Weather in Kolkata: Kolkata, Howarh and Hooghly are likely to experience light rain and gusty winds on Monday and Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). In Kolkata, the sky is likely to remain cloudy with possibility of thunderstorms and lightning. The weather agency has also warned of rainfall in Murshidabad, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Birbhum, and other districts of West Bengal.
Emailed Bomb Threat To WB Courts Sparks Panic, Spoils Proceedings
The email was sent to the top judges at the City Sessions Court in Kolkata, two district courts at Asansol and Durgapur in Burdwan West, Chinsurah and Arambagh Courts in Hooghly and Murshidabad district court at around 11 am.
EC Asks WB Govt To Cancel Transfer Of 3 IAS Officers, Posted On SIR Job
The three bureaucrats were deputed by the EC as the electoral roll observers in various districts to supervise the SIR. While Asvini Kumar Yadav was responsible for North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur, Randhir Kumar was assigned for North 24 Parganas and Kolkata North and Smita Pandey for Burdwan East, Burdwan West and Birbhum.
Shopowner shot on way to mosque in West Burdwan
Nurses with Nipah infection shifted to Kolkata hospital, condition remains critical
One was brought to the hospital on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) night, while the other, a house staff member, was shifted from Burdwan Medical College and Hospital early Wednesday (January 14, 2026), a health department official said
In Burdwan, Yunuss in-laws have only one dua: Indo-Bangla ties must heal
At Lashkardighi a small town in Bengal thats home to Md Yunuss in-laws residents anxiously follow developments in Dhaka and Delhi amid strain in India-Bangladesh ties. Proud memories of his post-Nobel visit linger, but any mention of politics brings silence.
BLO dies by suicide due to work pressure in WB, CM Mamata Banerjee demands ECI to halt SIR exercise
KOLKATA: A Booth Level Officer (BLO), Shanti Muni Ekka, a resident of Rangamati panchayat, died by suicide on Wednesday in West Bengal, allegedly due to tremendous work pressure in connection with the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State. Hours after the BLOs death, the CM Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that precious lives are lost due to work pressure and stress generated by the SIR process. She urged the Commission to immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost. This incident comes hardly 10 days after a BLO in East Burdwan on 9 November died of a cerebral attack allegedly triggered by relentless work pressure during the ongoing electoral roll revision drive. Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri Smt Shanti Muni Ekka, a tribal lady, an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 19, 2025 The deceased, identified as Namita Hansda, was an Anganwadi worker and had been assigned as the BLO for Booth No. 278 in Chak Balarampur, Memari. Shanti Muni Ekka was engaged as a BLO in the rural belt, committed suicide by hanging in a tree close to her residence, according to police. Her body has been sent to the police morgue for postmortem examination. Family members of the deceased alleged that she could not bear the work pressure because of rigorous duty-related distributions and collections of enumeration forms during door-to-door visits to voters. She was suffering from depression as the SIR duty became unbearable to her, they alleged. Mamata slammed the national poll body on her X handle post this afternoon, saying, Today, once again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri Smt Shanti Muni Ekka, a tribal lady, an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload. Precious lives are being lost due to the unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the so-called Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took three years is now being forced into two months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost, she added. The state OBC minister, Buluchik Baraik, visited the bereaved family members of the deceased BLO.
