18 FEBRUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Sandeshkhali: Top women officers in charge of probe Max. 95 % Min. 60 % State police not trying to hide anything, will take action: DGP Max: 28.1°C (-2) SUN RISES 06:8 hrs MOON RISES 11:17 hrs Min: 18.3°C (0) SUN SETS 17:34 hrs MOON SETS 00:18 hrs SNS & AGENCIES WEATHER Mainly clear sky with fog/mist in the morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 28 °C and 19 °C respectively. TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 24 February THUMBNAILS 8 killed in TN’s Virudhnagar firecracker factory explosion: At least 8 people were killed and 10 others injured after a massive explosion that took place at a firecracker manufacturing unit in the Virudhnagar district on Saturday evening. According to fire department officials, "8 people have been killed in the explosion at a firecracker factory in the Virudhnagar district. 10 people have been injured in the incident. The reason for the explosion is yet to be ascertained." Visuals from the event show the damage to the entire infrastructure and how the blast brought down the entire firecracker industrial unit. KOLKATA, 17 FEBRUARY he West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar said that a 10-member committee led by two Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank women officers is investigating the Sandeshkhali events. “State police 10-member committee led by two DIG-rank lady officers investigated the entire area of Sandeshkhali and listened to the issues faced by the people. A total of 17 arrests have been made in the Sandeshkhali case," the DGP told a Press conference on Saturday. The DGP said the state police are not trying to hide anything and urged villagers to come forth with their complaints. “Police are not trying to hide anything and we have said that T On allegations of land-grabbing, the DGP said land department teams will be holding camps in the region from Sunday necessary action will be taken. If anyone has such complaints (rape complaints), register written complaints and we will investigate...” Mr Kumar said. The DGP added: “We will be reviewing the situation area-wise, and in a day or two, we will remove Section 144. We will ensure that normalcy returns to the region." Mr Kumar said that some people were trying to communalise the incident and create lawlessness in the area and hence the police thought it appropriate to impose Section 144. "Some people were giving a communal colour and some were trying to create lawlessness in the area. So we had to ensure that we can bring some order and establish the rule of law. We are committed to facing whatever the truth is and we will take action against anyone if there is evidence," the DGP said. On allegations of land grabbing, the DGP said that teams from the land department will be holding camps in the region from Sunday. Basirhat police chief HM Rehman separately confirmed that Shibu Hazra, against whom a rape complaint has been filed, has been arrested. (More on Page 3) Payment of MGNREGA dues: SOP announced AGENCIES KOLKATA, 17 FEBRUARY ‘EC will follow SC’s instructions on electoral bonds’ ISRO’s GSLV-F14 successfully puts INSAT-3DS into orbit STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The West Bengal government has announced a standard operating procedure (SOP) for payments of dues to the beneficiaries under the MGNREGA scheme. Under the new SOP, publication and display of the lists of the beneficiaries at prominent places in state government's offices are mandatory. To begin with, the lists will be displayed at the respective offices of the different village panchayats in different districts of the state. At the same time, separate lists will also be published and displayed about how much each beneficiary has received payment under this scheme. The government has said that payments under the 100-day job scheme to as many as 29.50 lakh beneficiaries will start from 1 March. As per the estimates of the state government, the total payout under this head will be to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore. BHUBANESWAR, 17 FEBRUARY The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr Rajiv Kumar, on Saturday said the Commission will follow the instructions issued by the Supreme Court in the case relating to the electoral bonds and take action accordingly. He, however, did not spell out when the details of the bonds will be made public. Steps will be taken as per the order of the court, he said adding that the consistent stand of the Commission has been in favour of transparency. “If you go through our affidavits, we have stood for transparency and information,” he pointed out, adding that there were several cases in high courts which have also been decided. The Election Commission believes in transparency, information and involvement as far as conduct of elections is concerned, he said. Mr Kumar SRIHARIKOTA, 17 FEBRUARY and his team, including EC Mr Arun Goel and others, concluded their threeday visit to Odisha today. They took stock of the poll preparedness in the state and held a series of meetings with officials and political party representatives. We are fully prepared for the conduct of elections, said Mr Kumar while providing details of his meeting with representatives of political parties and officers in the state, and enforcement agencies. Odisha will have simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assembly. Neutrality of government machinery, level playing field, cash and material being carried in ambulances, informed Mr Kumar. India successfully put into orbit its third generation meteorological/weather satellite INSAT-3DS on Saturday evening. The 2,274 kg INSAT3DS was carried by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket codenamed GSLV-F14. INSAT-3DS is India’s third generation meteorological satellite and is fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is designed for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning. The satellite has a life span of 10 years. INSAT-3DS augments the meteorological services along with the stilloperational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites, said Indian Space Research OrganAGENCIES isation (ISRO).
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