1. WB Govt to Give Rs Ten Crore for Kerala Flood Relief: Mamata
West Bengal government will contribute Rs 10 crore to the Kerala Chief Ministers relief fund in the wake of the recent rain-fed floods in the southern state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, 19 August, said.
"My heart goes out to the people of Kerala battling #KeralaFloods In this hour of crisis, to stand beside the flood-affected people of Kerala, we have decided to make a contribution of Rs Ten Crore to the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund," Banerjee wrote on Twitter.
She said that the state was willing to extend all form of assistance and support to the Kerala government to deal with the current flood situation there.
(Source: PTI)
2. Calcutta Unites to Assist Flood-ravaged Kerala
A charity that had appealed for support to collect and send relief materials to flood-ravaged Kerala received more than 300 donations in 24 hours, representing a small pocket of Calcutta's big-hearted response to the humanitarian crisis.
Several other organisations plan to start collecting relief materials from Monday after receiving calls from people keen to help.
Packaged food, new clothes, antiseptics and sanitary napkins are some of the things stocked on the ground floor of Kundalia Towers on Shakespeare Sarani, the Indian Pluralism Foundation's relief storehouse.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. BJP and TMC Tied in Rakhi Race
Competition for pride of place, on the wrist, has become fierce in East and West Midnapores with the BJP and Trinamul deciding to distribute rakhis with pictures of Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee, respectively.
Ahead of the Raksha Bandhan on 26 August, rakhi manufacturers at places like Sabang and Pingla of West Midnapore and Moyna and Bhagabanpur in East Midnapore have been working overtime to make several lakh rakhis with pictures of Modi and Mamata. The rakhis will be sent out for sale and distribution to over 100 shops in the two districts.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Contractors Shun NH10 Repair Tender
The repair of a major portion of NH10 that connects Sikkim with the rest of India is delayed as contractors are unwilling to take up the work because of purported security concerns following last year's Gorkhaland agitation.
"NH10 is in a bad shape at a number of locations along the 52km stretch connecting Sevoke with Rangpo. For the surface repairs, Rs 40 crore had been allotted and we invited tenders from construction firms. But there hasn't been a response. It is quite unusual that firms are not interested in repairs. We don't know what stops them from participate in tenders," said Anup Maity, an executive engineer (NH division IX) of the Bengal public works department.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. West Bengal Textbook Depicts Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh
A photograph of a school textbook in West Bengal depicting Farhan Akhtar as legendary athlete Milkha Singh has gone viral on the social media and the actor has urged the state government to rectify the "glaring error".
The 44-year-old, who essayed the role of Singh in the 2013 biopic "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", took to Twitter to point out that a still from the film had been incorrectly used in the book instead of the real athlete's photo.
(Source: PTI)
6. How a Café in Kolkata is Brewing Antidote to Taboo Against HIV
Fans believe a lot can happen over a cup of coffee – love, gossip, debates, creative discussion and even revolution. Kolkata-based HIV+ activist Kallol Ghosh now wants to add “breaking social taboo” to the list.
For, spread over 130 sq. ft. inside a garage in a south Kolkata neighbourhood, Café Positive, the first outlet in the country employing only HIV+ youths, is making a quiet revolution in the city and beyond since Ghosh launched it on 14 July.
Ghosh is now flooded with offers from all over the state to open similar cafes in towns such as Siliguri, Barasat and Haldia and also along the busy Durgapur Expressway. “I have a target of launching six outlets in a year, all owned and run by HIV+ youths,” he said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Met Predicts Heavy Rain in South Bengal
The Met department on Sunday, 19 August, warned of heavy rain in the coastal and other southern districts of West Bengal till Tuesday owing to a low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
The weatherman has predicted widespread rain or thundershowers in Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Bankura, Jhargram, East and West Burdwan, Murshidabad, Nadia, Purulia and Birbhum districts till Tuesday morning.
Heavy rain is likely to occur at one or two places in all these districts during the period owing to a low pressure area that has formed over northwest Bay of Bengal.
(Source: PTI)
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