Though the doctors claimed that the fever and cough leading to breathing problems are a result of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and has nothing to do with Covid, the huge number of affected children has become a cause of worry for the district health administration.
"In the last one month, more than 1200 children have been admitted with high fever, cough, cold, and acute respiratory problems and we couldn't save nine of them. They were below six months old and were physically weak. We have tested all the children and all of them have been detected Covid negative," the Medical College's Head of the Paediatric Department, Kaustav Nayek said.
According to Nayek, all the children who are getting affected are below one year old and the children who are below six months are the most vulnerable to the disease.
"Every time at this time of the year, the children get affected because of season change, but it doesn't stay for more than two weeks... this year it is taking little longer because of the continuous rain. We are taking measures to control the disease," he added.
According to the doctors, the patient affected by RSV will have a cough and cold in the first two days and then they will develop breathing problems, and, in some cases, it turns out to be serious.
"We have created two additional wards with more than 200 beds to handle this situation. We need oxygen and nebulisers for the treatment and that we have told the Principal. We hope the situation will be under control in the next couple of weeks," Nayek said.
The state Health Department is keeping a close watch on the development of the situation and has asked the hospital authorities to send daily updates on the infection rate, the treatment protocol, and condition of the children.
"If the child is more than one year then there is nothing to worry about but the children who are below six months are the most vulnerable in this disease and so we have asked that a neo-natal ward be opened so that these cases can be treated separately and with care," a Health Department official said.
Initially, the Special Cell sleuth suspected that 15 to 16 persons were from Bangladesh but after interrogation of the arrested suspected terrorists, it has come to notice that they are from West Bengal.
After the interrogation of the two arrested -- Osama from Delhi's Jamia Nagar and Zeeshan Qamar from Allahabad -- it came to the notice that the 15 Bengali-speaking persons whom they met at Jioni are from West Bengal.
The Special Cell on September 14 in a statement stated that Osama left for Muscat, Oman, on April 22 by a Salaam Air flight from Lucknow. There he met Zeeshan who had also come from India to join training in Pakistan.
"They were joined by 15-16 Bangla speaking people (probably from Bangladesh)," the Special Cell had stated.
"We are trying to make some sketches with the help of the arrested accused," the IPS officer said on Thursday, adding that subsequently the West Bengal Police would be informed.
Pan-India raids were being carried out by anti-terror units of the states and Delhi Special Cell sleuths on Thursday to nab suspected mastermind of the terror module Humaid.
It is alleged that Humaid, a relative of Osama, was coordinating the entire terror network in India.
"Last known location of Humaid was in Uttar Pradesh. We are in touch with Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad and raids are being carried out at various places," said the IPS officer.
It is alleged that Humaid had sent Osama and Zeeshan to Muscat to the join training in Pakistan.
Once they reached Muscat, the ISI took them to the Gwadar Port via sea routes to get them trained in making explosives and bombs.
Osama and Zeeshan were imparted the training of making bombs and IEDs and committing arson with the help of daily use items.
The training in Jioni town lasted for almost 15 days and thereafter, they were taken back to Muscat through the same route.
Apart from Osama and Zeeshan, the other four arrested accused terrorists have been identified as Jaan Mohammad Shaikh, resident of Mumbai; Moolchand from Rae Bareilly; Mohd Abu Bakar from Bahraich; and Mohd Amir Javed resident from Lucknow.
All the accused are in police custody for 14 days.
Besides, a low pressure area is very likely to form over North Bay of Bengal around July 13 and become more marked subsequently. This is likely to trigger moderate to heavy rain in Odisha, the regional meteorological department said on Thursday.
The rains will continue for the next two to three days especially in the coastal and northern region of the State till July 16, as per the Regional Meteorological Centre forecast.
"There is a cyclonic circulation in North coastal Odisha which is at a height of 3.1 and 5.8 km. Monsoon trough is also active now and it is in the normal position," said HR Biswal, director of meteorological centre.
Representative image: NewsInCyprus
Bengal chased down the 158-run target in 18.4 overs with both the openers Shreevats Goswami and V Singh scoring fifties. Singh was the first man to depart scoring 64 after an impressive 134-run opening stand. Skipper Manoj Tewary got out early to Abhishek Raut while Goswami (79) was picked up by left-arm spinner Jayanta Behera.
Earlier in the game, Odisha won the toss and batted first. Wicket-keeper Rajesh Dhuper went on to score 90 off just 64 balls. Leading the side for the first time Anurag Sarangi scored 23 while Prayas Singh Thakur and Debasish Samantaray got 20 and 19 runs, respectively. Odisha finished with 157/5 in 20 overs with Manoj Tewary and Writtick Chatterjee picking up two wickets apiece for Bengal.
Odisha will be playing its next game against Assam in the East Zone competition of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at the same venue.
Acting on specific information, the BSF officials raided Halderpara village on Saturday and apprehended one Mohammed Sukur Ali, 41, seized the fake currency notes being smuggled from India to Bangladesh.
"The patrol party chased him and managed to apprehend him. 491 fake currency notes in denomination of Rs 2000 were found on him. The notes were wrapped with plastic and kept in a bag," Prabhat Kumar Singh, Deputy Inspector General of BSF's South Bengal Frontier said in a statement.
Indian currency amounting to Rs 5,440, two mobile phones, two SIM cards and his passport were also seized.
"The apprehended person revealed his identity as Mohammed Sukur Ali, 41, of Chapainawabganj district in Bangladesh. The BSF has handed over Ali, and the items seized from him, to Gaighata police station for further legal action," he said.
The BSF's South Bengal Frontier has so far this year seized fake Indian currency notes of face value Rs 34.48 lakh, and apprehended six smugglers.
