-Newsclick.in CM Mamata Banerjee has started handing over compensation packages, but SKM and other outfits have accused it of bypassing holding of gram sabhas. Kolkata: The Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harisingha (DPDH) coal block under Mohammed Bazar Development Block in Birbhum district is fast becoming a “symbol of the West Bengal government’s high-handedness”. So much so that local residents, a large number of whom are adivasis/santhals, are being cautious in airing their concerns about the proposed...

-The Hindu Rights, environmental activists have raised questions on the proposed plan that is likely to displace 5,000 families Prasenjit Bose, an economist and activist based in Kolkata, and eight others were arrested earlier this week from the Deocha Pachami coal project area in the Md. Bazar block in West Bengal’s Birbhum district. The nine persons— four from Kolkata and five locals from Md. Bazar — have been booked for unlawful assembly...

-The Telegraph All nine persons, including Left-leaning economist and activist Prasenjit Bose, were produced before Suri court which sent two local residents to police custody Bolpur (Birbhum): Police on Monday arrested nine persons, including seven activists from Calcutta and two local persons, who took part in a meeting on Sunday to protest against land acquisition for the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal that spiralled into a detention-cum-hostage situation. All nine persons, including Left-leaning economist and...

-The Telegraph One in every two persons tested for Covid-19 has been found positive over the past week One in every two persons tested for Covid-19 in Calcutta has been found positive over the past week with the city’s test positivity rate touching 55 per cent, the highest among 721 districts nationwide. Eleven other Bengal districts — Howrah, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Birbhum, Malda, Darjeeling, Hooghly, Bankura and Purulia...

-The Telegraph In November, Bengal topped among all states by providing water supply connections to 2.40 lakh destinations in a month Bolpur( Birbhum): The Bengal government has set a target to supply piped water to around 5.77 lakh households in Bengal’s 10,729 remote rural hamlets facing water shortage within March next year. Sources said the state public health engineering (PHE) department recently held a statewide survey to identify remote hamlets located in forested...