Latest news with #FirhadHakim
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
KMC clears funds for laying pipes in S Kolkata
1 2 Kolkata: The twin water augmentation projects at Dhapa and Garia Dhalai Bridge have taken a step ahead with KMC sanctioning funds for the procurement of water pipes for areas off EM Bypass and parts of south Kolkata. A proposal for laying water pipes along Bypass from Dhapa to Garia station was passed in the mayor-in-council meeting on Friday. According to a KMC water supply department official, over a million residents of the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt and EM Bypass will have access to safe drinking water in the next 18 months, courtesy the Rs 700-crore project. The amount will be spent on the construction of two water treatment plants and multiple capsule booster pumping stations, along with the laying of water pipes. According to the official, the department has decided to spend Rs 100 crore to augment the capacity of Jaihind Jalprakalpa, better known as the Dhapa water treatment plant. The present capacity of the plant is 30 million gallons. "After the plant started functioning in 2015, we decided to augment the capacity by 20 million gallons to bring more neighbourhoods off EM Bypass and some areas in the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt under its coverage," said a KMC water supply department official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Descubra o valor de qualquer imóvel — basta digitar o endereço! Valor da casa | Anúncios de pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo Similarly, the civic body has taken up the construction of a water treatment plant near Dhalai Bridge in the Garia station area to cater to the growing water supply needs of residents of Garia, Patuli, Baghajatin, Ramgarh and parts of Jadavpur. Raw water will be drawn from the Hooghly in the Kidderpore area and transported to the plant through the pipeline along Tolly's Nullah. The plant will be operational in two years. Moreover, KMC will set up 15 capsule booster pumping stations in the next two years to send water to far-off places with uniform pressure. "We have already constructed 32 such stations in the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt. We need to set up 15 more to boost our infrastructure," said mayor Firhad Hakim.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Task force proposes ban on rooftop sale for biz gains
1 2 Kolkata: The state task force, which was constituted after the recent Burrabazar fire, on Wednesday recommended that the Bengal govt and civic bodies across the state, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), shouldn't allow the sale of rooftop space for commercial gains. This was discussed at the task force's first meeting held at the KMC headquarters. Mayor and state urban development minister, Firhad Hakim, who attended the meeting, said another meeting on the fire safety issues would be held before a final report in this regard would be submitted to the state Cabinet within a month. The meeting was also attended by state power minister Aroop Biswas, disaster management minister Javed Khan, and panchayat minister Pradeep Majumdar. Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Verma, municipal commissioner Dhaval Jain, and director general of fire services Ranvir Kumar took note of what the task force members discussed at the meeting. "Rooftop should be treated as a fire refuge, and hence we will need to arrive at a decision not to allow the sale of rooftop space anywhere in the state for commercial gains," Hakim added. The task force members also agreed on conducting a third-party fire audit at the commercial and office buildings, including at the vulnerable ones in the city. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo The disaster management department will be asked to train its manpower to ensure the rescue of trapped persons in case of fire, said a member of the task force. Earlier, the KMC-constituted committee for the hearings on the fate of three rooftop restaurants in the city had said there was no room for leniency on fire safety norms. The KMC building rules specify that every terrace on the topmost storey of any building shall have a common access and not be subdivided, an official said. According to KMC building rules, under no circumstances a promoter is allowed to sell a terrace or give a nod to anyone to set up any infrastructure there without the approval of the civic body.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Protect Bengal's cultural identity, Bratya urges educators
Kolkata: Bengal education minister Bratya Basu on Sunday stressed the need to preserve Bengal's cultural identity amid growing religious polarisation in India. Addressing the 33rd annual general meeting of All Bengal Principals' Council, he emphasised the crucial role of educators in safeguarding the state's heritage. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "There is an alarming tendency to impose external identities in terms of language, food habits and religious narratives," he said, and drew parallels with the Bengali language movement during Bangladesh's liberation struggle. The meeting, attended by Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, highlighted the growing tension between regional identity and national integration. Stressing national unity, Hakim declared: "We have only one identity — that we are Indians." He also brought up the importance of constitutional values and secularism. Rashbehari MLA Debashish Kumar made a distinction between religious faith and extremism. He said the declining number of rational thinkers was a national challenge, and called for educational intervention. Basu called upon educational institutes to resist what he described as attempts to impose external cultural narratives on Bengal.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
KMC plans spl clean-up drive
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is set to launch a week-long cleanliness drive across the city based on feedback from citizens. Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday that the KMC solid waste management teams, organised borough-wise, were ready to respond to calls from citizens across 144 wards and would be able to dispose of garbage within four hours of receiving a complaint. The drive, which will begin on May 28, may be extended depending on citizens' response, Hakim said. All a citizen needs to do is take a photo of the garbage accumulating in their neighbourhood, or elsewhere in the city, and send it via WhatsApp to 9073367883. "As soon as we get a complaint, it will be communicated to our workers in the boroughs, and a team will set out for the spot. We are confident that within four hours, the area will be cleaned," said Debabrata Majumdar, MMiC overseeing the KMC solid waste management department. According to a civic official, the decision to conduct the drive was made after getting complaints from citizens about the piling up of garbage. Hakim conceded that in some city areas, garbage was accumulating even after the civic body's clean-up drive twice a day. "Garbage is being dumped on the roadside by contractors assigned by the residents of high-rises to collect garbage from the complexes. In some markets, garbage is dumped by the traders even after collection by our team of workers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo In such cases, we will need to get feedback from the citizens so that these areas are cleaned during a special drive," he said. The solid waste management department officials will need to focus on markets, the trading hub in Burrabazar, the CBD area, railway stations, and areas located off EM Bypass, said a KMC official. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Panels set up for fire safety audit, norm compliance
1 2 3 Kolkata: State- and district-level committees had been formed to carry out fire safety audits, ensure regulatory compliance and draft safety guidelines, announced mayor and minister Firhad Hakim on Friday. The committees were set up by state chief secretary Manoj Pant on Thursday following the recent spate of fires in the city and other parts of the state, resulting in the loss of lives and property. The state-level committee will be headed by Hakim, and will include three other state ministers as well as senior state officials. The district committees will be headed by DMs and SPs. The first meeting of the committee would be held on May 28, said Hakim. The committee will conduct fire safety audits of buildings, factories, hotels and other relevant premises, evaluate the extent of structural deviations from the sanctioned building plans and suggest remedial measures, in case of deviations. The teams will examine whether commercial establishments had all the valid licences required for statutory compliance with applicable building and fire safety regulations. They will also assess fire safety infrastructure and the operational efficacy of emergency response systems in commercial and industrial establishments. The panels, which will assess fire safety mechanisms in hotels, restaurants, markets and slums, will check if rooftops were being misused. The state committee will need to submit its report within a month. Different state agencies and the KMC will work in coordination. Responding to KMC councillors, Hakim on Friday said they were coordinating with the fire services department. BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh proposed that the KMC trade licence department should not renew licences of commercial establishments if they were found guilty of not complying with safety rules. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
