QKolkata: BJP Slams Mamata Over JEE Row; Cyclone Alert in Kolkata

Catch all top headlines from Kolkata here.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

(Photo: PTI)

1. ‘Divider Didi’: BJP Slams Mamata Banerjee Over JEE Exam Row

Slamming Mamata Banerjee’s objection over the engineering entrance examination JEE being conducted ‘only’ in Gujarati besides English and Hindi, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday, 7 November dubbed her “Divider Didi”.

Taking to Twitter, Rupani also posted a link of a clarification issued by the National Testing Agency on the objection raised by the West Bengal chief minister.

“Dear #DividerDidi, people of your state need development not such divisive stunts. Now that the facts are out, you should apologise to the people for your lies!,” Rupani tweeted.

(Source: The Asian Age)

2. Cyclone Bulbul: Alert Sounded in West Bengal, Odisha as Storm Approaches

With cyclone ‘Bulbul’ likely to intensify into a “very severe cyclonic storm” in the next six hours, the Met Department on Thursday, 7 November evening issued an alert for West Bengal, saying that several parts of the state may receive very heavy rainfall on Saturday.

On Thursday, ‘Bulbul’ was located around 930 km south-southeast of Kolkata, according to the Met Department.

“It (Bulbul) is very likely to move initially north-northwestwards for the next 12 hours and then nearly northwards till November 9 (Saturday) morning, and then re-curve northeastwards towards Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal,” a press note of India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

(Source: The Indian Express)

3. Dengue Fear Stalks Baguiati After Young Mother’s Death

Dengue seems to have struck Baguiati with a vengeance after monsoon, with the mosquito-borne virus claiming more lives in the area in October and November than the preceding three months when the rest of the city was under an outbreak.

A day after a woman constable died of dengue in Baguiati’s Ashwininagar, renewed fear gripped the neighbourhood. Locals pointed out that hundreds had been affected over the last one month, including many who were affected even last year as well.

(Source: The Times of India)

4. Follow Netaji’s Secularism or Country will Disintergrate: Bose’s Kin to BJP

BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose, who is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s grand-nephew, on Thursday said if his party does not follow Netaji’s secular ideology to unify India, the country will disintegrate.

“The party must follow Netaji’s ideology to unify India where there is no place for religion. If it doesn’t, then the entire country will break into pieces. Subhash Chandra Bose united Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in his Azad Hind Fauz (Indian National Army or INA)… I am also in the BJP and believe that religion is a personal thing, and those who don’t understand this are divisive forces,” Chandra told The Indian Express.

(Source: The Indian Express)

5. Banned Drugs Worth Rs 1 Crore Seized in Kolkata

The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police has seized banned drugs worth Rs one crore and arrested three persons from the Anandapur area of the city, a senior police officer said on Thursday, 7 November.

Acting on a tip-off the STF personnel intercepted a vehicle near Choubhaga area late on Wednesday night. During search of the vehicle 50 packets containing 1,00,000 banned Amphetamine tablets, popularly known as Yaba, with a market value of Rs one crore, were seized and the three persons arrested, the officer said.

"We had a tip-off about a team of drug peddlers trying to smuggle in Yaba drugs into the city. These three persons hail from North 24 Parganas district and they have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985," the officer added.

(Source: The Times of India)