian and Bangladeshi smugglers) encircled our jawans and attacked them with dah (large knife), bamboo sticks and stones”.

    “The jawans tried to disperse them and fired stun grenades but the miscreants continued with their aggressive gesture and act,” the officer said.

    Subsequently, he said, the troops fired two bullet rounds “in self defence”.

    A Bangladeshi man, who was shot at, was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.

    The killed Bangladeshi national is a resident of Dhoolipara, which is about six km from the International Border.

    A mobile phone, two iron ‘dahs’ and 197 bottles of Phensedyl cough syrup were seized from the spot.

  • Mamata congratulates teachers, education department as Bengal tops chart in literacy index

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: With West Bengal having topped the charts among large states in ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index’, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday extended her wishes to teachers, parents and officials of the education department.

    Taking to Twitter, Banerjee shared the “great news”, attaching a media report that gave the details.

    “Great news for West Bengal! We have secured the top rank among larger states on the ‘Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Index’. I congratulate all teachers, guardians & members of our Education Department for this outstanding achievement!” she tweeted.

    Bengal has occupied the top position and Bihar languished at the bottom in the ‘large states’ category on the ‘Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ – an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years.

    There are four categories in which regions have been divided – large states, small states, union territories and North east.

    The report was prepared by Institute for Competitiveness and released by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (each pm) chairman Bibek Debroy recently.

  • West Bengal CID arrests six for firearm racket

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal CID has arrested at least six persons allegedly running a firearms racket and seized from their possession a few arms and ammunitions as well as documents including licences from different locations of Purba Bardhaman and North 24 Parganas districts, a senior officer said on Saturday.

    Arresting the six criminals, the state CID also found that the group was manufacturing fake rubber stamps to get licences for the firearms, he added.

    Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of the special operation group of the state CID conducted a raid at a private organisation in the city’s Salt Lake area and arrested the security guard for keeping a firearm without any proper documentation.

    Questioning him, the CID sleuths of the state agency conducted simultaneous raids at different locations in the two districts and nabbed the culprits including the kingpin, he added.

    “While arresting them we found that the gang was also into manufacturing fake rubber stamps bearing names of crucial departments. We have started an investigation on whether they were supplying arms to anyone in the state or outside,” he said.

    Five of the six were on Saturday produced at the Bankshall court while one was produced at the Sealdah court, the officer said.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee snubs TMC MLA Abdul Karim for demanding separate Islampur district

    By PTI

    RAIGANJ: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday snubbed TMC MLA Abdul Karim Chowdhury for demanding that Islampur, which he represents, be carved out of Uttar Dinajpur and be made a separate district at an administrative review meeting held here and ruled out the demand.

    Terming Karim’s attitude as “cheap”, a visibly peeved Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, asked the Islampur MLA to concentrate on working for the people instead.

    “Such a demand should not be made in an administrative meeting. Don’t talk cheap. Uttar Dinajpur is a small district and has two subdivisions. Islampur subdivision is already there…There is a lot of work to be done to make a district. Moreover the distance from Raiganj (district hq) to Islampur is not much,” she said.

    Continuing with her admonition, Banerjee referred to the demand for a Sundarbans district.

    “You (Chowdhury) see how big that area is. You have won the elections, now work for the people. That (a separate Islampur district) will not happen now”.

    “If the MLAs think they will speak whatever they want, then I will not allow the legislators to speak…They will tell me to make a district in their house,” she fumed.

    Banerjee announced the launching of ‘Artisan’ credit cards which will help the craftsmen earn special benefits.

    She inquired whether Students’ Credit Cards had been given to all the beneficiaries and directed officials to speed up the disbursal to those who are yet to get them.

  • West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar says SEC will brief him on civic elections, poll panel ‘unaware’

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said that State Election Commissioner Sourav Das would meet him to brief about the preparations for the upcoming civic polls in Kolkata, but the poll official claimed that he was not aware of any such meeting.

    Dhankhar said Das would meet him at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday and also discuss regarding deployment of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) during the polls here on December 19.

    “State Election Commissioner @MamataOfficial Shri Saurav Das will update Governor Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar on December 07 at Raj Bhawan on issues #KMC elections preparedness and deployment #CAPF,” said a tweet from the governor’s official account.

    “Governor had indicated SEC constitutionally mandated to ensure free and fair elections,” it added.

    Das, however, said he was not aware of the meeting.

    “I don’t know anything about it. I cannot comment much more than this, but can only say that I have no knowledge about the matter,” he said when contacted.

    Dhankhar had on Thursday sought details of deployment of the CAPF for the civic polls from Das who met him at Raj Bhavan.

  • Nagaland firing: CM Mamata Banerjee asks police to keep tab on BSF activities in West Bengal

    By PTI

    RAIGANJ: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday asked police in districts that share borders with neighbouring countries to keep a watch on activities of the BSF, in the wake of the killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland by security forces.

    She also directed police to not allow the Border Security Force to breach its earmarked jurisdiction, and maintained that law and order is a state subject.

    “I know there is this problem… BSF personnel enter our villages and then we get complaints about harassment. They go to several places that are beyond their jurisdiction without informing the police.”

    Everybody has seen what happened in Nagaland… in Bengal’s Sitalkuchi during assembly polls and recently in Coochbehar, where three persons were killed in firing… I will ask the block development officers and inspectors-in-charge to be on alert,” she said at an administrative review meeting of Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts held in Karnajora here.

    Banerjee was referring to the killing of 14 civilians by security forces in Nagaland’s Mon district on December 4 and 5.

    The chief minister has also been protesting against the Centre’s decision to extend BSF’s jurisdiction, terming the move as an attempt to interfere with the federal structure of the country.

    The BJP-led central government has amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a 50-km stretch from the earlier 15-km limit, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

    “We do not have problems in the border areas and share very cordial relations (with neighbouring countries). There is no need to create this confusion. Law and order is a state subject,” Banerjee had said.

    West Bengal shares international borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

  • Don’t want to be in hoardings, says West Bengal BJP MLA Hiran Chatterjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Actor-turned-BJP MLA Hiran Chatterjee, who goes by the name Hiraan, on Sunday said he does not want to be featured in hoardings after his photo was found missing in billboards put up by the party in his Kharagpur Sadar constituency but images of other prominent saffron camp leaders were featured in it.

    People, and not leaders who are seen in hoardings and posters, ensure a politician’s win in elections, Hiraan said.

    This statement of his was supported by leaders of both the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress, who said he has spoken the truth.

    “I am not the type who wants to be in hoardings and posters of the party. My work will speak for itself. I love to work for the common man, for people of my constituency,” Hiraan told reporters.

    “People have the last word in democracy. They are our God. Those who are in hoardings and posters won’t ensure our win. The last word will be spoken by people,” said Hiraan who left the TMC and joined the BJP in February, ahead of the assembly election in the state.

    Several party hoardings in Kharagpur town in Paschim Medinipur district feature photos of local MP Dilip Ghosh, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and leader of opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari.

    When contacted by PTI, Ghosh said, “Hiraan said the right thing. The BJP does not believe in hoarding politics. It will be more befitting to work for one’s constituency.”

    Claiming that he does not know who put up those hoardings in Kharagpur, the BJP national vice-president claimed that it is the Trinamool Congress which believes in hoarding politics.

    TMC MLA from Pingla in Purba Medinipur district, Ajit Maity, said, “Hiraan has spoken the truth. Many thanks to him.”

    A clash between two groups, reportedly between factions of the BJP, took place in the area a few days ago.