The project was launched in August this year to attract even more investment in IT/ITeS/ICT and to also build a world class ecosystem for cutting-edge technologies and innovation.
"In just two months, out of 100 acres of land earmarked for the Hub, four major global IT companies, among others, have applied to set up new investments in 74 acres already," Banerjee said in a Facebook post.
She also said Reliance Jio wants 40 acre to set up a state-of-the-art centre for IT-enabled telecom, Big Data analytics and AI while TCS wants 20 acres in the hub which will add another 15,000 IT professionals to their current workforce plan of 58,000 in Kolkata.
Capgemini of USA has asked for 10 acre to start cutting edge IT business in the city and RP Sanjiv Goenka will start with four acres for its First Source IT company to do global operations from here.
"Encouraged by this quick and warm response, I am planning to add another 100 acres to the Silicon Valley Hub of Kolkata on offer," she said.
There are other innovative entrepreneurs who have also sought to join this ecosystem.
In the meantime, Genpact of GE Capital of USA, is also investing Rs 300 crore in a massive expansion, she added.
"The incident took place on Monday night. Argha Biswas alias Abhijit was caught by the family members of the old woman. A complaint was filed on Tuesday," an officer of the Chakdah police station said.
The culprit from the Gangaprasadpur area has been arrested and presented before the court.
The proceedings are going on and the centenarian has been released from the hospital after the required medical tests.
"Sasthi" or "Bodhan" -- the welcoming of the Durga idols -- signalled the commencement of the five-day puja as the eastern metropolis welcomed its patron goddess to beats of "dhaak" (drums) and aroma of incense.
Armed with mobile apps, special arrangement by the West Bengal Transport Development Corporation for "puja parikrama" (pandal hopping), printed guide maps and selfie-sticks, denizens and tourists -- cutting across age and class barriers -- hit the streets here and in towns across districts, making rounds of different marquees under tight security arrangements.
Cyclone Titli timed its departure perfectly with the beginning of the "Sharod Utsav" (autumnal festivities), and there is no forecast of rain.
People decked in their best walked the streets of Kolkata shoulder to shoulder, visiting one marquee after another, as the Durga Puja festivities got off to a gala start under clear skies in eastern metropolis.
At the popular Maddox Square puja marked for its expansive space conducive to "adda" (discussion sessions) debates and deliberations were in full swing amid the throbbing beats of the dhaaks.
People's movement was, however, affected for 15-odd minutes in the afternoon due to power cut in a rake of the Metro Railway services in the city. After power tripping in the rake, passengers were de-boarded from Dum Dum-bound train at Central station and the empty rake was taken to the carshed, following which normal services were resumed.
The streets are decorated with lights, colourful billboards and giant entry gates of different community pujas. Shops -- big or small -- look busy and the restaurants welcome the gastronomes with mouth-watering dishes, including special Bengali platters.
The carnival-like atmosphere could be felt since morning, with many prominent pujas organisers throwing their marquees open to the public in advance from "Mahalaya" day -- the beginning of Devi Paksha.
Along with the greetings of "Shubho Sharadiya" via social media and messengers as also the traditional "namaskara", the chants of "Jai Durga" and "Bolo Durga Mai Ki Jai" reverberated across the state with every city, small town and village joining the fervour.
The puja is usually a five-day event with Sasthi, and the subsequent four days -- Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami -- translating into frenzied pandal-hopping (visiting marquees) in new clothes, meeting friends and family and stuffing oneself with traditional delicacies.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished people on Sasthi via a social media message.
Sasthi -- the sixth day of the lunar calendar -- began in some community pujas on Sunday evening according to "tithi" (a date in Hindu calendar).
"Kalparamvo" (the beginning of the puja), "Bodhan" (the consecration of Ma Durga's idol), "Amantran" (inviting the Goddess) and "Adhivas" (sanctifying the stay of the Goddess at the exact spot where the puja is being held) were performed in community puja marquees and households where the deity is being worshipped with zeal.
According to the epic Ramayana, before attacking Ravana in Lanka to free his wife Sita, Lord Rama had performed Durga Puja in autumn -- a time when the gods sleep, according to the Hindu religious texts.
Rama had to first awaken the goddess prematurely, and as such, the awakening in the autumnal festival is called "Akal (untimely) Bodhan".
However, mythology also states that the puja celebrates the annual descent of Goddess Durga, the slayer of the demon Mahishasura, accompanied by her four children -- Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi and Saraswati -- on the Earth to visit her parents.
The goddess, astride a lion and wielding an array of weapons in her 10 hands, stays for four days to eradicate all evil from the Earth before returning to her husband Lord Shiva in Kailash on "Dashami" day.
According to the latest trend, Trinamool went ahead in almost all the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti seats across 20 districts where rural election were held on May 14.
The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged a distant second as it managed to go ahead or win a section of panchayat seats in a few places, while the Left and Congress heavily struggled to put up a fight.
However, the Trinamool Congress leadership refused to celebrate as a lot of counting still remained.
"It is a good trend for us. We have said before that the people are with us. But I think it too early to comment as the counting for Panchayat Samiti seats are yet to be done," party's Secretary General Partha Chatterjee told IANS.
Sporadic incidents of unrest over the election results were reported from certain districts like Nadia where a group of miscreants allegedly ran away with ballot boxes.
In West Bengal's Bhangar that has been on the boil over the construction of a power grid sub-station by the state government over the last one year, the Independent candidates backed by Jomi-Jibika-Bastutantra O Poribesh Rokkha Committee (Committee for protecting life, livelihood, ecology and environment) won gram panchayat seats, wherever voting took place.
