JournaBulletin - Local - Week 23

THE STATE THIS WEEK 

Top news of the state from this week at a glimpse. 

Calcutta HC to WB EC: Consider Postponing 4 civic polls as COVID-19 cases surge 

In view of the increase in Covid-19 cases throughout the state, the Calcutta High Court has directed the state Election Commission to consider postponing four civic polls. 

Elections for four municipal corporations are slated for January 22 this year: Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Chandernagore Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, and Asansol Municipal Corporation. 

Kolkata Records Second-highest Weekly COVID Positivity Rate in the Country, at 60.29 Percent 

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the cumulative weekly positive rate of Covid-19 in Kolkata has reached 60.29 per cent, the second-highest in the country. According to MoHFW data, the same figure for the week ending January 11 in West Bengal's Howrah district is likewise exceedingly high - 50.89%. 

The state health department reported 7,060 cases in Kolkata on Wednesday, 495 more than the previous day, according to a bulletin. On the other side, the Howrah district recorded 1361 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the figure was 1815. 

West Bengal BJP Dissolves its Cells, Departments 

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dissolved all of its cells and departments on Thursday evening, in a key political shift. 

The decision regarding cells and departments formed only a few weeks ago came after a segment of the party's leadership, including leaders from the Matua community, voiced dissatisfaction that people of the community were not appropriately represented. BJP officials such as Sayantan Basu and Jay Prakash Majumdar were also excluded from newly constituted committees and removed from crucial organisational positions. 

Gym owners hit streets to protest closure, demand reopening 

With gymnasiums in Kolkata declared temporarily closed in the wake of mounting Covid-19 cases, a group of gym owners and fitness enthusiasts rallied on Mayo Road on Tuesday to urge that the facilities reopen. 

Protesters gathered at Mahatma Gandhi's statue, arguing there was no sense in keeping gyms closed while pubs, restaurants, parlours, and salons were permitted to operate at 50% capacity. 

HC drops Suvendu Adhikari from Gangasagar Mela monitoring panel 

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday removed the leader of the State Assembly's opposition from a three-member committee constituted on January 7 to oversee compliance with COVID restrictions at the Gangasagar Mela in Sagar Island. 

The West Bengal administration, led by the Trinamool Congress, protested to the inclusion of the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition, in the committee. 

Author 

Vasundhara Tiwari