Kolkata Diary

Durga Puja to be back on ‘shaky’ ground
The Mohammad Ali Park Durga Puja will be held inside the park this year after a three-year break. Preparations for setting up the pandal have already begun. The Puja was shifted out of the park in 2019 after an inspection by engineers showed that an underground reservoir on which the park rests is in poor condition, and there was a danger of the ground caving in. However, the reservoir has not been repaired yet. A puja committee member said the event would be held on the part of the ground that does not have the reservoir underneath. Engineers of Kolkata Municipal Corporation said a portion of the ground does not lie on the reservoir but it is not clear if the pandal is being erected there.

Clinics to diagnose dengue, Covid early
Fever clinics will start functioning in all three action areas of New Town from Saturday, an official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority, which will run the camps, said. The clinics will treat patients with Covid and dengue symptoms as well as collect data to track cluster outbreaks. Dengue cases have been on the rise in Salt Lake and New Town. Over 65 cases have been reported from New Town, Rajarhat and Salt Lake in the past one week. Health officials said many people are treating all fever cases as Covid, but it is important to diagnose and start treating dengue patients in the initial stages to prevent fatalities and complications in the long run.

JEE counselling comes 2 months after results 
The West Bengal JEE board has come up with a notification for admission to B.Tech courses almost two months after the publication of the results. The notification says there will be two unconnected phases of counselling. One will be for WBJEE-2022 rank holders, while the other will be for the WBJEE-2022 rank holders for admission to architecture courses as well as JEE (Main) rank holders for seats reserved in private engineering colleges. According to rules, an architecture aspirant has to clear the Bengal JEE and the National Aptitude Test in Architecture. Timetable will be released soon, the notification said.

Pranab Mondal
Our correspondent in West Bengal

pranabm@newindianexpress.com