Mamata reshuffles portfolios after dropping three ministers
Kolkata, June 6: A day after she removed three ministers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reshuffled her ministry, saying the exercise was undertaken to reduce the workload of some of them.
The three ministers - Churamani Mahato, James Kujur and Abani Joardar - resigned on Wednesday, apparently under Banerjee's instructions.
While Joardar has not been keeping well for long, Mahato and Kujur's removal came against the backdrop of Trinamoool Congress' relatively lacklustre performance in some tribal areas of the state in the recent Panchayat (rural body) polls.
However, so far there have been no official comments from the party or the government regarding the reasons for the three's removal.
In the reshuffle, veteran minister Subrata Mukherjee has been entrusted with the Water Resources Investigation and Development portfolio, in addition to the vital Panchayat and Rural Development.
However, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Ministry, so far run by him, has now been given to Moloy Ghatak, who would also continue to hold charge of Law and Labour Departments, an official notification said.
Soumen Mahapatra, who so far was in charge of Water Resources Investigation and Development, would now get the crucial Irrigation and Waterways Ministry. Rajib Banerjee, who ran the Irrigation Department so long, would now move to Backward Class Welfare Department.
Sovan Chatterjee, also the Kolkata Mayor, has had his wings clipped, as he lost the Environment Ministry, but retained Fire and Emergency Services and Housing portfolios.
Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari has got the additional charge of Environment, the notification said.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Land and Land Reforms departments Chandrima Bhattacharya has also been handed the independent charge of Personnel and Administrative Reforms and e-governance.
She has also got the additional charges of Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation and Tribal Development.
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Fire breaks out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi, around 50 shops gutted
New Delhi (PTI): A major fire broke out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi's Andheria Mor area on Sunday morning, gutting around 50 shops and triggering a massive firefighting operation, an official of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said.
According to the DFS, a call regarding the blaze was received at 7.37 am, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the flames. No injury to anyone has been reported so far.
The fire erupted at the Nature Bazaar market located near Andheria Mor in the Lado Sarai area, where several temporary and semi-permanent shops selling handicrafts and other items are set up, he said.
Thick plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the market complex as the fire rapidly spread through multiple shops in the crowded marketplace.
Firefighters launched an extensive operation to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
Around 50 shops were gutted in the incident, causing heavy damage to goods and structures, the officer said.
Fire personnel were continuing efforts to completely douse the flames and carry out cooling operations in the area. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Police officers also reached the spot to assist in crowd management and facilitate firefighting operations.