The Panchayat Samiti was, however, won by the ruling party.
The polling for Bengal panchayat polls took place on Monday amid reports of widespread violence and clashes between rival political groups that led to repolling in 573 booths in 19 of the 20 districts on Wednesday.
According to the state administration, 12 people lost their lives on the polling day among which death of six people were confirmed to be due to poll violence.
However, opposition political parties and a section of the media claimed the death toll on the polling day had gone up to 21, while five more people died on the next day.
Initially, voting for the rural bodies was to be held on May 1, 3 and 5 but as the nomination process started in April, it was rescheduled to May 14 by the State Election Commission (SEC) following a Calcutta High Court order to extend the nomination deadline and announce a fresh polling date.
Statistics reveal that of the total 58,692 seats in the three tiers of the rural local bodies, 20,076 seats, or 34.2 per cent, have been decided uncontested, with the Trinamool bagging a whopping proportion of these seats.
These include 16,814 of the total 48,650 gram Panchayats seats, 3,059 of the 9,217 Panchayat Samiti seats and 203 of the 825 Zila Parishad seats.
The Supreme Court has now asked the SEC not to issue winning certificates in these seats.
State Food Processing Minister and local legislator Abdur Rezzak Mollah alleged that the trouble started after activists of the protest group -- "Jami, Jibika, Paribesh O Bastutantra Raksha Committee (committee to protect land, livelihood, environment and ecosystem) -- who had taken out a procession in Bhangar, hurled bombs injuring two Trinamool activists.
"When our boys regrouped and chased them, they again lobbed bombs, injuring another party worker," Mollah said, alleging that the committee had not taken any police permission for the procession.
"The committee members were moving in a pickup van where bombs and other weapons were stockpiled. The police had no information. They came only after I spoke to senior officials and our party leaders," said Mollah.
Two vehicles were also torched during the unrest.
On the other hand, CPI-M South 24 Parganas district secretary Sujon Chakraborty alleged that the violence began when armed Trinamool activists attacked the procession, injuring one person.
However, local Trinamool leader Arabul Islam accused the CPI-M, Congress and Maoists of ganging up to disrupt peace in the area.
A large police picket has been posted in the troubled villages.
Bhangar, known for its history of political violence, was on the boil earlier this year over "forced" acquisition of 16 acres of farmland -- spread over the villages of Khamarait, Machhi Bhanga, Tona and Padmapukur -- by the state government for setting up a sub-station by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
The stamps on Bishnu Charan Ghosh, his son Biswanath Ghosh, daughter Karuna Ghosh and Karuna's father in law Asutosh Ghosh, that were released recently in Japan, were official showcased here by the Japanese Consul General in Kolkata, Masayuki Taga.
"This is the first time Japan has released postal stamps on any yoga experts. It is a result of the constant endeavour by the four yogis to create a close cultural linkage between the two countries by popularising the Indian form of yoga in Japan," Taga said during the event.
He welcomed the fruitful exchange between Indian postural yoga and Japanese martial art, stating that both have similar traits and extended good wishes to the Indian martial artists performing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The trawler from Odisha was damaged due to the collision and the Coast Guard personnel brought it, besides the other vessel, to Paradip.
"The vessel (of Odisha) developed crack following the collision. Our patrol ship C-425 arrived and rescued the distressed crew members. We plugged the cracks and towed the damaged vessel to the fishing harbour. Later we intercepted the trouble-making fishing vessel," said commandant Anirudh Dabas.
Paradip Marine police station said 15 Bengali-speaking crew members were detained at Paradip fishing harbour.
The police said the fishermen from Odisha alleged that their Bengal vessel from Kakdwip deliberately crashed into their trawler.
Following their SOS, Coast Guard personnel reached the spot and rescued them.
A bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the Chief Secretaries of these six states would assist the top court in filing these vacancies.
"At the moment we will monitor the filling up of vacancies in (these) six states. We therefore hereby direct the Chief Secretaries of these states to assist the court personally or nominate an officer of Joint Secretary" for the purpose.
According to the court, the state administrations will prepare a definite roadmap for filling the vacancies.
Pointing out that there were vacancies in the police departments in all states across the country, the court said that for the time being it would focus on Uttar Pradesh (150,679), Bihar (34,532), Jharkhand (26,307), West Bengal (37,325), Karnataka (24,388) and Tamil Nadu (19,804).
The saffron party's aim to make a shift in its political strategy in West Bengal appears to be a result of their harvesting a good number of seats in the local body election early this year by fielding Muslim candidates.
The BJP had fielded more than 850 candidates from the minority community in the poll to the three-tier panchayats, with nearly half of them winning the elections.
In the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had fielded only two minority candidates in the state, which has a total of 42 seats.
However, since the last Lok Sabha polls in the state, Bengal politics has witnessed a paradigm shift with the BJP emerging as the main challenger of the TMC by outsmarting the CPI(M) and the Congress.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh told PTI, the party will aim to field "considerable" number of Muslim candidates, given the fact that the state has nearly 30 per cent Muslim population.
"Although in our party, tickets are not distributed on the basis of religion, but we are receiving several applications from people of the minority community, expressing their desire to contest elections on our party ticket," Ghosh said.
There is still time left to decide on the issue of candidates and tickets will be distributed on the basis of eligibility, winnability and capability of an individual, he said.
Ghosh's views were echoed by party's Bengal Minority Morcha chief Ali Hossain, who felt Muslims are a deciding factor in the Bengal elections and the party cannot afford to ignore them.
The ruling TMC, however, discounted BJP's minority outreach plan and asserted that they continue to have faith in party chief Mamata Banerjee.
