Belur Math to remain closed
Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, will remain shut till a decision is taken to reopen the place in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Senior monks met on Saturday and decided to keep the gates closed to devotees for now. Several senior monks said the steady rise in the number of Covid-19 patients in and around Belur had forced authorities to decide on the shutdown. Seven monks at the Math and five employees recently tested positive for Covid-19. All the infected persons were quarantined at the healthcare center run by the Math. The process of contact tracing has been initiated and restrictions have been imposed on residents.
IIEST Shibpur to conduct net connectivity survey
The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, will carry out a survey to find out if its students have net connectivity issues that could trigger a problem to attend online classes. The institute’s Senate decided to start autumn semester online classes from August 24 and resolved to undertake the study. The university has worked out varied models which will be applied according to extent of the problem, said an official of the institute. A member of the Senate said the institute had created a central repository to supplement the online teaching-learning process. The repository has a section where course materials, including lecture notes, resources and assignments, will be uploaded by members of the faculty.
Airlines want SOP on foreign arrivals
Airlines want the West Bengal government to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure passengers arriving on evacuation flights from abroad go to a paid quarantine facility after landing in Kolkata. Airlines operators said such a procedure could lead to the restoration of evacuation flights to the state capital. The airline operators’ committee at Kolkata airport said they would write to the state government this week. The committee will also communicate to the government that airlines are ready to take the responsibility that passengers boarding flights at an international airport have booked a paid quarantine facility in Kolkata.
West Bengal JEE results on Friday
The results of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination will be published on August 7, education minister Partha Chatterjee said. About 88,000 students had appeared for the exams for admissions to engineering colleges on February 2. The JEE board has advanced exams by two months so that colleges had more time to fill their seats. The board is likely to announce on Monday the sites where the results can be tracked. The schedule for online counselling is likely to be announced on the day of the result. The counselling session may be conducted in September.
Pranab mondal
Our correspondent in West Bengal pranabm@newindianexpress.com