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Time of India
a day ago
- Climate
- Time of India
July's 6th low-pressure system likely, brace for more rain from today, says Met office
Kolkata: A weather system brewing over the Bay of Bengal is expected to bring heavy rain to the city and other parts of south Bengal beginning Wednesday. The sixth low-pressure system this July is likely to develop in the Bay of Bengal to trigger more rain. While Wednesday's rain spells are likely to be light, the Met office issued warnings for intense rain spells from Thursday onwards. On Tuesday, Kolkata received only traces of rain. The mercury went up, with the maximum temperature touching 33.2°C, 1.2°C above normal. The minimum, at 27.4°C, was 0.9 notches above normal. According to a special IMD bulletin, a cyclonic circulation is likely to emerge over the north Bay of Bengal by Wednesday. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region between Thursday and Friday. "Due to the anticipated low-pressure area over the north Bay of Bengal and strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal, rainfall activity is likely to increase with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall very likely over districts of south Bengal during July 24 to 28," the bulletin said. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Met scientist H R Biswas, head of the weather forecast section at Regional Meteorological Centre, said this low-pressure system is likely to form between the latter half of Thursday and the early part of Friday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "We can be more specific on which districts will get heavy or very heavy rain once the system forms. But there will be enhanced rainfall activity from Thursday. Kolkata is likely to get some intense spells during this period," Biswas said. Met officials said that rainfall activity is likely to continue for two to three days as it happens whenever there is a low-pressure system during the monsoon. This July, five low-pressure systems have already enhanced the monsoon rain kitty in the city, which is now above normal. "From beginning of June to July 22, Kolkata's normal rain account should have been 552 mm. But we recorded 611.9 mm of rainfall. The count is expected to go up by the end of this week," Biswas added. Kolkata received rain on most days of July, with significant rain on at least five days, including 87.5 mm on July 8 — the single-day highest rain this monsoon — and 84 mm last Saturday. South Bengal received 586 mm of rainfall till Tuesday against a normal rain count of 491 mm.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Crackdown on Bangladeshis: Hindu refugees feel the heat without docus, CAA still a mirage
Nagpur: With many states, including Maharashtra launching a crackdown on infiltrators from Bangladesh, the Bengali-speaking Hindus who fled the restive country to escape religious persecution are feeling the heat. "We were part of the exodus from erstwhile East Pakistan. Then there was another surge of refugees even after Bangladesh was formed, many of whom were settled in the forested areas of Gadchiroli. We Hindus escaped the communal cauldron to find refuge in India, and now we are being hounded again by police. We feel helpless when asked to prove our credentials in the ongoing drive against illegal Bangladeshis," said Subodh Biswas, national president of Nikhil Bharat Bangali Samanbay Samiti — a nationwide guild of Hindus from erstwhile East Pakistan. With many tossed in detention camps across states, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file an affidavit, explaining the rationale behind the action. Most importantly, despite being Hindus, they cannot become Indian nationals through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) due to lack of documents, say Samiti leaders. The law opened doors to minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to become Indian citizens, but majority Hindus who fled Bangladesh under trying circumstances in the dead of night failed to carry documents with them. Biswas, who is based in Nagpur, told TOI that Bengali-speaking Hindus are now in a spot. "Maharashtra police are demanding documents to prove our nationality, which not many can produce," he said, adding hundreds of Hindus continued to stream into India even after Bangladesh was formed and most of them joined their community members in refugee camps and settlement zones in Gadchiroli. "They could have simply applied under CAA, but documents that need to be submitted include credentials from Bangladesh, which most Hindus don't have. They fled the country under compelling conditions and often to escape death. Who will help them retrieve the papers now," asked Biswas. This makes them vulnerable to police raids. There have been arrests in Maharashtra too. Two migrant workers were arrested in Akola and continue to remain in custody. There was another arrest in Nashik — the person was in India for 50 years, he says. Biswas said the Samiti has demanded that CAA conditions be relaxed for refugees. He also shared a