Page 87 - West Bengal

Two goods trains collide at Onda railway station in West Bengal's Bankura

The reason for the accident and how both trains collided will be clear only after an investigation, said Dibakar Majhi Safety Officer

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WB panchayat polls: Mamata to kick-start full-scale campaign on Monday

The election will be held in a single phase on July 8, with vote counting scheduled for July 11

Tata Power installs EV charging stations in West Bengal's Malda

Tata Power on Friday said it has installed public charging stations at a hotel in West Bengal's Malda, taking its total number of such EV mobility infrastructure across the state to over 150. It has installed two EV charging stations with capacities of 30 kw and 7.4 kw at the hotel, which is located 5 km from Malda railway station, on the KolkataSiliguri highway. All travellers or tourists coming to the hotel can make use of the Tata Power EZ Charge mobile app to find the nearest charging stations on the go. More than 1 lakh people in India have already downloaded the app, the company said. Tata Power currently has a network of 4,000 plus charging points, over 40,000 home chargers (for private usage), 250 plus electric bus charging points, and a live EV charging network in over 550 cities across India to build a sustainable EV mobility infrastructure, it added.

822 companies of central forces for Bengal rural polls: SEC to Calcutta HC

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday informed Calcutta High Court that it has requisitioned 485 companies of central forces in addition to 337 companies already asked for, taking the total to 822 companies for the July 8 panchayat polls in West Bengal. Hearing a contempt petition that the high court's orders were willfully disobeyed by the commission, a division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the SEC to file an affidavit stating whether it has complied with the court's orders with regard to holding free and fair panchayat polls or there was any attempt to make the orders unworkable at different stages. SEC counsel Kishore Dutta submitted before the bench that the commission has sent a letter to the Union Home ministry seeking 485 companies of central forces in addition to the requisition already sent for 315 and 22 companies, taking the total to 822 companies. The court had on June 21 directed the SEC to requisition more than 82,000 central forces .

BJP office gutted in Bengal's Darjeeling, supporters rush to douse fire

A BJP mandal office in West Bengal's Darjeeling district was gutted in a fire around 1.45am on Friday. The blaze in the party's office in Siliguri's Dabgram area was doused by local BJP supporters of the area with the help of a fire tender around 3am, police said. BJP's Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh alleged that the party had been receiving threats from various quarters to remove the unit office. He added that a thorough probe was needed to find the exact cause. An FIR was filed by the owner of the house where the party had set up the office near Surya Nagar field in ward 23. Darjeeling zilla Trinamool Congress general secretary Babul Pal said the BJP just needed a reason to do politics.

MHA offers to deploy 337 companies of central forces for WB panchayat polls

The State Election Commission (SEC) made a requisition for 822 companies for the upcoming WB panchayat polls to be held on July 8

WB guv returns SEC's joining report to state govt ahead of panchayat polls

West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday night returned the joining report of State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha ahead of the July 8 panchayat polls, a well-placed source at the Raj Bhavan said. The step came days after Sinha failed to appear before the Governor after he was summoned on an urgent basis for an explanation of the incidents of murders, violence and clashes during nomination filing for the panchayat poll earlier this month. The governor tonight returned the joining report of SEC Rajiva Sinha. The SEC failed to appear before the Governor even when he wanted him to come to Raj Bhavan over the incidents of murders, violence and clashes, the source told PTI. Sinha, who was called by the Governor on June 17 at Raj Bhavan, did not appear stating that he was preoccupied with scrutiny of the nominations for the ensuing panchayat polls. The former state chief secretary had requested Bose to exempt him from appearing before him during the day and give an .

Bengal panchayat polls: SEC demands central force company for each district

The West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday sent a requisition for just one company of central armed force for each district for the July 8 panchayat elections

West Bengal transport operators refuse to supply buses for poll duty

Transport operators in West Bengal have refused to supply buses under the current rates offered by the state government for poll-related duties during the upcoming panchayat elections

West Bengal EC approves women polling personnel for Panchayat polls

The election will be held in a single phase on July 8, with vote counting scheduled for July 11

Bengal power minister meets CESC officials to discuss power cuts issue

West Bengal Power Minister Aroop Biswas on Monday held a meeting with top CESC officials to discuss the issue of power cuts in the city and its adjoining areas. Kolkata, Sreerampore, Barrackpore, Dum Dum and Howrah have been witnessing frequent power cuts since the past fortnight. Expressing concern, Biswas said the power cuts were tarnishing the image of the state government. He directed the power utility company to ensure uninterrupted power supply and increase manpower to carry out fault repairs without delay. CESC had earlier claimed that transformers were tripping because people were installing air conditioners in violation of sanctioned load.

WB panchayat polls: Contempt plea filed at HC on central forces deployment

Two separate contempt of court petitions have been filed at division bench of HC's Chief Justice Sivagnanam against State EC for not adhering to earlier order of same bench for deployment of army

'Deeply distressed by recent clashes..,' says West Bengal Governor

After paying a visit to violence-hit Canning, Governor Bose said that he was "deeply distressed" with the clashes which took place on the last day of filing nominations for the panchayat elections

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West Bengal Governer aggrieved by 'deterioration of democracy' in state

The Governor went to Canning in South 24 Parganas district on Saturday evening and interacted with the locals over the violence witnessed for the past few days

Rural polls: Governor summons Bengal poll panel chief; SEC seeks fresh date

Hours after West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose summoned State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha to Raj Bhawan, the senior officer said he will not be able to meet him due to his preoccupations with panchayat polls, an official said. Sinha requested Bose to exempt him from appearing during the day and give him an appointment any other day, he said. "Sinha is not skipping. He sought exemption for today. He has requested the Governor to give him time any other day," the official told PTI. Bose had summoned Sinha to Raj Bhavan at 2pm on Saturday to update him about the violence that claimed four lives in the state and steps taken by the state government to contain the situation. After visiting Bhangore on Friday, the Governor said measures must be taken end political violence and assured that "perpetrators would be permanently silenced" and brought to book. After talking to local residents and senior police officers there, Bose said violence would not be tolerated. More than

I have very good working relationship with govt: Bengal Governor Bose

West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said he has an "excellent working relationship" with the Mamata Banerjee government despite "agreements and disagreements." Bose said there have been discussions between him and the state government on sensitive issues, but every time they were held "respecting each other's turf". In an interview with PTI at the Raj Bhavan, Bose said his primary goal is the welfare of West Bengal's people and he never faced any hurdles from the state government. "I have a very good working relationship with the state government. There can be agreements and disagreements. There can also be divergence of interests and priorities. That's what keeps the government going. We discuss sensitive issues but always maintain the Lakshman Rekha' and never try to redraw it," Bose said. The 'Lakshman Rekha', as depicted in the Ramayana, is a line drawn by Lakshman around their dwelling where he was staying with his elder brother Rama and sister-in-law Sita in th

Political slugfest erupts as WB govt moves SC against deployment of forces

Approaching the apex court in this matter is a U-turn from the SEC's earlier stand of abiding by the order of the Calcutta High Court

Bengal panchayat polls: Despite no-contest declaration, 13 AAP nominations

Although the number is negligible compared to the total number of seats in the panchayat system, the development has embarrassed the AAP leadership in West Bengal