Kolkata news - NewsLocker

Schools in WB to remain closed till June 30

28-05-2020 03:59 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Bengal government has decided to extend the closure of schools up to June 30 after several school buildings suffered damage due to cyclone Amphan. Some others have had to be utilized as isolation centres for the returning migrant labourers. This is in addition to the ongoing threat due to the Covid-19, which is still a major concern for the administration. On Wednesday, education minister Partha Chatterjee said 462 among 1,058 schools spread across eight districts — which were earmarke

Left in dark, Kol residents master art of ‘jugaad’

28-05-2020 03:59 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

It’s been over a week since Cyclone Amphan left the city battered, but several homes in pockets of Kolkata are still powerless and have no clue when they can get back to normal lives again.

Kolkata forgets social distancing for sons-in-law

28-05-2020 03:59 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

On the eve of Jamai Sashthi, people thronged fish markets with complete disregard to social distancing norms even as prices of perishables soared abnormally to burn big holes in pockets. On Wednesday, prices of fishes went beyond affordability. Though Jamai Sashthithis year is expected to be a relatively low-key affair, many parentsin-laws clogged the markets to pay through their noses for fishes.

Kol to rejoin nat'l aviation map with 10 flights

28-05-2020 03:59 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The city airport will take baby steps to join the domestic aviation map with 10 flights — four to Delhi, three to Mumbai and one each to Bengaluru, Chennai and Dibrugarh — on Thursday. The schedule though is valid only for Thursday with airlines proposing direct flights to other cities and towns on Friday.

Wind-breaker on Kolkata return to normal

28-05-2020 02:40 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A 96kmph nor’wester on Wednesday evening — exactly a week after Cyclone Amphan struck Kolkata — turned out to be a speed breaker in Kolkata’s efforts to return to normality.

WB to receive 109 Spl trains in next 7 days

27-05-2020 20:42 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

West Bengal will receive 109 trains carrying nearly 1.63 lakh migrant workers from different states in the next seven days. With an average of 15 trains a day, the state will have to make arrangement for medical tests and transportation of nearly 23,000 passengers over next one week.

1 dead, 2.71 lakh affected in Assam floods

27-05-2020 19:49 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Assam’s flood situation further worsened on Wednesday resulting into death of a person in Goalpara district even as the affected population surged to 2.71 lakh in 11 districts out of which the number of people displaced from their homes to relief camps rose to 16,720.

Oil well explodes in Assam, villagers evacuated

27-05-2020 17:06 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

At least 25 families in Baghjan area in Tinuskia district of Assam are being evacuated following a massive blowout at a high pressure oil well of Oil India Limited (OIL) at around 10am.

23 new +ve cases in Tripura, total rises to 232

27-05-2020 09:55 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Twenty-three more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the total number of cases in the state to 232, officials said on Wednesday.

Trinamool MLA hurt as agitators hurl bricks

26-05-2020 19:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Trinamool MLA of Metiabruz, Abdul Khalek Mollah was attacked at Nadial area with bricks and he sustained a major injury on Tuesday afternoon and was admitted to CMRI - a private hospital in Ekbalpore. The incident happened in Mollah's own constituency.

Assam Covid +ve count 643; 98% cases imports

26-05-2020 19:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Driven by the homecoming of thousands, Assam’s Covid-19 count reached 643 following addition of 95 cases on Tuesday.

Assam cabinet approves 'ruthless quarantine'

26-05-2020 17:43 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Assam cabinet on Tuesday approved ruthless implementation of quarantine protocol and no one arriving from outside the state by air, land or train will be allowed to go home without completing the quarantine period.

Assam floods hit nearly 2 lakh population

26-05-2020 17:28 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Nearly two lakh people in Assam have been hit and nearly 9000 of them have been forced to take shelter in relief camps as the situation due to the first wave of flood worsened on Tuesday. More than 220 villages in seven affected districts have been inundated.

