Days after the West Bengal government banned hookah bars in the capital city of Kolkata citing the effects on public health, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Chairman Sabyasachi Dutta on Monday wrote to Bidhannagar Police Commissionarate seeking a ban on hookah parlours in the area citing "health hazards".

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Saturday announced the closure of a Hookah parlour in the city and revoked its licence, citing an adverse on the health of the youth.

Kolkata Feb 27 PTI Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has courted controversy by claiming that councillors are unaware of illegal construction in their respective wards while the KMCs Building Department and the police are supposed to have such information In a web programme on Saturday he also said that councillors are not involved in corruption and only some unscrupulous elements in Kolkata Municipal Corporations Building Department and the police may be involved in taking money for allowing illegal construction BJP alleged that Hakim was trying to shield councillors from graft charges by squarely putting the blame on his own corporation while CPIM said he was casting aspersions on his department and another headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself In response to a telephonic complaint by a resident of ward number 69 of KMC on Talk to Mayor programme over illegal construction Hakim said a councillor would not know which construction is legal and which is not in his ward and it is known by the Building Department and the police The Building Department will first know if a building is legal and can report to the police The councillor would not know which part of a building is legal and which is not as he does not possess the sanctioned building plan Hence in a bribery case the councillor cannot be implicated Hakim also the state Transport Minister and a close aide of Banerjee said To prove his point Hakim said that in his ward number 82 he doesnt know if any illegal construction is taking place He however assured the complainant that he will take up the issue of illegal construction in ward number 69 with authorities concerned and if the allegation is found to be true necessary action will be taken BJP and CPIM attacked the Kolkata mayor over his statement BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh alleged that Hakim is trying to shield the councillors from any graft charge while squarely putting the blame on the people of his own corporation Everyone is aware of the extortion racket and cut money culture in different wards of the city How come he pleads ignorance he said CPIM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that by making such a statement Hakim is casting aspersions on his own department and the one headed by the chief minister PTI SUS ACD ACD

Kolkata Jan 28 PTI The Kolkata Municipal Corporation KMC will be suspending disbursement of pension for a section of retired employees from next month primarily due to severe financial crisis According to a notification issued by the KMC the civic body has decided to withhold pension of those who have superannuated last September and thereafter Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim however said he was not aware of any such notification and no such measure was being taken Payments of pension and other benefits to the retired employees who have superannuated in September 2021 and after that are not being released currently due to crisis of funds the notification maintained Sources in the KMC said that the decision was taken as the civic bodys revenue generation has been badly hit owing to the COVID-19 pandemic We had to take this decision as KMCs revenue generation has been hit hard due to the pandemic We will review the situation soon and take a further call on the matter in some time a top official of the civic body said Mayor Firhad Hakim however said that he wasnt aware of any such notice and an investigation would be carried out to find out who put up the notice Those supposed to get pension are getting them Some are in the process of getting it might take some time It is being investigated who gave this notice We have a burden on us but that doesnt mean that pension will be stopped Hakim said Incidentally Hakim on the day of taking oath as the city mayor had admitted that the civic body has a debt burden of around Rs 600 crore PTI SCH RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 31 PTI With the number of fresh Covid-19 infections increasing Kolkata Municipal Corporation will mark out 17 containment zones in different parts of the city Mayor Firhad Hakim said FridayHakim told reporters with over 1000 people reporting Covid positive in the metropolis the civic body will also make Safe Homes set up during the first Coranavirus pandemic wave operational again for people who could not self-isolate themselves as they either lived alone with no care-giver or had too little living spaceHe said 80 per cent of the covid positive cases were asymptomatic 17 per cent had mild symptoms while 3 per cent need hospitalisation according to an analysis of date done by KMC and health expertsSpeaking of the criteria for setting up containment zones Hakim said in case at least five members of a family of a housing or in a house were infected their flat or house would be declared a micro-containment zoneThe entire structure will be sanitized and those infected by Covid will have to go through another test after five daysThese days Covid viral load may decline significantly for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic persons within a week In case the infected person is reported Covid negative he can resume normal life after a few days rest he added PTI SUS JRC JRC

