TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee compares Nirmala Sitharaman to Kal Nagini

TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee compares Nirmala Sitharaman to Kal Nagini

Kalyan Banerjee said, "The way people die due to bite of 'Kal Nagini', the same way, people are dying due to Nirmala Sitharaman. She has destroyed the economy. She should be ashamed and resign from her post. She is the worst Finance Minister."

   

                      

Biswabrata Goswami            Hummingbird News

BANKURA, 5 JULY:  Trinamul Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee raised a fresh controversy after he compared Nirmala Sitharaman to 'a snake' like Kal Nagini and labeled her as the 'most useless finance minister of the country'. Banerjee made the remarks at Bankura on Saturday, following which the BJP has hit back.

Kalyan Banerjee said, "The way people die due to bite of 'Kal Nagini', the same way, people are dying due to Nirmala Sitharaman. She has destroyed the economy. She should be ashamed and resign from her post. She is the worst Finance Minister."

The BJP reacted strongly to his comments, with state party president Dilip Ghosh claiming West Bengal chief minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee has lost grip over her party leaders.

"Corruption has spread in the TMC from top to bottom; they have become puzzled by internal feud and many of them are making senseless comments to divert the attention from the situation prevailing in the ruling party.

"We don''t give much importance to such comments.... they are uttering such nonsense out of frustration," he said.

Banerjee went further to attack BJP MP Dilip Ghosh and said, "We are not afraid of Dilip Ghosh. Let him tell BJP leaders that we are not sitting at home wearing bangles, we are strong and we will meet in the field. If you want to fight physically, we won't step back. We will give you appropriate answers to all the dirty politics you are playing."

"I will silence Dilip Ghosh and I want to see how brave he is. A person like Dilip Ghosh, who needs 18 security guards, should not wear men's clothes, they should wear saree instead. Even people who wear saree are stronger than him," Kalyan said.

Two youths drown off Tajpur sea, another rescued in a serious condition

Two youths drown off Tajpur sea, another rescued in a serious condition

Local residents said the sky was almost constantly overcast, and rain falls, mostly in a drizzle and in frequent showers since morning. This apart, lunar eclipse was then continuing. As a result, the sea was rough.

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 4 JULY: A weekend trip to sea beaches ended in tragedy for two youths who drowned after being swept away by strong waves at Tajpur sea in East Midnapore on Saturday afternoon.

Another youth who also swept away by strong waves was rescued by the nulias and he has been admitted to the Balisai Rangpua primary health center. The bodies of the two youths were later found and they have been sent to the Contai sub-divisional hospital for autopsy.

The incident occurred at a time when the businesses have started with slow pace after a prolonged lockdown phase due to coronavirus pandemic.

A police official said the deceased have been identified as Golam Mohammed (25) and Mohammed Juneid (30). Golam was a resident of Shibpur, Howrah while Juneid was from Tikiapara.

According to police, the three friends had gone to Digha on a private car this morning and they reached at Tajpur at around 11.30 am. They decided to bath in the sea and accordingly they started bathing. Suddenly, they encountered strong currents which pushed them even further and they ultimately disappeared in the waters.

Locals dived into the water and rescued Ujir Mohammed in a serious condition. For an hour, two youths were not traced, but their dead bodies were later found floating near the shore.

The Manadarmoni coastal police reached the site and started a probe into this matter. They have already contacted the family members of the victims and asked them to identify the bodies.

Local residents said the sky was almost constantly overcast, and rain falls, mostly in a drizzle and in frequent showers since morning. This apart, lunar eclipse was then continuing. As a result, the sea was rough.

The youths ignoring the restrictions imposed for bathing went far into the sea and suddenly they were swept away by a strong wave, locals added.

Another fisherman mauled by a Royal Bengal Tiger in Sundarbans

Another fisherman mauled by a Royal Bengal Tiger in Sundarbans 

The two other fishermen who tried to fight against the big cat for rescuing Mistri, the tiger was so adamant that the duo could not drive out it. Later, the duo came back to their village and informed the forest officials and police.

           Biswabrata Goswami

SOUTH 24 PARGANAS, 4 JULY: Once again a fisherman was mauled to death by a tiger at Panchmukhani forest in Sundarbans under Sundarban Coastal police station limits yesterday.

A forest official said 52-year-old Jamini Mistri, a resident of Lahiripur was catching crabs and shrimps along with two other fishermen when a Royal Bengal Tiger pounced on Mistri and dragged him away inside the forest.

The two other fishermen who tried to fight against the big cat for rescuing Mistri, the tiger was so adamant that the duo could not drive out it. Later, the duo came back to their village and informed the forest officials and police.

Later, the forest personnel went to the site but they could not retrieve the body.

