THE STATE THIS WEEK
Top news of the state from this week at a glimpse.
High Court allows holding Gangasagar Mela in Bengal
Nearly one million devotees are expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges River this Friday and Saturday for a holy bathe despite galloping COVID-19 infections across the country, an official told Reuters on Tuesday. Every year on January 14, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, pilgrims visit Gangasagar village for a dip at the confluence of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal.
Doctors have appealed to the state's high court to reverse a decision to allow the festival this year, worrying it will become a virus "super spreader" event. "The crowd may swell to anywhere between 800,000 to one million. We are trying to implement all COVID protocols," Bankim Chandra Hazra, a West Bengal minister in charge of organising the festival known as the Gangasagar Mela, told Reuters.
Kolkata currently has highest COVID positivity rate in India
On Friday positivity rate of Covid-19 shot up to 53.1%, making it the city with the highest positivity rate in India. West Bengal reported 18,213 fresh infections with a test-positivity rate of 26.31 per cent, 69,158 samples were tested on Friday according to officials. Cases in Kolkata rise very randomly and sharply in the last one week, on January 3 the city come up with 2,801 fresh cases and four deaths, while in the next three days, its daily tally more than doubled to reach 6,569 new cases.
On Wednesday, Kolkata had registered 6,170 new cases and five deaths, also densely populated areas like North 24 Parganas recorded 3,118 new cases. Till now this virus claimed 18 lives in the state that pushing the toll to 19, 864.
Slots for US visas now open after nine months
Even after increasing restriction during the 3rd wave of Covid after a lapse of nine months slots for US visas are now open. On Saturday many travel agents in the city are able to book slots for visa interviews in February for fresh applications also submit dropbox applications for B1\B2 visas.
US Embassy officials told the US department of state had authorized consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for travellers applying for H-1, H-3, H-4, F, Non-blanket L, M, O, P, Q, and academic J visas who were previously issued any type of visas.
Vaccine for 15-18 years teenagers now started
In the fight against Covid-19 Jabs for under 18 college students is now been started, all the schools are organizing vaccination camps in cooperation with the civic body or private hospitals for students of class 9 to 12. Colleges are asking first-year students to get immunised at camps held by the Calcutta Municipal cooperation. Jadavpur university registrar Snehamanju Basu said:
"We are sending our students awaiting the second dose to a CMC-run facility near Sulekha crossing. We have plans to send the first-year students below 18 years to this facility as well for the first dose."
Urge from CM to postpone SET
Amid the drastic rise in the case of Covid-19, many teachers ask CM Mamata Banerjee to postpone the State Eligibility Test (SET) which was scheduled to be conducted on January 9. The college service commission conducted the test at 189 centres in 68 sub-divisions across the state for the appointment of assistant professors and 83,000 candidates were supposed to write the test, according to teachers such examination requires the gathering of large numbers of people which will violate the restrictions laid down by the government on January 2.
Education minister Bratya Basu said:
“Although the government have yet to defer the test, they are keeping a close watch on the situation."
Earlier many government college teachers also approached him.
“Next 15 days are critical”: Mamata Banerjee
On Thursday West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said the next 15 days are very critical to fighting against COVID as cases are rising in-state radically, there may be stricter restrictions if the spike continues”.
Right now all the schools, colleges, gym, saloons, spa, beauty parlours and wellness centre are closed and the private offices are functioning with 50% of employees at a time also in order to stop mass gathering all the tourist places, zoo, parks are closed and shopping mall and restaurants are allowed to work on 50% capacity only till 10 pm only as from 10 pm there’s a night curfew under which no people are allowed to do any outside activity but looking at the current scenario this restriction may be more strict as there is a continuous rise in COVID cases in the city.
Later CM said:
"We have tried to balance life and livelihood while imposing curbs but there may be stricter restrictions if the spike continues, no need to panic but everyone should heed the curbs and exercise utmost caution because of the new variant’s high transmissibility."
Author
Shadman Alam
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