Author: Subrata Das
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched 31 tourism and infrastructure projects worth ₹426.71 crore at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, home to the Statue of Unity. The package includes 23 inaugurated projects worth ₹307.83 crore—featuring a ₹50-crore IRCTC budget hotel, a ₹16-crore river cruise, eco trails, and travelators—alongside foundation stones for eight upcoming projects including the ₹59.32-crore Gora-Bhanadra road and a smart zero-waste plant.
A catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in upper Bhutan has triggered red alerts across North Bengal, prompting the emergency evacuation of over 10,000 people in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts. With the Sankosh and Mo Chhu rivers receiving millions of cubic meters of sudden discharge, the West Bengal administration has deployed NDRF and SDRF rescue squads, opened relief camps in school buildings, and initiated widespread public warnings to prevent loss of life across vulnerable tea garden belts.
At least 14 people were killed and over a dozen wounded when a Russian drone struck a busy railway platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday, part of a wider wave of air strikes that killed at least 19 people nationwide. The attack on Ukraine’s transport infrastructure followed an overnight barrage of more than 600 Ukrainian drones directed at the Moscow region while the Russian capital hosted an African leaders’ summit, highlighting intensifying long-range strikes ahead of planned US-mediated talks.
The legal troubles of Sumit Ray, former personal assistant to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, compounded on Wednesday as the Kalitala Ashuti police executed a formal ‘shown arrest’ against him in prison. Lodged under Case No. 140/2026 over an alleged job-for-cash racket and illegal filling of the protected ‘MLA Lake’ in the Joka-Raipur belt, Ray faces stringent charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Inland Fisheries Act, and Land Reforms Act, with police preparing to seek his custodial remand before the Alipore Court.
Andhra Pradesh has deployed over 6,000 power department workers and heavy machinery to coastal districts to quickly repair damage caused by incoming cyclonic rains. Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar directed electricity teams to stay on high alert, prioritize hospitals and water plants, and keep emergency hotlines open to prevent long blackouts and keep citizens safe.
The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum got underway in New Delhi on Monday, bringing together legislative leaders from 11 member nations and 10 partner countries to discuss multilateral cooperation under the theme ‘Fostering Parliaments for People-Centric Development’. Presided over by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the two-day forum is structured around four high-level sessions on resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability, alongside focused deliberations on counter-terrorism and parliamentary diplomacy.
Fearing severe disruption during the peak festive shopping season, the Chamber of Trade and Industry has written to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi requesting the INDIA bloc postpone its upcoming Delhi rally until after November 10.
The West Bengal government will terminate extended Durga Puja holidays for state-run hospital staff starting in 2027, replacing the conventional festive break with mandatory duty rosters to maintain uninterrupted emergency medical services. Announcing the decision following reports of unauthorized doctor absenteeism during the recent festive period, State Health Minister Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay emphasized that the health sector operates as a round-the-clock emergency service that cannot shut down during festivals.
Three Christian families in Patlapur village in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district were subjected to a three-day ordeal of mob violence, sexual assault threats, and forced Hindu rituals at a local Durga Puja pandal by individuals reportedly affiliated with the Bajrang Dal. The Chandrakona police have lodged an FIR against 13 named accused on charges including attempt to murder and outraging a woman’s modesty, placing a security watch outside the victims’ homes as civil rights bodies raise alarms over the lack of arrests.
The West Bengal government on Wednesday overhauled security protocols for Durga idol immersions across Kolkata and the districts, deploying the NDRF and instituting strict crowd curbs following the tragic Chorbagan pandal stampede that killed 19 people. Reviewing riverfront preparedness on Vijaya Dashami, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari mandated identity verification for idol bearers at Hooghly ghats, asserting that scriptural and religious purity must be upheld as police tighten movement across central and north Kolkata.