QKolkata: BJP Braces For Kali Puja; TMC Stings Ashok Bhattacharya

Your daily lowdown on all things Kolkata.

The iconic Howrah Bridge. Image used for representational purposes only.

(Photo: iStock)

1. After Durga Puja Damper, BJP Braces For Kali Puja

The Bengal BJP is desperate to make a mark during Kali Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja, having fallen far behind the Trinamul Congress in tapping into Durga Puja to enhance mass outreach.

The fact that the more prominent hubs of Kali Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja are in the districts, such as North 24-Parganas and Hooghly, the BJP is upbeat about its chances of making the most of these two festivities. The Durga Puja scene, whose nucleus lies in Calcutta and its surroundings, was lorded over by Trinamul, given its near-total hegemony in the region.

(Source: The Telegraph)

2. TMC Stings Asok Bhattacharya Over China Trip

Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya’s ongoing China trip has provided Opposition Trinamul fresh ammunition to attack the Left-held board of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.

Ranjan Sarkar, a Trinamul councillor and also the leader of the Opposition in the SMC, lashed out at Bhattacharya, saying the mayor’s decision to leave town when it was battling dengue was an irresponsible act.

“Around 700 people have been affected by dengue so far. I, along with tourism minister Gautam Deb and other councillors, are regularly visiting the affected people. It is unfortunate that the mayor is on a week-long visit to China,” Sarkar said.

(Source: The Telegraph)

3. City Drenched, But Expect Clear Skies On Kali Puja

The city remained overcast and was soaked by intermittent drizzles on Friday as the low-pressure, which has been triggering rain along the east coast for the last three days, reached the border of Bengal and Odisha and weakened into a circulation. While the downpour that had lashed Kolkata late on Thursday evening ceased, some parts of the city received heavy spells of shower leading to waterlogged roads. Till 5.30pm on Friday, Kolkata received 8mm of rain. However, the Met department has indicated that the showers could recede by Saturday afternoon and by Sunday — when the city will celebrate Kali Puja and Diwali — the weather could be clear.

“Even though the city received drizzles throughout Friday, the intensity was lower than on Thursday. This happened due to the weakening of the low-pressure to a circulation as it reached the Bengal-Odisha border. It will lose steam further as the circulation moves towards Bangladesh and it should cease to have any impact on the weather in Kolkata and south Bengal by the second half of Saturday,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director G K Das.

(Source: The Times Of India)

4. Traders Stock Up On ‘Green’ Crackers, Say 25% Cost Hike No Deterrent For Buyers

Retailers in Baazi Bazar at the Shahid Minar ground have started selling ‘green crackers’, which they claim are low-pollutant alternatives that will bring down the PM 2.5 count by almost 30% and keep the decibel level in check. The green crackers brought in from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, the biggest manufacturing hub of fireworks in India, reportedly don’t contain banned chemicals like barium, lithium, arsenic and lead.

Scientists in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Nagpur have been working to develop eco-friendly variants of fireworks since January. Last year, the Supreme Court had banned conventional firecrackers because of the sound and air pollution caused by them and allowed only “low-polluting green crackers”, which fall within permitted decibel limits and emission norms. It banned the use of barium, used as an oxidizer and to emit green light.

(Source: The Times Of India)

5. Dhanteras Sales Pick Up Despite Pricey Gold

The 20% hike in gold price and the sluggish economy notwithstanding, gold sales on Dhanteras picked up in Kolkata on Friday. Jewellers, who feared a low turnout this year, were surprised to find a rise in pre-Dhanteras sales in the past couple of days.

Dhanteras, which started on Friday evening and will continue till Saturday afternoon, has given buyers the luxury of a longer period to pick a suitable time to visit shops. While the footfalls during the day were not too high, buyers started pouring in from the evening. “Technically, Dhanteras starts from the evening and most of people prefer to buy gold or other metals during the auspicious period or yog. We expect a larger turnout late at night,” said Bachhraj Bamalwa, owner of Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons.

(Source: The Times Of India)