SBI ‘severs’ last ties with city
Tracing its origin to the Bank of Bengal which was incorporated with Banks of Madras and Bombay presidencies in 1921 before taking its present form in 1955, the State Bank of India ‘severed’ its last ties with the city of birth. The country’s largest lender will be holding its annual board meeting in Mumbai this year. While its corporate headquarters was shifted to the financial capital in 1970s, the nationalised bank used to hold its annual board meeting in Kolkata. The bank has stated no particular reason for the decision.
Second East-West Metro rake to reach city
Eleven days after the entry of the first East-West Metro rake from Bengaluru, the second rake has covered most of the journey from the southern city and is expected to enter Kolkata by Tuesday evening. Unlike the first rake that was stopped near Kharagpur and then again had problems in navigating the city traffic, the journey of the second rake has been largely uneventful.
The two rakes will now be tested simultaneously in opposite directions on the completed section of the second Metro phase of the city. Three remaining rakes required for starting the services will reach the city by July end or mid-August.
Non-veg sales nosedive in eateries
With the recovery of over 20,000 kg rotten meat that were allegedly supplied to restaurants, eateries throughout the city witnessed a sharp dip in sales over the past one week. The rotten meat episode has terrorised city residents to such an extent that it has become a topic of discussion among strangers on public transport. Ten people have been arrested in the case, and the investigation has found links of the racket to Nepal and Bangladesh.
Cab driver dozes off, crashes into bus stop
An cab driver was arrested after he dozed off and dashed his four-wheeler into a bus stop on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. Pradip Chandra Dey had been driving almost continuously for more than 36 hours. Dey used to drive for online cab aggregators. Several incidents have recently been reported throughout the city where cab drivers fell asleep behind the wheels due to the punishing schedule. A student was killed and four others injured in February after a driver crashed into a divider after dozing off behind the wheels.
Aishik Chanda
Our correspondent in West Bengal chanda.aishik
@gmail.com