Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues.
Articles by Joydeep Thakur
Mushrooming illegal call centres keep police in West Bengal’s IT hub on toes
The West Bengal police said at least 25 illegal call centres have been busted since September and 292 people have been arrested
Published on Dec 25, 2022 02:45 PM IST
West Bengal recovers ₹52.3 lakh misappropriated NREGS fund
Kolkata: West Bengal has recovered around ₹52
Published on Dec 24, 2022 11:49 PM IST
Traffickers use govt portal to evade authorities while smuggling animals
Enforcement agencies have detected at least three to four cases in the last couple of months in which fake applications were submitted on the Parivesh portal to make illegal consignments appear legal
Published on Dec 11, 2022 03:24 PM IST
Five years on, Mamata’s Krishak Bazar project finds few takers
The Krishak Bazars (farmer markets) were a dream project of the Mamata Banerjee government which came to power in 2011 while championing the cause of farmers in Singur and Nandigram.
Updated on Nov 14, 2022 04:42 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Bengal recruitment scam: CBI court extends Partha Chatterjee’s judicial custody
The CBI court extended former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial custody by 14 days in the school recruitment scam case
Published on Oct 31, 2022 08:08 PM IST
1 out of 10 Bangladeshis caught by BSF handed over to BGB as ‘goodwill gesture’
Every year, BSF hand over a few hundred men and women, who are intercepted along the India-Bangladesh international border, to the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) without arresting them
Published on Oct 18, 2022 01:47 PM IST
From St Peter’s Basilica to Altamira: Durga Puja amid politics, Unesco tag
Welcome to Kolkata during the Durga Puja, where the pandals compete to outdo each other, the only thing that matters almost as much as the festivities is politics, and often, both coalesce.
Updated on Oct 03, 2022 11:52 AM IST
Tanmay Chatterjee and Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
No ex-gratia for kin of tipplers killed in elephant attack: Bengal advisory
The next of kin of any inebriated person killed by an elephant will not receive any compensation from the state forest department, according to a fresh advisory issued by forest officials in West Bengal’s Jhargram district
Updated on Sep 27, 2022 01:31 AM IST
WB gears for thermocol-free Durga Puja; draws mixed reactions from organisers
The Centre banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of identified single use plastic items including thermocol, all across the country from July 1
Published on Sep 01, 2022 04:30 PM IST
After cattle, smuggling of phensedyl and yaba tablets spikes in eastern states
Smuggling of yaba tablets, a party drug that originated in Myanmar, has also gone up. This year more than 7,000 tablets have been seized in the first seven months
Published on Aug 12, 2022 09:48 PM IST
Joydeep Thakur and Utpal Parashar
Minister, MLA, Governor, Vice President: Tracing Jagdeep Dhankhar’s path
During his three years of gubernatorial tenure in West Bengal, when Jagdeep Dhankhar would berate the Mamata Banerjee administration and attack it through public addresses, long official letters and the social media, he personally drafted the letters.
Updated on Aug 07, 2022 05:23 AM IST
3 J’khand Cong MLAs held in Bengal cash haul
The vehicle (JH 09AQ 0016) was carrying the name plate of Irfan Ansari, Congress MLA from Jamtara in Jharkhand, who was in the vehicle when it was intercepted at Panchla in Howrah district, around 30 km west of Kolkata.
Published on Jul 30, 2022 10:36 PM IST
Joydeep Thakur and Vishal Kant, Kolkata/ranchi
The cash-for-jobs scandal and the unravelling of Partha-Arpita saga
Now, four years later, the relationship between the two, and their role in the cash-for-jobs scandal over the recruitment of teachers for government schools is at the heart of an Enforcement Directorate investigation.
Updated on Jul 30, 2022 04:50 AM IST
Tanmay Chatterjee and Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Partha relieved of posts as raids by ED continue
The TMC suspended Chatterjee, also an office bearer in its state unit, adding that he could be reinstated if proven innocent.
Updated on Jul 29, 2022 12:44 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
From cash & gold to admit cards – what ED found in Partha and Arpita’s closets
Bengal school jobs case: Partha Chatterjee and his aide - Arpita Mukherjee - were arrested after raids during which ₹21 crore were seized, according to ED.
