oppn parties No Curfew Or Lockdown In West Bengal Now

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
No Curfew Or Lockdown In West Bengal Now

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-04-20 08:11:21

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said "avoiding political pollution" was the only way to stop the spread of coronavirus in the state. She was perhaps referring to the rallies being held by all parties for the ongoing elections in the state. But most parties, including the TMC and the BJP, have said they will no longer hold big rallies. Didi once again appealed to the Election Commission to three remaining phases of the polls in one or two phases to reduce the chances of the virus spreading more.

Mamata ruled out imposing restrictions on the people. She said that there was no need for night curfew or weekend lockdown in the state as of now. She also announced a series of administrative measures including closing advancing summer holidays and closing schools with immediate effect, asking offices to work with 50% attendance and ramping up infrastructure in the health sector by asking private hospitals to increase Covid beds and postpone planned surgeries by two weeks. Government hospitals will scale up facilities for Covid patients and safe homes will be readied.

While the state government is right in not imposing curfews or lockdown as they are economic disrupters, the fact is that the administration had become very lax in following Covid protocols in the last few months. There were no drives to fine people for not wearing masks as a result of which nearly 50% of the people seldom wore one in public. Also, West Bengal is conducting just 473 tests per million people and stands at the bottom of the table of state-wise Covid testing. If testing, tracing, treating/isolation, along with vaccination are the only ways to combat the virus, West Bengal is falling behind.

The administration has to wield the stick unsparingly to ensure that people strictly follow the Covid health protocols. Periodic drives will no longer suffice, there has to be a regular and sustained drive to penalize offenders.  More than the claimed "outsiders", it is the local people who are spreading the virus by being irresponsible. The administration is also guilty of laxity. There is no time to lose as the second wave is spreading dangerously. 

pic courtesy: the times of india

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