Press Trust of India
London, 3 July
Lawmakers in Ireland, a pre-dominantly Catholic country, have overwhelmingly backed a Bill that would pave the way for legalising abortion in life-threatening cases, after widespread outrage over the death of an Indian dentist following a miscarriage last year.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill passed its first hurdle after a 138 to 24 vote in favour, clearing up decades of confusion over the right of women to have abortions in extreme circumstances.
The Bill will now come up for final passage next week. The debate around the European nation’s stringent anti-abortion laws was reignited following the death of 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar, who died from septicaemia following a miscarriage in October last year.
Her inquest in April heard how she was repeatedly denied a potentially life-saving abortion.
Catholic leaders warned that the proposed new law, which faces potential amendments this week, was a “Trojan horse” designed to permit widespread abortion access in Ireland which, almost uniquely in Europe, officially bans abortion in all circumstances.
Prime Minister Enda Kenny, however, insisted the country’s constitutional ban on abortion would remain unaffected.
Ireland’s laws on abortion commit the government to defend the life of the unborn and the mother equally. But it has been muddled since 1992, when the Supreme Court ruled that this ban actually meant that terminations should be legal if doctors deem an abortion essential to safeguard the life of the woman, including from her own suicide threats.
Six previous governments refused to pass a law in support of the Supreme Court judgement, citing its suicide-threat rule as open to abuse.
This left Irish hospitals hesitant to provide any abortions except for the most clear-cut emergencies and have led to many pregnant women in medical or psychological crises to seek abortions in neighbouring England, where it has been legal since 1967.
The current Irish government has been under pressure to pass a law on life-saving abortions ever since the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2011 that Ireland’s inaction forced women to face unnecessary medical dangers.

A Chief Minister who dawdles
SIR, The West Bengal Chief Minister has suffered yet another setback in the courts. The Supreme Court has now blamed her for dilly-dallying with the panchayat elections. Yes, indeed, she has. Rightly has it reminded Mamata Banerjee that the election would have been over by now had the state government functioned judiciously.
 The  Bench has summarily rejected the state government’s plea to modify its order passed on 28 June on the ground of Ramzan.
Once again, it has directed a five-phase panchayat poll beginning on 11 July, as decreed on 28 June.
The Division Bench of Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ranjan Gogoi deserves kudos for its right and  just decision. The judiciary has to abide by the Constitution.
 And so it has. It has once again directed the government to issue a notification for the poll as per its earlier order.
 The Bench has clarified that while it respects Muslim sentiment,  the Constitutional provision that the election must  be  held  before  the tenure of the panchayats  ends,  cannot be given the short shrift. The government has its back to the wall.
Yours, etc., Gokul Burman,
Chakdaha (Nadia), 3 July.
Landmark verdict
SIR, ~ With a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has settled a constitutional issue relating to the conduct of panchayat elections.
  Implicitly, the Bench has criticised the tendency of the West Bengal government to defy constitutional entities.
 The message ought to be clear to the Trinamul Congress government ~ the Constitution and the rule of law cannot be subverted.
Yours etc. Anil Kumar Choudhury,
Kalyani, 3 July
RUSTED THRONE
SIR,  The West Bengal government now has a non-functioning cabinet. The Chief Minister holds seven portfolios; apparently she doesn’t do justice to a single one.
  Partha Chatterjee holds five portfolios and is also the chairman of several corporations. Yet he spends the better part of his time on party work or sycophancy.
The cabinet consists of opportunists and sycophants with dubious credentials. The veteran and most respected Congress leader of Purulia, Mr KP Singhdeo, was not included in the cabinet. He is a scion of the royal family of Purulia, well educated and highly cultured. He could have contributed to the development of the state. Firhad Hakim, who is at best a local tough with some muscle power, holds an important portfolio.
It will be in the interests of the people of West Bengal and the Trinamul Congress if Mamata Banerjee plays the role that Sonia Gandhi plays. She can appoint Subrata Mukherjee as the Chief Minister. But she is not the person who will readily vacate her rusted throne in Writers’ Buildings. And it has rusted in a span of two years!
Yours etc. Ranabir Paul,
Kolkata, 2 July
A STATE FAILURE
SIR, The disaster has underscored the fact that there is no local security and disaster management mechanism in Uttarakhand. The role of the police, fire and transport departments has been below par. Initially at any rate, there was virtually no state department or organisation which came to the rescue of the people. There was no agency around Kedarnath and Badrinath which could provide relief.  It is the Centre that mounted the rescue and relief effort. The failure of the state government is palpable. The Uttarakhand cabinet should be dissolved and fresh elections held.
Yours etc., KP Jhunjhunwala, Kolkata, 28 June.
WONKY CHARGESHEET
SIR, The chargesheet filed by the CBI in the Ishrat Jehan case is strangely worded. It says that the woman is not a terrorist but her aides are. If that be so, then what is the term that can be used to refer to a person (male or female), whose assistants are terrorists? And what is the nature of the job in which they were helping her? Perhaps, a lexicon prepared by some “secular” linguists may contain an explanation for this.
 Yours, etc., Arun Malankar,
Mumbai, 3 July.

