QKolkata: CM Gets Off Car to Help Hurt Woman; Matua Clash on NRC
Your daily lowdown of things Kolkata.
advertisement
1. CM Gets Off Car, Rescues Injured Woman On Bridge
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee helped a young woman, whom she found sitting injured on the pavement of Durgapur Bridge, on Wednesday evening.
Banerjee was returning from a function at Suruchi Sangha and her cavalcade, headed for Chetla, was on the bridge when she spotted the woman, Subhra Das (20), and asked the driver to stop her car.
“The CM was crossing the bridge when she saw a woman on the footpath. It seemed she was in some pain, as she sat holding her legs. Banerjee alighted from her car, and along with mayor Firhad Hakim, attended to the woman. She enquired about the nearest hospital and asked her to be taken there. She waited till the police picked up the woman and sent her to hospital,” said an IPS officer.
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. NRC Sets Off Matua Hub Clash
Two Matua factions owing allegiance to the BJP and Trinamool on Wednesday clashed when they attempted to organise rival NRC-related campaigns at the group’s spiritual headquarters in North 24-Parganas’ Thakurnagar.
“The NRC issue deepened an existing political divide among members of the community,” said a source.
The Matuas — who belong to the Namasudras community of Bengal — are divided between Mamatabala, the widow of the great-grandson of community founder Harichand Thakur, and her nephew Santanu, vice-president of the Matua Mahasangha and the Bongaon BJP MP.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Darjeeling Shutdown Call Over Tea Bonus
All seven trade unions in the hills have appealed for a 12-hour “closure” on Friday to put pressure on the Darjeeling Tea industry to reach a bonus agreement.
The hills have not witnessed such a protest since the 104-day shutdown in September 2017. “We are appealing to all shopkeepers not to open their shops from 6am to 6pm on Friday. We also appeal to all transporters to refrain from plying their vehicles,” Suraj Pathak, CPM leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, said on Wednesday.
Although Karuna Gurung, president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay Tamang camp) union, used the words “appeal for a bandh,” Pathak said they were not using the word “strike, only making an appeal”. “We also appeal to the tea garden workers to take mass leave on Friday,” said Pathak.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. JU Protester Beaten Up By ‘ABVP Men’
A second-year student, who had been at the front lines of a protest against Union minister Babul Supriyo at Jadavpur University (JU) on 19 September, has alleged that he and his girlfriend were beaten up in Burdwan by ABVP supporters while going home on Wednesday.
A couple of days after Supriyo had allegedly been assaulted on campus, he tweeted a photograph, showing the youth — Debanjan Ballav — pulling his hair during the campus flare-up. The minister had been visiting to attend a freshers’ welcome organised by ABVP, the BJP students’ wing, and faced protests.
(Source: The Times Of India)
5. Bye Bye Banned Plastic: Green Change With Cloth And Jute Bags
From plastic packets to proper bags — the change in behaviour among a majority of shoppers at various markets on Wednesday morning raised hopes of an end to the polybag menace, despite the state government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s reluctance to penalise violators in this festive season.
People turned up with nylon, cloth and jute bags to shop in local markets. Those who did not carry bags, felt apologetic.
Vendors too followed rules as they either refused plastic bags or handed out legal ones beyond 50 microns.
(Source: The Times Of India)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)