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Twenty new coronavirus cases were reported in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area on Monday, taking the total number of patients across north Bengal to around 1,100. Siliguri MLA Asok Bhattacharya whose swab sample was taken on Sunday has tested negative for the pathogen. The new Covid-19 patients in Siliguri are in localities like Subhashpally, Nabagram, Tikiapara, Ghogomali, Chayanpara, Samarnagar, Maharaj Colony, Sevoke Road, Bagrakote, Jadavpally, Srawannagar, Bhupendranagar and Darjeeling More, said sources. “All necessary precautions would be taken in the areas concerned,” said an official of the Darjeeling district health department. The rise in the number of patients has made…

Prized delicacy hilsa is likely to be in short supply this year, dashing the hopes of a better catch in cleaner rivers because of the lockdown. Hilsa fishing formally resumed on Monday here — after the annual two-month ban from mid-April to promote breeding — but only around 15 per cent of the trawlers could hit the sea. Most trawlers of East Midnapore and South 24-Parganas fishermen are damaged by cyclone Amphan that hit the state on May 20. Though the state government compensated fishermen with damaged trawlers, repairmen are in short supply. So most trawlers are docked.

Sky lovers in the city are expected to catch glimpses of a partial solar eclipse on June 21, provided clouds do not play spoilsport. An annular solar eclipse, which occurs when the disc of the moon covers the central portion of the sun leaving only a ring-like peripheral region called the “ring of fire” visible — will happen on June 21, Debiprosad Duari, the director (research and academic) of MP Birla Planetarium, said. A similar annular solar eclipse had happened on December 26 last year. The eclipse was prominently visible from a stretch of southern India. Calcutta was tipped to…

Delhi government has directed capital’s premier Taj Man Singh hotel to isolate all their rooms and place them at the disposal of Sir Gangaram Hospital with immediate effect for accommodating Coved 19 patients. The decision of the government follows efforts to hike capital’s capacity to treat coronavirus patients that is expected to rise to 5.5 lakh mark by the end of July and it comes on a day when the Delhi High Court allowed Delhi government to use premises of two other premium hotels in the city as temporary Coved-19 treatment facilities. An expert committee of doctors on Monday told…

New Delhi: Monsoon has advanced into parts of north-western India on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) authorities. It has covered many parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), western and eastern Madhya Pradesh (MP), they added. IMD scientists are also expecting monsoon to arrive in the national capital, Delhi, earlier than normal, but they will confirm depending on how favourable conditions are for its advancement in the next four to five days. “It will be humid and hot with maximum temperature ranging from 40 to 43 degrees Celsius in most parts of north-western India, including Delhi, but there…

On the day fuel prices rose for the 10th consecutive day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rollback the hike, saying his government’s decision to increase prices on petrol and diesel during the coronavirus pandamic was “wholly insensitive”. In her letter to the Prime Minister, Sonia said, “India has faced unprecedented public health, economic and social challenges during the ongoing battle against Covid-19 I am deeply distressed that in these exceedingly difficult times since the beginning of March, the government has taken the wholly insensitive decision to increase petrol and diesel prices on no less than ten separate occasions.” “I see no logic…

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with the chief ministers of all the states and union territories (UTs) today and tomorrow and discuss the coronavirus crisis in the country. In his meeting, the Prime Minister will likely discuss about the easing out the restrictions amid the alarming rise in the number of coronavirus cases. This will be the sixth meeting between the Prime Minister and various chief ministers on the coronavirus crisis. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of coronavirus cases in the country stands 3.43 lakh while the death toll has increased…