1. Hilsa Plays Hard To Get, MP Nusrat Steps In To Place It On Nobel Platter
If India’s and Kolkata’s newest Nobel laureate gets to eat his favourite hilsa when he comes home on Tuesday, a large part of the credit may have to go to Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan.
The Basirhat MP, who read Monday morning’s TOI article about this year’s economics Nobel winner Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee’s love for one of Bengal’s favourite fishes, has got in touch with Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit’s mother, expressing her desire to gift a hilsa from her Lok Sabha constituency, Basirhat, to the family on Tuesday.
“I read in TOI and got to know about Abhijit Banerjee’s wish to have hilsa while at home in Kolkata, and how his mother feared she would not find one here during this time of the year,” said actor-MP Jahan. “Being a foodie and an ardent hilsa lover, I could not control myself from getting in touch with the Banerjee family for sending a good hilsa from my constituency, Basirhat.”
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. No NRC, We’ll All Live Here: Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee on Monday promised continued development with a renewed pledge to oppose a National Register of Citizens (NRC)-like exercise in Bengal, rolling out the twin assurances during her first north Bengal trip since the Lok Sabha polls in which Trinamool lost seven of the eight seats in the region.
“Look at the roads, they are much better. The road network connects north Bengal with Nepal and Bhutan. Bagdogra airport has got night-landing facilities now. We have arranged for land for the expansion of the airport…. A lot of development work has happened here and we will continue doing our work. We are with you,” said the chief minister.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Hasina Says Yes To Eden Test, CAB To Also Invite Modi
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accepted an invitation from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to attend the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kolkata next month.
Hasina will land in the city on 21 November and will be present at Eden Gardens on 22 November, the opening day. If everything goes according to plan, she will be joined by her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The last time the trio attended a public function together was in May 2018, at the convocation of Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan.
(Source: The Times Of India)
4. City Air Quality Index Shoots Past 200 A Week Before Diwali
Air quality index across the city moved ominously past the 200-mark on Monday, a week before Kali Puja-Diwali fireworks turn the air noxious, as a smoky fog hung over the city all day. The biggest suspect this time of the year is stubble burning in rural Bengal, much the same way crop burning in Punjab and Haryana is fouling up the air quality in Delhi.
While the West Bengal Pollution Control Board’s automatic air-quality monitoring stations at Fort William and Victoria Memorial Hall — the city’s green zone — recorded average AQIs of 241 and 214 respectively, the average at Ballygunge hovered around the 300-mark.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. Leanings Not The Reason: Visva-Bharati
Anirban Sircar, assistant registrar (public relations), Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, sent the following letter to The Telegraph on Monday:
With reference to the article published in your newspaper under the heading “Visva-Bharati withdraws nod for workshop with ABVP wing” published on 21.10.2019, may we please add the following rejoinders:
1. The reason behind Visva-Bharati not being able to give administrative approval for a workshop on 22 and 23 Oct. 2019 at Visva-Bharati to Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication in collaboration with Rashtriya Kala Manch within 21.10.2019 is not political leanings as is made out in the aforementioned article. The “outfit’s background” was not in any way central to Visva-Bharati’s refusal in this matter.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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