statesman news service
Balurghat, 3 July
At least three persons were killed and 10 others seriously injured when a Hili-bound bus slipped in a roadside ditch near Malancha village in the Balurghat police station area of South Dinajpur district last night. One of the deceased was identified as Jay Laha (18). He was a Class XII student of local Teor High School while the identity of two others is not known, police said.
Among the injured, there were six men and four women, police said. The injured persons were immediately taken to Balurghat district hospital with the help of locals and police.
Local residents staged a blockade at Balurghat-Hili state highway-10, protesting against the unhindered menace of reckless driving. They alleged that the traffic police appear to be sleeping over the problem. They lifted the blockade after police intervened and assured the agitators of action.  The bodies of the victims were sent for post-mortem at Balurghat district hospital this morning, police informed.

statesman news service
Siliguri, 3 July
The West Bengal Human Rights Commission will issue orders to the medical superintendent of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) after a Darjeeling-based legal forum appealed to the commission after a four-year-old boy lost his vision in his left eye following a surgery.
The members of the forum met the chairman of the commission, Mr Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The forum had filed a complaint to the National Commission for Child Protection, New Delhi, against the NBMCH for alleged medical negligence.
The left eye of the four-year-old Rupam Roy, a resident of South Colony, was injured after a sharp bamboo object went into his eye. The eye was operated three times by doctors of NBMCH in January but it did not yield any positive result. The object was reportedly removed after the boy was taken to an eye hospital in Nepal. But his eye was already damaged and Rupam lost his vision.
The forum also appealed to the commission after a woman from Siliguri, who had been working as a maid at a house of a senior government official, was allegedly raped by the official on 14 February.
The woman had been allegedly threatened after she filed an FIR at Siliguri Women Police Station.
The registrar of the rights commission, Mr Rabindranath Samanta, said the commission would also issue an order to the police commissioner. 
Mr Samanta said the orders state that both the medical superintendent Dr Sabyasachi Das, and the police commissioner Mr K Jayaraman, will submit their reports within three weeks after receiving the orders.

MANAS R. BANNERJEE
manas.bannerjee@gmail.com
Siliguri, 3 July
Small tea growers in north Bengal may experience a setback within eight to 10 years if they don’t stop rampant use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides unscientifically, a senior Tea Board official said. Primary investigation revealed that in order to obtain more green tea leaves, the majority small tea growers in North Dinajpur, Darjeeling (plains), Jalpaiguri and adjoining areas use excessive fertilisers for growth and apply pesticides to check severe pest menace, ignoring guidelines from the Tea Research Association.
The Tea Board officials expressed concern about the present tendency of small tea growers, who are using chemical fertilisers to get more leaves from the field by using massive chemical fertilisers, paying no heed to the future of lands and existing plantations.
The deputy director of Tea Board in Siliguri, Mr KK Bhattacharya, said: “We are very much concerned about the present trend of the small growers, who are using massive chemical fertilisers to obtain more green leaves. We fear that they would not be able to save their plantations after eight to 10 years if they do not follow a scientific method and guidelines of the Tea Board.”
“If small growers continue such practice after eight years, the future of small plantations would be doomed in this region. They would have to uproot all plants and would have to wait for a long time to start planting afresh,” said Mr Bhattacharya.
Notably, the TRA officials alerted a section of small growers about the alarming situation and warned them about the unscientific use of rampant chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
According to TRA researchers, the Tea Board in association with concerned agencies will start a random sample checking to ascertain the residual limit of produce in the small tea plantation sector.
The Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers’ Association (CISTA) president, Mr Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, said: “It is true that many small growers use fertilisers and pesticides in consultation with the local traders. If they do not follow the guidelines from the TRA they would not able to survive in future. Small growers have failed to resist pests at present due to unscientific use of chemical pesticides.”
Mr Chakraborty said: “The state government should take steps to stop conversion of agricultural land to tea plantations to maintain quality tea production. It is high time for steps to be taken against extension of new tea plantation areas. The present trend is to start tea planting to earn more money in unsuitable lands in the non-traditional tea belt.”
“The state should also clear no objection certificates to those small growers, who had converted agricultural lands to tea plantations so that they can form a self help group and claim assistance from the Tea Board to maintain quality tea production,” he added.
A senior official associated with the Tea Association of India, said: “The present trend to increase more and more plantation area, even encroaching forest lands, is inviting pest menace in the tea plantation.”
“Pests, after losing their habitat, have started taking refuge in tea plantations. Deforestation continues unabated to extend new tea plantation areas in north Bengal.” he added.
“It would be very difficult to check the severe pest menace in future if such practice continues,” he said over phone from Kolkata.