letter issued by the police in Kanker district in Chhattisgarh, appealing to local villagers to share information on Bangladeshi infiltrators. Like Gadchiroli, settlement camps were also established in Chhattisgarh after the 1971 war. Manoj Mandal, the Samiti representative at Pakhanjur town of Chhattisgarh, said the state has also issued a toll-free number for locals to report on the whereabouts of Bengali-speaking people. This has created troubles for many Hindus. At times even personal scores are being settled. In Odisha, where detention camps were set up, said Nimai Sarkar, a former MP and now the state president of the Samiti. "Hindus fled for their lives and did not carry anything. How can they be expected to submit documents if they apply under CAA," he asked. A CAA applicant can put up any document like a birth certificate from Bangladesh, a passport, or even a paper that proves the applicant's grandparents were citizens of that country, said a source handling the cases.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Why even moderate rainfall leads to flooding in Gurgaon
The Delhi Master Plan of 1962 saw Gurgaon (Gurugram) as a place of modest urban growth, primarily because the area has no groundwater resources. In 1980, with Maruti setting up its factory in Manesar, Gurgaon emerged as an industrial hub. A decade later, with liberalisation and the promise of rapid economic growth and infrastructural development, the mythical village mentioned in the Mahabharata became India's Millennium City, a model for 21st century urbanisation in India — and everything that is wrong with it. Every monsoon, Gurgaon witnesses extreme flooding: hours-long traffic jams, cars floating in the deluge, and people being electrocuted are common occurrences. All this happens even though Gurgaon receives only about 600 mm of rain on average every year. In comparison, Kochi receives well over 3,000 mm of rain annually without going under every monsoon. What makes Gurgaon, home to nearly 2 million people and boasting the third highest per capita income among cities in India, this vulnerable to monsoon flooding? The Aravalli ridge, on the southern edge of Gurgaon, is the natural high ground for the city. From there, the land slopes down towards the north, which is at a lower altitude. Rainwater in Gurgaon thus flows mainly from the south to the north, towards the Najafgarh Jheel in West Delhi. Maps from the 1920s show a large number of water channels in Delhi-NCR. The ones in Gurgaon ran along an east-west axis. 'Before MG Road and Sector 56 came up, there were water channels that ran parallel to the Aravalli ridge,' architect-urban designer Suptendu Biswas told The Indian Express. These were natural drainage channels, which carried runoff towards what is now the western edge of Gurgaon, from where water would travel further north. But these channels have all but disappeared, and subsequent urban expansion has not kept the city's topographic reality in mind. Today, Google Earth images show arterial roads like the Golf Course Road run on a north-south axis — this makes them ideal routes for surface runoff, especially given that drains are non-existent or poorly planned. 'Topography was not only ignored but also abused,' Biswas said. One reason why urban expansion in Gurgaon has not kept up with topographic realities is the piecemeal nature of city planning. This is borne out of the city's unique land acquisition model which is central to Gurgaon's growth story. From the 1970s onwards, the Haryana government introduced a series of laws, which enabled private firms to acquire land on a large scale to develop townships. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) was created in 1977 to streamline the process. Having developed neighbourhoods such as South Extension and Kailash Colony in Delhi, Delhi Land and Finance (DLF) alone acquired 52 villages in the initial years from farmers. As other players came along, land acquisition was not carried out in a uniform manner. This led to irregular plots, and roads that led to nowhere. 'Allocative decisions form the very core of conventional urban planning, which was missing in Gurgaon's story from the beginning,' Biswas wrote in Gurgaon to Gurugram: A short biography (2021). The 'plug-and-play' mode of urban expansion meant that roads were not built with proper gradients, nor was there any big picture thinking behind basic planning decisions for the city. In Gurgaon, mustard fields have long made way for highways and highrises. A region which once had 60 natural canals, critical to absorb its excess rainwater, barely has four today. But as concrete, impervious to percolation, has covered Gurgaon, civic authorities have failed to build a robust drainage system to deal with the problem. Concrete drains only add to the flooding due to their inability to absorb water. According to Biswas, India's engineering codes have no reference beside steel and concrete — earth is simply not something that planners consider while building a city. Biswas offered three 'common sense' solutions to address flooding in Gurgaon.
