HIGHLIGHTS EASTERN REGION AT 1800 HR

Following are the top stories from the Eastern region at 1800 HRS
CAL 1 WB-GJM SITUATION
Darjeeling : Gorkhaland supporters pelted stones at the police in various parts of Darjeeling as they were stopped from enforcing their shutdown in many government offices in the hills, where their indefinite bandh entered its second day.
CAL 2 WB-GJM GURUNG
Darjeeling : Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung says he is in constant touch with the Centre and is hopeful that its ally the BJP will consider its demand for a separate Gorkhaland "compassionately".
CAL 3 OD-PASSPORT

Bhubaneswar : The Centre has decided to open passport service centres in all the 800 district head post offices across the country in two years' time to increase people's access to the facility, especially in remote areas.

CAL 4 OD-SINGH DIKSHIT
Bhubaneswar : Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh demands an apology from the Congress for its leader Sandeep Dikshit's comment likening Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to a "goon on the street".
CES 1 WB-BSF SUNDARBANS
Kolkata : The porous riverine border with Bangladesh at Sunderbans is shortly to be equipped with infrared pillars and smart sensors to prevent rampant infiltration and smuggling.
CES 2 OD-DEPRESSION
Bhubaneswar : The weather office predicts heavy rainfall in at least eight of the 30 districts of Odisha even as the deep depression over east Bangladesh and neighbourhood has weakened into a low pressure.

CES 3 OD-SINGH-SPECIAL STATUS
Bhubaneswar : Union Minister VK Singh says Odisha has failed to achieve desired level of development for which the state government is answerable even as he dismissed the demand for special category status to it.
CES 6 WB-WETLANDS-STUDY
Kolkata : The wetlands of Kolkata, a Ramsar site, which are gradually shrinking in size, have come under the focus of a study by a joint team of the IIT, Kharagpur and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.