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CMC submits green plan after chop ban
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) seem to be headed for an amicable settlement with the civic body toeing PCB directives. The CMC’s officer on special duty (roads) Sajal Banerjee on Tuesday appeared before the board’s senior law officer and chief engineer during a special hearing at the PCB headquarters in Salt Lake and submitted that the CMC had stopped felling trees soon after the order was passed. “Apart from the submission they have also rolled out a plantation charter for Boroughs I to VI. They will come back within a few days with details of transplantation. Our experts will physically verify their claims and only then will we reconsider lifting the ban,” observed the board’s member-secretary Shyamal Sarkar. CMC also deposited over Rs 12 lakh to the forest department for plantation of new trees immediately after the PCB directive was passed. The PCB had slapped a blanket ban on the CMC last week regarding cutting of trees as the civic body apparently failed to comply with the imposed conditions and did not even provide a proper compliance report.
Power cut after supply shortfall
The city and its adjoining areas experienced widespread power cuts for the second consecutive day on Tuesday evening following inadequate supply from the state electricity board (SEB) to the CESC grid. The shortfall in the CESC-supplied areas increased to 124 MW in the evening peak hours. SEB sources said two 210-MW units, one each at Bandel and Bakreshwar power plants, had been shut down for repairs. The Bandel unit was started around 5.30 pm on Tuesday but it collapsed soon after being fired up. Attempts are on to restart it.
Petrol pump looted
Four armed men took away nearly Rs 50,000 from a petrol pump at Bagnan in Howrah on Tuesday evening. Police said two employees of the petrol pump were on their way to deposit the money in a bank when two men on a motorcycle forced them to hand over the cash at gunpoint. A search is on to nab the culprits.
Medical exam fees
Calcutta University (CU) on Tuesday decided to slash examination fees for all medical courses. The decision was taken at a meeting of CU’s syndicate committee, the highest policy making body of the university. “The exact amount to be reduced will be decided at a meeting on Wednesday,” said CU vice-chancellor Asis Kumar Banerjee. The meeting will be held at his chamber. According to CU sources, examination fees for MBBS are likely to be slashed from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,200. “Examination fees for all other medical courses, including MD, will also be slashed,” a CU official informed.
Carjackers caught
Three youths were caught on Tuesday evening for hijacking a Tata Sumo and beating up its driver. The driver, found in a semi-conscious state south of Victoria Memorial Hall, told the police that the youths had hailed the private car for a lift to the city from Ashoknagar, Howrah. The vehicle entered the city through Howrah Bridge and proceeded to the Hastings police station area. The passengers offered him a drink laced with drugs. Then they pounced on the dazed man, raining blows on him and threw him out of the moving vehicle. All three were arrested later.
Held for murder
Police arrested Tapas Das, alias Bulton, at Habra on the northern fringes of the city early on Tuesday on charges of the murder of Shankar and Samir, residents of Banipur. On June 28, Bulton and his accomplices murdered the youths by shooting them from point-blank range. District superintendent of police, North 24-Parganas, Parveen Kumar said Bulton was wanted in a number of cases of dacoity, murder and extortion.
Train services hit
Train services on the Sealdah-Bongaon section were disrupted for nearly half an hour from Tuesday noon when commuters sat on the railway tracks at Bisharpara near Dum Dum, demanding passenger amenities.
Thumbs Up
To Punjabee Bradree for starting work on its school
building at Topsia
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