Fruits to beat the heat
Lok Sabha candidates in the fray are sweating it out in Bengal. They admit that the rising mercury level is making campaigning difficult. Candidates are changing their diet and lifestyle to beat the April heat. Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee, who is contesting from Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency, prefers spicy dishes. But he has had to change his food habit. His wife, Chitralekha, is overseeing his diet since Abhijit launched his campaign.
Candidates contesting from Lok Sabha seats in Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore districts, Bengal’s drought-affected zone, have been going through a tough time. Birbaha Hansda, a Santhali film actress contesting from Jhargram seat as a Jharkhand Party candidate, said fruits are her main weapon to keep cool. “I keep watermelon and other fruits in my car so that I don’t get dehydrated,’’ she said.
30-hour search for rare blood group
A parents’ 30-hour search to get a single unit of blood of Bombay group to save their newborn baby’s life ended on Tuesday night after a member of an NGO came forward and gave them the name of a person with the same blood group. Bombay blood group is a rare blood type. Mohammad Safikul admitted his infant son to Nil Ratan Sirkar Medical College and doctors asked him to collect one unit of blood. Since the particular blood group is rare, Safikul and his wife visited all blood banks across Kolkata but their efforts drew a blank. They appealed on Facebook and response came from Dipankar Mitra, who put them in touch with Mridul Dalui, who gave blood.
RKM College among the top 10
A college run by the Ramakrishna Mission in Belur near Kolkata found a place among the 10 best in India, according to a list prepared by the Human Resource Development ministry. The 76-year-old college ranked ninth among top 10. It has been an autonomous institution since 2010. No other college from Bengal made it to the top 10. The announcement brought joy to the college which participated in the exercise for the first time. The college authorities have taken a number of initiatives to achieve academic excellence ever since it was granted autonomy.
Rs 22 lakh seized in an overnight vigil
Rs 22 lakh was recovered in an overnight vigil. Kolkata Police spotted two vehicles speeding away along the VIP Road that connects the city with the airport. Both the vehicles were intercepted. One driver, however, managed to escape. Police searched the vehicles and found two bags stashed with cash. Sheikh Selim, another driver, was arrested and during interrogation, he said that the money was being transported to his employer’s factory. Police pursued the information and found it was false. The police are probing if the money was meant to be used in the Lok Sabha elections.