A poll of gloom descended soon after the news spread in the locality as a few days ago, another fisherman was killed by a big cat when three fishermen had gone to Pirkhali forest in Sundarbans to catch crabs.

A 65-year-old Manoar Mondol was also mauled to death by a tiger when he was catching crabs along with his two associates in a stream near the Pirkhali forest. The tiger leaped aboard the boat and clamped its jaws on Mondol’s neck. It quickly flung him on its back and gave a giant leap before disappearing into the forest.

The forest official said, the department is verifying if the fishermen had valid permits for fishing activities in the area.

The Sundarbans with its large mangrove forest is dotted by rivulets and canals.

Distance learning : Varsities with NAAC 3.01 get clearance

Distance learning : Varsities with NAAC 3.01 get clearance

As per the message mailed by the UGC to the universities, only Vidyasagar university will not be able to admit students in the master degrees for the session of 2020-21.

Biswabrata Goswami

Statesman News Service

KRISHNAGAR, 3 JULY: In view of prevailing circumstances due to Covid-19 and the proposed new Integrated Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Regulations, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued permission to continue master degrees to the universities having NAAC score 3.01 and above on a four-point scale or having rank in Top-100 in overall category of NIRF.

The commission in its 546 th meeting held on 14 May has decided all the applications already received for July, 2020 academic session shall be treated as null and void in view of the proposed new Integrated ODL and Online Regulations.  

The UGC has also cancelled applications of 96 universities for recognition to offer programmes through ODL mode from academic session July, 2020 onwards.

UGC had invited applications from eligible HEIs for recognition of ODL programmes from 2020-21, academic session beginning July, 2020 and onwards vide public notice dated 1 November, 2019.

As per the message mailed by the UGC to the universities, only Vidyasagar university will not be able to admit students in the master degrees for the session of 2020-21.

In West Bengal, five universities – Kalyani, Burdwan, Rabindrabharati, Uttar Banga and Vidyasagar universities – conduct distance education along with their regular mode courses.

Of these five universities, Kalyani university has NAAC score 3.12 followed by Burdwan (3.11), Rabindrabharati (3.10),  Uttar Banga (3.05) and Vidyasagar university (2.86).

Prof, Sankar Kumar Ghosh, vice-chancellor of KU said, “Our university is developing. Apart from our regular courses, distance courses are getting importance day by day. In the distance mode only, we have more than 15000 students. At present, we are conducting eight courses, four in arts and four in science. In near future, we will start a few courses for honours degrees”.   
Courtesy: Images from iNET. 

Patashpur turns into a battlefield after police and locals involve in a clash over discrepancy on distribution of Amphan relief package

Patashpur turns into a battlefield after police and locals involve in a clash over discrepancy on distribution of Amphan relief package

The situation turned violent when the Trinamul Congress panchayat samity sabhapati of Pataspur –II block, Chandan Sahoo reached the spot. As soon as he reached there, hundreds of agitating people rushed to him and started hurling abusive languages at him. They held him responsible for allotting relief funds to the names of his relatives. Some of them even thrashed him.

                      Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 3 JULY: Once again Patashpur in East Midnapore turned into a battlefield when a large section of police reached Matirampur under Patashpur police station limits where hundreds of people staged a sit-in-demonstration on the Egra – Bajkul state highway to protest against the irregularities in the distribution of Amphan relief package today.

Hundreds of local residents put up a blockade on the state highway demanding distribution of Amphan relief to the people who originally lost their houses or suffered most during the impact of the super cyclone Amphan.

The agitating people raised fingers at the local Trinamul Congress leaders for grabbing relief funds meant for the beneficiaries. They held the Trinamul leaders responsible for nepotism.

The situation turned violent when the Trinamul Congress panchayat samity sabhapati of Pataspur –II block, Chandan Sahoo reached the spot. As soon as he reached there, hundreds of agitating people rushed to him and started hurling abusive languages at him. They held him responsible for allotting relief funds to the names of his relatives. Some of them even thrashed him.

On hearing the news, a large section of police reached there and rescued Sahoo from the clutches of the agitating people.

A section of irate mob then involved in a clash with the police persons and soon the area turned into a battlefield.

The police officials led by Sheikh Aktar Ali, sub-divisional police officer, Egra resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the mob.

According to police sources, a huge contingent of force was called in to control the situation. “Two rounds were fired in the air to bring the situation under control,” a district police officer said.

He said the villagers were agitating over the irregularities in Amphan relief funds which reportedly went to various fake accounts, thus depriving those who were actually affected by the cyclone.

A senior police official said several persons including a few police persons were injured during the clash and they have been admitted to the local hospital for treatment.

