Experts, though, deem it premature to call it a recurrence of an epidemic

With two cases of swine flu reported in West Bengal recently, concerns have been raised over a possible recurrence since a two-and-a-half-year hiatus.
Officials of the State’s Department of Health and Family Welfare, though, said on Sunday that it was “too premature” to comment on whether the threat of another swine flu epidemic loomed.

The recent outbreak of dengue in the State became yet another issue over which the leadership of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress locked horns over the weekend after West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pradip Bhattacharya alleged that the State government is “suppressing facts” in connection with the epidemic – an allegation that was dismissed.

Although the State government maintains that dengue has claimed three lives and infected 638 persons (until September 1) this season, unofficial reports claim that the figures are much higher.

The West Bengal Government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court which declared the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, “unconstitutional”.

“We have filed an SLP in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict given by the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court. We will come to know the date of the hearing later,” said Kalyan Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress MP and one of the legal counsel for the State Government in this case, on Friday.

If the Centre is not yet convinced that it can provide foodgrains to everyone and not just to those who are below the Poverty Line, it can turn to the example of several State governments who have already done so, said Surya Kanta Mishra, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, here on Wednesday.

“We are demanding that everyone must be given 35 kg of rice or wheat at Rs. 2 per kg…. Is it possible to do so? If there are any doubts then the Centre only has to look at the manner in which State after State has continued to provide subsidised foodgrains to the people.

Even as 1.25 lakh people have been affected by floods in the northern districts of the State, the Army has been called out for rescue operations in the affected areas.

According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau, Army personnel were able to restore connectivity to Khairkatta village near Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Friday morning by constructing a 90-foot-long Bailey bridge across Kucchi Diana River.

Pointing out that fiscal deficit was a cause of concern, C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said on Friday that action on reducing fuel and fertilizer subsidies would be taken “as early as possible.”

“I would not like to put a time frame, I can only say that action will be needed and therefore will be taken as early as possible,” he told journalists on the sidelines of an event organised at the Indian Statistical Institute here to mark the birth anniversary of its founder, P.C. Mahalanobis.

The West Bengal government will have to “introspect” to find out the reasons why it lost the case challenging the constitutional validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 to Tata Motors, the West Bengal Congress, a constituent of the Trinamool Congress-led state government said here on Sunday.

“The State government will have to introspect on why it lost the case,” West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pradip Bhattacharya told journalists.

On a day the Trinamool Congress celebrated the first anniversary of the announcement of the 2011 Assembly polls results, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said here

Stating that the proposed Food Security Bill is “inadequate,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Sunday that the Left parties will stage an agitation pressing for the inclusion of everyone, irrespective of whether they are classified as below or above the poverty line.

“Every family should be entitled to 35 kg of foodgrains at the rate of Rs. 2 per kg. Only the rich should be exempted from this privilege,” he said, adding that at least 80 per cent of the people must be covered under the public distribution system.

Authorities of the Buxa Tiger Reserve are formulating plans for a major overhaul of the tourist facilities at the reserve.