Joydeep Thakur
Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues.
Articles by Joydeep Thakur
‘Bengal wants its daughter’: TMC launches new slogan
By Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
PUBLISHED ON FEB 21, 2021 03:24 AM IST
“The poll bugle has been sounded and this time we would reach out to the people with a slogan ‘Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chay’,” said Subrata Bakshi, general secretary of TMC.
CM Mamata gets a makeover in TMC's poll slogan, goes from Didi to daughter
PUBLISHED ON FEB 20, 2021 09:44 PM IST
- Political analysts said that the makeover of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee from didi (elder sister) to Nijer Meye (own daughter) was aimed at strengthening the special bond which Banerjee shares with women voters.
A living lab: A community hosts innovations at Bengal research institute
PUBLISHED ON FEB 13, 2021 11:40 AM IST
- The CMERI is India’s apex research and development institute for mechanical engineering under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Protein deficiency, not age or weather, reason for spread of Covid in Europe, US
By Joydeep Thakur and Anonna Dutt
UPDATED ON FEB 10, 2021 10:52 AM IST
The variant of the virus that spread rapidly across the world had acquired a mutation since it left Wuhan that allowed it to use another human protein called neutrophil elastase to also cleave the S1-S2 junction
If you want to remove BJP...: Mamata Banerjee rushes to consolidate Muslim votes
By Joydeep Thakur | Edited by Sparshita Saxena, Kolkata
UPDATED ON FEB 09, 2021 08:38 PM IST
- According to surveys done by the TMC and the BJP, swing in Muslim votes can influence poll-results in as many as 120 assembly seats in Bengal.
Heritage tour on vintage cars for Kolkata’s senior citizens this Valentine week
PUBLISHED ON FEB 07, 2021 12:09 PM IST
- This is for the first time that a heritage tour on vintage cars has been organized in Kolkata for senior citizens.
BJP plans to sign off Rath Yatras with Modi's rally in Kolkata in March
By Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata, West Bengal, Jp Nadda
UPDATED ON FEB 06, 2021 01:28 PM IST
BJP leaders said the last part of the procession will begin on Sagar Island around February 12 and reach Kolkata in March. Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to flag it off.
Ahead of polls, TMC woos ST voters with demand for recognition of Sarna dharma
PUBLISHED ON FEB 03, 2021 07:44 PM IST
- At a public rally in Aipurduar, TMC chief Mamata Baneree said her government has written to the Centre to recognise Sarna dharma as a separate religion.
Amit Shah, JP Nadda to launch Parivartan Rath Yatras in poll-bound Bengal
UPDATED ON FEB 03, 2021 09:36 AM IST
While Nadda is scheduled to flag off the first rath yatra from Nadabdwip town in south Bengal’s Nadia district on February 6, Shah is expected to launch one on February 11, from Cooch Behar
BJP’s course correction in Bengal: Doors shut against mass joining of turncoats
PUBLISHED ON FEB 02, 2021 11:41 AM IST
The BJP said it will be very particular about leaders’ antecedents and no leader associated with the mafia raj that the state’s ruling party is engaged in will be allowed
Amit Shah to virtually address Bengal rally while BJP placates Matuas
By Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
UPDATED ON JAN 31, 2021 11:43 AM IST
- Senior BJP leaders had been busy placating the Matuas, who were upset with the cancellation of Union minister Amit Shah's Bengal rally on Saturday.
More politicians likely to join BJP during Amit Shah’s 2-day visit to Bengal
PUBLISHED ON JAN 29, 2021 09:10 AM IST
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, in a rally earlier this week, had sent a strong message to rebels within the party and had said that some leaders who had amassed huge wealth are now rushing to join the BJP to hide their money
Eye on polls, TMC forms separate cells for SC, ST and OBCs
UPDATED ON JAN 27, 2021 10:08 AM IST
The party had only such unit but that too remained virtually defunct till it thought of reviving it after the Lok Sabha elections; the BJP already has separate units for these communities
Meet Biren Kumar Basak, from selling sarees to winning Padma Shri
PUBLISHED ON JAN 26, 2021 04:59 PM IST
Some of his clients are chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Sourav Ganguly, noted classical musician Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, among others.
Cases drop, Bengal’s Covid Warrior Club faces uncertain future
PUBLISHED ON JAN 26, 2021 10:32 AM IST
Nineteen-year-old Alamgir Sheikh, a Covid-19 survivor himself, was once a proud member of the West Bengal government’s Covid Warrior Club
Kolkata: GI-tagged Joynagar Moa to be delivered at your doorstep
PUBLISHED ON JAN 25, 2021 11:41 AM IST
Even though the markets of Bengal are flooded with the sweetmeat around this time of the year and almost every neighbourhood shop claims to sell the Joynagar Moa, the authenticity of the product is questionable
West Bengal’s winter delicacy exported for the first time since 1904
UPDATED ON JAN 20, 2021 10:14 AM IST
Joynagar moa obtained the GI tag in 2014 and only around 25 manufacturers from Joynagar block in South 24 Parganas district, are authorised to prepare the product
Covid-19: Mamata administration questions Centre’s vaccination data
By Joydeep Thakur, Hindustan Times, Kolkata
PUBLISHED ON JAN 17, 2021 03:15 PM IST
- A senior official of the West Bengal government said on Saturday that that the state had set a target to vaccinate 20,700 health workers on the first day.