Covid-19 tally breaches 4,000-mark in W Bengal

26-05-2020 16:47 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The number of Covid-19 cases in Bengal crossed the 4,000-mark on Tuesday, with 193 more people testing positive for the disease, state Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said. At least five persons died due to the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the state to 211, he said at the secretariat.

Stop playing blame game: Dilip to Mamata govt

26-05-2020 08:00 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Monday asked the state government to stop playing the “blame game” and act to get the state back on its feet, days before an MHA team comes to Bengal to make a damage assessment of Cyclone Amphan.

Cop’s death sparks agitation at Garfa police stn

26-05-2020 06:59 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A 47-year-old constable from the Garfa police station died on Monday, sparking agitation among his colleagues, who allegedly laid siege to the police station and ransacked the premises, overturning guardrails and smashing down flower pots.

Kol cops on traffic duty go back to hand signals

26-05-2020 06:57 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Hand-held batons with rechargeable lights that the traffic police bought a decade ago and had fallen into disuse have come as a saviour for cops struggling to man vehicles on post-Amphan roads, where most signals have been uprooted, mangled or stopped working. Whether it is the busy Abhishikta crossing or the Chingrighata crossing, the Rajabazar crossing or Khagen Chatterjee Road crossing, cops have gone back to hand signalling, waving batons at oncoming traffic, asking them to either stop or re

Kol: Flyers with symptoms will be taken to CNCI

26-05-2020 06:33 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Flyers, who arrive in Kolkata airport with sore throat, fever or shortness of breath — all symptoms of Covid-19 — will be taken to the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in New Town for swab test and health assessment before being either allowed to go with the advice of self-isolation or home quarantine, or be admitted to the health facility for treatment.

In power-starved pockets, cops guard workers

26-05-2020 06:04 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CESC repair and restoration teams will be escorted by local police to ensure they don’t face threats, hijack attempts and assaults from angry citizens in localities that have been without power for over 100 hours. Also, former civic councillors, who are now ward coordinators, will prioritise the work to prevent allegations of arbitrary action on the part of workmen.

After TOI report, KMC to help repair pvt houses

26-05-2020 06:04 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In a relief to people whose houses have been damaged in Cyclone Amphan, KMC on Monday said they would help them repair the structures.

In power-starved pockets, cops guard CESC workers

26-05-2020 05:49 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CESC repair and restoration teams will be escorted by local police to ensure they don’t face threats, hijack attempts and assaults from angry citizens in localities that have been without power for over 100 hours. Also, former civic councillors, who are now ward coordinators, will prioritise the work to prevent allegations of arbitrary action on the part of workmen.

Amphan: Last push in Kolkata’s final frontiers

26-05-2020 05:26 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Two dark patches of Kolkata, one in the southeast and another in the southwest, remained the last frontiers in a desperate city’s fight to get back to normalcy five days after Cyclone Amphan gave it a once-in-a-century battering.

Chicken, mutton rates hit high on supply crunch

26-05-2020 05:11 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Prices of chicken and mutton — the two principal sources of protein for non-vegetarians — have hit all-time highs in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan. Chicken rate, that has been on a roller-coaster ride since the lockdown began, touched Rs 250 on Monday and mutton sold at a phenomenal Rs 800 a kg. Retailers claimed the two will remain dear till the effects of the cyclone die down and supply normalises.

Kolkata: 60 Covid patients released from CMCH

25-05-2020 20:08 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A total of 60 Covid-19 patients were discharged from the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital on Monday. A little more than a week back the hospital discharged 19 Covid-19 patients.

Assam vegetable seller lynched; two arrested

25-05-2020 18:32 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Police on Monday arrested two persons allegedly involved in beating to death a labourer of Emami Limited’s Assam plant at Pacharia in Kamrup district. The deceased, Sanatan Deka (38), had started selling vegetables after his factory temporarily shut down due to the lockdown on Friday.

8 flights bring 500 passengers to Guwahati

25-05-2020 13:56 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Eight flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore brought in 500 passengers to Guwahati while about 350 passengers flew out on Monday as domestic air services resumed.

