West Bengal

Bhubaneswar/Kolkata, May 24 (PTI) A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm 'Yaas' and is likely to cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts on May 26 after turning into a very severe cyclonic storm, the MeT Department said on Monday.

'Yaas' is likely to cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Islands around noon on May 26 as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 155-165 kmph, Kolkata's Regional Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Sanjib Bandopadhyay said.

Kolkata, May 23 (PTI) With the TMC having emerged victorious with a thumping majority in the recently concluded assembly elections, turncoats who had quit the party to join the BJP seem to be making a beeline for re-entry into the Mamata Banerjee camp, the latest being Sarala Murmu.

Murmu, who had switched camp as she was reportedly unhappy with the ticket that was given to her by the ruling party, has expressed her desire to return to the TMC, a day after Banerjee's former aide, Sonali Guha, made a similar appeal.

Kolkata, May 21 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appears set to take the shot at retaining her post by contesting from her old bastion, the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, after state minister and TMC veteran Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay vacated the seat on Friday, party sources said.

Banerjee, who faced defeat at the recently concluded polls from Nandigram, will have to get elected to the assembly within six months to hold on to the chief minister's chair, as per norms.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) After severe cyclonic storm Tauktae in the west coast, another cyclone -- Yass -- is likely to hit the east coast on May 26-27, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

A low pressure area is very likely to form over north Andaman Sea and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal around May 22, it said.

Kolkata, May 19 (PTI) A rare Super Blood Moon will be seen in the eastern sky on May 26 evening, just after a total lunar eclipse.

Kolkata had seen its last total lunar eclipse, 10 years ago, on December 10, 2011, Director of M P Birla Planetarium and renowned astrophysicist Debiprasad Duari said Wednesday.

Kolkata, May 17 (PTI) Two arrested Trinamool Congress ministers, an MLA and a former party leader, who were arrested by CBI in the Narada sting tape case, were taken to Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata late on Monday night, sources in the central probe agency said.

Ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, TMC MLA Madan Mitra and former leader Sovan Chatterjee were taken from Nizam Palace, a building that houses the CBI office, to the prison amid tight security after medical tests.

Kolkata, May 16 (PTI) Eminent journalist and popular TV anchor Anjan Bandyopadhyay, who tested positive for Covid-19 around a month ago, died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday night, a health department official said.

He was 56.

Bandyopadhyay, the editor of Bengali news channel Zee 24 Ghanta, breathed his last at around 9.25 pm, the official said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the death of the journalist, who is the brother of the state Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Kolkata, May 17 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who had rushed to the CBI office following the arrest of two state ministers, an MLA and a former party leader in Narada tapes case, left its premises almost six hours later, sources in the agency said.

Earlier, she had apparently asked agency sleuths to arrest her, too, when requested to leave the office.

The fiery TMC boss waited outside a room on the 15th floor, where the four leaders were reportedly escorted to, after their arrest.

Kolkata, May 16 (PTI) Streets were largely empty in the metropolis and elsewhere in West Bengal on Sunday as the 15-day COVID 19-induced lockdown came into effect in the state, with just a few vehicles seen ferrying essential items during the day.

Buses and other passenger vehicles stayed off the roads, and shops selling non-essential items had shutters down, in accordance with the curbs imposed by the government as part of the lockdown.

Kolkata, May 12 (PTI) BJP Lok Sabha MPs Jagannath Sarkar and Nisith Pramanik on Wednesday tendered their resignation as members of the West Bengal assembly, to which they were elected in the recent polls.

Sarkar and Pramanik, MPs of Ranaghat and Cooch Behar respectively, went to the assembly and submitted their resignation letters to Speaker Biman Banerjee.

Pramanik said that they are quitting as MLAs as per the directive of the BJP leadership.