Vaccination hits a hurdle in Bengal as Co-WIN app develops glitches on 1st day
By Joydeep Thakur | Edited by Abhinav Sahay, Kolkata
PUBLISHED ON JAN 16, 2021 03:16 PM IST
- The app was not opening. We had to log in and log out several times. It was also too slow, said an official.
TMC’s to send crack team to secure Matua votes ahead of Shah’s Bengal visit
By Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:43 PM IST
- For the Matua community, permanent citizenship is a longstanding demand.
Ganga Sagar Mela begins on Makar Sankranti in West Bengal
PUBLISHED ON JAN 14, 2021 12:18 PM IST
Officials said around 780,000 pilgrims had reached the island a day before Makar Sankranti on Wednesday; last year, 1.5 million pilgrims had reached by this time for the Mela
Calcutta HC to decide today whether Ganga Sagar Mela can be held
PUBLISHED ON JAN 13, 2021 09:52 AM IST
A division bench of Chief Justice TB Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee directed the state’s chief secretary on Friday to file an affidavit on Tuesday on the measures for the dip in view of the Covid-19 pandemic
Sourav Ganguly fit enough to fly plane, run marathon, his heart is strong: Dr Devi Shetty
By Joydeep Thakur | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
UPDATED ON JAN 05, 2021 04:10 PM IST
Ganguly was rushed to the hospital on Saturday after he complained of chest pain while working out at a gym. He underwent angioplasty after three tiny blockages were detected in his coronary artery
Villagers turn 3 barren hillocks into dense forest in Bengal’s Purulia, wild animals make it their home
By Joydeep Thakur | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
UPDATED ON JAN 03, 2021 01:22 AM IST
It was around 1998 that the villagers decided to restore the greenery of the area with the hope that it would put an end to the drudgery. They approached a NGO, Tagore Society for Rural Development (TSRD), which was already engaged in greening projects in the area and in Jharkhand.
TMC suffers setback after more leaders switch sides
By Joydeep Thakur | Kolkata
UPDATED ON JAN 02, 2021 05:21 AM IST
Earlier this week, Suvendu Adhikari had hinted at a BJP rally that all his family members would be joining the saffron party soon. Three days later, his brother Soumendu joined the BJP at a rally addressed by Suvendu at Kanthi in East Midnapore. Earlier, Soumendu was removed as the civic board chief by the TMC.
New Covid-19 strain detected in Kolkata man after return from the UK
By Joydeep Thakur | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
PUBLISHED ON DEC 30, 2020 01:57 PM IST
The Kolkata resident was among 222 passengers, who arrived on December 20 in the city on the last flight from London before the government suspended flights from the UK
20 passengers from UK test positive for Covid-19, states begin contact tracing
By Joydeep Thakur and Divya Chandrababu | Hindustan Times, Kolkata/Chennai
UPDATED ON DEC 22, 2020 09:59 PM IST
At least two people tested positive for Covid-19 in Kolkata after returning from UK. Seven passengers and a crew member who arrived from the UK in an Air India flight tested positive for Covid-19 in Punjab.
2 test positive for Covid-19 in Kolkata after arriving from London
By Joydeep Thakur | Edited by Sohini Sarkar | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
UPDATED ON DEC 22, 2020 02:41 PM IST
The official said that samples of the infected persons were being analysed by experts to ascertain whether it is the new Covid-19 strain that is believed to spread the infection faster.
BJP’s Babul Supriyo says entry shouldn’t be open to all
By Joydeep Thakur | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
UPDATED ON DEC 19, 2020 08:19 AM IST
“What my top bosses decide is a different thing but I will try my very best with all my might & honesty to ensure that NO #TMC leader who tormented, tortured (both physically & mentally) my grass root level BJP colleagues in Asansol, don’t get an entry in BJP,” union minister Babul Supriyo said in a social media post, without naming anyone.
Switching sides: ‘History is repeating itself in West Bengal,’ says opposition
By Joydeep Thakur | Edited by Sparshita Saxena | Hindustan Times, Kolkata
UPDATED ON DEC 17, 2020 08:27 PM IST
On Wednesday, Banerjee had alleged that the BJP was calling up veteran leaders of her party, including the TMC’s state president, in a bid to break the party. The BJP has refuted the charges.