Sporadic protests continue in cyclone-hit WB

25-05-2020 13:42 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Sporadic protests over demands for restoration of power and water supply continued in several cyclone Amphan-hit parts of West Bengal for the fifth consecutive day on Monday while normalcy has returned in other affected areas of the state.

Kolkata doc joins work after recovery from Covid

25-05-2020 06:43 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A young doctor who got infected on the line of duty is now back to work in Kolkata’s tertiary level Covid hospital after being discharged from the hospital and completing the mandatory home isolation. The doctor, a second-year post graduate trainee in the medicine department of Medical College Hospital Kolkata (MCHK), brushed aside the risk of professional hazards like getting infected with the virus and said that he could not wait any longer to resume work.

Cyclone-hit booksellers get students’ help

25-05-2020 06:43 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Students of Presidency University as well as Calcutta University have come forward to help the book sellers on College Street which was ravaged by Cyclone Amphan last week leaving the books floating in water and blowing away the stalls.

Kolkata: New estimate pegs green loss at 15,000

25-05-2020 06:42 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The city has lost an estimated 15,000 trees, 40% among them full-grown, in cyclone Amphan. This is three times the loss estimated earlier. KMC’s parks department and civil engineering department have made this preliminary assessment borough-wise. The multi-agency clean-up, meanwhile, continued on Sunday and most of the Kolkata’s arterial roads could be opened to traffic, some along a single-lane.

Power back in 60,000 more Kolkata households

25-05-2020 06:41 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Power supply to 60,000 homes on the CESC grid along the city’s southern periphery was restored on Sunday. The development came after a prod by CM Mamata Banerjee who visited power utility CESC’s headquarters at Victoria House in Esplanade on Saturday to drive home the urgency to step up restoration of power lines.

WB: Mission turnaround after Amphan misery

25-05-2020 04:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Chief minister Mam-ata Banerjee’s direct intervention and the joint action by central and state agencies on the ground seemed to have brought about a sense of normality in large parts of the city on Sunday, with several areas getting back basic services and many city thoroughfares — un-navigable till Saturday — seeing traffic movement.

Kol: Domestic flights to resume ops on May 28

25-05-2020 04:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Domestic flights to and from Kolkata will resume from May 28 (Thursday), instead of May 25 (Monday), following a request of Bengal government on Saturday, which cited the twin crisis of Covid-19 pandemic and cyclone disaster in south Bengal. Flights to Bagdogra will also resume on May 28.

Huge cost of repairs strikes homes in West Bengal

25-05-2020 04:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A massive reconstruction work awaits thousands of families in Kolkata, Salt Lake and Howrah, whose standalone residential buildings suffered extensive damage during Cyclone Amphan’s march through south Bengal on Wednesday.

B'day cake arrives 3 days after Behala man’s death

25-05-2020 04:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Pavneet Singh Sethi would have turned 31 on Saturday. But Cyclone Amphan snuffed the life out of the lively youth just three days before his birthday. His body was found floating on a waterlogged street, barely 500m from his house in Parnasree, the morning after Amphan had ripped the city apart. He was electrocuted when he went out to buy medicine for his father.

4 days after storm, veggie prices hike in Kol mkts

25-05-2020 04:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A shock was awaiting the Kolkatans in local bazaars, four days after Cyclone Amphan hit the state. Those who went to the market on Sunday morning returned with only a few vegetables which, too, were of questionable quality. The prices, too, shot through the roof. Vendors from different markets admitted it was difficult to bridge the demand-supply gap. In coming days, the crisis may deepen, with severe shortage of vegetables, felt vendors.

Biggest spike of 208 Covid cases in West Bengal

24-05-2020 20:03 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The number of novel coronavirus infections in West Bengal rose by the highest margin of 208 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,667 on Sunday, the health department said.

With 55,862 Covid tests, Assam surpasses Kerala

24-05-2020 19:35 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

After shifting from manual to automatic RNA extraction machines borrowed from various government agencies and universities to ramp up the testing capacity of its seven labs, Assam on Sunday surpassed Kerala in number of samples tested for Covid-19 .

