1. Update On Arjun Zone For Governor
Bengal director-general of police Virendra on Tuesday called on Governor Jagdeep Dhankar at the Raj Bhavan to brief him on the situation in violence-scarred Barrackpore where BJP MP Arjun Singh was injured during Sunday’s skirmishes.
Raj Bhavan sources said the meeting — a day after Dhankar rushed back from Delhi to visit Singh in hospital — lasted around 30 minutes.
“Virendra arrived around 11am. The governor had called him to discuss the Barrackpore situation besides the overall law and order in the state. The DGP gave a detailed report to the governor,” said a source.
2. Drive To Nip Cut Money Fears
Several municipalities in south Bengal have launched awareness campaigns to spread the word that beneficiaries under government housing schemes need to deposit Rs 25,000 as their own share apart from the money given by the state and central governments.
Sources said the campaign was launched after a section of beneficiaries started accusing councillors, because of lack of awareness, of taking Rs 25,000 as cut money.
In several areas like Bolpur in Birbhum, Arambagh in Hooghly and Katwa in East Burdwan, beneficiaries had demonstrated in front of Trinamul offices and party councillors’ homes, accusing them of taking cut money.
The civic bodies have put up banners explaining the shares of individuals, the state and central governments.
3. Metro Zone Turns Into Crash Course
At least two more buildings on Durga Pithuri Lane and Shyankra Para Lane collapsed and cracks surfaced on several other structures on these two lanes as well as the adjacent Gour Dey Lane and Hidaram Banerjee Lane on Tuesday. A Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) official said Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has already identified 55 buildings in this zone as highly vulnerable, including the 13 which the government agency wants to raze immediately. The civic body fears that the number of damaged structures may cross 100.
Around 11am, a century-old and recently renovated three-storey building belonging to Jayanta Seal collapsed around 10.30am. Such was the impact that the entire area remained under dust for about five minutes.
4. Arrange For Stay, Pay ₹5L As Interim Compensation, Mamata Tells KMRC
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday set up a high-powered committee, which will be chaired by chief secretary Malay De, to decide on KMRC’s future course of action. The agency, which is implementing the East-West Metro project, has been asked to pay an interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each of the displaced families.
“The committee will set up guidelines for KMRC and the core committee will have officials from disaster management, fire, transport, KMC, police, Metro and KMRC,” the CM said.
Suggesting to rope in experts, Banerjee has asked KMRC officials to take proper precaution before resuming the tunnelling job below the congested Bowbazar area. “I am not here to find faults, but the problem must be solved immediately. So far, 52 families had to be shifted without prior notice. They are left with nothing, they need to be given a solatium. KMRC should have paid the interim compensation as a goodwill gesture,” she said.
5. Bengal Student Set To Watch Chandrayaan Landing With PM
A 14-year-old girl from Pirbahram in East Burdwan will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi and scientists to watch the Chandrayaan-II moon landing live from India Space Research Organization’s control room in Bengaluru early on 7 September.
Yusra Alam, a class-IX student at Delhi Public School, Belgram, took part in the online Space Quiz-2019 without even telling her parents about it. Interested in mathematics and physics, Alam was among the two from Bengal to top the quiz and win the invitation to witness the historic moment at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) facility. She received a letter from Suresh M R, director, DSRQ, ISRO HQ, Bengaluru, asking her to reach Bengaluru by 2pm on 6 September.