1. Will Make a Public Appearance on 30 Oct: Bimal
Bimal Gurung said he had decided to make a public appearance on 30 October, the announcement coming at a time many Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders have pledged support to the Binay Tamang camp.
Since early this morning, there was a number of Facebook posts attributed to Gurung's supporters, saying the Morcha chief would come out of his hideout on 30 October.
"I have decided to come out on 30 October and people from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Terai and the Dooars have to hit the streets in lakhs," Gurung said over the phone, asked about the posts.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. With Puja, Muharram Passing off Peacefully in WB, Mamata Takes Dig at Maha
Happy that Durga Puja and Muharram had passed off peacefully in her state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said such a feat could not have been achieved in a state like Maharashtra if Ganapati Visarjan and Muharram were to coincide.
She lauded the people of her state for maintaining peace and harmony despite the "conspiracies" hatched to create disturbance during Durga Puja and Muharram, which coincided this year.
"What (West) Bengal can do, no one else can. I am sure had the Ganapati Visarjan and Muharram coincided, Maharashtra (which is under a BJP-led government) would not have been able to conduct them in a smooth manner," she said.
(Source: PTI)
3. Rape Case Against Ritabrata
Delhi police have registered a case of rape against expelled CPM leader Ritabrata Banerjee on the basis of a complaint from a Balurghat woman who accused him of having a physical relationship with her after promising marriage.
An email from Usha Kumari Joshi, an inspector of South Avenue police station, today reached the Balurghat woman, who had lodged the complaint via email.
Joshi's email - The Telegraph is in possession of a copy - mentions that charges under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 374 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code have been slapped on Ritabrata in the case, registered yesterday.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Land Cloud Over Dakshineswar Metro Set to Lift
The Noapara-Dakshineswar Metro project that has been stuck in a land logjam for more than six years is set to roll with the government deciding to shift from Saturday the 202 families occupying a 250m stretch on the route.
State transport minister Subhendu Adhikari will hand over the keys to alternative accommodations to 50 families on October 14, officials said. The remaining 152 families will be shifted by the middle of December.
Once the 202 families are relocated, the last hurdle threatening to derail the Noapara-Baranagar-Dakshineswar Metro project will be removed.
All these families had earlier been steadfast in their refusal to move and the government had taken no initiative to break the impasse.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Noise Bar of 90 Decibel to Continue in Bengal Kolkata
The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) will enforce the existing ban on sale and use of firecrackers that generate sound over 90 decibel and not opt for a blanket ban as is the case in Delhi.
WBPCB chairman Kalyan Rudra said the board was working in tandem with law enforcing agencies in the state to prevent illegal firecrackers from entering the market.
"Without any new court direction on the issue, the WBPCB will have to go by the existing order of checking the sale and bursting of crackers that produce sound over 90 decibel. Our teams are on the vigil," Rudra told PTI.
The WBPCB ban on bursting of firecrackers across all silence zones and during day time – 10am to 6pm – would also continue to be in force across the state, Rudra said.
(Photo: PTI)
6. Theatre Director Texts Lewd Messages at Bengal Govt Workshop, Faces Action
Premangshu Roy, a director who was conducting a theatre workshop organised by the Bengal government in Burdwan district, was removed on Thursday following allegations that he sent lewd messages to a participant late in the night.
The six -day workshop was cancelled midway and Roy was ‘suspended’ after complaints reached the information and cultural affairs department headed by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The government has started an investigation.
The workshop was the brain child of Minerva Theatre group that is patronised by information technology minister and leading theatre personality Bratya Basu.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Long Shutdown Leaves Darjeeling School Authorities Apprehensive About the Future
The record 104-day-long bandh has triggered extreme uncertainty in the schools of north Bengal hills, with several looking elsewhere for education.
With its cool climes, the picturesque Darjeeling hills host an education hub with many residential schools, some of which are well over 100 years old.
Authorities of schools in the hills are worried after some students did not return to the hills after the bandh was withdrawn and the puja holidays were over.
The schools most affected are in proper Darjeeling, which is ground zero of the Gorkhaland movement during which 12 people were killed since 15 June, when the indefinite bandh began.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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