"The minorities have full faith in us. The BJP's strategy is nothing but a farce and the minorities are very well aware of their intentions," senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said.
The Congress and the CPI(M) also pooh-poohed the BJP's Muslim outreach plan saying it was nothing but "shedding crocodile tears" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Ghosh claimed his party has expanded its base in Bengal by leaps and bounds and Muslims too are not out of its reach.
"We are running the government at the Centre and in more than 20 states, Muslims are living in peace and there are no problems. We believe in development for all," he said.
According to state BJP sources, who did not wish to be named, in order to make party president Amit Shah's target of 22 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal a reality, it is a "necessity" for the party to reach out to the minorities as the community plays a deciding factor in at least 10-12 Lok Sabha seats of the state.
Buoyed by its performance in the last Panchayat polls, the West Bengal BJP has prepared its Lok Sabha blueprint, targeting 26-28 parliamentary seats in the state.
The party presently has two Lok Sabha seats -- Asansol and Darjeeling -- in the state.
The BJP's Bengal minority wing chief Ali Hossain said the ultimate decision on the candidates' selection would be of the party.
"We won't pressurise the party by saying that it has to field so many Muslim candidates. Everything will depend on various factors including whether he or she is able to win the seat or not," Hossain told PTI.
The BJP minority morcha, West Bengal unit had last week organised a two-day conference to discuss various issues pertaining to the Muslim community.
A number of morcha leaders decided to propagate issues ranging from triple talaq to the Assam NRC to counter the "false propaganda" against the party.
But the point is not if Odisha still has a chance of getting its due, but what has the state government been doing for over two years to get its rightful claim acknowledged by the intellectual property authorities at Chennai who hand out the GI status? After all, rasagola snowballed into a major controversy only after the state government made the first move to get GI status for the famous Pahala rasagola in July 2015. All that the state government has to show by way of efforts to take it to its logical conclusion in the two years and more since then is the formation of three committees. Eminent literary critic and researcher Asit Mohanty, an acclaimed authority on the subject, submitted his 100-page report backed with irrefutable proof, of the existence of rasagola and its ritual offering to Lord Jagannath on Niladri Bije at least since the 15th century, if not earlier, in July last year. A little enquiry by this columnist revealed that the report initially commissioned by the Science & Technology department, which cites Balaram Das’ Dandi Ramayana and other literary works of the time to make its case, was later sent to the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) department which, in turn, assigned the job of preparing the presentation to the GI authorities to the Central Tool room & Training Centre (CTTC). And there the matter has rested for the last 16 months without anyone in the government being able to say how long it will take to make its case. As Odisha kept twiddling its thumb, West Bengal moved purposefully to seal the GI norm for its rosogulla. It was the old story of the hare and the tortoise all over again!
A group of spirited Odias meanwhile launched an online campaign to celebrate ‘Rasagola Day’ on Niadri Bije, the day when the deities return to their abode after their annual nine-day sojourn to their aunt’s place during the Rath Yatra in Puri. With Odia youth joining the bandwagon with gusto, the campaign did get considerable traction on social media. The event trended on Twitter for two consecutive years. Unfortunately though, GI status is given on the basis of hard, verifiable proof and not on the strength of a social media campaign. Odisha’s case has thus stood exactly where it was in July, 2015 while Bengal has worked diligently to get what it wanted.
There is little doubt that the Naveen Patnaik government has a lot of explaining to do about going into deep slumber after an initial burst of activity. With all the historical evidence to back Odisha’s case already painstakingly put together by Asit Mohanty, all it had to do was to move the GI office in Chennai with the relevant documents. If it was anything other than plain callousness that has delayed the submission of the state’s case, the state government is not forthcoming with any explanations.
Social media saw an outpouring of hurt pride all day with most Odias understandably venting out their anger on the government for its gross apathy that led to this ‘defeat’. A few cloaked their disappointment in satire with one Facebooker saying now that we have lost the ‘battle’ for rasogola, we should move fast to get the GI tag at least for our very own ‘gulgula’. For reasons that have their genesis in history, what hurt most Odias was the fact that the ‘defeat’ came at the hands of Bengalis.
But then wasn’t it the Bengalis who had once said that Odia was not a language at all? In a supreme irony, the same ‘non-language’ has now got the classical language status, one of only six Indian languages to get this coveted tag, while Bangla is nowhere in the picture. So, let us throw our despondency out of the window and put pressure on our government to move fast – and with precision – to get not just a GI tag for our very own rasagola, but to get recognition for everything else that rightfully belongs to us. After all, we have history on our side and no one – just no one – can change that.
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As per the latest figures given by the Election Commission, of the over 34 lakh voters in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar constituencies, an average of 80.85 per cent cast their vote till 5 p.m.
While the polling percentage for Alipurduar was 81.58 per cent, Cooch Behar recorded a turnout of 80.11 per cent, an Election Commission official told IANS.
Even as BJP's Cooch Behar candidate Nisith Pramanik sat on a dharna (sit-in) demanding repoll in all the booths not manned by the central forces, lots of people were still waiting patiently outside the polling stations at 8 p.m., two hours after the scheduled close.
Members of the Toto tribe, which live in isolation in the small enclave of Totopara in Madarihat of Alipurduar district, came out in large numbers to exercise their rights. Around 1,600 Totos are registered as voters.
Enthusiasm also brimmed over in the 51 erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves in Cooch Behar, which saw a large turnout at the polling booths. The dwellers were voting for the first time to elect the government at the centre.