Though, no persons involved in the clash have been arrested yet, but the police have initiated a suo-motto case against some unidentified persons. The police also started identifying people who carried out ransacking roadside shops and stranded vehicles.

Local Trinamul Congress leaders alleged the BJP had instigated people to begin agitation against their party leaders and they turned the situation violent when the police reached there.

The BJP leaders, however, alleged it was a spontaneous agitation by the local residents who are being deprived of getting Amphan relief funds. As the TMC leaders involved in nepotism and distributed funds amongst their groups, the locals became furious and put up a road block. But, police resorted to a lathi charge on those who are being deprived.

Krishnagar Anandadhara felicitates journalists and photographers as Covid-19 warriors

Krishnagar Anandadhara felicitates journalists and photographers as Covid-19 warriors

Raju Patra, secretary of Krishnagar Anandadhara said that the way the Corona warriors engaged in the service putting themselves in the front row of the battle against the pandemic, was being appreciated everywhere. In such a situation, these warriors, without caring for their lives, are doing the important job of saving people.

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 1 JULY: A dozen of journalists and photographers working in the      district headquarters were felicitated by a reputed social organization named Krishnagar Anandadhara in an unconventional ceremony inside the premises of the district postal and telephone departments in Krishnagar on Wednesday afternoon.

The Anandadhara members expressed their gratitude to the scribes and photographers mentioning them as frontline warriors who played an important role in the fight against the coronavirus.

They felicitated the warriors by presenting them a citation, medal and sapling, each.

Raju Patra, secretary of Krishnagar Anandadhara said that the way the Corona warriors engaged in the service putting themselves in the front row of the battle against the pandemic, was being appreciated everywhere. In such a situation, these warriors, without caring for their lives, are doing the important job of saving people.

Former postmaster of Krishnagar HPO, Pratima Adhikari said, “We have seen all these journalists and photographers from very close during my day-to-day works and they have done a lot to make people aware about the coronavirus. As they are working in the frontline against Covid-19, our organization decided to felicitate them on views to recognize their roles during this acute crisis time.”

Sudip Bhattacharya, senior staff photographer of Anandabazar Patrika said, “Being a photographer I always wanted to serve at my best level. I am very honoured to receive this felicitation and I feel that it will motivate me to keep doing the good work and serve my society”.

He also thanked the organization for their social services in the locality.

Anup Das, a senior reporter of 24 Ghanta, said, “I am also very honoured to receive this felicitation. I am very delighted that there are many people in the society who recognize our services. I convey my good wishes to the organization and its members”. 

Amid Indo-China tension, India first ever exports cargo to Bangladesh through IBP route from Haldia port

Amid Indo-China tension, India first ever exports cargo to Bangladesh through IBP route from Haldia port

The inland vessel MV Purthi carrying 45 containers of sponge iron would reach Narayanganj, Bangladesh in 7 days, cutting down a substantial time, energy and fuel.

                     
 Biswabrata Goswami

 HALDIA, 1 JULY: Amid a serious escalation of tensions with China following the   first fatalities along their contested border in more than four decades, a surging   pandemic and an economy heading for recession, India – Bangladesh trade relation   has once again witnessed a major development.

In the line with the government’s focus on improving connectivity, the first ever containerised cargo movement via Indo-Bangladesh protocol route started from Haldia on Tuesday.

The inland vessel MV Purthi carrying 45 containers of sponge iron would reach Narayanganj, Bangladesh in 7 days, cutting down a substantial time, energy and fuel.

The voyage is an integrated IWT movement via National Waterways and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route. This is the first ever containerized cargo movement on this Inland Water Transport (IWT) route.

In a statement, shipping ministry said, “The Maiden Exim cargo movement through National Waterways is a landmark moment and we are very delighted with our recent development in shipping sector. This environment-friendly mode of transportation would escalate business growth and contribute to the economic development of the country."

“In line with Government’s focus on strengthening regional connectivity through inland waterways, maiden containerised EXIM cargo consignment sailed from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) to Narayanganj, Bangladesh,” ministry of shipping said in a statement.

It said 45 containers of steel fillings / pig iron ingots, of West Bengal-based steel manufacturer Rashmi Metaliks Ltd has been assigned to export to Bangladesh via National Waterway – 1, National Waterway – 97 (Sundarbans) and IBP Route.

Currently, IBP route is mostly used for transportation of Bulk cargo like fly-ash, coal, stone chips and over-dimensional cargo for export to Bangladesh.

India’s exports to Bangladesh in FY 2018-19 stood at USD 9.21 billion and imports from Bangladesh during the same period were USD 1.04 billion. 

The government said given the trade volume, this movement is a welcome development as it will not only reduce the congestions on

Land Custom Stations at Petrapole, Gojadanga etc but also reduce the cost of logistics, air pollution and GHG emissions.