Howrah Bridge Lit for Durga Puja, Civic Polls and Lightning Deaths Shape Week in City
Howrah entered the Durga Puja season with its most iconic landmark lit up for the first time in over seventy years, while the city's upcoming municipal elections gathered momentum with candidates, courts, and the state government all in motion.
🎉 Howrah Bridge Glows for Durga Puja After More Than Seven Decades
After more than seventy years, Howrah Bridge — the iconic cantilever span over the Hooghly River connecting Kolkata and Howrah that has long served as the city's most recognisable landmark — was illuminated especially for the Durga Puja festival season. The grand lighting brought the structure alive at night in a way residents and visitors had not witnessed for generations, with its distinctive steel lattice bathed in festive colour visible from both banks of the river. For the Bengali community worldwide, Durga Puja is the most significant cultural and religious observance of the year, transforming the entire Kolkata metropolitan area, including Howrah, into a spectacle of elaborately crafted pandals, artistry, music, and communal worship that extends across days. The bridge, formally known as Rabindra Setu, has carried vehicle and pedestrian traffic for decades largely without additional fanfare, making the special Puja illumination a moment of civic celebration and pride. Residents gathered on riverside ghats and elevated vantage points to photograph the lit structure, while the broader Durga Puja programme drew visitors from across the country and from the South Asian diaspora. The move was widely welcomed as an overdue tribute to one of India's most photographed and historically resonant engineering landmarks. [1]
🗳️ Deleted Voters Move Supreme Court Ahead of Kolkata and Howrah Municipal Elections
Five voters whose names were removed from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision process petitioned India's Supreme Court, seeking an order that the appellate tribunals handling their cases decide the appeals expeditiously before Kolkata and Howrah municipal elections are held. The SIR exercise, a nationwide voter roll revision, resulted in deletions across multiple cities, and affected residents in West Bengal are challenging their exclusions through the designated appeals process. The petitioners argued to the Supreme Court that if the tribunal does not act swiftly, they will be disenfranchised in the forthcoming Howrah and Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, which are expected within weeks. The court was asked to intervene to ensure the appeals machinery moves fast enough to give affected voters a meaningful chance to have their cases resolved before polling day. Voters struck from the rolls cannot cast ballots unless their appeals are decided in their favour, making the speed of tribunal proceedings directly relevant to their participation. The case draws wider attention to questions about the accuracy and fairness of the SIR deletions and the adequacy of the redressal mechanism for citizens who dispute their removal. [3]
Howrah and Kolkata Civic Polls Likely in Final Week of November
The Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation elections are expected to be held in the final week of November, as the first phase of West Bengal's Urban Local Body polls, which will also cover five other municipalities in the state. The scheduling follows a period of extended delay in holding these local body elections, which had been pending beyond their due date. Howrah Municipal Corporation, one of India's oldest urban local bodies, administers a city of more than a million residents directly across the Hooghly River from Kolkata, governing essential civic infrastructure including water supply, drainage, roads, and street lighting across the city's wards. The first phase of Bengal's municipal polls is set to include the two major city corporations along with the smaller municipalities in the schedule. Political parties across the spectrum have begun local preparations, with ward-level campaign activity expected to intensify once the State Election Commission officially announces the poll dates and the model code of conduct comes into effect. The corporation elections will determine which party controls these major urban bodies for the next five years, and are regarded as a significant political indicator ahead of further electoral contests in the state. [6]
Four People Killed in Lightning Strikes Across Howrah District
Four people died and two others sustained injuries in separate lightning strike incidents at different locations across Howrah district, according to a report by ThePrint. The deaths occurred at multiple sites within the district during conditions that brought thunderstorms to the area. Lightning fatalities are a recurring hazard in West Bengal during the monsoon season and in its aftermath, particularly in rural and peri-urban portions of Howrah district where outdoor agricultural and other activities expose residents to open ground during storm conditions. District authorities and state disaster management officials were informed of the fatalities. West Bengal consistently records among the higher numbers of lightning-related deaths among all Indian states, and the state government has in previous years run public awareness programmes urging residents to seek sturdy shelter at the first signs of approaching thunderstorms. The two injured survivors were receiving medical attention at the time of reporting. Officials have continued to issue advisories reminding the public that open fields, tall trees, and elevated terrain are dangerous during thunderstorms, and that early shelter-seeking is the most effective protective measure available to individuals caught outdoors. [9]
🏢 Railway Protection Force Detains Passenger at Howrah Station with Rs 67 Lakh in Cash
Railway Protection Force personnel at Howrah station stopped and detained a passenger from Maharashtra after discovering approximately Rs 67 lakh in cash concealed within his baggage during a check at the terminal. The man explained to RPF officials that he was travelling to Kolkata specifically to purchase gold and silver with the funds. The RPF registered a case and launched a probe into the origins and declared purpose of the amount in question. Under Indian law, individuals carrying large undisclosed sums are required to satisfy enforcement authorities regarding the source and intended use of the funds, and the burden of proof rests with the carrier. The case was referred to the relevant financial investigative agencies for further enquiry into whether the cash represented undisclosed income or funds connected to other financial irregularities. Detections of large cash amounts at major railway terminals have become a focal point for the RPF and income-tax authorities, particularly at busy transit hubs like Howrah, which rank among the country's highest-volume rail stations and serve as a conduit for commerce and movement between Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and northeastern India. [10]
Sources: [1] Curly Tales · [3] Live Law · [6] Telegraph India · [9] ThePrint · [10] Mid-Day