With organised tea garden workers and their dependents forming a sizeable chunk of the voters in Cooch Behar and about 50 per cent of the electorate in Alipurduar, there were scenes of celebration in the gardens, as the pluckers of the two leaves and a bud spontaneously took part in the democratic process since early morning.
In Kolkata, state Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Arif said that polling was "peaceful" save a "few skirmishes".
Meanwhile, a police case has been initiated against five accused persons after a complaint of car vandalism in a polling station in Cooch Behar's Mathabhanga was registered. An incident of EVM and VVPAT damage was also reported at a polling station in Dinhata.
The voting process in a number of polling stations in Cooch Behar was temporarily disrupted after EVMs stopped functioning. Trinamool Congress district chief and North Bengal Affairs Minister Rabindranath Ghosh alleged a conspiracy.
Bulk of the allegations and incidents of violence were reported from Cooch Behar, particularly under the Dinhata Assembly segment.
Trinamool and BJP workers clashed at Dinhata's Rosmonda Primary School booth, following allegations that the Trinamool workers were beating up and driving away the voters.
In Mathabahnaga, alleged Trinamool-backed miscreants heckled Forward Bloc candidate Gobinda Roy and smashed the windshield of his vehicle after he arrived at the booth following allegations of false voting.
Ghosh also accused the central forces of interfering in the voting process by entering the polling premises even though they were not authorised.
On the other hand, the BJP's Pramanik demanded a repoll in all the booths which were not manned by the central forces and accused the Trinamool of "rigging" 350 polling stations.
While Cooch Behar is a Scheduled Caste reserved seat, Alipurduar is a Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency. Both seats were won by the Trinamool in 2014.
Polling in the first two hours was peacefull, the official said.
"Polling till 9AM in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies is absolutely peaceful. We have received no complaints of any violence or any problem from anywhere in any of the polling booths in these constituencies. However, our officers are alert and ready to counter any untoward incident," a senior IPS officer told PTI.
Till 9 am, Jadavpur recorded the highest turnout with 17.11 per cent followed by Dum Dum 16.57 per cent, he said.
Mathurapur (SC) witnessed 15.68 per cent, Basirhat 15.67 per cent, Barasat 14.78 per cent, Diamond Harbour 13.32 per cent followed by Kolkata Dakshin 11.92 per cent, Jaynagar, 11.43 per cent and Kolkata Uttar 11.08 per cent, the official said.
There were, however, reports of malfunctioning of EVMs from some polling stations.
"We are looking into that. Reserve EVMs are being sent to those polling centres where from we got reports of some machines not functioning properly. Polling there will soon start," the official added.
An electorate of 1,49,63,064 will decide the fate of 111 candidates in these nine seats -- Kolkata North and Kolkata South, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, Jaynagar (SC) and Mathurapur (SC).
Eight seats, barring Jadavpur, will witness a four- cornered contest between the Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front.
A total of 710 companies of Central forces are being deployed by the Election Commission to cover 17,042 polling booths to ensure free and fair voting, officials said.
The nine constituencies are spread across the three districts of Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas.
At close on the penultimate day, Bengal were 361 for seven following half centuries from Shreevats Goswami (78), Abhishek Raman (67) and Shahbaz Ahmed's unbeaten 52.
It was almost all over for Odisha as there was no sign of a declaration from Bengal, who already had secured three points by virtue of a first-innings lead to put one step into the semifinals.
Bengal batsmen showed patience and discipline to bat through the day and almost guaranteed their first last-four berth since 2017-18 when they lost to Delhi.
Overnight batsman Abhishek Raman played a patient knock to see through the early morning moisture after the departure of senior batsman Manoj Tiwary.
The in-form Tiwary, who slammed his maiden triple century this season, was dismissed for the second time in the match by Odisha pacer Debabarata Pradhan inside the first-hour's play.
Tiwary was trapped in front with a sharp incoming delivery but that was the only bright spot for Odisha on the fourth day.
On a slow pitch with variable bounce, Raman showed amazing patience in the company of diminutive Bengal wicketkeeper-batsman Goswami, the duo adding 102 runs from 207 balls as Bengal's lead inched towards 300.
Rookie all-rounder Ahmed, who has been the find for Bengal with a hat-trick and four half centuries this season, smashed Poddar for the first six of their innings.
Goswami then joined in the party, hitting Poddar for four boundaries in his next over, as Bengal made rapid progress in the final session.
Spinner Arnab Nandi also made it tough for the struggling Odisha bowlers with a quick 45 off 75 balls.
Brief scores:
Bengal 332 and 361/7; 132 overs (Shreevats Goswami 78, Abhishek Raman 67, Arnab Nandi 45, Koushik Ghosh 41, Shahbaz Ahmed 52 batting ). Odisha 250.
(PTI)
The soldier, a resident of Chuhot village in Leh, came in contact with his father who had already contracted the infection. His father had returned from a pilgrimage in Iran by an Air India flight on February 20 and is in quarantine at the Ladakh Heart Foundation since February 29.
The soldier was on leave from February 25 and rejoined duty on March 2. He was quarantined on March 7 and tested positive on March 16, sources said.
The soldier has been isolated at the Sonam Nurboo Memorial (SNM) Hospital. His sister, wife and two children are also quarantined at SNM Heart Foundation.
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"Even though the soldier had rejoined duty, he was helping his family during his father's quarantine period and stayed at Chuchot village for some time as well," they said.
Following the incident, the Indian Army has quarantined all the soldiers and colleagues of the Ladakh Scouts jawan who was tested positive for COVID-19 in Ladakh, said Army sources. The jawan was attached to the Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre in Leh.
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country rose to 147 on Wednesday, with 10 fresh cases reported from various parts of the country, according to the Health Ministry.
