India at 79: Country needs freedom from its growth obsessed developmental model
On the 79th anniversary of India's independence, as the tricolour flutters with pride;
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India at 79
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ENVIRONMENT
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Dear Didi, please save Kolkata’s trams; urged an Australian tram activist
- by Jayanta Basu
- March 31, 2023
In an open letter to Mamata Banerjee, an Australian tram worker & activist seeks for Kolkata’s tram infrastructure the attention it deserves Roberto D’Andrea Dear Didi, I write to you from Melbourne. I am a retired tram driver-cum-conductor and activist. I was also part of the group that initiated the Melbourne-Kolkata Tramjatra all of 29 years
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Four elephants killed in North Bengal forest during army firing practice; confirms Bengal’s Forest Minister
- by Jayanta Basu
- March 31, 2023
A still shot grab from a locally circulated video claimed about one of the dead elephants. The Plurals could not verify the authenticity of the claim The state forest department has confirmed that around mid-March, four elephants were killed by army mortar shelling in and around Mahananda wildlife sanctuary. The alleged incident occurred during practice
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IPCC report: Unless global carbon emission is halved by 2030, areas like Sundarbans to become most vulnerable
- by Jayanta Basu
- March 20, 2023
An UN report on global climate change released on Monday at Interlaken, Switzerland has accepted that the world is hardly 7 years away from a 1.5 degree temperature rise over pre industrialized level , that can prove devastating to the world in general and coastal areas like Sundarbans in particular. The report, a copy of
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Bangladesh unlikely to get extra water from Teesta in lean seasons; and should seek India’s help to build monsoon reservoir: Bangladesh official
- by Jayanta Basu
- February 14, 2023
In a major U-turn from the long-standing demand of a Teesta treaty ensuring more water during lean periods from West Bengal, India; a senior government official of Bangladesh has pointed out that the country realistically stands little chance to get any more Teesta water from West Bengal. The proposal, if pursued officially, can have a
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PCB directed guild to maintain environmental norms in Kolkata book fair
- by Jayanta Basu
- February 1, 2023
West Bengal Pollution Control Board has shot a letter to the Publishers and Booksellers guild directing “strict compliance of environmental norms” in the International Kolkata Book Fair which commenced on Monday after being inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The guild has been asked to send an action taken report to board by February 15.
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Bengal air pollution: marginal improvement but still a lot to catch up; Durgapur eight most polluted
- by Jayanta Basu
- January 12, 2023
A report card released recently shows that the level of the most toxic ultrafine particulate – PM 2.5 – has improved marginally in Kolkata during the last 4 years even after pumping hundreds of crores for pollution reduction, though the level is still well above the permissible limit in the country. PM 2.5 can penetrate
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Kolkata rings in New Year with toxic air
- by Jayanta Basu
- January 4, 2023
Kolkata has welcomed the New Year with almost unbreathable air. At 12 am on Saturday night, when hundreds of thousands were ringing in 2023 either on roads or at various open-air destinations, 5 out of 7 automatic air pollution measuring stations in the city recorded ‘very poor’ while one recorded ‘poor’ air quality. The situation
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Permission toburst green crackers during New Year’s Eve in Kolkata, having ‘poor’ air quality, is a violation of Supreme Court order, say experts
- by Jayanta Basu
- January 4, 2023
Experts have pointed out that the allowing the bursting of green crackers at New Year eve in Kolkata was a clear violation of Supreme Court order, as apex court has directed that such permission can only be given to areas where the air quality stands better than ‘poor’; but city’s air quality was ‘poor’ continuously
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Fulfilling Mayor Subhas Chandra Bose’s ninety years old promise tops Mayor Firhad Hakim’s New Year resolution for Kolkata
- by Jayanta Basu
- December 31, 2022
Mayor Firhad Hakim has a New Year resolution; to fulfill the dream that city’s fifth Mayor Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had over 90 years back. Subhas Chandra Bose was elected Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in 1930 after serving as chief executive officer under Mayor Chirraranjan Das in 1924. “When Netaji Subhas Bose was the