A huge endangered dead whale washes ashore in Mandarmoni coast

A huge endangered dead whale washes ashore in Mandarmoni coast 

 An official of Digha Marine Aquarium said the huge whale apparently seemed to be Sei whale species. The administration has been informed and they will decide whether it will be preserved or buried in the sea beach.

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 29 JUNE: A 36-feet-long critically endangered whale has been found dead at Mandamoni sea beach near Digha in East Midnapore today.

The huge whale washed up on shore with several injury marks found on its body, but the cause of injuries have not been ascertained yet.

The local police and forest department officials rushed to the spot soon after the news spread and they are currently working on it to reveal the cause of death.

According to a forest official, this whale was about 36-feet-long which falls in the category of the endangered schedule-I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in India.

Local residents said that they were overwhelmed after looking the huge whale lying on the beach in a pool of blood. “I never had seen such a huge whale. I thought it was a shark, but when I went to close to it, I found it was a dead whale”, said Amiya Jana, a local resident.

An official of Digha Marine Aquarium said the huge whale apparently seemed to be Sei whale species. The administration has been informed and they will decide whether it will be preserved or buried in the sea beach.

The sei whale is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semienclosed bodies of water. The sei whale migrates annually from cool, subpolar waters in summer to temperate, subtropical waters in winter with a lifespan of 70 years.

Normally, lenghth of this sei whale on an average is about 52-feet and experts are not sure how this came here.

This is not an isolated episode as several similar incidents have occurred in the recent past.

Earlier, on 10 December, 2012, a 45-feet-long whale weighing about 18 ton was found dead inside the deep sea about 40 nautical miles far from Digha coast. 

That whale was later dragged to the shore and it has been preserved in the Digha Marine Acquarium. It was opened for people in 2017.

This apart, on 7 June, the carcass of an 18-feet-long, one-toed sperm whale washed ashore on Atrankarai near Alakankulam in Ramanathapuram district. On 23 May, a 40-feet-long whale had washed up on the shore in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary area in Odisha’s Kendrapara district. It too had had injury marks on the body.

BJP leader shot at Khejuri in East Midnapore after a clash with Trinamul Congress workers

Biswabrata Goswami

Statesman News Service

MIDNAPORE, 28 JUNE: A BJP district secretary was shot at Khejuri in East Midnapore following a clash between the workers of the ruling Trinamul Congress and the saffron party this afternoon.

Police official said Pabitra Das, BJP’s district secretary received bullet injury at his left hand and he was immediately taken to the Contai state general hospital for treatment. His condition is now stable.

According to local residents, the incident took place when a group of BJP supporters, led by the party’s district secretary Pabitra Das, protested against the local Trinamul dominated panchayat’s alleged decision to sell off the trees uprooted in cyclone Amphan without floating tenders. “When the BJP activists were staging a demonstration and the supporters of Trinamul Congress assembled there. Shortly, a clash between the two groups broke out,’’ said an eyewitness.

During the clash, Das was seen slumping on the road and as other BJP supporters reached him, they spotted blood oozing out of his wound, said the police. Das was immediately admitted to a local hospital.

Soon after the incident, some irate BJP workers also ransacked houses belonging to the Trinamul supporters, but the police intervened immediately and brought the situation under control.

Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s state president, alleged the Trinamul supporters attacked Das and other BJP supporters in the presence of police personnel. “Das is a very active worker of our party. He protested against the illegal act of local panchayat members. The police stood as mute spectators when the supporters of the ruling party unleashed attack,” he said.

Trinamul Congress MP in Contai, East Midnapore, Sisir Adhikari said none of his party supporters was involved in the incident.

Courtesy: Images from iNET.

Martyred CRPF jawan cremated with full state honour at native village

Little did they know that the wheel of fate would catapult in a way that they would have to mourn the death of their only hope before his scheduled coming in the home?

Biswabrata Goswami

Statesman News Service

MIDNAPORE, 28 JUNE: The CRPF jawan, who was martyred in a militant attack at Anantnag in Kashmir, was cremated with full state honour at his native house at Singpur in Sabang in West Midnapore today.

The 28-year-old, Shyamal Kumar Dey was martyred while valiantly retaliating a terrorist attack at Bijbehara in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday afternoon.

He was the only child of his parents –Badal Kumar Dey and Shibani. He had joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 2015.

The casket carrying his body wrapped in tricolour was kept in the Midnapore police line last night and it was taken to the premises of the Singpur primary school where hundreds of local residents paid their last respect to him today.