Hindustan Times
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Mohammedan Sporting's secret weapon for the Durand Cup 2025? Dipendu Biswas drops the answer
Durand Cup 2025 will kick off on 23 July, with East Bengal FC facing South United FC at Kolkata's Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Dipendu Biswas emphasized the importance of youth development and grassroots football for the future of Indian football.(File Images) The three prestigious trophies, the Durand Cup, the Shimla Trophy, and the President Cup, were unveiled at a befitting ceremony in Shillong by dignitaries, including Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and Air Marshal Surat Singh. The oldest football tournament in Asia and now the official curtain-raiser of the Indian football season, the Durand Cup has grown into a major platform for young talent and early-season team assessments. ALSO READ| Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan edge past Punjab FC in thriller, seal semi-final berth Thus, in this football-wired mood, former India striker and Mohammedan Sporting Club official Dipendu Biswas stressed the tournament's changing responsibility in an exclusive interview with Hindustan 'The Durand Cup is the first major national tournament of the season and one of the country's most traditional tournaments,' said Biswas. 'The country's ISL and I-League teams participate in this tournament. This is a great opportunity for all teams to assess their players. It also gives young players a platform to showcase their talent in competitive football and helps coaches refine the squad accordingly.' Mohammedan Sporting gears up with youth brigade for 2025 Durand Cup This year, 24 teams across ISL, I-League, and the armed forces will battle it out, with Imphal debuting as a new host city alongside returning venues Shillong and Jamshedpur. 'Both Shillong and Kokrajhar have a rich culture of football. Shillong is the home of Lajong. People there will have a new obsession with football,' Biswas told 'With the Durand Cup being held in these three places this year, I think the promotion of football in the Northeast will increase. It's a positive development.' While talking with usm, Biswas recalled his most cherished Durand Cup moment: 'When I was at TFA, I scored a goal against Mohun Bagan in the semi-final during the 1996–1997 season.' 'As the team manager of Mohammedan Sporting Club, it was tough losing both the semi-final and final of the Durand Cup.' ALSO READ| Ignominious exit but Horner gave this F1 team wings On his team's readiness for the 2025 edition, he added, 'Our team is almost ready. This year, we have included a few young players in our squad for the Durand Cup.' 'Support the team, stay with the team, and we have a lot of young talented players who have the ability to play well in the Calcutta League, Durand and ISL. Support them. Hope you will not be disappointed.'
India Gazette
04-07-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
MBSG is not just a club; this is our mother club: Dippendu Biswas
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 4 (ANI): Mohun Bagan Super Giant's (MBSG) Dippendu Biswas is living the dream that every young footballer aspires to, representing their favourite club at the highest level. But it's his hard work and dedication to the sport that have helped him turn that dream into reality. The 22-year-old from West Bengal had always imagined himself wearing the iconic Green and Maroon on the big stage, and now, he's doing just that. His raw talent was apparent early on, but he had to refine his professionalism to meet the demands of the Indian Super League (ISL). Biswas made his debut in the 2023-24 ISL season, featuring in five matches as Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured their first-ever ISL Shield. He built on that promise in the following campaign, making 14 appearances, contributing to five clean sheets, scoring once, and providing two assists. Versatile and composed, he slotted in both at centre-back and right-back, playing a key part in the club's march to the ISL double. 'It felt amazing to become champions with MBSG. It is truly one of the best clubs in India, and the fanbase is absolutely crazy. I'm genuinely grateful to be a part of this club,' Biswas shared in a conversation with MBSG TV. The defender shared how he went from the reserves to earning a place in the MBSG first team and later getting called up to the Indian U-23 squad for two exposure friendlies in June. Biswas said it was his determination that helped him reach this stage. 'I played in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) and then got into the MBSG reserves team. I always had this strong determination that I have to play better and get a chance in the Indian team. That motivation kept me going. When I joined the team for the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL), the coaches told me, 'If you perform well here, you'll get a chance to move up to the senior team.' And that's exactly what happened,' he added. Biswas has been a Mariner ever since and has completed the epic full circle, from being a fan to becoming a player for the club. He recalled going to the stadium with his friends and cheering for the team, never imagining he would one day wear the same jersey on the pitch. 'As a fan, I had watched many matches at the Mohun Bagan ground. I used to support the club and felt great when they won. I would watch the fans cheering loudly and now, I'm playing for the very club I once supported. It feels amazing. I never imagined I'd make it to the MBSG senior team. It's a matter of pride for me,' he shared. This season was even more special for him, as he got to celebrate the ISL Cup with his parents on the pitch, something which remained unfulfilled in the 2023-24 campaign when they lost the final to Mumbai City FC. 'Having my parents beside me in the final made it extra special. Last time they came, we lost the final. But this time, we did it and it felt really good,' Biswas spoke with pride. Biswas has enjoyed a successful start to his senior career, but he believes there's always more to strive for, as one should never settle for what has already been achieved. His next goal would be to keep pushing himself and unlock his full potential. 'It's important to honour the jersey we wear and give our all to help the team become champions (again). This is not just a club; this is our mother club. You must've heard it from the fans, and the same goes for me,' he commented. (ANI)
