Kolkata, June 28: The railway authorities have conducted a significant eviction operation at the Park Circus station area in Kolkata, clearing illegal shops from land owned by the Indian Railways.

Earlier this month, the authorities issued notifications to the proprietors of these shops and local vendors, instructing them to vacate their shops from the station premises and the surrounding lands in the Sealdah South Section of Eastern Railway. However, due to their noncompliance, a bulldozer was deployed on Saturday night to demolish these shops.

A large number of police, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed for this drive.

After the change of government in the state, the Railways have been conducting drives to evict encroachments in the station areas. Similar drives were held at several stations, including Howrah, Sealdah, Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Habra. This time, the drive was also launched at Park Circus station in Kolkata.

Late Saturday night, the Park Circus station premises were surrounded by railway police and the RAF. Security was tightened to prevent any unrest. First, the Railways used loudspeakers to announce instructions to vacate the station area and railway land. Some time was given to the traders to remove their belongings. However, none of the traders in the station area moved their goods. After that, a bulldozer was brought in, and the illegal shops were demolished one by one.

The Park Circus station area has always been congested. It is alleged that a large number of illegal shops had mushroomed at the station premises over the years. The Railways have never been able to evict illegal hawkers at that station, which is located in a minority community-dominated area. There were allegations that railway passengers used to face harassment and crimes at various times while travelling to that station.

After the BJP government came to power in the state, it was decided that illegal hawkers would be evicted from the station premises. The eviction drive lasted for about two and a half hours.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also taken steps to remove illegal encroachments and shops under several flyovers across the city.

It was learnt that the KMC has issued notices to illegal hawkers to remove their shops from under the Sealdah flyover in North Kolkata and Sukanta Setu in the southern outskirts of the city. Those who have illegally encroached on spaces under these two bridges have been asked to move out within the next seven days. The KMC will take action in accordance with the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, as mentioned in the notice.

London/New Delhi, June 28: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, in his meeting with the diaspora here, highlighted the opportunities emerging from the India-UK CETA, effective from July 15, which will further deepen collaboration across trade, investment, and innovation, contributing to shared prosperity for both nations.

The minister had an engaging evening interacting with the Indian diaspora and business community in London.

“Spoke about the vital role of the diaspora as a living bridge between India and the United Kingdom, strengthening economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties,” Goyal posted on X.

Goyal also interacted with members of the ICAI UK Chapter and emphasised the vital role of the CA community in strengthening the economic ties between India and the UK.

“Also, highlighted how the India-UK CETA will create new avenues for professionals. Urged them to leverage their skills, knowledge and professional expertise to maximise the opportunities arising from the agreement and contribute to the shared growth of both nations,” said the minister.

He also had an insightful discussion with Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Safe Autonomy at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, on deepening industry-academia collaboration and advancing research-driven innovation.

“A vibrant innovation ecosystem is instrumental in nurturing breakthrough ideas, building globally competitive industries, and shaping the technologies of the future for India and the world,” said Goyal.

In a productive meeting with Dr Vishwajeet Rana, Group CEO of GEDU Global Education, Goyal discussed avenues to further strengthen India-UK collaboration in higher education, skills and innovation.

“Also, exchanged views on leveraging the India-UK CETA to foster stronger industry-academia partnerships and create new opportunities for shared growth between both countries,” he added.

Earlier, Goyal urged Indian companies to deepen engagement with their UK counterparts and translate opportunities under the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into sustained business growth.

Addressing the ‘India-UK: Partners in Progress Business Plenary’ in London, Goyal said the landmark trade pact offers significant opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade, investment, technology partnerships, innovation and resilient supply chains.

New Delhi, June 28: The Delhi Police, in pursuance of the zero tolerance policy against narcotic drugs and drug trafficking, arrested 16 accused and made recoveries of drugs during an operation launched under the ongoing ‘Operation Kavach-14.0’ to dismantle narcotics supply networks and curb the menace of drug trafficking.

Dedicated teams of Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS), Special Staff and Police Stations of West District conducted sustained intelligence-based raids, surveillance and targeted operations against drug peddlers and traffickers operating within the district, said the police in a press statement on Sunday.

During the operation, 13 NDPS cases were registered, and 16 accused, including two women, were apprehended.

The operations resulted in the recovery of substantial quantities of narcotic substances, including 32.161 kg of ganja, 89.77 grams of smack, 9.8 grams of cocaine, and 6.62 grams of MDMA. Besides narcotic substances, one three-wheeler (Auto), one Scooty, one mobile phone, and Rs 1,450 in cash were also recovered.

The Anti-Narcotics Squad registered a case vide FIR No. 314/2026, under section 20(c)/29 of the NDPS Act at the Punjabi Bagh police station and arrested four accused persons, namely Mithun Kumar, Vikram Kumar, Sanjay Yadav and Md. Rizwan. A total of 23.160 kg of ganja (Commercial Quantity) was recovered from their possession.

The ANS registered a case video FIR No. 265/2026 U/s 22/25 NDPS Act, Rajouri Garden police station and arrested the accused Ram Kumar with the recovery of 6.62 grams of MDMA along with one three-wheeler (Auto).

Special Staff registered a case vide FIR No. 268/2026 U/s 21 NDPS Act, Rajouri Garden police station and apprehended one accused and recovered 9.8 grams of cocaine and one Scooty.

During the operation, four separate cases were detected with the recovery of approximately 89.77 grams of smack, leading to the arrest of four accused persons from police stations Tilak Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Khyala and Vikas Puri.

Apart from the commercial quantity case, several separate cases were registered involving the recovery of ganja from different police stations of the West District.

The police in the statement said that sustained action under Operation Kavach-14.0 reflects “the commitment of the West District Police towards eliminating the drug menace and dismantling narcotics supply chains through intelligence-led policing and coordinated enforcement”.

Further investigation in all cases is in progress to apprehend other persons involved in drug trafficking, the police said.