West Bengal

Jalpaiguri (WB), Jan 18 (PTI) A worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress was hacked to death in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district, the police said on Monday.

Four persons were arrested in connection with the killing of Ranjit Adhikari.

The TMC accused the BJP of being involved in the incident, while the saffron party claimed that it was the result of the infighting in the ruling party.

The murder occurred months before the assembly election in the state.

Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) To make solar energy viable for households in Bengal, WBERC has relaxed rooftop solar regulations by allowing net metering starting from capacity of 1 KW against 5 KW capacity criteria required earlier and that too for restricted categories of consumers, an official said.

Earlier no individual or housing complexes except co- operatives, were permitted the benefit of net metering a key driver for rooftop solar adoption. Without net metering rooftop solar projects are not very economically feasible, the official said.

Kolkata, Jan 15 (PTI) Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy said on Friday that there was no question of her leaving the Trinamool Congress, after a two-hour-long meeting with senior leader Abhishek Banerjee, who reached out to her as she voiced discontentment amid an ongoing exodus of leaders from the party ahead of the assembly elections.

Roy, an actor-turned-politician who is a leading face in Mamata Banerjee's cultural brigade, had claimed that she was not being informed about party events in her constituency, causing "mental pain".

Kolkata, Jan 11 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said, without naming anyone, that she will not allow the country to be divided, and will live, work and die for people.

Speaking at the inauguration of the rest camp of Gangasagar pilgrims at Babughat area of Kolkata, she said that great leaders treat all people equally.

Since Independence, the country faced many problems but the country has not been divided, said Banerjee who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo.

Kolkata, Jan 10 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said her government is making arrangements to provide free COVID-19 vaccination for people in the state, an announcement the opposition BJP and Congress made light of, dubbing it as "poll gimmick.

In an open letter, Banerjee said COVID warriors, including police, home guards, civil defence volunteers, correctional home and disaster management employees, will be administered the vaccine on a priority basis.

Ranaghat (WB), Jan 11 (PTI) The country is staring at a food crisis because of the "adamant" approach of the BJP to the continued agitation by farmers for withdrawal of the three new farm laws, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday.

She also called the BJP a "junk" party for inducting "rotten" leaders from other political outfits.

Kolkata, Jan 9 (PTI) A two-day special session of the West Bengal Assembly will begin on January 27 when the state government will table a resolution against the Centre's new farm laws and discuss the issue of agitating farmers.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters on Friday evening that a letter has been sent to Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay, urging him for convening the special session.

Issues related to GST will also be taken up during the session, he said.

Kolkata, Jan 4 (PTI) British actress Banita Sandhu, who is in the city to shoot for a movie, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and was admitted to a private hospital after she refused to be treated in a government facility, health department sources said.

Sandhu, who was shooting for 'Kavita & Teresa', reached the city on December 20 and she travelled in the same flight with the youth who tested positive for the mutant coronavirus strain on his return from the United Kingdom.

Kolkata, Jan 5 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday stood in a queue along with other locals in Kalighat area here to collect her 'Swasthya Sathi' smart card from a Kolkata Municipal Corporation distribution centre.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, dubbed the move as "pure drama".

The TMC chief, accompanied by urban development minister Firhad Hakim and other government officials, arrived at Joy Hind Bhavan, close to her residence on Harish Chatterjee Street, around 11.45 am, to collect the card.

Kolkata, Dec 31 (PTI) The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd on Thursday commenced production of the first of the eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts for the Indian Navy, a top official of the Defence PSU said.

The contract for the construction of the eight ships at a cost of Rs 6,311 crore was signed with the Navy in April 2019, GRSE Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (retd) V K Saxena said.

"It's a small but very complex anti-submarine warfare ship and is going to be a very potent platform," he said.