1. Revised Pay for Professors From January: WB CM Mamata
Teachers at state universities and colleges would get revised UGC pay scale from 1 January 2020 announced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. In addition, teachers will get a lump sum, calculated on a 3% increment on their basic salary over the past four years, giving notional effect to pay revision from 2016-17.
The government has also decided to pay regular teachers house rent allowance (HRA), medical benefits and gratuity on a par with state employees.
A total 17,500 teachers will benefit from these payments that will add a financial liability of Rs 1,000 crore on the government.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. 25,000 Diesel-Run Commercial Vehicles Aged 10+ Still Ply
The ban on commercial vehicles aged more than 10 years, which looks imminent after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) rap in Delhi on Monday, is expected to give Kolkata relief from toxic fumes these vehicles spew.
Nearly, 25,000 commercial vehicles across all categories are likely to be pulled out of the system in Kolkata metropolitan area, a transport department offiicer said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the green bench had asked chief secretary Rajiva Sinha to comply with the order that makes it mandatory to scrap commercial vehicles attaining 10 years of age. In the 2018 order, NGT had also banned petrol vehicles older than 15 years. The Supreme Court later endorsed the order.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Cyclone Bulbul Likely to Bring Rain This Weekend
Cyclone Bulbul, which is approaching the Bengal and Odisha coasts, could trigger light to moderate showers in Kolkata this weekend. The cyclone, which is yet to form, is now a low-pressure over the North Andaman Sea. It is set to intensify into a deep depression on Wednesday and a cyclonic storm over the subsequent 24 hours. While the coastal areas of the state could receive heavy rain, Kolkata and the rest of south Bengal may get less intense showers.
“The city could remain cloudy from Friday with one or two spells of light rain. There could be more consistent rain on Saturday and Sunday, though the showers could be moderate,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director GK Das.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. BJP Chief Poses With Sword at Puja Pandal, TMC Sees Conspiracy
A controversy erupted after state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was seen holding a sword while inaugurating a Jagadhatri puja at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district Sunday, with the ruling Trinamool Congress smelling a “conspiracy to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere”.
The organisers of the puja gave Ghosh a sword, which the BJP MP held and posed for photographs, following which the ruling TMC slammed him for displaying weapons before public and asked police to look into the matter.
Without taking his name, TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh even termed him an “anti-social element” for holding the sword in public.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Airport Inline Baggage Scan Delayed
Passengers catching flights from Calcutta will be denied what is considered a basic facility at most airports — inline baggage screening — at least till mid-January, officials said on Tuesday.
Those who will fly out during the Christmas-New Year holiday season will have to stand in a separate queue to get their baggage scanned, raising the possibility of flight delays.
At airports where inline screening is in place, passengers deposit their check-in baggage at the airline counter before collecting their boarding passes, without getting them scanned at standalone X-ray machines.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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