MeT office issues fog alert across Bengal as minimum temperature drops

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Kolkata, Dec 21 (IANS) As the temperature dropped to around 14 degrees Celsius in and around Kolkata, the Meteorological (MeT) office on Sunday issued a fog alert across West Bengal, especially in the south districts, for the next 24 hours.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata’s Alipore said that there is a possibility of light to moderate fog in all the districts of North and South Bengal on Sunday and also on Monday morning. Due to the fog, visibility may drop from 999 to 200 metres. The fog will decrease from Monday afternoon onwards.

“The condition is favourable for dense fog across the state, especially in the districts of South Bengal. Once the fog clears, the temperature will rise slightly. However, there will again be a dip in the temperature once the weather clears,” said a MeT Department official.

It may be noted that due to dense fog, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter could not land in Nadia district’s Taherpur area on Saturday, where he was scheduled to hold a public meeting. Later, he addressed the crowd virtually from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

Meanwhile, Kolkata’s minimum temperature also plummeted to 14.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, making it the coldest day of the winter season so far. Along with this, Kolkata and several districts of South Bengal were covered in fog in the morning.

Till mid-December, there was no sign of a proper winter chill in and around Kolkata. The city’s minimum temperature fluctuated around 15-16 degrees Celsius. However, the situation changed on Saturday. Residents felt the chill of the cold north-easterly winds throughout the day. However, the meteorologist said that there will not be a sudden drop in temperature. Rather, the temperature will rise slightly as the fog clears. The temperature may drop again around Christmas. After that, the mercury will gradually begin to fall for some time.

On Saturday, the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 16.2 degrees Celsius. Compared to that, the temperature dropped by almost 2 degrees on Sunday morning. Temperatures have also dropped in other districts of the state. On Sunday morning, the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 14.4 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees below normal. On Saturday, the maximum temperature in Kolkata was 20.7 degrees Celsius, 5.4 degrees below normal.

–IANS

sch/dpb

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According to police, Altaf, who was arrested in connection with molesting the girl inside a car, extorted a lot of money from the victim. He allegedly threatened her to prevent her from going to the police.

After the molestation incident last Friday night, the police on Sunday arrested Altaf from his house in the Garden Reach police station area. However, one of Altaf’s friends is also involved in the incident, along with the driver of the car. Efforts are being made to find out the role of both of them in the whole incident. The police have launched a search for them.

The incident took place on Friday night on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. It is alleged that Altaf and his friends took the young woman into a car. They forced her to drink alcohol spiked with drugs. As she became intoxicated, she was molested and threatened. She was verbally and physically abused inside the moving car.

Later, the car dropped her off in the Maidan area and drove away. The young woman was rescued by police and taken to SSKM Hospital. She is still undergoing treatment there.

A senior police officer said on Monday that after interrogating Altaf, they came to know that the young woman had met him three months ago through a friend. At that time, the young woman needed several lakhs of rupees, and Altaf learnt about it.

“It is at that time Altaf introduced himself as a loan agent of a company. As a result, Altaf convinced the young woman to help her get a loan at a very low interest rate. For this, the accused demanded some money in advance,” said the police officer.

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“When Altaf did not pay back the money, the girl told him that she would file a complaint with the police. Following this, he got scared and hatched a plan to intimidate her and threatened her not to go to the police,” said the police officer.

On Friday, Altaf called her and said that he would return a part of the money, and they would discuss the matter. He asked the girl to wait at the EM Bypass. “Altaf came in a car and picked the woman up. He first threatened her inside the car, then drugged her and molested her. They dropped her in the Maidan area. Altaf was arrested on charges of kidnapping and molesting the woman,” added the police officer.

He was produced before the Alipore court on Sunday. The judge ordered him to police custody till December 8. The police said that they are trying to get more information by interrogating him.

–IANS

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She announced that the state will issue special guidelines on the use of cough medicines for children following recommendations from an expert committee.

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Another cough syrup batch in Rajasthan was also found problematic.

Officials confirmed that these batches were not distributed or sold in Kerala, and all distribution through the eight local distributors has been halted.

The meeting was attended by all senior officials of the Health department and the IAP President. Minister Veena George said the state is committed to ensuring children’s safety while providing clear guidance to doctors and parents on the responsible use of medicines.

–IANS

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Dotasra said that a preparatory meeting has been scheduled at the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on April 24 to streamline the event’s arrangements.

He said that the ‘Save Constitution’ campaign aims to highlight how the Central government is “undermining” democracy and constitutional values, adding that the campaign will unfold in multiple phases, under which state-level rallies will be organised on April 28.

“District-level rallies will be taken out across all districts from May 3 to 10, from May 11 to 17, Assembly-level programmes will be held, from May 20–30, Booth-level door-to-door campaign will be held,” he said.

Dotasra said that during the door-to-door campaign, Congress workers will engage directly with citizens to explain how the Central government is “weakening” democratic institutions and misusing investigative agencies like the ED, CBI, and Income Tax to “silence” the opposition.

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–IANS

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