[caption id="attachment_440973" align="aligncenter" width="792"] Image Source: Twitter[/caption]
The cases include 25 foreign nationals and the three persons who died in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Over 5,700 people, who had come in contact with these positive cases, are under rigorous surveillance, the Ministry said.
Delhi has so far reported ten positive cases which include one foreigner while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 16 cases, including one foreigner.
Maharashtra has 41 cases, including 3 foreigners, while Kerala has recorded 27 cases which include two foreign nationals.
Karnataka has 11 coronavirus patients. The number of cases in Ladakh rose to 8 and Jammu and Kashmir three. Telangana has reported five cases which include two foreigners.
Rajasthan has also reported four cases including that of two foreigners. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Punjab have reported one case each.
In Haryana, there are 16 cases, which include fourteen foreigners.
According to the ministry's data, 14 people have been discharged so far, including the three patients from Kerala who were discharged last month.
Three persons infected with the virus have died so far, the latest casualty being a 64-year-old man from Mumbai with a travel history to Dubai who succumbed on Tuesday.
Also Read: COVID-19 First Case In Bengal, UK Returnee Tests Positive
While a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who returned from Saudi Arabia died last Tuesday, a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for coronavirus passed away at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Friday night.
The government on Tuesday banned the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines and Malaysia to India with immediate effect, according to an additional travel advisory.
This instruction is a temporary measure and shall be in force till March 31 and will be reviewed subsequently.
With coronavirus cases swelling in the country, the government has also banned the entry of passengers from the European Union countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31.
(With PTI Inputs)
In a statement, the Army said: "Based on the West Bengal government's request, the Army has provided five columns to assist the Kolkata City civil administration in the aftermath of cyclone Amphan.
Earlier in the day, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had deployed 10 teams in West Bengal for post-cyclone management.
It stated: "On receipt of a written request from Principal Secretary Disaster Management and Civil Defence, Government of West Bengal, for the deployment of additional teams, ten additional NDRF teams have been mobilized and are being rushed at the earliest from NDRF locations outside West Bengal."
The teams are likely to reach Kolkata late Saturday night.
The Centre on Saturday mobilized 10 additional NDRF teams in the state for restoration work.
These National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being sent on receipt of a written request from Principal Secretary (Disaster Management and Civil Defence), West Bengal government, the Home Ministry official said.
"Ten additional NDRF teams have been mobilized and are being rushed at the earliest from NDRF locations outside West Bengal. Teams are likely to reach Kolkata by late night today (Saturday)," the official added.
Presently 26 NDRF teams are deployed in cyclone-affected areas of West Bengal for restoration work as hundreds of houses were destroyed and embankments were breached at many places due to the Amphan's march in the state, leaving scores of villages swimming in misery.
The additional deployment of 10 teams will bring the total deployment to 36 teams of NDRF across the six most affected districts of West Bengal by Amphan which fizzled out in Bangladesh on Thursday morning after leaving a trail of destruction across a wide swathe of West Bengal and Odisha. Roads and various public utilities worth hundreds of crores were damaged in West Bengal.
The NDRF teams evacuated over 7 lakh people -- 5 lakh from West Bengal and 2 lakh from Odisha -- before the cyclone made its landfall on Wednesday afternoon.
The cyclone left scores of people dead and devastated various coastal cities and towns after it made landfall on Wednesday, lashing coastal areas with high-speed wind and rain.
The death toll due to the cyclone in West Bengal has risen to 85.
The residents in Kolkata have resorted to protest and road blockades over the state administration's alleged failure to restore normalcy even after three days.
The West Bengal government had sought the help of the Army and other forces to carry out relief operations. In a statement on social media, the state government said that they have mobilized maximum strength in unified command mode on 24X7 basis for the restoration of essential infrastructure and services as soon as possible.
It further pointed out: "The Army support has been called for; NDRF and SDRF teams deployed; Railways, Port and private sector too requested to supply teams and equipment."
The state government said that the drinking water and drainage infrastructure was getting restored fast. "Public Health Engineering Department asked to supply water pouches in gap pockets. Generators being hired where necessary. More than a hundred teams from multiple departments and bodies working for cutting of fallen trees, which is the key to the restoration of power in localities," the Home Department said in a series of tweets.
It also stated that West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company and Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation had been asked to deploy maximum manpower, even while lockdown significantly affects the deployment potential of the latter. "Police is also on high alert," the government said.
(IANS)
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Cyclone Amphan Wreaks Havoc in West Bengal, Kills 72
Cyclone Amphan: MHA Teams To Assess Damages In Odisha, West Bengal
"Cyclone Amphan is one of the worst disasters to hit West Bengal. The people of Odisha stand with West Bengal during this unprecedented crisis. Odisha has sent a team of 500 members, including 300 fire personnel and 10 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams to assist in relief and rescue operations," tweeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said that 500 ODRAF and fire service personnel with cutting tools and equipment will assist the neighbouring state in the restoration work.
They will assist in road communication by cutting the trees and cleaning the road in the most affected areas.
Both Odisha and West Bengal were affected by the super cyclone Amphan, which hit the West Bengal coast on May 20.
Meanwhile, the Centre has released Rs 500 crore advance assistance for Odisha, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aerial survey of the cyclone-hit areas and announcement of the advance assistance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had announced Rs 500 crore advance assistance for Odisha to carry out immediate relief and restoration works in the districts ravaged by cyclone Amphan.
Modi further had informed that a central team will visit Odisha to review the situation and further assistance will be released based on the final report submitted by the State government.
Modi also lauded Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and his team for minimising loss of human lives during cyclone Amphan.
