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Kolkata, Aug 29 : The much-awaited Jalpaiguri circuit bench of Calcutta High Court is likely to be inaugurated in the second week of September, a senior officer of West Bengal government has said.

The circuit bench will be temporarily housed at the Jalpaiguri zilla parishad dak bungalow, which has been refurbished for the purpose, the officer told PTI.

"The zilla parishad dak bungalow on Station Road is ready to house the Jalpaiguri circuit bench temporarily and the final inspection of the infrastructure there is also complete. We are expecting to inaugurate it in mid-September," he said.

The state administration is trying to fix the date for holding the inauguration programme of the circuit bench on September 10 and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to inaugurate it, the IAS officer said.

The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya along with four other senior judges, state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak and state Tourism minister Goutam Deb had made an inspection of the preparations at the dak bungalow last week.

"They appeared to be quite satisfied with the infrastructure of the building," the officer said.

The senior judges would now submit a report on their inspection of the Jalpaiguri dak bungalow after which a full court decision would be taken.

The President would then make a formal notification for the setting up and inauguration of a circuit bench, the official said.

A petition was moved before the Calcutta High Court on July 26 questioning the propriety of the chief minister's announcement that its circuit bench at Jalpaiguri will be inaugurated on August 17.

The petitioner's lawyer had claimed before Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty that the chief minister of a state cannot make such an announcement on a decision which is to be taken by the high court itself.

It is for a full court meeting of judges of the high court to make a decision on setting up of a circuit bench, the petitioner's counsel Bikash Bhattacharya had submitted.

After a full court decision, the President makes a formal notification for the setting up and inauguration of a circuit bench, he had claimed before Justice Chakraborty.

Banerjee and the then Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Justice J N Patel had laid the foundation stone for the circuit bench in September 2012 on 40 acres of land provided by the state government.

The Jalpaiguri circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court is a long-standing demand of north Bengal residents.PTI



Jalpaiguri(WB), Aug 7: Tea garden workers in most of the gardens in north Bengal plains did not join work today as a Joint Forum of Tea Garden workers called a three-day strike demanding a hike in their minimum wages, convenor of the forum said.

The Joint Forum has given a call for the strike in 153 gardens of Dooars region and 48 gardens in Terai region from today after a tripartite meeting on raising the minimum wage falied to reach a consensus yesterday, forum convenor Ziaur Alam said.

Twenty-three labour unions of the 27 unions under the forum are supporting the strike, he said.

Twenty-seven gardens in Darjeeling, which are already hit by the shutdown in the Hills last year, have been kept outside the purview of the bandh, Alam said.

But no produce was dispatched from the gardens today, he said.

The workers did not report for work in most of the tea gardens in Jalpaiguri district such as Banarhat Tea Garden and Luksan Tea Garden, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh leader John Barla said.

However, work was on at Satali Tea garden and Beej Bagan Tea Garden in Alipurduar district where workers were to receive their wages today, Barla said.

But gate meetings were being held in those garden, he said.

The state government had announced at yesterday's meeting that the minimum daily wage would be hiked from Rs 159 to Rs 172 but it was rejected by the forum, Alam said.

The forum was demanding a minimum daily wage of Rs 249 besides payment for electricity, clothing and education of their children, he said.

The forum was also demanding a shift of the status of tea garden workers from 'agricultural labourer' to 'industrial labourer', he said.

After the meeting failed to arrive at a consensus last night, Joint Forum supporters had staged a dharna in front of the north Bengal state secretariat, where the meeting was held, he said. The dharna was lifted late last night.

Labour commissioner Javed Akhter was also present at the meeting.

A meeting will be held at Siliguri later in the day today to solve the impasse.
 (PTI)
Jalpaiguri(WB), Jun 26 : A Jharkhand Police team raided a house in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district and recovered Rs 35 lakh which was looted from staff of a private bank in Palamu district, a police officer said today.

Unidentified persons had looted Rs 54 lakh from staff of a private bank who were going to deposit the cash in an ATM in Jharkhand's Palamu district on June 15.

A Jharkhand Police team with the help of Jalpaiguri Police raided a house at Fatapukur area under Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district on Monday night and seized Rs 35 lakh of the looted Rs 54 lakh, the officer said.

Two persons who were staying the house fled before the police raided the house, the officer added. PTI  


Jalpaiguri(WB), Jun 26 : The BJP Yuva Morcha secretary of Jalpaiguri district and was arrested by police today for posting inflammatory articles in the social media, police said.

Local Trinamool Congress leader Bikash Basak had lodged a complaint against Sumit Chakraborty, who is also the party's IT cell in-charge of the district with the police alleging that he was posting inflammatory articles in the social media which may incite communal tension in the area.

Based on the complaint, the police today arrested Chakraborty, the inspector-in-charge of Kotwali police station B Roy Sarkar said.

The West Bengal government is working on a new law to tackle the menace of fake news and posts on social media, a move which comes against the backdrop of such posts stirring trouble and unrest in many parts of the country, officials said.

The state CID had in July last year arrested BJPs IT cell secretary Tarun Sengupta for allegedly posting fake images and videos on social media.   PTI


Jalpaiguri, Feb 17: A devastating fire reduced to ashes a 300-year-old Bhabani Pathak temple at Sikarpur in the district last night.
Since the temple is situated at a remote area, fire brigade personnel couldn't reach in time.
The temple was completely reduced to ashes before the arrival of fire tenders even as the locals tried their best to douse the flames.
State Tourism Minister Goutam Deb, District Magistrate Rachna Bhagat, DIG Rajesh Yadav viited the site.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. Locals said the fire might have been caused by the flame of the lamp.
The temple, situated in Bodaganj forest near Sikarpur at Belakoba, is in common parlance that during the British period the Sanyasis who were famous as “swadesi dacoit” in North Bengal had links with the zaminders of Baikunthopur. 
Bhabani Pathak was the leader of the Sanyasi Movement. It is also a hearsay that Devi Choudhurani took her lessons from Bhabani Pathak. Inspite of being a dacoit, Bhabani Pathak enjoyed a lot of following among the downtrodden of the society and was quite acceptable to them. UNI