Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues.
Articles by Joydeep Thakur
Sikkim town that bore the brunt of flood fury
According to the 2011 census the population of Chungthang was around 10,038, as compared to 3,766 in 2001
Updated on Oct 06, 2023 07:04 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Siliguri
Frantic rescue operation on as Sikkim counts the cost
The SSDMA in a bulletin on Thursday said that the disaster had affected 22,034 people, and that over the last 24 hours, 2011 people had been rescued
Updated on Oct 06, 2023 01:05 AM IST
Sikkim: Satellite pics show how lake Lhonak rapidly grew in Sept before outburst
The India Meteorological Department in Gangtok said the lake had rapidly increased in size in just 11 days between September 17 and September 28
Published on Oct 05, 2023 09:31 AM IST
Ignored red flags triggered flash floods in Sikkim
Multiple government agencies and scientific expeditions red-flagged the vulnerability of Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim to a glacial lake outburst flood.
Updated on Oct 05, 2023 07:09 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Scores feared dead in flash floods in Sikkim
Sikkim declared the floods a disaster and authorities warned that the toll is expected to mount dramatically, with the possibility of missing people being found alive remote
Updated on Oct 05, 2023 06:40 AM IST
Jadavpur probe details horrific sexual humiliation of freshman
The 46-page report, compiled after questioning 85 people, throws light on rampant ragging and abuse in the university's hostels.
Published on Sep 24, 2023 04:39 AM IST
Loss, denial, mourning: Inside West Bengal’s village of explosives
A village in West Bengal, India, has been in mourning multiple times due to explosions at illegal firecracker factories that have killed many people
Updated on Sep 15, 2023 01:45 AM IST
Joydeep ThakurSreyasi Pal, Suti (west Bengal)
Man’s passion for planting saplings in Bengal’s remote region draws attention
Dukhu Majhi plants saplings mostly of fruit-bearing or large shade trees such as banyan at places where he thinks there is a lack of shade and pedestrians may need some to avoid the scorching sun
Updated on Sep 01, 2023 08:46 AM IST
Joydeep ThakurSreyasi Pal
Last phone call home and warning ignored: The night of Jadavpur varsity tragedy
On August 9, the victim’s parents began to worry when they had not heard from the boy; they called him multiple times, but the calls were all unanswered.
Updated on Aug 19, 2023 03:58 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata:
Oppn ran away from Lok Sabha debate, says Modi
In his speech, Modi also slammed the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is in power in West Bengal, over poll-related violence during the recently held panchayat elections
Updated on Aug 13, 2023 12:11 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata/sagar
Schools bear witness to violence that marred Bengal rural poll
At least 18 people were killed on the day of the three-tier panchayat polls on July 8 amid allegations of rigging and booth capturing
Updated on Jul 19, 2023 09:00 AM IST
BJP names Greater Cooch Behar proponent as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Bengal
Ananta Rai heads a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA), which has been demanding that a separate state of Greater Cooch Behar be carved out of West Bengal
Updated on Jul 12, 2023 02:58 PM IST
Life is more precious than a vote: Bengal poll violence victims
West Bengal poll violence victims recall the fateful day, adding that nothing seems to change and the violence still persists
Updated on Jul 03, 2023 12:13 AM IST
Bengal government’s legal expenses mount, over ₹75 crore in 2022-23: RTI
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly blamed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the state having to move courts frequently and draining the state exchequer
Updated on Jun 23, 2023 03:30 PM IST
13 years after train tragedy, a quest for closure
Families of victims from a rail accident that occurred in India in 2010 are still searching for closure as the bodies of 17 passengers remain unidentified.
Updated on Jun 14, 2023 05:29 PM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Struggle to trace 17 passengers of Jnanenswari Express lingers on even after 13 yrs
At least 148 passengers of the Mumbai-bound Jnaneswari Express were killed when the train derailed on May 28, 2010
Updated on Jun 13, 2023 05:29 PM IST
Odisha tragedy survivor: 'Man saved me from dead bodies' pile. Who was he?'
Malik was on Friday aboard a general compartment of the Coromandel Express, heading to Chennai where he works in a bottling plant.
