Kolkata civic body to water trees on holidays
With extreme heat conditions in the city for several days, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has revised its schedule for watering trees. The civic body will be watering all the trees on median dividers and green verges along pavements every day till the end of the month, including the holidays. Earlier, the trees were not watered on holidays. An IMD forecast on April 28 stated that eastern India, including most parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Odisha could experience two to six extra heatwave days in May. The decision to water trees every day in May could be useful if the forecast of IMD turns into reality. The civic body has 12 tankers.
State aims for 3,55,000 EVs by end of 2030
A comprehensive electric mobility plan project in the Kolkata metropolitan area, which includes Kolkata, Howrah and Bidhannagar will have around 3,55,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2030, according to a report. The EVs will comprise 312,065 two-wheelers, 6,258 three-wheelers, 23,108 private four-wheelers, and 23,108 commercial four-wheelers, according to the report by Niti Aayog and the Asian Development Bank. The Central Government aims for 30 per cent sale of new vehicles by 2030.
Digital platform for Sri Ramakrishna teachings
The Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission launched a digital platform offering free access to the lives and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and related literature in English and major Indian languages. The reason behind the launching of the digital platform is the growing prominence of the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda has resulted in the spread of fabricated stories about them, said a senior monk of the organisation. The platform—http://publications.rkmm.org—offers a curated collection of materials associated with the trio and the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Senior monks said social media had given a boost to the spread of inaccurate information about Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Vivekananda.
Pranab mondal
Our correspondent in West Bengal
pranabm@newindianexpress.com