West Bengal

Kolkata, Mar 28 (PTI) Designated I-League champions Mohun Bagan have announced a donoation of Rs 20 lakh in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

"Mohun Bagan will donate Rs 20 lakh towards the West Bengal State Emergency Relief Fund to be used to combat the deadly coronavirus pandemic," Mohun Bagan announced this on their official Facebook page.

Kolkata, March 26 (PTI) Discontent has been brewing among doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals over shortage of protective gear in hospitals, with many of them threatening to cease work if not provided with necessary kits to guard against Covid-19.

Several nurses at the Beliaghata ID Hospital had on Wednesday said they would attend to the patients only after receiving personal protection equipment (PPE) masks, gloves and full body suits - following which authorities promised to look into their concerns.

Kolkata, Mar 25 (PTI) Chinese-origin people in the city, some living here since birth, have become targets of racial discrimination and slurs, amid the growing panic over the Covid-19 pandemic, which began in China.

Francis Yee Lepcha (41), whose grandfather had migrated from China decades ago, said he had been encountering glares and cold stares since the outbreak of the disease.

Kolkata, Mar 25 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday sought a Rs 1,500 crore package from the Centre to support the state government's efforts to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking to reporters through video-conference from the state secretariat, Banerjee said the Centre should provide a special package as the state is finding it difficult to do "everything" with its "limited resources".

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Thursday said the Centre's financial package announced in the wake of a countrywide lockdown to combat coronavirus has taken a "cue" from the one offered by the party-led dispensation in West Bengal.

"Centre takes cue from relief plans already rolled out by state govts like #Bengal a week ago -- free 6 months ration for the poor, health insurance for champion frontliners fighting corona and Rs 1000 for daily wagers under new Prochesta scheme. Will supplement State efforts," tweeted TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

Kolkata, Mar 21 (PTI) Researchers at the IIT-Kharagpur have developed an energy-efficient method that could support a wide range of applications in clinical and biological research.

Biological cells can be patterned by using the heat generated in closed electrical fields with the help of this method, the researchers said on Saturday.

Kolkata, Mar 20 (PTI) A 21-year-old woman has been arrested in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district for her alleged links with terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a senior police officer said on Friday.

The woman, an MA final-year student of a well-known college in the city, has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and various sections of the IPC related to sedition, he said.

Kolkata; 18 March 2020 (PTI): A BJP activist has been arrested for organising a cow urine consumption event here, claiming that it will protect people from coronavirus or cure those already infected, leading to a civic volunteer falling ill after drinking it, police said on Wednesday.

He was arrested late Tuesday night following a complaint filed by the victim with the police, they said.

Kolkata, Mar 16 (PTI) A cow urine consumption programme was organised in north Kolkata on Monday out of the belief that it will protect people from the coronavirus or cure them in case they have already been infected.

A group of men organised a cow-worship programme at a cowshed at the Jorasanko area and consumed cups of cow urine.

"We believe that consuming cow urine would further strengthen our immunity and protect us from the coronavirus," one of the organisers said.

Kolkata, Mar 9 (PTI) Holi, the festival of colours, was celebrated with enthusiasm across West Bengal as men and women took to the streets smearing 'gulal' on each other's faces, while children sprinkled coloured water on others.

At several get-togethers in and around the city and various places across the districts, 'Basanto Utsab' was celebrated with much fanfare.