"MHA released Rs 500 Crore to Odisha Govt in less than 24hours of Hon'ble PM @PMOIndia @narendramodi announcement in Bhubaneswar 4 #CycloneAmaphan. We thank @PMOIndia, @narendramodi & MHA for such speed in releasing the Fund," Jena tweeted.
https://twitter.com/otvnews/status/1264149574819540993
(With Agency Inputs)
More Related Stories:
Army Sends Five Columns To Bengal For Cyclone Amphan Relief Operations
Cyclone Amphan Wreaks Havoc in West Bengal, Kills 72
Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday for 31 seats in the third phase of the West Bengal assembly elections amid tight security, officials said.
Voting is underway with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols in 16 seats in South 24 Parganas district (part II), seven in Howrah (part I) and eight in Hooghly (part I), they said.
Long queues were seen outside polling stations, where voting will continue till 6.30 pm.
Over 78.5 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 205 candidates, including BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta, state minister Ashima Patra and CPI(M) leader Kanti Ganguly.
The Election Commission has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in all the constituencies, declaring them as ‘sensitive’.
Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful voting, with 618 companies of central forces being deployed to guard 10,871 polling stations.
State police forces have also be deputed at strategic locations to aid the central forces.
The elections for the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal are being held in eight phases. The votes will be counted on May 2.
Polling for 40 seats in the final phase of the assembly elections in Assam began at 7 am on Tuesday to decide the fate of 337 candidates, including senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his five cabinet colleagues and state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass.
People wearing masks and maintaining social distance were seen queuing outside polling stations even before the voting began in the 40 constituencies spread over 12 districts.
In several polling stations, the first voter and senior citizens were greeted with a ‘gamosa’ (traditional towel) and, in some cases, with saplings.
Elections are being held amid tight security as 320 companies of security forces were deployed in the third phase, the highest among all the phases.
Altogether 79,19,641 voters — 40,11,539 men, 39,07,963 women and 139 of the third gender — are entitled to exercise their franchise in 11,401 polling stations.
A total of 45,604 polling personnel have been deployed for this phase.
A direct contest between nominees of the BJP-led NDA and Congress-headed Grand Alliance is on the cards in 20 constituencies while there is a triangular fight, including friendly contests, in the remaining seats with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) being considered as the third force.
Polling in 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu went underway at 7 am on Tuesday.
A total of 3998 candidates including heavyweights like Chief Minister K Palaniswami, deputy CM O Panneerselvam, DMK President M K Stalin, AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan are in the fray.
The Election Commission will be conducting the polls with due covid-19 health protocols such as checking the temperature of voters.
People started lining up early in the morning eagerly to cast their votes. Actors Rajinikanth and Ajith Kumar were among the early voters in the city.
While the ruling AIADMK is seeking a third term, Stalin-led DMK is making a strong bid to come back to power after a decade of stint in opposition.
Polling also began in neighbouring Puducherry this morning.
In the neighbouring Puducherry, Union Territory having just over 10 lakh voters the fight for the 30-member Assembly is majorly between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) consisting of Congress (contesting in 14 seats), DMK (13), CPI, VCK (one seat each) and an Independent.
The rival National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprises of All India N.R. Congress (16 seats), BJP (9) and AIADMK (5).
Polling in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will end at 7 p.m.
Polling began at 7 am on Tuesday in Kerala for the 140 seats single phase election to the state assembly, amidheavy security.
‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan, who is the BJP-NDA candidate from Palakkad constituency was among the early voters in the state.
“I have cast my vote, have good expectations”, he told reporters after excercising his franchise at a polling booth in Ponnani.
Long queues were seen in several polling stations much before the polling began.
Kerala had witnessed a fierce campaign in the run up to the polls by the ruling CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF), Opposition Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP led NDA.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seven of his cabinet colleagues, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy are among the 957 candidates in fray in the state.
Voting is underway with strict adherance to COVID-19 protocol across the 40,771 polling stations in the state where 2.
74 crore voters will decide the fate of the contestants.
The total electorate includes 1,32,83,724 male voters, 1,41,62,025 female voters and 290 transgenders, according to election commission figures.
A total number of 202402 polling personnel will ensure the smooth conduct of the elections and 97 per cent of the officials have been vaccinated, election commission sources said.
BJP's national secretary and co-incharge for West Bengal, Arvind Menon, told IANS that a large number of people are expected to attend the Prime Minister's rally in Kolkata.
Menon said that the fifth and last phase of Poriborton Yatra will be flagged off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on February 18 from Kakdwip in the Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency before culminating in Kolkata with the Prime Minister's rally.
"A large number of people are expected to attend the Prime Minister's rally in Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground. The yatra will pass through 51 Assembly constituencies of West Bengal," Menon said.
He added that the date for the Prime Minister's rally has not been finalised yet, but it will be fixed in the coming days.
Menon pointed out that the yatra will pass through the strongholds of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and his nephew Abhishek Banerjee's parliamentary constituencies.
Following the healthy turnout in the recent rallies held by the BJP leaders in the state, the saffron party is confident of uprooting the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal. "The writing on the wall is clear that the Mamata Banerjee-led government is going and the BJP is coming to power in West Bengal," Menon said.
The elections for the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly are likey to take place in April-May this year.
Riding high on its impressive performance in the 2019 general elections in which the BJP won 18 of the state's 42 seats, the saffron party has set a target to win over 200 seats in the coming Assembly polls.
"The voters want change, which is clearly visible across the state. If Mamata Banerjee can't understand the mood of the people, no one can help her," said Menon.
As many as four Poriborton Yatras are currently going on in different parts of the state. "Several senior leaders are addressing public meetings in every Assembly constituency through which the yatras are passing," said a party leader.
