In a move to ensure the <keyword id="22162496" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="safety-and-comfort-of-women" source="keywords">safety and comfort of women</keyword> during office hours, the <keyword id="22162495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="West-Bengal-transport-department" source="keywords">West Bengal Transport Department</keyword> is set to introduce two <keyword id="22162497" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exclusive-ladies-special-buses" source="keywords">exclusive ladies' special buses</keyword> in Kolkata starting June 25, a senior state official said on Monday. The buses will depart from <keyword id="22162498" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Howrah-Station-towards-Ballygunge" source="keywords">Howrah Station towards Ballygunge</keyword>, covering parts of central and south Kolkata, the official added. This service is designed to assist commuters from the districts along the Howrah-Bandel line, providing a convenient connection from the terminal station to their workplaces along the route during the morning rush hours, an official statement said. The non-AC buses, which will leave Howrah at 9.30 am and 10 am, will have <keyword id="22162499" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-conductors" source="keywords">women conductors</keyword>. Passenger boarding will be regulated at the gates to prevent jostling and ensure that only women commuters board the buses at each stop, the official said. The service will be inaugurated in the presence of <keyword id="22162501" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Transport-Minister-Snehasis-Chakraborty" source="keywords">Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty</keyword>. Bus timings have been coordinated with the arrival times of <keyword id="22162500" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ladies-special-trains" source="keywords">ladies special trains</keyword> on the Howrah-Burdwan line of Eastern Railway and the Howrah-Kharagpur line of South-Eastern Railway in the morning. "The term 'Ladies Special' will be prominently displayed on the route boards to deter others from boarding. Currently, we are introducing two buses, but we may consider adding more to the fleet in the future," the official added. The department also plans to introduce similar services from Sealdah station for women commuters. Asked about extending the Howrah-Ballygunge ladies special bus service to the afternoon rush hours from Ballygunge Station, the official said, "We are considering the proposal." Previously, ladies special bus services were introduced in 2013 but were discontinued after some time. "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty are committed to continuing this service, which aligns with various <keyword id="22162502" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="womens-empowerment-schemes" source="keywords">women's empowerment schemes</keyword> of the state and aims to enhance the safety and security of women using <keyword id="19919009" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-transport" source="keywords">public transport</keyword>," the official added. Tapan Bandyopadhyay, spokesperson for the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, welcomed the initiative, stating, "We support any such move by the state government." Sayantani Roy, a commuter from Srirampur, expressed her relief. "I often face harassment while traveling in crowded buses to my workplace at Rasbehari Crossing. Traveling in a ladies special bus will provide much-needed respite. However, we hope these buses will also be available during the afternoon hours."

