1. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee On Ventilator But Stable
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was put on ventilator support after he suffered a heart attack, but was "stable", an official of a private hospital said on Sunday, 13 August, night.
"He is undergoing dialysis. In such cases it happens at times that the heart stops giving support. Chatterjee suffered a mild heart attack this morning, but was revived. He is in the ICCU. He is stable and responding to treatment but still on ventilation," the official told PTI.
Ten-time Lok Sabha member and Communist Party of India (Marxist) veteran Somnath Chatterjee had been put on ventilator support and dialysis after his health situation became critical earlier in the day, ANI reported.
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2. Portions of Flyovers Collapse at Two Places
A portion of a flyover along NH31 in North Dinajpur's Chopra caved in and chunks of earth and concrete fell on the subway.
On Saturday, 11 August, a portion of an under-construction flyover on NH31D which is part of East West Corridor collapsed at Kantibhita in Phansidewa, around 25km from Siliguri. Darjeeling district magistrate ordered Larsen & Toubro (L&T) that was building the flyover to stop the work. The flyover on NH31 at Chopra is also a part of the East West Corridor.
"Every day, thousands of vehicles move along the flyover at high speed. Wheels of any vehicle can fall into the crater that formed after the cave-in. The crater might grow in size as more chunks of concrete and bitumen are giving away. We have informed the local BDO and demanded immediate repairs," said Jakir Abedin, the sahakari sabhapati of Chopra panchayat samiti.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Trinamool Congress Holds Protest Rallies in Kolkata Against NRC
The Trinamool Congress took out rallies in the city against the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), on 12 August.
Protest marches were organised at Esplanade in the heart of the metropolis and in other places, including one at Kamarhati in the northern part.
State minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay led the protest against the NRC at Esplanade, while TMC leaders Tapas Roy and Madan Mitra led the rally at Kamarhati-Baranagar area.
The ruling party had organised similar rallies in different parts of West Bengal yesterday, barring the state capital.
The TMC has alleged that in the name of the NRC, the BJP government in Assam had deliberately omitted names of Bengalis from the list, a claim which has been denied by the saffron party.
(Source: PTI)
4. ‘Victory’ March Over Bhangar Project
Residents of Bhangar took out a march on Sunday to celebrate the "victory" of their movement against a power sub-station project in the area.
Around 3,000 men, women, and children walked along a 6km stretch of the Rajarhat-Haroa Road, the arterial thoroughfare of the area.
The impasse over setting up the Power Grid's Bhangar project in South 24 Parganas district was resolved on 11 August after an agreement was reached between the protesters and the state government, officials said.
The construction of the sub-station project had been disallowed by protesting villagers since January last year and now it has been decided that work will resume from Tuesday, 14 August.
"Initially, there was a proposal for three feeders from our side, but now we will have two," a Power Grid official said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Mahajan Asks Mamata to Clear Stand on Infiltration Issue
Accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of making a U-turn on the infiltration issue, BJYM president Poonam Mahajan urged the Trinamool Congress not to politicise issues related to national security, on 11 August.
Mahajan made the statement ahead of BJP president Amit Shah's rally, organised by the Bharatiya Janata Yava Morcha (BJYM), in Kolkata.
"She has made U-turn on the issue of infiltration. She should first answer why she has made a U-turn on this issue. We feel TMC should stop politicising issues related to national security," Mahajan told reporters.
"Our workers are being attacked on a daily basis. Since yesterday we have reports that our workers are being assaulted and stopped from coming to the rally," she said.
"It is really painful to see how democracy is being brutalised in the state under TMC rule," she said.
(Source: PTI)
6. Youth Congress National President Launches Membership Drive in Bengal
Youth Congress National President Keshab Chand Yadav launched a 28-day membership drive in West Bengal along with the YC's 'Bharat Bachao Andolan' in the state on 11 August.
The membership drive was part of the 'Bharat Bachao Andolan' to make the young brigade plunge into active politics for dislodging the BJP at Centre and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal," Yadav said.
"We will hit the streets and hold rallies in the coming one month with the twin slogan to remove the communal BJP at the Centre and the corrupt and undemocratic TMC government in West Bengal in coming 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly polls respectively," he said.
Yadav later led a rally to Raj Bhavan but was prevented by the police before the prohibited area.
(Source: PTI)
7. Students Lock Visva VC Office
About 50 undergraduate students of Visva-Bharati, who have failed in their semester exams, locked the gate of the vice-chancellor’s office and staged a sit-in to demand supplementary exams.
The officiating vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati, Sabuj Kali Sen, couldn’t enter her office.
Varsity officials said the students need to clear six semesters for three-year undergraduate courses and four for postgraduate courses. There are about 180 students who could not clear one or more papers in their fifth or sixth semesters.
The agitation went on for over four hours.
(Source: The Telegraph)