Kolkata: Seventeen-year-old Meena Jalal, who was subject to the SIR decision, never knew in her lifetime that she was eligible to become a voter. The voter from Chowringhee assembly constituency died on March 27, days before his name was to be named in the final list of April 9 by the Election Commission. Although she was eligible, her husband, Jalaluddin Ahmed Siddiqui, did not succeed in the adjudication process, nor did their son, Imran Zaki. Both have moved the tribunal. His three other sons and one daughter have qualified as “voters” after submitting enumeration forms. “She was ill and under mental stress as she knew she could not vote in the Assembly elections, but when the Election Commission cleared her name, she could not – this is the irony of fate. Social entrepreneur and educationist Imran Zaki said, “She had voted in all the elections before and this time she was a little worried… Since she was ill, the BLO came and collected all the documents.” “All our names were in the 2002 SIR, and even after sharing all the data and documents, we are being continuously harassed. They are not giving any reason why our names were removed. There should be transparency from the Election Commission. They are playing a game of hide and seek with ill intentions.” “Our family has been living on Weston Street in Bowbazar for more than seven decades, where our grandfather Nazir Ahmed, who was in the British police, lived and we are still living in the same building,” Zaki said. He said his father, an 81-year-old businessman and social worker, is “very worried” as he fears he will not be able to cast his vote this time. He said, “We belong to this country and have been associated with this city since the British era. How can they remove our name? It is a mockery of the democratic system. We hope that we will be nominated soon.”

मई 2025 की दुर्घटना के बाद क्षतिग्रस्त हेली एम्बुलेंस अभी भी हेलीपैड के पास पड़ी हुई है और इसे हटाने के लिए कोई प्रयास नहीं किया गया। यह स्थिति न सिर्फ सिस्टम की सुस्ती की पोल खोलती है बल्कि सुदूर इलाकों में बेहतर स्वास्थ्य सुविधाओं और आपदा प्रबंधन के दावों की भी पोल खोलती है.

17 मई को केदारनाथ में एम्स की हेली एंबुलेंस दुर्घटनाग्रस्त हो गई थी. यहां एंबुलेंस एक महिला मरीज को लेने गई थी. यह हादसा हार्ड लैंडिंग के दौरान हुआ. इसके बाद से एम्स की महत्वपूर्ण एयरो मेडिकल सेवा ठप हो गई.

अनुबंध के मुताबिक हेली एंबुलेंस खराब होने या दुर्घटनाग्रस्त होने पर संबंधित कंपनी को तीन दिन के अंदर नई एंबुलेंस उपलब्ध करानी थी, लेकिन स्थिति यह है कि नई हेली एंबुलेंस उपलब्ध कराना तो दूर संबंधित एजेंसी ने एक साल से क्षतिग्रस्त एंबुलेंस को भी दुर्घटनास्थल से नहीं हटाया है। यह एम्बुलेंस अभी भी केदारनाथ में क्षतिग्रस्त हालत में पड़ी हुई है।

Kolkata: PM Narendra Modi on Saturday stepped up BJP’s Bengal campaign, rejecting Trinamool Congress’s “Khela Hobe” slogan and framing the assembly elections as a fight to protect Bengal’s identity, while he promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to end “appeasement politics”. Modi said, “You have played too much” and those who “played for too long” will now have to face accountability. “Everyone will be accounted for.” Impressed by the crowd size at Katwa, he said it was a sign of a “big game” to come in Bengal. Addressing back-to-back rallies in Burdwan, Murshidabad and South Dinajpur, Modi accused the TMC of relying on “infiltrators” to create vote banks and intimidate majority groups. “Let UCC be implemented here; appeasement will stop forever. Bengal will make real changes this time,” he said, reiterating the manifesto promise issued by Union Minister Amit Shah to enact the law within six months of taking charge. Modi described governance in Bengal as dominated by “syndicate raj”. Linking corruption to the exodus of companies, loss of jobs and exodus of youth, he said, “Here there is syndicate government and the government is syndicate.” In Jangipur in Muslim-majority Murshidabad, Modi focused on identity and demographic change. He said, “TMC wants to use the votes of infiltrators to form a government of infiltrators. We will not allow Bengalis to become a minority in Bengal.” Responding to CM Mamata Banerjee’s criticism that the BJP will not fulfill its promises, Modi defended his party’s record. Citing support prices for jute and assurance that welfare schemes would continue, he said, “BJP keeps its promises.” “BJP will stop nothing but Trinamool’s loot.” He pledged that the first cabinet meeting of the BJP government will approve the implementation of Ayushman Bharat in Bengal. Seeking to reassure the Matua and Namasudra communities affected by the SIR, Modi said they are protected by the Constitution and promised to expedite the citizenship processes after assuming office. He also praised the Election Commission for violence-free voting in Assam and Kerala, citing the huge turnout on Thursday. Modi warned voters against “AI-generated disinformation”, alleging that Trinamool may release fabricated videos as polling approaches. “There is a conspiracy, and you need to be careful. Trinamool is panicking and as the elections approach, it will use conspiracies. We have seen this in Assam and Puducherry – rumors will be spread based on AI-generated videos. Don’t fall into that trap,” he said.

RR manager Romi Bhinder violated PMOA protocol (screengrab)

New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals Manager Romi Bhinder was seen using a mobile phone in the team’s dugout during his team’s game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Guwahati on Friday, violating the PMOA (Players and Match Officials’ Area) protocol. The incident happened during the 11th over of the RR chase when Bhinder was using his phone and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, sitting to his right, was peeking at his screen.