statesman news service
Malda, 3 July
The mother of a 16-year-old boy, Ms Golo Bibi, lodged a complaint with Malda police station that her son Chhoton Sheikh was abducted by one Bablu Sheikh of Aiho village in the Habibpur police station area.
She claimed that Bablu had sold Chhoton off in Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh luring him with a job offer.
The Superintendent of Police, Mr Kalyan Mukherjee, said that Ms Bibi lodged a police complaint yesterday claiming that Bablu had abducted and sold her son at Ghaziabad. “Accordingly, we nabbed Bablu and took him into custody. He would be taken to Ghaziabad to trace the 16-year-old boy, The case has got some interesting points,” he said.
Police have also been looking into the possibility if any child trafficking racket is involved in the case. “Bablu has admitted that he has sold Chhoton against Rs 50,000. After police finds Chhoton, the details would be clear,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malda Manikchak state highway was blocked by students today after a student, Motaleb Sheikh, was run over by a lorry. The lorry was detained by aggrieved students but the driver managed to flee. Students staged a road blockade that continued for more than five hours. Later, the blockade was lifted following the intervention of the administration.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 
New Delhi, 3 July 
The ministry of coal today allocated 14 coal blocks for captive use of public sector power-producing companies, belonging to both Central and state governments. 
State-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has been allocated four blocks. The others have been divided among five other government-owned power producers. These fields are situated across Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. 
Taken together, the blocks can yield about 159 million tons of coal every year, an official statement said. 
The 14 blocks have a geological reserve of 8311 MT capable of yielding about 159 MT coal production each year, which will cater to about 31,800 mega watt power generation capacity. 
These coal block allocations to government sectors will lead to an investment of more than Rs 1,60,000 crore in the power sector with consequential multiplier effect in other sectors of the economy. 
Around 15 states and six public sector units have been allocated coal blocks. Some of the coal blocks, because of their size, had to be given to more than one state. For instance, Deocha Pachami block in West Bengal having a reserve of 2102 MT has been given to six different state-run power PSUs. 
NTPC has been allocated Bhalumudra and Banai in Chhattisgarh. Tentuloi coal block in Odisha has been allocated to Odisha Thermal Power Corporation LTD (OTPCL), the statement said.

