Even as 1.25 lakh people have been affected by floods in the northern districts of the State, the Army has been called out for rescue operations in the affected areas.

According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau, Army personnel were able to restore connectivity to Khairkatta village near Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Friday morning by constructing a 90-foot-long Bailey bridge across Kucchi Diana River.

Pointing out that fiscal deficit was a cause of concern, C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said on Friday that action on reducing fuel and fertilizer subsidies would be taken “as early as possible.”

“I would not like to put a time frame, I can only say that action will be needed and therefore will be taken as early as possible,” he told journalists on the sidelines of an event organised at the Indian Statistical Institute here to mark the birth anniversary of its founder, P.C. Mahalanobis.

The West Bengal government will have to “introspect” to find out the reasons why it lost the case challenging the constitutional validity of the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 to Tata Motors, the West Bengal Congress, a constituent of the Trinamool Congress-led state government said here on Sunday.

“The State government will have to introspect on why it lost the case,” West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Pradip Bhattacharya told journalists.

On a day the Trinamool Congress celebrated the first anniversary of the announcement of the 2011 Assembly polls results, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said here

Stating that the proposed Food Security Bill is “inadequate,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said on Sunday that the Left parties will stage an agitation pressing for the inclusion of everyone, irrespective of whether they are classified as below or above the poverty line.

“Every family should be entitled to 35 kg of foodgrains at the rate of Rs. 2 per kg. Only the rich should be exempted from this privilege,” he said, adding that at least 80 per cent of the people must be covered under the public distribution system.

Authorities of the Buxa Tiger Reserve are formulating plans for a major overhaul of the tourist facilities at the reserve.

With five more babies dying at the State-run Malda Medical College and Hospital on Monday, the number of children died in the facility over the past week has reached 32.

West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan told journalists here that the State government was deeply concerned about the deaths and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was personally looking into the issue.

For inhabitants of the Sundarban islands, the fear of crocodiles lurking in the estuaries is second only to that of tigers.

The frequency of incidents of farmers committing suicides is “unimaginable” in West Bengal, State Left Front chairman Biman Bose said here on Friday.

Officials of West Bengal's Forest Department fear that there may be a massive decline in the number of migratory birds coming to the Santragachi Lake in Howrah district this winter.

“The preliminary estimates suggest that between 5,000 and 5,500 birds have come to the lake this season. However, the actual numbers can be determined only after a survey,” Divisional Forest Officer of Howrah Gautam Chakraborty told The Hindu on Wednesday.