Kolkata Diary: BJP Bengal to invite Amit Shah for Diwali 

BJP Bengal to invite Amit Shah for Diwali 
BJP Bengal chapter is desperate to invite Union Home minister Amit Shah to the state during Diwali or Kali Puja this month. Having missed a political opportunity during Durga Puja, the state’s saffron camp is now working hard to bring Shah to Bengal during Diwali. Earlier, ahead of the Bengal’s biggest festival, the state chapter of the saffron camp failed to send a proposed schedule for Shah. A section of party leaders then mounted pressure on the state functionaries to bring Shah for the upcoming Diwali festival. But sources in the BJP said chances of Shah’s Bengal visit in Diwali are unlikely. 

Ensure green and noiseless Diwali: HC 
A division bench of Calcutta High Court directed the police and state pollution control board along with union government organisations - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) - to jointly monitor to ensure only green fireworks are burst during the upcoming Diwali festival. The bench asked the pollution control board and the state to submit a report and fixed the next hearing date after the Court’s Puja vacation ends. The directive was issued in response to a PIL moved by Sabuj Mancha, an environment platform, in 2021. 

Jadavpur alumni in US to raise funds for labs 
A group of former students of Jadavpur University (JU) in the US, who have been raising funds for the maintenance of the university’s laboratories, used the occasion of Durga Puja being held in the Bay Area in California to disseminate the message about the Global Jadavpur University Alumni Foundation (GJUAF). The foundation works as a platform to raise resources for the university. The foundation is aiming to raise 100,000 USD by November to support their alma matter which is facing acute fund crunch. Recently, JU’s V-C Suranjan Das had said the institute needs funds to overhaul its infrastructure.

Pranab mondal 
Our correspondent in West Bengal
pranabm@newindianexpress.com