Kolkata, Sep 26: The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered that all students’ hostels attached to Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University will remain closed for the entire Durga Puja vacation.

The Division Bench of Justice Sujay Paul and Justice Smita Das De also directed the Jadavpur University authorities to ensure that the students’ hostels attached to the university are closed within the next 48 hours and remain closed till the last day of the festival vacation.

The Bench observed that the decision was necessary to ensure that outsiders do not get access or entry to the hostel during the festival vacation period.

The division bench also advised the Jadavpur University authorities to take the help of the police if necessary to prevent the entry of outsiders in the hostels during the vacation period.

The division bench also advised the Jadavpur University authorities and the West Bengal Education Department to hold a meeting after the festival vacation period to discuss and decide on measures to be adopted to ensure in-campus security, especially as regards the installation of CCTV machines within the campus.

Based on the decision taken at the meeting, the university will have to submit a report to the same division bench on the date when the matter will come up for hearing after the festival vacation at the Calcutta High Court.

To recall, on March 2 this year, State Education Minister Bratya Basu faced students’ agitations while he reached Jadavpur University to attend a function of Trinamool Congress-affiliated West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA).

In that scuffle, Basu and two agitating students of the university were injured.

After that, public interest litigation was recently filed at the Calcutta High Court regarding security issues within Jadavpur University. Earlier, in the hearing of this case, the Calcutta High Court had said that no political personality could be invited to any function or seminar at Jadavpur University.

New Delhi, Sep 26: Coal public sector undertakings (PSU) announced a performance-linked reward (PLR) of Rs 1,03,000 each for non-executive workers, an official statement said on Friday.

The reward payment will benefit approximately 2.1 lakh non-executive cadre employees of Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries, along with around 38,000 non-executive workers at Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), according to the statement.

The decision has a financial impact of Rs 2,153.82 crore for Coal India Ltd and Rs 380 crore for SCCL.

The government informed that payments will be credited on a pro rata basis based on attendance. PSUs under the Ministry of Coal announced this reward following the sixth meeting of the standardisation committee of the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry.

The coal ministry announced that it aims to recognise the contribution and hard work of non-executive workers across all CIL subsidiaries and SCCL and ensure they are fairly rewarded for their efforts.

The payment of PLR provides a timely boost to the workers and their families during the festive season, it added.

The Performance-Linked Reward underlines the commitment of CIL and the Ministry of Coal to worker welfare, motivation, and recognition of contractor contributions.

By providing the PLR, CIL aims to boost productivity, morale, and job satisfaction among non-executive workers, who play a vital role in the company’s mining operations and thus significantly contribute to shaping an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The recent GST reforms have eliminated the Rs 400 per tonne compensation cess previously levied on coal, while the GST rate on coal has been raised from 5 per cent to 18 per cent.

The coal ministry had earlier informed that the overall effect of the reforms, despite the increase in GST rates from 5 per cent to 18 per cent, is a lower tax incidence for final consumers, combined with a correction of the inverted duty structure that releases liquidity, eliminates distortions, and prevents large accounting losses for coal producers.

Mumbai: A Mumbai woman has described a frightening episode of street harassment in Bandra that she shared on Reddit, raising concern among residents and online users. In a post titled ‘Never expected Bandra to be Unsafe. Rant,’ the woman, who identified herself as an early-30s resident of Bandra, said she was grabbed and groped by a man on a well-lit, crowded road at about 7:45 pm while running errands.

According to her detailed account, she dresses extremely modestly when out, a point she stressed to counter the notion that clothing invites harassment. She said the incidents of harassment had been recurring over recent months, including being followed home multiple times and being catcalled, but that the latest episode was the most shocking.

“A random guy just walked towards me hastily and hugged me very, very tightly and rubbed up against me,” she wrote. She said she started screaming; the man released her, appeared frightened by her reaction and repeatedly apologised.

The woman added that she struck the man several times with her tote bag during the altercation, but did not physically assault him further because she feared injuring her hand. Initially shaken and questioning whether she had done something to provoke the attack, she later concluded it was not her fault and continued with her tasks, though visibly upset.

Her post drew many replies, and after readers requested details to warn others, she updated her account to specify the location: near the Peace Haven bungalow on Perry Cross Road in Bandra. The thread also reflected broader frustration; she wrote that residents have become desensitised to street harassment and that the city’s reputation for safety for women felt like an illusion.

The post has raised fresh debate about public safety in Bandra, a busy suburb popular with shoppers and office-goers. Several commenters urged the woman to file a police complaint; others shared similar experiences of being followed or harassed. As of this report, there is no confirmation from police or the woman that a formal complaint has been registered, and no arrests have been reported.