Interim report by board could not identify the source of around one-fifth of Calcutta’s PM2.5 pollution Environmentalists have raised questions about an ongoing study ordered by the state pollution
Commentarao S.L. Rao Results first Subsidies have been the albatross around the necks of finance ministers, from Manmohan Singh in 1991 to P. Chidambaram today. These have constrained the freedom to invest in agriculture and in infrastructure, both physical and social. This has resulted in increased inequalities in sectoral growth in the economy. Chidambaram produced a paper to show the insidious effects of subsidies. Yet he, like his prime minister, has been unable to take any corrective action.
The civic health department will organise a spot blood test campaign in slum areas from next week to detect malignant malaria. The campaign was launched following a directive from the state health department. Health officials will collect blood samples from people suffering from fever. "The main objective is to isolate the people infected with Plasmodium falciparum
OUR CORRESPONDENT The pangolin rescued from Alipurduar last night. Picture by Anirban Choudhury Alipurduar, July 24: A pangolin found in a drain here was rescued last night and later released in the forest. Foresters are wondering how the nocturnal reptile which is in the Schedule-1 category, reached Alipurduar town. Pradeep Roy, a boy living in Ward 10 of the Alipurduar Municipality, was going home around 10.30 last night when he saw something moving in the roadside drain.
A red panda in the Darjeeling zoo. File picture Darjeeling, July 24: John has just fathered two lovely red pandas in Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park and has more than one reason to feel proud, having fought off 11 other males to catch the attention of Sheetal, one of only two reproductive females in the zoo. The skewed sex ratio among the pandas is now beginning to worry the zoo authorities. "We have 15 pandas out of which 12 are males. We are not sure of the gender of the new ones as they were born as recently as July 6,' said A.K. Jha, the director of the zoo.
Siliguri, July 24: A 10-year-old boy, who was allegedly turned away from a government hospital short on anti-rabies vaccine, died of suspected hydrophobia this evening. Hydrophobia or the fear of water (read difficulty to swallow liquids) is one of the symptoms of rabies, a near fatal disease caused by the bite of animals affected with the virus. Mamoni Chakraborty said her son Ranjan and four other children of Bakali in Mainaguri block of the district were bitten by a mad dog a month ago.
Calcutta, July 24: The power situation in the city and the districts worsened today with the combined shortfall in the evening peak hours shooting up to 975MW. A shortage of 225MW in the city caused power cuts for two to three hours. The districts endured more with seven to eight hours of darkness. Yesterday, the combined shortfall in the CESC and the State Electricity Distribution Company areas was 765MW.
The 103-year-old school being dismantled in Murshidabad's Shekalipur. The river was only 10 metres from the building on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture Lalgola, July 22: Lying on a cot in the afternoon, Rojefa Bewa had thought she heard claps of thunder. "My sons had just returned from the field. I told them about it. Then we saw villagers running past our house.
Krishnagar, July 22: A slightly varied menu and a promise of fish in the future has brought back to school many Nadia children who had grown tired of khichdi and dropped out. The khichdi and an insipid dal had become a primary school staple as prices of essentials rose and the schools struggled to cope. Before the inflation demon hit double digits, the children ate fish, dal, chutney and fried potatoes and that was what drew them to school.
DEEPANKAR GANGULY Armed with a compensation kitty of Rs 100 crore, the government will begin acquiring 7.5 bighas of land in the city's central business district after Puja to create the East-West Metro corridor. The first land-acquisition notices were issued last week to the owners of two central Calcutta properties
JAYANTA BASU The chief minister at the pollution control board programme. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Environment minister Sailen Sarkar on Tuesday denied colleague Subhas Chakraborty's allegation that the notification on the withdrawal of 15-year-old commercial vehicles was issued keeping the transport department in the dark.
