1. Women Cops In High Demand At Key Pujas
Whether it is Suruchi Sangha in New Alipore, Telengabagan near Ultadanga, 25 Pally in Kidderpore or Maddox Square, every major Puja this year have placed a special request to Lalbazar seeking allotment of women especially for the midnight revellers. The 500-odd women police force — and the 25-member Winners unit — have thus found special mention in this year’s Durga Puja police arrangement.
Since the Winners team will be armed with smaller weapons and special fibre batons, they are best equipped for the job. Led by additional DC Aparajita Rai, the force will be assigned to different pandals based on requirement.
“We are beginning round-the-clock monitoring of pandals from Chaturthi itself. We are receiving requests and our distribution will be based on the footfalls at the specific areas and the general law-and-order situation in the city. Since our team is already operating in the shopping areas of both Sealdah and Hatibagan, our operations will not be limited to south Kolkata even though our main focus will remain there,” said an IPS officer.
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. Rs 50,000-A-Day Fine Hangs On RCTC
The secretary of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) said on Monday he had been told that the National Green Tribunal had ordered the club to instal and operate a sewage treatment plant and ensure proper disposal of solid waste within three months, failing which the club would be fined Rs 50,000 a day.
The eastern zonal bench of the tribunal, he said, also asked the club to deposit a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore to the state pollution control board as “performance guarantee” within 15 days.
“We have been told that an NGT bench today imposed on the club a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore. We will also have to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 a day if the sewage treatment plant is not installed in three months. We will decide our course of action after discussing the matter with our lawyers,” RCTC secretary Kanchan Jana told Metro.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. A Durga Puja Pandal To Touch, For The Visually Impaired
Visitors are not allowed to touch the pandal décor but one puja this year is inviting people to touch and feel its artwork.
The Samaj Sebi Sangha Puja in Ballygunge is making an exception to enable the visually impaired to sense the grandeur of Durga Puja that they miss out on.
Right at the entrance to the puja is a giant installation of the face of Durga, with the third eye, made of 12,000 iron screws.
By touching the artwork a visually challenged person will get an idea of the face of the traditional Durga idols made of clay.
On the way out, visitors will find a desk manned by volunteers from an eye hospital where they can sign up to donate their corneas after death.
On the inner walls of the the pandal, visually impaired visitors will get to touch an artwork created with nails and strings, which is something taught in blind schools.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Jumbo Calf Rescued
An elephant calf that seemed to have been abandoned by its herd was rescued from Chulsa Tea Estate in Matialli block on Monday.
The calf is suspected to be ill and has been shifted to Gorumara National Park where it is under observation.
Foresters said local people had on Monday morning spotted a female elephant, suspected to be a member of a wild herd, and the calf in the plantation.
“The calf appeared to be ill and hence, the female elephant abandoned it and left for Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary. We informed the wildlife squad at Khunia from where foresters came and rescued the calf,” said Rahul Sharma, an employee of the garden.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. In Durga Puja Run-Up, Familiar Stirrings Of Old Foe Rain
A cyclone brewing on the Bay of Bengal and making its way towards the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast could bring intermittently intense rainfall over three days leading to Durga Puja before the skies clear for the festival spirit to shine through.
Satellite images on Monday showed a high possibility of rain in Calcutta and the surrounding districts between Wednesday and Friday, according to weather scientists. Whether these projections will play out depends on the trajectory that the cyclonic storm takes.
The Met office hopes to have a clearer picture of the system’s progression by Tuesday.
“There can be a spell of heavy rain in Calcutta on Thursday, although it is unlikely to rain throughout the day. If that spell does happen, 60mm or more rain can potentially come down,” said Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, the deputy director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Calcutta.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Bailey Bridge Installed, To Open On 12 October
One of twin Bailey bridges across the Chetla Boat Canal was installed on Monday. The setting up of the bridge within a strict deadline also created a new record for the industry.
The Bailey bridge was crucial part of the complex system of creating this alternative road after the Majerhat bridge collapse. Apart from bridging the canal, railways also laid mastic-asphalt layer over the level crossing and gave a finishing touch to it.
The boom-barriers have already been fixed on either end of the yard.
The Bailey bridge, however, stole Monday’s show with engineers witnessing the act with a lot of excitement.
The bridge rolled on thousands of wheels along the street to the other bank of the canal. A team of 150 engineers and workers from Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE), which manufactured the two Bailey bridges on an emergency basis, worked overnight to meet the deadline.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Residents Of New Town To Bond Over Rituals
Saswati Pal of CE Block in New Town is looking forward to this year’s Durga Puja. The arrival of the festival has always enthused her but this year, it will also provide her with the opportunity to know her new neighbours. Pal and her family have shifted to New Town in September this year and have not been able to meet even those residing in their own building.
“Everybody is very busy with work and other chores, so we have hardly got an opportunity to know everybody around. But come Durga Puja and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with our neighbours and other families in the block,” said Pal.
In a fledgling township like New Town, which has become home to thousands of families in the past few years, Durga Puja is an opportunity to come together with other residents in the vicinity at the local block puja. There are more than 50 block pujas in New Town this year, which emphasises that more people are shifting to the township.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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