IG, CRPF, Pradip Kumar Singh, SP, West Midnapore, Dinesh Kumar, MP, Deepak Adhikari alias Deb, Rajyasabha MP, Dr Manas Bhunia, MLA Gita Bhunia and other administrative officials paid floral tributes to him.

The slain soldier later received the guard of honour and gun salute by the district police on behalf of the state government.

After this, the coffin was taken to the premise of his native house where family members and others paid their homage to their beloved child. Here, the CRPF jawans honoured him with a gun salute. His last rites were conducted in a selected site inside the premise of the house of the martyred jawan.

On Friday afternoon CRPF jawans of 90 battalion were patrolling near Padsahibagh bridge in Bijbehara area when few terrorists attacked them. During exchange of bullets two CRPF jawans including Dey and a nine- year-old boy of Kulgam suffered bullet injuries. Later the boy and Dey succumbed to their injuries at a hospital.

A poll of gloom descended as soon as the news reached to the family and neighbourers. The news shocked the residents of the entire village.

Badal Dey, father of the martyred jawan was not in position to speak anything about his son and mother, Sibani was seen relentlessly sobbing for the sudden demise of her son.

He was brought up from a marginal farmer family and he had a dream to erect a pucca building for his parents, said Nirmal Kumar Dey, a relative.

The family members were desperately waiting to complete the construction of their two-storied building by the month of July as their lone son was scheduled to return on one-month vacation from his duty.

Little did they know that the wheel of fate would catapult in a way that they would have to mourn the death of their only hope before his scheduled coming in the home?

A CRPF jawan from Sabang martyred in terrorist attack in Anantnag, "Duty Calls" were his last words to his father 

Dey last spoke to his father, Badal Dey at around 11.30 am. He was then on his way to the market of the village. "Finish shopping and I will call you later, Duty calls", Dey told his father.After a while, Badal Dey dialled his son several times but it went unanswered. At around 1.30 pm, Dey's one of the colleagues answered his father's call and said, "Your son has become a martyr", the colleague informed. 

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 27 JUNE: The family members of 28-year-old jawan were desperately waiting to complete the construction of their two-storied building by the month of July as their lone son was scheduled to return on one-month vacation from his duty.

Little did they know that the wheel of fate would catapult in a way that they would have to mourn the death of their only hope before his scheduled coming in the home?

Shyamal Kumar Dey, a resident of Badalpur-Singpur village in Sabang in West Midnapore

was martyred while valiantly retaliating a terrorist attack at Bijbehara in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday afternoon.

On Friday afternoon CRPF jawans of 90 battalion were patrolling near Padsahibagh bridge in Bijbehara area when few terrorists attacked them. During exchange of bullets two CRPF jawans including Dey and a nine- year-old boy of Kulgam suffered bullet injuries. Later the boy and Dey succumbed to their injuries at a hospital.

A poll of gloom descended as soon as the news reached to the family and neighbourers. The news shocked the residents of the entire village.

Dey last spoke to his father, Badal Dey at around 11.30 am. He was then on his way to the market of the village. "Finish shopping and I will call you later, Duty calls", Dey told his father.

After a while, Badal Dey dialled his son several times but it went unanswered. At around 1.30 pm, Dey's one of the colleagues answered his father's call and said, "Your son has become a martyr", the colleague informed. 

Badal Dey, father of the martyred jawan was not in position to speak anything about his son and mother, Sibani was seen relentlessly sobbing for the sudden demise of her son. She even lost consciousness on hearing the news.

Dey was born in 1992 and he had pursued his higher secondary from Basantapur high school. He got admission in the Sabang College, but during his study, he tried to get a chance in the Indian army. He finally joined the service in the CRPF in 2015. After completing his training, his first posting was Anantnag where he was martyred yesterday.

He was brought up from a marginal farmer family and he had a dream to erect a pucca building for his parents, said Nirmal Kumar Dey, a relative.  

The mortal remains of Dey will reach his village tomorrow morning. His body has already reached Midnapore town tonight and it will be kept in the Midnapore police line for tonight.

Today, CRPF officials, district police administration visited the place and talked with the family members of the martyred jawan.

Trinamul Congress MP, Dr Manas Ranjan Bhunia and MLA, Sabang, Gita Bhunia also visited the place and met the family members.

After a while of this incident, CRPF tweeted: “We salute the valor & steadfast devotion to duty of Shaheed Constable Shyamal Kumar Dey of 90 battalion CRPF who attained martyrdom while valiantly retaliating a terrorist attack in Bijbehara, Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. We stand with the family of our brave Martyr.”

