Be prepared for rains during Durga Puja
The Kolkata Police has advised Durga Puja organisers to be prepared to fight rain during the festival because of delayed monsoon in Bengal. The police advised organisers to store excess sand for emergency. The organisers have also been told to make exit gates wider than the entry to prevent a stampede-like situation. At a meeting, the police reminded the puja committees that in 1999, a Durga Puja pandal was forced to shut down because of waterlogging.
ICSE schools face syllabi issue
All ICSE schools in Bengal will be asked to clarify whether their syllabi for Class I to Class VIII conform to that of the National Education Council, a school education department official said. The notification will be issued to the state’s 412-odd ICSE schools shortly. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, last month, had asked the ICSE council to revoke its syllabi for classes I to VIII and switch to the curriculum prepared by the national or state education council that is thought to be less taxing for students. The child rights agency had asked all state governments to take necessary steps in this regard. The NCPCR order had said the ICSE council syllabi was not endorsed by the NCERT or SCERT.
A talking robot
A talking robot will answer children’s queries at the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum in Kolkata. The latest exhibit inaugurated three days ago is aimed at generating an interest in science among pre-primary and primary students by making it interactive. The robot has been designed as a “virtual teacher”. “Children have now many attractions like malls and multiplexes and we need to think of ways to get them interested in science. If we catch them young and light a spark in them, it can be nurtured,’’ said an official of the museum. The talking robot works on the principle of speech processing, cloud computing and image processing technology.
Lifeline for artists
A collaboration between Unesco and the state government has helped thousands of artisans in Kolkata and other parts in the state and prevented their migration to the state capital, said a government official. Many of these villages are now getting a steady flow of tourists who want to see the artisans at work and buy their products. The collaboration in 2016 covered 3,000 artisans and now around 26,000 artisans will benefit.
Pranab Mondal
Our correspondent in West Bengal
pranabm@newindianexpress.com