Updated on Jun 08, 2023 08:27 AM IST
Odisha train accident: Trains back on track, NDRF ends operation
Train services resumed on both lines at Balasore's Bahanaga Bazaar in India on Monday following a fatal train accident that killed 275 people. The first train ran on the "down line" at 10:40 pm on Sunday night, while the "up-line" resumed at 00:05 hours on Monday. Normal traffic movement has resumed but trains are travelling at low speeds of around 10 kilometres per hour. The restoration process was carried out by sleeper rakes, poclain machines, tower cranes and over a thousand personnel.
Updated on Jun 06, 2023 12:41 AM IST
Debabrata MohantyJoydeep Thakur, Balasore/kolkata
Calcutta high court: “Jobs are being sold like a commodity”
One year on, the probe into the West Bengal school recruitment scam remains mired in a political tussle. Will the victims find justice? An explainer
Published on May 22, 2023 03:36 PM IST
'Dream it, make it happen’
Smarajit Jana, a pioneering AIDS activist, mined the power of the collective to set up cooperatives. He died on May 8, 2021 due to Covid-19
Published on May 17, 2023 08:07 PM IST
ED charge sheet: How TMC’s Anubrata Mondal acquired assets worth ₹48 crore
Anubrata Mondal, 64, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August 2022 for his alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling case. ED arrested him in November 2022
Updated on May 09, 2023 09:11 PM IST
BSF detects new modus operandi of Phensedyl smugglers along Indo-Bangla border
The BSF apprehended a postman, who cloned the barcodes and consignment numbers and delivered the drug to smugglers living in villages along the Indo-Bangla border
Updated on Apr 23, 2023 09:35 AM IST
Aizawl zoo grapples to keep exotic animals alive
Aizawl Zoo in India has a second list of rescued exotic animals and birds smuggled into India from Myanmar, but the zoo is running out of space and some of these animals are dying. Between July 2019 and September 2022, the zoo received 910 exotic animals, of which only 274 survived till the first week of December 2022. The zoo has all one visiting doctor, one veterinary field assistant, one range officer in charge of general administration, and two forest guards. The zoo has sent a proposal to the Union government for separate enclosures and a new rescue and rehab centre.
Updated on Apr 21, 2023 11:44 PM IST
Villages in WB’s Alipurduar gasp for air as pollution from Bhutan takes toll
Pasakha Industrial Estate (PIE) has been the epicentre of the growing pollution levels in the adjacent areas of the West Bengal district
Updated on Apr 17, 2023 01:46 PM IST
Plastic-rock found in Andamans’ Aves Island
Interestingly, according to the 2011 Census, there are just two people on Aves Island. Both are male.
Published on Mar 27, 2023 12:36 AM IST
Plastic-rock hybrid discovered in Andaman’s Aves island
Known as Plastiglomerate, the rock is composed of sand, rock fragments, shells and other materials held together by plastic, resulting in a plastic-rock hybrid. It is a new form of plastic pollution described by scientists in 2014
Published on Mar 25, 2023 07:33 PM IST
Drug-resistant bacteria found in fowls in remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Some strains of these bacteria are responsible for life-threatening diseases including Hemolytic uremic syndrome, pneumonia, diarrhoea and typhoid among others in humans
Updated on Feb 27, 2023 04:09 AM IST
Plot twist in Bengal: Guv heaps praise on govt as BJP walks out
On Wednesday, it was the BJP led by leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, a former TMC leader once considered close to Banerjee, who said that they were disappointed that the governor made no departure from a speech that painted a “rosy picture” of the state’s affairs, even shouting slogans of “go back”.
Updated on Feb 09, 2023 04:41 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Govt to update elephant corridors to mitigate human-animal conflict in 6 states
Ramesh Kumar Pandey, director of Project Elephant, which is a centrally sponsored scheme for elephant conservation, said the government has decided to redraw elephant corridors
Published on Jan 28, 2023 12:40 AM IST
Bereaved Modi opens train link, chairs meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the last rites of his mother Heeraben, who died early morning at the age of 99, and returned to work hours later, flagging off a key train link in West Bengal and chairing a meeting of the National Ganga Council via video conference.
Updated on Dec 31, 2022 02:11 AM IST
Amit Cowper and Joydeep Thakur, Gandhinagar/kolkata