WB Forest department recruits two Belgian Malinoise canines to crack down on poaching in Covid-19 times 

This time, the state forest department has recruited two trained dogs –Orlando, a Belgian Malinois and Shyana, a Belgian Shepherd, in its forest guard squad to combat and prevent a number of wildlife crimes — from poaching to timber smuggling.

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 27 JUNE: Spotting a Belgian Malinois in the patrol teams deep inside Maoist territory in West Midnapore and Jhargram districts once became a bad omen for the rebels.

Extensive use of ferocious dogs in the anti-Maoist operations had been successful, and the dog squad in the Headquarter of 207 CoBRA at Salboni in West Midnapore then instilled fear among the ultras that had though minor presence in the Junglemahal three years ago.

This time, the state forest department has recruited two trained dogs –Orlando, a Belgian Malinois and Shyana, a Belgian Shepherd, in its forest guard squad to combat and prevent a number of wildlife crimes — from poaching to timber smuggling.

The new entrants, a senior state forester said, had been trained at the National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD), run by the Border Security Force (BSF) at Tekanpur near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

Orlando has been posted to Gorumara National Park (located in the Dooars, Jalpaiguri district) while Shyana has been selected for the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (South 24-Parganas). The service books of these two new recruitments have already been opened, a senior forest official said.

The Malinois, a breed that was also used by US Navy Seals in the raid at Abbottabad in Pakistan against then al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, was first used in the elite anti-Naxal force Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) under the CRPF and the paramilitary’s Western and Odisha sectors, a few years ago to combat Maoist insurgency. 

This time, the forest department has first choice to use them in combating wildlife crimes in the state reserve forests.

“Poaching has shot up to 151 per cent during the lockdown. In this grim scenario, we are not taking any chances and have just recruited two especially trained experts to crack down on poachers,” said a forest official.

The canines were not restricted just to sniffing explosives. The para-military forces had also used them for assaults and reconnaissance patrols. With new training techniques they were also able to sense an ambush-ensuring that troops were alerted in advance, a CoBRA official said.

“Dogs had played a major role in thwarting Maoist strategy by giving early warnings about the presence of an ambush. Many surrendered rebels had revealed in interrogation that if they saw dogs in a patrol they were doubly careful and many times had to retreat since the forces were alerted about a trap laid by the Maoists”, said the official.

“With human intelligence failing, dogs provide a great support system. Not only have dogs been responsible for huge seizures of explosives, but they have also saved several lives by indicating that there is an ambush,” the CoBRA official added. 

For forest guard troops, the two dogs have two trainers each, who have also spent nine months at the Gwalior school, training with them. Two more dogs will graduate from the school on June 30, bringing up the state's dog squad strength to nine.

“These dogs are trained to sniff out poachers hiding in the forests and tracking them down to their homes. Bengal had set up its dog squad in 2017 with four canines. One more joined the squad in 2018. All of them have contributed hugely to keep animals safe in the forests,” a senior forester said.

Courtesy: Images from iNET.

Dilip Ghosh asks people to boycott Trinamul leaders and councillors as they spread coronavirus in the locality

“A Trinamul Congress leader cum former vice-chairman of Kharagpur municipality has tested Covid-19 positive. He even frequently met several administrative officials, police officials and other people in Kharagpur in the last few days.He accompanied people from Delhi’s Nizamuddin to visit several places and thus he spread the virus in Kharagpur. As a result, the whole Kharagpur town has now gone under a containment zone.”

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 26 JUNE: BJP state president and MP, Dilip Ghosh today asked the people to boycott the Trinamul Congress leaders and councilors as they are spreading coronavirus in the locality.

While conducting a sanitization drive in Kharagpur, Ghosh said, “A Trinamul Congress leader cum former vice-chairman of Kharagpur municipality has tested Covid-19 positive. He even frequently met several administrative officials, police officials and other people in Kharagpur in the last few days. He was several times cautioned when he had started suffering from fever, but he didn’t bother the advisories. He accompanied people from Delhi’s Nizamuddin to visit several places and thus he spread the virus in Kharagpur. As a result, the whole Kharagpur town has now gone under a containment zone.”

Ghosh further said, “TMC ministers and leaders have not followed lockdown and that is why people here have also not followed it. So, there is a rise in cases.”

Ghosh also alleged, “Lockdown has not been properly followed here. Lockdown should be implemented properly here and there should be strictness in containment zones. There should be effective arrangements to stop the increase in the number of cases. The government here has only portrayed that a lot of work has been done but nothing has really happened. We are ready to co-operate and help the government in this.”

In Kharagpur, around 50 officials including police persons found tested Covid-19 positive after swab samples of 84 persons whom the TMC leader met in the last few days were examined. This report has created a panic among the locals and many areas under municipality have been put under containment zones.