Updated on Jul 26, 2022 09:54 PM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
In coastal villages, the heavy toll of shrimp farming
The growth of highly saline fish farms along the coast has not only had enormous environmental costs — due to their negative effects on water and land — but has led to great losses and huge debts for villagers in the area.
Published on Jul 13, 2022 09:56 PM IST
Mamata Banerjee calls Oppn meeting over presidential poll
Banerjee on Saturday sent letters to 22 non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and chief ministers of eight non-BJP ruled states.
Published on Jun 12, 2022 06:27 AM IST
‘Perfect opportunity’: Mamata calls opposition meet ahead of Presidential poll
‘The Presidential elections are around the corner, presenting the perfect opportunity for all progressive opposition parties to reconvene and deliberate on the future course of Indian politics, said Mamata Banerjee in her letter to the non-BJP leaders.
Published on Jun 11, 2022 08:45 PM IST
Joydeep Thakur and Saubhadra Chatterjee
5 recipes that gave shape to the alleged SSC scam in West Bengal
Probes found that innovative ways were used to change marks and give appointments to applicants in the SSC examination scam in West Bengal.
Updated on May 27, 2022 09:39 PM IST
400 caged exotic animals recovered, smugglers held
The consignment was seized from Khankawn area of Mizoram’s Champai district close to the international border. Instead of using vehicles, the accused were carrying the animals in small cages in bags and some were being carried by the suspects on their heads, concealed in a cloth, to avoid police.
Updated on May 26, 2022 05:51 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
TMC minister Partha Chatterjee questioned by CBI for second time in SSC scam
Partha Chatterjee, who was the education minister when the alleged irregularities were made, was asked to submit documents related to his income tax return and bank statements, said a senior CBI official.
Updated on May 26, 2022 03:33 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
The inner workings of the illegal economy of exotic animal trade
These seizures were just the tip of the iceberg, an official of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) said.
Updated on May 23, 2022 11:16 AM IST
CBI files FIR in Bengal SSC recruitment case
The CBI FIR comes after the Calcutta high court earlier this week asked the central agency to probe into the alleged irregularities in the state School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment.
Updated on May 22, 2022 01:38 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
SSC scam in Bengal: How RTI was used to hike marks, ranks of unsuccessful candidates
The federal agency was ordered by the Calcutta high court earlier this week to probe the alleged irregularities in the state School Service Commission. The agency has already quizzed former education minister and senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday.
Published on May 21, 2022 06:30 PM IST
At Sunderbans, rise in cases of tigers straying
While the authorities have started a probe to find out the reasons behind the sharp increase, experts apprehend that with the sea level rising due to global warming and the delta being increasingly battered by cyclones, such straying is bound to increase in the future.
Updated on May 09, 2022 12:51 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Hindustan Times, Kolkata
Sunderban records highest number of tiger straying incidents in recent years
Experts say the increase in the number of tiger straying incidents could hit conservation efforts. The authorities of the Sunderban Biosphere Reserve (SBR) have started a probe to find out the reasons behind the sharp increase in such cases.
Updated on May 08, 2022 12:27 AM IST
Villagers turn to bees to check elephants from raiding crops in West Bengal
Wild honey from the tiger-infested mangrove forests of the Sunderbans in West Bengal is known for its purity and therapeutic uses
Updated on Apr 17, 2022 01:04 AM IST
Joydeep Thakur, Kolkata
Honey bees to ward off elephants in north Bengal from raiding crops, reduce human deaths
West Bengal accounts for the second highest number of man-elephant conflict incidents in the country after Odisha. Between 2015-16 and 2019-20 at least 430 people have been killed by elephants in the West Bengal. Most of the deaths took place in north Bengal.
Updated on Apr 16, 2022 06:05 PM IST
Siamangs rescued: Is illegal trade in exotic species booming in eastern states?
The move comes 12 days after three kangaroos were found wandering around in a forested patch near Jalpaiguri; the carcass of a fourth was found a day later.
Updated on Apr 14, 2022 11:25 AM IST
Biswa Kalyan PurkayasthaJoydeep Thakur, Silchar/kolkata
Nadda forms team to look into alleged gang rape in Bengal
A 14-year-old girl died hours after she returned from a birthday party, where she was given alcohol and then allegedly sexually assaulted
Updated on Apr 14, 2022 05:17 AM IST
HT Correspondent, Kolkata/new Delhi