statesman news service
New Delhi, 3 July
Worried over ever growing bad loans, Union finance minister Mr P Chidambaram has asked banks to target top defaulters and taken penal action against them.  
“You focus on the top defaulters, as well as keep an eye on the top non-performing accounts… They are keeping a close watch on the top 30 non-performing accounts in each bank and action will be taken on the defaulters,” Mr Chidambaram said.
Briefing the media after meeting the heads of public sector banks and financial institutions here, Mr Chidambaram said it is the 30 top non-performing accounts which account for bulk of the NPAs.
Non-performing assets of banks have been on the rise for the past several months due to slowdown in the economy. The gross NPAs of some public sector banks, including State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have crossed four per cent of the total assets at the end of March 2013. Gross NPAs of PSU banks have risen from Rs 71,080 crore as on March 2011, to Rs 1.55 lakh crore as on December 2012. He said he has asked banks to review their lending rates.  
“Reduction in base rate will be powerful stimulus to boost credit growth,” he said adding that unless the base rate is cut, interest rates cannot be brought down.  
While the the RBI has reduced the policy rates by 1.25 per cent since January 2012, to prop up growth, banks have lowered the lending rates by only 0.30 per cent during the period.  
At the meeting with the bank chiefs, Mr Chidambaram reviewed the credit to agriculture, MSME sector, housing, education, minority communities and also financial inclusion.
Asked about discussion on gold loan with bank chiefs in the meeting, Mr Chidambaram quipped: “You want gold loan, chances are there you won’t get it”.
Replying to a query on new bank licences for which 26 entities have applied before the Reserve Bank, the finance minister said “every guideline has to be satisfied”. He, however, said it is the RBI which will give the licences and the government will have no say in it.
According to Mr Chidambaram public sector banks plan to recruit 50,000 new hands and open 10,000 new branches around the country during 2013-14.
“This year public sector banks are expected to add 10,000 branches of which 2,000 are to be by Regional Rural Banks. Correspondingly there will be recruitment. In fact all the banks put together are expected to recruit some 50,000 persons in the current year,” he said.
The PSU banks had a sanctioned strength of about eight lakh employees as on 31 March 2012. They hired around 63,000 people in the last financial year.
The country&’s largest bank SBI alone recruited 20,000 clerical staff and 1,200 officer level employees. Other PSU banks hired 22,000 officers and 20,000 clerical staff.
There were 84,489 vacancies at various levels in the state-owned banks at the end of 2010-11.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 3 July
The Indian tea industry is facing many obstacles due to climate change ~ declining soil fertility, old age of plantations, dwindling availability of labour force and emergence of small tea growers.
The need of this hour is, therefore, to face theses challenges effectively and sustain the industry.
"This is the first time in the world an effort has been made to establish a sustainability code for the tea industry," Tea Board chairman, Mr MGVK Bhanu told reporters here today.
He said: "We will implement this code in North Bengal (including Darjeeling), Assam and South India." The producers who will be joining the initiative include McLeod Russell, Harrison Malayalam, Goodricke Group Limited, Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited, Chamong Tea Exports, Laxmi Tea Company and Confederation of India Small Tea Growers.
The sustainability code is being developed in partnership with IDH-Sustainable Trade Initiatives , Solidaridad and Rainforest Alliance, with the support of Hindustan Unilever Limited.
"Around Rs 18 crore has been invested in this initiative through IDH and Solidaridad," Mr Bhanu announced.
The code seeks to embrace sustainability principles to boost productivity, maintain safety standards to improve quality compliance, and inclusion of small farmers in the mainstream.
Tea Board is of the view that effective implementation of the sustainability code will enable tea industry to safeguard the plantation environment, welfare of the workers and small farmers, as well as long-term security of supply.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 
New Delhi, 3 July 
India and Pakistan should do business in rupees and not in dollars in order to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, according to Mr Imran Sohail, leader of a nine-member delegation of Jhang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan.
He was speaking at an interactive session organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today. 
Mr Sohail said improving economic ties will help in resolving larger issues, and political relations should not affect the prospective business ties between the two countries 
He hoped India will be granted most favoured nation status soon and proposed that Indo-Pak travel be made easy with the grant of multiple-entry visa to multiple cities.
Since Pakistan has been facing a severe energy crisis, he said that India could help Pakistan to meet its power needs. 
Mr Zirgham Raza, First Secretary (Trade), High Commission of Pakistan, said both the governments are working on technical aspects to facilitate bilateral trade between the two countries, including issues related to visas, opening of bank branches and standardisation of products.

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 3 July
Small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) around the world and across industries are competing with larger companies by investing in technology to improve operations and become more efficient. These companies are making major changes to their business models, products and go-to-market strategies.
A survey of 2,100 executives from SMEs in 21 countries, released today, says they believe they are equipped to compete with larger firms and have some clear advantages over them. The Oxford Economics’ global study sponsored by SAP looked at SMEs with an annual turnover of $20 million to $750 million across the globe.
The findings overturn some industry stereotypes of smaller companies as local or regional entities that are largely technophobic.
The study reveals that SMEs that do business in six or more countries will more than double in three years.
SMEs are expected to grow outside their home markets while facing increasing global competition at home. The number of firms expecting to generate as much as 40 per cent of their revenue internationally will jump by 36 per cent in the next three years.
Fifteen per cent of the respondents currently do business in six or more countries today, a figure that is expected to rise to 35 per cent in three years based on survey responses.
More than one-quarter of respondents cite increasing global competition among the top three trends affecting their business today.
Nearly 60 per cent say competition from companies in other countries has increased substantially in the past two years. And 59 per cent say they are competing more with larger companies now than in the past.
SMEs are forming networks around the globe. Over half of the respondents say they increasingly are forming partnerships with suppliers and other vendors located in countries outside their home markets.
A similar number are increasingly collaborating with other firms via online business networks and platforms to help drive innovation and growth.
Nearly 40 per cent of SMEs cite forming strategic partnerships and alliances as a key challenge as they remake their companies for the global marketplace.