West Bengal transport department to launch women special buses

Kolkata, Jul 9 () A strict seven-day lockdown was clamped in all containment zones across West Bengal from Thursday evening as the state witnessed the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases and fatalities. The state Thursday registered the highest single-day increase of 1,088 COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 25,911. It also reported 27 deaths, raising the toll to 854, officials said. The containment zones which went into lockdown from 5 pm Thursday are spread across 20 of the state's 23 districts, they said. The state government has listed 25 containment zones in Kolkata, 93 in North 24 Parganas, 54 in South 24 Parganas and 56 in Howrah -- the top four hotspot districts. The containment zones and buffer zones around them have been clubbed together to constitute a 'broad-based' containment zone, where the total shutdown has been imposed, the officials said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Wednesday said the lockdown would be in place for a week, and the situation will be reviewed after that. She had also directed the police to firmly deal with those violating the pandemic-related norms in the wake of the relentless rise in infections. Police personnel were seen patrolling the streets in the containment zones and asking pedestrians to return to their homes and shopkeepers to down shutters. Barricades were put up outside such zones to stop vehicular movement. Ahead of the lockdown coming into force, people resorted to panic-buying in several areas, disregarding social distancing norms, the officials said. Long queues of people were witnessed outside grocery stores and LPG outlets in Kolkata. Police resorted to mild force in some places to ensure that safety protocols were adhered to, besides asking people through public address systems to remain indoors. The state government has said it will make arrangements for home delivery of essential commodities during the lockdown period in the containment zones. The clamping of lockdown saw local transport like rickshaws, auto-rickshaws disappear from the containment zones with the police barricading these areas. According to private bus operators, the number of their buses in the city and adjoining districts may go down from Friday since a large number of staff stay in in the containment zones of North and South 24 Parganas districts. They won't be able to join work till the lockdown is in force. The seven-day lockdown by the TMC government triggered a political blame game, with opposition BJP and the CPI (M) slamming the ruling dispensation for allegedly being "clueless about the entire situation". "The state government is clueless about what it has to do and what not to do. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with other TMC ministers has flouted lockdown norms, thereby encouraging others to follow suit," said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh. CPI (M) legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty said had the state government implemented the lockdown sincerely since March, the situation would have been much better. The TMC, however, defended its government and blamed the Centre for imposing an "unplanned" lockdown. "The present situation, both in the state and across the country, is solely due to the unplanned Lockdown announced by the central government from March 25 and the migrant labour crisis. "The state government is doing its best to control the situation and provide relief to the people," senior TMC leader and minister Partha Chatterjee said. DC/ AMR/ SCH PNT SNS TIR TIR

Total lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal as COVID-19 cases surge

(Eds: Updating with details, reactions) Kolkata, May 12 () Amid raging controversy over alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday cracked the whip on Health Secretary Vivek Kumar by transferring him from the post, prompting the opposition to claim the removal only proves "something was seriously wrong".Narayan Swaroop Nigam, who was the Transport Secretary, has replaced Kumar, according to the government notification.Kumar's transfer to the environment department as secretary comes days after a war of words broke out between the state and the central governments over the "dismal performance" of West Bengal in tackling the COVID-19 crisis.The Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) which had visited Bengal for on-the-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation had expressed their disappointment with the functioning of the health department headed by Kumar, who was appointed last December, replacing Sanghamitra Ghosh.The Centre had recently rapped the state government over its COVID-19 management which it said is characterised by a very low rate of testing in proportion to the population, and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2 per cent for the state, by far the highest for any state.According to sources, the constitution of the death audit committee on April 3 was the idea of Kumar which was in the eye of a political storm, with opposition parties calling it a government's tool to "fudge" COVID-19 data related to the number of coronavirus deaths and infections.In the wake of criticism, in the last week of April, the state administration tried to distance itself from the audit committee, when Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, said the health department decided to set up the audit paneland that she had nothing to do with it.On May 2, the state government altered the audit committees mandate and said henceforth the body will not certify whether a patient died due to coronavirus or a pre-existing ailment.West Bengal has so far reported 190 COVID-19 deaths, out of which the state has attributed 72 deaths to co-morbidities -- cases where COVID-19 was incidental.The state has also reported 1,939 COVID-19 cases and of these, 1,374 are active.The BJP claimed the removal of the health secretary proves that there was "something seriously wrong with the state's handling of the pandemic"."Earlier when questions were raised over the PDS system, the state had removed its food secretary, now when questions are being raised over the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, the health secretary has been shunted. This proves that the allegations were correct and the state government is now trying to clean the mess by using scapegoats."All the decisions are taken after a nod by the chief minister, then how can she deny her responsibility?" West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh asked.On April 16, state Food secretary Manoj Agarwal was removed.CPI (M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the decision should have been taken much earlier and wondered whether it would serve any purpose as long as the state government doesn't change its COVID-19 response policy.The TMC leadership did not comment on the issue. SCH PNT SNS ZMN

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West Bengal transport department to launch women special buses

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Total lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal as COVID-19 cases surge

PTI

West Bengal replaces health secretary amid row over COVID-19 crisis

PTI