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Bengal presents Rs 3.89 lakh crore budget; DA enhanced, housing scheme gets higher allocation

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Kolkata, Feb 12: Amid the crucial Assembly polls due next year in West Bengal, Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya, on Wednesday, presented a Rs 3,89,194.09 crore budget for the financial year 2005-26 at the floor of the state Assembly with enhanced dearness allowance and higher budgetary allocation for the state’s own affordable housing scheme for the poor being the main attractions of the budget proposals.

The budget size was Rs 3,66,116 crore.

Bhattacharya announced an increase in the dearness allowance for the state government employees by four percentage points to 18 per cent from the current rate of 14 per cent. The new rate will be applicable from April 1, 2025.

However, the enhancement has not made the state government employees happy considering that even after the increase, the gap with the dearness allowance enjoyed by the central government employees remains quite high at 35 per cent.

The Union government employees are currently receiving a dearness allowance at the rate of 53 per cent. This is the last full state budget before the Assembly election due next year.

However, what has come as a surprise for many is that, although largely expected, even in the last full budget before the Assembly elections, there was no proposal for an increase in the amount paid under Lakshmir Bhandar, the monthly dole scheme for women in the state.

The amount paid under the scheme will remain the same — Rs 1,000 for women in the general category and Rs 1,200 for the women under the reserved category.

The main sectors where the budgetary allocations had been substantially increased include housing, road infrastructure, health and education.

Under ‘Banglar Bari’ (Bengal’s House), the state government’s own affordable housing scheme for the poor, a proposal was mooted to construct 16 lakh additional houses and hence an additional Rs 9,600 crore has been allocated for the scheme.

For the development of road infrastructure under the ‘Pathashree’ scheme, an additional allocation of Rs 1,500 crore has been made in the budget proposals.

For higher education, budgetary allocation for 2025-26 has been earmarked at Rs 6,593.58 crore, while an amount of Rs 41,153 crore has been set aside for school education.

The budgetary allocation for the health sector has been announced at Rs 21,355 crore for 2025.26. The allocation for the fiscal under review for rural development and panchayat affairs has been fixed at 44,000 crore.

On Wednesday, Bhattacharya announced that the state government will provide smartphones to 70,000 accredited social health activists (ASHA) workers.

She also announced a new scheme christened ‘Nadi Bandhan’, aimed at the prevention of river banks at different river banks and allocated Rs 2000 crore for that project. An amount of Rs 500 crore was allocated for the construction of a new bridge at Sagar Islands, the venue for the annual Gangasagar Mela.

National News

Mumbai Local Mega Block Update: Train Services To Be Disrupted In Central, Western Lines | Full List Of Affected Routes & Timings

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Mumbai local train update: The Central and Western Railways have issued an advisory for commuters regarding their upcoming mega block and special traffic block and power block on their service. The Central Railway has announced a special traffic block and power block for pre non-interlocking works in connection with Karjat Yard remodelling work from October 11 to October 14.

In addition to this, a four-hour jumbo block has been scheduled on the Western Line between Borivali-Ram Mandir Station tomorrow i.e. October 12.

The block has been scheduled for carrying out pre non-interlocking works in connection with Karjat Yard remodelling work. The block has been imposed between Palasdhari and Bhivpuri Chowk section. Amid this, several trains have been cancelled, diverted or short terminated. The full list of the trains is shared below:

From 12.20 pm on 11.10.2025 (Saturday) to 7.20 am of 12.10.2025 (Sunday)
From 7.20 am to 6.20 pm of 12.10.2025 (Sunday)
From 11.20 am to 2.20 pm of 13.10.2025 (Monday) & From 11.20 am to 2.20 pm of 14.10.2025 (Tuesday)

In order to carry out maintenance work of tracks, signalling and overhead equipment, a Jumbo Block of four hours has been announced on Sunday.

The block will be taken on Up Fast lines between Borivali – Ram Mandir stations, as well as on the 5th line between Ram Mandir – Kandivali stations.

According to a press release issued by Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the timings of the jumbo block is from 10 am to 2 pm.