The BJP state president alleged the situation has turned so worst that normal works of the municipality and administrative works in Kharagpur town have been virtually stopped. As a result, people living in Kharagpur municipal area are suffering a lot.

Before this programme, Ghosh conducted a Griha Samparka Abhijan at Barua under Kharagpur (Rural) area and met local residents. He distributed pamphlets written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, masks and sanitizers to them. He also collected information from the residents whether they are being benefitted from several Central government projects or not.

During his whole day programme, hundreds of Trinamul Congress workers especially women deserted the party and joined the BJP. Many of them took BJP flags from Ghosh.     

Symbol of national pride to stand tall at Krishnagar railway station

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 25 JUNE: A Tricolor on a 100-feet tall pole was hoisted today in front of the Krishnagar railway station under eastern railway section.
The national tricolor - 30 feet by 20 feet flag – will now flutter at a height of 100 feet, providing a visual delight to travelers and instilling a sense of national pride among them.

The railway authorities had embarked on a plan to install the tall flag pole with lighting facility in front of the Krishnagar railway station to hoist the national flag atop it as symbol of national pride and unity in diversity, a senior railway official said.

The Indian Railways had decided to install at least 100-feet tall tricolours on the premises of 75 of the busiest stations in the country.

The Railway Board, the apex body of the national transporter, issued the order two years ago, which was forwarded to all the zonal railways. The board had decided to provide monumental flag (of at least 100-ft height) at all the erstwhile ‘A1’ class railway stations, a railway official said.

Krishnagar City Junction railway station is part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway system and operated by Eastern Railway. It is situated in Krishnagar, Nadia on the Ranaghat-Krishnagar line in Nadia. It was opened in 1905 while it was electrified in 1965.

Lord Jagannath fell sick and kept in isolation

After recovery, special bhogs offered to Him

Jagannath Maha Prasad is very auspicious and we will distribute it to people as part of ongoing Food for Life programme, in which we have been distributing 5000 plates of Prasadam in Nadia each day since lockdown said Alay Govind Das, principal organiser of Rath Yatra festival.

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 24 JUNE: The pandemic might have cast a shadow on  the grandeur and huge public participation in Rath Yatra at ISKCON headquarter  but it could not dampen the  spirit of personal service in the devotees.

The Annual Jagannath Rath Yatra at Mayapur did not witness usual participation of 2 lakh people and the 3 chariots of divine siblings, Jagannath, Baladev, Subhadra could only be drawn inside the temple campus.

Monks, Pujaris and a restricted number of devotees were allowed to take part and close to a million devotees across the world watched it on various digital platforms.

However at Gundicha temple, Lord stays for 8 days and here the exuberance among  the devotees was no less. Close to 40 devotees from 30 countries ( resident devotees) are busy painting colourful rangolis, flower garlands and most importantly the opulent Chappan bhog which is so dear to Lord Sri Jagannath, as mentioned in established scriptures.

At Gundicha in Mayapur  the Lord will savour a variety of dishes offered by devotees across the world. From mouth watering continental cuisines to Chinese noodles, dumplings,  Italian pastas, pizzas, American donuts, cakes , Russian salads, icecreams to our very own traditional Bengali dishes - saag, chochodi, sukta, chatni, payesh, luchi is presented to the Lord.

Besides this 15-20 types of sweet preparations like laddus, malpoa, khir, halua, patisapta to name a few are being prepared.  This year Lord will also be served with doklas,  khakras and  ghewars for breakfast by Gujarati and Rajasthani devotees.

The mood is that after Snan Yatra( 5th June this year) Lord Jagannath falls sick and He is kept in isolation where opulent Bhoga is not offered due to His ill health so after He recovers we try to offer Him best quality Chappan Bhoga which He likes so much.

At Gundicha we offer bhoga 5-6 times each day and try to ensure that the Lord is satisfied and happy so that each year He comes and gives us Darshan, said Subroto Das, spokesperson of ISKCON, Mayapur.

Jagannath Maha Prasad is very auspicious and we will distribute it to people as part of ongoing Food for Life programme, in which we have been distributing 5000 plates of Prasadam in Nadia each day since lockdown said Alay Govind Das, principal organiser of Rath Yatra festival.

The devotees who are serving in the Gundicha will be screened every day and proper sanitisation arrangement is being ensured by the ISKCON authorities.

Second ANMs demand wage hike, threatens to go on bigger agitation

Speaking to the journalists, Soma Saha, Nadia unit president of West Bengal United Auxiliary Nurses Employees Association said the health workers are working in deplorable conditions with very meager salary and without any benefits.

