-The Hindu The ECI woke up late to the ill-effects the long campaign in Bengal had on public health The Election Commission of India’s decision to restrict campaigning for the remaining two phases of the West Bengal Assembly election is an instance of wisdom dawning late. Nevertheless, it will help limit the public health damage to what was already caused by an unreasonably extended election cycle in the State during the pandemic....

-The Indian Express The rescue work was going on till late on Friday night “to locate the remainder persons still stuck under snow or stranded at work sites since late evening”. After a glacier near Niti Valley in Uttarakhand broke off Friday, rescue operations by the Army managed to rescue nearly 300 people who were working at a Border roads Organisation camp in the area till late in the evening. The rescue...

-The Indian Express The Election Commission order, however, continues to permit gatherings of up to 500 people in West Bengal. The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday banned roadshows, vehicle rallies, and public meetings of more than 500 people in West Bengal, noting that political parties and candidates were “still not adhering to the prescribed safety norms” during campaigning. Permissions already given for such events stood withdrawn, the Commission said. The directive came hours after...

-Down to Earth Sumna is an uninhabited place, with only border roads personnel working there; no word yet on casualties A glacier burst at a remote place on the Indo-China border in Uttarkhand on the afternoon of April 23, 2021, according to a senior official. There is no word yet of any casualties. “A glacier has burst near Uttarakhand’s Joshimath on the India-China border,” Colonel Manish Kapil, commander, Border Road Task Force, was...

-The Hindu The Matuas became a significant political entity after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, came into being On a sultry April day, Thakurnagar, the holy site of Matuas in the Bongaon sub-division of West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district bordering Bangladesh, sizzles with banners of rival political parties asking for votes. As if indifferent to the ongoing political tension and the pandemic threat, a boisterous religious rally makes its way through...