1. South Kolkata Bears Brunt Of Statue Politics, Traffic Takes A Hit
The politics of vandalism gripped south Kolkata’s busiest stretch for two hours on Thursday afternoon as rival party supporters chased and assaulted each other, crippling traffic and business.
From 1 pm to 3 pm, the Rashbehari Avenue and SP Mukherjee Road crossing remained the epicentre of tension, prompting all shops to down their shutters. Police said 59 people, including two women, were arrested.
In a bid to purify the desecrated bust of Syama Prasad Mookerjee with water and milk, several hundred BJP workers broke into smaller groups and tried to head to the Keoratala crematorium. They tried to advance in small busts, sporadically. The BJP’s youth supporters were singled out, chased and beaten up by “locals”. The attackers didn’t use their party flags but that couldn’t mask their identity. BJP leader Locket Chatterjee alleged: “The Trinamool Congress goons chased and assaulted our supporters in front of police, who remained a mute spectator.”
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. City Air Worse Than Delhi’s
The air in the city is more toxic than in Delhi in February, data collected by pollution-monitoring bodies reveal.
During the period under study, Calcutta's average air quality index (AQI) – based on the prevalence of the most potent pollutant, PM2.5 - was 260. Delhi's AQI stood at 243.
Experts fear Calcutta's air quality might be worse than what the figures suggest as the PM2.5 count is measured manually in the city. "Environment scientists are unanimous that manual measurement throws up less than accurate figures," an environment expert said.
The AQI figures have been deduced from data collected by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board in Calcutta and the Central Pollution Control Board in Delhi. The comparative analysis casts a cloud on environment minister Sovan Chatterjee's claim that Calcutta's air is better than Delhi's.
Metro studied the two sets of data and found that Calcutta's air – based on the PM2.5 count – has been poorer than Delhi's through most of the month.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Netaji Bhavan First Metro Station To Run On Girl Power
Netaji Bhavan Metro station celebrated Women’s Day by becoming the first in the city to be run by an all-women team. From managing ticket counters to to housekeeping, a group of over 25 women will be managing the operations at the station from now on.
Station superintendent Saswati Ghosh, the senior-most member of the squad, took over the affairs of the Metro station at 4.30pm on Thursday evening, accompanied by her team. The change found immediate resonance with regulars who cheered and clapped when the news was announced on the public address system.
Ghosh, who was busy chalking out a blueprint for smoother functioning, said her priorities will include providing hassle-free journey and laying more stress on women’s safety.
(Source: The Times Of India)
4. Cops Frame Charges In School Abuse Case
The Tollygunge women police wing on Thursday submitted the chargesheet in the case where a Class II student was allegedly sexually abused at a south Kolkata school by her dance teacher. The chargesheet was filed within 28 days of the incident at a special POCSO court.
“This Women’s Day, we wanted to send out a message that such incidents will not be tolerated,” a senior officer at Lalbazar said. The incident — reported on 2 February — had led to a major guardian’s stir.
The chargesheet follows two others pertaining to incidents reported from south Kolkata and Behala. Public prosecutors told TOI that this will go down as one of the fastest chargesheets that has been filed in a sexual assault case reported on school premises.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. ‘Purification’ Bid Brings Polluted River Under Lens
BJP workers on Thursday took a pitcherful of Hooghly water to the Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s vandalised statue to “purify” it. Though the cops prevented them from reaching the statue site, the politicians’ aborted act prompted environmentalists and Calcutta’s citizens to focus on the state of the river in the city.
Collected from the muddy shores of Bagbazar and Cossipore, the contents of the pitcher must have been infested with harmful bacteria, a liberal dose of oil and grease and lacking in dissolved oxygen, pointed out environmentalists acquainted with the pollution status of the river. The party workers also carried honey, milk and gaumutra (cow urine).
(Source: The Times Of India)
6. 30 Injured In Kona Road Bus Crash
At least 30 people, including seven women, were injured when the minibus they were on jumped the signal and hit a Matador on Kona Expressway on Thursday.
The minibus, headed to Burdwan, was ferrying people who had arrived in Calcutta to attend a Trinamul rally on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the main speaker at the rally on Mayo Road.
At least 30 people, including seven women, were injured when the minibus they were on jumped the signal and hit a Matador on Kona Expressway on Thursday.
The minibus, headed to Burdwan, was ferrying people who had arrived in Calcutta to attend a Trinamool rally on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the main speaker at the rally on Mayo Road.
(Source: The Telegraph)
7. IMA Sounds Bridge Course Alarm Bell
The safety of people treated by practitioners of homoeopathy, unani and ayurveda will be compromised once a central bill allowing them to prescribe allopathic medicines becomes a law, the Indian Medical Association has said.
That's because their diagnostic skills are limited, Ravi Wankhedkar, IMA president, said on Thursday.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill lays down that practitioners of alternative medicines can undergo a six-month bridge course to become eligible to prescribe allopathic medicines.
But six months is not enough to master the skill of diagnosing a problem and prescribing medicines, he said.
Wankhedkar is in Calcutta as part of the "IMA Yatra", during which he plans to visit all the states to "connect with the society and consolidate the fraternity".
As part of the "Yatra", more than 400 cars and 1,000 two-wheelers participated in a rally from the Calcutta airport to the IMA's Bengal headquarters off Park Circus.
(Source: Telegraph)
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