'Kol, Bagdogra airports to operate from May 28'

24-05-2020 19:14 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The domestic flight operations at Kolkata Airport and Bagdogra Aiport in West Bengal will resume from May 28, with a reduced schedule amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials here on Sunday.

Hsg dept keeps govt flats functional post Amphan

24-05-2020 16:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Even as several parts of the city have been without electricity and water ever since Cyclone Amphan passed, Kolkata’s various government housings have had mostly uninterrupted services thanks to the round-the-clock work of the state housing department.

Ghosh stopped from visiting Amphan-hit areas

24-05-2020 16:01 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Police on Sunday stopped West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh from visiting the cyclone-ravaged areas of the East Midnapore district, the second time in two days, triggering a war of words between the saffron party and the ruling Trinamool Congress. Sources in the BJP said Ghosh was on his way to distribute relief materials, when his convoy was stopped midway in Tamluk.

Dilip Ghosh stopped from visiting Amphan-hit areas

24-05-2020 15:46 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Police on Sunday stopped West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh from visiting the cyclone-ravaged areas of the East Midnapore district, the second time in two days, triggering a war of words between the saffron party and the ruling Trinamool Congress. Sources in the BJP said Ghosh was on his way to distribute relief materials, when his convoy was stopped midway in Tamluk.

IIEST boy found dead at home, cops seek clues

24-05-2020 08:00 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A second-year student of IIEST, Shibpur, died under questionable circumstances at his Midnapore town home on Saturday.

Flight ops in Kolkata likely to start on May 30

24-05-2020 08:00 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Domestic flight operations look unlikely to commence at Kolkata airport from Monday with CM Mamata Banerjee saying the state, that was in the midst of salvage and relief operations in cyclone-affected areas, required time till at least May 28. Sources said flights may resume operations in Kolkata on May 30 while operations at Bagdogra airport may start two days earlier on May 28. Among the services that the state needs to provide at the airport include city commute options for flyers.

Bengal will not allow Shramik Spls till May 26

24-05-2020 06:27 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Bengal government will not receive Shramik Specials till May 26, CM Mamata Banerjee announced at state secretariat Nabanna on Saturday. With Amphan leaving a trail of severe devastation across eight districts, the state would “need these days for relief work to take people back home from railway stations”, the CM said.

Some neighbourhoods of Kolkata get back power

24-05-2020 06:12 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A CESC Ltd senior official on Saturday admitted that the utility had grossly under-estimated the destructive power of cyclone Amphan as the city had never in recent memory faced anything like it.

People live up to spirit of ‘love thy neighbour’

24-05-2020 06:06 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Amid the sufferings of thousands of people with no power at homes and zero mobile connectivity following the Amphan disaster, the city is witnessing another face of humanity with neighbours helping one another.

Citizens run from pillar to post for water

24-05-2020 06:06 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Left with no water at home since Thursday because of a power cut, Samanta Dhar, a teacher who lives in Azadgarh, roamed the entire length of NSC Bose Road in Tollygunge in search of 20-litre jars of packaged drinking water. But shops have run out of packaged drinking water due to a water crisis that has hit large areas of Tollygunge due snapped power supply lines.

WB: Experts fear coronavirus spike after cyclone

24-05-2020 05:46 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The complete disruption of lives caused by Cyclone Amphan and efforts to restore normalcy seem to have broken down all social-distancing norms in the city and beyond, which are also in the grip of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Health experts fear a massive rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the next few days, with a huge number of people converging on the streets, either to help the city get back on its feet or to protest against the lack of power and water supply.

Kolkata: After Covid, cyclone derails hosp ops

24-05-2020 05:46 via timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Hospitals in the city are now facing a massive second wave of disruption — courtesy the 165-kmph monster that hit Bengal on Wednesday — after being laid low by Covid-19. And, in an irony of sorts, the patients hit hardest by Amphan’s after-effect are those laid low by the novel coronavirus.