Associated Press
PARIS, 3 JULY: Bolivia’s president left Europe for home today amid diplomatic drama, a day after his flight was rerouted and delayed in Austria amid suggestions that he was trying to spirit National Security Advisor (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden to Latin America.
Bolivia demanded explanation from various European countries it accused of thwarting President Evo Morales’ flight.
French officials denied today that France refused to let the plane cross over its airspace amid suspicions that Mr Snowden was aboard. Spain, too, said the plane was free to cross its territory.
The plane carrying Mr Morales home from Moscow was rerouted to Austria yesterday night, in a new twist to the international uproar over Mr Snowden and the widespread US surveillance that he revealed. It took off again from Vienna shortly before noon today.
Bolivian and Austrian officials both say Mr Snowden was not on Mr Morales’ plane, which left Moscow yesterday following a summit. Mr Morales had suggested that his government would be willing to consider granting asylum to the American.
Mr Snowden is believed to be in a Moscow airport transit area, seeking asylum from one of more than a dozen countries. Bolivia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, speaking in Geneva today, continued to insist that several European countries had refused permission for the plane to fly in their airspace.
Mr Sacha Llorenti said it was an “act of aggression” and that France, Portugal, Spain and Italy violated international law. Mr Llorenti said “the orders came from the USA” but other nations violated the immunity of the president and his plane, putting his life at risk.
Bolivian officials said that France, Portugal and Italy blocked the plane from flying over their territories based on unfounded rumours that Mr Snowden was on board. Bolivia said Spain agreed to allow the plane to refuel in the Canary Islands but only if Bolivian authorities agreed to allow it to be inspected.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said today that Mr Morales’ plane had authorization to fly over France. French officials would not comment on why Bolivian officials said otherwise.
Spain’s foreign ministry said in a statement today that the country yesterday authorised Mr Morales’ plane to fly within its airspace and to make the Canary Islands refueling stop and gave the authorisation again today morning after Bolivian authorities repeated the request.
A foreign ministry official declined comment when asked if Spain demanded the right to inspect the plane. The Spanish spoke on condition of anonymity because of ministry rules. Officials in Portugal did not return repeated telephone messages seeking comment and Italian officials were not available to speak on the subject today morning.
In Vienna, an official said that Mr Morales’ aircraft asked controllers at Vienna airport to land because there was “no clear indication” that the plane had enough fuel to continue on its journey.

Coming up trumps

For Kolkata-born Rituparna Bose, research and endeavour have paid off handsomely. The 32-year-old, who now teaches at City University, New York, has developed mathematical algorithms that give the most specific estimates of biodiversity till date. She recently identified new fossil species in Michigan, a kind of ancient marine shell, and showed that the ancient biodiversity was underestimated. Her findings showed that a greater diversity of life had, in fact, existed in the past than had been previously appreciated.
   “There are around five to 30 million species of plants and animals today. One reason for such ambiguity in biodiversity numbers is that organisms have been historically classified based on visual assessment of external morphology ever since the days of Carl Linnaeus (1735). Organisms that looked different were grouped differently, and that was fine till now,” she said.
   Bose&’s findings demonstrated the shortcomings of such visual classification and highlighted the need for classification based on objective quantitative algorithms. Part of her research was presented at the North American Paleontological Convention. This is especially significant as the United Nations has declared 2011-2020 the Decade of Biodiversity and she has subsequently been elected a Fellow of the Paleontological Society of India and the prestigious Geological Society of London.
   Her findings were recently reported in Historical Biology and Paläontologische Zeitschrift, both journals on fossil science. Bose is also the editor of Acta Palaeontogica Sinica, the flagship journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China&’s highest academic institution and provides scientific leadership on vital global issues. She also serves on the editorial board of a few famous scholarly journals, including the Geological Journal and Bulletins of American Paleontology (Paleontological Research Institute, Cornell University).
   One of the exciting findings of her work, along with David Polly, was that scientists may have misestimated the number of species that existed in prehistoric times.
   “My research has been published in several acclaimed palaeontology journals, including Palaios. My dissertation has also been selected for the best theses award by prominent publisher Springer and is being published in their ‘best of the best theses’ series,” she said.
   An alumnus of both Calcutta University and Jadavpur University, she is now an adjunct faculty at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, City University, New York, and married to Arnab De, a microbiologist from Columbia University, who has also been her co- worker. De, too, is from Kolkata and had graduated from Presidency College.

