1. Partha Chatterjee Warns Teachers on Attendance
Higher education minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday asked college teachers to attend classes punctually and diligently, and warned that action would be taken against those who wouldn't.
The minister, speaking at a get-together organised by the All Bengal Principals' Council in Behala College, said the government was not making biometric attendance mandatory for teachers in government-aided colleges but added that he would like the governing bodies to do so.
"I am appealing to all teachers to come to college in time and attend classes diligently. Our government is not imposing any order on installing biometric facility but we would like the governing bodies to do so," he said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Wintering Birds Lose Hyacinth Habitat
A cleaning overdrive has robbed Santragachhi Jheel of most of the hyacinth beds that host flocks of wintering water birds every year.
Birders awaiting the arrival of the first migrants of the season to this lake around 11km from the city fear that fewer flocks would descend there for want of roosting places.
The Howrah Municipal Corporation had been cleaning the hyacinth in phases since last winter, leaving scope for hardly any regrowth.
Metro revisited the popular birding site on Sunday to find only specks of hyacinth across its 13,75,000sq ft span.
Around 60 percent of the hyacinth growth is removed after August every year. The remaining clusters are tied to form islands where birds can roost.
According to birders, there is hardly any hyacinth growth left for the lake to be able to host more than a thousand birds this winter.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Dengue Kills 10-Year-Old Boy
A 10- year-old boy from Rajarhat who had been suffering from dengue died on Friday, becoming the fifth victim of the mosquito- borne disease in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation area this year.
Soumyajit Pal, a Class IV student of the Assembly of God Church in Kestopur, was admitted to BC Roy Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric Research in Phoolbagan on 3 November evening. He died two-and-a-half hours later.
The death certificate mentions "dengue shock syndrome". Father Subir said Soumyajit had fever on 30 October but went to school after taking medicines. "He could not attend all the classes and returned home early," Subir said.
The child was taken to the family physician in the evening and was advised the NS1 ( antigen) test for dengue.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. New Tech to Help Run E-W Services Every 90 Seconds
Even before the East-West Metro services get underway, authorities have taken a technological leap in the signalling system that will allow services at an interval of 90 seconds, down from 150 seconds earlier.
This has also enhanced the capability of the upcoming Metro line to become the most efficient in the world. The Paris Metro currently operates at a frequency of 120 seconds during rush hour while the London Metro has a frequency of 106 seconds.
“We have switched to a more advanced system from the signalling system that was proposed earlier. While Continuous Automatic Train Control would have allowed a maximum frequency of 2.5 minutes, the Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) that we will adopt will allow a maximum operational frequency of 1.5 minutes,’’ said a source in Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL).
The CBTC railway signalling system makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. It provides the position of a train more accurately than traditional signalling systems. The cost of the project is around Rs 290 crore.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. In Sunday's TMC-Vs-TMC Street Fight, Residents Duck for Cover
Shopowners downed shutters and pedestrians scurried for cover as supporters of two rival Trinamool factions fought a pitched battle on the streets in Park Circus – hurling stones, bricks and soda bottles – on Sunday afternoon. The flashpoint was the triennial general election of the governing body for Islamia Hospital in Park Circus, where disaster management minister Javed Khan and his supporters staged a walkout, handing over victory to deputy mayor Iqbal Ahmed's camp.
Each of the leaders blamed the other for the trouble that left more than 10 persons from both camps injured. Cops resorted to lathicharge and detained 12 persons. “We have set up a police picket and are probing further,’’ said Kalyan Mukhopadhyay , deputy commissioner, south-east division.
The election, being conducted at Haj House on Dilkhusa Street from 11am, turned troublesome when Khan and 28 of his supporters walked out, alleging the presiding officer was an ally of Ahmed. The other 112 voting members stayed back and elected Ahmed general-secretary of the governing body and other Trinamool leaders from his camp to other important positions like president and vice-president. “Khan's supporters, while moving out, damaged two bikes outside Haj House and wrecked my party office on Nasiruddin Road,’’ alleged Ahmed. In turn, Khan said, “Iqbal's supporters damaged our party office and assaulted our men.”
(Source: The Times Of India)
6. Tobacco Ban Near Schools up in Smoke
Despite prohibitions, tobacco products are being sold freely near educational institutes in Kolkata. A recent survey covering 25 educational institutes in the city found 68 percent of them had shops selling tobacco products within 100 yards of their premises. This violates rules laid down in The Cigarettes & Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). The study findings are alarming since they show that children have easy access to tobacco products.
Section 6 of COTPA prohibits smoking in public places, sale of cigarette or any other tobacco products to anyone below 18 years of age and in an area within a radius of 100 yards of any educational institute.
Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF) conducted a pictorial survey in September to assess the compliance of Section 6 of COTPA covering 25 educational institutes spread across the the city .
The study also found that none of the surveyed institutions had the mandatory antitobacco signages displayed outside the premises, flouting norms laid down in sections 4 and 6 of COTPA.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Film Fest to Open With Iranian Movie, Promote Regional Cinema
Iranian filmmaker Mostafa Taghizadeh's Yellow will be the inaugural film of the 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival where films from 53 countries will be screened, with UK being the ‘focus country.’
Yellow, which is Taghizadeh's first feature film, tells the story of a group of friends who try to pay for a lifesaving liver transplant.
Jean-Luc Godard's The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (Grandeur et Decadence d'un Petit Commerce de Cinema), which was made for French Television in 1986 and released in cinematic format in October this year in France, will be screened in cinematic format at the festival. TOI had earlier reported about it on 1 November.
“This will be the first time that The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company is being screened outside France,’’ principal secretary, information and cultural affairs department Vivek Kumar told reporters in Kolkata. The 23rd KIFF will be held between 10 November and 17 November 2017.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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