LPG cylinders, bicycles and bats: How props are shaping West Bengal election narrative | Kolkata News

Replica LPG cylinders, cricket bats, bicycles, sacks of potatoes — in the Bengal theatre of assembly polls, such props have occupied centre stage, each of them carefully chosen to signal a message, trigger emotion, or to sharpen a political attack.Across constituencies, candidates have been relying on the symbolism of these objects to cut through the…

Read More

Sitharaman hands out weaver cards, TMC files MCC complaint | Kolkata News

Kolkata: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman‘s distribution of weaver cards to handloom weavers in Bengal on Wednesday drew a model code violation complaint from Trinamool and a sharp rebuke from CM Mamata Banerjee.Sitharaman visited weavers in Serampore’s Ashram Para before travelling to Kalna in East Burdwan, where she distributed the cards — identity documents issued…

Read More

Netting hilsa with AI: Smart maps locate rich zones but raise overfishing concerns | Kolkata News

KOLKATA: Scientists have rolled out an AI-powered forecasting system to help fishers locate hilsa shoals in the Bay of Bengal — a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at boosting catch, but already raising concerns among sections of the fishing community over sustainability and the risk of overfishing.Those involved with the project said some awareness camps have been…

Read More

Irani hands out ‘Rs 3,000-a-month’ card, TMC questions timing | Kolkata News

Kolkata: Days before polls, Smriti Irani handed out ‘Matri Shakti Bhorosa Cards’—linked to BJP’s Rs 3,000-a-month promise for women—to five party workers, prompting Trinamool to question the timing.Explaining why she was distributing these cards before the elections, Irani said: “It was a symbolic handover. The card is a template. The idea is that with the…

Read More

‘Bengal 2nd in India in deposit mobilisation’ | Kolkata News

Kolkata: Bengal has emerged as a leading state in financial inclusion, contributing nearly Rs 1,000 crore to the over Rs 10,000 crore total balance in financial inclusion accounts operated through BLS E-Services’ business correspondent network across India, the company said. BLS E-Services, the country’s largest business correspondent network, said the figure, as of Jan 31,…

Read More