Kolkata Dec 28 PTI Senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim took oath as the Mayor of Kolkata on Tuesday promising to provide better civic services and ensure the citys overall development Hakim was administered the oath of office by pro-tem chairman Ram Pyare Ram at a function at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation KMC headquarters on S N Banerjee Road My goal is to ensure that Kolkata becomes the best city I will work as its pradhan sevak main servant We promise to provide better civic services and ensure the overall development of the city he said after taking charge for the second term He is the 39th mayor of the 145-year-old KMC a position once graced by nationalist leaders like Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bidhan Chandra Ray who was later the chief minister of the state Hakim also transport and housing minister in the Mamata Banerjee government is the first Muslim Mayor of Kolkata since Independence He was first appointed the Mayor of Kolkata in December 2018 after Sovan Chatterjees abrupt exit He was appointed the civic bodys administrator after the earlier boards term expired in May 2020 but elections could not be held due to the pandemic Along with Hakim Atin Ghosh took oath as the deputy mayor and Mala Roy as the KMC chairperson The members of the mayor-in-council were also sworn-in Hakim said the KMC will soon develop a Show Your Mayor system through which any citizen of the city can take a video of any civic related issue like poor road conditions waterlogging and Whatsapp it to a helpline number for the problem to be addressed at the earliest The citizens can take pictures or videos and can Whatsapp it to the helpline number Those videos will come on the screens in my chamber The issues will be addressed at the earliest he said The KMC already has a mechanism - Talk to Mayor once a week where citizens can directly speak to the incumbent about civic issues On tackling the problem of environmental problems and worsening air quality he said steps will be taken to ensure more greenery and fogging systems in areas where there id high probability of air pollution He also said all taxation and building clearance services will go online TMC won the KMC elections by clinching 134 of the total 144 wards The BJP managed to win just three wards Congress and CPIM-led Left Front bagged two each Three Independents won too The TMC has been in power in the civic body since 2010 Hakim is the first Muslim Mayor of Kolkata since Independence PTI PNT KK KK KK

Kolkata Dec 27 PTI The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday announced that polls to four municipal corporations -- Siliguri Chandannagar Bidhannagar Asansol -- will be held on January 22 The commission left out Howrah Municipal Corporation amid the ongoing row between the Mamata Banerjee government and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar over a bill seeking its bifurcation Making the announcement at his office here State Election Commissioner Saurav Das said that nomination filing for the January 22 polls to be held from 7 am to 5 pm will commence on December 28 The last date for submitting nomination is January 3 The papers will be scrutinised the day after January 6 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawing the nominations Das told reporters Of the four Asansol is the largest municipal corporation with 106 seats followed by Siliguri with 47 Chandannagar with 33 and Bidhannagar with 41 wards he said Repoll if any will be held on January 24 the SEC said Counting of votes will be held on January 25 2022 The commission has adopted electoral rolls updated up to November 1 2021 Das said He also said that model code of conduct will be applicable in the poll-bound areas from Monday The governor on Sunday said that he had on November 24 sent back the bifurcation bill -- which seeks to carve out Bally Municipality out of Howrah Municipal Corporation -- to the state government with a number of queries for which clarifications have not been provided this far The SEC and the West Bengal government had earlier told the Calcutta High Court that plans were afoot to hold elections to five municipal corporations in the state on January 22 and the remaining civic bodies where polls are due on February 27 Elections to Kolkata Municipal Corporation were held on December 19 Meanwhile members of the opposition BJP the Left Front and the CPIM on Monday walked out of an all-party meet convened by the State Election Commission claiming that there was no commitment on holding Howrah Municipal Corporation HMC elections The TMC however claimed that the opposition leaders were present all throughout the meeting We walked out of the meeting for two reasons -- SEC gave a vague response when asked about HMC polls and our request for postponing the elections to four municipal corporations by a week was not entertained BJP MP Arjun Singh said Echoing him CPI M leader Rabin Deb said the Left Front members stormed out as there was no word on Howrah Municipal Corporation polls The SEC also did not pay attention to our demand for taking into consideration the voter list updated till January 2022 It wants to go by the list that was updated till November 1 2021 he said Senior TMC leader Tapas Roy said the opposition wanted to delay the polling process as they were afraid to face defeat They opposition leaders were all there during the meeting Dates for HMC polls could not be announced as the governor is holding up the bill and issuing misleading statements at BJPs behest he alleged Elections to Kolkata Municipal Corporation were held on December 19 The ruling TMC won the KMC elections clinching 134 of 144 seats in a ringing endorsement for the party seven months after its landslide win in the assembly polls The BJP which lost much of its steam after the assembly poll defeat managed to win just three wards The Congress and the CPI M-led Left Front bagged two wards each and Independents three PTI AMRSUS PNT RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 26 PTI The West Bengal BJP unit on Sunday identified organisational lacunae violence during the polls and resentment among a section of workers over ticket distribution as prime reasons behind the partys dismal performance in the Kolkata Municipal PollsThe ruling TMC won the 144-member KMC elections by clinching 134 seats in a ringing endorsement for the party seven months after its landslide win in the assembly pollsThe BJP which lost much of its steam after the assembly poll defeat managed to win just three wards The Congress and the CPIM-led Left Front bagged two wards each and Independents threeDuring the review meeting we identified a few reasons including rampant violence that was unleashed by the TMC the role of the State Election Commission which functioned as the branch office of the ruling party We also identified weak organisation in Kolkata as another prime reason a senior BJP office-bearer said on the condition of anonymity following an internal review meetingWhile elaborating on the reasons he said resentment among a section of party workers over ticket distribution also led to its poor performance in the pollsIt is impossible to satisfy everyone as everybody aspires to be a candidate In some areas this resentment has led to sabotage too where a few workers and local leaders became inactive both during campaigning and on the day of polls All these issues will be addressed the BJP leader saidThe TMC bagged nearly 7195 per cent of the votes polled whereas the Left Front and the BJP pocketed 1113 per cent and 894 per cent respectivelyBJP state president Sukanta Majumdar had last week claimed the Left Front coming up as second in terms of vote share is part of TMCs ploy to divide opposition votes PTI PNT RBT RBT

