Prabir Das Blogger

  It was a lazy Thursday afternoon . In the Pandemic situation people across the country were busy celebrating Mahasaptami in a stymied way that the news of arguably India’s greatest cricketer Kapil Dev Nikhanj suffering a heart attack trickled in. The first reaction of one and all was an initial disbelief - “aisa ho nahi sakta”. It is said that cricket is not a mere sport in India-it is a religion-a religion where there is no divide. People cutting across all religion, caste, creed or other divides enjoy Indian cricket and stand in unison while supporting the sport . The Indians also believe that Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest batsman the world has witnessed since the legendary Don Bradman, is its GOD. But much before Sachin Tendulkar entered the cricketing arena a young lad, hardly 18 years of age,hailing from Haryana, strongly built with dreams in his eyes , with heart of a lion, took the country by storm. Such was his talent Kapil was drafted    straight into...

  The Central Government has recently come up with a novel idea for its employees named “  Special cash package equivalent in lieu of Leave Travel Concession Fare for Central Government Employees during the Block 2018-21 “ in order to provide a boost to the sagging economy especially during the coming festive season. The global pandemic, declared in March this year in the wake of COVID-19 caused by Corona virus, has taken severe toll on world economies including India. In India the    Central government declared lockdowns, States declared curfews    and other prohibitory measures in order to face the greatest challenge the country has faced since independence. As a result of lockdown the entire nation came to a screeching halt. Essential services somehow managed to function and provided bare necessities to the citizens. Arguably,    the nation, which despite having seen many adversities in past, was not prepared this time as the enemy was too tiny...

  Setting aside all “ifs” and “buts” the West Bengal Government has decided to go ahead with the festivities that surround celebration of Durga Puja in Bengal this year amidst pandemic. Durga Puja, a four day festival, remains quintessential to a bengali’s life since birth. Things have changed in last century everywhere at a break-neck speed; Bengal has not been an exception. What has not changed is the child-like enthusiasm and fervour that surround Durga Puja. Infact bengalis consider Maa Durga as a member of their family who visits and blesses everyone in the family during those    days in a manner a mother would ordinarily do. Consequently, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, sauve or laid upon, no one keeps himself away from the magic those four days bring upon a bengali’s life. Question that naturally continued to pop up whether the celebrations will be stymied or at all be held this year during pandemic.  Ever since Covid-19 has been declared a pandemic in Mar...

  Ever since the Pandemic broke loose courtesy-a virus known as nCoV2019, one thing the governments world over has been looking for with bated breath is a vaccine-a vaccine which is considered a panacea to provide immunity against the killer virus. More than nine months have elapsed since the first fatality of the deadly virus, named Corona virus, was reported from Wuhan province of China. After initial hiccups and the customary disbelief as to its severity the Premier Health Organisation WHO declared it a pandemic way late on March 11 this year. The damage had already been done. China who exported the virus world over maintained an eerie    silence over the issue. The governments world over failed to guage the seriousness and people across globe continued to travel internationally unmindful of the fact that they carried the virus with them. The blame games continued and the virus started playing havoc. Death rate in European nations shot up dangerously in April with coun...

  The little over 9 km long Highway tunnel,the world’s longest, joining Manali to Leh , recently inaugurated by the Hon. Prime Minister is going to tilt the military balance of the region in favour of India. The tunnel built through terraneous path will connect people of Lahaul valley in Lahaul district to the rest of the state all round the year. It is well known that the 9 km long tunnel reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kms and the corresponding travel time by a crucial 5-6 hours. The tunnel is at an elevation of around 10000 ft above sea level and is built using    state of the art technology by Border Road Organisation (BRO). The horse-shoe shaped tunnel is double way and can provide access to over 1500 trucks besides 3000 cars everyday of the year. It has all the safety features including multiple emergency exit routes with close circuit cameras installed at every 250 meters. Over 3500 highly skilled contractual workers and more than 650 employees of...

The despicable and horrendous Hathras incident has thrown open many facets of human behaviour    especially in Uttar Pradesh which calls for severe soul searching. While the highly powerful Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the State Government is already acting in the matter to unearth the facts to nail the guilty there are many questions that dwell in the mind. This Hathras incident unfortunately may not be the last as it has its roots deeply embedded in socio-political thoughts of many which are as much deplorable as the     carnal instincts shown by the perpetrators of crime. In such light It is incontrovertible that the Hathras incident is not only a heinous crime perpetrated on a hapless young girl but also an act of oppression which has its roots in age-old casteism. It is a point to ponder and calls for severe soul-searching that even after 74 years of independence and 71 years after India adopted its Constitution, arguably the greatest such docum...