On February 11, Home Minister Amit Shah had flagged off the fourth phase of Poriborton Yatra from Cooch Behar.
The survey was carried out in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry where Assembly polls are scheduled in March-May.
The survey also stated that around 40 per cent people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are completely unsatisfied with Modi's development works. In Kerala, around 36.96 per cent people are completely unhappy with the prime minister's policies and works.
As per the polling agency, around 41.23 per cent of people in Assam are very much satisfied with Modi and his policies and 31.48 per cent are satisfied to some extent.
In Kerala, 29.18 per cent of people are very much satisfied and 33.19 per cent are somewhat satisfied.
In Tamil Nadu, only 13.09 per cent of people are very much satisfied and 33.18 per cent of people are somewhat satisfied.
In West Bengal 40.13 per cent of people are very much satisfied with Modi's policies and works and 29.94 per cent of people are somewhat satisfied. In Puducherry, 36.54 per cent of people are satisfied and 19.56 per cent of people are somewhat satisfied.
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry elections are scheduled in March-May. The Election Commission has announced the poll dates for four states and one Union Territory. The voting begins on March 27 and counting of votes will be held on May 2.
Assembly polls in Bengal will be held in eight phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. In Kerala and Puducherry, the polls will be held in a single phase on April 6. Elections in Tamil Nadu will be held in a single phase on April 6. In Assam, people will vote in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6. The counting of votes for all states will be held on May 2.
The sample size of the survey in each state was different according to C-Voter. Around 4,776 across people across 126 seats in Assam, 8,796 people across 140 seats in Kerala, 1,647 people across 30 seats in Puducherry, 16,457 people across 234 seats in Tamil Nadu and 38,932 people across 294 seats took part in the survey.
Actor Mithun Chakraborty, who joined the BJP at the Prime Minister's rally on Sunday, has been made one of the star campaigners of the party in West Bengal.
On March 9, in a letter to the Election Commission, BJP National General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member Arun Singh submitted the list of 40 star campaigners to the poll body.
"List of leaders of the BJP who would be participating in election campaigning pertaining to the Assembly elections in the state of West Bengal (Phase-I)," Singh wrote.
Similarly, Singh also submitted a list of star campaigners for Assam Assembly polls.
Apart from Modi and Chakravorty, BJP's list of star campaigners for West Bengal includes party chief J.P. Nadda, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arjun Munda, Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani and Babul Supriyo.
These apart, chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan would also seek votes for BJP candidates in West Bengal. Others names include Manoj Tiwari, Locket Chatterjee, Roopa Ganguly, Shanawaz Hussain. Kailash Vijayvargiya, Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, Rajib Banerjee, Arvind Menon, Amit Malviya.
Actress Payal Sarkar and Srabanti Chatterjee, who recently joined the BJP, have also been made star campaigners of the party in West Bengal.
In a separate list of start campaigners for Assam, the BJP named Modi, Nadda, Shah, Gadkari, B.L. Santosh, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma, state President Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Narednra Singh Tomar, Jitendra Singh, Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur chief ministers Prema Khandu and N. Biren Singh, Yogi Adityanath and Chouhan.
PM Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, NS Tomar & Smriti Irani, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, & Manipur CM N Biren Singh are among BJP's star campaigners for #AssamAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/6sTWr36ahy
— OTV (@otvnews) March 10, 2021
Names of local leaders are also included in the list of star campaigners in Assam along with Poonam Mahajan, Tiwari and Ravi Kishan.
A senior NRL official said that the company would invest Rs 949 crore in the current financial year for its capital projects, including refinery expansion project from the current 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA besides laying the 2,200 km crude oil pipeline.
The NRL is also laying the 130 km transnational India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) from its marketing terminal in Siliguri to Parbatipur in Bangladesh.
The official said that the NRL holds equity stake in two important ongoing joint venture projects including M/s Assam Bio Refinery Pvt. Ltd. (ABRPL) which is implementing the first bamboo-mass bio-refinery in the country and M/s Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) which is implementing North East Gas Grid connecting all the eight capitals of northeastern states with National Gas Grid.
The pipeline would also cater to the industrial customers in the northeastern states including NRL.
An official release said that Department of Public Enterprises (under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises) Secretary Sailesh visited NRL's corporate office in Guwahati on Friday and reviewed the capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan of Oil India Limited and NRL for the financial year 2020-21.
"The DPE Secretary took stock of the CAPEX plans of both the companies in the current fiscal and beyond and stressed upon the need to speed up the same as envisioned by the central government in order to boost the economy and sustain the momentum of its revival in the aftermath of Covid-19," the release said.
Meanwhile, the NRL entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Oil India Limited to augment OIL's existing pumping capacity through the Numaligarh-Siliguri Pipeline (NSPL).
This will increase product evacuation from 1.72 to 5.50 MMTPA, and will be commissioned by July 2024 in sync with NRL's refinery expansion from 3 to 9 MMTPA.
The MoU was signed by M.K. Pegu, Head (Project Pipeline) of NRL, and Sandip Goswami, Chief General Manager, OIL, in the presence of DPE Secretary Sailesh and OIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director S.C. Mishra, among others.
The MoU will help NRL in product evacuation after refinery expansion, and OIL will replace NRL as project proponent for monitoring of the product pipeline project under National Infrastructure Projects (NIP).
The NRL, one of the four refineries in oil and gas rich Assam, was set up at Numaligarh in Golaghat district of Assam in accordance with the provisions made in the Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985, has been conceived as a vehicle for speedy industrial and economic development of the region.
The NRL was dedicated to the nation by former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 9, 1999.
(IANS)