Kolkata Dec 24 PTI BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday asserted that his partys Kolkata civic poll debacle will not be repeated in the upcoming elections to 111 other municipal bodies as the saffron camp with all its might will counter attempts of rigging by members of the ruling TMC He stressed that the BJP has strong foundation in several districts of the state where it was sure to perform better unlike what it did in Kolkata KMC elections swept by the TMC were marked by large-scale rigging The TMC cannot repeat the experiment in municipal polls to be held in the districts as the BJP has a stronger base in many places The outcome in the districts will be different he claimed A senior BJP leader who did not wish to be named however stated that the party has a deep-rooted foundation in Kolkata too but it could not perform well in the face of threats and intimidation Making light of Ghoshs claims West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim who has also been named the mayor of Kolkata said that the saffron party will lose miserably everywhere in the state In the just-concluded Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections the TMC clinched 134 wards the BJP just three and the Congress and the CPIM two eachThree seats were bagged by Independent candidates PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 23 PTI West Bengal government and the State Election Commission SEC told Calcutta High Court on Thursday that there are plans to hold election to 111 municipal bodies where it is due by February in two phases The state and the SEC submitted before the division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj a plan to hold election to five municipal corporations on January 22 and to the rest of the municipalities on February 27 2022 The division bench had directed the state and the SEC to disclose a tentative time schedule for holding the poll to the 111 municipal bodies at the earliest in minimum number of phases The court during the day also took up petitions alleging violation of its directions during the December 19 Kolkata Municipal Corporation poll Opposing petitions by a CPIM candidate and two others alleging irregularities in the KMC elections and violation of the courts directions to hold peaceful free and fair polls state Advocate General S N Mookherjee submitted that the poll was peaceful barring some stray incidents He said such allegations can only be brought before the court through an election petition and not a writ petition FIRs had been registered in case of violence on December 19 and that alleged troublemakers had been arrested he said The State Election Commission counsel submitted that it had complied with the courts directions and steps for building peoples confidence including route march and police patrolling were held Drones were also used for surveillance The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on January 6 The HC had turned down a prayer by the state BJP seeking deployment of central forces for the KMC poll after assurances by the SEC the state police and Kolkata Police of all arrangements for holding peaceful free and fair election The court had left it to SEC to take a call on deployment of central armed police force if required PTI AMR KK KK KK