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 23 JUNE: The frontline warriors across the state who are boldly fighting against Covid-19 pandemic have threatened to go on bigger agitation if the state government does not announce an immediate hike in their salaries.

Hundreds of the Multi-purpose health workers (second-Auxiliary nurse midwifery (ANM)-female workers), who are relentlessly doing their services in the village level across the state are reportedly being deprived of getting their salary hike since many years.

Undaunted by family pressure, social stigma and the risk of contracting the infection, they have been at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic.

Though, the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee had assured last year that she would increase salary of second-ANMs by March, this year.

While before submitting a deputation before the chief medical officer of health (CMOH), Nadia, the frontline workers said demanding the government to increase the salary immediately and provide maternity leave of 180 days with salary and treat their service as permanent government job.

ANMs are regarded as the grass-roots workers in the health organisation pyramid. Their services are considered important to provide safe and effective care to village communities. The role may help communities achieve the targets of national health programmes.

Speaking to the journalists, Soma Saha, Nadia unit president of West Bengal United Auxiliary Nurses Employees Association said the health workers are working in deplorable conditions with very meager salary and without any benefits.

She has demanded the Government to sanction 35 casual leaves every year and pay ex-gratia to the kin of the workers, who died on duty and also extend insurance facility.

She said the Supreme Court has issued a directive - equal pay for equal work- but the state government is not implementing it. 

ISKCON, Mayapur celebrates Ratha Yatra using digital innovation not to spread Covid-19

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said that the apex court is only considering conducting the yatra in Puri and not anywhere else in Odisha.

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 23 JUNE: The Ratha Yatra of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Mayapur went digital for the first time due to the cause of Covid-19 pandemic.

Iskcon, Mayapur launched a unique initiative to celebrate the occasion with the worldwide community of devotees using digital innovation. Named as ‘Mercy on Wheels’, the digital yatra will cover six continents in 24 hours on June 23 and June 24.

“This was the world’s first digital Rath Yatra which covered six continents in 24 hours. It has been named ‘Mercy on Wheels’. There were 108 rathas,” said Subroto Das, spokesperson of Iskcon, Mayapur.

This comes at a time when the iconic Rath Yatra at Puri in Odisha was allowed on condition of few serious points by the Supreme Court because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Puri Rath Yatra was last held up nearly three centuries ago when Mohammed Taqi Khan, deputy governor of Odisha, attacked the Jagannath temple, forcing the shifting of the idols to Ganjam district.

As part of arrangements, the authorities have opened an online portal where devotees, who wish to be a part of the yatra, will have to register themselves, following which they will receive a code.

A total of 108 Iskcon community leaders had taken charge of pulling the e-rathas, bringing the Lord into the houses of devotees all over the world. Each ratha had taken with its 200 devotees.

The celebrations began at 8 am with the Pau- handi celebrations, a ritual marking the beginning of the Rath Yatra. After initial celebrations were over within 90 minutes, the temple management addressed and welcomed devotees.

The yatra began at 10 am and continued till 7.30 am the next day covering six continents.

Devotees who were unable to book their slots had the opportunity to view the entire process on digital media.

Ending days of uncertainty, the Supreme Court Monday modified its earlier order, and allowed the conduct of the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha. But its order has several conditions from curfew timing to number of people who can pull the chariot, from social distancing norms to record keeping of those who will participate in the annual religious ritual this year.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda on Monday expressed happiness over the Supreme Court's nod to annual Jagannath Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri.
“It is a matter of great happiness that Rath Yatra has been allowed. There were difficulties due to coronavirus. The Centre and the state government will ensure that all guidelines will be followed,” Pradhan told reporters.

Panda said that the apex court's decision today to permit annual Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri has come as a huge relief for 45 million Odiyas and millions of other devotees around the world.
“The state government's contention in the earlier Supreme Court ruling that public health could not be assured was always odd because just a few weeks ago, the state government has organised thousands of people to sing the anthem with social distancing. The Rath Yatra can also be done with same measures,” he said.
“I am thankful to my colleague Sambit Patra who was among those who filed a review petition in the Supreme Court which has permitted Rath Yatra only at its main site in Puri Infront Jagannath Temple and nowhere else,” the BJP leader said.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said that the apex court is only considering conducting the yatra in Puri and not anywhere else in Odisha.

The Supreme Court, while disposing of the pleas filed in the matter, noted that the State can stop the yatra or festivities if they feel it is going out of hand and added that it was aware of the situation and has passed the order accordingly.