CPM loses Singur school poll

Chinsurah, Aug. 17: The CPM was today routed in an election to the managing committee of a secondary school in Singur, months after its panchayat defeat in the area.

All six guardian candidates owing allegiance to the CPM lost to pro-Trinamul Congress ones in Singur Mahamaya High School, about 40km from Calcutta. Trinamul leader Becharam Manna described the victory as people’s rejection of the CPM. Balai Sabui, the CPM’s Hooghly district member said the party would look into the cause for the debacle.

Nandi firing

Tamluk: A hut on fire led to an exchange of bullets and bombs between Trinamul Congress and CPM supporters in Nandigram’s Garchakraberia on Sunday night. No casualties were reported. Trinamul activists alleged that the hut belonged to Sheikh Sajeman, one of their supporters. They said the CPM supporters had set the hut on fire, a charge the rival camp denied.

Road caves in

Durgapur: A road in Kulti, Burdwan, caved in on Sunday, sparking panic among villagers of Beluria and Sitarampur. The road connects the two villages with GT Road. No one was hurt and vehicular traffic in this coal belt area was suspended for some time.

Cyclist killed

Durgapur: A truck crushed a 40-year-old cyclist to death on Sunday morning after which about 200 residents blocked National Highway 2. The accident happened on the highway at Panagarh in Burdwan, about 180km from Calcutta.

Land clash

Midnapore: Five persons were injured On Sunday and houses of three set on fire when rival groups clashed with bombs and sharp weapons in Jhargram, West Midnapore. Police said the fight was over possession of a plot.

Cong protests

Calcutta: State Congress president Priya Ranjan Das Munshi has said the party would stage sit-in demonstrations in all blocks of south Bengal districts on September 3 and in north Bengal on September 8 to protest the state government’s alleged anti-people policies.