India blooms news service

Android-based console

Reports from the Wall Street Journal have revealed that Google is currently developing an Android-powered gaming console and smartwatch and it is believed that this is partly a pre-emptive measure intended to counter similar devices from Apple. Although there have so far only been suggestions that Apple might be entering the gaming market (these include patents for iOS gaming controllers and the uptick in Apple TV&’s profitability), such rumours seem far more substantial if Google also believes in them.
  Android-based gaming consoles have enjoyed great success over the past year with notable devices including the GameStick and Ouya. The latter, a £99 Kickstarter-funded console, was launched at the beginning of last week and managed to sell out through both Amazon US and UK stores, despite criticism for poor quality hardware.
Sources indicated that the company would be rebooting its Nexus Q device — a product described as “the first social streaming media player” but never released to the public.   

THE INDEPENDENT

Press Trust of India
CHANDRAPUR (Maharashtra), 3 JULY: In order to increase the involvement of public to check the growing crime, a ‘police mitra scheme’ has been launched in Chandrapur.
City police, in association with Chandrapur Bachao Samiti, have launched this initiative.
“A police mitra (friend) would act as a bridge between the police and people of the city thereby resulting in better understanding with improved efficiency in police functioning,” superintendent of police Rajiv Jain told reporters here yesterday.
The idea was proposed by Chandrapur Bachao Samiti president Gopal Mundada, he said.
“We have circulated pamphlets in schools and colleges, besides putting up hoardings in the city encouraging youths to help police. We are also keen to improve our intelligence input and reduce the gap between police and common people,” Mr Jain added.
According to the officer, the existing police force of around 3000 personnel, proves to be inadequate to tackle the law and order situation in the city which has a population of around 3.5 lakh.
“The Police mitra could definitely be helpful during the festival times like Ganapati, Dussera and annual Mahakali fair here,” Mr Jain said.
 

IMPHAL, 3 JULY : A massive landslide damaged a bridge in Nung Dolan area in Tamenglong district and blocked Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar national highway 37 in Manipur, as reported by official sources.  
The landslide, caused by heavy rainfall, has damaged the bridge yesterday, the sources said.
Border Road Task Force (BRTF) sources said that it would take two to three days to clear the highway.

Says panchayat polls as per schedule; will abide, says CM
“Should we violate the Constitution (by postponing the dates) or should we allow polls without security?”
“If you (state government) wanted to have election on time, then you should have taken steps earlier. This is dilly-dallying.” ~ Supreme Court
Statesman News Service
New Delhi/Kolkata, 2 July
The Supreme Court today rejected the state government’s plea to modify its order on 28 June directing a five-phase panchayat poll beginning on 11 July.
In a stinging rebuff to the state government’s constantly shifting position on holding the crucial rural poll, the Division Bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi asked the government and the NGOs that filed similar petitions whether the Constitution should be violated.
“Judges have to go according to Constitution,” the court said and pulled up the state government for “dilly-dallying” on the issue.
The apex court directed the Bengal government to issue a notification for the poll as per its earlier order.
Turning down the plea of the state government and NGOs seeking to reschedule the dates to have the election process before or after the period of Ramzan, likely to start on 10 July and end on 9 August, the Division Bench said the court could not reschedule the elections owing to constitutional mandate and unavailability of Central security forces before 11 July.
The apex court dismissed the plea that holding of the polls in the month of Ramzan could adversely affect the participation of one-third of the state’s  population ~ Muslims.
It said all these options had already been considered before passing of the court&’s 28 June order with regard to holding of panchayat polls in West Bengal.
The Bench had on 28 June fixed the dates of poll in West Bengal for 11, 15, 19, 22 and 25 July.
It said it respected the sentiments of the Muslim community, but insisted the Constitutional provision for holding the election before tenure of Panchayat was over couldn’t be bypassed.
The apex court noted that dates couldn’t be advanced at this stage as the Centre had expressed its inability to provided force before 10 July.
 “We cannot modify the schedule of election. The state government shall issue notification pursuant to our order,” the Bench said.  
The apex court refused to accept the state government’s plea that it could provide 50,000 security personnel while it had earlier stated it could arrange for 35,000 armed personnel for each phase.
As per the court’s earlier direction, the balance of the personnel would be met by Central forces.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said : “I am happy with the apex court directive. I respect all religions and abide by the Constitution.”
The state panchayat department issued in the evening a fresh notification announcing the five-phase poll and sent it to the SEC. The commission will issue its matching notification tomorrow.