1. Mercury Dips to Lowest in Five Years
The city shivered at 10.6°C on Sunday, 7 January. For the first time in five years, the mercury dipped below 11°C. Though the Met office predicted a slim chance of the temperature dropping below 10°C, meteorologists said the mercury could slide slightly. The chilly spell will continue for now.
"Chances of the minimum temperature dipping below 10°C is low. However, the mercury could climb down further by a few points. The next couple of days will have the temperature hovering between 10°C and 11°C. The prevailing conditions are conducive for the cold spell to extend further, at least for the next four days," said G K Das, director (weather) at Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. New Airport Parking System by End of January
Uniformed attendants, automated parking barriers and large digital clocks at the entry and exit gates of the airport — the agency overseeing parking at Kolkata airport will come back to work with a slew of improvements when the new six-lane exit bay becomes operational by the end of this month.
Employees of SS Enterprise had stayed away from work since 17 December 2017, after four attendants and the manager of the agency were arrested for allegedly assaulting actors Koushik and Riddhi Sen when they complained of extortion in the name of parking-fee collection.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. GD Birla Parents Float a Forum
The parents of students at GD Birla Centre for Education on Sunday formed a guardians' association to assess whether the school has taken adequate measures to ensure the safety of girls.
Each class – from the junior section to Class XII – will be represented in the association by the parents of two students.
"The total member count stands at 34. Now, we will take steps to register the association. Once that is done, the school will be notified," said Tanmay Ghosh, a member of the association.
Sunday's meeting came a little over a month after the alleged sexual assault on a four-year-old student by two physical instructors of the school and the subsequent protests by guardians.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Attack on Howrah OC Was 'Planned'
The assault on the officer-in-charge of Howrah's Shyampur police station on Saturday was not a spur-of-the-moment reaction of a mob but a planned move to send a message to the authorities, police said.
The condition of Suman Das, who suffered critical head injuries, remained critical on Sunday, though he was responding to treatment.
Das was leading a large police team sent to quell a clash over a plot in Shyampur when he came under attack.
"The nature of the attack suggests it was not just aimed at driving out the policemen from the area. Das and his men were attacked to send a message to senior officers to stay away from the Shyampur dispute," an officer said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Saoli Mitra Resigns from Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi
Inability to function in the absence of proper infrastructure has forced veteran theatre personality Saoli Mitra to tender her resignation as the chairperson of the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi. Mitra, who had taken on the assignment in 2012 on the request of the chief minister, has requested Mamata Banerjee to relieve her of the duties.
Though the resignation was sent three weeks back, there has been no official communication on whether or not it has been accepted already. West Bengal Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen didn't respond to calls and messages on this. The Bangla Akademi is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in West Bengal.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Online Tickets for Victoria
A visit to the Victoria Memorial Hall is just a click away with the launch of online ticket service on Sunday.
Long queues will be a thing of the past with the authorities having tied up with BookMyShow to sell tickets. The facility was launched by Union Culture Secretary Raghvendra Singh.
The ticketing platform for Victoria Memorial will be accessible both directly on the BookMyShow website and through a hyperlink on the monument's website: http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/home/content/en.
Those buying tickets can use debit and credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) as well as Internet banking for payment. International users will need to have a PayPal account to buy tickets online.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. Laser Threat to Pilots Despite Protests
Laser beams from party zones continue to distract pilots during landing despite repeated complaints to police, the airport authorities have alleged.
"We wrote to the Bidhannagar police commissionerate and the North 24-Parganas district authorities a couple of months ago, requesting them to regulate the use of laser beams. The light poses a threat to flights," B K Sarkar, general manager, air traffic management, said on Sunday.
"A meeting was later held, where the police promised action. But we are still getting complaints from pilots."
During the winter festive window, at least two pilots had complained to the air traffic control at the city airport that laser beams had distracted them when they were preparing to land.
(Source: The Telegraph)
8. Kolkata Likely to Get 'Eye' in 2020
The road map for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's dream project 'Kolkata Eye' a replication of the famous 'London Eye' has been finalised and is likely to be ready by 2020.
The global tendering process is over and work will start once it gets the clearance from the finance department.
"All clearances regarding the project have been received. We have selected one multinational company. The file has been sent to the state finance department and once we get its approval, we will start the work. We have set January-February 2020 as the deadline to complete the project," a senior official of the state urban development department said.
(Sources: The Times of India)
9. Lawyer Demands Proper Framework for Cryptocurrency, Files PIL
A city-based lawyer has filed a public interest litigation with Calcutta High Court demanding a proper framework for cryptocurrency such as bitcoin in the country, in the absence of which digital currencies were enjoying a free run in the underworld.
The lawyer also pointed out the link between cryptocurrency and dark web that, he alleged, aided money laundering and terror activities, apart from facilitating purchase of drugs.
The link came to the fore in Kolkata last month after the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested two youths for procuring and selling LSD patches. The patches were ordered through dark web and were paid for by bitcoins. The investigators found an increase in use of bitcoin for procuring drugs.
(Source: The Times of India)
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