Some suburban trains will remain cancelled during the block and also some of the Andheri and Borivali trains will be worked upto Goregaon on Harbour line.

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Bollywood

‘My Wife, Sister Getting Hate Messages From Pak, UAE, Bangladesh’: Sameer Wankhede On ‘Ba*ds Of Bollywood Row, Defamation Case Against Red Chillies, Netflix

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Former Mumbai NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, on October 11, spoke about the defamation case he has filed against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix. While speaking to news agency ANI, the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer claimed that his family has been receiving hate messages from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh.

Wankhede said that his family has nothing to do with his profession or the case and asked, “Why are they feeling the brunt of these kinds of things?”

In addition, he also informed reporters that his sister and wife have been receiving threats. “Hate messages are coming from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh. I will not accept that because of me, they are facing the brunt of it,” he said.

He further added, “We have regularly informed the police about the threats that my sister and wife keep getting.”

Wankhede also said that he filed the case as it was about his self-respect, personal dignity, and honour, stating, “Whatever satire or parody you create, do it with your own people.”

He added that he would fight the legal battle as far as possible, saying, “I am a loyal soldier of the Government of India. There are numerous checks and balances in our system, and there is a proper rule book — the Constitution — according to which we work. One person does not make the decisions here. Everything has been done according to the rules and regulations. It is not about any publicity; it is about dignity. The kind of hate messages I have been getting, no self-respecting man will remain silent on it. I will fight this legal battle to whatever extent possible.”

Calling drug abuse a major issue for the nation, he further said, “By highlighting such things, you’re insulting not just one person but those who have worked with me, and others who fight against drug abuse.”

The case pertains to Aryan Khan’s web series, ‘The Ba**ds of Bollywood’*. The former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer has claimed that a character in the series bears a striking resemblance to him and has alleged that the show was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation.”

Wankhede has filed a ₹2 crore defamation case against Aryan Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (owned by Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan), and Netflix.

After filing the ₹2 crore defamation case, Wankhede told PTI, “I don’t want to comment on this. I will just say one thing — Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs).”

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Crime

Mumbai: Real Estate Contractor Arrested In Alleged Multi-Crore Fraud Case

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Mumbai: In an interesting turn to an alleged fraud case, a real estate contractor who approached the Khar police against his partner became an accused himself and was arrested. Notably, the sessions court recently refused to even grant him bail, observing that the investigation has revealed that he, in fact, cheated 35 people with fake documents.

The court said that if the contractor, Syed Abi Ahmed, 53, is released, the “prosecution will suffer a lot”. Ahmed was arrested on August 25 on the direction of the Bombay High Court. As per the prosecution case, he had filed a complaint against Peer Mohammad Shaikh alias Babu and Babu’s sister Karima Mujid Shaikh alias Lady Don. It was claimed that in 2014, Ahmed bought a property spanning 2,860 sq ft in Santacruz from one Vijay Dhule by sale agreement which was notarised.

Claiming financial problems, Ahmed did not develop the property into a residential complex. On April 12, 2024, Babu approached him to develop the plot but by June wanted to break the partnership claiming losses. Ahmed claimed he returned Babu’s share of Rs1.60 crore collected from the 35 persons who had booked houses. In June that year, Babu gave up his rights on the flats in writing, with his role limited to constructing the building and handing it over to Ahmed.

In August 2024, Ahmed claimed Babu demanded more money which led to a dispute and also a scuffle, landing Ahmed in hospital for four months. Ahmed claimed that, in his absence, Babu sold flats on the first floor. The Khar police began investigating and found that the sale agreement of the alleged plot was forged. The probe revealed that the advocate whose name appeared as notary had passed away and his signature was forged. Besides, the investigating officer found that Ahmed had entered into an agreement with 35 persons.

The MoUs were allegedly attested by one Advocate Mustari, who denied signing the documents. Advocate for Babu, Tariq Khan, pointed out these findings while arguing for bail for Babu during the hearing on August 18. The court later ordered to implicate Ahmed, following which he was arrested. Ahmed sought bail, claiming that the documents were genuine. He also raised medical grounds for the bail, which the court refused, noting that “there is prima facie case” against him.

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